Obscure Football Weekly, Week 2

Obscure Football Weekly, Week 2

With just a few short days until the CFL preseason kicks off (I still don’t have a team yet), the indoor football action is heating up and the WFA teams are jockeying for position in the young season.  Meanwhile, we’re counting the days until Feb.8, 2020.

Arena Football League - The Empire established themselves as the team to beat, going to 4-0 after putting the boots to the Columbus Destroyers, 56-40.  The 0-4 Destroyers fumbled their first snap of the game and Albany took advantage with a 1 yard touchdown run by Mykel Benson.  Tom Grady threw for 320 yards and 7 tds to pace the Empire.  

The rest of the league is muddled in the middle with 2-2 records, as the Washington Valor defeated the Philadelphia Soul on a last second Arvell Nelson touchdown and the AC BlackJacks beat the Baltimore Brigade at home despite a late pick 6 by Baltimore’s Nias Martin.

Indoor Football League - Championship Indoor Football - The Tucson Sugar Skulls took care of business, posting a 52-40 win over the Bismarck bucks to go to 6-5 and put themselves in contention for a playoff spot.  Skulls QB Jake Medlock threw for 114 yards and 4 touchdowns, while DBs Micah Eugene and Edward Burns had Interceptions.  That leaves them tied in the standings with the Green Bay Blizzard and a game ahead of the Nebraska Danger, who couldn’t take care of business against the Iowa Barnstormers and the Sioux Falls Storm respectively.  

Championship Indoor Football - CIF is down a team, as the league’s board of directors officially gave the Texas Revolution the boot.  The team had forfeited several games this season.  The league will hold a dispersal draft at a later date.  On the field, the Beef, who officially have the best name in sports, stomped the Witchita Force, 70-33, as Taylor Hawkins had two INTs and QB Derrick Bernard threw two TDS to Receiver Javon Bell.  The Sioux City Bandits kept pace with their rivals, eking out a 79-71 W over the Amarillo Venom.  

Women’s Football Alliance - Tons of games here, with the D1 leading Boston Revolution making a statement with a 68-0 beat down of the Baltimore Nighthawks.  QB Allison Cahill threw for 300 yards and 5 TDS as the Renegades topped 60 points for the third time this season.  Shantia Creech, Christina Riggieri and Briannah Gallo all had INTs.  

In the OFW game of the week, the DC Divas held off a lower division opponent, edging the Pittsburgh Passion, 26-21

Obscure Football Weekly: Issue 1

Rather than just write general sports content, I have decided to move in a different direction.  Don’t get me wrong, I will still talk about other stuff and I am still going to keep up with the CFL (though I still haven’t picked a team yet).  I just want to do something a little out of the ordinary.

There are a lot of football leagues out there in the United States.  Indoor leagues, women’s leagues, non-power college conferences, you name it and its there.  I am going to bring both of my readers all the news they never new they wanted from those leagues.  Without further adieu, lets get started with:

Arena Football League - Perhaps one of the more well known leagues, the AFL has come and gone throughout the years.  The current iteration has only six teams and its currently in week three. 

Week 3 saw the Albany Empire establish themselves as a the team to beat with a 57-48 road win over the Jon Bon Jovi-owned Philadelphia Soul.  Empire quarterback Tom Grady (that’s Grady, with a G) threw seven touchdowns to pace his team.  The Washington Valor beat the Atlantic City BlackJacks 41-34 while the Baltimore Brigade defeated the Columbus Destroyers 48-30.

Indoor Football League - The IFL’s schedule is coming to an end, with teams jockeying for playoff positioning.  The Arizona Rattlers top the standings at 9-0, with the Iowa Barnstormers (Kurt Warner’s former team) are 9-1.  The Sioux Falls Storm are close behind at 8-2.  

Champions Indoor Football - The eight team CIF is in week 6, with the Omaha Beef (yes, I’m serious) leading the northern division at 5-1 and the Amarillo Venom leading the southern division at 5-2.  Both teams picked up a victory by forfeit over the Texas Revolution this past week.  Wonder when the last time someone won an NFL game by forfeit was.  

