This week had everything: a team scoring 70+ points with ease, a team struggling to score 21+ points, players breaking up fights in the stands, ugly football, beautiful football and the California Clash: Part II!
Teams are continuing to drift in opposite directions, with some teams STILL looking for their first win of the season and others looking like they are in cruise control to the playoffs this early in the season. Obviously there is still lots of football left to be played this season, but we have a pretty clear idea of who these teams are at this point.
Here's what we learned in Week 7:
Iowa Barnstormers @ Green Bay Blizzard
Result: 40-33 Green Bay
What We Learned: Green Bay is a legit contender in the East & I’m not sure where Iowa is gonna find their first win
Green Bay put on a clinic in this game of what type of football they are all about: jump out to a lead, lean on you the rest of the game and make you earn every single yard against their defense.
I can’t say enough about this Blizzard defense and how physical and technically sound they are at all levels. Their defensive line continue to dominate and make life difficult for opposing offenses, and their DBs fly around the field making plays and disrupting the passing game. Arguably the best play of the evening didn’t even count due to a penalty on defense, when DB Ravarius Rivers made a leaping interception over the wall.
Green Bay continues to play their brand of football and continues to stack wins.
On the other side, Iowa couldn’t get much going against this ferocious Green Bay defense and QB Kyle King had another game where he finished with a completion percentage of less than 50% (18/39). In the Week 6: What We Learned, we touched on King and how Iowa needs to find more ways to get the ball out of his hands quicker on things like screens or short slants, and unfortunately we didn’t see as much of that as you would have hoped.
I did like that they were feeding RB Robert Washington the ball with 16 total touches on offense, but getting the ball out a King’s hands quicker and into the hands of Washington or WR Quian Williams early and often needs to be a priority for Iowa moving forward.
Iowa gets Quad City, Massachusetts, Quad City, Green Bay & Sioux Falls over their next 5 games — and with how Quad City has been playing and the pedigree of Massachusetts & Green Bay, it’s very realistic that Iowa could be 0-9 heading into their game on June 1st against Sioux Falls.
San Antonio Gunslingers @ Frisco Fighters
Result: 54-52 San Antonio
What We Learned: Sam Castronova catapulted himself into the MVP discussion & Frisco got counter punched for the first time this year
Through 5 games this season, San Antonio QB Sam Castronova has done the following:
Passing - 93/132 for 989 yards, 28 TDs & 1 INT
Rushing - 144 yards & 7 TDs
Just absolutely ridiculous numbers thus far. He has more COMPLETIONS than all but one other QB has ATTEMPTS on the year so far. He looked incredible throwing the ball in this game and was extremely precise with putting ball exactly where it needed to be for his WRs to go up and get it. THIS was the game that San Antonio was capable of achieving — they just needed their defense to come up with a couple stops, and they did: right before halftime and in the final minute of the game.
On the other side, Frisco played a pretty good game all things considered, they just got outlasted and outperformed by the best offense in the league. QB TJ Edwards didn’t have the best day passing the ball, but he cashed in for 4 rushing and 2 passing TDs on the day.
The lack of urgency from Frisco at the end of the game was a little alarming — they were down 2 with the ball in their own end of the field with less than a minute left with multiple timeouts in their pocket. First play, QB read option — which is fine, with Edwards you definitely can run that play in that spot. But they then let nearly 20 seconds run off the clock while getting set for the next play, to the point where the color commentator was yelling “go, go, go!”
Instead of calling a timeout and getting the best play set, they proceeded to throw a game sealing interception. It was just a weird sequence of situational football that you can tell they don’t find themselves in, and one where using one of those timeouts there could have been the difference between a win and a loss.
Frisco isn’t going anywhere and will still be a dangerous team in the East, but it was interesting to see them flounder just a little bit in the final moments of the game. It kind of humanized them a bit.
Massachusetts Pirates @ Sioux Falls Storm
Result: 43-38 Massachusetts
What We Learned: The injury bug continues to bite Massachusetts & Sioux Falls is stuck in neutral
Starting QB Alejandro Bennifield for the Pirates was announced as Out shortly before kickoff, which launched backup QB Connor Degenhardt into his first IFL start — and all things considered he did pretty good. He went 15/20 for 163 yards and 4 TDs, but also had 2 INTs on the day. He stepped in and managed the game pretty well and got the ball into the hands of his playmakers.
