The XFL reaches its midpoint with the Houston Roughnecks looking to remain perfect. The Tampa Bay Vipers face the LA Wildcats on the West Coast, as 1-3 teams look to avoid falling out of playoff hope.
Cam Phillips will resurface
The Houston Roughnecks went to 4-0 with their Texas Throwdown victory over the Dallas Renegades. They catch the Seattle Dragons in Texas this week. Jim Zorn’s Dragons are 1-3 and feel like they are headed for oblivion. The one hope is BJ Daniels, who stepped in and provided a spark at QB. The odd part of the Houston victory last week was the lack of production from Cam Phillips, who was dominant in the first three weeks. Phillips had a lone catch for nine yards. Look for him to reconnect with P.J. Walker and fill up the stats sheet.
The Defenders will fall again
Hard to imagine what has happened to the DC Defenders, who looked like strong contenders for two weeks. They have fallen apart in the past two games, being outscored, 64-9. Cardale Jones has thrown five picks in the losses. On the defensive side, head coach Pep Hamilton has seen enough of Matt Elam, a former Ravens first-round pick in 2013 who spent four years with Baltimore. Elam has been waived and Joshua Jenkins has been signed from the practice squad. This isn’t going to help against the talented St. Louis BattleHawks.
Stoops looks to avoid 2-3
Bob Stoops had a dazzling coaching career at Oklahoma. His start in the XFL has been a bit less scintillating. The Dallas Renegades are 2-2 and play host to the New York Guardians Saturday. Dallas will be hoping to help Stoops avoid a 2-3 start, which happened once when he was with the Sooners. That came in 2005 when Oklahoma started its season L-W-L-W-L. OU finished that year at 8-4.
Vipers look to create winning streak
Marc Trestman turned his Tampa Bay team around in Week 4. After three straight losses, the Vipers rattled the DC Defenders, 25-0. The turnaround was startling, especially when you consider Tampa Bay had two 100-yard rushers in the game. And, Taylor Cornelius was exceptional at QB, throwing for 211 yards and running for another 36. So, what happens on a cross-country trip to face the erratic LA Wildcats? LA has no running game and that will end up being the difference as Tampa Bay climbs to 2-3.
3 QBs will go over 1,000 passing yards
This probably happens in three games for some NFL quarterbacks. However, this is the XFL and it takes longer for offenses to get stronger. Look for Houston’s P.J. Walker, St. Louis’ Jordan Ta’amu and LA’s Josh Johnson to go over the 1,000-yard mark in the game that will mark the midpoint of the XFL season.
