Johnny's Power Rankings

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

As the old saying goes, "Opinions are like (backsides). Everyone has one and they usually stink." But... I figured, we used to have this feature back in 2020, where we came up with our own power rankings and I figured it was a great time to do that again, now that we have some in-game action to work off.

Week One

1. Birmingham Stallions
Other than a brief, ill-fated attempt to insert Adrian Martinez in at quarterback, the dominant team of the USFL continued to roll after pulling away from Arlington in the second half.

2. San Antonio Brahmas
What a difference a year, and a coach, makes. With Wade Phillips at the helm, a bevy of reinforcements, and some really fun special teams, the Brahmas markedly improved on their 2023 performance with a solid win over DC.

3. Michigan Panthers

4. Memphis Showboats

5. St. Louis Battlehawks
All three of these teams are very close to each other (I mean the game was decided on the outcome of a 64-yard kick, so that's about as close as you can get without going into OT), with Michigan getting the edge by strength of opponent, even as their margin of victory was tighter. Even so, Memphis's Case Cookus looked the most game-ready of most of the quarterbacks on the field today. St. Louis will improve, I think, especially with a shot in the arm of returning home to the Battledome this week.

6. Arlington Renegades
Bob Stoops's Renegades have consistently been slightly below average in the regular season, and running into the buzzsaw that is the Stallions didn't help matters. Strength of opponent keeps them above the other two losing teams this week, especially since Luis Perez was able to keep the game competitive as he always does.

7. DC Defenders
What a dramatic fall from grace. First of all, let's not mince words: they may have lost a few offensive weapons to the NFL but that doesn't excuse how erratic Jordan Ta'amu was throwing the ball yesterday. It might be poor chemistry, but it was ugly.

8. Houston Gamblers Roughnecks
Most of the teams in the UFL used their expansion drafts to upgrade their rosters. It's hard to see where Curtis Johnson's newly rechristened Roughnecks bothered to do that—even with a large chunk of the XFL Roughnecks roster having been released in December. Maybe June Jones and PJ Walker can come in and salvage the season... but barring that, the road's going to be a long one for the Roughnecks.

[4th&long]

Not a bad list - I'd flip Mich and SA but week 1 is real hard to project

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Week Two
Not a lot of change this week as the games largely played out as I had anticipated. I gave DC a boost for their win over Houston, and St. Louis a slight boost for beating Arlington. It's tough because it's apples to oranges in that the middle teams all tended to lose to the top teams but beat the bottom teams. I'm more confident bumping DC over Arlington than I am with St. Louis over Memphis, though I think in the long run St. Louis will be better.

We're in for a really tight season. I don't see the split I saw in the 2023 XFL, with a few really good teams at top, really bad teams at the bottom, and Arlington in the middle happening this year.

1. Birmingham Stallions (—)
2. San Antonio Brahmas (—)
3. Michigan Panthers (—)
4. St. Louis Battlehawks (+1)
5. Memphis Showboats (–1)
6. DC Defenders (+1)
7. Arlington Renegades (–1)
8. Houston Roughnecks (—)

[4th&long]

Week Two
Not a lot of change this week as the games largely played out as I had anticipated. I gave DC a boost for their win over Houston, and St. Louis a slight boost for beating Arlington. It's tough because it's apples to oranges in that the middle teams all tended to lose to the top teams but beat the bottom teams. I'm more confident bumping DC over Arlington than I am with St. Louis over Memphis, though I think in the long run St. Louis will be better.

We're in for a really tight season. I don't see the split I saw in the 2023 XFL, with a few really good teams at top, really bad teams at the bottom, and Arlington in the middle happening this year.

1. Birmingham Stallions (—)
2. San Antonio Brahmas (—)
3. Michigan Panthers (—)
4. St. Louis Battlehawks (+1)
5. Memphis Showboats (–1)
6. DC Defenders (+1)
7. Arlington Renegades (–1)
8. Houston Roughnecks (—)

Cool Thread

No team looks bad.  Sans a few plays SA and DC lose last week, better end game coaching paid off for them in those games.    Things are wide open.   The gap in 2024 will the tightest of the 3 combined prior seasons.

