With six Georgia Tech players on Atlanta’s AAF team, the Legends, let’s a look at how they all did this week.
On Saturday, the Atlanta Legends faced off against the Orlando Apollos in the inaugural game of the Alliance of American Football, the newest football league on the block. But what’s different about the AAF is that it hasn’t posed itself as a competitor to the NFL’s dominance like other leagues have — it’s billed itself as a developmental league, built to help football players refine their abilities so that they can eventually jump to the NFL. In addition to this philosophical difference, these are also a few rule differences that set the AAF apart:
- 35-second play clocks (instead of the NFL’s 40)
- No kickoffs - teams start on their 25 after an opponent scores
- No extra points - teams must go for two
- No onside kicks - teams must attempt a 4th and 12 from their own 28
- A “SkyJudge” acts as another official (and, like in the CFL, can throw flags for pass interference after the play).
- Overtime is a mix of NFL and college rules — each team gets one possession from their opponent’s 10-yard line.
A couple more quick details about the AAF to fill in the gaps:
- The league is made up of 8 teams across the nation: Arizona, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, and Orlando.
- Each team built its roster based on the universities in its region. For example, Atlanta’s team features players from Tech, Athens, Georgia Southern, and UNC (among other schools).
- Each team also participated in a QB draft — the rules of which are a bit arcane to me, so you might want to read the Wikipedia article on it.
- A lot of former NFL and CFB players you may recognize are involved in managing, coaching, and playing in the AAF, like Steve Spurrier - now head coach of the Orlando Apollos.
- TV viewers get to see and hear what the officials are looking at during a challenge or booth review.
- Defenses are nerfed a little bit, somewhat due to some specific rules on blitzing.
- Players, coaches, and (as mentioned before) officials are mic’d up, so fans get to hear play calls and coaches’ off-hand comments in-game.
With that background established, let’s talk about the Legends’ game versus the Apollos.
Recap
Oddly enough, I can’t find a box score anywhere for this game to break down all of the stats, but the fact of the matter is this: Steve Spurrier once again ran up the score on a Georgia-based team, with Orlando whooping Atlanta, 40-6. Atlanta scored the first points of the game (and in league history) on a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter, but it could barely get anything going offensively. Atlanta QB Matt Simms (formerly of Tennessee) posted an abysmal 35.7 passer rating for his lackluster performance of 77 yards and an interception (along with being sacked three times), while his late-game relief Aaron Murray (from Athens) gave up a pick-six and finished with a 32.7 passer rating. Orlando QB Garrett Gilbert (from Texas and SMU) threw for 131 yards, caught a touchdown, and threw for another one. The Orlando defense was too much to handle for the Atlanta offensive line all night, as they often collapsed the pocket quickly and forced Simms and Murray to make rushed bad throws.
Player Performance
Without an official box score, it’s hard to determine the contributions of the six former Tech players that made the Legends roster, but nevertheless, we will persevere (but please do let me know if you find a box score).
DL T.J. Barnes (Years at Tech: 2009-12): started at NT for the Legends. Had a lot of trouble getting pressure on Gilbert (along with the rest of his defensive line).
C Freddie Burden (2013-16): started at center for the Legends. Had a rough game (along with the rest of his offensive line) handling a powerful Orlando pass rush.
LB KeShun Freeman (2014-17): played DL for Tech, but has switched positions to LB while playing for the Legends. Did not start this game, but did have a pass tip at the line.
DB Corey Griffin (2014-17): playing the same position he did for Tech for the Legends. Did not start this game.
WR Justin Thomas (2013-16): converted to WR for his pro day and during his time on NFL practice squads. Did not start, but saw the field for the Legends in some packages and had a few catches towards the end of the game.
OLB Brandon Watts (2010-13): playing the same position he did for Tech for the Legends. Started versus Orlando and contributed defensively — can’t say how much for sure without a box score, but considering the score, he may have had a rough time covering Orlando’s receivers.
Verdict
New guys are learning quickly https://t.co/D8UIySJkxQ
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) February 10, 2019
The newest Atlanta team couldn’t keep up with the civic trend and beat a team from Orlando — sad day. But on the bright side, the AAF was kinda neat. There’s a bit of a different vibe to it than the NFL, and even though the talent isn’t all there (one Tech writer’s wife referred to it as “high school” quality), 1) it’s still football, 2) it’s football during the annual football drought, and 3) it’s still pretty ok to watch. The league’s schedule fits perfectly between the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft in April (OR the February National Signing Day and spring games, depending on if you set your calendar based on pro or college football), and games don’t drag on super long (although, given the score of this game, even the allotted 2.5 hours may have been too long). Something that blew me away about the AAF is that its app provides live player tracking — not just of their stats, but also of their position on the football field, which is really cool. The incredible amount of transparency TV viewers get into the AAF is also really cool — listening to and watching a replay official bungle a review and explanation of the catch rule (aside: who really knows what a catch is anymore?) on-air during the Atlanta/Orlando game was incredible, and I wish the NFL and college football would adopt that.
On the other hand, there are some things I didn’t like about the AAF on first watch - primarily, that the uniforms are awful. They’re produced by Starter (who did NFL uniforms long ago), and they are just not very good-looking. The most egregious part of the Atlanta uniforms specifically is the “A T L” down the sides — that’s just...bad. At times, the uniforms ruined my game immersion (a term I just made up to describe how intently I was watching the game) with just how bad they were. Hopefully, the AAF can get a new apparel provider for season 2 and redo all of these uniforms.
To wrap things up, I think I’m going to keep watching the Legends and the AAF — at least, for now. I’m curious about the league and its philosophy, and I’m interested in how it looks moving forward and if it can achieve its goals of building players up and putting them back in the NFL. On top of that, football is football, and any league that former Tech players are playing in is a league I’m interested in. Sure, this league may not have online box scores (seriously, where are those?), and the lack of kickoffs and PATs and the general faster pace of these games are going to take some getting used to, but we’re getting to see former legends on the Flats (yes, I’m borrowing Geoff’s line) live out their dreams and improve their craft to hopefully jump back into the NFL — and I am here for that.