Jump to content

Philadelphia Soul: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
VolkovBot (talk | contribs)
447,718 edits
m robot Adding: simple:Philadelphia Soul
Line 60: Line 60:
{{end box}}
{{end box}}


==Head coaches==
==Coaches==
{{-}}
{| class="wikitable"
<div style="font-size: 80%">
</div>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"
![[Head coach]]
!Tenure
!Regular season<br>record (W-L)
!Post season<br>record (W-L)
!Most recent coaching staff
!Notes
|-
|-

! Coach name
⚫
|Michael Trigg
! Dates active
|[[2004 Arena Football League season|2004]] - [[2005 Arena Football League season|2005]]
! Record
|7-14<ref name="AFOT">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=coaches&coach=37 |title=ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Michael Trigg |accessdate=2008-10-24}}</ref>
|0-0<ref name="AFOT"/>
|
|
|-
|-

⚫
| Michael Trigg
⚫
|James Fuller
| 2004 - 2005
⚫
|2005
| 7-14
|4-7<ref name="AFOF">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=coaches&coach=78 |title=ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: James Fuller |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>
|0-0<ref name="AFOF"/>
|
|
|-
|-

⚫
| James Fuller
⚫
|[[Bret Munsey]]
⚫
| 2005
|[[2006 Arena Football League season|2006]] - present
| 4-7
|30-18<ref name="AFOM">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=coaches&coach=79 |title=ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Bret Munsey |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>
|5-2<ref name="AFOM"/>
|Assis. Head Coach: Jerry Odom<br>[[Offensive Coordinator|OC]]: Connell Maynor<br>[[Defensive line|DL]] Coach / Head Player Personnel: Mickey Mays
|1x [[ArenaBowl]] winning<br>coach <small>([[ArenaBowl XX|XX]])</small>
|-
|-
⚫
| [[Bret Munsey]]
| 2006 - Present
| 34-20 (4-2 playoffs)
|}
|}


Revision as of 17:30, 25 October 2008

For the music genre, see Philadelphia soul.

Australian Football League clubs The Philadelphia Soul is a team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 2004 expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the National Conference. They are the 2008 defending AFL champions after winning ArenaBowl XXII over the San Jose SaberCats.

History

The team is owned by co-majority owners Jon Bon Jovi and Craig Spencer along with minority owners Ron "Jaws" Jaworski (former QB of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles) and Leo Carlin, Jr. The Soul began play in February of 2004, and plays its home games at the Wachovia Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. When there is a scheduling conflict with the NBA or NHL, games are played at the Wachovia Spectrum—the former home of the Flyers and 76ers and the current home of the Philadelphia Phantoms AHL hockey team and the Philadelphia KiXX MISL soccer franchise. The Soul play in the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the AFL. The name "Soul" refers to the Philadelphia soul music genre, as the team is owned in part by musician Jon Bon Jovi. The official mascot of the Soul is the Blues Brother-like "Soul Man".[1]

In 2005, the Soul began the season by beating the Austin Wranglers 66-35. However, after five games, the Soul had two wins and three losses, which led to the firing of head coach Michael Trigg.

Critics[who?] say that the Soul erred that off-season when they made Tony Graziani the highest-paid player in Arena League history. The move left them with little money under the salary cap to improve their defense, and as a result, they were not in competition for the playoffs. The elimination came even after NBC scheduled 14 games of the Soul to be shown on national or regional television.

In the 2006 season, the Soul got off to a 2-0 start. They went 2-0 against division rival Dallas Desperados (who finished a league best 13-3), and finished the season at 9-7 and earned their first playoff berth through the wild card. In their wild card playoff game, the Soul defeated the Austin Wranglers in Austin, 52-35. The score was 21-21 at halftime, but the #5 seed Soul outscored the #4 Wranglers 21-7 in the third quarter and ran away with the game. Their Divisional Round Playoff game was in Orlando against the #2 seed Predators on Sunday, May 28, at 3:00 PM. The Soul were defeated 31-27.

The Soul started 4-0 in 2007 before losing to the Georgia Force, 57-49. Afterwards, they lost on a Monday night contest to their division rival, the Dallas Desperados, 51-41. In the game, Tony Graziani left the game early with a separated left shoulder from a sack by OL/DL Rickie Simpkins. He would miss the next four weeks, all losses, dropping the team to 4-6. Graziani returned in week 12 against the New Orleans VooDoo and led the team to its highest scoring output in its short franchise history, winning 78-34. In a Week 16 "win-and-in" matchup with the Columbus Destroyers, Graziani led the Soul down the field and threw a touchdown pass to Charles Pauley with seven seconds left, giving the Soul a 56-53 win and their second trip to the playoffs in their four-year history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Orlando Predators 41-26, then traveled to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Force in the Divisional Round, but lost 65-39.

