With six Georgia Tech players on the roster for the AAF’s Atlanta Legends, let’s a look at how they all did this week.
On a very rainy night in San Diego, the Atlanta Legends once again found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling to the San Diego Fleet, 24-12. The Legends are now 0-2 and have slipped to the bottom of the AAF’s Eastern Conference.
After giving up 40 points to Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos last week, the Legends’ defense was a bit more effective in San Diego, limiting the Fleet to the aforementioned 24. However, untimely penalties and a soft run defense were Atlanta’s undoing, allowing San Diego to rack up six first downs because of penalties and 185 yards on the ground, despite the Fleet turning the ball over twice.
The Fleet’s run game, led by RB Ja’Quan Gardner and his 104-yard performance, was able to mask most of San Diego QB Philip Nelson’s uneven performance through the air (14 of 30 for 142 yards and 1 INT, along with this bouquet toss of a completion). But on the flip side, the passing performance of Atlanta QB Matt Simms — whose 68% completion percentage, 160 yards passing, and 1 TD reflected a substantial improvement from Week 1 vs Orlando — could not save the Legends from an ineffective running game (25 carries for 85 yards).
Player Performance
DL T.J. Barnes (Years at Tech: 2009-12): According to the box score, Barnes just had two solo tackles, but according to the play-by-play, Barnes was a much bigger contributor. While the Legends’ run defense was fairly poor on the whole, Barnes was able to wrestle San Diego runners down for gains of two yards or fewer almost every time he got involved.
C Freddie Burden (2013-16): Burden started at center for the second straight game. Atlanta’s offensive line protection was pretty decent despite allowing three sacks — the only blemish on Burden’s record versus San Diego was a holding call in the third quarter.
LB KeShun Freeman (2014-17): The defensive box score and the play-by-play disagree on his involvement in this game. Going by the play-by-play, he had four tackles (two solo).
DB Corey Griffin (2014-17): Griffin did not play versus San Diego (according to the box score).
WR Justin Thomas (2013-16): Thomas caught one pass for six yards and ran the ball once for nine yards. A small contribution, but you know, every little bit helps.
OLB Brandon Watts (2010-13): Watts had four solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss — a solid effort, despite a pass interference penalty in the third quarter.
Next up:
Atlanta (0-2): vs Birmingham (2-0) - 4pm, Sunday 2/24
San Diego (1-1): vs San Antonio (1-1) - 8pm, Sunday 2/24