AFL Power Rankings: Week 8
John Hoh
Thursday March 17, 2005
The Dragons from New York have seized the home field advantage in the National Conference so far. Los Angeles' Avengers hold the same for the American. Some surprising games and some games were near surprises. Right now the Storm would miss the playoffs if the season ended today.
Injuries are also taking tolls as we approach the stretch run of the season. Which teams will weather adversity the best?
Herein are the Power Rankings for Week 8.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | New York Dragons (NY) | 5-1 | 3 | @AUS |
| Dragons want division title again—but also want playoff berth. Austin should be a win. | ||||
| 2 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 5-2 | 4 | @GA |
| They beat New Orleans to take share of Southern lead. Go to Georgia against another Southern co-leader. Should be a good game. | ||||
| 3 | New Orleans VooDoo (NO) | 5-2 | 1 | @CHI |
| Travel to Chicago may be tough way to get back in the win column after tough loss to Southern rival Orlando. | ||||
| 4 | Georgia Force (GA) | 5-2 | 2 | ORL |
| Close loss at New York and now the Force host the Predators in a battle among first-place teams in the Southern division. | ||||
| 5 | Dallas Desperadoes (DAL) | 5-2 | 5 | @LA |
| Easy win over cross-state rival; next is bigger challenge in the City of Angels. | ||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 4-2 | 6 | @PHI |
| Good news: Storm would be in contention for home field advantage in American Conference. Bad news: Storm resides in National Conference, where they are currently seeded sixth (and fourth in their tough division). Worse news: Only four conference teams go to the playoffs. | ||||
| 7 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 4-2 | 7 | CLB |
| Columbus has gone way off track since win over Chicago. Doubtful they'll get a Mile-High win. | ||||
| 8 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 4-2 | 8 | DAL |
| Avengers still tops in conference. Face Dallas after bye week. | ||||
| 9 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 4-3 | 9 | NO |
| Rush get scare in Grand Rapids. How long Philyaw remains out could determine fate of the Rush. | ||||
| 10 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 4-3 | 10 | @AZ |
| Second of two easy games as Arizona is not in synch. | ||||
| 11 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 3-3 | 13 | GR |
| Don't look now, but S'Cats have clawed their way back into this race. Win over Grand Rapids will pull the Cats above .500. | ||||
| 12 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 2-4 | 11 | TB |
| It's not getting easier. | ||||
| 13 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 1-5 | 12 | @COL |
| Mile High expectations; Mile-high drop after loss. | ||||
| 14 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 2-5 | 13 | NY |
| Wranglers have another tough game. | ||||
| 15 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 1-6 | 15 | LV |
| Rattlers actually made it close at Tampa Bay. Are the Ratts improving—or is the Storm that bad? | ||||
| 16 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 1-5 | 16 | @SJ |
| Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Rampage needs to find a way to close games. | ||||
| 17 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 1-6 | 17 | AZ (3/26) |
| Kats get a bye week! | ||||
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.
