The Friday Five: Back from Hibernation

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Back From Hibernation

SFL Nation! I missed each and every one of you all. My stupid alarm clock to start the new SFL season did not go off so now I have to play catchup. Looks like now we are in Week 8 of the SFL season, and I have 5 things I want to talk about. 

BEND AND BROKEN

The league came in with a new rule about WRs being in the backfield for more than 10 carries in a single game. The punishment would result in a 2-game suspension for the coaching staff of the team that violated the rule. This past weekend, Atlanta ran the ball 11 times with WR Siege Falco and so they became the first to break the rule. I have seen some mixed feelings on this, and I can tell you this. The punishment fits the crime. They tried to bend the rule, and they bent it a little too much and they broke it. It happens. I am sure that the coaching staff did not mean to have it. But if you put a WR back there you are accepting the fact that this could happen. So as a reporter here in the SFL, I don't feel sorry for anyone in that organization. You have a great RB in BDG Hollewood and there is no reason you need to pull that move. But maybe they will learn something from it.

 A BATTLE IN THE SOUTH

Looking at the matchups this week, one that sticks out to me is FTW vs HOU. Both QBs (Bruin and Dunhill) have a case of the turnover bug with 11INTs coming into this game. Now Bruin does have 8TDs. It's not great but not as bad as Marcus Dunhill. Yes, you are reading this correctly, Dunhill has only 4TDs so far which is very surprising given the fact that Dunhill is usually doing pretty well. I know that they like to run through the offense with JZ Bacon, but I'm just surprised at the production of their QB. The South is always a bloodbath, so anytime you see a division matchup you have to make sure you set the notification bell for when that game comes on and this one should be interesting as OJ Bruin does come back after a week off due to personal reasons

CHARLESTON VS ALBUQUERQUE

This game is actually tonight as the West Coast people will get a treat as CHS takes on ABQ. Charleston coming in at 4-2 and looking to get to what I feel like is an important 5th win to keep up in that East division. I am just curious if coach JW Hartshorn is coaching mad or not. Every time he coaches angry, CHS plays a great game. On the other side, ABQ came off of a tough loss to Indy, where the offense came out “toxic” and could not get anything going. I was glad to see they finally decided to invest in their kicker as if they had, they might have kicked a couple more FGs instead of punting inside the 30. I will always say that kickers are important. That game is proof as to why.

SHOCKING DIVISION LEADER

If you would have told me this team would be leading their division I would have said “Is this Season 9”?? But after watching these games in my catchup mode, Mexico City has looked fantastic. Not only is Mike Daggs looking good when he does his kickoff show every week, but he has this team looking good on the field as well. HB Ray Bentley looks like he hopped in that Delorean and hit 88 MPH and went back in time and is 7th in the league in rushing. Jordan Sipe has looked good enough with a 6TD 8INT ratio so far and they are a top 10 team in total offense. One thing that this team has done well on both sides of the ball is 3rd down %. They are Top 5 in both. They can extend drives, and they can stop teams when it comes to 3rd down and when teams do that, they can see success. It's one of the main reasons MXC can keep this up and be a huge threat of not only getting into the playoffs but making some serious noise in the playoffs.

DOWN TIMES IN THE BAYOU

One team that I thought was going to make some noise this season was Louisiana. Currently they sit 2-3 on the season. Disappointing is the best way to look at this season so far. I was listening to TSAT last night and heard BJ Loveless talk about how Tommy “Uh Oh” Utah has not looked good. Once I got done laughing at that comment I took a look at him. Utah is in the same boat as Dunhill with 4TDs and 8INTs, but FTW does have an extra victory. The rushing attack of Sammons/Grant Jr is 14th in SFL in rushing yards and they only have 1TD. Wait, is that right?? 1?? This team currently as of today is paying the RB room a combined 9.8 MILLION DOLLARS! That's a lot of money for only 1TD. I am no coach so I can't say a lot about this subject, but maybe it's time to think about taking that roster and blowing it up. The Sammons/Grant Jr tandem isn't working. If you went Air Raid offense, Utah hasn't proven to be a QB you can trust. That defense is still solid so keep that group together. But that offense needs overhauled. The front office I think needs to sit down and figure some things out after this season is over. 

There you have it. My typewriter is back up and running and looking forward to keeping up with SFL and SFLm down this season