IFL 2025 Week 6: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- Apr 30
- 10 min read
Week 6 is a wrap! We saw some new faces make their debuts at QB (and WIN at that), we saw some teams continue to struggle in certain areas and we saw teams that are just continuing to STEAMroll the competition.
But what did we learn in IFL Week 6?
Vegas Knight Hawks @ San Antonio Gunslingers
Result: 35-28 Vegas
What We Learned: Vegas may be headed in a new offensive direction & San Antonio is running the ball?!
Coming into this one, Vegas was off to a rough start and looking to get back on track. I felt like they were a championship caliber team before the season started, but they just needed to knock the rust off. Well, minutes before kickoff it was announced they were starting Jayden De Laura at QB instead of reigning IFL MVP Ja'Rome Johnson..
...and he played pretty well.
He had some hiccups, which you would expect from a first time starter in the IFL, but he was efficient with the ball and most importantly did not have any backbreaking interceptions. De Laura went 11/15 for 113 yards & 3 TDs through the air, then another 60 on the ground.
They also put a larger emphasis on running the ball in this one:
Coming into this game, non-QBs had 28 total carries through 3 games for the Knight Hawks.
They had 16 in this game alone, and it really helped take some of that pressure off of De Laura in his first start.
It presents an interesting QB situation in Vegas now:
Do you go with the player with a higher ceiling and big play ability, but can sometimes get into turnover trouble in Ja'Rome Johnson? Or do you go with the safer option in Jayden De Laura who has a lower ceiling but can take care of the football?
For San Antonio, they came into this week with a new QB and not really having an identity on either side of the ball. But that changed quickly as they quickly showed a continued commitment to RUNNING THE BALL!
I repeat, San Antonio was running the ball.. intentionally.. and effectively! Over 100+ yards on the ground with new QB Guy Myers leading the way with 74 yards & 3 TDs.
They weren't able to really strike through the air like you would hope with the weapons they have at wideout, but it was encouraging to see them adjust to the strengths of their roster and start to establish that new identity. The next step for them is going to be getting other folks involved in that running and figuring out ways to lean into it and bust out some play action to really open things up.
Draw the defense in with the run, but keep them honest with the pass over the top. Despite the loss, it was an encouraging performance from the Gunslingers.
Jacksonville Sharks @ Quad City Steamwheelers
Result: 62-41 Quad City
What We Learned: Quad City is a WAGON & it's time to have that conversation, Jacksonville
Quad City... good lord, what a team. This offense is so fun to watch and seems like any given play, no matter where they are on the field, has the potential to be a touchdown for the Steamwheelers.
QB Daquan Neal was really good yet again in this game, going 6/10 for 130 yards & 5 TDs, and another 48 & a TD on the ground. He did throw 2 picks, but the Quad City defense was playing very well in this one and was able to cancel them out pretty well. Neal also had multiple TOUGH runs where he was able to get yards after contact and just grind away at the defense.
100+ passing & 100+ rushing yards for the Steamwheelers and it felt like they left some on the table. Jordan Vesey went 3 for 3 in this one -- 3 catches for 81 yards & 3 TDs -- and Quad City was just able to roll over the Sharks.
Quad City's defense played really, really well in this one and came up with 3 turnovers -- including a VERY fun Interception return by LB Bubba Arslanian where he was rumbling and stumbling and looking like John Riggins running the ball out there. This Steamwheelers team is a ton of fun and is looking like the cream of the crop in the East this year.
For Jacksonville, this was a rough one. They were in this game for far longer than they should have been thanks to the recently K Marc Orozco, who was able to connect on 3 deuces in the first half to make this a ball game until Quad City was able to run away with it.
If you are a Sharks fan, it's seriously time to contemplate The Question:
Are we sure Kaleb Barker is the guy at QB? Now, before you get mad and start firing shots at me on your private Discord server, hear me out.
