AFL standouts through Week 2
Mike Delrio
Friday April 5, 2013
The Arena Football League is two weeks into the season and some players, and teams, have already made statements with their performances. This is the first of a weekly series that will take a look at players and teams that are leading the way in the AFL.
The top quarterback in the league heading into Week 3 is Erik Meyer of the Spokane Shock. Meyer leads the league in EVERY passing category. He has a 138.1 QB Rating with a 76.3 completion percentage (58-of-76) for 598 yards. Meyer has tossed 15 touchdown passes in the first two games, both road wins for the Shock, and has led Spokane to 143-points in two games.
Offense
Adrian McPherson of the Tampa Bay Storm is 4th in QB Rating (124.2) while leading the AFL in rushing TD’s with seven. He has also thrown for 10 touchdowns.
Prechae Rodriguez of the Orlando Predators leads all receivers with 274 yards after the first two weeks of play. Rodriguez has made 17 catches, six for TD’s. Greg Ellison of the Storm is second in the AFL in both receptions (20) and yards (254) and has pulled in two touchdowns. Rodney Wright Jr. is tied for second in catches (20), is third in receiving yards (249) and has three TD catches for the Chicago Rush.
Mario Urrutia is tied for the lead in touchdown grabs with seven for the Utah Blaze. He has totaled 16 catches for 248 yards. Adron Tennell has also pulled in seven TD passes with the Shock. He has 17 receptions for 178 yards. Jeff Hughley leads the league in receptions (21) and has tallied 229 yards and four TD’s catches for the 2-0 Jacksonville Sharks.
Surprises so far include QB Aaron Garcia. In his first season with the San Jose SaberCats Garcia is off to a slow start. The AFL legend has thrown five interceptions and has a 96.8 QB rating, ninth of 12 starting signal callers.
Defense
Clevan Thomas of the SabreCats leads in INTs with four while Jerry Turner has totaled four sacks playing with the Sharks to lead in that category.
Teams
The Iowa Barnstormers have started 2-0, both road games, and outscored their opponents 111-75. Iowa has the early lead in the Central Division of the National Conference.
The Spokane Shock also started with back-to-back road games and are 2-0 after having outscored their opponents 143-102. Spokane is tied for the Western Division lead of the National Conference with the Arizona Rattlers and San Jose SabreCats.
The Cleveland Gladiators are also an early surprise due to their 0-2 start. In the two losses, one home and one on the road, the Glads have lost by an average score of 68-44.
Week 3 will see the ranks of the undefeated reduced as the Shock travel to Iowa, and the SaberCats head to Arizona.
Mike began his third season reporting on the Georgia Force in March, 2012. Coverage includes weekly game previews and recaps, exclusive interviews and AFL news. Mike has been a Gwinnett County resident (the home of the Force) for two decades and provides coverage of the counties other pro sports franchises, the Gwinnett Braves (Braves Triple-A affiliate) and the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL, player development deals with both the Phoenix Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres) as well.
