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Murray leads Legends to first victory

Perhaps fans of the Atlanta Legends won’t have to spend their next outing at Georgia State Stadium chanting, “We want Murray.”

It looks like they’ve finally got him.

Aaron Murray, the former University of Georgia star who had previously thrown only seven passes in the Alliance of American Football, led the Legends (1-3) to a 14-11 victory over Arizona (2-2) on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona.

Murray hit 20 of 33 passes for 254 yards and rushed for a team-high 54 yards in a game that saw him supplant Matt Simms as the Atlanta starter after Simms exited with an injury.

“It felt good to get hit again and good to get out there,” said Murray, who connected with nine different receivers in the game. “The team played tremendous … I’ve got to give the offensive line a big shout out. Those guys just dominated and that’s something that we’ve really pressed upon them this week. You have to prepare every single week, you never know what can happen in a game.

“I got a little bit more reps this week in practice, but also had to be ready on the mental side of the game.”

The performance marked the first time in six seasons Murray – who was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft – had gotten the majority of snaps in a contest.

“It’s my first time playing a full game,” he said. “I hadn’t played a full game since 2013, so the conditioning was interesting. I have to get back out there and get my legs right in practice this week. It was fun, though. I feel like there’s a lot more to learn and develop.”

Aaron Murray of the Atlanta Legends runs with the ball during the third quarter of their game against the Arizona Hotshots at Sun Devil Stadium on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/AAF/Getty Images)

ORLANDO STANDS ALONE

With the Alliance reaching the midway point of its regular season this coming weekend, the Orlando Apollos (4-0) are now the only team in the league with an unblemished record.

Steve Spurrier’s squad took a road trip to Utah last Saturday and defeated the Salt Lake Stallions (1-3) in a winter wonderland, 20-11.

“I told our team before the game if our Florida boys could come up here and win one in the snow, we’d have something to talk about,” Spurrier said. “It was a fun one. It was a good game. The Stallions outplayed us a good portion, but I’m proud of the whole team and happy to get out of here with a win.”

Orlando is now a game ahead of Birmingham in the Eastern Conference standings with a showdown against the Iron set for this Saturday in Birmingham.

HOMECOMING FOR RILEY

San Antonio coach Mike Riley played at the University of Alabama, with his last appearance as a Crimson Tide player coming in the 1974 Alabama-Auburn game at Legion Field.

And as a head coach, he is now 1-2 at the “Gray Lady.”

Riley led the fortunes of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992, and his team lost to the Birmingham Fire 16-12 in 1991 and 17-10 in 1992 during their two appearances in Birmingham.

On Sunday his San Antonio Commanders (2-2) knocked the Birmingham Fire (3-1) from the unbeaten ranks with a 12-11 victory.

“The one thing about it for me personally at this part of my career, to get to coach in this league and then being able to return here for Birmingham to have a team that we get to play and there are so many family, friends, teammates, classmates, all that is just a very special part of my life,” Riley said. “My wife is from Birmingham, too, so it all worked out so I’m proud to be back here.”

The win puts San Antonio in a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference with Arizona and San Diego.

Riley, who has been a college head coach at Oregon State (twice) and Nebraska, was offered the Alabama job in 2002 but turned it down because he was also mulling an offer from UCLA and didn’t want to rush a decision.

MEMPHIS GETS A ‘W’

The Express (1-3) began the weekend as one of only two Alliance teams without a win but rectified that situation with a 26-23, come-from-behind victory over San Diego (2-2) in easily the most exciting game of Week 4.

Trailing 23-15 early in the fourth quarter, a 6-yard scoring toss from Zach Mettenberger to Terrence Magee, along with a Mettenberger conversion, tied things up 6:01 from the finish.

With 1:42 remaining, Austin MacGinnis kicked a 45-yard field goal for the final points of the game.

“Our guys fought hard and did things they needed to do to win the game,” Memphis Coach Mike Singletary said. “I’m just really excited about how the defense stayed together and kept it together and found a way to make plays.”

Mettenberger, who won the starting job from Christian Hackenberg earlier in the season, hit 18 of 25 passes for 174 yards and a TD.

