You may have heard that football season is over, but the AAF is here to fill the void. The Alliance of American Football starts play this weekend, and we will have football for the next three months of the year. The first weekend will feature teams taking part in conference play, with Sunday’s early game seeing the Birmingham Iron hosting the Memphis Express. Offshore sportsbook BetDSI lhas put up AAF odds and lists the Iron as a 3.5-point favorite in this one with a total of 51.
Memphis Express
I think the Express are the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Memphis has a solid coach in former San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, and he will be looking to prove himself. There are a number of talented defensive players too, and the defensive line is going to be a strength. Montori Hughes, Anthony Johnson, Sam Montgomery, and more should be able to beat many of the offensive lines in this league.
The offense is a concern though. Hal Mumme was hired to be the team’s offensive coordinator in November, but he parted ways with Memphis just a few weeks later. The team hasn’t named a replacement yet, though it seems like David Lee will be the one calling the plays.
An experienced playcaller would have helped this offense as the quarterback situation isn’t great. Christian Hackenberg and Zach Mettenberger are the team’s two quarterbacks, and both are likely to see action. However, given what we know about both quarterbacks, it’s hard to have a lot of faith in either.
Birmingham Iron
The Iron are my pick to be the worst team in the league. There are a ton of question marks as head coach Tim Lewis has not coached a professional team in four years, and the offense could be the league’s worst. Unheralded Division II quarterback Luis Perez beat out Keith Price and Blake Sims to be the team’s starting quarterback, but whether that is due to his talent or their lack of it is up for debate. Birmingham seems to be putting a lot of faith in local product Trent Richardson pounding the ball on the ground, but Richardson was a historic bust in the NFL and has been out of professional football for some time.
This defense isn’t too sharp either. There are capable coaches on the staff, but their isn’t much talent there. I don’t like any of the units outside of maybe the cornerbacks, and I think you’ll be able to run on the Iron. That would be great news for Memphis, as Singletary would love to keep it on the ground.
AAF Pick: Memphis +3.5 and Under 51
I like the under in every game in opening weekend. The totals are too high considering we saw less plays in the preseason than we did in a typical NFL game, so I’m taking the under across the board. As for a side, Memphis is more of a known quantity, and I like the value in getting the Express and 3.5 points.
