XFL Championship Sat 5/13 8pm ABC/ESPN

[PromoTheRobot]

 

DC vs Arlington. The Renegades were a controversial playoff team, sub .500, St. Louis with a better record got shut out. But they took out top seed Houston to get here.

 

https://www.espn.com/xfl/story/_/id/37569074/xfl-2023-championship-preview-games-schedule-players-know-watch-picks

Edited May 13, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Roundybout]

No former Bills on the teams as far as I can tell. 

 

I remember I picked the DC Defenders in the first comeback of the XFL because Cardale Jones was their quarterback. I guess I'll root for them again. 
 

 

Now that I think about it, I only picked the Birmingham Iron in the old AAF because Bills legend Colton Schmidt was their punter. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Roundybout

[Poleshifter]

This should be one sided contest, unfortunately. DC is very good with a 9-1 regular season record. Arlington is 4-6 from the weak South division.

 

It was a fun season in any case. I enjoyed it.

 

[PromoTheRobot]

10 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

No former Bills on the teams as far as I can tell. 

 

I remember I picked the DC Defenders in the first comeback of the XFL because Cardale Jones was their quarterback. I guess I'll root for them again. 

No ex Bills players but one ex head coach...Greg Williams is DC's DC 

5 minutes ago, Poleshifter said:

This should be one sided contest, unfortunately. DC is very good with a 9-1 regular season record. Arlington is 4-6 from the weak South division.

 

It was a fun season in any case. I enjoyed it.

 

I have to say I liked hearing the officials audio, especially on replays. I thought overall the XFL was very well officiated.

[eball]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

No ex Bills players but one ex head coach...Greg Williams is DC's DC 

I have to say I liked hearing the officials audio, especially on replays. I thought overall the XFL was very well officiated.

 

You missed a G or two.

 

I just can’t for the life of me decide to spend any of my free time watching this product.

 

[Roundybout]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

No ex Bills players but one ex head coach...Greg Williams is DC's DC 

I have to say I liked hearing the officials audio, especially on replays. I thought overall the XFL was very well officiated.

No kidding! I knew Wade Phillips coached the roughnecks but I didn’t know Greggo was there too. 

[Poleshifter]

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

You missed a G or two.

 

I just can’t for the life of me decide to spend any of my free time watching this product.

 

Some folks are snobs about football. No offense intended, but once they see the best, they don’t enjoy the lower tiers.

 

I enjoy the CFL, XFL, USFL, college ball, whatever. I even watch some televised high school ball. Different strokes for different folks.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

You missed a G or two.

 

I just can’t for the life of me decide to spend any of my free time watching this product.

 

 

Some of these players will be invited to NFL camps. How is that any different than watching a college game? Besides these are 2 better teams and they have 11 weeks behind them. 

[PromoTheRobot]

Arlington is dominating so far. They traded for QB Perez in week 7 and boom.

[Steptide]

XFL > USFL

[PromoTheRobot]

DC climbing back in.

[Kenosha2Buffalo]

The xfl is of quality. I like it for being sort of a minor league or g league type deal. 

[PromoTheRobot]

Greggo can't stop em.

[jkeerie]

Not impressed with the trophies...especially the MVP trophy.

[KingBoots8]

Hot take (?): DC Defenders literally have better uniforms and name/logo than the Commanders.

[eball]

9 hours ago, Poleshifter said:

Some folks are snobs about football. No offense intended, but once they see the best, they don’t enjoy the lower tiers.

 

I enjoy the CFL, XFL, USFL, college ball, whatever. I even watch some televised high school ball. Different strokes for different folks.

 

9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Some of these players will be invited to NFL camps. How is that any different than watching a college game? Besides these are 2 better teams and they have 11 weeks behind them. 

 

I think you guys misunderstand me.  I’m simply saying that given a finite amount of free time, watching the XFL or USFL (or CFL) doesn’t move the needle for me one bit.  I specifically make time for the NFL and other sports I watch.  I’m not being critical of anyone else who watches these leagues.

 

[Steptide]

I mildly enjoyed the xfl this season. It has potential to be a good league. I still think the nfl should be involved to make it more appealing to nfl fans. These teams should be playing in nfl stadiums Imo. There's lots of things I think the xfl/nfl could do to make the league more appealing 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Greggo can't stop em.

