AFL Power Rankings: Week 6
John Hoh
Wednesday March 2, 2005
And who would miss the playoffs should the season end today? Yep, the New York Dragons, the divisional winner last year that failed to make the playoffs. They almost have to be thinking, "If it weren't for bad luck we'd have no luck at all! Woe, despair, and misery are we." (OK, I've probably lost many of my younger readers with that obscure reference to an old Hee-Haw song).
The league has seen its first coaching casualty as well. Michael Trigg was relieved of his duties at Philadelphia. Ironically, the defensive coordinator was given the "interim head coach" title. The irony comes from the fact that Philly's defense was probably the Soul's weakness and undoing.
Also, every team now has a win. The Rampage have a winning "streak"!
Herein are the Power Rankings for Week 6.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | New Orleans VooDoo (NO) | 4-1 | 1 | @DAL |
| Beats Tampa Bay, but tough test on road at Dallas looms. | ||||
| 2 | Georgia Force (GA) | 4-1 | 3 | CLB |
| Not so easy victory at home against Austin. Perhaps the Force was looking ahead? Host Columbus next. Better not look past this game. | ||||
| 3 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 4-1 | 4 | SJ |
| Take road win at Chicago. Host defending champs next, although the game doesn't look as ominous as it did in the preseason. | ||||
| 4 | Dallas Desperadoes (DAL) | 4-1 | 6 | NO |
| Eastern Division leading Desperadoes host hot VooDoo next. | ||||
| 5 | New York Dragons (NY) | 3-1 | 7 | @PHI |
| Beats old coach when Arizona visited Long Island. Can they give the new Soul coach a rude welcome to the ranks of head coaches? | ||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 2-2 | 5 | GR |
| Two straight losses should not become three. Grand Rapids, fresh off their first win, come to Tampa Bay. | ||||
| 7 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 3-2 | 11 | @NAS (3/13) |
| Crush now leads Central Division with win over LA. | ||||
| 8 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 3-2 | 2 | @AZ |
| Trip to Colorado shows Avengers not in elite yet. | ||||
| 9 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 3-2 | 10 | AUS |
| Western co-leaders host the Wranglers. Have inside track to win division. | ||||
| 10 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 2-3 | 9 | NAS |
| Two game losing streak should end when Nashville comes to town. | ||||
| 11 | Philadelphia Soul(PHI) | 2-3 | 8 | NY |
| Two straight bad games loses Mike Trigg's job. New coach won't help Philly get its Soul back. | ||||
| 12 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 1-3 | 12 | @GA |
| Columbus looked to make move, but stumble badly at Grand Rapids. Back to the drawing board. | ||||
| 13 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 1-3 | 13 | @ORL |
| A week off for the SaberCats just a break. There is no let up in the schedule as San Jose travels to Orlando. | ||||
| 14 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 1-4 | 14 | LA |
| Bonner returns and Arizona was competitive—briefly. May trip up LA in the desert. | ||||
| 15 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 1-4 | 15 | @LV |
| Wranglers play Georgia tough at home. However, a game on the road at Vegas only means another "L." | ||||
| 16 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 1-3 | 17 | @TB |
| Grand Rapids celebrating first win. Make it a good celebration. The win streak comes to an end in Tampa Bay. | ||||
| 17 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 1-4 | 16 | @CHI |
| Kats go to Chicago. Kats lose at Chicago. | ||||
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
