ESPN AFL

A quick breakdown of the Week 5 schedule in the Arena Football League:

Georgia (4-0) at Columbus (1-2)
Georgia beat a good, but tired San Jose team at home last week and did it with an excellent balance of running and passing. But its usually stingy defense gave up an uncharacteristic 62 points. Columbus is coming off a sloppy loss to Chicago, and while the Destroyers play hard, they struggle versus physical teams who can dominate them in the trenches, and that's exactly what they will see with the Force. The Georgia offensive line is giving QB Chris Greisen excellent pass protection and when he has time to throw, he can pick any defense apart. Plus, he has three excellent receivers -- Chris Jackson, Derek Lee and Troy Bergeron -- to throw to. Columbus does not have an answer for the depth of the Force passing game. Georgia can also keep Columbus off-balance thanks to a strong run game led by FB Matt Huebner. The Destroyers have an anemic passing game with very little explosiveness. They might try to counter with a physical run game of their own, but they are not equipped to compete with the Force in an offensive-oriented game. Columbus has quality receivers, but they don't get the ball enough and the Destroyers struggle to convert on third down. Unless Georgia gets caught looking ahead, it should enjoy a big offensive game.

Arizona (1-3) at Kansas City (1-2)
The high-scoring Rattlers continue to put up big numbers on offense, but they actually played some defense last week in a lopsided win over Las Vegas. Arizona lost its first three games by a combined 10 points and finally figured out that a couple of defensive stops can be enough to win a game. There is no question the Rattlers will move the ball versus a Brigade defense that lacks big playmaking capabilities, is prone to penalties and turns over the ball too much. Kansas City QB Raymond Philyaw can get hot, and this Brigade team plays hard, despite its personnel deficiencies. The Brigade also are not afraid to run the ball to slow down the game. Kansas City will be competitive, but Arizona is just too explosive on offense. The Rattlers will lure the Brigade into a high-scoring shootout -- and that is a style Kansas City is not equipped to play.

Orlando (2-2) at New Orleans (2-2)
Both teams are surprises heading into Week 5, but the emotions are vastly different. Orlando is disappointed to be 2-2, including two tough home losses, and is not playing as well as expected. New Orleans is pleasantly surprised to be 2-2 and as competitive as it is, considering the team started from scratch after missing last season due to Hurricane Katrina. Orlando is devastated by injuries right now and its usually potent pass rush is almost nonexistent. That's good news for the VooDoo's accurate but immobile quarterback, Andy Kelly. The VooDoo offense can put a lot of points on the board and has a real chance to exploit the Predators' defense. Look for New Orleans to play aggressive defensive schemes and harass the Orlando receivers, forcing Predators QB Shane Stafford to hold the ball, which could lead to sacks and mistakes. This looks like a high-scoring game right now and because of the Orlando injuries, the VooDoo are better equipped to win a shootout.

Austin (1-3) at Dallas (4-0)
Before the season this looked like a great rivalry in the making. Right now, though, these teams are going in opposite directions. Dallas is the class of the league with no real weaknesses and looks almost impossible to beat. Austin has been a big disappointment with sloppy play and poor defense. Even the Wranglers' much-anticipated innovative offense has stumbled. Dallas has playmakers at every position. Need proof? When WR Marcus Nash missed the Orlando game with an injury, Will Pettis stepped in and had a career night with seven touchdowns. It seems the Desperados have somebody every week to step up and make plays. They are clearly the deepest team in the league. Defensively, they match up very well in the secondary and that leads to coverage sacks as opposing quarterbacks tend to hold on to the ball too long because the receivers can't get separation. That is not good news for young Austin QB Adrian McPherson, who is struggling right now with his decision-making. Dallas' pass rush and the way it changes coverage schemes likely will give him fits. The Desperados' offense has been almost perfect in pass protection and although Austin has a decent defensive front five, it is unlikely to get to Dallas QB Clint Dolezel. Dallas is too focused and mature to get caught in a letdown game.