Took away his 'petty cash - bounty hits' fund, did they? 🤔

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, Steptide said:

I mildly enjoyed the xfl this season. It has potential to be a good league. I still think the nfl should be involved to make it more appealing to nfl fans. These teams should be playing in nfl stadiums Imo. There's lots of things I think the xfl/nfl could do to make the league more appealing 

 

That will never happen. Not because the NFL has a problem with these spring leagues. Quite the opposite. It's because any direct involvement with these leagues opens them up to further potential CTE liability.

 

So the NFL will remain arms-length from the XFL and USFL, while still working with these leagues through official training, and using them as a laboratory for rules changes.

[LabattBlue]

16 hours ago, Poleshifter said:

This should be one sided contest, unfortunately. DC is very good with a 9-1 regular season record. Arlington is 4-6 from the weak South division.

 

It was a fun season in any case. I enjoyed it.

 

Oops. 😂

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Looks good on Glugg. 🤨

*

Arlington will be feted with their championship banquet at:

*
EDIT: Limit 2 pcs. pizza, and 1 medium soft drink.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[BADOLBILZ]

 

I thought that was the best spring football league season we've seen in a long time.   Took a while for the offenses to get in sync but it was a pretty decent product.

[NoSaint]

4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

I thought that was the best spring football league season we've seen in a long time.   Took a while for the offenses to get in sync but it was a pretty decent product.

I didn’t watch a ton but what I did was enjoyable - a start. 

[MasterStrategist]

Only XFL game that I watched...it was cool.  QB play and general talent was better, compared to USFL imo.

 

I like 2 "rules" the XFL uses, that'd be interesting if the NFL considered:

1. Kickoffs: like the no run up, and having to land in between EZ and the 20.

 

2. PAT: like the opportunity to pick to go for 1, 2, or 3

 

Both of these may have been discussed before, but they make for more strategy/skill.  As both the kickoff and PAT in NFL, are mostly automatic/wasted plays

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Oops. 😂

 

Turns out Arlington was a championship caliber team without a QB before week 7.

 

I doubt he's recruiting anyone, but Dawson Knox and Jordan Ta'amu were college teammates. Nice of him to come to San Antonio you watch. 

 

[Beast]

19 minutes ago, MasterStrategist said:

 

 

2. PAT: like the opportunity to pick to go for 1, 2, or 3

 

The idea of an extra point being half as many points as a TD is not appealing to me.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Beast

[Roundybout]

15 hours ago, Steptide said:

XFL > USFL

 

USFL is just too boring right now. The hub system completely kills the crowd so you end up with empty stands and bland football. XFL did way better with crowds. 

[Mr. WEO]

XFL featuring a 4 win regular season team winning the championship.  Average of 500k viewers for the 2 playoff games.

 

These are new lows for televised professional football.  USFL will likely break these dubious achievements....

[Poleshifter]

9 hours ago, eball said:

 

 

I think you guys misunderstand me.  I’m simply saying that given a finite amount of free time, watching the XFL or USFL (or CFL) doesn’t move the needle for me one bit.  I specifically make time for the NFL and other sports I watch.  I’m not being critical of anyone else who watches these leagues.

 

I didn’t mean “snob” in a bad way, just to differentiate the levels of football.

 

I have a shortage of free time, too, and often don’t watch the games until Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Beast said:

The idea of an extra point being half as many points as a TD is not appealing to me.

 

It's not easy to get the 3.

32 minutes ago, Poleshifter said:

I didn’t mean “snob” in a bad way, just to differentiate the levels of football.

 

I have a shortage of free time, too, and often don’t watch the games until Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

 

If we can obsess over the draft and rookie mini-camps, I don't see why spring pro football is such a turn off.  

Edited May 14, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Poleshifter]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

It's not easy to get the 3.

Not many 3 pointers were attempted. One attempt ended in an INT, but couldn’t run it back all the way. I don’t know if the defense would have earned 3 points for a “pick 3”

[PromoTheRobot]

24 minutes ago, Poleshifter said:

Not many 3 pointers were attempted. One attempt ended in an INT, but couldn’t run it back all the way. I don’t know if the defense would have earned 3 points for a “pick 3”

I think they would. Same in the NFL or college on 2pt XPs.

[Beast]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

It's not easy to get the 3.

 

I think we all understand that. My take stands. Plus the NFL shouldn’t turn into some gimmick league. Maybe they can go for 4 from the 20 in a few years?

Edited May 14, 2023 by Beast

[PromoTheRobot]

58 minutes ago, Beast said:

I think we all understand that. My take stands. Plus the NFL shouldn’t turn into some gimmick league. Maybe they can go for 4 from the 20 in a few years?

