Salt Lake Stallions vs. Birmingham Iron: AAF Open Thread

It’s Week 2 of the AAF and five former Ravens will battle it out on Legion Field as the Birmingham Iron host the Salt Lake Stallions.

Game time: Saturday, February 16 @ 2:00 p.m. ET

Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL

TV: TNT

This is a good Week 2 matchup as the Stallions look to bounce back after losing to the Arizona Hotshots while the Birmingham Iron posted the first shutout in AAF history, beating the Memphis Expresss 26-0.

Storylines

Can the Iron steamroll to their second-straight victory? Last week, the defense shut down Christian Hackenberg, holding him to only 10 completions on 23 throws for only 87 yards and an interception. Josh Woodrum, a former Baltimore Ravens quarterback, is the signal caller for the Stallions, though he suffered an injury in Week 1 against the Arizona Hotshots. He posted a similar statline of 10 completions on 22 throws for 103 yards, one TD and one INT. Once injured, Matt Linehan replaced Woodrum and went 7/13 for 56 yards, 1 TD and one INT. If this is all the Stallions’ offense can muster, Birmingham may stay undefeated.

The Stallions need the running game to produce. You’d think a running back stable of Brandon Oliver, Matt Asiata and Joel Bouagnon, three former NFL backs, could muster more than 83 yards on 28 attempts (2.96 YPC). If Woodrum is still out, look for Salt Lake to lean on the running game.

Will Trent Richardson’s running balance out? Against the Express, Richardson plunged into the endzone twice. Don’t let the two touchdowns deceive you from his usual NFL statline, though: 23 attempts for only 58 yards (2.5 YPC) and a lost fumble. He wasn’t needed often, as Luis Perez aired it out for 252 yards on 19/33 passes, but the defense can’t be relied upon to score two touchdowns like last week.

Was it a bad Stallions defense last week, or a great Hotshots offense? In Week 1, the Hotshots trounced the Stallions with the do-it-all quarterback, John Wolford. With 18 completions on 29 attempts, Wolford managed 275 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also added another 23 yards on the ground with eight attempts. The running game also added another 126 yards on 31 carries, good for 4.06 YPC. Salt Lake could easily fall 0-2 on the year if they can’t find a way to stop Perez and Richardson.

As I mentioned earlier, there are five former Ravens playing in today’s game. Four for the Stallions and one for the Iron.

1. QB Josh Woodrum (SL)
2. WR Kaelin Clay (SL)
3. WR Kenny Bell (SL)
4. CB Will Davis (SL)
5. Trent Richardson (BIR)

GO FOOTBALL!