Woman’s Football Alliance - So how about this for a league.  63, you heard that right, 63 teams across three divisions.  All three divisions are in week five, With the Columbus Vanguards and Sin City Trojans leading DIII, the Detroit Dark Angels and Mile High Blaze on top of DII and the Boston Renegades and Cali War leading D1. This is going to be a hell of a league to follow.  

And there are other leagues that have yet to start their seasons.  When the NCAA season kicks off I might even include some of the non-power conferences.  You wanted Sun Belt conference coverage?  No?  Well I am going to give it to you anyway.  And don’t even get me started on the XFL... 

Well, that’s a wrap for now.  Tune in next week!

Jumping on the CFL Bandwagon: Choosing a Team

So its official, the Giants are going to be irrelevant for at least the next five years.  As long as the current GM, whose name we will not use ever on this blog, is in town, they will continue to make decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the franchise.  

Go ahead, keep running up the middle for three yards and then punting while the Rams/Pats/Saints/Chiefs et. Al. Keep piling up points.  Tua will be tearing it up and Tampa and Trevor Lawrence will have revived a stagnant Bengals franchise while he who we do not speak of watches Daniel Jones walk off the fields after yet another interception (with the stupid Eli look on his face, you know the one) and thinks “this is fine.”

But we aren’t here to talk about the NFL.  I was going to wait until the season started to resume my sports blogging, but I have decided instead to go to Canada.  As in, the Canadian Football League. I would never give up on my team, but I need to have to have some sort of football to look forward to while they toil in obscurity.  College just doesn’t do it for me.  I have always been fascinated by the CFL and its 110-yard, six guys in motion at once craziness.  Now is as good a time as any to start watching.  Problem is, I need a team and I don’t know where to start. 

In choosing, I will be considering history, city, uniform awesomeness, mascot coolness and success.  Success will be more of a balancing act, as I don’t want to be a bandwagon fan but I don’t want to pick up yet another hopeless obsession.  I will start with the three teams that are already eliminated from contention:

BC Lions - I always liked the lion as a mascot and they’ve been pretty good in recent years, but I always hated the black and orange combo and Vancouver, while apparently awesome, is waaaaaay too far away.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers - The unis are cool, but no Grey cups since 1990?  No thanks.  Add in the fact that Winnipeg is more than a day’s drive and they are out of the mix.

Toronto Argonauts - Stop me if you have heard this one before.  An old, classic franchise (the Argonauts are the oldest pro sports team in North America!) with a great history has come on hard times due to bad personnel decisions.  A few years ago they snuck into the playoffs as a wildcard, got hot and won a championship, but they weren’t particularly good before that and haven’t been good since.  This year, they made a head-scratching decision on a high draft pick, leading those in the media to question whether they have any sort of plan at all.  Sound familiar?

So that leaves us with:

Saskatchewan Rough Riders - They have great uniforms and a cool name, with pretty good success in recent years.  Their fans are widely considered the best in the CFL but apparently, they are a little too crazy.  This is one of those teams where increased police protection is needed at the stadium when rivals come to town, and I don’t know how I feel about that.  Also, really, really far away.

Calgary Stampeeders - The Rough Rider’s rivals and defending champions, the Stampeeders have a great look to them.  I am not normally a fan of the red/white/black look, but they make it work and their helmets are great.  As a pro wrestling fan, Calgary has always had a sort of mystique to me, but its super far away.  I would also be wary of jumping on the bandwagon of a defending champ.

Edmonton Eskimos - The best unis in the league IMO with a great color combo and helmet.  Unfortunately, their mascot is stupid and like its fellow western conference brethren, Edmonton is more than a days drive.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Not in love with their logo, but I like the black and gold Mizzou-esque uniforms and the name has a unique backstory.  While they haven’t won a title since 1999, they are always competitive and seem to go after a lot of ex-NFL player and top end NCAA stars, so I was more familiar with their roster than any others.  Also, its the second closest city to drive to, just twenty minutes more in the car than Montreal.  

