Another week, another appearance for the Steve Spurrier as his AAF team, the Orlando Apollos (1-0), hosts the San Antonio Commanders (1-0) in the battle of the unbeatens.
The opening weekend for the Alliance of American Football went down without much of a hitch. In fact, it got a bigger audience than the NBA on ABC. Will it keep it up? If it has a chance, this game could very well be the reason why.
Orlando Apollos at San Antonio Commanders (+6, O/U: 44.5)
While the Commanders were victorious in their debut game against the San Diego Fleet, it was hardly a barnburner. The Commanders won 15-6, which officially made it five points more exciting than Super Bowl LIII.
Logan Woodside put up a nice yardage total for San Antonio with 255, but he was just 18-for-36 and tossed two interceptions with no touchdowns. His favorite target was Mekale McKay who caught five passes for 80 yards. Alonzo Moore hauled in three balls for 78 yards and Greg Ward Jr. had five catches for 65 yards.
Kenneth Farrow II was supposed to be the lead back, but averaged just 2.6 yards per carry. Aaron Green was much more explosive, carrying the ball six times but amassing a team-leading 43 yards in the process. Expect to see him much more involved in Sunday night’s gameplan.
On defense, the Commanders were led by four tackles, two passes defended and one interception from Orion Stewart. Zack Sanchez had the other pick, a tackle and and a pass break up. Shaan Washington finished with two tackles, one for a loss and two sacks. Joey Mbu had two tackles, one for a loss and a sack.
If people were in love with the Apollos’ potential based on the presence of Spurrier’s visor alone, they were not disappointed. Of all the teams to take the field last week, they looked the most complete on offense by a pretty wide margin. Quarterback Garrett Gilbert finished 15-of-25 for 227 yards and two touchdowns and they even employed some trick plays, with wide receiver Jalin Marshall tossing a touchdown back to Gilbert via a Philly Special.
Akeem Hunt carried the ball 10 times for 73 yards. Gilbert spread the ball around to four primary receivers. Charles Johnson caught four passes for 60 yards. Marshall had three catches for 51, Ishmael Hyman caught two passes for 45 yards and Chris Thompson had four receptions for 30 yards.
With Spurrier’s offense, it’s all about giving the quarterback quick reads and easy throws. As I wrote in my preview last week, Gilbert is far from the worst guy he’s ever had tossing the ball. If he keeps this up, Spurrier might land Gilbert back in the NFL — where he has spent time on the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers’ rosters.
The Pick
There’s no reason at all not to buy into the hype and excitement in Orlando. There’s plenty to like about the Apollos and the show they put on last weekend. While San Antonio is stout on defense, they probably just don’t have the horses to score with Spurrier’s squad. Apollos 34, Commanders 20