It was nothing flashy, but it got the job done.

“It was a tough fight out there but a great team victory,” Mettenberger said. “We have a really tough ‘D’ and they play well together. We have to move the ball better to help them out. We’re asking too much of them right now. But ultimately we got the win, and that’s all that matters.”

As for San Diego, the Fleet lost more than the game. Starting quarterback Philip Nelson fractured his collarbone and will be out four to six weeks.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense: Kenneth Farrow, San Antonio. Rushed for 142 yards on 30 carries in win over Birmingham.

Defense: Drew Jackson, Memphis. Had 14 tackles, one sack, four tackles for loss and intercepted a pass in win over San Diego.

Special Teams: Austin MacGinnis, Memphis. Kicked four field goals including the game-winner from 45 yards out against San Diego.

FANS STAYED HOME ON SUNDAY

March 3 will not be remembered as a banner day for Alliance attendance.

In Birmingham, the 6,539 who paid to see the Iron lose to San Antonio marked the lowest attendance so far in league history. Later that night in Tempe, Arizona, only 8,865 saw Atlanta beat Arizona.

That’s the second smallest crowd to watch an Alliance game in its inaugural year.

Birmingham is the only team to have three home games, and now averages 13,632 fans per outing at Legion Field.

San Antonio remains the top draw, with 57,033 fans in two games at the Alamodome for a 28,517 average.

UP NEXT

Saturday: Orlando at Birmingham, 2 p.m. EST, TNT; Salt Lake at San Diego, 8 p.m. EST, NFL Network.

Sunday: Memphis at Atlanta, 4 p.m. EST, CBS Sports Network; San Antonio at Arizona, 8 p.m. EST, NFL Network.

Email Scott Adamson at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

Manziel is gone, but the CFL has plenty of good QBs

For someone who lives roughly 1,000 miles from the nearest Canadian border crossing, I’m a little protective of the country.

**Scott Adamson writes about alternative pro football leagues because it makes him happy, Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl**

Well, that’s not entirely true – I’m a little protective when it comes to the country’s professional football league. (I’ll trust the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to handle the other stuff).

Anyway, when the Montreal Alouettes announced on Wednesday that Johnny Manziel was off the team and out of the Canadian Football League – permanently – I didn’t bat an eye.

I was even a bit relieved.

While you can argue that Manziel might’ve created more interest in the CFL from fans based in the United States, I never thought his presence was required to make the league better. As far as I’m concerned, the league was already just fine in the QB department, thanks.

Manziel was originally the gridiron property of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which set off alarm bells for me. I’m a Ti-Cats fan, and I liked Jeremiah Masoli as the presumptive starting quarterback before the 2018 season. I feared “Johnny Football” would be allowed to step in and take over for no other reason than he once won a Heisman Trophy.

At best, he’d be a distraction.

“We’re excited to add Johnny Manziel to our roster, particularly getting it done now so that Johnny can join his new teammates and the coaching staff for a full training camp,” then-Ti-Cats coach June Jones said at the time. “We feel like we’ve got an excellent group of quarterbacks, and the addition of Johnny only improves our football team in our pursuit of the ultimate goal, which is to win a Grey Cup Championship.”

That was coach-talk, of course, but it didn’t stop me from worrying that Jones would move Manziel to the head of the class – especially after he said he thought Manziel could be one of the best QBs to ever play in the CFL.

Fortunately, it didn’t happen.

Manziel never took a regular season snap for the Tim Hortons Field tenants and was traded to Montreal in July.

**Johnny Manziel’s time in the CFL is up. (Dominick Gravel / Alouettes de Montreal photo)**

He did get plenty of playing time for the Alouettes – completing 106 of 165 passes for 1,290 yards, five TDs and seven interceptions – but now he’s gone because he, and I’m quoting from the CFL press release here, “… contravened the agreement which made him eligible to play in the league.”

I don’t know what he did and, really, couldn’t care less.

What I do know is the CFL has plenty of quarterbacks who I enjoy watching.

Masoli is my guy because he plays for my team, but it’s not blind loyalty. The dude threw for 5,209 yards and 28 touchdowns last year, and tied a league record for most consecutive 300-plus yardage games with 10.