Montreal Alouettes - Speaking of Montreal, the Alouette (its a bird, fyi) is the stupidest mascot in the league.  Their unis are okay, but their helmets and new logo are awesome.  They have had success in recent years and at just over 7 hours, their stadium is the closest by car of any team.  Montreal is the only city of the group that I have been to and its awesome, so there’s that.  

Ottawa Redblacks - So, what is a Redblack anyway?  Is it a Canadian thing that we Americans don’t know about?  I don’t really like their look (best comparison I could make is Texas Tech) or their mascot.  They are the newest team in the league, founded in 2010, but they have absorbed the history of all the other previous Ottawa teams like the Browns did when they came back into the league.  They have been pretty successful in their short tenure, they came up on the losing end in the Grey Cup game last year.  Ottawa is a little far, but its still a reasonable drive.  

So there we go.  Who should I pick?  Either way I am going to have to make a choice soon.  The CFL season starts June 1.

Keys to winning the NFC

Well, here's my rundown of the NFC playoffs. Doesn't look to be quite as stacked as the AFC but there are definitely some quality teams.

Atlanta Falcons
1.Keep doing what you have been all year. There's no flash and flair like the Pats and Saints. No brutalizing D like the Steelers and Ravens. Just good, solid, near perfect play on both sides of the ball. Teams like this are always dangerous.

2.Keep balance on offense. Matt Ryan is deadly off play action. Michael Turner needs to get going to allow the passing game to stay at maximum efficiency.

3.Continue to protect the football. The Falcons have taken excellent care of the football all year. The playoffs are not a good time to stop.

Chances to win it all:high. Just an excellent team all around. The Falcons may be the most balanced team in the NFL.

Chicago Bears
1.Stay consistent on offense. Remember earlier this year when the Bears just couldn't score? Or last week when they only put up 3 points? If that happens again, the Bears are in trouble.

2.Big plays in the return game. Devin Hester doesn't need to return every punt for a touchdown but consistent positive returns will go a long way to help the Bears win.

3.Cut down on the turnovers. We have all seen that Jay Cutler turns the ball over a lot. The Bears need to cut down on his interceptions and it starts with protecting him better.

Chances to win it all:moderate. A great defense but this team turns the ball over too much.

Philadelphia Eagles
1.Use Michael Vick to his full potential. The Eagles can do a lot of things on offense other teams can't. They need to take advantage of that.

2.Run screens. No team in the NFL today runs screens as well as the Eagles. They may run the screen better than any team in league history.

3.Big plays on defense. The Eagles are a little banged up on D. However, they have people in the secondary that can provide huge plays, even if it means potentially giving up a big play on offense.

Chances to win it all:moderately high. The Eagles are lacking in certain areas, but Vick will always give them a chance.

Seattle Seahawks
1.Home field advantage. The Seahawks get to to play one game at home. The defense needs to throw different looks at the Saints and try to force some penalties.

2.How did this team get into the playoffs again?

3.Pray.

Chances to win it all:none. The Seahawks are in a good position to contend next year, but they really have no chance.

New Orleans Saints
1.Step up on defense. We all know that the Saints can score, but the defense has been shaky at times. They need to step it up if they want to repeat.

2.Don't look past their first round opponents. I know we just had some fun at the expense of the Seahawks, but they are still professional football players. The Saints lost to both the Browns and Cardinals this year, so they have taken opponents lightly in the past.

3.Get the run going. Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush or anyone just needs to step up.

Chances to win it all:moderately high. The Saints are a little one dimensional, but few teams are as explosive on offense.

Green Bay Packers
1.Protect Aaron Rodgers. The pass protection has been better this year but Rodgers still hits the turf a little too often.

2.Mix up their blitzes. This is a key to success in any 3-4 scheme. Clay Matthews needs to keep getting to the quarterback, especially in the first round matchup with the Eagles.

3.Keep the momentum going. The Packers are coming into the playoffs on quite a roll. They must find a way to keep it going.

