TEAMS ON THE RISE

BATTLE HAWKS & SEA DRAGONS

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN

Louie Perez new sheriff in Arlington

Who took Paul Bunyan’s ax? The Guardian Auto Re-builders pull off the biggest upset of the year.

Week 8 we are remodeling the entire house of power rankings.

It will look beautiful and ugly, but it’s week 8 XFL power rankings.

#8. ARLINGTON RENEGADES (3-4) DROPPED 2 SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

Bob Stoops’ team has stooped to a new level of the power rankings as Arlington has played poorly for weeks. The defense was the team’s staple, but teams are getting points off the Renegades defense as Seattle had 21 points in the first half last Friday. It’s the Renegades offense that’s been dormant most of the year as the team desperately is clinging to hopes that Luis Perez saves the day for this Arlington team. They hope to grab that number two playoff spot as it’s anyone’s to land. even the Guardians now have a chance. Stoops has seen just a Plitt stain behind center as the Renegades had had no answer. Drew Plitt is horrible. Kyle Sloter was just hype as he was cut. Can Perez be the fish that saved Pittsburgh for the Renegades?

I know the Renegades have won more games than the Vipers and Guardians. The Guardians offense is dealing it right now as the Renegades just look for some kind of savior.

#7. SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (2-5) DROPPED 2 SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

The Brahmas found some points from their special teams but still lost last Sunday in the X-Steeler bowl. Fred Brown has the first XFL kick off return touchdown of the season. The Brahmas offense looked good on the first drive inserting quarterback Kurt Benkert behind center who had his first touch down pass. The Brahmas defense came in allowing the fewest points in the league. The Brahmas defense is the number 1 scoring defense in the league. They also have racked up the most tackles for loss as a unit. Drew Beesley was able to record a few sacks last week versus the Vipers. The Vipers inserted their new guy behind center and were able to generate 26 points off the Brahma defense that did not look as sharp as they have been.

#6. ORLANDO GUARDIANS (1-6) MOVED UP TWO SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

I did not think the Guardians were going to get off the snide. What a way to get your first win beating the top team in the league the DC Defenders. How many times have you seen a winless team beating a undefeated team? That has to be worth at least two spots in the power rankings. The Guardians offense has been rocking the last few weeks because they have found their quarterback Quinten Dormady, who lit up the Defenders with his arm and legs as he was involved in all of the scoring last week in the upset.

Dormady had three rushing touchdowns while throwing 3 touchdown passes. Dormady’s day was electric by going 27-34 for 328 yards with three touchdown strikes dropping dimes out there in the aerial game. In 4 games, Dormady has 969 passing yards with 6 touchdown passes & only two interceptions. Orlando is alive and well to snag that number two spot in that division of all Texas teams that all are riding the struggle bus.

#5. VEGAS VIPERS (2-5) MOVED UP 2 SPOTS

Looks like the Vipers found their quarterback.

The Vipers traded the King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez, to the Renegades. The Vipers also have Brett Hundley, who has NFL experience. Door number three suddenly looks like the better option.

In Jalen McClendon’s first start as a Viper, he threw two touchdown passes with 264 passing yards and leads the team to their second victory of the year beating up on the Brahmas.

Look at the Viper running back, Rod Smith, flying over the Brahmas defender like Superman. It’s too bad the Vipers are not in the other division with all those crappy Texas teams or they would be making a run for a playoff spot. Instead to hurtle the Battlehawks, Sea Dragons, or the Defenders is a tall task.

#4. HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (4-3) SAME SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

Houston has a big problem as they have now lost three games in a row after jumping out to a 4-0 start. I have them in the same spot because they lost to a very good St. Louis team last week. The Roughnecks were playing without their number one quarterback, Brandon Silvers, who did not play versus St. Louis due to injury. Back up quarterback Cole McDonald did not do very well in his first start.

McDonald completed 15 passes out of 32 attempts at just over 100 yards with 106. McDonald threw a touchdown pass and had 1 of his passes picked off as well. McDonald has been used in extra point situations this year as Silvers has been the starter the entire year. If the Roughnecks don’t get Silvers back, this team could be on the biggest slide in the game of Chutes and ladders because their division is suddenly wide open for both spots.

#3. DC DEFENDERS (6-1) DROPPED TWO SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

When you get beat by a team with no wins, you better believe you will drop in the power rankings. The Defenders were the big dog of the XFL in this go around. Losing to the Guardians is like the Washington Generals beating the Harlem Globe Trotters.