Like Manziel, he’s dealt with off-the-field issues (second-degree burglary while in college at Oregon and misdemeanor drug and traffic offenses before landing at Ole Miss).

Unlike Manziel, though, he has apparently learned to stay out of trouble and now makes headlines only for what he does on the field.

Mike Reilly is also a boss; he threw for 5,562 yards and 30 touchdowns last year with the Edmonton Eskimos – his second consecutive 30 TD season. This year he’ll be behind center at British Columbia, giving the Lions a turbo boost during his second stint with the franchise.

Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell is creeping up on legend status as he engineers the Stampeders’ offense.

In seven seasons with the Horsemen he has thrown for 24,473 yards and 150 touchdowns; last year he accounted for 35 major aerial scores.

Edmonton’s Trevor Harris, Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols, Saskatchewan’s Zach Collaros – the CFL is full of talented and capable signal callers, which is kinda important when you only have three downs to make 10 yards.

And I guess ultimately I like the fact that most of these quarterbacks – even though they harbor NFL dreams – come to Canada and grow as CFL players instead of looking for the nearest exit.

I never got the impression Manziel was fully committed to the league, and that’s why I never caught “Johnny Football Fever.”

Look, I’ve got nothing personal against Manziel. Whatever problems he has I hope he can learn not to “contravene” again. If he gets a chance in the Alliance of American Football this year or the XFL in 2020, I wish him the best.

But when it comes to the Canadian Football League, I don’t need a “big name” to have big fun.

Just show me a field 110 yards long and 65 yards wide, and I’ll trust the players on the field to make it worth my while.

Especially the quarterbacks.

Birmingham, Orlando last of the Alliance unbeatens

With a third (give or take a fraction) of the inaugural Alliance of American Football regular season complete, only the Birmingham Iron and Orlando Apollos remain unbeaten.

Birmingham (3-0) has used a smothering defense to mow down Memphis (0-3), Salt Lake (1-2) and Atlanta (0-3), while Orlando (3-0) has been more offense-minded in conquests of Atlanta, San Antonio (1-2) and Memphis.

The Iron gave up 346 yards of total offense but only one touchdown in beating the Legends, 28-12, on Sunday at Georgia State Stadium.

“Our defensive coordinator, Rick Minter, did a fantastic job mixing up the calls and coverages,” Birmingham Coach Tim Lewis said. “We did a good job giving their offensive line all they could handle. Our running back (Trent Richardson) never ceases to amaze me. He’s a very powerful guy who always doesn’t look flashy, but he’s a strong, powerful runner.

“When we had to grind it out, he was able to put his head down and plow into the end zone. It was a tough game that came down to a matter of wills.”

Orlando managed just two TDs in a 21-17 home win over Memphis last Saturday, which caused Apollos boss Steve Spurrier to be muted in his praise of the Eastern Conference co-leaders.

“We feel fortunate to be 3-0,” Spurrier said. “We know the ball has bounced our way the last couple of weeks. We’re trying to improve as the season progresses and if we do that, we’ll have a chance for a big season.

“Offensively last week we weren’t terrible, we just weren’t good.”

SO FAR, SO GOOD

Alliance co-founder Bill Polian was in the press box for Atlanta’s home opener last Sunday, and says the “evolution” of the league’s teams is going about as he expected.

“At this stage of the game the defense is ahead of the offense, and it takes a while to get the offense going,” he said. “It takes a while to get cohesion and get everybody on the same page and I’m sure that will come. I was talking to both (Atlanta and Birmingham) general managers before the game and we’re as close to parity in this league as any I’ve ever been in, which is great.”

Polian suggests that even in football’s top league, offenses rarely find a groove until several games have been played.

“In the NFL it takes until about Week 5 for the offenses to get in sync, and that really shows up in the red zone because everything is much more congested down there,” Polian said. “We’re playing good football and have enthusiastic fans. You hate to say everything is hunky dory, but so far we couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

WATCH OUT FOR THE FLEET

San Diego (2-1) tuned some heads last week with a 31-11 rout of the San Antonio Commanders, avenging a season-opening loss to the Texans and looking like a team ready to make a move.

