By Demarcus Cullors
The opening game for UFL week 1 was either going to be a blockbuster matchup of heavy weights, or proof that the Renegades just caught lightening in a bottle last season- at least that was the narrative. In actuality, both teams have changed since then to some degree, nevertheless we all wanted to know which Spring football champion would get temporary bragging rights.
I had three questions going into this game: Would Luis Perez pick up where he left off? Would we have a running game? And, would our defense successfully deal with Birmingham’s offense? Unfortunately, the answer to each of those turned out to be no.
It may be fair to say that Perez did well enough to not have “the” problem, but he left a lot of deep throws unrecognized, and threw too many balls without having his feet set. The same can’t be said for the running game however. De’Veon Smith and Leddie Brown didn’t do too much to help keep the defense honest. So, Perez had to carry the weight of the offense on his own- we know that usually doesn’t work out too often. Perhaps once the offensive line gels more both of these issues will be resolved, we’ll have to hope so. On the bright side, the Renegades absolutely do have speed at wideout. The deep route TD to Isaiah Winstead was not luck, and J.P. Payton was open on the exact same route the play before.
I thought the defense, while not perfect, respectfully held its own during the first half. Several of Matt Corral’s passes were batted down, and the defense was able to get 2 takeaways. If it wasn’t for a blown coverage right before halftime they would’ve also kept Birmingham out of the endzone entirely. That’s nothing to sneeze at. But the second half saw what happens when you can’t rely on the run game to get your defense time to rest, AND you don’t make adjustments to plug or disrupt the middle of the field. If Birmingham’s exploiting the middle of the defense in the first half was analogous to a leaky faucet, the second half was someone turning it on and leaving it running.
I don’t think this one game should be considered indicative of too much- there are no UFL pre-season games so basically the first couple of games have to serve as the tune-ups. But, like the days of the BCS, every game matters, and if Arlington can seal the leaks fast the talent of this year’s league will certainly take advantage of it.