Mid-Season Review
To call it a mid-season review is factual, I guess. Not having a preseason and only having a month-long training camp made the first three weeks a really aggressive assessment period. It wasn’t just assessing the players, but it was also figuring out this offense’s identity as well. Now, to be fair, every single team had to do this, so it’s not like the Battlehawks are unique in any way. I would argue that the Battlehawks have actually had an easier road because they haven’t had a QB change to deal with, everyone has been relatively healthy, and they were forced to make changes because of a suspension.
Every other team in the XFL has tried out multiple QBs for one reason or another. AJ McCarron has enough tape and is talented enough that the Battlehawks knew what they had at QB and never had to try a backup because of his production.
Brian Hill is the only real impactful player that’s missed a game due to an injury, and that happened in week 2 because he had a hammy in week 1 on a punt return. What did the Battlehawks do after that? They stopped putting their workhorse running back in on special teams’ plays. Great job. I don’t think I would’ve ever put him back there to begin with, but hey, they learned.
As far as the suspension thing goes, we got to see Jaryd Jones-Smith’s backup, Eric Magwood. Jones-Smith had been playing really poorly then he decided to start bashing dudes in the week 3 fight, got suspended, and then Magwood has held up relatively well in the 2 games he’s played since. Jones-Smith’s sussy is over now, so we’ll see on Saturday if the coaches think Magwood played well enough to earn the starting job. I think he did.
I guess my point for that whole thing is that the Battlehawks have had a pretty favorable year. They started off the season with two big comebacks, which not only shows you that the team doesn’t quit, but also helps build a locker room. Unfortunately, as viewers, it makes us get all bummed out and disappointed every time they don’t pull it off, especially when there’s not really a chance of it happening and/or the team played so poorly that they don’t deserve the win (looking at you Week 3 and Week 5).
When we’re looking at the season as a whole, my rating is: It’s going pretty well. I just don’t know if that rating is going to be sustainable. We’re looking at a Battlehawks team with an offensive line that has allowed the most sacks and a defensive interior that has gotten the fewest sacks and they’re still 3-2. I know sack numbers aren’t an end-all-be-all stat, but they can serve to be a pretty good canary in the coal mine. On the other side of that coin, the Battlehawks have the most forced fumbles and fumble recoveries and have the 4th most interceptions in the XFL. The 3-2 record is more indicative of those numbers because if you win the turnover battle, you’re in a better spot to win.
I’ve said a lot over the past 5 weeks on places this team can really improve. They’ve done some of those things, like getting the ball to Austin Proehl in space, using a running back to chip DEs, and keeping Kareem Walker off the field. They’ve seen success doing those things. There’s got to be more change though.
We see Jake Sutherland catch every ball that’s been thrown to him, yet they throw the ball his way once a game. We need more of our big Jakey boy, especially since he can be a reliable option when a play goes tits-up.
We see Juwann Bushell-Beatty get beat on what seems like over 75% of snaps, and we haven’t seen what his backup can do. It’s very frustrating because it’s keeping significant points off the board and his lack of protection has led to a handful of turnovers. After seeing Magwood come in at LT and how he was better than Jones-Smith, not seeing the backup right tackle is making me question the judgment of whoever is assessing the O-Line.
Just to sum it all up, it stinks that 60% of the 1st 50% of the season was a wake-up period, but the Battlehawks have been relatively good. On offense, they got a smart and pretty athletic quarterback, one of the top 3 running backs in the league, a solid wide receiver core, and a truly abysmal offensive line. On defense, they have guys on the interior that hunt for the ball and physical defensive backs. Their glaring weakness on defense is their inability to stop runs that get to the second level on the weak side, their inability to cover intermediate routes, and their lack of sacks.
Don’t freak out about the 2 losses to the best team in the league. They’ll be fine.
Week 6 Preview
St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2) @ Vegas Vipers (1-4)
Before I get into the game, I’m going to give you a warning:
This game is going to look WEIRD.
I’ve watched a couple of the Vipers’ games and the thing that stands out is that their stadium is a minor-league baseball field that was built as a rodeo venue. It looks funky. They don’t have the nets that come up to catch field goals, so when there is a field goal, the ball just goes flying. It’s really funny when someone misses a field goal because not only did you miss it, but that ball just keeps going in the wrong direction. Hell, behind one of the end zones is the outfield wall with no seats, so the ball just fades into darkness. They covered up the dirt infield with sod and honestly, I don’t like that. Dude, you guys are playing in a baseball stadium and we all know it. Don’t pretend that it’s not. Gives us the dirt so we can be like, “Oh, that’s where 3rd base is.” Coming off of two home games where the Battlehawks played in a full stadium and then going to this is gonna give you weird vibes.
