No
By Marshall Macaluso
On Saturday, Feb. 9, the Orlando Apollos blew out the Atlanta Legends 40-6, and the San Antonio Commanders beat the San Diego Fleet 15-6. It was the first night of the brand new Alliance of American Football league.
The San Antonio versus San Diego game at least had some competition, but only 435 total passing yards and five interceptions by unknown starters Mike Bercovici and Logan Woodside came as a surprise. The two quarterbacks wouldn’t make it a day in the NFL.
The quality at the quarterback position alone gave us a strong indicator for the future of this league. Along with the lack of any superstars and the opposite system of a prospect-oriented league, the AAF will slowly become irrelevant.
The quarterback position in football is essentially a celebrity machine. Patrick Mahomes gave America one outstanding year of QB play and he’s now virtually the face of the NFL. People watch football for the quarterbacks.
The AAF really doesn’t have that draw for fans. The quarterbacks in the AAF all are basically former practice squad signal callers and the quality of play shows. Surrounding them are a bunch of former draft busts and no names. There isn’t a notable players in the whole entire league.
As for the system, it could be a feeder league for the NFL in theory, but the AAF is essentially the opposite. Instead of giving the NFL young and exciting prospects, it’s picking up the unwanted players who showed a lack of talent and potential.
Of
Yes
By Cole Bredahl
After the Super Bowl concludes the NFL season in early February, football fans are normally left with nothing to watch until the end of the summer.
That was the case until the Alliance of American Football started its season a few weeks ago. The league has captivated fans, featuring many former NFL players and coaches trying to make a comeback and players who once excelled at the college level.
The AAF has a recipe to continue long-term success. It’s essentially just the NFL but has adopted new rules that make the gameplay and viewing experience better.
First, the AAF has a sky judge. The ninth official watches from the press box and has the power to call penalties or tell an official on the field to pick up a flag.
As an avid New Orleans Saints fan, I was outraged by the missed call at the end of the NFC Championship Game. If the NFL had this rule, the right teams would have been in the Super Bowl.
Another reason the AAF will be successful is because of the looser calling of penalties such as pass interference. In the first weekend of games, fans saw hard hits on quarterback that reminded them of old time football. These hits would’ve been pass interference calls in the NFL and resulted in fines.
This philosophy of letting the players play has made fans happy to see the physical sport getting back to its core.
I will concede the fact AAF players are not the super stars of the NFL. The level of play isn’t as superb as it could be. As the league begins to grow, I think it will act almost as a minor league for the NFL and better players will filter into the league.
Overall, the AAF provides an excellent product for fans counting down the days until the beginning of training camp.
