THE FRIDAY FIVE: WEEK 3 EDITION

by Chad Roland

Its the Week 3 edition of the Friday Five. That means I will be talking about the 5 things I am looking forward to this weekend in the SFL. No drama (hopefully) in this article so lets get into it.

CAROLINA VS PITTSBURGH

So far when it comes to Pittsburgh I have been wrong. Something is not clicking there and maybe they just need to add some mustard to it (I know a terrible joke). Pittsburgh is coming off of a loss to Detroit which was a low scoring affair. Ace Fenech was only 7/15 in the game and threw 2 INTs. The offense just has not been successful in this early part of the season. The defense at least held Detroit in this game while against Lexington they gave up 34. On the other side Carolina is coming off a bye week after losing a close one to DC 17-14. Bryant Dynasty in his first game in the Skyhawk uniform, only threw 93 yards and just look kind of lost in that DC game. The running attack combined for over 100 yards but again DC did a great job just stopping the Carolina offense in that game.

PREDICITION

This one might actually be pretty tough. I don't like predicting my own game so I wont call a clear winner but each team is going to have to get the offense moving better if they want to win the game. I have confidence in both defenses so whoever has the offensive breakout will win this ballgame

VANCOUVER VS ARIZONA

I got some flak for the way I talked about Arizona in the last Friday Five article. I still think weaknesses were exposed but they are 2-0. They are going to have their hands full though here as Vancouver comes to town. Vancouver is coming in after an impressive victory over the Baltimore Vultures in Baltimore (literally at the Baltimore convention as well) 41-17. A ton of the community members are hyped on Vancouver and I can see why. Christian Brown had a great game going 13/19 with only 1 pick. He had some great targets as well but that game was led by WR Nick Lockett as he had 5 receptions for 121yds and 1TD. On the other side though, Arizona defense is legit. I have said this numerous times that this unit is what is going to lead them to a title if they get there. That defense is second in the SFL in INTs with 5 including 2 from LB Sean Moore.

PREDICITION

The matchup I am looking forward to is the WRs of Vancouver vs the secondary of Arizona. This defense can cause havoc and if they can get some pressure on Brown and force some bad throws and turnovers Arizona has a legit chance to win this game. Vancouver is going to have to get creative on offense and throw some things that Eddie Gauge hasn't seen before I think to really be able to take one on the road. I am going to lean on the defense on this one so give me Arizona at home in a close one.

MEXICO CITY VS BALTIMORE

I mean if these teams play each other, you have to put it in the five. No other way around it. Both teams have 0s in their win column which I'm sure is quite strange seeing this matchup Both teams are coming off a bye, so they only have that lovely week 1 tape to watch. But trust me these coaching staffs know each other. Jack Wigmore did not look like Jack Wigmore of old going 15/35 with 4 picks against that Vancouver defense. That offense was just not effective. When you look at MXC, they also had the same problems. Sipe was 18/36 with 4 picks as well.

PREDICITION

There really isn't much to talk about here. Both teams looked like former Vulture legend Aman Takess toes. Bad. But we both know these teams are well coached and have great players so Ill chalk it up to Week 1 shenanigans. The question will be which QB will step up and play how they normally play. In my eyes, MXC comes in with a little more “momentum” as they only lost by 3 against ARZ so give me MXC on the road

HOUSTON VS FORT WORTH

Anytime you get a battle in the South division you have to put it on the list. Fort Worth is 10-4 all time vs Houston and winners of the last 5. Houston has not beat FTW since Week 14 of Season 19 when they won by 3. The last 3 matchups have all been in Houston and now they come to the Stockyards where that victory mentioned above is the only one they got. So needless to say history is not on their side. But Houston is coming off a victory against QCC and sometimes that is all you need. Houston QB John Lakeman didn't have to throw a ton against QCC only going 6/10 but it was the RBs that did most of the work. Tino Sosa lead the way with 18 carries for 111 yards and a TD while Baloo Scott got 62 yards and 3 TDs! Houston has always been that team that if they can run effectively, they can be a dominating team. Fort Worth on the other side fell into the same group as Vancouver and Baltimore. Their offense was non existent as they scored 3 points against Albuquerque in Week 1. But they are coming off a bye so extra time to get Price and that offense in sync.

PREDICITION

This one could have the history cycle break here. I believe that if Houston is able to get that RB tandem moving again against this defense that was gashed for 281 total rushing yards then they are going to win this game. I think that is exactly what happens here, and I am predicting that Houston gets their first victory in the 2K era against their division rival.

DETROIT VS OKLAHOMA CITY

Man, I didn't think this game would make the list but credit to OKC on that one. Detroit is where I expected them to be, so I won't go too much into them. But OKC looked GOOD against a Minnesota team on the road. King Jackson in his debut going 29/55 for 445yds and 4TDs was insane. The most insane part of that is 0 PICKS! 0… The rushing attack still leaves much to be desired, but they are living up to the team's name of Renegades as they are a shooting from the hip passing type of team. And have to give more props here but they spread the ball around very well. Bacigaluppi had 8, HoF Bovine had 7 catches, Stephen MacMichaels and Queen Jackson had 5. It was just something that no one in this league saw coming after their first game and I have to give flowers to the coaching staff for that.

PREDICITION

Now all that being said, Why I picked this game is solely for 1 reason and 1 reason only. Can OKC do that again? Has the coaching staff found something that works for their team build? That is why I am tuning in. Again, I think Detroit is a solid team and no love loss to them, but I wouldn't care what team OKC is facing. I am only watching to see how OKC plays after someone has some tape on them. With this being in Tornado Alley I am predicting that OKC goes 2-0 for the first time since Season 11.

Well that is all for this weeks Friday Five! Until the next time