Category: Alternative Football

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

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

The Alliance of American Football is heading into the midway point of its inaugural season, and today AAF co-founder Bill Polian and San Antonio Commanders general manager Daryl “Moose” Johnston offered up their thoughts on the state of the league.

In a nutshell?

So far, so good.

The pair spoke with media members via conference call, and sounded upbeat about the direction of the spring circuit.

“First of all you want to take a look at fan engagement, and television numbers have surpassed anything that we would even remotely dream about for a brand new endeavor, so that’s been a huge success,” Polian said. “And it continues to grow. We’re holding the rating, which is something that other leagues have not done.”

The original XFL, which played one season in 2001, had spectacular ratings for its season opener before the league quickly – and dramatically – dropped from viewers’ favor.

“I think the fact that you’re holding the rating shows that it’s moved beyond the curiosity factor and, ‘Hey, let me see what this is about,’ to an appreciation for the game and the style of play that’s being displayed on the field,” Johnston said. “I think we’re getting back to where the league has parity in it and like any Sunday in the NFL, you can be knocked off by your opponent and if you haven’t prepared, you’ll find yourself on the wrong end of a scoreboard.”

With rules that curtail blitzing and generally favor the offenses, it was expected that the Alliance would be a scoring-heavy league.

Overall, however, that hasn’t been the case.

The average score of a league game is 24-13, and last weekend’s slate of contests had the lowest scoring output of the season.

The winning teams combined for just 72 points while the losers totaled 56. Final scores were Memphis 26, San Diego 23; Orlando 20, Salt Lake 11; San Antonio 12, Birmingham 11; and Atlanta 14, Arizona 11.

Still, Polian insists such score lines aren’t unexpected.

“It’s always easier to put together a defense because it’s reactionary,” Polian said. “An offense requires choreography and difficult and complicated movements. And they require synchronization, so that’s the last thing to come. And although we’ve moved the ball, generally speaking, up and down the field quite well, we’ve been very, very slow to develop in the red zone and that’s an area I think the coaches are going to take a hard look at going forward.”

Dropped passes have been a huge culprit in stalling drives and keeping teams off the scoreboard.

“I was taught a long time ago if you can touch it, you can catch it,” Polian said. “That’s an old Bear Bryant line. I put most of it on the receivers, although there have been some bad balls. I facetiously said today I’m going to send a little note around to each team because they all have JUGS machines (electronic passing and kicking equipment) to remind them to get out there and have receivers catch about 50 balls after practice every day. If you work on the JUGS machines, you can improve your hands. I’m the first to admit we need to be better there.”

Johnston adds that it’s frustrating to see offenses click everywhere but within striking distance of paydirt.

“Our game last week with Birmingham, we had six running plays from inside the 2-yard line and couldn’t get it in the end zone. A little bit of that is good defense on the goal line by Birmingham, and poor execution by us.

“I’ve seen teams move up and down the field. We had a 21-play drive for nine minutes and 54 seconds and ended up with a field goal. So we’ve got to get better in the red zone and get better with the 2-point play. The offenses, in my opinion, have been much more efficient than I thought they’d be, but when we get into the red zone, that advantage shifts to the defense.”

San Antonio, in a three-way tie for the Western Conference lead with a 2-2 record, has been the league’s biggest box office hit. In two games at the Alamodome, the Commanders have drawn 57,033 fans for a 28,517 average.

The only other team in the league averaging at least 20,000 fans per contest is the undefeated Orlando Apollos, which opened the season in front of 20,191 fans and had a paid attendance of 20,394 at their second game at Spectrum Stadium on the University of Central Florida campus.

The other six teams have had modest to poor turnouts; last Sunday Birmingham drew an AAF-low 6,539 fans while Arizona had just 8,865.

Through 16 games, the league has seen 250,267 fans click the turnstiles for an average attendance of 15,642.

“We have franchises like San Antonio that are really remarkable at the gate,” Polian said. “And we have other franchises like Birmingham, for example, which has a really good team, but has had a slew of bad weather.”

Polian thinks better weather – and a good matchup – could result in a big crowd when 4-0 Orlando takes on 3-1 Birmingham on Saturday at Legion Field.

“We’ve got a big game this week, Orlando at Birmingham, that’s a big game in the Eastern Conference,” he said. “A high-powered offense against a dominant defense, so it’s everything you want in a football game. I’m pretty excited about seeing that. It’s the fifth week of our league, and I think we have a game that a lot of people around the country, not just the local markets, will be interested in.

“We’re really positive where we’re going and all the credit belongs to the GMs and coaches and players who put on a tremendous show.”

As for level of play, Polian thinks the Alliance is acquitting itself quite well.

“Our hope was that we could put a quality product on the field that would be real football by real football people for real football fans,” Polian said. “We have some different rules than the NFL, but the thing that’s so gratifying is that these guys play as hard as can be, all the time. These are hard-hitting, professional games.

“Take away the four finalists in college football and maybe two or three other teams and put any other college team out there (against an Alliance team) and it might not be a fair fight. These guys are men.”

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