AFL Week 3 Recap

After another interesting and exciting week of arena football, here are some things Pro Football Fans noticed:

• The Chicago defense was amazing in a 64-35 win at Grand Rapids. The Rush jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the first 7 minutes after a safety and three quick touchdowns. Chicago held Grand Rapids to 14 points through 3 quarters and forced 4 turnovers.

• Orlando picked up a much-needed win in its first home game. The Predators scored 10 touchdowns and Shane Stafford found his rhythm in a 69-61 win against Utah, which allowed over 60 points in every game this season.

• For the third consecutive game, Utah trailed by a single score with less than 1 minute in the game and could not make a comeback. Each game was decided by 8 points or less, and the Blaze which made plenty of offseason moves to upgrade its defense, remains at the bottom in most AFL statistical categories.

• Cleveland moved to 3-0 after a road win at Columbus. The Gladiators were down by 2 at halftime, but rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter and stopped the Destroyers on a game-tying two-point conversion. Robert Redd had 7 catches for 74 yards and Otis Amey had 3 touchdown receptions.

• Georgia picked up a shocking 58-34 win against Los Angeles. The Force defense recorded 4 stops and a safety and held the Avengers to 7 first-half points. Georgia took a 22-7 halftime lead and basically traded scores with Los Angeles to finish the game. Chris Greisen passed for 7 touchdowns and 366 yards and Troy Bergeron caught 7 passes for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns.

• Los Angeles had a horrible first half with only 1 touchdown. The Avengers were stopped 3 times in the red zone, twice on downs and once on an interception.

• San Jose looked dominant in their 63-43 victory against the Arizona Rattlers. The Sabercats took a 39-12 lead into the fourth quarter, the result of 6 Rattlers turnovers. San Jose held Rattlers quarterback Jeff Smoker to 22 of 37 completions, 3 of 8 on third and fourth downs, and forced the Rattlers into 9 penalties.

• Tony Graziani was injured in the victory over New York and will be sidelined for 4 weeks. Luckily for Philadelphia, they have backup quarterback Matt D'Orazio, the former quarterback for the Chicago Rush team that won the ArenaBowl in 2006.

• The New Orleans VooDoo picked up a convincing win over the previously undefeated Tampa Bay Storm. The VooDoo forced 8 turnovers and Danny Wimprine threw for 7 touchdowns in a 76-55 victory. New Orleans shut out Tampa Bay 34-0 in the second quarter and scored twice off missed field goals returned for touchdowns.

• Dallas again dominated on defense, holding the Colorado Crush to two touchdowns in the second and third quarters. Chris Sanders accounted for 6 Dallas touchdowns in a 51-40 win. Crush quarterback John Dutton completed his first 13 passes but also had 3 interceptions, allowing the Desperados to take a 3 touchdown lead late in the third quarter.

By Chad Fukoka
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer

> Check out Chad's Arena Football Rules & AFL Basics article and see how your team is doing in the 2008 AFL standings as AFL teams continue to battle for a chance to play in Arena Bowl XXII!