Week 3 Miller Report
WEEK 3 MILLER REPORT
Good day SFL land. It's your favorite reporter Jason Miller back with you here to discuss some of the hot topics of Week 3. We have a few things to go over so let's just skip all the fluff and get right into it.
A NEW POWERHOUSE??
When I was going over the topics for this report, there was no way that I could not talk about how powerful Canton looks so far. They took out Arizona, handled Indianapolis, and now they have clipped the wings of the Vultures. Not only did the defense show up but the offense looked really good against a Baltimore defense that has been known to beat people up. The combo of Robert Johnson and Logan Lee at HB has proven to be really strong this season. They combined for 254 yards on the ground. Even FB Bill Cherry looked good on his 6 carries as well. But this game was all about the defense. I don't remember ever seeing Baltimore look this week. 101 total yards of offense is insane to me. Wigmore had 86 in the air with 2 picks and T-Roy Gaines led the way on the ground with 18 yards. This was an all-around defensive performance and I have to say it. It's time to give “Coach Ye'' (Kanye Rockafella) his flowers. Last season Canton was #2 scoring defense in the SFL with 21 pts per game, was a top 3 pass defense and top 12 against the run. Going into this season it was only supposed to go up and Coach Ye has his defensive unit on point. I am interested to see when the power rankings from JaxData come out later this week but if Canton isn't #1, then it's time for this league to look in the mirror.
COLLECTING TROPHIES
There was a southern bloodbath this weekend as Alamo City took on the undefeated Houston Headhunters. There were a few questions about Houston heading into this season but so far Houston has put all the doubters in their place. They were able to blow out San Diego, edge out a revived QCC team and now have survived the ammo of the Artillery. JaxData had this as a game favored by Houston with 3.5 points and O/U at 48.5. If you picked the under you are a happy gambler as the total points was 17! This game lived up to the reputation that the South Division games usually bring. Dave Burr looked decent enough to get the solo TD to TE Tybeerious Bovine and Josh Slapp had just under 100 yards. QB Ace Fenech didn't help much with 3 INTs including one that Brady Clarke picked off after being deflected by Al Ingram III and then almost caught by Garrison Blue only to be caught at shoestring level by Clarke. ACA LB Jay Mart tried to keep them in the ballgame with 2 INTs but it just wasn't enough as Houston starts 3-0 for the first time since Season 17. Hopefully history doesn't repeat itself in that as they finished 5-7 that season.
SWARM OF OLD??
Week 1 for Atlanta left fans and members of the league wondering if Atlanta was going to fall down the well after losing to Indianapolis. But since then they have silenced those that have doubted them with 2 wins against Carolina and now LA. I can hear everyone already saying “C’mon Jason be real. Carolina and LA haven't won a game yet”. And while that is correct, Atlanta has looked pretty good these past couple of weeks. And the way they are doing it is through “Ol Reliable” BDG Hollewood. While the run game was contained in Week 1 in their loss, BDG had 22 carries for 106 yards and a TD against Carolina and last night balled out with 24 carries for 164 yards and 3TDs. He was a man possessed and just shredded that LA defense. Backup RB Jason Williams had his best output with 81 yards and a TD as well. QB Bryant Dynasty was very efficient in this game going 16/21 for 219 3TDs and 1INT including a controversial TD for TE Talon Steele. But it wouldn't have mattered as Atlanta was able to put away LA pretty easily. The run game is working well, and Dynasty is being effective. Is it time to give Atlanta some love as a threat for the East?
SHOTS FIRED
This is named Shots Fired as a ton of sources have come to me about things regarding two teams in the SFL. The questions that I have been asked are this. Is it time for Motor City AND Portland to fire entire coaching staffs and blow up their rosters? I mean it's a fair question to ask. Sources at least at team level wise are being quiet but doesn't mean other executives around the league haven't chimed in on this subject. Let's break this down a bit. With all due respect to both teams here. First is Motor City. The build of this roster was described by one executive as “God Awful” and another adding “I'm still trying to figure out what their GM/Ownership group was thinking” I brought up in a tweet during the game last night about how it's hard to stop the run when there is only 3 paid members of your front 7. I'm not counting 62nd overall pick DT Mo Biggens as he is just getting into this league. But how do you expect to be stopping teams on defense if you don't have the right personnel in place to succeed. The offense has looked a tiny bit better. But having basically 2 FBs and no speed at HB, does not make it easy to run the ball. And let's get to the big part of it, the 3TEs. This experiment never has shown success in all the years they have used it, and it was time 2 seasons ago to abandon it. You would think having those 3 TEs would help in the run game, but coming into last night's game they were averaging under 3 yards a carry which 22nd in the SFL. Last night with simple math they averaged right where they were at 2.7 yards per carry. If it's not helping the run game, then what is the point? You are leaving King Jackson on an island with the tools you have given him. He went 9/24 in last night's game. Not surprising considering the targets he has. My opinion being outside looking in is blow that roster up, get a new coach and see what happens.
Now the other side of this “rant” is Portland. This was a team that quite a few SFL heads predicted to be in the playoffs!! Which is crazy to me considering they haven't shown anything near playoff caliber football in multiple seasons. I believe the hype is due to them finishing 5-7 the last couple of seasons along with a 6-6 record in Season 19. But their team has always been just “meh”. Not exciting to watch. A defensive coordinator in this league told me “If you stop Love and Johnson, you stop Portland. They are a 1 trick pony”. Which to me makes sense. They have scored 22 points in 3 games this season. Their offense coming into this game was averaging 37 yards per game ON THE GROUND!! THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER AND THEY CAN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT! As you can see, the defenses of the SFL know exactly what Portland is going to do and that is to make Cyrus Jive beat you. The problem with that is Jive is not that QB. At least when you watch him on the field, he isn't close to being able to lead a team to the playoffs. The question then becomes is that because you could consider him a bust? Or is that the coaching scheme of HC Mel Davis? Now the backend of their defense is solid. They were 4th against the pass going into Week 3. SD QB Jonny Pichler only had 204 passing yards with an 82.5QBR so they were able to stop the pass once again. But Jive looked AWFUL. 48 yards passing in an SFL game is not enough. You have QBs out there like Kenny Slider and Austin Blanco who are bagging groceries at Safeway, that I would rate higher than Cyrus Jive. For Portland, if this slide of offense keeps going and they simply can't find ways to score, Ownership needs to look at themselves in the mirror and make that hard decision to get a new QB/HC combo because what they have isn't working.
And that will wrap up this week's edition of The Miller Report. Be on the lookout for something different coming in the next few days as well along with the Friday Five at the end of the week.