The best and worst of the AAF’s 8-week existence

The Alliance of American Football is dead ... probably.

Operations of the upstart professional football league are being suspended less than two months after its first season began in February.

If it’s gone for good, that means no more Arizona Hotshots, Atlanta Legends, Birmingham Iron, Memphis Express, Orlando Apollos, Salt Lake Stallions, San Antonio Commanders, and San Diego Fleet. That’s a bummer for AAF fans and for the many players who were hopeful that the league would give them a path to the NFL, or just a paycheck to keep playing football.

What’s left is about eight weeks of memories of exciting, shabby, kinda fun, and mostly subpar football. Here are the best and worst of the AAF’s short existence:

Best team: Orlando Apollos

Led by head coach Steve Spurrier and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, the Apollos put together a 7-1 record through eight weeks. No other team in the AAF was better than 5-3.

That, in Spurrier’s opinion, should be enough to make the Apollos the champions of the league:

“We started the season wanting to win the Alliance championship, and if they declare a champ, hopefully these guys will be declared the champ, because they certainly are deserving,” Spurrier told WFTV.

“We had the best team. If I never coach again, I went out a winner,” Spurrier told The State.

A football team in central Florida declaring itself national champs — possibly deservedly so — despite not actually winning a championship game? It’s unprecedented, but we’ll allow it.

Best offensive play: Apollos’ trickery two-point conversion

Spurrier has about four decades of coaching experience and schooled the hell out of the Salt Lake Stallions with a two-point conversion play call that’d make Sean McVay swoon.

If that was all too fast for you, it starts with Gilbert faking an end-around handoff that draws almost the entire defense to the left side of the field. Then he pitches to running back D’Ernest Johnson, who’s left with the option to throw to Sean Price or take it himself.

The poor defender on his own never stood a chance.

Best defensive play: Shaan Washington’s destruction of Mike Bercovici

This play came less than five minutes into the first quarter of one of the first games in the AAF.

Fleet quarterback Mike Bercovici was melted in the backfield by Commanders linebacker Shaan Washington — launching the passer’s helmet one direction and the football the other.

For NFL fans, what was maybe most notable about the play is that it didn’t draw a flag for roughing the passer.

No one can sum it up better than Bercovici himself:

Worst penalty: Spiking into the stands is unsportsmanlike?

Remember that part where the AAF allowed quarterbacks to get destroyed without throwing flags? Well, apparently that lax attitude didn’t apply to everything, because Trent Richardson got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for a wayward spike after a touchdown.

Richardson averaged only 2.9 yards per carry in the AAF, but he had 11 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Those are decent numbers for a guy who is five years removed from his last season in the NFL.

That was also his first touchdown since playing in the Canadian Football League in 2017. Just let the guy celebrate, geez.

Offensive MVP: Garrett Gilbert, QB, Apollos

The best team in the AAF got there because Gilbert was the best passer in the league by a pretty significant margin. He threw for 2,152 yards — no other player was within 500 yards — with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Gilbert was an NFL player as recently as December, but was released by the Panthers on New Year’s Eve. Prior to his time in Carolina, he had stints with the Raiders, Lions, Patriots, and Rams, although he only had three career pass attempts — all with the Panthers.

Just like there probably won’t be a declared champion of the AAF, there probably won’t be an MVP award either. But Gilbert is easily the de facto MVP.

Honorable mentions:

• Hotshots receiver Rashad Ross caught a league-leading seven receiving touchdowns with 16.2 yards per reception.
• Apollos receiver Charles Johnson led the league in receptions (45) and receiving yards (687).
• Iron running back Trent Richardson had 11 rushing touchdowns. No other player had more than six.

Defensive MVP: Damontre Moore, DE, Fleet

Moore never got to the passer much in six NFL seasons with the Giants, Dolphins, Seahawks, Cowboys, and Raiders. But he was a terror in the AAF:

He was one of only five defensive players to earn a grade above 90 from Pro Football Focus and the AAF leader in sacks. Moore was also one of only four players with at least three batted passes. Still just 26, it’d be surprising if another shot at the NFL isn’t in his future.

Honorable mentions:

• Commanders safety Derron Smith was a ball hawk with three interceptions and two pick-sixes. His 93.1 grade from PFF was the highest for any defensive player.
• Apollos cornerback Keith Reaser allowed a 21.7 passer rating the 30 times he was targeted by an opposing passer.
• Stallions defensive tackle Mike Purcell was an elite run stuffer, had four sacks, and led the AAF in batted passes with four.

Goodest boy: Eurie the frisbee dog

The Apollos — who really were just the best at everything in the AAF — even had the best halftime show. It was extremely good boy Eurie chasing down a frisbee for a possibly record-breaking(?) 83 yards:

On second thought: No offense to Garrett Gilbert, but Eurie might be the MVP.

Most AAF play: Philip Nelson’s over-the-head pass

Was Fleet quarterback Philip Nelson actually trying to throw a pass to former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar here? Or did he just get exceptionally lucky that an ill-advised attempt at a throw away landed in his teammates’ arms?

Really this encapsulates everything about the AAF in one play. It was bad offense that was kind of fun and entertaining, but also confusing (why wouldn’t one team just wear white?) and silly. You’ll be missed, AAF.