Chances to win it all:moderate. The Packers are great, but they have the toughest road to the Super Bowl possible. They must win at Philly against Vick and the Eagles, at Atlanta where Matt Ryan is 19-1 in his career, make a trip to either Chicago to face their rivals or New Orleans to face the defending champs and play a powerhouse AFC team in the big game.

The NFL Playoffs:AFC Keys to Victory

With the regular season in the books, the NFL playoffs are set to begin on Saturday. Here is just a quick rundown of the teams and what I think their keys to success are. Here we go.


New England Patriots
1. Not getting over confident. The Pats have made that mistake before and we all saw what a GIANT catastrophe that was. (sorry, couldn't resist)

2. Protect Tom Brady. This team could potentially have to go through both Baltimore and Pittsburgh to get to the Super Bowl. Everyone knows both teams like to blitz and Brady can't be Brady if he is getting knocked on his backside all the time.

3. Stop the run. Teams are going to want to keep the ball out of Brady's hands. If the Pats can stuff the run, this will make that strategy less effective.

Chances to win it all:high The offense is just too good. Cannot be stopped, only slowed.

Pittsburgh Steelers
1. No stupid penalties. The Steelers play physically but they sometimes lose control a little bit. You can make up for this against lousy or even okay teams, but the Steelers won't see many of them in the playoffs.

2. Pressure quarterbacks. This is something that the Steelers have no problem doing. However, they're going to need to turn the heat up in the playoffs with potential match ups with Joe Flacco, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

3. Cut down on turnovers. Ben Roethlisberger is tough to bring down but sometimes he will make bad throws or cough the ball up when he should just take a sack.

Chances to win it all:high. Same story as the Pats, just with defense instead of offense.

Indianapolis Colts
1. Protect Peyton Manning. Like the Patriots, the Colts' success hinges on their franchise QB. Regardless of what happens, Indy must beat the Jets and Pittsburgh if they want to get to the super bowl.

2.Stop the run. The Colts run defense has proven to be soft once again this year. They must pick it up if they want to advance far in the playoffs.

3.Spread the ball around. Reggie Wayne will most likely be vacationing on Revis island for the wild card game. Peyton must distribute the ball around and has the weapons to do it.

Chances to win:moderately low. Teams that can't stop the run generally don't do well in the playoffs.

Kansas City Chiefs
1. Stay focused. A lot of Chiefs will be making their first trip to the playoffs. They will be in trouble if they play scared.

2. Keep the other teams guessing. The Chiefs will have to mix things up in the play calling and even throw in some gadget plays against some of the defenses they will be facing.

3. Establish the run. Key for any team but the Chiefs must get Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles going if they want to have any chance at all.

Chances to win: very low. It was a great turn around season for KC but the AFC is just too stacked.

Baltimore Ravens
1. Establish Ray Rice. If the Ravens can grind it out with Rice they will be able to keep the ball out of the hands of dangerous offenses. The key will be Rice's ability to catch passes out of the backfield. The Ravens must get him the ball even if he isn't able to be effective in the run game.

2. Big plays on defense. The Ravens will look to force a lot of turnovers. They must capitalize on these big plays with points.

3. Ray Lewis. In addition to stepping up his play on the field, Lewis must continue his role as a leader on the team.

Chances to win it all:high. Great on both sides of the ball and my personal pick to win the super bowl

New York Jets
1. Shut out the distractions. The Jets must forget about Sal Alosi tripping people, Rex Ryan's foot fetish, ex-employee Jenn Sterger's dealings with a certain former quarterback and whatever else we may not know about.

2. Keep the pressure off of Mark Sanchez. I'm not just talking about pressure from defenders either. The Jets need to put their young quarterback in positions where he doesn't have to win the game all by himself.

3. Put past losses behind them. Forget about the recent loss to the Steelers and the absolute drubbing on Monday night by the Pats. The Jets need to look ahead instead of back.

Chances to win it all:moderate. Lots of talent but the distractions and young quarterback will hurt this team.

There's the AFC. I will post the NFC tomorrow.