Posted on 02/06/2019 4:42:27 PM PST by Impy
What is it? A new minor league to test American's appitite for football and give players a chance to audition for the NFL. Founded by Charlie Ebersol and former NFL executive Bill Polian.
What are the teams and their head coaches?
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Legends, Kevin Coyle
Birmingham Iron, Tim Lewis
Memphis Express, Mike Singletary
Orlando Apollos Steve Spurrier
Western Conference
Arizona (Tempe) Hotshots, Rick Neuheisel
Salt Lake Stallions, Dennis Erickson
San Antonio Commanders, Mike Riley
San Diego Fleet, Mike Martz
Did they put a lot of thought into these team names?? Probably not.
How do you watch it? The inugaral game, San Diego at San Antonio, is on CBS, Saturday FEB 9th, 8:30 Eastern Standard Time (pre game at 8). There are 4 games a week, one a week will air on CBS Sports Network, Memphis at Birmingham at 4 eastern on Sunday FEB 5th, the rest will available on the AAF app for free.
Are the rules different from NFL? There are no kickoffs, teams will begin possesions on their own 25 yard line. There are no PAT kicks, teams will attempt 2-point conversions after each touchdown. There will be no TV time outs and fewer commercials. The play clock is 35 seconds instead of 40. Overtime will be "High School rules" each team gets a possention on their own 10 yard line, games end in tie if still tied after that. I don't much care for elimination of kickoffs cause I know the NFL wants to follow suit, they've already tried hard to ruin them so no one will care when they are abolished. No PATs probably makes it more interesting though.
Where can you find more info? The internet. https://aaf.com/schedule
Will this be the thread for the whole season or will it be weeky or whatever? That depends on interest level, my whims, and the whims of anyone else that might like to post AAF threads.
Is there a picks contest? I don't plan on it but feels free to make picks!!!
Should you care? Only if you want to. Feel free to just ignore the thread if you don't! Or you could troll it, whatever you want.
Dennis Erickson. He’s awful.
I’ll give it a shot. And I approve SAN DIEGO FLEET!
I used to live in a condo a couple of blocks away from the San Diego stadium. Nice area. Stadium is old.
“There are no kickoffs.”
Good news. The most brutal injuries result from kickoff and punt returns.
Is there a league rule against kneeling?
IDK for this one but next year’s XFL has the rule about not kneeling.
As I recall, the old AFL was conceived as a major league football league, not a minor league. After the AFL Jets beat the NFL champs, it was not long before the leagues merged. So does the Alliance organization intend to stay a minor league or progress to an eventual merger with the NFL?
My fave is LANCASTER AMISH RAKEFIGHTERS.
Runner up the GERMANTOWN one (better not say it out loud).
Most definitely the former.
The XFL is relaunching under Vince McMahon next year with an eye at competing directly with the NFL with big market teams.
The most exciting plays too.
The whole game is dangerous.
Well, that changes things.
Now I'm all about it.
I just can't stand team names that don't end with "S".
SAN ANTONIO COMMANDERS rule.
Yours, TMN78247
When this kicks off ...
I’ll be rootin for DC unless I’m in Texas. Then I’ll be rootin for Houston.
why is her hat that way? (yes, she is wearing a hat...look closer)
I already know who the best receiver on that team will be — DeMarcus Ayres. His dad shines shoes in the basement food court of the building I work in in Downtown Dallas. DeMarcus had a brief break from the practice squad to get into a couple of Steeler games in 2016.
I heard an interesting idea from Greg Schiano of all people...
After a score or to start the half, the team that scored or the one that is supposed to “kick-off” gets the ball on its own 35, with a 4th and 15 situation. In most cases, a team facing 4th down and 15 yards to go will punt and punts are safer than kick-offs from an injury standpoint.
If a team is desperate though... you go for it. That way, you can eliminate onside kicks, but have a mechanism for going right back on offense.
I’m interested. Why, I’m not sure but - I’ll give it a go for awhile.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.