Positives and Negatives - at VooDoo edition

This is a segment where I look back on the Soul's most recent game and give players that had positive performances and players that did not. Let's just jump right into it:

POSITIVES


QB Dan Raudabaugh:

• Raudabaugh came as advertised. After a very successful 2011 campaign, he started the 2012 season with his sixth highest completion percentage (73.3), sixth highest passing yard total (310), and 3rd highest QB rating (145.83) of his young career. Raudabaugh's the main reason why the Soul were able to escape The Graveyard with the victory. In only a couple instances he overthrew his intended target, but credit the VooDoo defense for pressuring him pretty well in certain instances. 

WR/KR Jeff Hughley:

• Hughley set the Soul team record with 357 all-purpose yards and 265 kick return yards against the VooDoo and even though Raudabaugh was spectacular, Hughley (despite his fumble) gave the Soul much needed sparks every time he touched the football. He was baffled early on in the game by the VooDoo's kick return coverage, but broke out in a huge way in the second half. Most noticeably with his 54-yard touchdown return with 5:18 left in the 3rd quarter. At this pace, Hughley may become the league's All-Ironman Player of the Year and that's an honor Soul fans should keep their eye on as the season progresses.

WR Tiger Jones:

• 2011's Cutters Wide Receiver of the Year lead all Soul receivers with 10 catches for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns and most importantly didn't cough the ball up. Morgan started things off early, but the Jones/Raudabaugh connection was in full force as the season progressed. He had a nifty catch near the wall at the right endzone marker midway through the second quarter along with the game's first touchdown which were both huge. I expect him to continue to head the stat sheets for the season's entirety for the Soul's passing attack.

K Phil Marfuggi:

• Yes folks, I'm giving props to the kicking game. I know he wasn't tested kicking field goals at all on Sunday, but he did connect on all 9 PAT opportunities which was clutch. The VooDoo's kicker missed on 3 of his 9 PAT's which was the deciding factor in a game where both teams scored 9 touchdowns apiece. Finding a permanent solution at the K position was also a need for the Soul after shuffling three different kickers last season. All three combined were 104 for 128 on PAT's and the Soul are looking for an improvement on the 81% success rate for 2012.

NEGATIVES


The Defensive Line:

• Not only didn't the defensive line produce nearly enough pressure on opposing QB Kurt Rocco, but they also were responsible for a big chunk of that 12 penalties for 90 yards called against the soul. DL Dustin Barno was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and DL Bryan Robinson roughed the passer including other minor penalties that didn't help the Soul's cause. This unit needs to create pressure and to produce sacks for the Soul to keep that dominant edge that the front office produced for the 2012 squad.

DB Rayshaun Kizer:

• The consecutive two-time First Team All-Arena DB did not play like it against the VooDoo. Even though Rocca's completion percentage was at 64% and Kizer did lead the team with 3 pass defenses, but his name was called a little too often during Sunday's game on long touchdowns in my opinion. Granted passes are going to be completed more often than not in this league, but Kizer playing alongside DB Micheaux Robinson shouldn't allow a young VooDoo team to score 9 touchdowns.