ESPN AFL

Editor's Note: Damian Harrell is an All-Arena wide receiver for the Chicago Rush and one of the best ever to play in the AFL. He has faced both ArenaBowl teams on numerous occasions and offered to give a player's perspective of the defenses for ESPN.com.

ArenaBowl XXII should be a fantastic game, and it's the first game I can remember in quite awhile that I'm incredibly excited about even though I have nothing to do with it. Heck, I'm trying to call in favors to get on the sidelines for this game so I can be as close as possible to the action. The San Jose SaberCats and Philadelphia Soul feature physical, talented defenses that will jump on every offensive mistake, and each D will force the opposing quarterback to play his absolute best to have any chance of being successful.

Philadelphia defense

Defensive line: The Soul's front line is excellent and allows the secondary to be athletes and make plays. My team played the Soul early in the year and they were all over our quarterback. They get constant pressure on the opposing quarterback and get some big hits on him while he's throwing the ball.

San Jose absolutely has to find a way to keep this line off Mark Grieb or this game could get out of hand because the Soul's linemen do a fantastic job of getting their hands up when they get near the quarterback and also knocking down passes. It's extremely difficult and frustrating for opposing quarterbacks to get open passing lanes and even when they do they are under pressure and have to hurry to throw the ball.

Secondary: This is a good secondary that is playing great because of the play of the front line. That isn't to take anything away from the secondary because it is a talented group. The Soul like to lock up and play a lot of man defense, which is harder to crack than it may seem because these guys are so athletic.

Eddie Moten and Rob Keefe do an extraordinary job with their footwork and the use of their hands to force a receiver to make a tougher catch than necessary. It's not just athleticism that gets these two guys over, but proper technique as they know when to use their hands, how to read a receiver's eyes, when to turn their head to make a play on the ball and when and how to get away with giving a little extra bump when the receiver is in the air.

It may be easy to teach those things to a defensive back, but trust me, it's harder for a defensive back to execute them when the game is being played at full speed. These guys know how to do that. Also, they do a remarkable job of creating interceptions. They know how to properly break on the ball and gamble at the right time. This is a defense that is properly in sync.

San Jose SaberCats

Defensive line: This is an underrated and big defensive line. The Cats do a great job disrupting the opposition and are so young that it seems as though they never run out of gas. This line just keeps coming and coming throughout the game and doesn't take a play off.

The San Jose linemen don't get the credit they deserve because of how outstanding the secondary is, but trust me this line makes the defensive backs' lives much easier. In this league if a quarterback gets time he's going to score touchdowns and this line doesn't give any quarterback consistent time. I haven't seen an offensive line yet this season that was consistently successful at keeping its quarterback off his back against these guys and they are definitely one of the best D-lines in the game.

Secondary: This may be the best secondary in the league. It'll be a tough matchup with Larry Brackins and Chris Jackson on the other side of the field, but Omarr Smith is one of the best cover men in the league and Marquis Floyd is a bully who will beat up whomever he's lined up against on the line of scrimmage.

It'll be interesting to watch them go against Brackins at the line because Brackins is such a big guy at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. It's going to look like WWE at the snap when they try to get into Brackins' body and stop him from getting into his rhythm early. That type of physical play at the line of scrimmage can be very bothersome to some receivers, but the great ones are able to work through it and find ways to be successful. It's time to see if Brackins is one of those receivers because we already know that Jackson is one of the best ever.