By Jordan Long
The NFL season came to a close last week with the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. The next major event for the NFL is the NFL Combine which is February 26th to March 4th. After that is the NFL Draft on April 25th. NFL preseason games won’t be played until August. Those who are missing football action could tune into the Canadian Football League which starts play June 13th. If that is too far away, there is the Alliance of American Football (AAF) which started play last weekend. s
The AAF has 8 teams divided into the Western and Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference the teams are the Salt Lake City Stallions, San Diego Fleet, San Antonio Commanders, and Arizona Hotshots. The Eastern Conference are the Orlando Apollos, Birmingham Iron, Memphis Express, and Atlanta Legends. Every team plays a 10-game schedule and the top 2 teams in both conferences make the playoffs with the two winners going to the championship game on Saturday April 27th.
The league is for players who have played in the NFL or trying to have another chance at the NFL. The athletes agree to a 3-year, $250,000 contract. They are allowed to opt-out of their deal if an NFL team calls them during the offseason.
There are a few names people will recognize because they have played in the NFL. On Arizona there is Rahim Moore who played for the Denver Broncos from 2011 to 2014 as well as the Houston Texans in 2015. For the Birmingham Iron, running back Trent Richardson appeared in 46 games for the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2014.
Some of the coaches in the AAF have NFL knowledge, while others spent their career in the college ranks. The former NFL coaches to note are Mike Martz and Mike Singletary. Martz is with the San Diego Fleet. Martz was with the St. Louis Rams from 2000 to 2005 going 53-32 with the Rams. Singletary is coaching in Memphis. He had experience with the 49ers from 2008 to 2010 with a record of 18-22.
The coaches who were in college include Mike Riley, Rick Neuheisel, and Steve Spurrier. Riley spent 17 years with Oregon State and Nebraska. His record in college was 112-99 with 10 trips to bowl games. Rick Neuheisel was in Colorado, Washington, and UCLA for 12 years. He won 87 games and lost 58. His teams went to 8 bowl games.
The biggest name is Steve Spurrier. Spurrier was in the college game for 26 years. He went an impressive 228-89-2 or a winning percentage of .718. He won 1 National Championship with the Florida Gators in 1996.
The rules are similar to the NFL but there are a few differences. There are no kickoffs. When teams score a touchdown or a field goal, the opponent will start the drive at their own 25-yard line. When defenses blitz, they have to with 5 players maximum. They can’t blitz over 5-yards from the line of scrimmage. If they do or bring more than 5, it is a 15-yard illegal defense penalty. Teams must go for 2 when they score touchdowns. When a game goes to overtime, each team will have a chance with the football from the 10-yard line. They can’t settle for a field goal and must score a touchdown. When they score, they have to go for 2. If teams are still tied after one possession it ends in a tie. This is fairer than the NFL because both teams have a chance to do something with the football.
The AAF will be back this weekend. On Saturday, Salt Lake takes on Birmingham and Arizona faces Memphis. On Sunday Orlando travels to San Antonio while San Diego hosts Atlanta. Take a look at the AAF and watch some football action this weekend. [JL1]
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