 

Isn't the entire concept of an extra point after scoring a gimmick? What other sport does that?

 

The reasoning behind a 3pt XP is to make it harder to put a game away. In the NFL a 17 point lead is 3 scores. In the XFL 18 is still a 2-score game.

Edited May 14, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[eball]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

If we can obsess over the draft and rookie mini-camps, I don't see why spring pro football is such a turn off.  

 

C’mon, Promo…of course you do.  We obsess over the Bills.  Spring “pro” football has absolutely nothing to do with the Bills unless you’re a professional scout.

 

Edit:  and if you enjoy watching it, good for you.

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by eball

[PromoTheRobot]

42 minutes ago, eball said:

 

C’mon, Promo…of course you do.  We obsess over the Bills.  Spring “pro” football has absolutely nothing to do with the Bills unless you’re a professional scout.

 

Edit:  and if you enjoy watching it, good for you.

 

 

But we also obsess over that WR from Northwest Southeastern State. I don't see the difference from following college to following a spring pro league. They are all sources of potential NFL talent.

 

But it's not just about developing players. There's coaches and officials too. Did you notice how many female officials the XFL used?

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/05/12/reggie-barlow-xfl-defenders/?outputType=comment&no_nav=true

 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Orlando Tim]

I did enjoy the amount I watched and likely will go see a game next year here in Orlando. The question will be how much continuity will there be amongst the players. Obviously the best players will go the NFL, at least as PS guys, and will the replacements be able to get on the same page? 

[Buffalo Super Fan]

7 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

XFL featuring a 4 win regular season team winning the championship.  Average of 500k viewers for the 2 playoff games.

 

These are new lows for televised professional football.  USFL will likely break these dubious achievements....

I think it’s up to television but as much as I enjoyed both the USFL and XFL. I am older so I prefer the USFL has name recognition. Both I think it is going to be hard for neither one of these leagues to make it compared to the Arena/Indoor Football Leagues. Because arena rent is cheaper than stadium rent, less players to pay with cheaper salaries of $250 to $500 dollars a game the arena/indoor football is set up better to survive.
 

Bottom line I get there is a difference for a lot of football fans between outdoor and arena/indoor football but basically it’s fun while it lasts. But I am wrong Buffalo fan to ask I like professional wrestling and roller derby growing up as a kid on Saturday’s on television. I am more open to alternative leagues whatever it’s fun while it last. I have seen everything in Buffalo when you get to that place as a Buffalo sports fan it is wonderful place you don’t care about greedy ownerships, politicians determining your sports future who are incompetent. Because you know someone or something team wise will be running around with Buffalo’s name on it. I have supported independent professional wrestling shows in Buffalo for years because it’s good for Buffalo.
 

I am for all our arenas and stadiums being open to rent with a set price with the present teams tenants not determining to how, what to rent and price but a Buffalo sports stadium, arena board or commission of local business people and fans determining what is best for the fans not the individual owners or the politicians. If the Buffalo Bills or Buffalo Sabres can’t compete with the Buffalo Blizzard or Buffalo Destroyers or a Buffalo Stampede Roller Hockey or Buffalo Roller Derby team or whatever because the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres don’t get there rent anymore but the arena, stadium board for savings for future upgrades that is on the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres they weren’t good enough as a business bye, bye if they demand that. The city and county around the country need to put an end to that business practice in my opinion. Go Bills! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Edited May 15, 2023 by I am leaving for good

[That's No Moon]

16 hours ago, Steptide said:

I mildly enjoyed the xfl this season. It has potential to be a good league. I still think the nfl should be involved to make it more appealing to nfl fans. These teams should be playing in nfl stadiums Imo. There's lots of things I think the xfl/nfl could do to make the league more appealing 

One of the best things the DC team did was play in the soccer stadium rather than FedEx field.  They could fill it up and give it some actual atmosphere.

11 hours ago, Roundybout said:

 

USFL is just too boring right now. The hub system completely kills the crowd so you end up with empty stands and bland football. XFL did way better with crowds. 

It's horrible atmosphere, plus you have to endure Jaq Collinsworth.

 

The level of play overall was better in the XFL IMO

[BigDingus]

I didn't have much interest in the XFL this year. Feels like 2020 was peak interest, off to a great start, then kaboom...

 

It seemed like it was going great too, so I was surprised they abandoned ship so fast. Now I just see spring leagues like a Netflix show with 1 season... Why get invested when you know it's getting canceled?