Originally Published: May 13, 2008
Dallas takes over the top spot as Philly slides to third
There's a new No. 1 in Power Rankings.
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.Dallas Desperados (9-1) | Previous: 2 | Week 11: Beat Grand Rapids 65-54 | Next: Arizona QB Clint Dolezel made professional football history by throwing his 900th touchdown pass in a win over the Rampage, who can be explosive when they're on and made this game very competitive. The Desperados played their usual strong defense with three sacks and two tackles for loss.
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2. Chicago Rush (8-2) | Previous: 3 | Week 11: Bye | Next: vs. Los Angeles
A tired Rush team enjoyed a well-deserved week off. Even though they are not playing their best yet, they have a huge lead in their division and will be ready at playoff time. This is a complete team when it is clicking.
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3. Philadelphia Soul (9-2) | Previous: 1 | Week 11: Lost to Georgia 63-62 | Next: vs. Columbus The Soul were shocked on the road for the second week in a row. After suffering numerous injuries, their patchwork defense gave up the 22 points in the final three minutes. It struggled to stop the Georgia passing game and short-yardage run game, which produced four TDs.
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4. New Orleans VooDoo (7-4) | Previous: 4 | Week 11: Lost to Tampa Bay 41-37 | Next: Bye The usually explosive VooDoo offense could not make enough big plays versus a normally mediocre Tampa Bay defense. QB Danny Wimprine struggled and the big-play New Orleans defense could not come up with a sack or interception in a disappointing loss.
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5. Orlando Predators (7-4) | Previous: 5 | Week 11: Lost to Cleveland 62-43 | Next: at Kansas City QB Shane Stafford played a solid game (six TDs, no INTs), but his defense didn't have an answer for Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw, who was threw seven TD passes to six different players.
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6. New York Dragons (6-4) | Previous: 6 | Week 11: Beat L.A. 52-48 | Next: vs. Georgia The streaking Dragons pulled out an exciting road win at Los Angeles in the last minute. They did it with a solid game from QB Aaron Garcia and an aggressive defensive effort that created two sacks, three tackles for loss and three interceptions.
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7. Cleveland Gladiators (6-4) | Previous: 7 | Week 11: Beat Orlando 62-43 | Next: at Colorado The Gladiators continue to be tough to beat at home and got a solid effort by QB Raymond Philyaw against a good Orlando defense. Defensively, Cleveland played a solid game and didn't give up many big plays. This was a very steady performance.
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8. San Jose SaberCats (6-5) | Previous: 9 | Week 11: Beat Arizona 63-42 | Next: vs. Utah QB Mark Grieb finally played a near-perfect game with eight TD passes, no interceptions and led the SaberCats to scores on all nine of their offensive possessions. This was a big division win.
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9. Georgia Force (5-5) | Previous: 8 | Week 11: Beat Philadelphia 63-62 | Next: at New York The Force scored the final 22 points of the game in the last three minutes to shock Philadelphia. Their passing game was crisp, they held former Force WR Chris Jackson scoreless, and the defense came up with two sacks and three tackles for loss versus an excellent Soul offensive line.
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10. Tampa Bay Storm (4-6) | Previous Rank: 12 | Week 11: Beat N.O. 41-37 | Next: at Grand Rapids In a defensive-oriented game, the Storm came up with a solid effort versus the usually explosive VooDoo offense. Plus, they did it with two big defensive stops, which has not been their fort&#eacute;. The Storm also got a solid effort from QB Brett Dietz, who played a very clean game.
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11. Colorado Crush (4-6) | Previous: 10 | Week 11: Lost to Utah 71-36 | Next: vs. Cleveland The up-and-down Crush did not seem ready to play the improving Blaze. Colorado's offense could not make plays versus a usually mediocre Utah defense and John Dutton and Co. never got untracked.
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12. Arizona Rattlers (4-6) | Previous: 13 | Week 11: Lost to San Jose 63-42 | Next: at Dallas The Rattlers' defense could not make any key defensive stops as San Jose scored on all nine of their possessions. To make matters worse, QB Lang Campbell was knocked out of the game early with a knee injury and Arizona's offense never really got going.
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13. Utah Blaze (2-9) | Previous: 16 | Week 11: Beat Colorado 71-36 | Next: at San Jose The Blaze always play good offense, but they finally put an excellent defensive effort together and it led them to a dominating win. QB Joe Germaine played a mistake-free game and the Utah defense created turnovers and made key defensive stops.
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14.Los Angeles Avengers (4-7) | Previous: 11 | Week 11: Lost to New York 52-48 | Next: at Chicago The Avengers let this game slip away in the fourth quarter as they could not stop New York QB Aaron Garcia and New York's explosive pass offense. L.A. struggled with an opportunistic Dragons defense that recorded two sacks, three tackles for loss and three big interceptions.
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15. Grand Rapids Rampage (3-7) | Previous: 14 | Week 11: Lost to Dallas 65-54 | Next: vs. Tampa Bay The Rampage played a solid game versus a superior team, but could not get anything done on defense (no sacks, no tackles for loss and no interceptions). The other problem was the Rampage's offense had trouble containing the aggressive Dallas pass rush.
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16. Kansas City Brigade (2-8) | Previous: 17 | Week 11: Beat Columbus 59-43 | Next: vs. Orlando QB D. Bryant is starting to settle in and has now gone two games without throwing an interception. He is doing a nice job of spreading the ball around and his defense helped him out with two interceptions, two sacks, and three tackles for loss.
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17. Columbus Destroyers (2-8) | Previous: 15 | Week 11: Lost to K.C. 59-43 | Next: at Philadelphia QB Matt Nagy was under a lot of pressure all game and Columbus' defense could not create any pressure or big plays versus a Kansas City offense that normally struggles.
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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.
