AFL Power Rankings: 2006 Week 6
John Hoh
Wednesday March 8, 2006
Sometimes things happen outside your control. I awoke on Wednesday morning with no cares or worries and went to work. At noon my home was threatened with a fire. The remainder of the week was spent cleaning and salvaging as my home will have to be gutted and rebuilt—a six month project. The good news is no one was hurt. Meanwhile, if I’m a bit harsh with the Utah team this week, chalk it up to an emotional outburst to a team called “blaze.”
Before the fire I did catch the SaberCats-Rush game. I must say, the Rush needs to find a way to protect the quarterback. But that sure was an exciting fourth quarter, no? This last Sunday was spent in salvage efforts so I didn’t get a chance to catch the AFL on NBC. I know, I need to look at my priorities.
Herein are the 2006 week 6 Power Rankings. And remember, these are only my opinions and are not scientific. Any attempt to use this information for betting purposes is solely at the gambler’s discretion.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 5-1 | 1 | @CHI |
| Crush keeps rolling with home win over Grand Rapids. Travel to Chicago next in a rivalry that is starting to come into its own the last few years. | ||||
| 2 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 5-1 | 2 | NY |
| The 1972 Dolphins reportedly opened a small bottle of champaign since a small field team will not match their perfection. Austin looks to be the sleeper of the year. | ||||
| 3 | Dallas Desperados (DAL) | 5-1 | 4 | TB |
| The Lone Star state has two solid teams in the early part of the season. | ||||
| 4 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 4-2 | 3 | UT |
| Kats lose in the desert sun. Snake-bit team next goes to Utah hoping not to get burned. | ||||
| 5 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 4-2 | 6 | @AZ |
| Beat LA and now go to Arizona. Nice stretch of games for Orlando to make a run for division title. | ||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 4-2 | 7 | DAL |
| Kansas City was an easy game. Dallas will be a tougher test. | ||||
| 7 | Georgia Force (GA) | 2-2 | 9 | @CLB |
| Tough loss to Austin puts Force into hole. Must travel to the suddenly surging Destroyer team. | ||||
| 8 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 2-2 | 10 | COL |
| Home loss to Dallas exposes weakness. Can these be fixed before Colorado comes to town? | ||||
| 9 | New York Dragons (NY) | 2-2 | 8 | @AUS |
| Tough loss to the Destroyers allows Columbus back into playoff hunt. | ||||
| 10 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 3-3 | 7 | @KC |
| Two game skid needs to stop. Trip to Kansas City could cure what ails this Soul. | ||||
| 11 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 3-3 | 18 | GA |
| A two game winning streak? And one of those against the three-time Eastern Division defending champion Dragons? I have to reward the Destroyers for that. Must face the Force at home. | ||||
| 12 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 2-4 | 11 | @LV |
| The Rampage are in last place in the Central Division. They would be tied for first in the Western Division. Can exact a pound of flesh against the Gladiators. | ||||
| 13 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 2-4 | 17 | ORL |
| Arizona gets a win over the Kats in another division. Now host the Predators—are they cats, too? | ||||
| 14 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 2-4 | 14 | LA |
| The SaberCats are tied for first in their division heading for the intra-state game against the Avengers. | ||||
| 15 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 2-4 | 15 | GR |
| Glads still tied for division lead. Host the Rampage in their next game. | ||||
| 16 | Utah Blaze (UT) | 2-4 | 13 | NAS |
| I’m in a surly mood with ANY team using “blaze,” “fire,” and other such references this week, thus the Utah ranking at the bottom of all 2-4 teams. Also, I don’t think they’ll beat the Kats. | ||||
| 17 | Kansas City Brigade (KC) | 1-5 | 16 | PHI |
| Are you ready for some football, a Monday Night party? Well, Philly and KC will be this week. | ||||
| 18 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 1-5 | 12 | @SJ |
| Last year’s division winners are this year’s basement dwellers. Can SoCal beat NoCal in this intra-state rivalry? | ||||
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.
