XFL Week 3 Saturday Preview
Week 3 of the XFL Season is starting with a matchup of two (0-2) teams, the Seattle Sea Dragons visiting the Vegas Vipers at Cashman Field. These North division teams will be battling for their first win, also the first division win of the season. The XFL is hoping they have mended some of the issues that were very apparent in the first game last week at Cashman Field, such as the lighting, video quality and field issues. Weather should not play a factor this week with near perfect forecast around game time.
Seattle Sea Dragons
The Sea Dragons have lost its first two games in devastating fashion. The first week was a fumble on the 2-yard line by Ben DiNucci on a game tying and potential winning drive vs. the D.C. Defenders. The second week they were caught in the way of the St. Louis luck train that left the Sea Dragons with its second loss. You can say that Seattle, which was a preseason favorite to win it all, has been a victim of bad luck. But the numbers and film suggest otherwise. Costly turnovers have been the culprit of Seattle’s early demise. The team currently sits a -5 turnover margin, which is horrendous through two games. The timing of the turnovers makes matters even worse. In week one the turnover on the 2-yard line with the game on the line - HUGE. In week two the fumble in the start of the fourth quarter on the St. Louis 18-yard line on their way to score to take a commanding lead - MAJOR. In both situations, the one turning over the ball has been QB Ben DiNucci. He is a talented quarterback but does not know how to face adversity very well. For example, other than the late game turnovers, his demeanor when something goes wrong in the game becomes negative quickly, which you never want to see from your quarterback. He is still the man for the job as physical gifts are not his issue, but when it comes to the mental side he needs to be coached up a bit for this team to be successful.
Ben DiNucci is not the scapegoat for this team. With the talent that surrounds him on the outside, as well as the pass protection the offense line has been providing for him, this Seattle Sea Dragon team can flip the switch at any time to make a run. The biggest issue aside from turnovers has been the coaching. Jim Haslett has looked lost at times on the sideline in the game management situations that a head coach should be on point handling. Biggest instance was last week Ben DiNucci scrambles for what seems to be a clear first down, but is marked short, the game is in the fourth quarter, the Sea Dragons are leading the game, and driving to extend the lead. They also have all 3 timeouts and their challenge. Jim Haslett elects not to have the spot reviewed for the first down, next play on 3rd and 1 they attempt a QB sneak and DiNucci fumbles the snap. This is coaching malpractice and I know people will say hindsight is 20/20, but 10 out of 10 times I am reviewing that spot. The other coaching issue is June Jones, the master of the Run and Shoot offense, has called running plays in what seems to be the worst times causing his offense to stall on big drives. The Run and Shoot is a fast paced passing offense and the team is built for the pass game with the league’s top receivers at June Jones’ disposal. The little things need to be tightened up for this team to have any success this season. This week may be that opportunity to right the ship for the Sea Dragons.
Vegas Vipers
The Vegas Vipers have started the year on the same trajectory as the Sea Dragons, winless. Its losses were two different styles of losses but with one underlying issue. The first week the Vipers jumped out to a 14-3 lead and its team looked unstoppable. We were ready to jump on the Luis Perez bandwagon as he looked like the hidden gem of the XFL. Well that all came to a screeching halt. The second half the Renegade’s defense woke up and wreaked havoc on the Vipers with two pick sixes and a fumble. The second week the Vipers’ offense was nearly nonexistent against the DC Defenders. The Vipers even went to Brett Hundley to try and spark the offense against the tenacious DC defense but there was little to no success. Now through two weeks, they have played two of the league’s top defenses but the Vipers lack of offensive fire power may have contributed heavily to the Defenders and Renegades defensive stats. The issue has been a lack of rushing attack for the Vipers. They have a total of 117 yards rushing through two weeks, with Rod Smith having the highest amount of rushing yards in a game with 38. That is including a 27 yard run in a game, so the running game has been sparse. That leads to teams being able to pin its ears back and blitz and disguise coverages to shut down the pass game. They will need to establish some sort of balance this week against the Sea Dragons to have any shot.
Vegas’ defense is playing well so far and this week will be its only chance at coming away with the teams’ first win. The defense has foreced 4 turnovers, 5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss through two weeks. The Viper defense held the Renegades to no offensive touchdowns in week one but did allow the Defenders rushing attack to let loose for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns last week. The positive side is the secondary has yet to allow a touchdown this season. They also played the two worst passing teams in the league the first two weeks. This week they will be tested by the number one passing offense. If the pass rush is able to break through to DiNucci, which the Sea Dragon offensive line has only given up two sacks through two weeks, the Vipers may have a chance.
Predictions:
With the lights on at Cashman Field, well hopefully the light will be on, I think the Sea Dragons pass game with DiNucci fueled by the fire of losing the last two weeks will be too much for the Vipers. Sea Dragons cover -3 and with the weather not playing a factor, over 38 looks to be play this Saturday.