Anyway:
Battlehawks Offense v. Vipers Defense
Speed rushes are going to crush these tackles. There’s a guy, #23 Maximillian Roberts, who is a smaller Defensive end who gets bend and I’m talking BENDY bend. It looks like he’s running sideways when he’s coming around the corner. Last week the Vipers played the Guardians, who also have a terrible O-Line and the Guardians looked foolish until they made some adjustments and brought in an extra blocker. Roberts is a guy who’s going to get sacks and maybe draw some holds later on in the game. The Vipers also have Vic Beasley who was All-Pro in the NFL in 2016. He hasn’t been having the most productive year in the XFL, but that’s because he’s demanding a lot of attention. If I’m the Battlehaks, I do the same thing.
That being said, the aggression of those rushers can be taken advantage of. They can get exposed by having Brian Hill run outside. We know that the Battlehawks’ receivers are good at blocking and they’ll be able to open up outside runs for 8-10 yards.
We’ve seen it with a few teams, but the Vipers are also pretty susceptible to intermediate passes. Butler, Shepherd, and Mitchell should be able to feast in those spots. If the Vipers adjust to that, it’ll open up Proehl and Hill to get open in space in the middle of the field.
Say we get an incredible outing from the offensive line, then Brian Hill will go crazy, but that’s kind of a “Duh” thing.
The biggest thing with the Vipers’ defense, and the team as a whole, is that they can be beaten. They’ve had the lead going into halftime on 4 out of 5 of their games, and they lose. They make stupid mistakes, get stupid penalties, and lose games. Last week they won their first game and it was against a team that also hadn’t won a game yet. I would argue that it’s almost better to play a team that’s only won one game rather than a team that hasn’t won any. Now the Battlehawks don’t have the pressure to not lose. They can focus on winning.
Battlehawks Defense v. Vipers Offense
So, the Vipers are one of those teams that had a whole bunch of bad stuff happen early in the season and it set them back a whole lot. They were playing so poorly early on that they had to get a new OC. This new guy, Ray Sherman, will be calling his 3rd game this Saturday, and you guys, he’s bad at it. There was a handful of times in their last game where he was just like, “You know what? I don’t want to call the plays. I’m gonna let the quarterback do it.” And then he let their quarterback, Luis Perez call the play.
Luis Perez is a decent quarterback. There was a minute there where the Vipers had Brett Hundley starting, but that time seems to be over. Perez is kind of a cerebral quarterback. He’s good at diagnosing what the defense is showing and adjusting plays based on that. He has trouble when he has to think during the play, so it’s going to be important for the defense to show different things presnap, then have post-snap movement. If they do that, Perez is gonna straight-up have a bad time.
He’s definitely not an athletic specimen. The Battlehawks have been burned by quarterbacks who can scoot when they tuck the ball and run. Perez aint scootin’. He’s a lot like AJ in that he’ll get 3-5 yards less than what it looks like he’ll be able to get when he has room to run. I don’t think the Ta’amu-esque 15-yard runs are going to happen. He’s also unphased by pressure. He’ll stand and throw while he’s a collapsing pocket. There should be opportunities for sacks and strip sacks, but that rush needs to get home quickly.
The Vipers only have one big-time playmaker. They have a receiver in Jeff Badet who is a deep threat. He’s leading the league in receiving touchdowns and 20+ yard receptions. I imagine he’ll make significant plays on the outside in intermediate areas since that’s one of the weaker coverage spots for this defense.
The Vipers’ offensive output is going to be based on how many times they shoot themselves in the foot. These guys love penalties. Last week we saw the Battlehawks jump and hold to turn 3rd and manageable into 3rd and long multiple times. The Vipers have been doing that all season long. They’re not a bad team athletically, but they aren’t a good football team. They shoot themselves in the foot and aren’t good at staying ahead and winning. It’s why they’re 1-4.
Prediction:
24-20 Battlehawks. I don’t want to say the Battlehawks will win, and that’s because I think you’ll watch this game and say the Vipers beat themselves.