1. Birmingham Stallions - Most well balanced team, 2 QB hammer, D is legit, HC Holtz
2. St. Louis Battlehawks - AJ and the receivers
3. Michigan Panthers - EJ Perry lots of good, needs to reduce T/O, D is best in league, Bates
4. San Antonio Brahmas - QB play inconsistent but when on - Good, D solid, s/b 1-1 but played 60 min
5. Memphis Showboats - QB Case Cookus, D solid, s/b 2-0 but did NOT play 60 min
6. Arlington Renegades - QB Perez, HC Stoops
7. DC Defenders - Barely escaped, Ta'amu starting to click
8. Houston Roughnecks - found a way to not win, poor time mgt, need RB Thompson, QB Sinnett looked solid

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Week Three

1. Birmingham Stallions (—)
   Another week, another win for the defending USFL champs and odds-on favorites.
2. Michigan Panthers (+1)
   Jake Bates's booming leg helps the Panthers trounce the hapless Roughnecks. They move up mainly thanks to their Week 1 victory over St. Louis keeping them ahead of the...
3. St. Louis Battlehawks (+1)
   A minor upset over the previously undefeated Brahmas keeps the fan favorite team climbing the power rankings.
4. San Antonio Brahmas (–2)
   Now, don't get me wrong: this two-spot tumble is more a reflection of how close the rest of the league is, and the Brahmas are still serious contenders, but this loss to St. Louis was a tough blow.
5. DC Defenders (+1)
   Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat keeps DC treading water, though back-to-back wins against the league's weakest teams doesn't help them move up much. I anticipate a fall back to reality in the coming weeks.
6. Memphis Showboats (–1)
   I almost don't want to knock the Showboats down yet given that their opponents have been among the league's best, but I couldn't keep 2-1 DC under 1-2 Memphis.
7. Arlington Renegades (—)
   Something's seriously wrong in Arlington. The team is doing all the right things, but they keep falling apart in the homestretch to end up 0-3.
8. Houston Roughnecks (—)
   Is it too late to make amends with June Jones and PJ Walker?

[4th&long]

Another good list johnny - here's my 2 cents:

After week 3 its looking like Birm may have the best D.  Mich is legit as is StL.  After than it gets tough.  I stil feel worst to first is a tighter bunch than prior years.

1. Birmingham Stallions - Most well balanced team, 2 QB hammer, D is tops, HC Holtz
2. Michigan Panthers - EJ Perry lots of good, needs to reduce T/O, D is best in league, Bates
3. St. Louis Battlehawks - AJ and the receivers, D so-so
4. San Antonio Brahmas - QB play inconsistent but when on - Good, D solid, s/b 1-1 but played 60 min
5. Arlington Renegades - QB Perez, HC Stoops, this team is finding ways to lose on D if not corrected they drop
6. DC Defenders - Barely escaped 2x now, Ta'amu starting to click, the wins are not convincing
7. Memphis Showboats - QB Case Cookus needs time in pocket, D solid, OL hurting run game and QB play
8. Houston Roughnecks - QB Sinnett looks solid, but D need to play up to talent level

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Week Four

1. Birmingham Stallions
   The only team not moving this week, the Stallions' rain-soaked nail-biter over DC keeps them undefeated and atop the power rankings.
2. St. Louis Battlehawks (+1)
   Look out. After narrowly losing Week 1, the Battlehawks have ripped off three straight with a dominant win over Memphis.
3. San Antonio Brahmas (+1)
   Don't call it a comeback, but you can call it the Quinten Dormady redemption tour. A win over Michigan puts them back on track.
4. Michigan Panthers (–2)
5. DC Defenders (+1)
   DC gave the Stallions a run for their money, and though I'm hesitant to give them the edge over Memphis on that alone, my gut tells me... do it.
6. Memphis Showboats (–1)
7. Houston Roughnecks (+1)
8. Arlington Renegades (–1)
   That game was ugly. Houston wasn't that great, but Arlington, after three back-breaking losses to the league's upper echelons, had a golden opportunity to rebound here against the UFL's worst team—and acted like their backs were indeed broken. Perez played more like he was back in Vegas.

[4th&long]

Not much diff:

1. Birmingham Stallions - Most well balanced team, 2 QB hammer, D is tops, HC Holtz, but just escaped with victory
2. St. Louis Battlehawks - AJ and the receivers, D so-so
3. San Antonio Brahmas - QB Dormandy looks pretty good, D solid
4. DC Defenders - Barely escaped 2x now, Ta'amu starting to click, the BHam loss is more convincing than the wins
5. Michigan Panthers - if EJ Perry hurt could be real bad , D is best in league, Bates is still there
6. Houston Roughnecks - QB Sinnett looks solid, but great D needs to be consistent, need to score more
7. Memphis Showboats - If QB Case Cookus needs time in pocket, D solid, OL hurting run game and QB pla
8. Arlington Renegades - QB Perez, HC Stoops, this team is finding ways to lose if not corrected they drop

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Week Five
Admittedly late and based on scores alone since I missed this week's games:

1. Birmingham
2. St. Louis
3. San Antonio
4. Michigan
5. Memphis (+1)
6. DC (–1)
7. Houston
8. Arlington

Obviously not much change since it was all top tier vs. bottom tier and top tier predictably won out.

[4th&long]

Here's mine not much diff
DC is the lucky team to be 2-3 but I'll move them to 5 if they pull off a win against SA

1. Birmingham
2. St. Louis
3. San Antonio
4. Michigan
5. Memphis
6. Houston
7. Arlington
8. DC