Category: Alternative Football

On Saturday, the Alliance of American Football became the third league to give Johnny Manziel a chance to make a positive impact in professional football.

Will the third time be the charm?

Manziel, who washed out with the NFL Cleveland Browns and spent an unremarkable year in the Canadian Football League last season, was signed by the Memphis Express on Saturday.

San Antonio owned his territorial AAF rights, but the Commanders passed on him.

“We are pleased to welcome Johnny Manziel to the Alliance of American Football, which we’ve always described as a league of opportunity for talented players to launch or revitalize their pro football careers,” Bill Polian, co-founder and head of football for The Alliance, said in a release. “We completed extensive background work to determine whether it would be appropriate for Johnny to play this season, and after consulting with many people familiar with his situation, we concluded that it would be good for him to resume his pro football career here at The Alliance. The San Antonio Commanders have released his college allocation rights, and the Memphis Express have claimed him.”

Memphis (1-5) is in dire need of quarterback help after starter Zach Mettenberger was sidelined by an ankle injury in a 22-9 loss to Salt Lake (2-4) on Saturday.

Manziel last played professionally for the Montreal Alouettes.

Originally inked to a CFL contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Texas A&M completed 106 of 165 passes for 1,290 yards, five TDs and seven interceptions with Montreal.

In February he was kicked out of the CFL for violating his contract, and his first opportunity to dress out as an AAF signal caller will come next Sunday when the Express hosts Birmingham.

By signing a standard player contract with the league, Manziel will be paid $250,000 over three years (with incentive money possible based on performance). However, he can opt out of the contract to join the NFL once a given Alliance season is done and training camp hasn’t started.

Barring a remarkable turnaround by the Express (and collapse by the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference), their 2019 campaign will come to a close on Saturday, April 13.

TAKING COMMAND

Not only are the San Antonio Commanders (4-2) looking like the team to beat in the Western Conference, they might be playing the best football in the league right now.

In a 37-6 rout of Atlanta (2-4) on Sunday, San Antonio delivered a season-best in both points scored and points allowed in a game the Commanders led from start to finish.

San Antonio QB Logan Woodside hit 17 of 23 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns and has quickly quieted his critics.

“I think Logan continues to gain confidence,” Commanders head coach Mike Riley said. “I love how he plays. He plays pretty aggressively. I think he has a chance to just keep getting better and better.”

The defense was the biggest star of the day, however, forcing four turnovers.

“I think everybody learned how good our defense is,” Woodside said. “They were able to give us great field position and helped us out a lot today.”

UNDEFEATED NO MORE

In mythology, Apollo is a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, sun and light, plague and poetry.

His football namesake, however, proved on Saturday that nobody’s perfect.

The Orlando Apollos’ quest for an undefeated season ended at their home stadium on Saturday with a 22-17 upset loss to Arizona.

Orlando falls to 5-1 while the Hotshots snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 3-3.

“Well, we’re not going to go undefeated,” Apollos boss Steve Spurrier said. “We didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach well enough. We got one (linebacker Terence Garvin) thrown out of the game for slugging. That is an embarrassment to me and the other coaches that we can’t teach these guys to play by the rules. Anyway, it was a loss. We had our chances, but it didn’t work out.

“We’ve got a lot of ball left. This is just one game. We can get the guys next week in Atlanta.”

The Hotshots are now back in the conference hunt, and Coach Rick Neuheisel credited his defense for Saturday’s “W.” The unit forced a fumble with Orlando driving in Arizona territory at the two-minute warning, and wrapped things up when the Apollos – who had reached the Hotshots 8 – were called for a false start in the waning moments.

That resulted in a 10-second runoff and ended the game.

“They’ve been a bend-and-no break defense almost the entire year,” Neuheisel said. “Getting that turnover got rid of their timeouts. (That) was a huge play. Orlando had come into this game without a turnover. Their offense had not turned the ball over.

“For us to have a couple and probably could have had more with some balls that were right in our hands. That being said, I give a lot of credit to the defensive staff and the defensive players for finding a way to the victory column.”

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

The Birmingham Iron (4-2) and San Diego Fleet (3-3) combined for 61 points and 826 total yards as Birmingham won on a last-second field goal, 32-29, on Sunday night.

Nick Novak’s 44-yard sidewinder as time expired put the finishing touches on the weekend’s most entertaining contest, and helped the Iron stay one game behind Orlando in the Eastern Conference.

Birmingham quarterback Luis Perez came off the bench to go 27-49-2 passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He replaced starter Keith Price, who was injured early in the game.

L’Damian Washington scored twice and reeled in 128 receiving yards for the winners.

It was a special night for Perez, who got the win in his “homecoming” game.

“It’s a great feeling, I’ll tell you what,” Perez said. “To come home, back to San Diego, where I grew up and where I was born and raised. It’s a great feeling, especially to be able to do it in front of my family and friends who really support me through everything – through thick and thin.

“For me to get in and be able to pull off a win as a team like this in front of my hometown is a great feeling.”

Novak, also a native of “America’s Finest City,” spent three seasons with the Chargers while they were still based in San Diego.

“Who would’ve thought I would play in this stadium again with the Birmingham Iron and have that situation in the end?” Novak said. “It was a great experience and a great memory for me. Most importantly, I’m glad we got the win. Nothing better than celebrating a victory in the locker room after a game.”

PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES

With four games remaining in the Alliance regular season all eight teams are technically still in the hunt for a postseason spot, but the Western Conference is the side that offers the most intrigue.

Only two games separate the top team (San Antonio) from the last place squad (Salt Lake) in the conference, and the Commanders and Stallions still have to meet each other twice over the final month of the season.

Their first clash comes Saturday at the Alamodone.

Arizona and San Diego, of course, still have everything to play for with 3-3 marks.

In the Eastern Conference its appears to be a two-team race between Orlando and Birmingham, with one game separating those two and the second place Iron two games clear of Atlanta with one win over the Legends already.

HERE COME THE STALLIONS

Salt Lake isn’t exactly a hot ticket in Utah, drawing a league-worst average of 9,364 fans per game. Still, even at 2-4, Dennis Erickson’s team has realistic postseason hopes.

The Stallions grabbed a 19-0 lead and handled Memphis 22-9 on Saturday, getting another strong showing from quarterback Josh Woodrum.

Woodrum finished with a pair of TD tosses and 243 passing yards.

“Our plan going in, to start with, was to go no huddle in (an) empty (set),” Erickson said. “We had four receivers and a tight end, which we hadn’t shown (earlier in the season). We moved the ball up and down (the field). We thought we might be able to get (Memphis) a little tired.”

ATTENDANCE WATCH

The largest crowd of the week was in San Diego, where 20,986 fans were on hand to watch the Fleet square off with Birmingham. Orlando played in front of its smallest home crowd of the season (18,358) while 10,619 came to Atlanta and Salt Lake brought up the rear with 8,150 ticket buying customers.

UP NEXT

Saturday: Orlando at Atlanta, 2 p.m. EDT, TNT; Salt Lake at San Antonio, 8 p.m. EDT, NFL Network.

Sunday: San Diego at Arizona, 4 p.m. EDT, CBS Sports Network; Birmingham at Memphis, 8 p.m. EDT, NFL Network.

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

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.