Week 1 of the Arena Football League is in the books just like that. Now it’s time to look at our Arena Football League Week One takeaways.

Arena Football League Week One Takeaways

Strong Storm Surge

The Tampa Bay Storm weren’t given much chance to win against the Cleveland Gladiators, especially on the road. After it was known that Shane Boyd would lead Cleveland, that may have changed the minds of some.

After a rough start, Tampa quarterback Randy Hippeard shined just like he did in his days with the Orlando Predators. Joe Hills also shined, catching three touchdowns.

What really stood out for Tampa, however, was their play on defense. They were putting pressure on Boyd all game long and even was able to sack him several times.

If they can repeat their performance the rest of the season, the Storm could see themselves in ArenaBowl XXX in August.

Carden Better for the Brigade

The Baltimore Brigade played their first ever game Friday night against the Washington Valor. The Valor were also playing their first ever game.

Baltimore started Chase Cartwright as their quarterback. That proved to be their demise for their first game. With Cartwright under center, the Brigade found themselves down 34-6 at halftime.

Coach Omarr Smith decided to bench Cartwright in favor of Shane Carden. Carden got off to a hot start and never let up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win the game. Still, Smith should be wanting to keep Carden as his starter if he wants his team to have a better chance at succeeding.

New Teams, Same Old Players

Hippeard was with the Orlando Predators last season. Hills was with the Jacksonville Sharks. Washington Valor quarterback Erik Meyer last played with the San Jose Sabercats.

What do all three of these players have in common? They’ve still got talent. They’re all on new teams, but not much has changed outside of that. Hills caught three touchdowns for Tampa. Hippeard and Meyer both also had solid passing games in their prospected games.