In a weekend that was meant to contain one tightly contested affair and one lopsided encounter the AFL managed to give us two ... lopsided encounters, quite a disappointing Saturday for anyone that tuned in I'm afraid.
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| Unfortunately, playing like a Raider meant emulating JaMarcus Russell. © Kellner Holly Thomas/Gridiron Photography |
Raiffeisen Vikings 48 - Swarco Raiders 13
Not going to pull any punches with this one, the game was a monumental disappointment as the reining champions simply rolled over the team they beat in last years final and they didn't appear to face much resistance.
From watching it was tough to tell if the Raiders had actually put together a gameplan to combat Christopher Gross or the Vikings passing game as time after time Vikings receivers, #7 Michael Zweifel in particular, found themselves uncovered downfield which lead to a total of 331 yards through the air for the Vikings. Being a former member of the much maligned DB club, I was quite shocked and disgusted to see receivers lining up to catch a 50 yard pass and being able to moonwalk 10 yards into the end-zone, it was just that sort of day for the Raiders.
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| Look familiar BUAFL? © Kellner Holly Thomas/Gridiron Photography |
After the first quarter the game looked poised to be a classic, even though the Raider secondary had been twice shredded, when the score was 14-6 in favour of the Vikings wit the Raiders botching their extra point attempt. From there though, it was all downhill as the Vikings poured on the hurt by completely shutting down the Raider offence whilst scoring almost at will.
The second half rounded out a disappointing game with a disappointing display as the Raiders continued to struggle whilst the Vikings let their backups get some playing time, meaning that the second half finished just 7-7.
Player of the Game: Michael Zweifel, Wide Receiver #7. Could have gone for Christopher Gross here but Zweifel not only delivered on the long ball but was also a consistent threat across the middle and making himself available for Gross to connect with on multiple occasions.
Prediction: Wrong. My prediction got blown out of the water, and after watching that poor of a display from the Raiders it's going to be tough to say that they can get revenge on the return fixture.
Player of the Game: Michael Zweifel, Wide Receiver #7. Could have gone for Christopher Gross here but Zweifel not only delivered on the long ball but was also a consistent threat across the middle and making himself available for Gross to connect with on multiple occasions.
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| And here it is, #7 Zweifel moonwalking in for a score. © Florian Schellhorn from www.footballpics.info |
Danube Dragons 51 - AFC Ranger 14
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| The precise moment when the Ranger's fate was sealed. |
This game did go as predicted and turned out to be another snooze-fest with the half time score at 31-0 in the Dragons favour. The Dragons once again unleashed their offensive firepower by surpassing the 500 total yard mark on offence and averaging a whopping 10.2 yards per play whereas, the Rangers simply couldn't get anything going on the ground and once again had to rely on a couple of big plays for their scores.
The amazing thing for the Dragons offence was that they didn't even work Tunde Ogun hard on the day as he only totalled 13 touches. However, when those 13 touches account for 170 total yards and 2 touchdowns, you can tell that the Rangers defence was powerless to resist.
Last weekend, Jonathan Dally wasn't able to put much on the scoreboard due to the dominance of Ogun, but on Sunday, he filled his proverbial boots with 5 touchdowns through the air and 3 of those finding last year's offensive MVP Thomas Haider.
The other side of the stat sheet is a very bleak affair for the Rangers, who besides tackles and a singular pass breakup, didn't record any other defensive stat, showing just how much they lack a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. But let's be honest, right now the team clearly lacks the overall talent level to get defensive stops, let alone compete with some of these high powered AFL offences.
In the end, this game came down to the Dragons scheming effectively for the Rangers' limited threats and then ultimately executing the game plan. Roll on next week.
The Dragons 'Play of the Week' can be found HERE
Player of the Game: Jonathan Dally, Quarterback #8. Easy pick, sliced apart the Rangers defence with 320 yards and 5 touchdowns on a 21 of 29 passing display.
Prediction: So close on the score, a total of 4 points off from my 48-13 prediction.
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