{"id":60395,"date":"2019-03-07T12:21:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T17:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=60395"},"modified":"2021-05-30T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T19:53:36","slug":"aaf-game-picks-week-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/03\/07\/aaf-game-picks-week-five\/","title":{"rendered":"AAF Game Picks: Week Five"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week Five of the Alliance of American Football<\/a> will be upon us soon. The question is: who will win this weekend\u2019s games? It seems after a few weeks like it\u2019s starting to become clearer who really is good and who isn\u2019t. But then again, anything can happen any given Sunday. Or Saturday, since this is the AAF.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For this series, we will be compiling the various game picks of our AAF staff writers. There will be then further discussion of the game itself and what to expect, and ending with a final score prediction. Let\u2019s see what our writers think about this weekend\u2019s games.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AAF Game Picks: Week Five\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

Birmingham Iron vs. Orlando Apollos (Saturday March 9 @ 2 PM ET)<\/h2>\n

Will Noltie’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos
\n<\/em>David Latham’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos<\/em>
\nDevin Jackson’s Pick:\u00a0Iron\u00a0<\/em>
\nAl Preziosi’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos<\/em>
\nJohn Hesterman’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos<\/em>
\nDale Lavine’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos<\/em>
\nDanny Barletta’s Pick:\u00a0Apollos\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This game will probably be closer than our lopsided vote would imply. This is, after all, a game between a 4-0 Apollos team and a 3-1 Iron team. It was assumed last week we would be seeing a battle of undefeated teams, but then the Iron dropped a game to the Commanders. And Luis Perez<\/strong> played his worst game of the season thus far.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Apollos are the last remaining undefeated team in the league and have scored 20+ points in all four of their games. Garrett Gilbert<\/a><\/strong> has been playing quite well. Is it possible that the Iron could end the Apollos streak? Sure, but the Iron will have to play their best defense. And Perez will have to play better than he has been since the first couple weeks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Score Prediction: Apollos 23, Iron 16\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

San Diego Fleet vs. Salt Lake Stallions (Saturday March 9 @ 8 PM ET)<\/h2>\n

Will Noltie’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\n<\/em>David Latham’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\nDevin Jackson’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\nAl Preziosi’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\nJohn Hesterman’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\nDale Lavine’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em>
\nDanny Barletta’s Pick:\u00a0Stallions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Normally you wouldn\u2019t see a 1-3 team be this heavily favored over a 2-2 team. And to be fair, if this were still last week, the Fleet could still be expected to win this. But Philip Nelson<\/strong> suffered a season-ending injury. Despite throwing a touchdown on only his second pass attempt, backup quarterback Alex Ross<\/strong> evidently did not inspire confidence.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the part of the Stallions… they may be 1-3, but they\u2019ve\u00a0<\/span>actually had<\/span>\u00a0a tougher schedule. They\u2019ve played both the Apollos and Iron, two of the league\u2019s best. They\u2019ve also played the Arizona Hotshots twice (and won once), who have probably one of the better quarterbacks in the league in John Wolford<\/strong>. This will be a good chance for them to get a needed win against a team missing their starting quarterback.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Score Prediction: Stallions 24, Fleet 13\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atlanta Legends vs. Memphis Express (Sunday March 10 @ 4 PM ET)\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Will Noltie’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em>
\n<\/em>David Latham’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em>
\nDevin Jackson’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em>
\nAl Preziosi’s Pick:\u00a0Legends<\/em>
\nJohn Hesterman’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em>
\nDale Lavine’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em>
\nDanny Barletta’s Pick:\u00a0Express<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Legends finally won a game! We probably still should not get too excited about them, however. Even with Aaron Murray<\/strong><\/a> finally at quarterback, which *did* make them better, they still tried to lose \u2013 they had two red zone trips that ended with zero points \u2013 due in part to some bizarre play calling by head coach Kevin Coyle<\/strong>. And the 14 points they did score was a season high. That\u2019s not good.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Express are looking better now that they have Zach Mettenberger<\/a> <\/strong>at quarterback. However, the question does exist if they would have\u00a0<\/span>actually defeated<\/span>\u00a0the Fleet if Nelson had not gotten hurt. The Fleet were up 20-6 over the Express at one point. Despite the possibility that the Express still have not quite solved all their problems yet, they still seem like a better bet right now than the Legends, who seem to have even more serious problems.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Score Prediction: Express 23, Legends 12\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arizona Hotshots vs. San Antonio Commanders (Sunday March 10 @ 8 PM ET)<\/h2>\n

Will Noltie’s Pick:\u00a0Commanders<\/em>
\n<\/em>David Latham’s Pick:\u00a0Hotshots<\/em>
\nDevin Jackson’s Pick:\u00a0Commanders<\/em>
\nAl Preziosi’s Pick:\u00a0Hotshots<\/em>
\nJohn Hesterman’s Pick:\u00a0Hotshots<\/em>
\nDale Lavine’s Pick:\u00a0Commanders<\/em>
\nDanny Barletta’s Pick:\u00a0Commanders<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This was the most contested game among our staff. And there certainly are some interesting angles here. On the part of the Hotshots, they looked to be one of the better teams at first, due in part to quarterback Wolford. But then they barely escaped a Memphis Express team that hadn\u2019t benched Christian Hackenberg<\/strong> yet, and then they *did* lose to the Atlanta Legends, despite the latter\u2019s best efforts. They still\u00a0<\/span>have the ability to<\/span>\u00a0do well \u2013 if they can get out of their own way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the Commanders. On one hand, they\u2019ve done well against some of the better teams in the league. They held their own against the Apollos and handed the Iron their first loss. On the other hand, they\u2019ve only scored 23 points in the last two weeks combined. Logan Woodside<\/strong> will have to play better than he has been. But they also seem to have found something good at halfback with Kenneth Farrow<\/a><\/strong>, who helped them defeat the Iron. This could go either way. But the Hotshots have lost the momentum they had at the beginning of the season. It\u2019s hard to have much faith in them right now, even if this is still a game they could win.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Score Prediction: Commanders 18, Hotshots 16\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>