By: Andrew Kramer (LFL360.com)
Photo: Joe Petro/LFL PHOTOS
The Philadelphia Passion did it.
They defeated their rivals, the Tampa Breeze, 44-32, and will be returning to the Lingerie Bowl this Sunday for the second straight year. It wasn’t their prettiest win, and they certainly had to work harder for this victory then they did all season, but they pulled it out in the end and are off to Vegas.
“The Passion are a one-dimensional team.”
That’s what many critics have said about the 2011-2012 Eastern Conference champions. They can run the ball, but can’t throw it. They have one player who does it all for them, and nobody else. The Passion heard it all. And while they do have the most dominant player in the game, Marirose Roach, on their roster, who happens to be a running back, they proved Sunday that they can beat you in numerous ways, using many different weapons.
That’s crucial, because Roach suffered an injury in Sunday’s contest and is out for the Lingerie Bowl. Prior to that, she had a solid game. She scored three touchdowns and had over 100 all-purpose yards. But it still was one of her lowest offensive outputs of the season. Tampa said they were going to limit her, and based on what she’s capable of, they did.
Enter QB Christy Bell. She has heard over and over again that she’s just a supporting cast member on ‘the Marirose Roach Show’, but for one game at least, she took over the lead role, throwing for four touchdowns and earning game MVP honors. Bell and the Passion wanted to show the world they can pass the ball, and it’s safe to say they did just that.
“I think it was just a confidence thing,” Bell said after the game. “Coach has really been boosting me up, but at the same time he’s been telling me we’re going to run it down their throats. It’s a mindset thing for me. He was basically saying the games not on my back as much and all I have to do is go out there and lead my team and it’s worked perfectly. I can’t do much better than what I did tonight.”
WR Stephanie Orji caught two of Bell’s touchdown passes and said their field general looked better than ever. “It was definitely her confidence. She came out here ready to play. Basically we just went out there and did what we do at practice. We go hard every practice. Everything we did to prepare for this game we used out there on the field.”
While others may have doubted it, the Passion always knew they have a tremendous, all-around game. Roach has received the majority of touches in their offense, but as Head Coach Chandler explains, that has nothing to do with lack of talent around her.
“We take what the defense will give us. No team that we’ve played has stopped Roach. Tampa, with the looks they gave us, we said this might be a little tougher running the ball, so we threw the ball early and often. We told Christy to throw the ball and our second play of the day was a touchdown. Christy can make all types of plays, but part of having the best player on earth on your team is you give her the ball a lot more.”
Another interesting development from Sunday’s game was a shaky performance from the Passion defense. They gave up more points against the Breeze then they did in every game combined this season. Tampa does have a potent offense, but the more alarming part was Philly just didn’t look like themselves at times. They were missing tackles and allowing more big plays then we usually see their opponents make.
Over the years, in the few occurrences where the Passion struggled, it would usually be on offense, and the defense would do their part to bail them out. Sunday was just the opposite. The defense wasn’t crisp, and it was Bell and the offense to the rescue.
“Honestly, I think that’s the worst defense we’ve played in a long time,” CB Jaleesa McCrary said. “I don’t know what happened. We weren’t really playing our game, but when it came down to crunch time, we got the job done. It wasn’t how we thought we were going to win, but we got it done. Now we have to prepare for the next one.”
And the next one is the last one, and the biggest one of them all. The Lingerie Bowl is this Sunday at 4PM EST live on MTV2. The Passion will be there, and so will the two-time defending champion, Los Angeles Temptation.
L.A. got the best of Philly last year, and the Passion hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
“We can’t go home again with another loss,” Bell says. “It was too hard on us last year and we remember too much of it, so we’re going to go to Vegas and play our game and we’re looking to come home with that big victory.”
That task is much tougher without Roach, but now the world will see what the entire Passion are made of, and everyone will have to step up their games this weekend if they want to leave Sin City as champions.
Tags: 2012, andrew kramer, LFL, Philadelphia Passion, Tampa Breeze