**Ja’Quan Gardner of the San Diego Fleet rushes for a touchdown against the San Antonio Commanders at SDCCU Stadium on Sunday. (Photo by Denis Poroy/AAF/Getty Images)**

They now share the Western Conference lead with Arizona (2-1).

The Fleet rolled up 381 yards in total offense and got 202 on the ground in the conquest.

“We’re still a project on offense, but we’re getting better every week,” San Diego Coach Mike Martz said. “Everything seems like it’s coming together a little bit, but it’s not good enough. Everyone is getting better. Those who don’t get better will fall behind pretty quick.”

STRUGGLES IN ATLANTA

The Legends are winless and if you take a look behind the scenes, it’s no wonder.

Original head coach Brad Childress resigned a month before the season started, offensive coordinator Michael Vick was removed from that post two days before the season started, and last Friday acting OC and quarterbacks coach Rich Bartel resigned.

To make matters worse, many of the 10,717 fans who showed up for Sunday’s loss to Birmingham spent much of the day booing starting quarterback Matt Simms and chanting, “We want Murray,” in hopes former Georgia QB Aaron Murray would see action.

He didn’t, but Simms was defiant in the postgame press conference.

“I’ve earned the position that I’m in,” Simms said. “I earn it every day at practice. I earn it every day as far as what we’re asked to do, and I understand the situation – the feelings that some people may have. But at the same time, I’m earning my keep as well.

“I’m going to continue to do that, and continue to be the leader of this team, to be a team captain, and be the quarterback I know I can be when this team gets rolling.”

Simms completed 28 of 48 passes for 328 yards and a TD, but was intercepted three times and sacked twice for 19 yards in losses.

ONSIDE CONVERSION

There are no kickoffs in the Alliance which makes onside kicks rather, uh, difficult.

The solution to the problem comes in the form of an “onside conversion” in which the team that just scored gets a 4^th-and-12 play from its own 28.

If the team converts, it maintains possession.

**Matt Simms of Atlanta looks to pass against the Birmingham Iron during their game at Georgia State Stadium on Sunday in Atlanta. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/AAF/Getty Images)**

Atlanta will go down in history as the first AAF team to have a successful onside “non-kick.” After the Legends scored in the fourth quarter to pull within 16 of Birmingham, Simms completed a 48-yard pass that allowed the Legends to maintain possession.

Alas, Simms was picked off on the following play to end the drive and ultimately make the unique play inconsequential.

ALL IS WELL

There were widespread reports suggesting the $250 million Tom Dundon committed to the Alliance of American Football recently was done to bail out a sinking league.

League CEO and co-founder Charlie Ebersol quickly said those reports were wrong and Dundon backed him up.

The owner of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes officially became the chairman of the board of the Alliance last Tuesday, and says his monetary contribution is to help the spring league thrive, not merely survive.

“As a lifelong sports fan and entrepreneur, I’ve always valued the opportunities generated in the ecosystem of sports and entertainment,” Dundon said. “I’m impressed with the Alliance’s stunning growth in-stadium and across TV, mobile and social media in just these first few weeks.”

Ebersol said the AAF always planned to bring in more investors, and Dundon was certainly a huge get.

“Since the beginning, it has been crucial that the foundation of the Alliance be set with world-class partners, and Tom Dundon represents just that,” Ebersol said. “Tom, Bill (Polian), and I will work with our great team at the Alliance to expand our football operations and technology business.”

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense: San Diego RB Ja’Quan Gardner (122 rushing yards, 1 TD).

Defense: San Diego RB A.J. Tarpley (5 tackles, INT return for TD).

Special teams: Birmingham P Colton Schmidt (5 punts, 49.2 yard average).

UP NEXT

Saturday it’s San Diego at Memphis (4 p.m. EST, BR/Live) and Orlando at Salt Lake (8 p.m. EST, NFL Network) while on Sunday San Antonio is at Birmingham (4 p.m. EST, CBS Sports Network), and Atlanta travels to Arizona (8 p.m. EST, NFL Network).

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