Posted on 5/8/2008 6:42:24 PM

AFL Arena Football Betting – Power Poll Week 11

By Mike Rose

(CURRENT) (TEAM) (W/L OVERALL & W/L FOR WEEK) (ATS RECORD) (LAST WEEKS RANK)

1) Chicago Rush (8-2/1-0) (4-5 ATS) (LW: 2) Chicago heads into its ‘bye’ week off a nice game at Tampa Bay that saw them pull away in the second half to secure their eighth win of the season. The 51-46 final count saw them push on the five-point spread, and the 97 combined points unfortunately fell short of the closing ‘total’ of 107. Overall, Arena Football bettors have gone 5-4-1 ATS backing the Rush, and juiced out playing their totals (5-5 ATS). They can actually clinch a playoff spot in Week 11 without even playing a game if one of five American conference teams loses their match-up this weekend. The Rush boast the 2nd ranked offense scoring close to 59 PPG, and the league’s second ranked stop unit allowing opponents a shade over 46 points per contest. They’ll welcome in the Los Angeles Avengers to the All State Arena for their next online sports wagering contest in Week 12.

2) Philadelphia Soul (9-1/0-1) (6-4 ATS) (LW: 1) We’re going to go ahead and give the Soul a mulligan for last week after they opposed the Destroyers on just three days rest. They destroyed the undefeated Dallas Desperados on ESPN2’s Monday night telecast, and then had to take on another division rival just a couple days later. Someone in the scheduling department must be fired! Still, the Soul are by far the premiere squad in this league. They have it all! They have a pair of successful QB’s, the fourth ranked defense surrendering a shade under 50 PPG, and the #1 ranked offense lighting the scoreboard up for a whopping 64 PPG. On top of that, AFL bettors have made decent bank backing these guys this year evidenced by their 6-4 ATS mark. The Soul I’m talking about is the one that took Dallas out behind the woodshed, not the fatigued club off a huge win that fell to Cleveland SU as 10-point road favorites. I expect to see the dominant version this Monday night when they pay the Georgia Force a visit on ESPN2’s telecast.

3) Dallas Desperados (8-1/1-0) (5-4 ATS) (LW: 3) The Desperados avoided losing two in a row for the first time in three years last weekend when they escaped Columbus with a 48-45 victory. QB Clint Dolezel surpassed Andy Kelly (42,528 yards) to become the AFL's all-time leader in passing yardage, but the Desperados failed to cover the spread for the second week in a row and fourth time in their L/5 overall. On the bright side, Dolezel completed 24 of 37 passes for a season-high 291 yards and seven touchdowns, so he might finally be over the hump in recovering from the separated shoulder he suffered in Week 1. Hopefully he’ll be able to help the offense increase its scoring average as it comes in dead last averaging just less than 48 PPG heading into Week 11. After going 10-6 ATS in the regular season last year, offshore oddsmakers seem to have a better grasp of 2008’s version since they’re just 5-4 ATS throughout their first nine games. They’ll welcome in the Grand Rapids Rampage this Saturday night in a game that could get very ugly.

4) Orlando Predators (7-3/1-0) (6-3-1 ATS) (LW: 3) Orlando bounced back superbly from its shocking loss to Tampa Bay at home last week, and in the process solved the riddle that had been the San Jose Sabercats by ripping them apart by a 61-35 final count. They were the beneficiaries of five Sabercat turnovers, and they made the most of them by converting them into 21 points to allow them to pull away for the decisive home win and cover. The Preds offense has been electric all season long currently ranked #4 averaging close to 58 points per contest, and the defense had made strides of late now ranked 6th allowing a shade under 54 PPG. AFL bettors have seen a return on their investment with the Preds this year winning 60% of the time they backed them. They currently sit tied atop the Southern Division with New Orleans, but the VooDoo currently hold the tiebreaker after beating them in “The Graveyard” back in early March. The Preds will pay a visit to Cleveland to take on a Gladiator team that handed the Soul their first loss of the season last week.

5) New Orleans Voodoo (7-3/0-1) (7-3 ATS) (LW: 4) Every team puts forth a clunker throughout a 16-game schedule, and the VooDoo certainly did just that last weekend at Georgia where they got steamrolled by a 61-35 final count. Turnovers and Georgia defensive stops did them in as the offense never got on track, and the Force simply did as they pleased against the 5th ranked defense (49 PPG) in the league. The loss dropped the Voodoo to both 7-3 SU and ATS on the year, with all three losses coming on the road. They currently sit tied atop the Southern Division with the Orlando Predators but hold the tiebreaker as previously mentioned. Head coach Mike Neu and his staff better rally the troops as they head into steamy Tampa Bay to take on a Storm club that’s lost three straight at home.

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