Originally Published: July 31, 2007
San Jose grabs top spot while Columbus lands at No. 5
San Jose is obviously the No. 1 team in the final Scouts Inc. AFL power rankings, but where will Columbus land?
(Records are from the regular season) |
1. (3) San Jose (13-3)2007 playoffs: Beat Columbus in ArenaBowl XXI. The SaberCats have won three AFL championships in the last six years and are the model for consistency and solid play. QB Mark Grieb had a spectacular year and he's surrounded by an excellent group of receivers. And quietly, San Jose's defense continues to be one of the best in the league. This is a veteran team which rarely has peaks and valleys and the SaberCats never come into a game unprepared. They will be an elite team in 2008 and they have a good chance to defend their AFL championship. |
2. (1) Dallas (15-1)2007 playoffs: Lost to Columbus in divisional round. The Desperados were clearly the best team in the league for the last two seasons, but they underachieved in the playoffs versus two inferior teams, Orlando (2006) and Columbus (2007). They still have a great nucleus of proven players and it is unlikely that they will dismantle this roster. They will go into 2008 as the team to beat. |
3. (2) Georgia (14-2)2007 playoffs: Lost to Columbus in National Conference championship. The Force were the most explosive offensive team in the AFL and the numbers that QB Chris Greisen and his talented trio of receivers put up may never be matched. The Force were shocked by Columbus in the playoffs, but are still a good team without a lot of glaring needs. They will be right in the thick of the championship race in 2008. |
4. (4) Chicago (12-4)2007 playoffs: Lost to San Jose in American Conference championship. The Rush were the best defensive team in the league, were loaded with veteran playmakers and had the AFL's most dynamic player in WR Bobby Sippio. However, they struggled at the QB position and the organization will have to decide if it thinks Matt D'Orazio can carry this offense. The Rush also need to add some complementary receivers, but they will contend for the title in 2008. |
5. (12) Columbus (7-9)2007 playoffs: Lost to San Jose in ArenaBowl XXI. The Destroyers had a magical postseason ride before they finally succumbed to a superior San Jose team in the AFL championship game. They posted road wins over Tampa Bay, Dallas and Georgia and unlike in the regular season, they played almost error-free football in the last month. They got a career year out of QB Matt Nagy and are a solid football team. They have high hopes for 2008, but do need a couple more playmakers to be among the elite teams. |
6. (6) Tampa Bay (9-7)2007 playoffs: Lost to Columbus in wild-card round. Head coach Tim Marcum did a great job of holding this team together after a disastrous 0-5 start. He had players rotating in at the QB position and a lot of age on his roster, but he kept turning over players to find the right combination. The Storm were not a high-scoring offense, but they played smart football and solid defense. There are still some older players on this roster, but with Marcum at the helm Tampa will stay competitive. |
7. (5) Kansas City (10-6)2007 playoffs: Lost to Colorado in wild-card round. This is a good football team that seemed to fly under the radar in 2007. Statistically, the Brigade were among the league leaders in rushing, passing, pass defense and scoring defense. They got a great year out of QB Raymond Philyaw, excellent production from WR Charles Frederick and their defense was probably a little bit underrated. They are one of those opponents that nobody wants to play. Kansas City may not be glamorous, but it will be solid in 2008. |
8. (7) Philadelphia (8-8)2007 playoffs: Lost to Georgia in divisional round. The Soul got off to a 4-0 start before losing QB Tony Graziani with a shoulder injury. Although they were competitive late in the season, they never really recovered from his loss. They have a strong front office and a good nucleus of players -- including a terrific defense and a good offensive line -- so there probably will not be a lot of major changes and this group will have another chance to win it all. |
9. (8) Orlando (8-8)2007 playoffs: Lost to Philadelphia in wild-card round. Jay Gruden's Predators probably feel like they underachieved in 2007. They played good defense, which is their trademark, but a lot of injuries and offensive inconsistency kept them from being an elite team. New QB Shane Stafford looked good at times, but the offense gave away too many possessions and struggled to finish games. Still, Orlando will be solid in 2008. |
