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There's no hiding the fact that the Thunder have had a good couple of weeks, a dramatic improvement that has been driven by the performances of our defense and special teams.
But this week’s game against Vancouver is a different challenge altogether.
The standout performer for the Killer Whales is QB Dwight Mahe who has thrown for over 1300 yards off the back of some pretty gaudy statistics: 73.4% completion rate, 8.51 yards per attempt, 10TDs and no interceptions. Making matters worse for us, he has been sacked only five times.
So if the Thunder is to have a chance they have to get Mahe to do something that he hasn’t done all season: make mistakes. With top end cohension in the passing game and offensive line as well as high Sense Rush and Read Defense getting errors out of Mahe will be a challenge for the Thunder.
Mahe has spread the ball around all season and while WRs Lorfberg and Reese have been his primary targets, TE Rob Berrino, who missed two games due to injury, is a real threat if too much focus is directed to the outside.
Perennial 1000 yard rusher Nate Tyler and rookie RB Gabe Teeter spearhead the Vancouver rushing attack that is quietly generating over 110 yards a game and represent a threat that is underestimated at our own peril.
Offensively Little Rock has been pounding it out with our running attack but that strategy may hit a brick wall this week against an Orca defense that has been particularly stingy giving up less than 4 yards a carry and only 81 yards a game.
Vancouver has given up a lot of yards in the air but opposing QBs have averaged a measly 80 QBR against them. Given Thunder QB Albert Gianettino has a 79.4 QBR rating this year there is no much cause for optimism on this front.
If the Thunder can do to Mahe what they did to Salt Lake QB Gabe Patterson (15/44 173 yards 0TD 2INT) and Calgary QB Troy Horner (20/36 153 yards 0TD 1INT) then they can win this game but its a big ask to get this kind of hat trick.
Head to Head:
This is the 17th meeting of the teams and Vancouver leads the series 11-5.
Last Meeting:
Week 13, 2030: Vancouver 37 def Little Rock 13
But this week’s game against Vancouver is a different challenge altogether.
The standout performer for the Killer Whales is QB Dwight Mahe who has thrown for over 1300 yards off the back of some pretty gaudy statistics: 73.4% completion rate, 8.51 yards per attempt, 10TDs and no interceptions. Making matters worse for us, he has been sacked only five times.
So if the Thunder is to have a chance they have to get Mahe to do something that he hasn’t done all season: make mistakes. With top end cohension in the passing game and offensive line as well as high Sense Rush and Read Defense getting errors out of Mahe will be a challenge for the Thunder.
Mahe has spread the ball around all season and while WRs Lorfberg and Reese have been his primary targets, TE Rob Berrino, who missed two games due to injury, is a real threat if too much focus is directed to the outside.
Perennial 1000 yard rusher Nate Tyler and rookie RB Gabe Teeter spearhead the Vancouver rushing attack that is quietly generating over 110 yards a game and represent a threat that is underestimated at our own peril.
Offensively Little Rock has been pounding it out with our running attack but that strategy may hit a brick wall this week against an Orca defense that has been particularly stingy giving up less than 4 yards a carry and only 81 yards a game.
Vancouver has given up a lot of yards in the air but opposing QBs have averaged a measly 80 QBR against them. Given Thunder QB Albert Gianettino has a 79.4 QBR rating this year there is no much cause for optimism on this front.
If the Thunder can do to Mahe what they did to Salt Lake QB Gabe Patterson (15/44 173 yards 0TD 2INT) and Calgary QB Troy Horner (20/36 153 yards 0TD 1INT) then they can win this game but its a big ask to get this kind of hat trick.
Head to Head:
This is the 17th meeting of the teams and Vancouver leads the series 11-5.
Last Meeting:
Week 13, 2030: Vancouver 37 def Little Rock 13
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