Fantasy Matchups for Week 1
by Scott Lange
Howdy, folks, and welcome to my League Preview. Each week I will give my analysis and predictions on how the games will play out, highlighting which teams and players will shine.
So without further delay, this is how things will shape up this week in the AFL.
2006 Record: 51-30
COLUMBUS AT NASHVILLE
The Columbus Destroyers will get a chance Thursday night to showcase their new talent signed during the off-season. The Destroyers acquired QB Matt Nagy, OS Damien Groce, WR Tony Locke and WR Josh Bush to revamp the Columbus offense. Nashville was not as busy during the off-season, but they did sign former Dallas Desperado, WR Jason Shelley. Shelly is an instant upgrade at the receiver position for the Kats and will have to develop some quick chemistry with QB Clint Stoerner to keep up with the potentially high-scoring folks from Columbus. Alongside Shelley will be second year OS Alonzo Nix. The key to this game for the Kats though will be the Kats defense. DS "Monty" Montgomery will by trying to harass the Destroyer WRs and force some turnovers. Great defense and a power running game with FB Dan Alexander could be the formula to beat this Columbus team. This game will be closer than people think, and the Arena Guru predicts his first upset of the year as Nashville gets a late turnover to seal the victory. I expect Nagy to come on firing on all cylinders, mainly to Groce. Nagy should be able to go for 250+ yards and 5 TDs while I see Groce going over 100 yards and hitting paydirt twice. Meanwhile, I see the Kats getting Jason Shelly involved to the tune of 100+ yards and a TD. Dan Alexander will cross the stripe at least once as well.
Kats 50 Destroyers 48
ORLANDO AT TAMPA BAY
Ah yes, what a way to open up the first week of the AFL. To say these two teams hate each other would be a mass understatement. To add some juice to this rivalry, QB "Sugar" Shane Stafford comes back to the place he left for free agency. You better believe Tampa Bay circled this game on their calendar. Stafford's weapons will include OS Jimmy Fryzel, WR DeAndrew Rubin and WR Javarus Dudley. Replacing Shane Stafford for the Preds will be 14-year vet QB John Kaleo. OS Terrill Shaw will be the go-to guy for the Storm, but the guy to watch for is WR TT Tolliver. He showed some flashes of talent toward the end of last year. This is a game the Storm keep can keep close but I don't think they can win it. "Sugar" Shane, the fantasy player of the game, throws for his usual 300+ and 5 TDs and the Storm will counter with strikes to Tolliver and Shaw. In the end, K Jay Taylor wins it for the Preds with a field goal!
Preds 55 Storm 52:
GEORGIA AT ARIZONA
This game will be fun to watch with some serious fireworks. QB Sherdrick Bonner and WR Randy Gatewood are back for another year for the Rattlers. New Force QB Chris Griesen brings in OS Chris "Spiderman" Jackson and WR Derek "Baby Moss" Lee. The scariest part of this offense will be the return of WR Troy Bergeron. This game will feature a lot of points, with both QBs trading TD passes to their respective stars. It will be interesting to see how quickly Griesen can adjust to having stars like C-Jax, Lee, and Bergeron. The potential for an explosive team is definitely there for the Force. For Arizona it's all about veteran Bonner tossing TDs to Randy Gatewood and OS Jeremiah Pope. I think the experience of the Rattlers along with the home cooking will prove to be the difference in this ball game. I think the inexperience and pressure of Griesen's first start for the Force will doom the Force in the end. My fantasy players will be WR Randy Gatewood for the Rattlers as he will approach over 100 yards and grab two TDs, and for the Force, how can you not go with "Spiderman" Chris Jackson. He'll do his usual 8 catch, 150 yard effort and will find the end zone at least twice.
Rattlers 65 Force 58
NEW ORLEANS AT UTAH
QB Joe Germaine and the Utah Blaze host the New Orleans, who return after a one year absence due to Hurricane Katrina. It will be a special moment for the AFL to have the VooDoo back in the league. The VooDoo will have a tough task though handling the offense of the Blaze in this game. Germaine, OS Siaha Burley, and newly acquired WR Aaron Boone should be able to go wild against the VooDoo in their home opener. The Blaze had one of the better offenses last year and adding Boone will only help matters. For the VooDoo it's all about 14-year veteran QB Andy Kelly and rising star WR Anthony Hines. I expect the VooDoo to come out with some energy and play hard, but in the end, the Germaine to Burley connections will be one too many. My fantasy Players of the Game will be Joe Germaine as he will reach 300+ yards and 5 TDs easily and for the VooDoo. Kelly will have a good day with 250 yards and 4 TDs against the suspect Blaze pass defense.
Blaze 60 Voodoo 45
DALLAS AT NEW YORK
Get all of your Dallas and New York fantasy players ready! This will one of those games you can sit back and watch the players you drafted put up some sick stats! And here's the kicker, it's on ESPN!! These two teams always put on a good show with lots of offense. Dallas dominated this series last year with a sweep of both games, including a 82-38 beat down in Week 16. You think the Dragons have some revenge on their mind? If you thought the Dallas offense was unstoppable last year, wait until you see what newly acquired OS Marcus Nash will do within the offense. Working alongside WR Will Pettis, this tandem should have a field day against the Dragon secondary. Dallas QB Clint Dolezel could very well have one of his 10+ TD games. The Desperados are that good and the Dragon defense is that bad. For the Dragons, first year QB Rohan Davey (or perhaps QB Leon Murray?) will get first crack at the starting QB job as Aaron Garcia continues to recover from a nasty leg injury from last year. He's got the weapons to do some damage with WR Mike "The Horror" Horacek and OS Kevin Swayne. I think we are asking too much from Davey or Murray to try and outscore the high-powered Desperados. The Dallas defense should be able to create enough problems for Davey to win this with ease. The average score between these two teams last year was 64-33 and this game will get away from the Dragons early. For Dallas, the Fantasy Player of the Game will be QB Clint Dolezel, who should be able to go over 300 yards and toss 7 TDs. For the Dragons, I'm going to roll with Horacek. who always seems to play well against Dallas. He'll post around 130 yards and two TDs to pace the Dragons.