10. (9) Los Angeles (9-7)2007 playoffs: Lost to Chicago in divisional round. The Avengers were a tough team to get a handle on because you never knew which team would show up. At times, the Avengers dominated on defense and adjusted their coverages better than anybody. Still, at other times they gave up big plays that didn't make sense. Offensively, it was the same thing -- flashes of brilliance, but not enough consistency. The Avengers are a good football team, but something seems to be missing which keeps them out of the elite category. |
11. (10) Utah (8-8)2007 playoffs: Lost to Los Angeles in wild-card round. This was the ultimate one-dimensional team. The Blaze were great on offense, but wildly inconsistent on defense. They got terrific production out of their passing game with the dynamic duo of QB Joe Germaine and WR Siaha Burley, but to win each week they had to put up huge numbers and be nearly perfect on offense because their defense could not make quality stops. Coach Danny White will address his defense in the offseason. |
12. (11) Colorado (8-8)2007 playoffs: Lost to San Jose in divisional round. This was a team capable of playing with anybody on a hot night, but it also looked very ordinary versus inferior teams. QB John Dutton just signed a new three-year contract, but is he a franchise QB? Colorado has a wonderful receiver in Damien Harrell, but the Crush are not explosive in the passing game and have a virtually nonexistent run game. They have playmakers, but not enough difference makers. |
13. (13) Nashville (7-9)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. Head coach Pat Sperduto played a lot of young and inexperienced players in 2007 and while it may have cost the Kats a shot at the playoffs, they are now poised to be a contender in 2008. This young and entertaining group of players is very good at running the football and controlling the pace of the game and there are enough playmakers on the both sides of the ball to be competitive. Still, Nashville is not quite an elite team. |
14. (14) New Orleans (5-11)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. At times the VooDoo looked like a team that was ready to put a winning streak together, but injuries and inconsistency at the QB position seemed to ruin any chances for success. They were vulnerable in the secondary and good pass offenses really put them into a hole. They lack great depth and explosive playmakers and will try to upgrade their roster in the offseason. |
15. (15) Arizona (4-12)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. This once-proud franchise went through a nightmare season, looking old and slow. The only guy who made the Rattlers somewhat respectable was aging veteran QB Sherdrick Bonner, who can still take over a game and put up a lot of points. The Rattlers played shaky defense with very few quality stops so, much like Utah, they had to be nearly perfect on offense to win those high-scoring games. As their record shows, that's not easy to do. |
16. (17) New York (5-11)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. The Dragons entered the season knowing they were only as good as the health of their quarterback, Aaron Garcia. When Garcia played, they were competitive. When he didn't, they had very little explosiveness. They did play hard and you got the feeling every week that they were just about ready to turn the corner but it never happened. They need an answer at the QB position and they also need to add more explosive players. |
17. (18) Grand Rapids (4-12)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. The Rampage have a lot of offseason challenges. They're looking for a new head coach as well as trying to solidify the QB position and upgrade their overall talent level. They were the worst pass offense in the league and their lack of explosive scoring put too much pressure on a defense that couldn't match up. As a result, they gave up the most touchdowns of any team in the league. There is a lot of work to be done. |
18. (16). Austin (4-12)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. They may have been the most disappointing team in the league in 2007 because we expected an innovative offense run by the athletic and mobile Adrian McPherson. Instead, what we got was an offense that was inconsistent and a QB who could run, but whose accuracy and decision-making were so bad that he was waived in the middle of the season. We kept waiting for this team to turn the corner and show improvement, but it never happened. |
19. (19) Las Vegas (2-14)2007 playoffs: Failed to make the playoffs. The Gladiators were by far the least-talented team in the AFL in 2007 and simply could not match up on a weekly basis in terms of personnel. With a lame-duck coaching staff and a severe lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball, they were rarely competitive. This is a franchise that has a lot of work to do and the Gladiators will have to be very aggressive in rebuilding this roster in the offseason. |
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