Football in February is fine by me. Especially this weekend with the dullness of the all-star festivities of the NBA. This is our first ever AAF power rankings. I can honestly say we did not pick the order out of a hat. I will admit we might have had too many beers. Which is a good thing. Don’t know all the  players’ names in the first week of this new league. We may only recognize helmets for quite awhile. I promise you we will not learn everyone’s name. I do promise you an entertaining read when it comes to our power rankings. We will not hold back in weeks to come. I think we will be on our best behavior in week one.

#1.ORLANDO APOLLOS (1-0)        

It was show time for the Apollos in week one as they put up a 40 burger on the legends.  Head coach Steve Spurrier, known for his razzle and dazzle play calling, as the Apollos did that with the Philly special. The two X factors that I can say about Stev Spurrier. The first, coaching in Florida he wins down there. One of the best college coaches of all-time. Many years of success coaching the Florida Gators. Then, in new leagues like the AAF, he does very well. He did very well in the USFL in the early 1980’s. The USFL was his first head coaching job. He coached the Tampa Bay Bandits and went 35-21with them until the league folded. Put Steve Spurrier in Florida and good things will happen. Apollos, I have a feeling, will be one of the top teams in the league this season.

#2. ARIZONA HOT SHOTS (1-0) The Hot Shots look like one of the best teams in the league as they might have the best quarterback in the entire league, John Wolford, who was throwing darts all over the field. They put up 38 points. The defense looked solid with guys like Will Sutton clogging the middle. Former Arizona State and former Chicago Bear. The Hot shot defense has some pretty good NFL talent on that unit, if they hold up all year this team could be a contender. Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Chiefs have the tomahawk chop. Hot Shots have two axes on their helmet. A few fans had the look of the chopping wood style of the tomahawk chop.

#3. BIRMINGHAM IRON (1-0) Iron have Trent Richardson reborn. At least for game one. He had a big day with a few touchdowns, running through people like he was a snow plow and defenders were zombies. He had a powerful spike after one of touchdowns. The ball went into the seats. Lots of emotions pimped up. Iron has a quarterback I thought had a whale of a ball game. Luis Perez was zipping the ball down the field, moving the chains. He has an interesting back story. Never played high school football. They say he is a better bowler than a football player. Perhaps the next Bo Jackson. Kyler Murray seems to be wanting to do only football as he walks away from baseball. Iron defense looked solid. This might be one of those teams that have a chance to get to the playoffs from a good start.

#4. SAN ANTONIO COMMANDERS (1-0) Defense they have. They are the team that rang the bell of San Diego Fleets quarterback, Mike Bercovici. The biggest hit in week one. They forced a lot of turn-overs as well. Probably should have won the game by a bigger margin. Either their offense needs to get better, or is the Fleet defense stronger than we think?  Good to see football in the Alamo dome. A place they built because they thought football would come to them. Field of Dreams is what they were watching when they made their decision to build the Alamo dome. Only time they get professional football is if New Orleans has a hurricane.

#5.SALT LAKE CITY STALLIONS (0-1) Stallions have a lot of good things going on even though they lost.  I think this team has enough talent to be in the top tier. They played a good team in Arizona. The managed to score 22 points against a pretty good defense. They have a running back with some NFL experience in Matt Asiata. The former Viking knows how to get in the end zone. He did score a touchdown in his first AAF game. Overall he had a good game.  I like the former Northern Iowa defensive end, Karter Schult, who put some nice pressure on the Hot Shot quarterback. I see the Stallions getting their first win, sooner rather than later.

#6.SAN DIEGO FLEET (0-1) Best uniforms in the league. The Fleet looked like they have a pretty good defense that kept them in their first game last weekend. Is Mike Martz’s offense just too difficult to run? All the teams only had a month to get ready for the season. You have to get into game shape. Plus a playbook. A difficult playbook by Martz can take a very long time to get everyone on the same page. Looked like Martz did not like his first quarterback, Mike Bercovici, who got his bell run in the first half of the game. Originally the Fleet had Josh Johnson, however the  Redskins took him away late in the NFL season. He took Bercovici out and the second guy did not do well. Then he put Bercovici back in.  Rotating quarterbacks in week one. Maybe they can split time, one QB remembers half of the difficult play book while the other remembers the other half.

#7.MEMPHIS EXPRESS (0-1) If you asked any player from the 1985 Bears, they probably would say, “We did not need no stinking offense to win games. Yes, we were that good on the defensive side of the ball.” Mike Singletary, Hall of Fame linebacker from the ’85 Bears, is head coach of the Express. They have a pretty good defense. Offense is what is going to kill this team. Like so many Bears teams, same thing, shot themselves in the foot with the lack of. I feel bad for the Jets who drafted this kid, Christian Hackenberg. Or it explains the New York Jets’ failures better from drafting Hackenberg. His footwork is messy. Panics in the pocket. Takes too long to make a decision. Not very accurate.

#8. ATLANTA LEGENDS (0-1)

The Legends, are not quite so legen-Dary and we will have to WAIT  for it after being destroyed in their first game ever. This team is in disarray. Brad Childress, original head coach of the team, jumped ship before the season started. Perhaps the Legends are destined to hit an iceberg. Offensive coordinator, Mike Vick, had his other job came calling, he jumps ship to resume his dog walking duties.