Faith and Football

Oof. It was a rough weekend for me. I went 1-3 in my picks, thanks to some unlikely events (weird end of game penalties and 50+ yard field goals getting kicked) and my own foolishness (faith in Aaron Murray). I am doing better this weekend. Count on that. (5-1) VS. (2-4) The last time these two met, It was all Apollos. Orlando dominated from start to finish, winning 40-6. Atlanta seemed to be on the way up after starting Aaron Murray. But Murray struggled mightily against the Commanders, throwing three interceptions, one of which was returned for six points. This bodes well for the Apollos, who are third in the league in interceptions with seven, should be poised to pick off Murray multiple times.  Speaking of poise, the Apollos lost theirs last weekend against the Hotshots. I knew Arizona was capable of knocking off Orlando, I just didn't think they would. Orlando was plagued by penalties at the worst possible time, and even had one player ejected for throwing a pu...

Photo Courtesy of AAF.com Things tightened up this week in the AAF. Here are my Power Rankings, based on several factors: PPG, Points Against per game, offensive rushing and passing ranks, defensive rushing and passing ranks, and finally, wins and losses. Turnover margin was not readily available, otherwise I would have included that. All stat rankings were taken from AAF.com Here we go: 1. Orlando Apollos (5-1) Points For: 1st Points Against: 2nd Rush Offense: 2nd Rush Defense: 7th Pass Offense: 1st Pass Defense: 2nd Win/Loss:  1st Even with their first loss, it is easy to see why the Apollos rank first here. They are in the top 2 in nearly every category, including the most important one: wins and losses. The Apollos could clinch a playoff spot this weekend with a win over Atlanta. 2. San Antonio Commanders  (4-2) Points For: 3rd Points Against: 3rd Rush Offense: 3rd Rush Defense: 3rd Pass Offense: 7th Pass Defense: 7th Win/Loss:  T-2nd T...

Week Six saw the fall of the Apollos! The addition of Johnny Manziel to the AAF! Nearly forty penalties in the first two games alone! And Much More! Laundry Day In the two games on Saturday, 37 penalties were called, according to the box scores on noextrapoints.com . Those penalties added up to 403 yards. That is four complete trips up and down the field. Yikes that is sloppy. Perhaps the worst of all the penalties came at the expense of the Apollos: a false start penalty that resulted in a ten-second runoff that ended the game. Fumble Festival Salt Lake and Memphis combined to lose five fumbles on Saturday. Additional fumbles were recovered by the fumblers. Another sloppy game, that went to the Stallions, 22-9. Memphis finds itself with the worst record in the league, with only four games remaining. Is there hope on the way? See below. 9 Money Moves Johnny Manziel has signed with the Memphis Express. This was a highly controversial move, as AAF Twitter was polarized ...

Week six is here! I am excited to get going on the picks this week. This could be the weekend that a clear leader rises in the West. In the East, will Orlando remain unbeaten? Let's see! Last Week: 3-1, with my only pick missed being the Memphis-Atlanta winner. I underestimated Aaron Murray's impact last week. I won't do that again. This Week's Matchups: Arizona at Orlando Memphis at Salt Lake San Antonio at Atlanta Birmingham at San Diego (1-4)  VS.  (1-4) _______________________________________________________________________ The Battle of the Basement! This is actually a difficult pick, because both teams have flashed potential, and both teams have been disappointing overall. This game, as always true, will come down to QB play and limiting mistakes. Josh Woodrum, QB for Salt Lake, threw for 380 yards last weekend, but also threw three interceptions. Zach Mettenberger, Express QB, was wildly inaccurate against Atlanta last week, but also...

Halfway There: The Week 5 Wrap Up Five down and five to go! Let’s take a look at what shook loose this weekend. Apollos at Iron: In what was supposed to be a matching of two titanic teams, we were treated to a lopsided Apollos victory, 31-14. Orlando flexed its defensive muscle in this one, leading to a pick-six and the benching of Perez. Backup Keith Price came in and threw the first touchdown pass of the season f or the Iron, which may have paved the way to a QB controversy in Birmingham. Stallions at Fleet : After a slow start, the Stallions and Fleet messed around and gave us the most memorable finish in AAF history . After Salt Lake scored a touchdown AND a two point conversion, the Fleet were left with just under a minute remaining and two timeouts. On 2nd and 10, QB Mike Bercovici heaved up a prayer that was answered by WR Dontez Ford. This set up a game winning 43 yard field goal from Hageman, ending in the fleet carrying him off the field. The ...

THE ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL WEEK 5 PREVIEW & PICKS __________________________________________________________________________ Last week I went 2-2 in my picks. Let’s see if I can do a little better this week: Salt Lake (1-3) at San Diego (2-2) Head coach Mike Martz was very upbeat in practice this week in regarding his QB situation. This was surprising, given that he had just lost starter Philip Nelson for the season . He has all the confidence in the world in backup Mike Bercovici, who hasn’t seen much action since taking a colossal hit during the season’s inaugural game. Speaking of quarterbacks, what’s going on in Salt Lake City? The Stallions are averaging just 142 yards per game through the air . Only Memphis has fewer passing yards per game. Salt Lake will need to get something going soon, because opposing defenses are simply going to begin stacking the box against their run game. The Bottom Line : This is nearly a must win for the Stallio...

Week four has come and gone, and it left us all in a frenzy for more action from the AAF! Two teams got their first win, and we got to witness a few other firsts as well. Here's what happened: The West is Wild: The AAF Western Conference is nothing short of crazy. We had one of the best teams (Arizona) losing to a winless team (Atlanta), and a team on the ropes (San Antonio) beating one of the best teams in the AAF (Birmingham). Here is what the West looks like now: A Day of Firsts:  Here is a list of firsts that happened over the weekend: First Win: Memphis and Atlanta Punt Return for a Touchdown: San Diego Fleet punt returner Ron Brooks Safety: Atlanta Legends, on a bizarre decision made by Rashad Ross Snow Game: Salt Lake City and Orlando. The snow nicely covered the unsightly Utah Utes Red that adorns both end zones at Rice-Eccles.  Retired number: The Arizona Hotshots retired the number 19 on Sunday in honor of The Granite Mountain Hotshots.  ...