Marco Thomas leads the Soul (2-0) receivers with 28 catches for 300 yards and four touchdown. Photo by Todd Bauders /contrastphotography.com

Life is good when you are 2-0 for the season, both tough road wins, add in overcoming adversity that came in the form of losing your kicker on the first extra point of the season and a two-game home stand in front of you.

If you play for the Philadelphia Soul, yes life good, playing football is a lot of fun.

“It’s huge,” Soul offensive lineman Adam Smith said with a smile earlier this week. “The reason we play this game is to win every one of them. We realize that’s a tough goal sometimes. Even though we’re 2-0, there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve got to clean up across the board…big guys, little guys, everywhere. It’s definitely easier to coach-up wins, we’re thankful for that, but we have a lot to do to accomplish the goals we want to accomplish.”

The last time the Soul got off to a 2-0 start, the team went 15-3 and made an ArenaBowl appearance.

Smith was asked if he was aware of that or of he pays any attention to trends after good or bad starts to a season.

“Personally I don’t,” Smith said. “For me it’s week to week, day to day. I am just working on getting better and accomplish the next goal which our next game, which is week to week.”

Smith said he knows pointing out a good start and how stats on how the team did last time can generate interest and fun with their Soul’s fan base.

“It’s definitely something to get excited about,” said Smith, starting his second season in Philadelphia. “We’ve got a really good group of guys here, coaches, management, across the board. I think if we can fix a few little things that we’ve been messing up here and there, I think we have a chance to be really special this year.”

Offensive lineman Adam Smith says Jacksonville could just as well be 2-0. Photo by Todd Bauders / contrastphotography.com

One player who has made an impact so far is receiver Marco Thomas. The seven-year veteran leads the team with 28 catches, 300 yards and four touchdowns.
Thomas agreed the good start builds confidence.

“It’s awesome,” Thomas said at practice this week. “Especially to come in and win two on the road. Then to be able to come back home 2-0…there are still a lot of things we need to clean up. We’re still kind of adjusting to each other. But it feels good.”

Thomas admitted that while nailing the first two road games out of nine are like deposits in the bank towards the end of the season, the team needs to be concentrate even more this Sunday against the Jacksonville Sharks at the Wells Fargo Center (4 p. m. start).

“We’ve got to focus on coming home,” said Thomas who played for Chicago, Iowa and San Jose before coming to the Soul this season. “We need to take care of business at home. It’s easy to get distracted or sidetracked because we’ve done good to start the season. It’s important to come home and keep the same intensity here, get these two wins and get back on the road and go 4-0.”

Players and coaches are no doubt happy about how all the new faces on the roster have jelled so well and gotten off to a good start. But just about every Arena Football League game is nerve racking.

One missed opportunity for a stop can mean the difference between winning and losing almost every week.

Smith looked at the season the Sharks have experienced which if you just look at the two teams’ records looks like a bit of a mismatch in the Soul’s favor. Not so said Smith.

“It is going to be a tough test,” Smith said. “Home opener, we’re excited about it. We’ve got our work cut out for us against Jacksonville. If they correct a few things, they are 0-2…they lost both their games by a point. They could very well be 2-0 sitting right where we are.”

SOUL NOTES: Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh is off to a good start going 57 of 95 for the season good for 60.0 percent accuracy, 727 yards, 14 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a rating of 112.0…New kicker Tommy Frevert is 6 for 8 on extra points. He has not attempted a field goal…On defense Joe Goosby, Kent Richardson and Dwayne Hollis are tied for team lead in tackles with 6.5 each. Beau Bell has 5.5 tackles.