It would have been the bet of the year to go Guardians. Like when Krusty the Clown bet on the Generals to beat the Harlem Globe Trotters, thinking they were due. The Defenders defense could not stop the Guardians quarterback’s big day. Quentin Dormady had three touchdown passes and three rushing. The Defenders offense kept up with the Guardians in this shoot out. The DC comeback came up short with a 63 yard field goal miss at the end.

Another unsung hero for the Defenders, Chris Blair, had a big game with 139 receiving yards. Lucky Jackson added another receiving touchdown. Maybe the Defenders need a scare like this to refocus and get back on track. The Defenders will need to rebound quickly because the Battle Hawks and Sea Dragons are not going away.

#2. SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS (5-2) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

Sea Dragons now have the longest winning streak in the XFL as they won 5 straight. After losing their first two games of the season in close contests, the Seattle monster is out of the water.

Ben DiNucci played for the Dallas Cowboys and still lives in the area had a nice game coming back to Texas as he beat the Renegades. DiNucci still leads the league in touchdown passes had 1 as he passed for another 266 yards which he leads the XFL with 1,771 passing yards.

Josh Gordon has been quiet the last few weeks. Gordon caught 3 balls for 43 yards and had the touchdown pass of DiNucci going up in the air, snatching the ball, and coming down with a defender draped on him while still getting the leg down in the end zone. Gordon now has 23 catches for 340 with 4 receiving touchdowns for the season.

#1. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (5-2) MOVING UP ONE SPOT

In football, the kicker of the year should be awarded the Leg Lamp trophy as this one is not the Christmas Story one but could be made with beer. St. Louis kicker Donald Hageman, is living the high life this year in the XFL. Hageman has two game ending winning field goals this season.

Now Hageman has the longest field goals in XFL history as he drilled a 59 yarder. The Battlehawks looked great once again as A.J McCarron had another big game with three touchdown passes as the Battlehawks beat up on the Roughnecks. McCarron’s second game in a row he did not throw an interception. Battlehawks receiver Darrius Shepard had a nice day with 7 catches for 70 yards with one touchdown catch. Can the Battlehawks hold on to the number one spot in the power rankings the rest of the way with 3 weeks remaining?

The Chicago Bears has been a revolving door for quarterbacks. Not just decades trying to find their next franchise quarterback that goes back to the 1940’s, when Sid Luckman was behind center. If you’re a back-up quarterback and want to actually play, the Bears are the team to sign with. Most years if you’re any quarterback, signing with the Bears was a suicide mission. Bad coaching. An offensive line that gave up for more tricks than a whorehouse giving away free ice cream. The Bears believe they finally have their franchise quarterback in Justin Fields. Fields has shown flashes of brilliance on the field, but you still have questions on his development as the team’s face of the franchise for the next ten years. Fields is a duel-threat that relies more heavily on the run than the pass because of the horrific O-line he has dealt with. Running quarterbacks have injuries and Fields in two seasons has missed some games. The Bears think they may have upgraded their backup quarterback from at least last year, which is not that hard with the signing of P.J Walker. He came out of the XFL reboot in 2020 and has been the back up for the Panthers the last three seasons.

P.J Walker was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an un-drafted free agent in 2017. Walker never took a snap for the Colts and improved his craft with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2020. The XFL reboot only lasted 5 weeks as the league was shut down from the pandemic and the league cancelled the remainder of the season. In those 5 weeks, Walker had the Roughnecks perfect 5-0 as the starter behind center. Walker by far was the best quarterback in the XFL, in which he led the league in passing. The Carolina Panthers signed Walker in 2020 as he made the team and played well as the backup quarterback, as he even started one game and won it. Last year, Walker filled in for Sam Darnold and made 5 starts, & won 2 of them as he completed 59.4% of his passes for 731 yards with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. In three seasons, Walker has made 7 starts in which he has 4-3 record. At 28 years old with 3 seasons behind center in the NFL all with the Panthers Walker has played in 15 games and has 1.461 passing yards with 5 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

Last year, the Bears had two veteran quarterbacks in Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman. Peterman is a train wreck that I can’t believe is still in the league playing quarterback – a guy that should be washing cars or playing in the XFL or USFL to prove his worth. Last year for the Bears, Peterman started 1 game and completed 56% of his passes for 139 yards with 1 touchdown pass and he only threw one interception in a Chicago loss. Peterman started his career with the Bills & threw 5 interceptions in one game versus the Chargers. Peterman is all-time 1-4 as a starter and has 4 touchdown passes with 13 interceptions. Now Trevor Siemian had a good season filling in at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in 2021 when he threw 11 touchdowns with 3 interceptions but lost all 4 starts. Last year in one start, Siemian did better than Peterman as he completed 57.7% of his passes with 1 touchdown pass and 1 interception. Siemian was a failed draft pick for the Broncos and has a career record behind center in six seasons in the NFL of 13-17 with 42 touchdown passes and 28 interceptions.

