Roughnecks vs Rage Game Preview

It's no secret that the Roughnecks and the Rage had a scrimmage last month to get a few kinks worked out of their system before last weekends season open for both teams. The Rage played the Falcons and the Roughnecks played the Desert Dawgs. But there is a difference between a scrimmage and a game that counts.

The Roughnecks are high off a 44 -6 win over the Alamogordo Desert Dawgs, which was probably the longest bus ride ever, and the Albuquerque Rage come off of a very heart breaking 20 -7 loss to the Albuquerque Falcons. So both teams have something at stake.

The Rage are a bruised team that has new players and have a point to prove. That's what makes them dangerous. They have speed, they have skill and they have strength. They also have humility. That's what makes them even more a danger to the Roughnecks. Commenting on last week's game against the Falcons, Offensive Coach Penya said "These guys (the Falcons) are GIANT KILLERS!" "They have beat veteran teams such as the Raptors, the Sting, the Wolfpack and us (the Rage)." He also added, "We were not ready to play at all. We took that team for granted and they beat us. We are definatly going to be a different team when we play the Roughnecks this weekend."

Will they be? According to Coach Penya, lack of execution, poor tackling and lack of focus was they key to their loss. not to mention that it's hard to win any game with 6 turnovers.
"The Rage is going to beef up their O-line to try and stop our linebackers" says Roughnecks headcoach Chris Kovacs. "Teams this year are gunning for us. We have big targets on our backs."

And that they do. You take away their run and it opens the passing game. Take away the passing game and it opens the run. The offensive line is strong and fast and as long as they give first year quarterback Jeremy Soto a chance to stay in the pocket and throw, he will pick apart any defense in their air.

The fact is as this point, barring injuries, the Roughnecks have too many weapons on offense and defense for any team to deal with. Soto, Royce, Begg, Cain, Moore, Irvin (or "Socks") Gonzales, Walker and the entire line. Everyone knows their assignment and they execute.

Now, the defense. They already have a name "The Darkside"....Tim Sue Sue, "The Manster" Bruce Frantz III, Fred Christensen, Lee Blodgett, Chad Covington, Sparkey Bennie, James Patrick, Obi and Ori Rector. They have a kind and gentle way of letting any offense know that they are coming to take the ball away.

So how are the Roughnecks going to do against the Rage. You'll hve to tune in and listen online to rsportsradio.com to find out.