WEEK 4 SFL NEWSLETTER
- Cameron Irvine
- Jul 18, 2014
- 5 min read
Feature of the Week
Five struggling superstars
The SFL has seen a lot in the first three weeks of Season 3, including some noticeable absences from the stat sheet. Here's five shocking players who have been left off the leaderboards so far this year as they struggle with new teammates, new offenses and with new franchises.
1. Lawrence Kirkland: Kailua's offense is a work in progress, but nothing can explain the complete absence of Krikland, who bursted onto the scene in his rookie season, finishing third in the league in yards. This year so far - he's dead last with only 7 grabs in two contests.
2. Johnny English: This guy got a new max contract in the off-season and he's 6th in the league in rushing? He has less carries (25) than any other running back in the SFL and his counterpart Thomas Ranklins is suffering. Whatever's going on in Dallas, it can't be good, as English fights for every carry he can get.
3. Larry Henderson: Sticking with Dallas, Henderson is coming off of a season in which he recorded a league-record 13 sacks. In his first two games, he has 0.5 sacks. While Dallas' defense has looked sharp, Henderson has not. Everyone except Dallas' weekly opposition misses this big fella lighting up the stat line.
4. Jake Legacy: This man is a legend. He leads the league in all-time receiving yards and touchdowns and he's got 90 yards in 2 games? 6 yards per catch? This isn't the Jake Legacy Corsair and Knight fans know but as Legacy is getting older, and New York is getting more systematic in their offense with Wes St. Clair, maybe this is the new Legacy.
5. Ahmad Arrington: This guy set a league record with 9 INT's last year. Expected to get a big raise this off-season, Arrington instead was not re-signed by Dallas, signed with San Francisco and doesn't have a single pick this Summer.
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CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH: Renegades have revenge on their mind
Sunday July 20 — Oklahoma City (1-1) @ Orlando (1-1), noon CT
All-time series: Orlando leads 2-1
Milestone tracker: Kevin Walker needs 3 TD's to become second QB in league history to reach 50. Jasper Hart needs four completions and 29 yards to reach 300 career completions and 3,000 yards, respectively.
ORLANDO — Last year's Championship Game was doubly painful for the Oklahoma City Renegades who made it back to the title game, only to lose it again and give up 40+ points, again. For a team that prides itself on defense, they should be out to make a statement Sunday.
In their first two games, the Renegades have given up 14.5 points per game, best in the SFL. Billy Joe Casper and Tank Savage have combined for four interceptions in two games and Adam Stackhouse leads the league in tackles with 24.
The defending champs have The Dome on their side. In the last five home games (Orlando is 5-0), Orlando has outscored opponents 221-45. OKC has visited The Dome just once, however, and won that game 28-23 last summer. Kevin Walker will be looking for a bounce-back game after throwing 4 INT's in Baltimore. The last time he threw 4 INT's, he had the greatest game a quarterback has ever had in SFL history: 39/52, 481 yards, 5 TD's to 1 INT.
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PERFECTION CONTINUED?: GR tries to become only 2nd team to ever start 3-0
Sunday July 20 — Grand Rapids (2-0) @ San Francisco (0-2), 3 pm CT
All-time series: Series tied 1-1
Milestone tracker: Marcus Campbell trails James Cooley by one touchdown for third place all-time in the record books for receiving scores. Campbell is the only tight end in league history to have double-digit touchdowns as a TE. Joseph Redfeather needs 18 completions to become the first quarterback ever to throw for 600 completions in a career.
SAN FRANCISCO — Dallas started 3-0 in the Summer 2013 season thanks to punishing defense, only to finish 1-4 without a trip to the playoffs that year, as the defense fell apart. Grand Rapids has won their first 2 games this year with punishing defense as well, out to prove they are not another tragic start.
Grand Rapids' Gatlin brothers are having the time of their lives playing on the same field with the same team and is part of a true defensive unit for the first time, after playing second fiddle together in New York to Joseph Redfeather and that record-setting offense. Grand Rapids gives up an SFL low 352 yards per game and is second to OKC in points allowed (15.0). The team is coming off of a franchise-record 20-point win over Dallas.
San Francisco, on the other hand, is searching for answers. A trade made in the off-season to bring gold-star quarterback Joseph Redfeather and silver wide receiver Freeman Goodspeed in to make San Francisco's offense lethal has haunted the Bulldog offense, which has yet to find their anticipated passing identity. Redfeather is on pace for his worst season in the league, dropping his QB rating from 111.4 last summer, to 73.90 last winter to 67.60 this season.
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WELCOME TO BUFFALO: Knights play first home game in front of Buffalo crowd
Monday July 21 — Kailua (1-1) @ New York (1-1), 6 pm CT
All-time series: Kailua leads 2-0
Milestone tracker: Thanks to Wes St. Clair's completion percentage, he's in a current three-way tie for first all-time at 69%. He also needs just 25 yards to cross the 4,000 mark for his career. Yuya Aiba needs 94 receiving yards to become the fifth receiver all-time to reach the 2,000-yard milestone.
BUFFALO — The Queen City Corsairs gave fans in Buffalo a taste of what a well-run franchise looks like. While the Buffalo Bills have failed to make the playoffs every year since 1999 - and haven't won a playoff game since 1995 - Barkley's WAFL Corsairs came in and won their first season of existence in 2011 - a shocking victory over the Boston Maulers. After two seasons in the Big Apple, Barkley's going back to the lovable fans of Western New York to try to bring championship glory to a city that hasn't had any since...ever.
Kailua stands in their way - a team New York has never defeated. The Knights will try to wear Kailua down with their efficiency - Wes St. Clair has gone from worst to first in QB rating and has just 11 incompletions in 2 games.
Kailua got their offense going last week, with a new mentality and attitude out of owner Jaimie Walsh, who took the reigns back of Kailua's offense after failed attempts to find a coordinator. The Wyverns key will be to get Lawrence Kirkland going. He's got just 41 receiving yards on 7 grabs and sits at the bottom of the WR/TE leaderboards, after finishing third last season with 1,176 yards.
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