P.J Walker gets a two year deal to back up Justin Fields. The pro of this signing is Walker played with D.J Moore in Carolina, who then was the Panthers leading receiver for the last few years. Moore came to Chicago in a trade that involved the Bears’ first round draft pick several weeks ago. Walker and Trevor Siemian have numbers that are similar behind center. The Bears will be going younger with Walker and not electing to re-sign Siemian. Walker has more mobility than Siemian even though the Bears have improved their offensive line this off-season and fans hope they get additional help through the draft. Walker can throw the ball down the field and hit guys in stride instead of living off the short passing game. Walker can make mistakes but is not scared to hit the big play. With Fields’ injury history, which could be just because of the bad offensive line he has played behind since arriving from Ohio State. I like Walker filling in a few games feeling confident that he could win a few of those contests if Fields gets an injury. We have heard from the Bears brass about the great work ethic Justin fields has and how hard he works to improve his own game. It can’t hurt to have a guy like Walker who has come from a galaxy far far away to just be in the NFL. Not everyone can play quarterback in a Spring football league & then start a game in the NFL and win. Walker combined for the Roughnecks and Panthers in 2020 during a pandemic was 6-0 as a starting quarterback in two leagues. Both Fields and Walker could improve each other’s games with the way they prepare and how they elevate their own game. I like the quarterback room. I would still like to see the Bears draft another quarterback later in this April’s draft. A rookie quarterback could really Walk the Field with the knowledge they can soak in with these two.

Will any of the XFL fan bases ever be be compared to the Charlestown Chiefs boosters following their team on the road? Maybe in the playoffs Battlehawk fans will travel in bus loads to another team’s stadium. Speaking of the Battlehawks they are on the rise in this week’s version of the XFL power Rankings. Can the Beer Snake of DC travel with the team on the road? The Bookends of the power rankings remain the same DC on top of the mountain and you know who is at the bottom of the barrel. I will not take the rest of the surprises away from you as we roll out week 7 of the XFL still going from worst to first.

#8. ORLANDO GUARDIANS (0-6) SAME SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Guardians record stays perfect through the first 6 weeks of the XFL season. Actually in the loss, the Guardians played better than the Vipers (another bad team in the league if that is any bright spot.) The Guardians have a former Bear calling the offensive plays for them. Shane Matthews was one of the better Bears options at the quarterback position over several decades since the 1940’s, which may not be saying much.

Matthews looked like he took over the offense now calling the plays as he came in as a quarterbacks coach for the Guardians. Matthews may have found a running back as Devin Darrington had a 43 yard rushing touchdown for the Guardians.

The Darrington touchdown made things close with Seattle in the third quarter. It was an Orlando home game in front of the few people that showed the Guardians call the home faithful. It’s hard to root for a bad team as the Guardians once again with multiple stupid penalties with one that wiped off a touchdown off the board.

#7. VEGAS VIPERS (1-5) SAME SPOT AS LAST WEEK

How would the Vipers respond after getting their first victory? Not good as they laid a clunker at home only scoring 6 points off the Battlehawks defense. The Vipers offense was shut out the first three quarters of the game. Luis Perez was not King of the Spring Fling behind center. The Vipers finally got on the score board with Brett Hundley, who has been hobbled by an leg injury, replaced Perez and threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to running back John Lovett.

Lovett, Lovitz same result for the desert snakes as they were steam rolled by the Battlehawks.

#6. ARLINGTON RENEGADES (3-3) DROPPED ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Renegades failed to convert the sweep over their arch rival in back to back games versus the San Antonio Brahmas. The Renegades went back with their original starting quarterback Drew Plitt in a game where Arlington muster up 9 points. Plitt was sacked three times and is a turn over machine as he fumbled and threw an interception. Plitt has 4 interceptions in 4 games. The Renegades even tried another quarterback who has thrown 5 passes and completed one of those. The Renegades cut Kyle Sloter who was one of the better quarterbacks in the USFL last spring. Could Sloter find another job back in the USFL which will be starting up in the next two weeks. The Renegades, desperate for someone behind center, made a trade with the Vipers and land the King of the Spring Fling.

