{"id":58934,"date":"2019-02-19T18:57:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T23:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=58934"},"modified":"2019-02-19T18:57:02","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T23:57:02","slug":"aaf-week-three-preview-memphis-express-at-orlando-apollos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/02\/19\/aaf-week-three-preview-memphis-express-at-orlando-apollos\/","title":{"rendered":"AAF Week Three Preview: Memphis Express at Orlando Apollos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best team in the<\/a> AAF<\/a> looks to keep it going against a team which can\u2019t seem to get out of their own way. The 2-0 Orlando Apollos, coming off a ferocious comeback victory<\/a>, host the 0-2 Memphis Express, looking to bounce back after blowing a nine-point lead<\/a> in Week Two. Does Memphis have what it takes to pull off the upset, or will the Apollo\u2019s dominance continue into Week Three?<\/p>\n

Memphis Express at Orlando Apollos: AAF Week Three Preview<\/h1>\n

When Memphis Throws The Ball<\/h2>\n

As of this posting, all signs point to Christian Hackenberg<\/strong> earning another start under center. The New York Jets<\/a> famously selected Hackenberg in the second round back in 2016, but the Penn State product never played an NFL snap. After watching his first two starts, it\u2019s easy to see why. Through two weeks of action, Hackenberg has completed just 50% of his passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. It\u2019s impossible to evaluate the receivers around him, as Hackenberg\u2019s inaccuracy never gives his receivers the chance to make plays on the ball.<\/p>\n

Even if Memphis makes a switch at the quarterback position, it\u2019s hard to imagine that making much of an improvement. Zach Mettenberger<\/a><\/strong> and Brandon Silvers<\/strong> are so uninspiring that head coach Mike Singletary<\/a> <\/strong>hasn\u2019t even discussed a switch at the quarterback position. Memphis has one of the worst quarterback situations<\/a> in the league, and Orlando\u2019s defense should be able to stop the Express\u2019 anemic passing attack.<\/p>\n

When Memphis Runs The Ball<\/h2>\n

Zac Stacy<\/a> <\/strong>is the lone bright spot<\/a> in an otherwise inept Memphis Express offense. Stacy had the best game of perhaps any running back in Week Two, recording 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The former St. Louis Ram<\/a> actually had some success in the NFL, and his stellar play could earn him another training camp invite. There really isn\u2019t a back behind him, as Hackenberg finished Week Two with the second-most rushing yards and attempts on the Express offense.<\/p>\n

If Orlando has any weakness, it\u2019s the run defense. While they shut down Atlanta in Week One, they struggled to stop Kenneth Farrow<\/a><\/strong> and the San Antonio Commanders rushing attack in Week Two. Farrow led the way with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts, but he was far from the only rusher to find success. Orlando finished the game allowing 5.15 rushing yards per attempt. If Memphis is going to win this one, they\u2019ll need Stacy to exploit Orlando\u2019s suspect run defense.<\/p>\n

When Orlando Throws the Ball<\/h2>\n

Garrett Gilbert<\/a><\/strong> is the best quarterback in the AAF<\/a>, and it\u2019s not even that close. Gilbert is coming off a phenomenal performance in Week Two, throwing for 393 yards and two touchdowns while erasing two separate 14-point deficits. So far on the season, Gilbert has completed 64.2% of his passes for 620 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. His high play will earn him another chance in the NFL<\/a>, but for now, he\u2019s the life of Orlando\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

As if Gilbert wasn\u2019t enough, Orlando also has arguably the best wide receivers<\/a> in the league. Charles Johnson<\/a><\/strong> had a fantastic Week Two, recording seven receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown. Jalin Marshall<\/a><\/strong> is a great complementary receiver, recording six catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns over two games. It\u2019s hard to see Memphis \u2013 or any defense, really \u2013 slowing down this passing attack for an entire game.<\/p>\n

When Orlando Runs the Ball<\/h2>\n

Game script didn\u2019t allow Orlando to run the ball that often in Week Two. However, when they tried to move the ball on the ground, they had mixed results. D\u2019Ernest Johnson<\/strong> had a great game, recording 57 yards on eight carries at a 7.1 yards-per-carry rate. The rest of the offense didn\u2019t do so well, as backup running backs De\u2019Veon Smith <\/strong>and Akeem Hunt<\/a><\/strong> combined for zero yards on six carries. Smith found his way into the end zone, so at least there\u2019s that. So far on the season, Smith has just 17 rushing yards on nine attempts. Hunt, meanwhile, has 69 rushing yards on 12 attempts, but 31 of those yards came on one play. Basically, this running game goes entirely through D\u2019Ernest Johnson.<\/p>\n

Memphis strung together two inconsistent performances against the rush. In Week One, the Express held Trent Richardson<\/a><\/strong> and the Birmingham Iron to just 2.35 yards-per-carry. However, Memphis allowed the Arizona Hotshots to run for 5.81 yards-per-carry in Week Two. Tim Cook<\/strong> led the way with 73 rushing yards, and Memphis allowed runs of 28, 36, and 45 yards on the night. Basically, this matchup pits two inconsistent units against each other. It\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess who has the advantage when Orlando runs the ball.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memphis Express at Orlando Apollos – AAF Week Three Preview: Can the 0-2 Memphis Express pull an upset on the undefeated Orlando Apollos?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":58935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4737],"tags":[4626,219,61,4756,4637,4628,4638],"class_list":["post-58934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aaf","tag-aaf","tag-christian-hackenberg","tag-football","tag-garrett-gilbert","tag-memphis-express","tag-orlando-apollos","tag-zac-stacy"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}