Month: March 2019

I don’t know how much pro football you want.

What I do know is you might be about to get more than you probably ever imagined.

In fact – if everything goes as planned – pro football will be a year-round venture starting in 2020, with two “traditional” leagues, four minor leagues and a total of 71 teams playing for pay.

The top tier circuits are the 32-team NFL and 9-team Canadian Football League, and those are the ones you know will be around year after year. Not any real use in discussing them other to say they’ve combined to create a pro football calendar that runs from late May (CFL preseason games) to the first Sunday in February (the Super Bowl).

In the not-too-distant future, however, there’s a chance you’ll never have to go gridironless again.

While the Alliance of American Football has filled in the spring gap this year, it’ll be joined by the new eight-team XFL in 2020.

Both seasons begin the weekend following the Super Bowl, so fans will have 16 teams to choose from next spring.

But wait … there’s more.

The Freedom Football League is looking at a May 2020 launch. Although no coaches have been hired or stadiums rented, the league has already announced 10 clubs.

And finally, there’s the four-team Pacific Pro Football, which is a league geared toward players who want to skip college and start earning a legitimate football paycheck right out of high school.

Already delayed two years, the latest Pac Pro plan is for four Southern California-based teams to start playing in July 2020.

Let’s take a look at all four, shall we?

XFL

The new XFL should have a better shot at survival than the original version, which drowned in bad football and gimmicks during its one-and-done season in 2001.

Oliver Luck is the commissioner, proven coaches such as Bob Stoops are already on board, and the pay scale (similar to that of the Alliance) means it’ll be able to attract some of the best players not on NFL rosters.

With all its teams in major media markets (Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Washington) it sets itself up as a serious spring player and rival developmental league to the AAF, and I’m confident founder Vince McMahon has learned from his 2001 mistakes.

Plus, the XFL can take a cue from the Alliance’s rule innovations to see what works and what doesn’t, enabling it to implement its own tweaks.

I do wonder, however, why it wants to revive the name “XFL” since version 1.0 was a flop.

I get that it has name recognition, but that’s not always an advantage.

Alliance of American Football

I’m increasingly confident the Alliance will return for its sophomore year.

Already halfway through its inaugural regular season, the AAF has been a success on TV and social platforms. In fact, on Thursday, the league announced it was shifting a pair of games to CBS. Originally, just the opening weekend and championship game were slated for the “mother ship,” but it’s drawn a lot of eyes on the CBS Sports Network, NFL Network, and TNT.

There’s always a fear that the novelty will wear off, but that hasn’t been the case as the Alliance is starting to find its footing and showcase some entertaining games.

My only concern is at the gate. While San Antonio is averaging close to 30,000 fans per game and Orlando and San Diego usually host around 20,000 spectators, Birmingham, Memphis, Atlanta, Arizona and Salt Lake have struggled to bring in live bodies.

As a Birmingham native I’ve been disappointed in crowds for the Iron games.

I realize weather has done the team no favors, but this was a city that used to really support pro football. Through four games at Legion Field the Iron has drawn 54,207 fans for a 13,552 average.

The AAF has a solid relationship with the NFL and should that evolve into a formal working agreement, its chances of long-term survival increase dramatically.

Freedom Football League

The Freedom Football League is taking a cue from international soccer in that it promotes a kind of community ownership. According to its website:

The FFL’s teams will be owned by a unique consortium that includes former NFL players, active players from each FFL team, the local franchise operators, and most uniquely, you the fan.

It promises an approach that will put safety player first and “reimagine the game experience” for fans, although what that experience will be has yet to be defined.

In addition, the league is encouraging its players to take a stand on social issues, which is admirable but ultimately irrelevant when it comes to getting people to watch the games.

Teams have already been identified and given nicknames: the Birmingham Kings, Connecticut Underground, Florida Strong, Oakland Panthers, Ohio Players, Oklahoma City Power, Portland Progress, San Diego Warriors, St. Louis Independence and Texas Revolution.

It’s got some big names behind it (including NFL All-Pros Ricky Williams and Jeff Garcia) and is finally getting active on social media, but to me it still doesn’t seem “real” yet.

That feeling won’t change until the FFL starts lining up players and coaches.

Pacific Pro Football

Pac Pro was the one league I was really excited about when it first introduced itself.

I like the idea of giving good young players with no interest in college an avenue to make money playing football, and still think of all the “alternative league” ideas this one might be the best.

Former NFL wideout Ed McCaffrey is the commissioner and the average pay for each player on a 50-man squad will be $50,000 (plus optional community college  tuition and book stipends for a year).

But having just four teams in its first season – all in SoCal – limits its reach dramatically.