Luis Perez is heading to Arlington. Another city & another Spring jersey Perez can add to his football closet.

#5. SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (2-4) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

San Antonio’s season remains alive with a win over the Renegades last week. If Renegades would have swept the Brahmas, Hines Ward and this San Antonio team would have slim chances to get to the post-season. The Brahmas play the Vipers this weekend and have a chance to establish a winning streak as they have never won more than one game in a row. Brahmas offense has been in a major slump since that victory against the very bad Guardian team. Brahmas only scored 15 points in the win last week. Which the defense, the bright spot for the Brahmas, forced a fumble as Linebacker Jordan Williams scooped up the ball and ran it in for a score.

Williams is number two in the XFL in tackles made. How can Hines Ward get his dormant offense awakened? Perhaps he has to suit up.

Ward can be the very first player coach of the XFL.

#4. HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (4-2) DROPPED ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Roughnecks season has suddenly gone Ivan Drago.

The Roughnecks were 4-0 and in cruise control. Then Seattle landed that punch that caused that oil gasket to erupt like Rocky Balboa getting that first punch to make Drago bleed. It went down hill from there. The Roughnecks in the first ever Monday night game of the XFL versus the Defenders now take another loss in back to back weeks. The Roughnecks put up a good fight against the Defenders but unlike Wade Phillip’s teams were called for 12 penalties. Max Borghi had a pair of rushing touchdowns to give him 4 for the year. Back up quarterback out of Hawaii University, Cole McDonald, had an 85 yard pass strike to wide receiver Deontay Burnett.

The Defenders were too much for the Roughnecks to handle. Not a very easy task as the Roughnecks will square off against a talented St. Louis team.

#3. SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS (4-2) DROPPED ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

I know the Sea Dragons have won 4 games in a row. Last week the Guardians, XFL’s worst team, hung with this Seattle team most of the game. The way St. Louis played, they dominated a bad team in the Vipers. It starts with Seattle’s quarterback Ben DiNucci who went 18-35 which is right around 50% completion of his passes. DiNucci for the season so far has completed 64.2 % of his passes. DiNucci is the top quarterback in the XFL but still makes too many mistakes as the interceptions is catching up to his touchdown passes. The Sea Dragons could have just fell victim too, even though they still won playing to the competition. The Guardians probably do make a nice sparring partner when they appear on the schedule. The Sea Dragons special teams may be one of the best units in the league.

Two weeks in a row the Sea Dragons special teams have blocked punts. Last week versus the Guardians the punt set up a much needed score for the Sea Dragons which Alijah Holder got the credit for, getting behind enemy lines.

#2. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (4-2) MOVED UP TWO SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

The Battlehawks after losing to the Defenders for the second time this season, and at home, took a road trip to Vegas. The Battlehawks have done great as road warriors this season as they made snake meat out of the Vipers.

Do you know what Battlehawks eat? Snakes on the barbie. The Battlehawks defense shut down Luis Perez and the Vipers offense for the first three quarters of the game. The Battlehawks had 4 sacks and six tackles for a loss as the blue, white, and silver swarmed the men in black.

Defensive back Lavert Hill had a big day versus the Vipers with two interceptions. A.J McCarron did his thing with 235 passing yards. Darius Sheperd was part of the McCarron’s thing as the wide receiver had two touchdown catches and hauled in a 2 point conversion pass. Could third time be the charm for the Battlehawks if they met the Defenders in the playoffs?

#1. DC DEFENDERS (6-0) SAME SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Defenders are holding the number one spot like the Pope at the Vatican. The Defenders gave the Roughnecks their second consecutive loss and remain undefeated this season in the XFL. The Defenders are the only undefeated team in the XFL. It seems like the Defenders have a new unsung hero every week. Who is Lucky Jackson? Any dog named Lucky is a three legged dog.

Lucky Jackson had a monster day under the lights on Monday night with 5 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown pass. One of the Defenders dueling quarterbacks had his best game of the season. Jordan Ta’amu was dealing completing 19-31 through the air with two touchdown tosses one to Lucky for a total of 245 passing yards. The Defenders put 37 points on the board against one of the better defensive units in the league that Houston brings to the table. The Defenders run game wore out the Roughnecks as the offense converted 27 first downs the most in one game by any team in the XFL. I don’t know what team can beat the Defenders. This weekend it could be a blood bath as the Defenders playing a Guardian squad that have the perfect record too but going the wrong way.