Originally Published: May 23, 2007
SaberCats among teams climbing up
Dallas remains on top, but there are several teams closing in fast in the Power Rankings.
(Heading into Week 13) |
1. (1) Dallas (10-1)Last week: Bye This week: at Columbus The bye week came at a good time for the Desperados. Rested and healthy, the Desperados should be ready for the stretch run carrying the tag of the best team in the AFL. |
2. (2) Georgia (9-2)Last week: Lost to Los Angeles 57-51 This week: vs. Tampa Bay The Force could not withstand a strong second half by Los Angeles and their usually explosive offense was stopped four times by the Avengers' defense. |
3. (4) San Jose (8-3)Last week: Beat Grand Rapids 69-44 This week: at Nashville The SaberCats continue to roll with a nine TD pass performance by QB Mark Grieb and a strong defense that limited the Rampage to 222 yards of total offense. |
4. (3) Chicago (8-3)Last week: Lost to Nashville 44-27 This week: at Arizona Without injured WR Bobby Sippio, the Chicago offense lost its explosiveness. Add in the fact the Nashville offense controlled the ball on the ground and it equals a lackluster road-loss. |
5. (5) Colorado (8-4)Last week: Beat Columbus 58-40 This week: at Grand Rapids QB John Dutton finally put together a complete game (eight TD passes) and the Crush had a strong defensive effort that produced four turnovers in a big win over the Destroyers. |
6. (6) Orlando (7-4)Last week: Beat Austin 46-45 This week: vs. Utah The Predators needed a late comeback TD to beat lowly Austin for their fifth victory in their last six game. Even though they did not play a perfect game, their defense is always good. |
7. (9) Los Angeles (6-5)Last week: Beat Georgia 57-51 This week: at Kansas City Even without key injured players DB Damon Wheeler and WR Kevin Ingram, the Avengers played a complete game with a strong second half to upset Georgia. |
8. (11) Philadelphia (5-6)Last week: Beat New Orleans 78-34 This week: at Austin The Soul got a huge mental boost with the return of QB Tony Graziani and got their swagger back in a blowout win over New Orleans. |
9. (8) Kansas City (6-5)Last week: Lost to New York 62-56 This week: vs. Los Angeles The Brigade got a good day from QB Raymond Philyaw (eight TD passes) and they came close at the end but they could not stop Aaron Garcia and the Dragons' passing game. |
10. (7) Columbus (6-5)Last week: Lost to Colorado 58-40 This week: vs. Dallas The Destroyers D couldn't stop QB John Dutton (eight TDs) and a Crush offense that scored on nine of 11 possessions. It didn't help that they also committed four turnovers. |
11. (12) Tampa Bay (5-6)Last week: Beat Arizona 59-50 This week: at Georgia New QB Brett Dietz (eight TDs) looks like the real deal, the Storm got a huge game from WR/KR T.T. Tolliver and the defense applied a lot pressure on Rattler QB Sherdrick Bonner. |
12. (16) New York (4-7)Last week: Beat Kansas City 62-56 This week: at New Orleans QB Aaron Garcia had another hot day with nine TD passes, 261 yards and no mistakes and they held off a late rally by the Brigade to climb back into the playoff race. |
13. (10) Utah (5-7)Last week: Lost to Las Vegas 54-53 This week: at Orlando The Blaze can't sink lower after an embarrassing loss to Las Vegas, as their non-existent defense allowed QB Nick Rolovich to throw for 329 yards and seven TDs. |
14. (14) Nashville (5-7)Last week: Beat Chicago 44-27 This week: vs. San Jose Nashville FB Dan Alexander was awesome again with 71 yards rushing. Without WR Bobby Sippio, Chicago had no offensive punch and it resulted in a big, physical win for the Kats. |
15. (13) New Orleans (4-7)Last week: Lost to Philadelphia 78-34 This week: vs. New York The VooDoo played as poorly as they are capable of in a blowout loss to Philadelphi. They were outhit and manhandled by a Soul defense that scored three TDs of their own. |
16. (17) Grand Rapids (3-8)Last week: Lost to San Jose 69-44 This week: vs. Colorado The Rampage defense had no answer for San Jose QB Ben Grieb (nine TD passes) and their offense couldn't get anything going versus a stingy SaberCats defense. |
17. (15) Arizona (3-9)Last week: Lost to Tampa Bay 59-50 This week: vs. Chicago The Tampa Bay defense harassed QB Sherdrick Bonner all night and the Rattlers defense and special teams did not play well versus surging Storm. |
18. (18). Austin (3-8)Last week: Lost to Orlando 46-45 This week: vs. Philadelphia The Wranglers took Orlando right down to the wire after leading for most of the game before giving up a last-second QB in a tough home loss. |
19. (19) Las Vegas (2-10)Last week: Beat Utah 54-53 This week: Bye The Gladiators ended a nine-game losing streak with a shocking win over Utah thanks to a big night by unknown QB Nick Rolovich, good kick returns and excellent defensive pressure. |
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