Here’s how I think AAF teams stacked up after week 1.
1. Orlando Apollos 1-0
It looked as if they did what they wanted and when they wanted. They created turnovers, and made really good plays from the highlights. I thought they had the best running game, or at least the most explosive.
2. Birmingham Iron 1-0
Mike Singletary’s defense kept the running game mostly in check, except for the 2 touchdowns run for by Trent Richardson. If it was a duel between quarterbacks, formerly undrafted NFL player Luis Perez beat former 2nd round draft pick Christian Hackenberg. Their defense exploited Hackenberg’s mistakes, and like any other team that won this week, forced lots of turnovers.
3. Arizona Hotshots 1-0
All of the top 3 teams could be in any order, in my opinion. Salt lake is probably the best team to lose this weekend, and Arizona beat them by 16. Again, they just took the ball away. They also had some good long passes, and basically showed us how to win games in this league.
4. San Antonio Commanders 1-0
I think this team is only slightly better than Salt Lake. They dominated San Diego’s offensive line, getting 7-8 sacks and 3 crucial interceptions. The offense struggled a little bit to score, but moved the ball easily down the field.
5. Salt Lake Stallions 0-1
This team is the best loser this week, even though that is not an accomplishment, i’m not counting anyone out just yet. Their offense was decent, but defense needs some work.
6. San Diego Fleet 0-1
This team forced 2 turnovers out of the Commanders and got into the red zone twice. Sounds like a winning formula? Well, they threw interceptions on both drives down in the red zone. Including one where they blew their chances of ever coming back. Their defense did good, but by the end of the game, was worn out because of the offenses inability to move the ball the whole game, which means they ended up having to carry the team.
7. Atlanta Legends 0-1
This team scored the first points in league history, the problem? they lost 40-6. Their defense looked bad, or at least struggling, and their offense couldn’t move the ball.
8. Memphis Express 0-1
Bad QB play, and the defense couldn’t stop the pass and their offense didn’t get any points. This team has problems and needs to fix them now.
Image: AAF / CBS / DofuStream, YouTube