Tampa Bay (0-4) at San Jose (1-2)
The only winless team in the league, Tampa Bay is not as bad as its record indicates. But then again, neither is San Jose. Both teams have potentially explosive passing games with capable quarterbacks and deep receiving corps, but something is missing. Neither offense converts well enough on third down or makes enough plays in key situations. Defensively, it's the same story -- neither team makes enough big stops, but both have decent defensive personnel. Tampa Bay has two quality pass-rushers in DEs Mark Word and Tom Briggs, but they don't create enough pressure to protect a vulnerable secondary. San Jose does not apply a lot of pass-rush pressure, either, but it does have quality players in the secondary. Look for both offenses to move the ball through the air. This game will come down to which quarterback has the best pass protection. Expect San Jose to play better at home.

Philadelphia (3-0) at New York (1-2)
The Soul might be the hottest team in the AFL right now, but they face a Dragons club that shocked Tampa Bay in a gritty road win last week. Philadelphia QB Tony Graziani played his best game versus Colorado, with eight touchdown passes, no interceptions and a sparkling 140.0 passer rating. New York QB Rohan Davey also is coming off his finest game after throwing six touchdowns. However, this is a complete Soul team. Not only do they dominate in the trenches, but they also are very good at pulling away from teams in the second half after wearing them down. The Dragons have a good set of receivers in Mike Horacek, Kevin Swayne and Chris Anthony, but can Davey get them the ball two weeks in a row? Philadelphia likely will match up its best defensive back, CB Eddie Moten, on Horacek, and DBs Mike Brown and Johnnie Harris also can match up well in man-to-man situations. To stay in this game, the Dragons' offensive line must protect Davey and he must play a perfect game, with no mistakes and turnovers. Philadelphia can turn a game around quickly with big defensive plays. The Soul are a little banged up at receiver, and if New York can shut down WR Charles Pauley (11 catches for 203 yards and four TDs last week), it can stay competitive. But Philadelphia is too focused and explosive right now to lose a winnable game.

Nashville (2-2) at Colorado (2-2)
Nashville coach Pat Sperduto has done a great job in the last two weeks of shuffling his lineup and making bold changes with his personnel. With a lot of early injuries, the Kats are playing nine rookies and now have a new quarterback in Jeff Smoker, who looks like the real deal. Colorado just doesn't seem to be hitting on all cylinders, and with an inconsistent quarterback in John Dutton and only one go-to receiver in Damian Harrell, there just isn't a lot of explosiveness to the offense. The Crush do have a great defensive playmaker in DB Rashad Floyd, and if Smoker gets pressured, it could lead to errant throws and big plays by Floyd. Nashville is doing a great job of slowing down the game by running the football (19 rushes last week) and Sperduto does a good job of protecting his inexperienced young players. Colorado has its back to the wall and is too experienced to let a game like this get away. The Crush will neutralize the Nashville run game, force Smoker into some mistakes and the Kats won't have a great defensive answer for Harrell.

Utah (3-1) at Las Vegas (1-3)
We know the Blaze can score as well as any team in the league, but they finally got a good effort from their underachieving defense last week, even though it was against a bad Grand Rapids offense. Utah had three tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions and forced three fumbles and recovered two of them. The Blaze also got a huge game from WR/DB Orshawante Bryant, who had six tackles and all three interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. Las Vegas got an uneven performance from QB Shaun King against Arizona, and even though he has a quality receiving trio of Joe Douglass, Thabiti Davis and Etu Molden, defenses are getting their hands up and forcing King to alter his throwing lanes. With marginal pass-rush pressure, Utah QB Joe Germaine will have a lot of time to throw and that is not good news for the Gladiators' secondary. Utah has three quality receivers in Siaha Burley, Aaron Boone and Ryan Dennard. That presents a problem because Las Vegas just does not have the depth to match up once they get past Earthwind Moreland, its best cover corner. If Utah plays with emotion on defense again, this game might not be close. The Gladiators' offense has potential explosiveness, so they always have a puncher's chance. Utah needs to tighten up its kick-return coverage, as it gave up two big returns last week. That could give Las Vegas some positive field position.

Note: An in-depth breakdown of ESPN2's Sunday's night game between Los Angeles and Chicago (ESPN2, 1:30 p.m. ET) will run Friday.

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