AFL Power Rankings: Week 9
John Hoh
Thursday March 24, 2005
Week by week, teams enter or fall out of a playoff spot. The stretch to the finish should be exciting (unless you live in Arizona, Columbus, Grand Rapids, or Nashville).
San Jose has clawed back into the playoff picture and Philly found its Soul. Hang on for the wild ride through the rest of the 2005 season!
Herein are the Power Rankings for Week 9.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | Georgia Force (GA) | 6-2 | 4 | @NO |
| Tough game vs. Orlando is followed up by a tough game at New Orleans. | ||||
| 2 | New Orleans VooDoo (NO) | 6-2 | 3 | GA |
| VooDoo took care of Chicago but Georgia comes in with a Force. | ||||
| 3 | Dallas Desperadoes (DAL) | 6-2 | 5 | COL |
| Dallas back on top in the East. Host Colorado next. | ||||
| 4 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 5-3 | 4 | AUS |
| Suddenly, the Predators are on the outside looking in at the National Conference playoff picture. | ||||
| 5 | New York Dragons (NY) | 5-2 | 1 | @CLB |
| Tough loss at Austin. Will the Dragons find an equally formidable foe in Columbus? | ||||
| 6 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 5-2 | 7 | @DAL |
| Columbus has gone way off track since win over Chicago. Doubtful they'll get a Mile-High win. | ||||
| 7 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 5-3 | 10 | SJ |
| Glads lead in American. Can they actually play in the ArenaBowl at home? Host surging San Jose next. | ||||
| 8 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 4-3 | 8 | TB |
| Tough loss to Desps; catch a slumping Storm. | ||||
| 9 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 4-3 | 6 | @LA |
| Storm warning: Playoffs may elude Tampa Bay this year. | ||||
| 10 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 4-3 | 11 | @LV |
| S'Cats back in playoff picture after 1-3 start. Must play at conference leader Las Vegas next. Could San Jose come away tops in the conference? | ||||
| 11 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 4-4 | 9 | @NY (4/2) |
| Cannot handle VooDoo at home. Get week off before going to New York. | ||||
| 12 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 3-4 | 11 | GR |
| Surprising win over Tampa Bay. Soul gets a break with Grand Rapids next. Could the Soul even its record? | ||||
| 13 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 3-5 | 14 | @ORL |
| Surprising win wrangled at the expense of the Dragons. Tougher test at Orlando. | ||||
| 14 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 1-6 | 13 | NY |
| Collapse official in Ohio. | ||||
| 15 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 1-7 | 15 | @NAS |
| Seven straight losses by the Rattlers. Arizona now lower than a snake in a wagon rut. Game against Nashville could stop this streak. | ||||
| 16 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 1-6 | 16 | @PHI |
| Love will not be so brotherly in Philadelphia. | ||||
| 17 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 1-6 | 17 | AZ |
| Someone has to get a second win in this game. | ||||
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.
