XFAlpha Podcast - Week 4 Review

Either Jonah and I are in a huge fight or we couldn't get our schedules to line up. You decide. But I'm going solo this week with a review of week four and previewing everything you need to know about week five. My notes and download information are below.

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Defenders vs. VIPERS

Jacques Patrick was a guy I had mentioned as somebody to watch out for, and I’m hoping his performance this week gives him a more significant workload over De’Veon Smith, even though both backs had over 100 yards. 

A lot of fun misdirection in the run game that took advantage of an overzealous defensive line. Imagine how dangerous that would be with a mobile quarterback like the recently retired, Quinton Flowers.

Nothing has changed with Cornelius. He’s still not great, not terrible, but not exciting enough to make the Vipers a contender.

Cardale Jones has not lost a home game in a decade. Let’s not forget that.

I think the Vipers defense is playing better, but the offensive line for the Defenders is a serious liability.

On the defensive side, Rahim Moore and Matt Elam are both showing enough to get another look in the NFL, and I have also been impressed with Tracy Sprinkle who has been able to cause some havoc on the defensive line.

Roughnecks vs. RENEGADES

PJ Walker is not messing around, continues to show that he really is the best quarterback in this league.

Cam Phillips was shut down, but Nick Holley had the chance to shine. I would still be buying on Phillips and doubting any Holley buzz at this point.

Parham is a stud, that ain’t changing. 

Landry Jones is messing around as he just loves to complete passes, no matter what jersey they happen to be wearing. 

Unfortunately, it now appears they are down to Philip Nelson, and the Renegades need to find a new quarterback, either trading for Quinton Flowers, Tyree Jackson, or Johnny Manziel. God, even reuniting Hal Mumme with Tim Couch has got to be better than this.

Wildcats vs. GUARDIANS

Traveling across the country is tough, especially without your best offensive weapon in Nelson Spruce. They didn’t play great, but I think if Spruce is healthy, they probably win this game.

Tre McBride stepped up big time again this week, but their running situation is pretty uninspiring right now.

I do think the Guardians are bad, but they played well enough to get this win over a flat Wildcats team. They are 2-2, tied for the fourth seed, and I have absolutely zero faith that they will make the playoffs.

Dragons vs. BATTLEHAWKS

Quarterbacks are so damn important so it was good to see BJ Daniels get a chance with the Dragons as it seemed to give that team some fire.

The Dragons defense had ten tackles for loss in this game.

I still love my boy De’mornay Pierson-El. 

I’ve been a Jordan Ta’amu skeptic where Jonah has been a hater, but it’s time to just let him be. He’s not the best quarterback in the league, but he’s in the top half of starting quarterbacks, and that makes the Battlehawks title contenders.

I also don’t think this game was as close as the score made it seem as the Battlehawks ran 73 offensive plays and the Dragons ran 42. 

WEEK 5 PICKS

ROUGHNECKS over Dragons - Dragons cover 13.5

RENEGADES over Guardians - Renegades cover -8

DEFENDERS over Battlehawks - Upset special as Battlehawks are favored by 3.5

WILDCATS over Vipers - Wildcats cover 1.5

DFS Picks

QB 

1. PJ Walker - HOU
2. BJ Daniels - SEA
3. Eric Dungey - DAL

RB 

1. Cameron Artis-Payne - DAL
2. Donnel Pumphrey - DC
3. Martez Carter - LA+

WR

1. Tre McBride - LA
1. Donald Parham - DAL
2. Mekale McKay - NY
1. Flynn Nagel - DAL
3. Nick Truesdell - TAM
1. Keith Mumphrey - STL

DEF

1. Dallas
2. LA
3. DC

XFAlpha Podcast Notes - Episode 1

Jonah and I have started a podcast that takes a deep dive into the XFL, fittingly called the XFAlpha Podcast. You can follow along with everything XFAlpha @XFAlphaPod on twitter or email us at xfalphapod@gmail.com. The audio for the first episode is not the greatest, but the content makes up for it. Spoiler alert, we did get the audio fixed for future episodes. I'll be posting my raw show notes for each episode here, but make sure that you download the episode, and rate and review us if possible.

DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE HERE

The XFL Draft was such a disappointment, because it was just an awful viewing experience. Vince McMahon doesn’t know anything about football, but he does know about showmanship, and it was so cheap looking that 

They took a damn lunch break.

