AFL Power Rankings: Week 14
John Hoh
Thursday April 28, 2005
A fifth seed today can still become a number one seed before the regular season is over. Right now San Jose and Georgia hold the upper hands. But there are four weeks left (three games for some teams).
Playoff seedings as of the end of week 13:
American:
- San Jose SaberCats (8-4)+
- Colorado Crush (8-4)+
- Chicago Rush (7-5)
- Las Vegas Gladiators (7-5)
- Los Angeles Avengers (7-5)
- Nashville Kats (4-7-1)
- Arizona Rattlers (4-8)
- Grand Rapids Rampage (1-11)
National:
- Georgia Force (9-4)+
- Dallas Desperados (7-4-1)+
- Orlando Predators (9-4)
- New Orleans VooDoo (8-4)
- Tampa Bay Storm (7-5)
- New York Dragons (7-5)
- Philadelphia Soul (5-8)
- Austin Wranglers (4-9)
- Columbus Destroyers (1-11)
+Division Leaders
Herein are the Power Rankings for Week 14.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | Georgia Force (GA) | 9-4 | 1 | TB (5/8) |
| Lose at the Jungle and face tough Tampa Bay next. Storm still in fight for a playoff spot, Georgia looking for home field advantage. | ||||
| 2 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 8-4 | 5 | NAS |
| Win on the road puts the Prehistoric Pussycats at top of the conference; Nashville comes into San Jose with a hot hand. Could this be a cat fight? | ||||
| 3 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 9-4 | 2 | @PHI |
| I know, I know, a team shouldn't beat the top ranked team and remain ranked behind that team—or even lose a spot in the rankings. But look at it another way. Orlando played at home and won a close game. Orlando should continue its march to the playoffs. | ||||
| 4 | New Orleans VooDoo (NO) | 8-4 | 4 | @TB |
| The game at Grand Rapids was much too close for a top caliber team playing against a one-win team. It won't be any easier at Tampa Bay. This game may be decisive in determining which excellent Southern Division misses the playoffs. | ||||
| 5 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 8-4 | 3 | @GR |
| Crush loses conference edge to San Jose in home loss. Need win against Grand Rapids to stay ahead of Chicago in division race. | ||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 7-5 | 6 | NO |
| Tampa Bay is latest team to be scratched by the Kats. Must host New Orleans in another Southern Division showdown. | ||||
| 7 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 7-5 | 7 | @CHI |
| Vegas battles Chicago in a game of teams fighting for a playoff berth. Both have been inconsistent. | ||||
| 8 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 7-5 | 8 | AZ |
| Is it true LA has never beaten Arizona at home? If so, that streak should end this week. | ||||
| 9 | Dallas Desperados (DAL) | 7-4-1 | 10 | NY |
| Dallas host New York in an Eastern Division showdown. Winner controls destiny for winning the division. | ||||
| 10 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 7-5 | 9 | LV |
| Loss at LA hurts Chicago's opportunity to take division lead. Host an inconsistent Las Vegas squad next. | ||||
| 11 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 4-7-1 | 12 | @SJ |
| 3-0-1 in the last three games. But now the true test comes in a battle with the other felines in the league. Nashville could see its first loss in a month. | ||||
| 12 | New York Dragons (NY) | 7-5 | 11 | @DAL |
| Dragons need game if they hope to win division—and make the playoffs. Runner-up in the Eastern Division is looking at staying home in the post season. | ||||
| 13 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 5-8 | 13 | ORL |
| Philly needed to win in New York. They didn't come close. Loss at Orlando will officially knock the Soul out of the playoff race. This was not the dream when Graziani was signed. Then again, no one anticipated the Philly-NY game to be so defensive. | ||||
| 14 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 4-9 | 14 | @CLB |
| Tough loss in the desert. If Austin is still in the league next year, they could make some noise. They should destroy the Destroyers in this game. | ||||
| 15 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 4-8 | 15 | @LA |
| Arizona can still avoid a losing season. | ||||
| 16 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 1-11 | 16 | COL |
| The Rampage will get Crush-ed. | ||||
| 17 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 1-11 | 17 | AUS |
| Columbus denizens are counting the days until Ohio State starts the Big Ten season. | ||||
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.