Desperados 68 Dragons 45
CHICAGO AT KANSAS CITY
The defending Arena Bowl champions, the Chicago Rush, open up the season on the road in Kansas City. Rush QB Matt D'Orazio had a break-out season in 2006, running the Rush offense effectively. What makes D'Orazio dangerous is his legs. D'Orazio led the AFL in rushing last year and added 10 rushing scores to his 65 passing TDs. I see D'Orazio and company having an easy time with the Brigade Saturday afternoon. For the Brigade, they lost a huge part of their offense last year in WR Aaron Boone. OS Jerel Myers will look to build off his rookie season. He should get more time on the field with Boone off to Utah. The Rush are the defending AFL champs and the Brigade are a second year expansion team. I think Chicago gets the job done convincingly Sunday as they begin their defense of the Arena Bowl. D'Orazio throws for four TDs, runs for two more, and gets OS Bobby Sippio and WR DeJuan Alfonzo involved in the process as well. For the Brigade, the only recommended start is OS Jerel Myers. Rush win -- BIG.
Rush 54 Brigade 35
GRAND RAPIDS AT COLORADO
Last year's AFL MVP OS Damien Harrell and the Crush host the Rampage, a team they swept in 2006. Harrell continues to dominate the league like no other. He has back to back AFL MVP awards and posted the single season record for TDs with 61. It's just not fair how he treats defenders. Last year in week 6, Harrell posted an amazing 9 catches for 149 yards and 5 TDs. You can expect those kind of numbers again Sunday as he uses and abuses defenders the whole game. Crush QB John Dutton again leads one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and should have no problems finding WRs open. Expect Dutton to throw for 300+ yards and toss 6 TDs. For the Rampage, it's all about 2nd year WR Timon Marshall, who took the league by storm last year. Marshall led the AFL in All-Purpose yards while posting 21 scores. Along with rookie OS Troy Edwards, the Rampage have themselves an attractive duo catching the ball. The QB situation on the other hand is a little shaky, but if the Rampage can find some consistent production the could give some people quite a surprise. The Crush open the season with a victory, but don't be surprised if the game is a little closer than people think. My Fantasy Players of the Game will be Crush OS Damien Harrell and Rampage WR Timon Marshall.
Crush 62 Rampage 50
LAS VEGAS AT AUSTIN
The Shawn King era begins in Las Vegas as they travel to Texas to take on the Austin Wranglers. King has some NFL experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will now display his talents within the AFL. King will have his work cut out for him though as he will have a group of inexperienced WRs at the end of his passes. The most notable is WR Joe Douglas, who played well last year for the Glads. King will also have WRs Eddie Canonico and Thabiti Davis to work with. For the Wranglers, it's all about QB Adrian McPherson, the 2004 AFL Rookie of the Year who spent last season in the NFL. He will have some nice weapons to throw to in OS Derrick Lewis and WR Kevin Nickerson. The Wrangler defense will also be a key, as DS Damon Mason leads a very stingy defense. This game will be one of the lower scoring affairs on the afternoon, and I'm going with the home team and the better defense. The Wranglers have more explosive players both offensively and defensively. I expect Mason to have double-digit tackles and at least one pick. Lewis and Nickerson will pace the offense for the Wranglers as each score twice. For the Glads, King will have a good start to his AFL career in a losing effort. King's hidden value will be how much extra room he can get running the ball. I expect 200+ yards passing, 40+ yards rushing and a total of 4 TDs.
Wranglers 45 Glad 38
SAN JOSE AT LOS ANGELES
What a way to end the first week of the 2007 AFL season. These two teams despise each other. Last year these two split wins with each team winning on the road. I think the big factor in this game will be the loss of OS Tony Locke for the Avengers. In week 7 last year, the Sabercats had no answer for this guy as he blew up for 168 yards and three TDs leading the Avengers to the road win. WR Rob Turner and WR Lenzie Jackson will try to replace Locke, but will be staring at awfully big shoes to fill. Meanwhile, what's in store for San Jose's OS Ben Nelson this year? Last year Nelson went wild for 94 receptions, 1398 yards and 26 TDs in only 11 games. He could be a superstar this year with a full season. Along with WR James Roe, the Sabercats will have too much offense for the Avengers. I see the Avengers secondary getting shredded as Roe and Nelson each go over 100 yards and each get three TDs. For the Avengers, WR Kevin Ingram is the main part of the offense and should produce over 100 yards and have at least two TDs. My Fantasy Players of the Game will be Sabercat QB Mark Grieb and for the Avengers WR Kevin Ingram.
Sabercats 65 Avengers 50
Scott Lange is a founding member of Arena Football Online and has been following Arena Football for 6 years. Contact Scott at slange@arenafootballonline.com
|
