For AFL's Jaworski, there's always more game film to watch
In his role as color commentator for Monday Night Football, Ron Jaworski spends more time watching game film than some coaches.
What does he do when the NFL season is over?
More of the same, only this time he is studies AFL game film.
Jaworski, team president and a minority owner of the Philadelphia Soul, will be in Chicago this weekend as the Soul (1-0) meets the Rush (1-0) at noon Sunday at Allstate Arena.
"I am very active with the team," Jaworski said. "I'm at practice and in the facility on almost a daily basis."
In a sports town with notoriously tough fans, the Soul is able to take full advantage of its front-office star power. Jon Bon Jovi, the majority owner, remains one of the most popular touring artists in the world.
Jaworski, more than two decades after retiring from the NFL, still leads the Philadelphia Eagles franchise in touchdown passes (175). Before Brett Favre came along, he held the league record for consecutive starts by a quarterback (116).
Despite Jaworski's football experience, it took him time to understand the nuances of the AFL.
"I knew football, but I knew the outdoor game with the big field," said Jaworski, who is in his fifth season with the Soul. "It was an incredible learning curve for me."
Jaworski appreciates the players' enthusiasm.
"It's a very unique group," he said. "The best thing is how much they love playing football."
Former Rush quarterback Matt D'Orazio already has made an impression on Jaworski. D'Orazio, who led the Rush to the ArenaBowl two years ago, signed with the Soul as a free agent in the fall. He backs up Tony Graziani, one of the league's better quarterbacks.
"We could not be happier with Matt," Jaworski said. "We went 0-6 last year when Tony was injured last year and it taught us you better have (another) rock-solid option. He's been an amazing team player."
Rush coach Mike Hohensee said releasing D'Orazio was one of the toughest choices of his coaching career. Hohensee was concerned with the progress D'Orazio was making after back surgery (herniated disk). D'Orazio passed a physical with the Soul and convinced coach Bret Munsey he was OK with backing up Graziani.
"According to our doctors, it didn't sound good for Matt medically," Hohensee said. "I didn't want to be the coach that picked him off the ground because he had done too much for us. It was extremely hard to let him go, but I knew it was the right thing."
Early-season clash: The Soul and the Rush had arguably the league's two most impressive Week 1 victories.
Graziani set a franchise records with 9 touchdown passes in a 77-56 victory over Orlando. The Rush was dominant in turning back defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose 70-47.
"This is the best team Philadelphia has brought in here," coach Mike Hohensee said.
The Rush's new set of receivers performed extremely well against San Jose. Donovan Morgan, who has played in the NFL and af2, had 5 receptions for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns in his AFL debut.
"There was so much emotion to go out on the field and feed off that crowd," he said. "I've caught balls in the NFL, but that was one of the greatest days of my life."