Isaac “The Freako” Zico missed this game due to injury and will be out for a while on Short Term IR, so Thomas Owens and Teo Redding had to step up in a big way and they did — each getting 2 TD catches and making strong grabs in the process.
The Pirates also had 19 penalties on the day, which is an absurd amount by any standard — and honestly kept the Storm in the game for a long time. These self inflicted wounds via penalty and those interceptions nearly cost them the game, but they held on to add another on to W column.
On the other side, it was more of the same on offense for Sioux Falls. They didn’t have any turnovers, but they could not get much going in terms of big plays on offense. Week to week, it seems like Sioux Falls has a medium height floor, but a really low ceiling in terms of scoring points.
With the signing of Lorenzo Brown Jr last week, you have to think that if they want to try to salvage the season, they need to toss him the keys to the car. Otherwise, you have to continue to roll with QB Billy Hall and progress with his development. They need more home runs and less singles when it comes their offense, and I’m not sure if Hall is the one that can get that done.
Duke City Gladiators @ Vegas Knight Hawks
Result: 42-27 Vegas
What We Learned: Duke City is desperate for answers on offense & Vegas looked human
Duke City trotted out their 5th different QB in 5 games so far this season, and it’s difficult to be optimistic about the outlook of this Gladiators team. QB Alphonso Howard was signed midweek and made the start after a couple of days with the team.. and it showed. The offense was very out of rhythm all day and seemed to function solely through a lot of improv.
Frustrations flared early for Howard and the Gladiators in the first half.
It’s always a good sign when your newly signed QB is getting into a physical altercation on the bench less than 15 minutes into his debut.
I really feel bad for this Duke City defense. They have a very solid group that always holds opposing offenses to a shell of themselves, but they get no support from their own offense throughout the game. In fact, they had to score a touchdown of their own to get the ball rolling, but it wasn’t enough. There’s a part of me that thinks they need to go back to Javin Kilgo from the beginning of the season. He did throw quite a few interceptions, but he also gave your offense some type of pulse.
On the other side, Vegas coach Mike Davis mentioned this in his post game press conference, but this was a game where Vegas faced a lot of adversity and quite frankly got punched in the mouth. The Ja’Rome Johnson MVP campaign took a little detour when he was pulled after starting 3/9 with 2 early INTs, and backup Jorge Reyna came in and landed the plane for Vegas — going 7/9 and throwing 3 TDs to preserve the Knight Hawks perfect record.
Not a lot went well for Vegas on offense (in part due to Duke City’s stout defense), but they persevered and found a way to win. This is type of game that humbles a team and reminds them that they gotta earn it every week, and it came at a perfect time for Vegas — as the undefeated reigning champion Bay Area Panthers await them next week.
Northern Arizona Wranglers @ Tucson Sugar Skulls
Result: 34-31 Northern Arizona
What We Learned: Northern Arizona is a good-bad team (or are they bad-good?) & Tucson needs Mylik Mitchell back badly
Northern Arizona had a stretch of weeks early in the season where it looked like they could do no wrong, but in these past couple of weeks they have regressed heavily back to the mean. QB Joshua Jones had a good day throwing the ball, but the concerning thing with the Wranglers right now is their rushing attack. The past two games, Joshua Jones has accounted for 17 out of 31 rushing attempts — which is not ideal for the Wranglers.
In the games where Northern Arizona was rolling on offense, they were getting multiple offensive players involved in the running game and Jones accounted for only 32% of the teams rushing attempts. With so many different weapons on offense, they should be getting those pieces more involved on the ground and take some of the load off of Jones.
On the other side, Tucson needs Mylik Mitchell back badly. They had their 2nd different quarterback in 2 games start in place of Mitchell, and the offense was missing that ‘umph’ that it has with Mitchell at the helm. Mike Jones got more involved this week, getting 11 total touches, and Tucson made a comeback attempt in the 4th quarter, but it was too little too late after such a slow start where they scored 7 points in the first half.
They have a MUCH NEEDED bye week coming up, and the hope is that Mylik Mitchell will be back in the lineup for the game against the Arizona Rattlers on May 11th. That will be a massive opportunity to get the season back on track and get this offense rolling again.
