By RJ “The Bullish Brahma” Reid
Introduction
Long ago, a man was on the run from the law. While running, he stopped to write what ended up being his last letter to his mother. In this letter, he expressed how fearful for his life he was, and how he was afraid of the long arm of the law. He confessed that his jig was up, the news was out, and that they finally found him. A bounty was put out on him, and it was going to be collected. Years later, this letter was found and immortalized into the classic Styx song “Renegade.” But the untold story behind the song remained wrapped in secrecy until now. After all these years, the identity of the mysterious renegade and the lawman have finally been revealed. The renegade was none other than the Arlington Renegades, and the lawman was the noble Brahmas from San Antonio.
In Week 5 of the United Football League (UFL), the San Antonio Brahmas (3-1) take on the Arlington Renegades (0-4) in Arlington, Texas. Here’s what you need to know:
When?
Saturday, April 27, 2024 @ 6:00pm CT.
Where?
Choctaw Stadium, Arlington, Texas.
Gameday Weather
The weather may not be tailgating friendly for fans, as the weather report calls for 70 degrees, cloudy with a 50% chance of rain and 23 mile per hour winds.
History
The series is tied 1-1 with each team winning on the road.
Keys to Victory
The Renegades are a desperate team right now. They have not won a game and the Brahmas cannot give them any hope of thinking they have a chance. They can do this by continuing to bring the pressure as they have all season long. They recorded 6 sacks against the Panthers last week. If they get to Perez early and often, it will throw him off his game, which is extremely important since Arlington has a good offense, third in the UFL, and Perez is first in the league in passing. San Antonio’s defense is more than up to the challenge.
San Antonio’s offensive line, despite the injuries, has played outstanding. As a unit, they have only allowed four sacks. In the game against the Panthers, lineman Derrick Kelly came out of the game early in the second quarter, but thankfully came back shortly after. Kelly played out of his mind, absolutely dominating the opposing edge rushers. The play of the Brahmas line is in sharp contrast from last year where the offensive line was comparable to a sieve, being blown by like they were tied to a post.
San Antonio’s run game has been severely lacking, but that can be said of all the teams in the UFL, except for Birmingham. Arlington has the worst run defense in the league, so if there is a time for San Antonio to get it’s run game going, this is the game. Establishing the run game and having it being effective throughout the game, will open the passing game even more. Not only that, keeping the ball away from Luis Perez and their offense will benefit San Antonio greatly.
Speaking of Luis Perez, the Brahmas will need to slow him down. Perez is tops in the league in both passing and yards per game. The Houston Roughnecks was able to slow him down, and San Antonio will need to do the same thing.
Final Thoughts
These two teams are on opposition paths. The Brahmas dominated the Michigan Panthers to earn their third win of the season, matching their total from last year, while the Renegades looked lost and confused in their loss to the Houston Roughnecks to remain the only winless team in the league. If San Antonio can stampede out of the gates and take control of the game early, Arlington will fold like a cheap suit and will have nothing to play for. A Brahmas victory will ensure they keep pace with the Saint Louis Battlehawks for the XFL Conference title at best, or a wild card spot at worst, while a Renegades defeat will essentially end their season. Brahmas quarterback Quinten Dormady looked sharp in his season debut and with another week of practice, his comfort level will only improve, and this will prove to be dangerous for the other teams, because with this offense continuing to click on all cylinders and with the Brahmas suffocating defense, his herd will be difficult to wrangle in.