In this game, Barker completed less than 50% of his passes, had 3 turnovers & had a very difficult time in the red zone. On the year, Barker is only completing 53.5% of his passes, is 2nd in the IFL in interceptions thrown, and is middle of the pack when it comes to yardage per game.
The offense is 6th out of 7 teams in the East in scoring through this point of the season and it's becoming very clear that they need the defense to perform at a very high level to be competitive. The defense got beat bad in this one, and the offense wasn't able to keep up.
Their red zone playcalling has also been awful the past couple of games, where they just haven't been able to punch it in to the end zone the way that they should be. (here's a helpful hint: #FeedVander)
This Sharks team dropped to 3-2 and could continue to fall if this offense doesn't get it in gear soon.
Fishers Freight @ Iowa Barnstormers
Result: 68-37 Iowa
What We Learned: The Fishers QB tango continues & Iowa has their QB!
It was all so simple for Fishers just a month ago. Home opener was a picture perfect night both on and off the field. Just rolling on offense and playing tough on defense, you got your QB executing and life is good!
Flash forward to today and... the offense is not good, defense is getting torched by a QB making his first IFL start & the QB room... is not quite executing. Fishers was able to run the ball well, but once again the Freight QBs just couldn't get things going. Jiya Wright got the start in this one, but was eventually pulled for Keegan Shoemaker a little more than half way through the game.
A combined 9/23 for 98 yards, 2 TDs & 2 INTs. Yikes.
But it wasn't all bad for Fishers, they were able to run for over 160+ yards on the ground and average 5.2 yards per carry, but the self-inflicted wounds in the passing game early opened the door for Iowa to take the lead and run with it (literally), and that's exactly what happened.
For Iowa, this was a much needed beatdown win for them. Every single phase of the game dominated in this one:
Offense: 4 Passing TDs, 3 Rushing TDs
Defense: Pick Six, multiple turnovers
Special Teams: KR TD, Surprise onside kick recovery
Now, is this a sign of things to come for Iowa? Or is this the annual "god damn Iowa is gonna score 70?!" game that they seem to explode with once or twice per year in recent memory?
New QB James Cahoon was fantastic in his first IFL start, going 17/28 for 176 yards, 4 TDs & an INT and really got the offense flowing. The Barnstormers also RAN THE BALL in this one, specifically in the red zone with RB Hunter Clasen & DL Tyler Tate (!!) in a formation that the people voted on.
This was a breath of fresh air for Barnstormer fans and if QB James Cahoon can keep this up, Iowa has the weapons on offense to make some noise in the East -- they just need some one to facilitate getting the ball to the playmakers and NOT throwing multiple crippling interceptions per game.
Northern Arizona Wranglers @ Arizona Rattlers
Result: 49-20 Arizona
What We Learned: Arizona continues to roll on offense & Northern Arizona needs a new face at QB immediately
At a certain point, you just run out of ways to talk about how good this Arizona Rattlers team is. They just do all of the little things so well, whether it is individual blocking assignments on running plays to the QB always seemingly making the right reads -- they just GO on offense.
Northern Arizona put up a bit of a fight to start this one, but the pendulum swang back in the Rattlers favor and they were able to dominate the second half. Dalton Sneed was impressive in this one, going 17/20 for 172 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT, with 2 more TDs on the ground.
RB Shannon Brooks was activated from the PUP list before this game had a hell of season debut, picking right where he left off in 2024 with 2 TDs on the ground and 7 catches for 54 yards & a TD receiving.
The first 6 drives of the game for the Rattlers resulted in touchdowns and you literally can not ask for more lol.
For Northern Arizona, it's time. This team has yet to score more than 30 points in a game this season and was shut out in the 2nd half for the second consecutive week. CJ Fowler just isn't ready and has not been showing signs of improvement like you would hope at the quarterway point of the season.
Much like last week, if you take away on big passing play (39-yard TD to Stoudemire) for the Wranglers in the first half, the passing stats are no bueno: 11/22, 91 Yards, 0 TDs & an INT.
