Posted on
3/14/2008 8:41:28 PM
Arena Football Betting - Los Angeles Avengers vs. Georgia Force
By Mike Rose
Two teams headed in completely opposite directions hook up at Gwinnett Arena on Saturday night when the (2-0) Los Angeles Avengers hook up with the (0-2) Georgia Force. The Avengers are widely considered a team on the rise in the AFL, and a legitimate threat to hoist the hardware in New Orleans. Meanwhile, the Force have fallen from last year’s 14-2 result to open up the 2008 campaign with back-to-back losses, a pain they haven’t felt since the end of the 2006 season. The last time Georgia lost three straight games was in 2004, when they lost six in a row.
The schedule for the Avengers has been notably weak, playing host to the New Orleans VooDoo and traveling to the desert to take on the Arizona Rattlers. In both games, the opposing starting QB was knocked out in the first half, making the 2nd half easy pickings for the defense. Should LA knock Force QB Chris Greisen out of the game, rookie Ben Dougherty will have to take his first AFL snaps, though he has indoor football experience with the Tallahassee Titans of the AIFA. Though 2nd year QB Sonny Cumbie avoided turning the ball over following his 3 INT outing from Week 1, he only completed 51.7% of his passes (15/29) against a questionable Rattlers defense in Week 2. WR/KR Timon Marshall has been as good as advertised this season, averaging 174 all-purpose yards and 2.5 TDs per game. The LA “D” has been opportunistic, forcing six turnovers thus far.
Statistically speaking, the Force have been a complete mess in 2008. After one week, the team released its leading receiver, Brent Holmes (156 yards and 3 TDs in Week 1), their QB is on a pace to throw double the INTs of a year ago, they have a grand total of ZERO rushing yards, and the offense that averaged close to 63 PPG last year has only managed a shade under 45 PPG. The defense hasn’t been much to write home about either, giving up 120 points in just two games and only forcing two turnovers. One must remember that Georgia did take on Dallas and Tampa Bay in their first two weeks, arguably the two toughest teams in the AFL.
On the outside, this game should be an Avengers victory, as noted by the oddsmakers hanging LA as a slim 1.5 point road chalk. A closer look suggests that the line movement from LA -1.5 to -2.5 may be incorrect. The Avengers played this past Monday night while Georgia played on Friday, putting LA on an incredibly short week. Of the last ten teams that played on Monday night football that played on short rest the following week, only three have covered (it’s worth noting that the Avengers were one of the three that covered). Teams also traditionally have a difficult time when they have to travel across the country. Ask the Force, who suffered one of their two losses of the season in LA a year ago (57-51).
Motivation may also play a huge factor because if Georgia loses this one, they may be 0-5 with their playoff hopes clinging on life support when they return to Gwinnett.
Georgia home games have gone under the ‘total’ in 5 of their L/6, while LA is 6-3-1 towards the under in their L/10 roadies. The current ‘total’ is a very reasonably 105.5. You can get in on the action of this exciting game right now at BetUS.com!
Game Time - 7:00 ET
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