In 2008 the Soul signed WR Chris Jackson in the off-season, who was a valuable free agent. He was united with former teammate Tony Graziani. In the offseason the Soul were picked by many as the favorite to win the championship. However after another good start, once again Graziani was injured. He was replaced by Matt D'Orazio. Unlike previous years, in 2008 the Soul backup was able to keep the team going. He played well enough that when Graziani was healthy once more, the coaching staff decided to allow D'Orazio to keep the starting job. The Soul finished the 2008 season with a 13-3 record and earned a first-round bye. In the divisional round the Soul defeated the New York Dragons. In the conference finals the Soul were able to defeat the Cleveland Gladiators to earn their first berth to the Arena Bowl. The Soul won their first ArenaBowl championship on Sunday, July 27, 2008 in a 59-56 win over the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XXII.

Franchise Highlights

  • On Sunday, February 13, 2005, in a Week Three home game against the Nashville Kats, quarterback Tony Graziani would throw for six touchdowns. One of those touchdown's came on a third quarter play from their own five-yard line. Graziani got the snap, tripped over his own fullback's foot, and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to OS Steve Smith off his own knee. The Soul would go on to win the game 59-48. On the AFL's 20 Greatest Highlights Countdown, this is at #6. It also finished in The Best Damn Sports Show Period's Top 50 Spectacular Plays.[2]
  • On Saturday, April 24, 2004, the Soul was trailing to the New York Dragons by a point with 1.3 seconds left in the 4th quarter. The Soul had the ball at their own two-yard line. Ken Hinsley kicked a field goal from the back of the endzone which just barely made it over the crossbar as the buzzer went off, winning the game for the Soul 60-58.
  • Since its inception, the Philadelphia Soul has been deeply involved in the community. In 2006, The Philadelphia Soul Foundation was formed to further the organization's commitment to the Philadelphia area. Former President Bill Clinton joined Soul majority owner Jon Bon Jovi on stage to announce a project that would rehab 15 townhouses in North Philadelphia. Scheduled to open in November 2007, the homes will also be eco-friendly, saving not only money for its new tenants, but improve the environment as well.
  • On Saturday, July 12, 2008, the Philadelphia Soul defeated the Cleveland Gladiators 70-35 in the AFL National Conference Title game, earning their first ever ArenaBowl berth in Arena Bowl XXII.
  • On Sunday, July 27, 2008, the Philadelphia Soul defeated the San Jose SaberCats in Arenabowl XXII, 59-56, capturing their first Arena Bowl championship.

Season-by-season

One of the Philadelphia Soul's endzones.
Season records
Season W L T Finish Playoff results
2004 5 11 0 5th NC Eastern --
2005 6 10 0 3rd NC Eastern --
2006 9 7 0 3rd NC Eastern Won Wild Card (Austin)
Lost Divisional (Orlando)
2007 8 8 0 2nd NC Eastern Won Wild Card (Orlando)
Lost Divisional (Georgia)
2008 13 3 0 1st NC Eastern Won Divisional (New York)
Won NC Championship (Cleveland)
Won ArenaBowl XXII (San Jose)
Totals 46 41 0 (including playoffs)

Coaches

Head coach Tenure Regular season
record (W-L) 		Post season
record (W-L) 		Most recent coaching staff Notes
Michael Trigg 2004 - 2005 7-14[3] 0-0[3]
James Fuller 2005 4-7[4] 0-0[4]
Bret Munsey 2006 - present 30-18[5] 5-2[5] Assis. Head Coach: Jerry Odom
OC: Connell Maynor
DL Coach / Head Player Personnel: Mickey Mays 		1x ArenaBowl winning
coach (XX)

Current roster

Template:Philadelphia Soul roster

Front office staff

  • Jon Bon Jovi - Founder, Majority Owner, and Co-Chairman of the Board
  • Craig A. Spencer - Majority Owner and Co-Chairman of the Board
  • Richie Sambora - Member of the Ownership Group
  • Leo Carlin, Jr. - Member of the Ownership Group
  • Ron "Jaws" Jaworski - Team President
  • Rich Lisk - General Manager

Coaching staff

  • Bret Munsey - Head Coach
  • Jerry Odom - Assistant Head Coach
  • Mickey Mays - Offensive & Defensive Line Coach/Player Personnel
  • Connell Maynor - Offensive Coordinator
Preceded by Arena Bowl Champions
Philadelphia Soul
2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
2009

Template:Philadelphia Soul seasons

  1. ^ http://www.philadelphiasoul.com/fanzone/soulman/
  2. ^ http://www.arenafootball.com/mediaPlayer/video.dbml?DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=38064&SPID=3172&DB_OEM_ID=3500&CLIP_ID=31065&CLIP_FILE_ID=35080&CONTENT_TYPE=ONDEMAND
  3. ^ a b "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Michael Trigg". Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  4. ^ a b "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: James Fuller". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  5. ^ a b "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Bret Munsey". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philadelphia_Soul&oldid=247611270"