Rattlers retain top spot in the Week 5 Power Rankings
Mike Delrio
Thursday April 10, 2014
The Arizona Rattlers retain the top spot in this week’s AFL Power Rankings after improving to 3-0 with a victory at home over Jacksonville while No. 2 Orlando and No. 3 San Jose both lost to teams ranked below them in the Power Rankings. The Predators and SaberCats were the only teams to fall to lower ranked teams in Week 4 action- the teams with the better ranking won five of the seven games.
Power Rankings: Week 5
1. Arizona Rattlers (3-0) (LW: W vs. JAX 63-38) – Arizona dominated Jacksonville to retain the top spot in this week’s rankings. The Rattlers will travel to San Jose to face a SaberCats team that has dropped back-to-back games. It will be Arizona’s first road game of the year.
2. Cleveland Gladiators (3-0) (LW: W vs. IA 54-47) – Cleveland earned a hard-fought division W against Iowa and, combined with Orlando and San Jose losses, moves to the No. 2 position. The Glads are one of two teams that remain undefeated and are 2-0 in both division and road games. Cleveland faces a tough Los Angeles team on the road this week.
3. Spokane Shock (2-1) (LW: W @ SJ 73-62) – Spokane went on the road for a big Pacific Division game and handed San Jose their second straight loss. The head-to-head road victory puts the Shock ahead of the SaberCats in the Week 5 Power Rankings.
4. Pittsburgh Power (2-1) (LW: W @ SA 70-17) – Pittsburgh hammered San Antonio in Week 4 action after holding San Jose to just 47 points in picking up their first win of the season in Week 3. The Power jumped six spots in the rankings and made the biggest move for the second week in a row. Pitt will host New Orleans in Week 5.
5. San Jose SaberCats (2-2) (LW: L vs. SPO 73-62) – San Jose lost a home division game against Spokane and have now lost two straight after opening 2-0. The loss drops the SaberCats a couple of spots this week. San Jose is hosting Arizona in Week 5 and need to stop the bleeding, but the Rattlers are going to be tough to defeat.
6. Los Angeles KISS (2-1) (LW: W vs. PO 44-34) - Los Angeles has played well in two road games, losing to Orlando by six and beating division rival San Antonio by three, and won their home opener last week against Portland and look like they can stay close to Arizona in the West Division. The KISS are home in Week 5 against Cleveland in a big inter-conference match up.
7. Orlando Predators (3-1) (LW: L @ NO 62-55) – Orlando fell seven points short against New Orleans last week after opening the season with two tight home victories, including a division W. The loss drops the Preds to 2-1 in division play. Orlando is home against Philadelphia this weekend should get back in the win column.
8. Tampa Bay Storm (3-1) (LW: W vs. PHILLY 63-49) – Tampa Bay bounced back from a Week 3 loss to division rival Orlando to hand Philadelphia their third consecutive loss last week. The Storm will travel to Jacksonville to play the Sharks in a South Division contest on Friday.
9. New Orleans VooDoo (1-2) (LW: W vs. ORL 62-55) – After being held to just 26 points at home by Cleveland in Week 3, New Orleans put up 62 in front of the home fans to down Orlando and pick up their first victory of the season in Week 4. The VooDoo will have to beat a solid Pittsburgh team on the road in Week 5 to put back-to-back wins together.
10. Jacksonville Sharks (1-2) (LW: L vs. AZ 63-38) – Jacksonville had another slow start on offense which resulted in a three TD deficit early that the Sharks were unable to come back from. Jacksonville activated quarterback Aaron Garcia from the Refused to Report list on Monday in hopes of stabilizing the offense and finding some kind of consistency. The Sharks are in an early must-win game when they play host to Tampa Bay on Friday.
11. Iowa Barnstormers (1-2) (LW: L @ CLE 54-47) – Iowa played well but lost to Cleveland by a touchdown in Week 4. The Barnstormers, who opened the season with three straight road games, look to even their record when they open their home schedule this week against winless San Antonio.
12. Philadelphia Soul (0-3) (LW: L @ TB 63-49) – Philadelphia lost by two TDs to Tampa Bay on the road and have now dropped three straight games to open the season. After losing to Arizona in OT in Week 1 and then getting blown out by San Jose in Week 2, the Soul faced an early must-win situation against the Storm and was unable to come away with the W. Philly will be on the road in Week 5 as they travel to Orlando and must find a way to earn a win if they hope to stay in the post season chase.
13. Portland Thunder (0-3) (LW: L @ LA 44-34) – Portland is one of three teams heading into Week 5 still in search of a victory. The Thunder are likely to remain winless after traveling to Spokane for a Pacific Division game in Week 5.
14. San Antonio Talons (0-4) (LW: L vs. PITT 70-17) – San Antonio has been battered in back-to-back games by Jacksonville (63-22) and Pittsburgh (70-17) and are now 0-3 at home after dropping games to the KISS (41-38) and the Storm (48-45) to open the season. The Talons go on the road this week to play the Barnstormers and need to put forth a better effort. It is not likely they will come away with a win, but a third loss in blowout fashion will lead to bigger questions about this team.
The Power Rankings are a reflection of on-field results this season and do not consider preseason projections, last season's ranking or roster strength. A formula that includes Total Wins, Division Wins, Road Wins, Home Losses, and results against common opponents is used to determine team ranking.
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.