Yet, while the Soul's dynamic offense and strong defense have been responsible for their 9-0 record, their depth might be the biggest factor in keeping that perfect mark.

The defense will be missing two key players when the Soul take the field tonight at Quicken Loans Arena against the Cleveland Gladiators (4-4). And once again, the starting quarterback will be named just before game time, though coach Bret Munsey said yesterday it would likely be backup Matt D'Orazio.

Defensive backs Brian Mance and Mike Brown were placed on injured reserve after each suffered injuries during Monday's win. Mance fractured his left ankle during the win and will miss 4 to 6 weeks. Brown, who pulled his hamstring, is expected to miss the next four games.

"We need to play mistake-free football and have guys step up their game," Munsey said.

The Soul activated Rob Keefe from the practice squad and signed Jeremy LeSueur to fill the void in the backfield. They'll try to fill the large shoes of Mance, who ranked second on the team with 491/2 tackles, and Brown, who had five interceptions.

Injuries aren't anything new to the Soul, who have already lost wide receiver Kenny Henderson and linebackers Rod Davis and John Peaua to the IR.

"Coach did a good job of putting a full team together," defensive back Eddie Moten said. "We have confidence in our backups at every position. And those guys are ready to play."

"We've had some good guys that haven't had a lot of experience at this level step up," Munsey said. "You credit their talent level."

D'Orazio, who has filled in for quarterback Tony Graziani since the veteran injured his left knee in Week 3, credited the unselfish attitude of the injured starters for the team's continued success.

"The guys have been doing a good job grooming the guys coming up," D'Orazio said. "There's always that feeling that you don't want to be replaced, but there's no one like that on this team."

While injury bug hit the Soul's defense hard last week, it could especially harm the special teams, which lost Brown as kickoff returner. Brown ranks second in the AFL with 969 return yards, averaging 19.4 yards per return. He has scored three touchdowns.