If you thought your days of watching and betting on professional football ended on Super Bowl Sunday, you are in for a treat. The inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football is kicking off this this weekend, with four games that you’ll be able to watch thanks to television deals with CBS, CBS Sports Network, the NFL Network and TNT.
The AAF will have a 10-week regular season and the top four teams will advance to the playoffs. The Championship Game will air on Saturday, April 27. So who’s going to win it? As always, there are some odds for your entertainment and gambling purposes.
Odds to win AAF Championship
Arizona Hotshots +250
Orlando Apollos +300
San Antonio Commanders +400
Salt Lake Stallions +500
Memphis Express +600
San Diego Fleet +600
Atlanta Legends +800
Birmingham Iron +1200
The odds are based not only on the coach of each team, but their respective roster and, more often than not, their quarterback. The Arizona Hotshots are the early favorites. At the helm, former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. Neuheisel has never been the head coach of a professional football team before, though he did spend a few years on the Baltimore Ravens staff as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
His quarterback will likely be former Oklahoma/Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight. He was their first pick in the quarterback draft, but he’s in a battle with former Wake Forest signal-caller John Wolford.
This weekend, football continues. 🏈 #JoinTheAlliance
🎟 | https://t.co/m6ssSzpAg2 pic.twitter.com/50Ut7ppAlB
— The Alliance (@TheAAF) February 6, 2019
The Orlando Apollos boast the return to the sideline of the Old Ball Coach himself, Steve Spurrier, last seen sneaking out of the University of South Carolina offices with plenty of season left on the schedule. He’s rolling with NFL cast-off Garrett Gilbert at quarterback, presumably.
Mike Riley will be bringing the San Antonio Commanders into battle, with former Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside and North Carolina’s Marquise Williams vying for the starting quarterback job.
#CommanderCamp has come to an end, but this is just the beginning of the story. https://t.co/x0897RdY1s#TakeCommand⚔️ #LuckyShirt pic.twitter.com/nXkf06NsDp
— San Antonio Commanders (@aafcommanders) January 29, 2019
Those three favorites seem to have very specific things in common, which the bookmakers apparently like when it comes to the AAF. They’re all coached by former and successful NCAA coaches that didn’t do much, if anything, in the NFL. The idea is, apparently, since these rosters are basically college-level players, that a guy used to dealing with college players will have the most success.
It makes sense, but let me toss out the opposite argument. Four of these teams, the Atlanta Legends, Memphis Express, Salt Lake Stallions and San Diego Fleet all have guys who coached in the NFL. And while, for the most part, their NFL records aren’t exemplary, one guy actually stands out from the pack — Fleet head coach Mike Martz.
The @AAFFleet are happy to be home. Especially head coach Mike Martz.
More from today's practice, and the team's return to San Diego, as they get ready for their first game in @TheAAF.https://t.co/FZDhhCwCv6 pic.twitter.com/p68u3zoDhC
— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) February 6, 2019
Martz was the architect of the then St. Louis Rams Greatest Show on Turf. He helped nurture three NFL quarterbacks from obscurity into the Pro Bowl — Kurt Warner, Trent Green and Marc Bulger. One of those guys, Warner, is in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Martz flamed out with the Rams because of his own hubris, his notion that he was the winning formula and a guy like Warner wasn’t the key. He’s since learned his lesson and made it clear that he was mistaken. He’s even got one of his old receivers, Az-Zahir Hakim, on staff as his wide receivers coach.
Do not be surprised at all to see Martz turn one of his journeyman quarterbacks (Mike Brecovici, Phillip Nelson and Alex Ross) into a legit NFL-caliber player and for this team to put up points through inventive offensive formations. Martz has been licking his chops to get back into the coaching game and prove he deserves an NFL job.
That’s why I think the best bet here just might be the Fleet.
