After barely surviving a furious last-second comeback, the 3-0 Orlando Apollos travel west to take on the 1-2 Salt Lake Stallions. Despite the clear difference in record, this should be a close, hard-fought game. Salt Lake’s defense is one of the best in the league and quarterback Josh Woodrum is coming off the best game of his young AAF career. Find out who has the edge in the Stallions vs Apollos preview
AAF Week Four: Salt Lake Stallions vs Orlando Apollos Preview
When the Stallions Throw
Josh Woodrum had his best game in Week Three, but that’s not saying very much. The Liberty alumnus was utilized as a game-manager, finishing his night with just 178 passing yards, one touchdown, and a two-point conversion. Salt Lake clearly feels most comfortable running the ball and using quick, safe passes. That said, the Stallions have an interesting wide receiver duo in De’Mornay Pierson-El and Kenny Bell. These two are clearly the best receivers on the roster, as the duo hauled in all 12 of their combined targets for 129 yards and a touchdown. Stopping the Stallions passing attack begins and ends with taking these two out of the game.
Orlando’s pass defense has been inconsistent throughout the majority of the 2018 season. While they managed to shut down the anemic Atlanta Legends passing attack, they haven’t been consistent against in either of the past two weeks. Last week, Orlando limited Christian Hackenberg to just 88 passing yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. However, they also let backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger come off the bench and throw for 120 yards and two touchdowns while almost blowing a 15-point lead. A good quarterback could exploit this secondary, but Woodrum might not be good enough to take advantage of this favorable matchup.
Who’s Got the Edge: Toss-up
When the Stallions Run
The Stallions want to be a run-first offense, but the only problem is they’re not very good at running the ball. Joel Bouagnon and Branden Oliver combined for just 95 yards on 27 carries during Week Three’s action. While they managed to find the endzone twice, their combined 3.5 yards-per-carry left a lot to be desired. This wasn’t a one-week fluke either, as Bouagnon and Oliver are averaging 3.94 and 3.76 yards-per-carry, respectively. By AAF standards, this is a serviceable running attack, but not one that can single-handedly carry a team to victory.
Orlando’s run defense, just like their pass defense, is highly inconsistent and hard to figure out. The Apollos did their job in Week Three against the Memphis Express. Zac Stacy entered the game as the AAF’s leading rusher, but Orlando held him to just 2.1 yards-per-carry. However, one week earlier, Orlando allowed the San Antonio Commanders to average 5.15 yards-per-carry throughout the contest. Good luck predicting who emerges victorious in this one.
Who’s Got the Edge: Toss-up
When the Apollos Throw
Garrett Gilbert is coming off his worst game of the season, but he’s still the best quarterback in the league and the odds-on favorite for league MVP. Through three games, Gilbert has completed 59.3% of his passes for a league-leading 827 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions. He’s also converted two separate two-point conversions through the air. As if Gilbert wasn’t enough, Orlando also has arguably the best wide receiver corps in the AAF. Charles Johnson currently leads the league in receiving yards (305) while Jalin Marshall already has two receiving touchdowns.
Salt Lake’s pass defense is above-average, but it’s hard to see them stopping Orlando’s passing attack. They made John Wolford look mortal before the quarterback left with an injury, and even put together a great performance against Luis Perez in Week Two. However, they also let Wolford throw four touchdowns back in Week One. Gilbert won’t throw four touchdowns in Week Four, but he should find success through the air.
Who’s Got the Edge: Orlando
When the Apollos Run
One of the silver linings from Gilbert’s relatively pedestrian Week Three is that D’Ernest Johnson established himself as the clear-cut star of the Apollos backfield. Taking the starting job, Johnson recorded 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 13 attempts, good for 6.1 yards-per-carry. Despite splitting snaps for the first two weeks of the season, Johnson is currently third in the league in rushing yards (171) and his 6.6 yards-per-carry is second-best among running backs with 20 or more carries.
Salt Lake has yet to face a great running back, but they’ve done well against the competition they’ve faced. In Week Three, the Stallions limited Arizona to just 3.14 yards-per-carry. One week earlier, they limited Trent Richardson and the Birmingham Iron to just 2.14 yards-per-carry.
Who’s Got the Edge: Orlando, but just barely.
Last Word on the Stallions vs Apollos Preview
Despite the difference in record, this game should be a competitive, well-fought battle that goes down to the final seconds. Salt Lake’s offense and Orlando’s defense are both league-average to slightly-below units, meaning that it’s anyone’s guess who has the advantage when Salt Lake has the ball.
On the flip side, this game also pits the best offense in the league against one of the best defenses. Garrett Gilbert should be able to exploit a decent Stallions secondary, but this game could come down to D’Ernest Johnson in the run game. Johnson is one of the most productive backs in the league and should see a large workload in Week Four. However, Salt Lake’s defense has been fantastic at stopping the run. It’s the ultimate battle of strength versus strength and this matchup could ultimately decide the winner Salt Lake is an underrated team and should keep it close, but Orlando should ultimately prevail and move to 4-0.
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