Players of the Week
American Conference
Offense
Daniel McKee, QB, Chicago Blitz: Completed 10 of 13 passes for 355 yards (35.5 per completion) and four TDs for a quarterback rating of 157.85 during a 31-7 victory over the Cleveland Thunderbolts. He narrowly beat out Detroit Wheels QB Henry Prieto who threw for five touchdowns, but was a tad less efficient (13 of 20, 147.92) in a 48-0 shutout of the crosstown rival Michigan Panthers. |
| Daniel McKee, QB, Chicago Blitz |
Honorable Mention: Henry Prieto, QB, Detroit Wheels; Jeffrey Grahan, RB, San Antonio Gunslingers; Gregory Shea, RB, Memphis Showboats; Jim Aguirre, WR, Chicago Blitz; Brian Wesley, WR, San Jose SaberCats.
Defense
Edwin Weidner, LDE, San Antonio Gunslingers: He had 6 tackles and 4 sacks in the 27-10 win over the Houston Gamblers.
Honorable Mention: John Briggs, DT, Memphis Showboats; Nathan Branch, LDE, Memphis Showboats; James Tolentino, LDE, Honolulu Hawaiians; Matthew McKamey, WLB, Los Angeles Express; Leon Crisman, CB, San Antonio Gunslingers.
National Conference
Offense
William Trombly, QB, Florida Blazers: 20 completions, 465 passing yards, 6 TDs, 1 Int, 128.47 quarterback rating during a 54-9 win over the Tampa Bay Bandits.Honorable Mention: Cliff Thomas, RB, Pittsburgh Maulers; Vincent Goode, QB, New Orleans VooDoo.
Defense
Jesse Amos, MLB, Georgia Force: 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 15 hurries, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery during a 14-10 loss to the Shreveport Steamer.Honorable Mention: Daryl Barney, LDE, Philadelphia Bell; Kevin Staten, RDE, Charlotte Hornets.
Notes
- The first week of games went pretty much as I expected, although some games had a wider margin of victory than I would have thought. The New Orleans VooDoo shut out the Baltimore Stars, 36-0. Although I didn't mention it in my season preview, I think New Orleans might be one of the very few teams in the league with the stuff to knock off the preseason World Bowl favorite Boston Breakers. We won't know until the playoffs, as the teams are not scheduled to face each other during the regular season.
- One game I was dead wrong about was played in Orlando, where the Renegades defeated the Birmingham Stallions, 33-19 (33-12 until the Stallions scored with 10 seconds to play) Orlando's 0-4 preseason record was more than mildly deceiving, as it included three losses by three points each. I am glad for coach jormaniv to see his team is not going to be the league's hard-luck case all season.
- Orlando's victory earned it a place on Monday Night Football for Week 2, when the Renegades travel to Jacksonville to face the Bulls. The Sunday Night Football game will see the Charlotte Hornets take on the Baltimore Stars. I am going to try to get each team on national television at least once.