I understand soft launches, but this might be a bit too soft.

Virtually any new business venture is a longshot, of course, especially when it comes to sports leagues. So whether or not all four of these alternative circuits are actually doing business this time next year remains to be seen.

If it all comes to pass, however, fans who complain that there’s not enough football will have to find something else to complain about starting in 2020.

 

The NFL and Alliance of American Football are already on friendly terms.

Could they be headed toward a “friends with benefits” relationship?

Don’t bet against it.

Last week during a conference call with media members, AAF co-founder Bill Polian and San Antonio Commanders general manager Daryl Johnston discussed the possibility of a formal working relationship between the leagues down the road.

“We have had no specific talks with the NFL on that subject, but lots of NFL people have bandied about that thought with us,” Polian said. “We all talk about it, but there have been no formal discussions about it at this point. I think there’s enough discussion about it that those discussions are going to continue. Whether or not it bears fruit remains to be seen.

“There are a lot of procedural hurdles that have to be crossed before you can make that happen, but the talk is ramping up, I’ll say that.”

A union between pro football’s 600-pound gorilla and the developmental league that’s halfway through its first season has plenty of upside.

Currently Alliance players have an “out” in their contracts in which they can sign with an NFL time any time except during AAF training camp and the regular season.

“Our season ends just before OTAs begin, so a player could go from our league to the NFL without missing any significant OTA time,” Polian said. “Obviously he’s in shape from playing football so he doesn’t need a lot of conditioning.”

But what about a player coming from the NFL to the spring league?

Having the NFL’s brand, muscle and money behind the Alliance would be a huge boost for the upstarts, especially with a rebooted XFL set to go head-to-head against it in 2020.

Vince McMahon’s do-over will be in eight major markets (Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay and D.C) and has no shortage of cash, so it certainly poses a threat to the AAF as a direct competitor.

But while the current spring league is stocked with players not on NFL rosters, Johnston likes the idea of turning the Alliance into an offseason home for big league backups.

That, ultimately, could be the biggest difference between the AAF and XFL 2020.

“I think when we started this journey we wanted to be complementary to the NFL with hopes we could become a developmental component to what they’re doing,” Johnston said. “As a broadcaster for almost 20 years now and after talking to coaches week after week, one of the things they’ve been frustrated with in the latest (collective bargaining agreement) is the reduction in meeting time, the reduction in practice time … they just don’t feel that the guys are getting enough repetition.”

Johnston envisions a scenario where the Alliance becomes a proving ground for players such as quarterbacks and offensive lineman. So instead of a quarterback like Orlando’s Garrett Gilbert trying to work his way into the NFL, an Alliance team could have a signal caller already in the NFL but trying to work his way up the depth chart by getting actual game reps in February and March.

“Some of the positions coming out of the college game that need more work to help players be successful at the professional level … this is what the Alliance would be perfect for,” Johnston said. “So hopefully at some point in the future there will be an opportunity to bring guys down from the back ends of rosters, and especially quarterback positions, offensive line positions, some of the areas where coaches think there needs to be more development to get the guys ready to compete at the NFL level.”

AAF games are already being televised on the NFL Network, and the NFL website is even providing game summaries of the league. It’s a far cry from the adversarial relationship pushed by the original XFL in 2001, where McMahon’s wrestling-influenced shtick included insulting the NFL.

And while the new XFL is avoiding that approach and, in fact, also sees itself a springboard league, the Alliance has been preaching cooperation with the NFL from the start.

Moreover, the best chance of long-term survival for any developmental circuit is to hook up with the big boys.

From a fan perspective, I enjoy seeing guys like Aaron Murray try to fight their way back into the NFL. However, I’d also like to see NFL players “on loan,” which would give a league that had such an arrangement an actual “farm system” feel.

As Polian said, nothing is official between the leagues and there might never be an agreement in writing.

Right now, it’s just talk.

But since they’re already flirting, there’s at least a chance they could take things to the next level.

And who knows?

They might wind up as a happy couple.

Parity is apparent among teams two through eight in the Alliance of American Football, with just two games separating squads with the second best record and the worst.

As for the number one team, though, the Orlando Apollos (5-0) are separating themselves from the pack.

Steve Spurrier’s charges thumped the Birmingham Iron 31-14 on Sunday at Legion Field, grabbing a two-game lead in the Eastern Conference as the regular season hit its halfway point.

Orlando rolled up 468 yards of total offense against the league’s top defensive unit.

The Apollos’ own underrated “D” held Birmingham to just 272 yards and recorded a pick-6 courtesy of Keith Reaser’s 40-yard interception return.

