Beat the Guru: AFL Week 2
Adam Markowitz
Friday April 9, 2010
My name is Guru and I have a problem.
Apparently, I'm living in a world that just makes no sense. I don't ever remember a game between two competent teams in this league ending with ten turnovers as there was in the duel between the Iowa Barnstormers and the Chicago Rush on Friday night. I never pictured some guy that none of us had ever heard of before that hadn't paid attention to the af2 in Justin Allgood throwing eight tuddies without an interception against a defense that I thought was going to be the best in the league. Heck, I never pictured QB Aaron Garcia getting up again off of an injury like he did against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz!
Yet somehow, I managed to survive at 3-3 this past week, which I'll deem as more than acceptable. There were only two of the 12 of you mortals that tried to knock me off that succeeded in doing so. Congrats are in line to ArenaFan poster, dallas, who put up the best mark of the week at 5-1. FirebirdDW went 4-2 as the only other person above .500 last week.
Without further ado, let's get right to the action in Week 2!
Disclaimer: This information should be used for entertainment purposes only. Should you choose to actually lay real money on these games, that’s purely your choice, and neither I nor ArenaFan are responsible. Lines courtesy of Olympic Sportsbook as of Friday morning.
Cleveland Gladiators (+8) @ Chicago Rush: There may not be a lot of predictable things in this new league, but there are two constants that I'm glad still exist. QB John Dutton is still capable of throwing four interceptions and blowing a three touchdown lead in a game, and I'm still here to make fun of him for it. It's never a good sign when your starting quarterback is on pace to throw for 64 picks in a season, especially in this league. However, it's not like QB Russ Michna got off to a much better start against an Iowa team that just looks like it's going to be awful this year. Six TDs against just one pick isn't terrible for Michna, but a few more fumbles and several dead offensive possessions isn't going to cut it. God help me, but I'm going to pray that Dutton throws a couple fewer picks this week than he did in Week 1.
Guru's Pick: Rush by just 3
Jacksonville Sharks (-3) @ Alabama Vipers: Without a doubt, this is the toughest game on the card in my opinion. Alabama looked alright in Bossier last weekend in a game that it was just a few inches away from probably winning. Jacksonville dominated the Yard Dawgz from the get go and posted a very impressive victory, even with the aforementioned Garcia missing the majority of the second quarter with an injury. I'm still not quite ready to be laying points on the road with anyone in this league quite yet, so we'll keep things conservation and bank on the mild home upset.
Guru's Pick: Upset Special, Vipers by 3
Spokane Shock (+1) @ Utah Blaze: These ain't your daddy's Utah Blaze, folks. Joe Germaine isn't the quarterback. Danny White isn't the head coach. Heck, the mascot isn't even that cool looking firedog anymore. The "af2" quarterbacks ultimately posted a decent week when Week 1 was said and done, but if you take away what Allgood did for Tulsa, they generally struggled, especially against their "AFL" quarterback brethren. Utah's QB Michael Affleck isn't even an "af2" quarterback. He's an AIFA quarterback. Sorry. Not a believer that a quarterback is coming out of the AIFA and dominating in this league. QB Kyle Rowley was up against it trying to keep up with Milwaukee Iron QB Chris Greisen. He'll find the sledding much easier this week.
Guru's Pick: Not-such-an-upset Upset Special, Shock by 12
Orlando Predators (+2.5) vs. Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings: Y'all have been waiting for this one for awhile, haven't you? I know it was a scrimmage, but watching Preds QB Nick Hill try to throw passes against the Tampa Bay Storm defense a couple of weeks ago was downright embarrassing. That's right. This is the same Tampa Bay Storm defense that just got torched by Tulsa for 69 points last week. Unless all of a sudden, Geritol is going to create some magical formula to give DBs Kenny McEntyre and Damon Mason their legs back, the offense isn't going to be able to keep up with how bad the defense probably is. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm just not a believer right now. Bossier QB Raymond Philyaw has had a great history against Orlando, and that will probably continue this weekend.
Guru's Pick: Battle Wings by two TDs
Dallas Vigilantes (-6.5) @ Tulsa Talons: R-E-S-P-E-C-T? That's what Tulsa was in search of last week when it took it to the Storm and turned HC Tim Marcum's hair yet another shade lighter. If you're just looking at these teams on paper, it sure feels like Dallas has the most stacked team in the league, though. However, another guy I love to hate is the quarterback for this team, and unless all of a sudden, QB Shane Stafford has figured out how to successfully take a snap from center, there are inevitably going to be a number of miscues at the outset of the season. Can the Talons do it again?
Guru's Pick: Upset of the Week, Talons by 4
Recap
Cleveland +8
Alabama +3
Spokane +1
Bossier -2.5
Tulsa +6.5
Beat the Guru's Top 10
dallas: 5-1
FirebirdDW: 4-2
AFLGuru: 3-3
YowDawg: 3-3
dstrimple: 3-3
rattlersforever: 3-3
dthomas4233: 3-3
kryscio23: 3-3
AndyLopusnak: 2-4
gladiatorsrock921: 2-4
Thrash13: 2-4
rush43: 2-4
For all of your AFL betting information and to get a look at the Guru's best plays for the weekend, check out his forum at Sports Prescription.
See how well you can do against the Guru. Make your picks here. Winners will be recognized weekly.