Tulsa Oilers @ Quad City Steamwheelers
Result: 72-59 Tulsa
What We Learned: Tulsa is a goliath against teams not from Frisco & Quad City is still trending in the right direction despite the result
Great googily moogily Tulsa! The Oilers became the first IFL team in 2024 to break the 70 point threshold and did so emphatically. Tulsa WR Alexis Rosario had a monster day with 6 receptions for 123 yards and 3 TDs, while QB Daniel Smith accounted for 8 total TDs (3 passing to Rosario & 5 rushing.)
This was a great game on offense and a pretty good one for the Tulsa defense as well — despite what the scoreboard says. They had multiple stops and momentum shifting moments throughout the game that kept their foot on the gas and kept them ahead. Right now, Tulsa is 3-0 against teams not from Frisco (they are 0-2 against teams from Frisco).
The good news for Tulsa is that they don’t have to play the team from Frisco again in the regular season, so it will be interesting to see if Tulsa can continue their trend of DUMPING points on non-Fighters defenses — and they get the 0-5 Jacksonville Sharks on a platter next week.
On the other side, Quad City didn’t get the win but there were still positives for them to build off of here. They continued to get more and more efficient on offense, but had a couple of costly turnovers that proved to be daggers. It’s unfortunate for them that Tulsa just seemingly could do no wrong, because if Quad City plays this game against 80% of the rest of the league, they probably walk away with a win.
QB Judd Erickson had a better day spreading the ball around to all of his WRs, but as has been the case with Quad City a lot this season, their self inflicted wounds did them in.
Bay Area Panthers @ San Diego Strike Force
Result: 33-32 Bay Area
What We Learned: The California Clash is going to be appointment television forever.
Nothing is certain in this world except for Death, Taxes & the California Clash being a thrill ride down to the wire.
San Diego was a shell of itself in the first half and could not get anything done on offense — only scoring points on a kick return touchdown with not much else to show in the first half. The defense came out in the second half and was able to get a couple of stops, and allowed their offense to get into a rhythm — leading a comeback from 27 points down with an opportunity to take the lead with 46 seconds left!
San Diego’s aggressive play calling ended up haunting them as they went 0/2 on 2 point conversion attempts in 4th quarter, where extra points in those situations would have given them the lead with less than a minute left. But ultimately, San Diego lives by an aggressive offensive attitude and on Sunday they also died by it.
On the other side, Bay Area very nearly squandered their unbeaten streak and perfect record in the second half. They got Daquan Neal back at QB and he looked good in spurts and didn't have any moments that looked too rusty, but they just didn't finish the game off the way they could have.
Their running game didn't looked like it normally does, and other a few big passing plays to WR JT Stokes, the offense looked kinda meh all game. They have another bout with an undefeated Western Conference team next week, when the Vegas Knight Hawks come to town -- so they'll need as much fire power as they can to outpace Vegas.
Jacksonville Sharks @ Arizona Rattlers
Result: 55-35 Rattlers
What We Learned: Dalton Sneed is BACK and Jacksonville is simply treading water
The Rattlers got Dalton Sneed back in the lineup for the first time since Week 1 and, while they start a littttttle slow (which is expected working Sneed back into the lineup), they exploded for 50+ points in the final 3 quarters of the game.
They had a pretty healthy rushing attack — getting 101 yards collectively as a team -- with Shannon Brooks getting 3 rushing TDs & Sneed accounting for 2 of his own. Rattlers got beat up pretty good between Weeks 2-5, but this could be the flip of the switch where things start to turn around for Arizona.
If this is the game that Sneed can give you in his first game back from injury, we could be in for a treat these next few games. As Arizona’s key pieces continue to come back from injury, they can continue to climb back into playoff hunt in the West.
On the other side, Jacksonville seems to have a cap on their offensive potential — as this is the second week in a row where they’ve scored their season high 35 points while giving up 55+. They were in this game until the second half, where they unravelled at the seams while Arizona kept their scoring pace.
3 straight drives in the 2nd half:
Interception
Missed Field Goal
Turnover on Downs
On paper, QB Fred Payton Jr didn’t play bad, he just didn’t execute in the pivotal moments where Jacksonville needed a play. If you are Jacksonville, I think you have to stick with Payton Jr at QB and understand where you are in the season — 0-5 with an offense that is underperforming in every single game. You gotta keep giving the young Payton Jr the reps and see how he can develop from here.
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