Originally Published: March 4, 2008
Rush takes over top spot in Power Rankings
After a convincing win over defending champion San Jose, Chicago takes over the top spot in this week's Power Rankings.
Who's the best team in the AFL? Scouts Inc.'s Gary Horton has watched all the film and ranks every team, 1 through 17.
1. Chicago Rush (1-0) | Previous: 3 | Week 1: Beat San Jose 70-47 | Week 2: vs. Philadelphia The Rush were in playoff form in Week 1 and appear to have no glaring weaknesses. They made big plays on both sides of the ball, dominated in the trenches and forced five San Jose turnovers. They dictated matchups all night.
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2. Philadelphia Soul (1-0) | Previous: 4 | Week 1: Beat Orlando 77-56 | Week 2: at Chicago QB Tony Graziani was almost flawless with nine TD passes against a Predators defense that did not play up to expectations. New WR Chris Jackson was a hit, catching four TD passes. The Soul also played well on special teams and on top of that, controlled field position.
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3. Dallas Desperados (1-0) | Previous: 1 | Week 1: Beat Georgia 51-41 | Week 2: vs. Columbus QB Clint Dolezel was off to a great start with seven TD passes, but then suffered a separated shoulder that will likely put him out 4-6 weeks. It was not a real crisp game for the Desperados as their defense looked great early, but struggled late. The pass protection must also improve when Dallas plays with backup QB Chris Sanders for the next month or so.
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4. Tampa Bay Storm (1-0) | Previous: 5 | Week 1: Beat Kansas City 51-49 | Week 2: vs. Georgia The Storm did not play a great game, especially on third down conversions. QB Brett Dietz did not put up huge numbers, but the run game in the red zone produced four Torrance Marshall TDs and LB Marvin Brown had two key interceptions to seal a tough road win.
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5. Los Angeles Avengers (1-0) | Previous: 6 | Week 1: Beat New Orleans 59-42 | Week 2: at Arizona QB Sonny Cumbie threw seven TD passes against an overmatched New Orleans defense. Newly acquired free agent Timon Marshall had a solid opening game, with nine catches and three TDs, while the Avengers' defense picked off three passes.
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6. San Jose SaberCats (0-1) | Previous: 2 | Week 1: Lost to Chicago 70-47 | Week 2: at Grand Rapids You cannot turn the ball over and make mistakes against a team like Chicago and that's what the SaberCats did. They practically beat themselves. They allowed Chicago to produce five takeaways, which led to 35 points, and that won't win any games.
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7. Georgia Force (0-1) | Previous: 7 | Week 1: Lost to Dallas 51-41 | Week 2: at Tampa Bay The Force hung in a game that they shouldn't have been in. While they got solid production out of QB Chris Greisen and WR Troy Bergeron, they couldn't make enough defensive stops and couldn't convert on third down to win. Still, the Force played hard and aggressive.
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8. Cleveland Gladiators (1-0) | Previous: 13 | Week 1: Beat New York 61-49 | Week 2: vs. Utah The Gladiators got off to a great start at home with a solid outing by QB Raymond Philyaw (240 yards and five TDs), but the defense was the star, producing four sacks, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and three forced fumbles in front of a sellout crowd.
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9. Colorado Crush (1-0) | Previous: 10 | Week 1: Beat Columbus 50-47 | Week 2: Bye QB John Dutton did a nice job of spreading the ball to his trio of receivers -- Ben Nelson, Brad Pyatt and Willie Quinnie -- and the Crush defense made some key stops. The new, versatile passing game seems to have everybody excited about the 2008 season.
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10. Arizona Rattlers (1-0) | Previous Rank: 15 | Week 1: Beat Utah 63-62 | Week 2: vs. Los Angeles QB Lang Campbell had a great debut in his first start for the Rattlers, throwing for 319 yards and eight TD passes. While this young team has some turnovers and penalties, they stayed competitive and played a great offensive game -- even without WR Siaha Burley.
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11. Orlando Predators (0-1) | Previous: 8 | Week 1: Lost to Philly 77-56 | Week 2: at New Orleans QB Shane Stafford played a solid game with eight TD passes and the Predators controlled the clock, but they could not make enough key defensive stops or win the field position battle. The usually good Orlando defense must play better.
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12. Columbus Destroyers (0-1) | Previous: 12 | Week 1: Lost to Colorado 50-47 | Week 2: at Dallas QB Matt Nagy played a solid, but not spectacular game, throwing for 225 yards and four TDs, but he needs to develop other targets besides WR Derek Lee (11 catches and three TDs). The Brigade secondary struggled in coverage versus the Crush receivers.
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13. Kansas City Brigade (0-1) | Previous: 9 | Week 1: Lost to Tampa Bay 51-49 | Week 2: at New York QB John Fitzgerald played fairly well after a year off, throwing five TDs and he really connected well with AFL veteran WR Mike Horacek (149 yards and three TDs), but he also threw two costly interceptions. The Brigade missed a game-winning FG late in a tough home loss.
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14. Utah Blaze (0-1) | Previous: 11 | Week 1: Lost to Arizona 63-62 | Week 2: at Cleveland The Blaze were supposed to be improved on defense in 2008, but it didn't look like it versus a young Arizona offense that converted on third downs and in the red zone to produce 320 yards of offense. Still, Utah had a chance to win, but missed a FG at the end of the game.
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15. New Orleans VooDoo (0-1) | Previous: 17 | Week 1: Lost to Los Angeles 59-42 | Week 2: vs. Orlando The VooDoo defense couldn't make quality defensive stops when they had to and Los Angeles QB Sonny Cumbie picked them apart with seven TD tosses. New Orleans QB Steve Bellisari had an uneven game with three TD passes, but also three picks.
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16. New York Dragons (0-1) | Previous: 14 | Week 1: Lost to Cleveland 61-49 | Week 2: vs. Kansas City QB Aaron Garcia was knocked out of the game in the second quarter (knee) and backup Rohan Davey did a decent job, throwing five TD passes, but he could not overcome an aggressive Cleveland defense and pass rush that knocked him down four times.
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17. Grand Rapids Rampage (0-0) | Previous: 16 | Week 1: Bye | Week 2: vs. San Jose The Rampage have the disadvantage of getting their bye at the beginning of the season. This is a young team with a new coach and they need all the snaps they can get. Opening in Week 2 versus San Jose, who is coming off a loss, is not an ideal situation.
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Gary Horton, a pro scout for Scouts Inc., has been a football talent evaluator for more than 30 years. He spent 10 years in the NFL and 10 years at the college level before launching a private scouting firm called The War Room.
