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Friday
Chicago (1-1) at Grand Rapids (0-1)
Nobody likes to lose in the AFL, but Grand Rapids has to feel pretty good about being very competitive in a close loss to AFL champion San Jose. Now it faces Chicago, which couldn?t stay with hot Philadelphia and in one week went from looking unbeatable to looking mortal. Chicago QB Sherdrick Bonner is piling up good numbers, but he?s throwing too many incompletions and the Rush just don?t look like a dynamic offense right now. The defense needs to play better as well. It couldn't pressure Soul QB Tony Graziani, got no sacks and no interceptions last week.
The Rampage showed some promise, but must do a better job protecting QB Adrian McPherson. He wasn't sacked last week, but San Jose had six QB hurries. Chicago can play man-to-man in the secondary and take the Rampage?s best receiver, Kenny Higgins, out of the game. This could force McPherson to hold on to the ball or make bad decisions, but Chicago must be careful and play good contain defense or McPherson may be able to scramble for big yards. Bonner will get back on track versus a susceptible Grand Rapids secondary and the Rush defense will control this game.
Utah (0-2) at Orlando (0-2)
These are two proud franchises off to horrible 2008 starts and although both teams have excellent coaches and quality veterans, it may be tough for either one of them to make a huge turnaround. Right now both teams' biggest problem seems to be on defense. Utah was supposed to be much improved with offseason acquisitions, but it hasn?t happened yet. Orlando usually relies on defense to keep it in games, but right now it looks slow and non-explosive. These weaknesses force the offense to be nearly perfect and while both are playing well, they have not been quite good enough. Utah is ranked 16th in pass defense and Orlando is dead last, partly because of marginal pass rushes. Both are at the bottom of the league in scoring defense. Both quarterbacks in this game will have success, but this game will be won or lost in the trenches. Pass protection and pass rush are the keys for success or failure. One of these defenses must make a couple of key stops and it?s about time for Utah?s underachieving defensive front to make some noise. The Blaze will upset the Predators in ?The Jungle.?
Saturday
Cleveland (2-0) at Columbus (0-2)
The Gladiators are the new darlings of the AFL and their excellent start is not totally unexpected. They have a solid, although thin, roster, a franchise quarterback in Raymond Philyaw, and seemingly one quality playmaker at almost every position. Columbus is struggling on both sides of the ball and is not very explosive, The Destroyers seem to start slowly and that forces them to scramble to get back into the game. They are in the bottom third of the league in pass offense and pass defense and need to develop another weapon besides Derek Lee. They also must really rely on their pass rush to protect a secondary that does not match up well.
The Gladiators are second in the league in pass offense and Philyaw is doing an excellent job of spreading the ball around without a big name, go-to wide receiver. This game will likely come down to defensive pressure. Both quarterbacks can find matchups they like if they have time, but the key is the pass rush. Both defensive lines are capable of getting to the quarterback and must have an aggressive, attacking mentality. Look for Philyaw to get a little better pass protection. He will exploit man-to-man matchups with a good passing day, Cleveland's defense takes Lee out of the game with combo coverages and the Gladiators will move to 3-0.
Los Angeles (2-0) at Georgia (0-2)
This is a dangerous, cross-country trip for the Avengers. They're facing the struggling Force, but Georgia is still a dangerous offense if it gets hot. Right now Georgia is not very explosive, but it is breaking in a lot of new players who could start to gel at any time. Los Angeles looks like a complete team with a lot of playmakers and its defense is really impressive. The Avengers registered 3½ sacks and 4½ tackles for loss Monday at Arizona and that pressure sets up a very good secondary that plays a lot of zone schemes and flies to the ball. That puts a lot of pressure on Georgia QB Chris Greisen to not only avoid the rush, but also make tight throws into small zones. L.A.'s DBs are the best in the league at breaking up passes and stripping the ball away from the receiver, but Greisen has two excellent targets in Troy Bergeron and Carl Morris.
Georgia?s defense needs to play well to buy time for the offense to come along and right now, it is keeping the Force in games. Against a good Tampa Bay offense last week it registered three tackles for loss and six QB hurries. With Los Angeles' offensive line struggling to handle pressure, that's a good sign for Georgia. L.A. is more explosive on offense, but if Georgia's defense can make a couple of quality stops, harass QB Sonny Cumbie and create turnovers, the Force could pull off the upset.
Arizona (1-1) at San Jose (1-1)
This is always a physical game between two division rivals who know each other well. San Jose has superior personnel, but seems to start slowly and right now is a little vulnerable. After all, when was the last time a San Jose defense was in the bottom third of the league in pass defense and scoring defense? Still, this is a very aggressive defense that really gets after the QB and has DBs who really break on the ball well even if it isn?t reflected in the statistics. Offensively, the SaberCats are as good as ever with a dangerous passing game featuring QB Mark Grieb and receivers James Roe and Rodney Wright.
Arizona plays hard, but doesn't t have great consistency on offense, whether Lang Campbell or Jeff Smoker is the QB. The Rattlers will attack the deep middle of the field with Siaha Burley and Co. and the SaberCats must defend the post route. Overall, though, the San Jose DBs match up with with Burley and the other Rattlers receivers. The Arizona defense will play a lot of man to man and its DBs do a nice job of closing well on the ball. The Rattlers are very aggressive up front with their pass rush (5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks last week vs. Los Angeles). If San Jose pass blocks well, it should win fairly easily. If they don't, this could be close.
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