Memphis Express shut out

Memphis Express shut out

Team set for home opener this weekend

www.aaf.com Charlie Ebersol, the Alliance of American Football’s CEO, promised that his new league of pro football wouldn’t be all that different from what fans saw in the NFL on Sundays in the fall.

There’s a caveat in that statement, of course. The AAF wouldn’t be exactly like the NFL in terms of the on-field product, because there is no substitute for the NFL. Ebersol and cofounder Bill Polian instead stressed that their league would be what the original XFL was not: real football for football people, by football people. With one week in the books, that description was about right. The AAF does some things differently than the NFL — some of which are very good, like replay transparency — but overall the first four games felt like watching any other football game. And if you’re starved for more football, then this is a way to satisfy that need while the AAF does what it wants to do: develop players to get back into the NFL.

Maybe the No. 1 question about the AAF as we exit the first week was whether this league will survive or whether it will join the graveyard of other, past pro football leagues. It’s tough to say for sure right now, but the overall impression is that there’s serious potential.

Unfortunately for the local team, Week 1 was a disappointment. According to early returns, Memphis is alarmingly limited offensively. That’s both an understatement and a legitimate concern for the Express moving forward. Even though most offenses around the Alliance were working out the kinks in Week 1, none of them put up a goose egg like Mike Singletary’s team. The final score fo 26-0 in a loss to the Iron almost didn’t do the lopsided game justice. At least Atlanta got boat raced by what appears to be a playoff contender in Orlando.

Memphis can spin itself a run-first offense, but that’s because it had zero passing game to speak of and the most successful play of the day — a trick pass out of the Wildcat formation — was called back for a penalty. Starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg (10of-23 for 67 yards and a pick) is going to get most of the blame because 1) he’s the starting quarterback and 2) he had a disappointing career in the NFL and for much of his time at Penn State. He’s a meme-able target, and it didn’t help that after getting a Trent Richardson fumble in the third quarter, Singletary opted to run the ball, sometimes completely taking the snap out of Hackenberg’s hands, instead of trying to spark the offense with a deep shot.

However, Memphis’ problems appear much deeper than quarterback. The offensive line looks like it needs more time, though that’s a common theme for most teams at this early stage. More pressingly, there might not be a consistent deep threat in the receiving corps. Kayaune Ross, a 6-foot-6 target out of Kentucky, was mentioned as a name to watch coming out of training camp, but he had zero catches. Pig Howard was productive, but is he a viable option to stretch the field? To Birmingham’s credit, the back end of that defense looks like a shutdown unit. However, it also helps when there’s no concern for a deep threat and you can bring an extra defender into the box.

Is home field advantage a huge thing?

Week 1 was bad for road teams. Not only did all four lose, but every home team covered, usually convincingly. Granted, every line was within a touchdown and oddsmakers are still figuring out how to play this. But this wasn’t a good opening weekend for competitiveness, which is a whole other talking point in and of itself.

Memphis hopes the homefield will be their advantage in Week 2 as the Express hosts Arizona this Sunday at the Liberty Bowl. Kickoff from Memphis is set for 7 p.m.

From the Alliance of American Football