The XFL has officially arrived and it’s doing better than the Alliance of American football (AAF) did only one year ago. The XFL came through with games on Saturday, February 8th and Sunday, February 9th to the delight of football fans everywhere. Games were broadcast on FOX, ABC, and ESPN over the weekend. ABC announced that the first game (Seattle Dragons Vs DC Defenders) drew an audience of 3.3 million viewers and peaked at the end of the broadcast, in turn meaning,
viewers were entertained until the end of the game.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the opening weekend of the XFL! I am looking forward to competitive games throughout the 10-game season and the pace of the league going forward.
I was able to put out a podcast with my good friend Tanner Schuth to review and discuss the first two games from the weekend in week one. Here I am going to go through my thoughts on games 3
and 4 that were played on Sunday.
Game 3 (Tampa Bay Vipers Vs New York Guardians)
Final Score: TB 3 NY 23
Top Performance: Guardians Defense
Worst Performance: Aaron Murray (TB)
The game started just like all other football games, 0-0 with a kickoff to start the action, but after that, it became clear who was going to win this fight. NY had a great return on the opening kickoff and it led to their first score.
This kickoff ruling is what can change a game both for safety and for momentum of the game. Safety is key on the most dangerous play in football. I played football in high school and ended up leaving with no concussions and only one injury, a broken wrist. That one injury came on a kickoff in practice. This is reducing the injury factor for players by keeps the speed of the blockers and defenders lower, thus IN MY OPINION, reducing the opportunity for injury. The second part of this new alignment on kickoffs is allowing the returner an opportunity to find his gap, follow his blockers, and break a big return, which is all I care to see on a kickoff. It has to be a great return or great coverage by the kicking team to make this play exciting and that is exactly what I’m seeing in the XFL.
After the score, the Vipers traveled down the field at a quick pace, but Murray got caught being too aggressive on a 1st and GOAL, and was intercepted, (his first of the contest).
From my perspective, there is only one thing you do as a QB on 1st and GOAL and you are being chased down by a defender…. THROW THE BALL AWAY!! Murray lofted to the corner of the endzone around 3+ defenders, poor mistakes will not get you another shot in the NFL.
McGloin (NY) showed off his arm hitting a receiver down the sideline for a big play, and followed up with a great touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver in the endzone.
McGloin managed to show poise in the pocket and seemed to me to be in control of the offense, but still looks like a game manager type of QB that could still be a backup and do spot duty in the NFL.
Before the end on the first half, Nick Truesdale (TB) made his QB look good with a catch between 4 defenders and absorbed a hit for a big gain.
Tight ends with good had are looking to be a necessity in the NFL. If he can continue to show out, he has a chance to make a roster in the NFL in the upcoming season.
Murray threw an interception later on that drive. The guardians then managed to score a field goal before the half due to the turnover.
In the second half, another turnover allowed NY to score on a fumble by Nick Truesdale returned for a touchdown by Jamar Summers.
New York salted away the rest of the game with good defense and smart offense.
My overall take from this game was, this is real football, and mistakes will still be capitalized on by the opponent. Aaron Murray has the pedigree to be in the NFL but is not showing that he deserves to make it back at this point. Matt McGloin showed he is capable of managing games at this level, if consistency prevails, he has a chance. The defense of NY simply is showing that they are good in coverage, good at getting after the QB, and decent at stopping the run, they could be the best defensive unit of the XFL.
Game 4 (St. Louis Battlehawks Vs Dallas Renegades)
Final Score: STL 15 DAL 9
Best Performance: STL Defense, Austin MacGinnis (DAL)
Worst Performance: Phillip Nelson (DAL)
With this game, we’re going to go with an overview shot instead of the play by play done above.
This game had a lot of back and forth throughout and was kept close throughout. St. Louis Defense kept the pressure on Philip Nelson (QB) and created a lot of negative plays for Dallas. The Battlehawks compiled 4 sacks, 4 QB hits, 7 Tackles for loss and 1 Interception. Nelson will end up being the backup for Landry Jones once Jones returns from injury.
What I saw from Phillip Nelson is this, he’s a guy that could strive in this air-raid system with the Renegades, but it is going to take time for him to become polished enough to move up to the NFL.
Nelson gave too much to the defense and he has to learn from these mistakes. The Battlehawks defense looks legit. They have so many guys making plays on all 3 levels and it will be great to see the growth of the unit as the season moves along.
Austin MacGinnis is the kicker for Dallas and was responsible for all 9 of the Renegades points scored in this game. He was perfect in his opening performance in the AAF last year and does that again to start his XFL stint.
Having a good kicker is important for any team. If your offense is being shut down inside your opponents territory but you can move the ball between the 20’s you have a chance to win if you avoid mistakes and have a kicker that can convert. What I saw from MacGinnis is that he could be that. As a NY Jets fan, I would love to have a kicker like him after the circus I saw this past season. If you can perform at a high rate, you will get an opportunity and this guy will compete for a spot on an NFL roster this upcoming season.
Jordan Ta’amu had a good day for the Battlehawks. He threw for 209 yards, 1 touchdown and also ran for 77 yards. On his longest run of the night, 37 yards, he set up the game’s only touchdown.
Ta’amu was undrafted and was signed with the Texans for 23 days. That is his NFL career to this point. He showed that he is a gamer and wants to be a professional QB. If he improves on his awareness there could be more than a tryout for him in the future. He showed me that he has the athleticism to play at a high level.
The XFL has officially arrived and will need to continue this momentum into week 2 if there will be hope to continue beyond this season. The new rules are fun and innovative IN MY OPINION and will bring a new kind of football to fans that always wants more football in the dead time of the NFL.
Some notes I have about the league in the first weekend are as follows
The transparency of replay is making me ecstatic and seems to be impressing fans around the US. Take away the secrecy from the NFL and let the fans in, we want to know that there isn’t anything sketchy going on behind the scenes.
The kickoff formation is a hit, and it is making the game safer. The more athletes we can keep healthy, the better football we will get.
The Alliance of American Football may have failed, but IN MY OPINION, it laid the true blueprint for what we are seeing from this iteration of the XFL. They took the AAF as a warning of things to avoid and where they needed to focus more of their attention. The funding of Vince McMahon will make it through this season and all revenue will be probably be placed toward the league next season and THAT IS MY OPINION.
Let’s make this work! The XFL is great but it still needs fans to stick around! Do whatever you can to make this work and it will stay. Buy Merchandise, tickets to a game, download the app on android or IOS and make sure you keep tuning in every weekend. Without you, there will not be a future of the XFL.
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