There's gotta be a change at QB, whether that is starting the backup, bringing in a new face through free agency, or starting a name that was shown as activated off of the RTR list recently -- something's gotta give.
The defense does the best they can with the support they get, but this offense is not playing well at all. I wish there were more nice things to say, but until there is a new QB in the mix, I don't there will be any time soon.
Green Bay Blizzard @ Massachusetts Pirates
Result: 47-35 Green Bay
What We Learned: Green Bay's offense dominated the flow of this game & the Pirates loss led to a coaching staff shuffle
We're going to look back on this game as a major turning point of the season for both of these teams. Both teams came into this game 2-2 -- Green Bay looking to get back on track and Mass looking to keep the good times rolling and extend their winning streak to three games.
But Green Bay came out and really controlled this game from start to finish and looked much closer to the 2024 Green Bay squad than we've seen all year. Strong defense, pass rush breaking through & disrupting the opposing QBs rhythm, and Max Meylor dialing up mutliple passing TDs & breaking through on the ground as well.
This was probably the best all-round games we've seen from Green Bay this year and they are only going to get better from here. All-IFL DL Scean Mustin re-signed with the team last week and would expect to see him get in the mix in the coming weeks.
We're probably looking at the start of a run in Green Bay.
For Mass, just glancing at the box score it looked like a solid game on offense, but it looked like something was off in this one. The offensive playcalling looked super limited for the Pirates and QB Kenji Bahar was able to connect for 5 TDs through the air, but had several key misses in a game where they needed to lean on him to get them back in it.
RB Pooka Williams had 120+ total yards on the day, and WR Thomas Owens went 3 for 3 -- 3 catches for 44 yards & 3 TDs -- but the offense just didn't have the "it factor" in this one.
And as a result, we saw a change at Head Coach. The team announced on Wednesday that they were letting go of interm HC & DC Frederick Griggs and hiring former San Antonio Gunslingers & Albany Empire HC Tom Menas to the same role.
The timing of it is odd to me and screams out "this is a panic fire-and-hire". The defense wasn't the problem for this team and the offense was improving week over week, but just needed to find it's stride. But dropping to 2-3 on the year was apparently enough to hit the panic button and bring in Menas mid-season.
It is the first time in Massachusetts Pirates history that they have made a coaching change mid-season, and that may be telling of how the Pirates brass are thinking about how this season has been going so far.
Tucson Sugar Skulls @ San Diego Strike Force
Result: 45-22 San Diego
What We Learned: San Diego's offense finally woke up & Tucson's offensive woes continue
This was a much needed win for this Strike Force team and this offense that was still trying to get it's mojo back.
They started the season running the ball well in the first half of their first game, but weren't able to come close to that same efficiency in the rushing attack until this game -- where they were able to punch it into the end zone four times with four different players on the ground.
Nate Davis was fairly efficient through the air and got the offense into positions where they could punch it in, and had an absolute DART in the first half to swing the pendulum in their direction for good.
It wasn't the sexiest performance that we have seen from this offense over the past year and a half, but it was a much needed step in the right direction. Now San Diego to get healthy and keep stacking positives to go on a run in the West.
For Tucson, they were coming off of their first win of the season in Prescott and were starting to look like they were finding their way. They had a QB who could make plays and take care of the football and they had a WR group that could make the most of their touches -- what more could you ask for!
Well, as I pointed out last week leading into this game, the optimism for the Sugar Skulls may have been slightly pre-mature. We now know that Northern Arizona is awful, so putting up a big win over them doesn't nearly have the same glow to it that it did two weeks ago. This Tucson offense is still stuck in the mud and I'm not sure what they can do against a non-Wranglers team this year.
They had a one play TD drive to open the game and then a 50-yard Pick Six in the 2nd half -- you take away those two individual plays and you are looking at 9 points scored by this offense. Nine. Not good, Jim!
This Tucson offense is nightmare fuel for its fanbase and regressed as soon as it looked like it was taking steps in the right direction.
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