[bears9]

1-) I think the new ‘jack’ linebacker rule has given defenses a chance to make more big plays. I know it’s only been one week but in nine games during opening weekend last season there were a total of 25 turnovers (2.7 per game), compared to 35 turnovers in eight Week 1 games this year (4.3 turnovers per game). The VooDoo-Avengers and SaberCats-Rush combined for a total of seven turnovers in their games over the weekend. Philadelphia was the only team in Week 1 not to commit a turnover, while the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats, who committed just 14 turnovers in their last 10 games last year, turned the ball over five times (3 INTs/2 fumbles) in a blow out loss at Chicago.

2-) I think the fans of Cleveland need a pat on the back for their support of the Gladiators. The announced crowd of 17,391 at Quicken Loans Arena for Monday’s home open against New York was a franchise best for the Gladiators, who have also played in New Jersey and Las Vegas. In fact, last season in eight home games at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the Gladiators totaled just 43,064 total fans for the season (5,383 per game). Speaking of the Gladiators, the team on the field actually gave the AFL’s newest fans something to cheer about as well. Veteran QB Raymond Philyaw passed for 240 yards and five TDs and the Gladiators pass rush pressured Dragons QB Rohan Davey all night sacking him four times in a 61-49 win.

3-) I think the New Orleans VooDoo is already in desperation mode. It’s only been one week and it’s a long season but the injury bug has already bitten the VooDoo in a big way. The club lost free agent WR Derrick Lewis to an ACL injury during training camp and starting QB Steve Bellisari left Friday’s game in the second half with a right knee injury. Bellisari returned to the game but then left again in the fourth quarter. As of press time, the extent of Bellisari’s injury is still unknown. If he can’t go this week, New Orleans-native QB Danny Wimprine will get his first AFL start against division rival Orlando. Wimprine struggled last week in his AFL debut against the Avengers completing just 4-of-12 passes for 84 yards and a score in spot duty.

"It's a day-to-day situation with Steve (Bellisari), so I'm going to reach out to a couple of quarterbacks to have an option," Neu told the Times-Picayune on Tuesday. "We went into training camp with only two quarterbacks, so just in case things don't go as planned, we'll have to have a third quarterback ready to go.”

4-) I think Los Angeles will give San Jose a run for their money in the Western Division this year. The Avengers seemed cool, calm and collected in their 17-point opening day win vs. New Orleans last Friday. After trailing 13-0 early in the first quarter, the Avengers got things on track behind QB Sonny Cumbie (7 TD passes) and free agent addition WR Timon Marshall (9 catches for 116 yards and 3 TDs). But, the biggest surprise was the play of the defense, especially the secondary, where each of the club’s three starting DBs grabbed an INT against the VooDoo. The Avengers will face a big test this week (Monday, 11 p.m. ET, ESPN2) against an Arizona offense that surprised some people with a big road win at Utah.

5-) I think the Orlando Predators could be in trouble unless head coach Jay Gruden can get his secondary on the same page. Last week against Philadelphia, the Predators gave up 77 points – the most of any AFL team in Week 1. Although the defensive backfield of veterans Kenny McEntyre and Damon Mason, along with former NFL first-round pick Ahmad Carroll struggled against the Soul, they are not entirely to blame. The Predators also lacked a significant pass rush which enabled Soul QB Tony Graziani to pick apart the secondary. Without reigning AFL Lineman of the Year Greg White (NFL) on the field, the Predators will have to find a pass rush from somebody. Last week’s starters B.J. Cohen, Charles Hill and Darrell Campbell struggled to put pressure on the quarterback. Orlando has a handful of veterans on the club, including McEntyre, Mason and Cohen, but 10 of the Predators’ 23 players on the active roster are AFL rookies. After one week their inexperience is beginning to show.

6-) I think head coaches Will McClay (Dallas), Mike Neu (New Orleans) and Weylan Harding (New York) are each a little nervous this week knowing they could be without their starting quarterbacks for an extended period of time. Dallas’ Clint Dolezel (shoulder) looks to have the most damaging injury which could sideline the Desperados’ signal-caller for anywhere from 4-6 weeks. New Orleans’ Steve Bellisari and New York’s Aaron Garcia are both nursing knee injuries suffered in Week 1 and are both listed as questionable for this week. Garcia, who has missed the majority of the last two seasons with leg and knee injuries, suffered his setback late in the first quarter of Monday’s 61-49 loss at Cleveland. Last year, New York was 4-2 with Garcia in the lineup but just 1-9 without him. Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw was also shaken up late in the fourth quarter vs. New York with a rib injury but stayed in the game.

7-) I think defensive lineman need to start paying attention. It would frustrate me to no end if I were a head coach in this League when I see defensive lineman jumping off-sides on fourth-and-three handing the offense an easy first down. (Note to anyone who plays along the defensive line in the AFL: When it’s third or fourth down and less than five yards, the opposing quarterback is going to use a hard count, so please watch the ball and don’t jump off-sides). In the Dallas-Georgia game alone, there were a total of seven (five accepted) off-sides infractions.

(Speaking of penalties) I think there were way too many dumb fouls committed in Week 1. And I’m not blaming the officials for these penalties, I’m blaming the players. I know it was the first week of the season and the AFL does not have a preseason to work out the kinks, but the penalties just kill the pace of the game. Cleveland was the most penalized team on opening weekend with 13 fouls for 73 yards. Just to give you an idea of what it’s like to officiate in the AFL, a typical outdoor game has about 160 plays (compared to around 90 in the indoor game), and you will see an average of nearly 20 penalties per game in the AFL compared to just 12 or 13 fouls per game in the outdoor game.

According to veteran AFL referee Bill LeMonnier, who has also worked college football for more than 20 years, officiating in the AFL is more difficult than the outdoor game.

“The AFL is a more complex game (to officiate) because of all the rules along with the nets, the (linebacker) box and the boards,” LeMonnier said. “It’s a passing game so you are going to see more pass interference and illegal contact (penalties) and those really add up. On the big field you get a wider, more peripheral look at a lot of things, and in the AFL you are working in a little tighter. There are a lot of things that are goofy and unique to Arena Football but that stuff teaches you patience.It is a lot trickier (to officiate in Arena compared to the outdoor game).”

9-) (More on officials) I think LeMonnier and his crew deserve a lot of credit for getting the “fan interference” call correct in the Dallas-Georgia game. The play in question could have been a game-changer had the crew not come together, discussed the call and arrived at the correct decision. The play happened in the fourth quarter with Dallas up by seven after Dolezel’s pass intended for Marcus Nash in the end zone deflected off the back wall and hit a fan before a Force defensive back caught the ricochet and returned it the length of the field for an apparent touchdown (which could have tied the score). But, the officials got the call correct and gave the ball back over to Dallas after ruling the pass incomplete. Kudos go to LeMonnier and his crew for getting the play right.

10-) I think Arizona offensive coordinator Skip Foster and new QB Lang Campbell deserve a lot of credit for putting together and executing a game-plan to knock off Utah, 63-62, despite playing without star free agent WR Siaha Burley. Campbell, making his first start for the Rattlers, completed 31-of-47 passes for 319 yards with eight TDs. He also did an outstanding job of spreading the ball around. The starting trio of receivers each hauled in at least eight catches and two scores (Kevin Nickerson 9-100-3, Jerrian James 9-73-2, and Trandon Harvey 8-102-2). When Burley returns to the lineup the Rattlers offense will be tough to stop.

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