The big issue is that they could have given an inside look. 

I would have liked to see them have a draft, but then do an inside the draft process where they highlight discussions in the individual draft rooms so you get an idea of what they are thinking. It was such a missed opportunity.

Also, line up some player interviews. They are all about building personalities, so let these guys talk. 

1. DC Defenders - Cardale Jones and Tyree Jackson
1. Cardale Jones didn’t come to play school. He came to play football. And he led Ohio State to a National Championship. He has a big arm and is fairly accurate so there’s a lot to like about him. 
2. Tyree Jackson is legit. Big arm, threw some beautiful deep balls. I didn’t think he looked that athletic on the field, but he did test out ridiculously well. Shocked he couldn’t make a roster.
2. Tampa Vipers - Aaron Murray and Taylor Cornelius
1. He’s from a family of winners as his brother won The Bachelorette. He was a four-year starter at Georgia but just never had an impressive enough arm to actually make anything happen at the next level. 
2. Taylor Cornelius was a guy that I saw over the week at the East-West Shrine Game last year, and I thought he was the most impressive quarterback there. Now, it wasn’t the stiffest competition, but I thought he had some good tools and a nice arm, so he’s my pick to be starting for this team. He also played his biggest in big games as he balled out against Oklahoma and West Virginia, coming close to two upsets, but still getting one done against the Mountaineers.
3. Vincent Testaverde
3. New York Guardians - Matt McGloin and Marquise Williams
1. Matt McGloin is an overachiever who went from walk on to starting quarterback for Penn State and then went undrafted to starting six games for the Raiders. Now he was bestowed as one of the Great 8, so I’m guessing that he is a disappointment in his first opportunity where he is not seen as an underdog. 
2. Stopped Trubisky from starting earlier in his career. He did fairly well in relief for San Antonio of the AAF, but unless they run the option, he probably won’t beat out McGloin.
3. Garrett Fugate
4. Houston Roughnecks - Phillip Walker and Connor Cook
1. Walker played under Matt Rhule at Temple, so definitely some good coaching before sticking around the practice squad of the Colts. Interceptions were an issue.
2. Connor Cook just seems like a turd. I will admit that I have an unnatural hatred for Michigan State quarterbacks. I mean, I don’t hate Cousins, but I feel like the guy has been shoved down my throat because one time he said YOU LIKE THAT. But I just remembered Cook started a playoff game. Not sure if you remember, but it did not go well.
5. Dallas Renegades - Landry Jones and Philip Nelson
1. Landry Jones started four years for a super talented Oklahoma team, but the guy just never got better and continually threw too many interceptions. He actually started five games in the NFL, and the best thing he has going for him is his old college coach, Bob Stoops, bringing him aboard.
2. Philip Nelson gave a teammate brain damage, so not exactly a guy I’m going to be rooting for.
6. Los Angeles Wildcats - Luis Perez 
1. Luis Perez, after dominating Southwestern College, could no longer be overlooked by his dream school of Texas A+M....Commerce. He hit 70% of his throws and throwing for over 5,000 yards while leading his team to a National Title and winning the Heisman of Division 2, the Harlon Hill Trophy. His time with the Birmingham Iron left a little to be desired as he had more picks than TDs and barely completed 50% of his passes.
7. Seattle Dragons - Brandon Silvers and Joe Callahan
1. Silvers was nearly an AAF hero and completed 64% of his passes in that league which is a fairly good sign of how he might perform. Same percentage he had while throwing for over 10,000 yards at Troy.  Still, he wasn’t good enough to make a training camp even after that performance which shows he probably doesn’t have that high of a ceiling. 
2. Joe Callahan was 5-7 for 11 yards in an actual NFL game. That’s not great, but he did play in an NFL game. He’s had seven stints in the NFL, including the Packers twice. There’s a good chance Aaron Rodgers forced him out. 
8. St. Louis Battlehawks - Jordan Ta’amu and Brogan Roback
1. Jordan Ta’amu wasn’t good enough to beat out Shea Patterson and as someone who has watched more Michigan than I would like to admit, that is not a great sign. There’s just nothing that stands out about Ta’amu, so I can’t really add much more than that.
2. Brogan Roback is benefiting greatly from being on Hard Knocks. Good for him. He has a better chance of making it as a punter which he did some at Eastern Michigan than he does as a quarterback.