Originally Published: April 22, 2008
Philadelphia, Dallas are 1-2 as they prepare to play each other
Philly and Dallas stay undefeated and hang on to the top two spots.
Who's the best team in the AFL? Scouts Inc.'s Gary Horton has watched all the film and ranks every team, Nos. 1 through 17.
1. Philadelphia Soul (8-0) | Previous: 1 | Week 8: Beat Columbus 76-55 | Next: vs. Dallas When QB Tony Graziani was injured in the second quarter, backup Matt D’Orazio did what he always does -- come in and win. He was nearly perfect in his decision making in the win over Columbus and helped set up the game that everybody wants to see: undefeated Dallas at undefeated Philadelphia.
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2. Dallas Desperados (7-0) | Previous: 2 | Week 8: Bye | Next: at Dallas
The Desperados are coming off a needed bye week. This gave them an extra week to not only rest, but also prepare for their biggest test of the year when they visit 8-0 Philly. The Desperados are a complete team with no real weaknesses.
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3. Chicago Rush (6-2) | Previous: 3 | Week 8: Beat Grand Rapids 55-52 | Next: at Colorado After easily beating Grand Rapids on the road earlier in the season, this looked like an easy game for the Rush. It was anything but. The Rush had to make a couple of great defensive plays and receive a huge game by WR Donovan Morgan to hold of the pesky Rampage.
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4. New Orleans VooDoo (6-2) | Previous: 4 | Week 8: Beat Arizona 60-36 | Next: vs. Utah The VooDoo jumped out to an early 17-0 lead and cruised to a fairly easy road win to remain hot in the playoff race. QB Danny Wimprine hooked up with WR James Jordan to provide most of the offensive punch and the five interceptions by the defense didn’t hurt.
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5. Orlando Predators (6-2) | Previous: 5 | Week 8: Beat Georgia 65-62 | Next: vs. Tampa Bay The Predators continue to play in a lot of close games, but they are finding ways to win and this time did it with a TD pass from QB Shane Stafford to WR Chas Gessner with five seconds left. With a six-game winning streak, they're one of the hottest teams in the league.
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6. San Jose SaberCats (4-4) | Previous: 7 | Week 8: Beat Utah 61-40 | Next: vs. Los Angeles The SaberCats’ defense came up big against a good Utah offense. It produced three fumble recoveries, two sacks, an interception and never let the Blaze get into the game. QB Mark Grieb had a solid game and head coach Darron Arbet recorded his 100th win.
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7. New York Dragons (4-4) | Previous: 11 | Week 8: Beat Tampa Bay 66-47 | Next: vs. Cleveland The Dragons are all of a sudden a hot team with three straight wins and they embarrassed slumping Tampa Bay. They scored on every offensive drive and did it on the road. QB Aaron Garcia was great and defensively, they registered two sacks, two interceptions, three tackles for loss and constantly pressured Storm QB Shane Stafford.
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8. Cleveland Gladiators (4-3) | Previous: 10 | Week 8: Beat L.A. 83-69 | Next: at New York The Gladiators snapped a three-game losing streak and did it with an offense that was really in sync. QB Raymond Philyaw was hot, WR Otis Amey had six TDs, and FB Marlion Jackson rushed for three TDs in a great offensive effort.
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9. Georgia Force (3-4) | Previous: 6 | Week 8: Lost to Orlando 65-62 | Next: at Arizona The Force lost a heartbreaker to division-rival Orlando on a last-second TD pass. While they played well offensively, they couldn’t stop the Orlando passing attack -- especially the screen game, which accounted for 81 yards and two TDs.
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10. Colorado Crush (3-4) | Previous Rank: 8 | Week 8: Lost to Kansas City 55-53 | Next: vs. Chicago. The Crush lost a game that they needed to -- and should have -- won. QB John Dutton was harassed by the Brigade defense and threw two costly interceptions. Colorado just couldn’t make key plays on either side of the ball.
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11. Tampa Bay Storm (2-5) | Previous: 13 | Week 8: Lost to New York 66-57 | Next: at Orlando The Storm are fading fast and were dominated at home by the Dragons. The defense could not stop QB Aaron Garcia and the offense could not protect QB Shane Stafford, who was sacked twice, had three tackles for loss and threw two interceptions.
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12. Los Angeles Avengers (3-5) | Previous: 12 | Week 8: Lost to Cleveland 83-69 | Next: at San Jose The Avengers' defense was embarrassed by a Gladiators offense that put up 411 passing yards and nine TDs and three rushing TDs. L.A. also gave up four sacks and four tackles for loss and couldn’t make a key play on either side of the ball when it needed one.
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13. Arizona Rattlers (3-4) | Previous: 9 | Week 8: Lost to New Orleans 60-36 | Next: vs. Georgia The Rattlers offense ran into a VooDoo defense that was aggressive and smart. They intercepted five Arizona passes in a game that QB Lang Campbell would like to have back. This game was virtually over at halftime and 14 penalties didn’t help either.
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14. Columbus Destroyers (2-6) | Previous: 15 | Week 8: Lost to Philadelphia 76-55 | Next: Bye The Destroyers made it interesting early versus Philadelphia with a strong game from QB Matt Nagy, but they couldn’t keep pace in the second half versus a hot Matt D’Orazio and a Soul defense that attacked the ball and broke up seven passes.
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| 15. Grand Rapids Rampage (2-5) | Previous: 14 | Week 8: Lost to Chicago 55-52 | Next: vs. Kansas City The Rampage played a strong game versus a superior opponent on the road and just came up short. A couple of Rush interceptions stopped the Rampage offense and they just couldn’t get a key big play in the fourth quarter.
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16. Kansas City Brigade (1-6) | Previous: 16 | Week 8: Beat Colorado 55-53 | Next: at Grand Rapids The Brigade finally got into the win column with a good game by WR Mike Horacek, a big kick return by Will Holder, and solid improvement by QB D. Bryant, who did a nice job of reading the Crush defense and spreading the ball around.
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17. Utah Blaze (0-8) | Previous: 17 | Week 8: Lost to San Jose 61-40 | Next: at New Orleans The most prolific offense in the league was held to a season-low point total as the San Jose defense dominated the Blaze with three fumble recoveries, two sacks and an interception. Utah only scored 13 points in the second half and had 212 yards of total offense. That's not good when you can’t play defense either.
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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.