“De’Veon Smith had an excellent game, and D’Ernest Johnson had a beautiful game,” Spurrier said during his Monday press conference. “Those are two outstanding running backs. They break tackles, and hit the open holes and run through people. Then, of course, (quarterback Garrett Gilbert) had another outstanding day. No picks, I don’t think we had any sacks, the offense had no turnovers again.

“You run the ball 32 or 33 times, throw it 32 or 33, you have a good balance that you hope for, and it’s worked out that way the last two games.”

Gilbert continued his impressive play, connecting on 23 of 35 passes for 286 yards and two TDs.

As usual Charles Johnson was his primary target, catching six balls for 83 yards and a score.

“We did something with play action pass, setting up the run, and that started with our offensive line doing a really nice job of creating those holes early on,” Garrett said. “We were able to create some space with some play action passes and our receivers as usual, our tight ends got the ball, which was awesome and they did a great job making plays and finding open areas.”

Despite the perfect start to the season, Spurrier realizes his team has been fortunate.

“We’re all smart enough to know we could have lost a couple of those games of the first five, so we’re really not talking about what our record is,” Spurrier said. “We’re trying to improve from week to week, and if we can do that, we’ll have a chance to win the Alliance (championship).”

SHOWDOWN IN THE WEST

The San Antonio Commanders and San Diego Fleet are each 3-2, have already split their regular season series and are now tied for the lead in the Western Conference, one game ahead of Arizona (2-3) and two games clear of Salt Lake (1-4).

They are also becoming two fun teams to watch.

On Saturday the Fleet knocked off Salt Lake, 27-25, thanks to Donny Hageman’s 44-yard field goal as time expired, while on Sunday San Antonio held off a furious Arizona rally in 29-25 conquest of the Hotshots.

With Arizona fading and the Stallions tied with Memphis for the league’s worst record (1-4), the Commanders and Fleet look like a pair of teams headed to the postseason.

Two representatives from each conference qualify for the four-team postseason, and those spots are in the grasp of the Alliance squads from Texas and Southern California.

With five regular season games to go nothing is settled in the West, of course, but on paper San Antonio has the clearest path to a conference title.

The Commanders’ remaining opponents have a combined 7-18 record and three of their last five games will be played at the Alamodome where they draw the largest crowds in the league.

The Fleet, on the other hand, will negotiate a field that stands at 13-12, only two of their games will be in San Diego, and they have to face unbeaten Orlando on the road.

ATLANTA TRENDS UPWARD

Aaron Murray was named the Legends’ new starting quarterback in the week leading up to Sunday’s home game against Memphis, and the former University of Georgia star is taking advantage of his opportunity.

Murray – who played most of the previous week’s game after an injury to former starter Matt Simms – was 27-43-0 for 306 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta’s 23-20 victory over the Express at Georgia State University Stadium.

Younghoe Koo broke a 20-all tie when he kicked a 35-yard, game-winning field goal with nine seconds remaining.

“We made a great play on defense when they were threatening late in the game and took the ball down on offense for the winning field goal with ‘Koo and the Gang,’” Atlanta coach Kevin Coyle said. “We call (Koo) and our snapper and our holder ‘Koo and the Gang,’ and they do a great job.”

The Legends (3-2) have endured tremendous turmoil this season, with a head coaching change and two changes at offensive coordinator – including one two days before a Week 3 game against Birmingham.

Today, however, the team is just one game out of second place in the East.

“We’re an exciting team,” Coyle said. “We’ve got talented players who are doing everything they can to represent this city in a first-class way. We want to win football games and make the city proud.”

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense: QB Logan Woodside, San Antonio. Threw for 290 yards and 2 TDs in win over Arizona.

Defense: DB Kameron Kelly, San Diego. Had 3 INTs including one returned for a TD in win over Salt Lake.

Special Teams: K Younghoe Koo, Atlanta. Kicked 3 field goals including the game-winner against Memphis.

WEEK 5 ATTENDANCE

San Diego drew the top crowd of the week when 20,823 fans came to SDCCU Stadium to watch the Fleet defeat Salt Lake.

Birmingham hosted 13,310 fans in its next to last home game; 10,829 came to Atlanta; and Arizona had the low turnout of the weekend with 9,351 paying customers in Tempe.

UP NEXT

Saturday: Memphis at Salt Lake, 4 p.m. EDT, BR/Live; Arizona at Orlando, 8 p.m. EDT, NFL Network.

Sunday: San Antonio at Atlanta, 4 p.m. EDT, CBSSN; Birmingham at San Diego, 8 p.m. EDT, NFL Network.

Scott Adamson can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl