This season is in full bloom, as we are almost approaching the half way mark on the year. The dust is beginning to settle and teams are getting a good idea of where the stack out compared to their competition. I would be remiss if I didn't mention New Orleans first. To this point, we are sitting at 5-2 and atop of the strong ASFC. Going on the road and beating the undefeated (at the time) Sarasota Sailfish went a long way in pushing towards league dominance. That word is a bit strong, implying that the rest of the league is far behind which is not the case. Things are as tight as ever and I think as many as 3-5 teams can feel like they are the best in the league this season, though it does feel like NOLA and Sarasota are at the front of the pack for now.
Two teams to highlight are the already mentioned Sailfish and the Liberty. Sarasota has been nothing but hot this season, starting out 6-0. They have to huge statement wins, going on the road to both Colorado and Austin for victories early on. I do feel like they are over-performing though and might not finish at the top of their conference by the end of the season. They are 8th in the league in both total and TPE per player. They have it in the right places which certainly helps, but I think other teams with more overall TPE will close the gap. Still, it has been fun to see them in action and it will be worth watching just how far they go this season. Expansion teams generally take a few seasons to get fully up and running, but it looks as if they are ahead of schedule.
The other team mentioned is Philly. I'm just gonna be honest and say I feel terrible for them. They do have the least TPE per player, but it is marginal compared to those ahead of them. Their top 6 players are on offense, so I would have guessed that they were able to get things going a little more on that end. Defensively, they have some insane future talent that are already starting to bloom. It hasn't shown up this year yet, but they will be a dominant force soon. They have an elite safety and corner, followed by another 2 very solid corners. They also have some young front 7 players that show a ton of promise. Philly will turn this thing around in due time, just have to stick with the course.
Two teams to highlight are the already mentioned Sailfish and the Liberty. Sarasota has been nothing but hot this season, starting out 6-0. They have to huge statement wins, going on the road to both Colorado and Austin for victories early on. I do feel like they are over-performing though and might not finish at the top of their conference by the end of the season. They are 8th in the league in both total and TPE per player. They have it in the right places which certainly helps, but I think other teams with more overall TPE will close the gap. Still, it has been fun to see them in action and it will be worth watching just how far they go this season. Expansion teams generally take a few seasons to get fully up and running, but it looks as if they are ahead of schedule.
The other team mentioned is Philly. I'm just gonna be honest and say I feel terrible for them. They do have the least TPE per player, but it is marginal compared to those ahead of them. Their top 6 players are on offense, so I would have guessed that they were able to get things going a little more on that end. Defensively, they have some insane future talent that are already starting to bloom. It hasn't shown up this year yet, but they will be a dominant force soon. They have an elite safety and corner, followed by another 2 very solid corners. They also have some young front 7 players that show a ton of promise. Philly will turn this thing around in due time, just have to stick with the course.