Week Four of the Alliance of American Football season is upon us and we have a pretty interesting league on our hands. I’m not sure if the parity that Co-Founder Bill Polian promised is evident, but we’ve discovered who our most valuable teams are this early in the season and the Birmingham Iron is certainly one of them.
The Iron (3-0) is one of the two unbeaten AAF squads along with the Orlando Apollos. They host the San Antonio Commanders (1-2) this week, a team reeling after its second consecutive loss of the season and this one wasn’t even close.
San Antonio Commanders at Birmingham Iron (-7.5, O/U: 36.5)
The Commanders come into this one off the opposite end of a 31-11 spanking at the hands of the San Diego Fleet. San Antonio scored early in the opening quarter on a 47-yard touchdown strike from Logan Woodside to Mekale McKay but never sniffed the end zone again. Woodside finished the game 12-of-23 for 151 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Commanders again cycled in Marquise Williams at quarterback in a move I don’t get.Williams was good enough at North Carolina to keep Mitchell Trubisky on the bench. It seems obvious to me he should be starting in San Antonio and his multi-talented skills put to good use.
At running back, Trey Williams did most of the work with seven carries for 75 yards, averaging a whopping 10.7 yards per carry. How that couldn’t translate to more points should be a mystery to everyone.
McKay caught four passes for 91 yards and the touchdown bomb.
On defense, Tyrone Holmes, Deion Barnes and Arthur Miley all registered sacks. De’Vante Bausby nabbed an interception.
The Iron had no trouble grinding the Atlanta Legends into the turf, winning 28-12 on the road. Atlanta took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter, but a touchdown before the half from former University of Alabama star and NFL first round pick Trent Richardson would give Birmingham the lead for good. It was one of three touchdowns Richardson would score on the day.
Richardson is obviously one of the marquee names of this league and in spite of his three touchdown performance, he’s still been a disappointment on the stat sheet. He carried the ball 17 times for just 46 yards, averaging 2.7 yards per carry.
At quarterback, Luis Perez had his most inefficient game in the AAF. He was 17-of-31 for 160 yards and a pick. Quinton Patton again led the way at receiver with four catches for 58 yards.
Defensively is where Birmingham really shines so far in this young season and it’s a real shame that they and Orlando are in the same conference. Jeremy Faulk, Casey Sayles and Devin Taylor all registered sacks. Beniquez Brown finished with 10 tackles, one for a loss, a pass defended and forced fumble. Jamar Summers had four passes defended and a pick. Jack Tocho grabbed an interception as did Max Redfield. Devin Taylor forced a fumble.
The Pick
There’s no reason at all to believe the Commanders have solved their offensive issues from the last couple of weeks and on the road at the best defense in the league, it could get ugly quick. Iron 33, Commanders 15
