Well I am back stateside and ready for another week of The Alliance of American Football. The AAF had an interesting week as a few teams evidently had trouble making payroll and didn’t pay their players until the middle of this week. It is widely believed that they were able to do this only after securing a $250 million investment from Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. Either way, it appears as though the league has done very well in TV ratings, online interaction and decent in attendance. The influx of cash will help the league continue to build and market their teams and players to a market void of football for the next few months.
Personally, I was pretty disappointed in the games last week, specifically the first six quarters of the Saturday games. The Salt Lake/Birmingham matchup was quite possible the worst football game I have ever seen. Sunday saved it for me fortunately but I am starting to get worried that team like the Atlanta Legends and Memphis Express are so bad that they are going to do damage to the integrity of the league.
Anyways, these are debates we can have throughout the week. Right now we need to zone in on AAF Week #3 and the matchups that can pad our wallets. As you will notice, I am calling for a fairly big upset this week. I’m also feeling really good about some situations player rotations across the league that we can use to our advantage in Daily Fantasy Football.
Remember that the spot to play DFS AAF is over at Fanball.
Here is the DFS AAF Breakdown for Week 3:
Arizona Hotshots at Salt Lake Stallions – Saturday, 3pm ET
Arizona –The Hotshots had a terrible first half last week at Memphis but rebounded to remain undefeated. Arizona’s pass blocking has held up well while their run blocking is dead last in the AAF. Salt Lake has been the toughest defense to run against, so this sets up to be a big game for QB John Wolford and the passing game. In week one against Salt Lake, Wolford racked up 275 yards and 4 passing TD’s. It looks like WR Richard Mullaney will miss this game with an injury leaving Josh Huff and slot WR Rashad Ross to get even more targets. TE Gerald Christian is one of just three AAF TE’s with a TD and is second in the league with 8 targets.
Salt Lake –There isn’t a more poorly coached team in the AAF than the Salt Lake Stallions. Dennis Erickson’s offense has zero identity despite grading out as an above average unit in the rushing and passing attacks. They are already on their third QB in Austin Allen who didn’t play in week one against these Hotshots. Though Joel Bouagnon has looked good in the first two games, expect Branden Oliver to be heavily involved especially if Arizona builds an early lead. It should be noted that TE Anthony Denham generated 7 targets in their first meeting of the season though that was with the other two QB’s under center.
Best Plays
- Josh Huff, Arizona – $5800
- John Wolford, Arizona – $6800
- Branden Oliver, Salt Lake – $4500
- Rashad Ross, Arizona – $6900
- Anthony Denham, Salt Lake – $4500
Memphis Express at Orlando Apollos – Saturday, 8pm ET
Memphis –All Memphis does is run the ball which is great for Zac Stacy but bad for the entire rest of their offense. They will once again pound the rock early but will likely be forced into throwing the ball often while playing catch up. Christian Hackenberg has absolutely no touch on short or intermediate throws but can connect on the deep ball every now and then. Alton “Pig” Howard is the receiver that is best positioned for the Express this week.
Orlando –The Apollos are simply superior in every fashion. It all starts with coaching as Steve Spurrier has been able to design a gameplan that starts hot (week 1) and makes significant adjustments (week 2). This is the best offensive line in the AAF which gives QB Garrett Gilbert plenty of time to move around and deliver the football to a veteran receiver group. Many DFS players are going to jump on the Charles Johnson bandwagon this week but we cannot ignore what Jalin Marshall has been able to do in this offense as well. Orlando’s running game should get plenty of work in week three but don’t be afraid of last week’s disappointment Akeem Hunt. There isn’t a sure thing between Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson and De’Veon Smith but behind this offensive line we are going to see one of them pop off for a big night.
Best Plays
- Garrett Gilbert, Orlando – $7300
- Zac Stacy, Memphis – $7100
- Akeem Hunt, Orlando – $5300
- Jalin Marshall, Orlando – $6500
- Charles Johnson, Orlando – $7400
Birmingham Iron at Atlanta Legends – Sunday, 4pm ET
Birmingham –I was very impressed with Birmingham’s QB Luis Perez in week one but felt that he took a giant leap back last week against Salt Lake. All he did was check down to the RB’s which is a defenses wet dream. Trent Richardson is getting a monster work load and has scored a TD in back to back games. But there isn’t much room to maneuver which is why he’s averaging just 2.4 YPC this year. The receiver to watch here is obviously Quinton Patton who is Perez’s favorite target so far this year and a burner that the Atlanta secondary has had trouble with this season.
Atlanta –The Legends are anything but as Michael Vick’s offense has struggled to score just 18 points total through two games this season. They did have a real nice start to last week’s game which tells us that the coaching staff has got to script more plays. Matt Simms is another QB that is constantly checking down which helps the value of RB Akrum Wadley quite a bit. This is Atlanta’s first home game of the season and I expect the staff to have a longer script for them to follow.
Best Plays
- Quinton Patton, Birmingham – $6300
- Akrum Wadley, Atlanta – $4300
- Trent Richardson, Birmingham – $7200
- Luis Perez, Birmingham – $5700
- Busta Anderson, Birmingham – $3000
San Antonio Commanders at San Diego Fleet – Sunday, 8pm ET
San Antonio –The Commanders have featured a pass happy attack through two games with QB Logan Woodside having accumulated the second most passing yards in the AAF (478) thus far. When these two teams met in week one however, they combined for a total of 21 points which saw Woodside toss two interceptions. San Antonio is the best run blocking offensive line in the AAF right now according to PFF, so we should expect more Kenneth Farrow this time around. When the Commanders do take to the air, expect a ton of targets going to 6’3” MeKale McKay who is a physical nightmare for San Diego’s CB Greg Ducre who will be lining up opposite him all evening.
San Diego –Mike Martz evidently hasn’t learned much since leaving the NFL. The problem with the San Diego offense is that the QB’s are taking seven to nine step drops while waiting for receivers who are running long routes struggle to get open. This works when you have Orlando Pace and company along your offensive line, but when you have the worst pass blocking O-line in a developmental football league, it isn’t a good idea. The Fleet need to run the ball to be successful and it appears Martz and his staff realized this last week against Atlanta where they handed it off 36 times. Ja’Quan Gardner is poised for a big game here this week.
Best Plays
- Ja’Quan Gardner, Fleet – $7000
- Mekale McKay, Commanders – $6200
- Kenneth Farrow, Commanders – $6400
- Brian Brown, Fleet – $5700
- Gavin Escobar, Fleet – $4400
My #1 Lineup
QB – Garrett Gilbert, Orlando – $7300
RB – Akrum Wadley, Atlanta – $4300
WR – Mekale McKay, San Antonio – $6200
FLEX – Jalin Marshall, Orlando – $6500
FLEX – Josh Huff, Arizona – $5800
FLEX – Brandon Oliver, Salt Lake – $4500
AAF BETTING
Arizona Hotshots:-4.5
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