AFL Power Rankings: 2006 Week 12
John Hoh
Wednesday April 19, 2006
With four weeks to go there are still some races to be fought, especially the divisional race pitting Orlando and Austin with Georgia merely one game behind. Now is when the cream really rises to the top and to the occasion. The season is 3/4 over—only one quarter of the season remaining! And aren’t fourth quarters the exciting times in Arena Football?
The Playoff Race
American Conference
1. Colorado Crush(+)
2. Arizona Rattlers(+)
3. Nashville Kats
4. San Jose SaberCats
5. Las Vegas Gladiators
6. Chicago Rush
Utah Blaze
Grand Rapids Rampage
Los Angeles Avengers
National Conference
1. Dallas Desperados(+)
2. Orlando Predators(+)
3. Austin Wranglers
4. Philadelphia Soul
5. Georgia Force
6. New York Dragons
Tampa Bay Storm
Columbus Destroyers
Kansas City Brigade(e)
+ = Divisional leader
x = Clinched division crown
y = Clinched playoff spot
z = Clinched conference playoff home field
e = Eliminated from playoffs
Herein are the 2006 week 12 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 | Dallas Desperados (DAL) | 10-2 | 1 | @GA |
| | Dallas is rolling and travels to Georgia to face the surging Force. | |||
| 2 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 9-3 | 2 | UT |
| | Colorado looking to claim the top spot in the conference and host the Blaze. | |||
| 3 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 8-4 | 4 | TB |
| | Preds have the division lead for now, but the Storm is coming in to brew up a ruckus in the War on I-4. | |||
| 4 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 8-4 | 5 | @SJ |
| | Wranglers win out over the Storm. Next go to the S’Cat’s lair to keep momentum going into the playoffs. | |||
| 5 | Georgia Force (GA) | 7-5 | 3 | DAL |
| | Force takes a hit in divisional race. Game against Desperados won’t be easy. | |||
| 6 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | 7-5 | 6 | KC |
| | Kats get a breather as Kansas City comes to town. | |||
| 7 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 7-5 | 9 | @GR |
| | The Western Division is back to normal—Arizona and San Jose are at the top. What isn’t normal is that it’s unlikely either team will get the top spot in the conference playoffs. | |||
| 8 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 7-5 | 10 | CLB |
| | Philly on a roll (well, yes, pun actually intended). Host a suddenly struggling Destroyer squad. | |||
| 9 | New York Dragons (NY) | 7-5 | 8 | @LA |
| | Dragons suddenly breathing fire, but cross-country trip to LA may bring about jet-lag. Will the Avengers be smarting after losing two straight games to expansion teams? | |||
| 10 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 6-6 | 12 | AUS |
| | SaberCats are back in the thick of the race. They host the Wranglers, the new team on the playoff block. | |||
| 11 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 6-6 | 7 | @ORL |
| | Right now, if the season ended as I’m typing this, the Storm would miss the playoffs. Has this ever happened to the Pitt Gladiator/TB Storm franchise? | |||
| 12 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 5-7 | 11 | @CHI |
| | Gladiators still in playoff hunt and travel to face the suddenly slumping Rush. | |||
| 13 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 5-7 | 10 | @PHI |
| | String of losses has the Destroyers again on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. Can they get their season back on track against the Soul? | |||
| 14 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 4-8 | 14 | LV |
| | Chicago comes home to host the Gladiators in hopes of getting back into the playoff picture. | |||
| 15 | Utah Blaze (UT) | 4-8 | 16 | @COL |
| | Enjoy the win over LA—traveling to Colorado can be brutal. Just ask the Destroyers. | |||
| 16 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 3-9 | 16 | AZ |
| | Rampage host the Western-leading Rattlers. | |||
| 17 | Kansas City Brigade (KC) | 2-10 | 18 | @NAS |
| | The Brigade become the first team eliminated from playoff contention. Wait till next year, right? | |||
| 18 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 3-9 | 15 | NY |
| | Two losses in a row to expansion teams. Will they feel the heat when the Dragons come to town? | |||
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.
