The XFL Landscape Shakes Up Again

Putting together this week's Power Rankings was even harder than last week. For me at least. There were some tough choices that had to be made and some that may seem odd to people. While team records hold weight in my decisions, they aren't the most important thing to me when I rank teams. It doesn't matter if you're 5-0 or 0-5, what holds more weight to me is the good ole eye test. I've seen every single snap of every single game this season. I've seen it all. So I know what I see and feel about each team. Though you may not agree, let me explain how I came to my final decision.

#1 Houston Roughnecks (5-0)

It is a no brainer that Houston is still #1. They are 5-0 and more importantly, St. Louis lost. The Roughnecks aren't a "solid" #1 though. They haven't been dominating, they have barely been winning honestly. Their only BIG win came in week one against the LA Wildcats, 37-17, in which I don't put a lot of weight into those week one games. No one had tape on each other, teams were just getting together, it was more "luck" for a lack of a better word, for all winners in week one. To me at least. But in their games since, They beat St. Louis by 4, Tampa Bay by 7, and Seattle, Saturday, by 9. Nonetheless, they are still undefeated and you can't really put them anywhere but #1 at this point.

#2 St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2)

Boy was this weekend a disappointment when it came to this team. I was absolutely sure that St. Louis was going to blow DC out of the stadium. There was no way they were going to lose. Well, they did, only putting up 6 points. They looked terrible, against a DC team that also looked terrible. Just less so than the Battlehawks. Jordan Ta'amu who was neck and neck with PJ Walker for MVP candidates took a big hit in this race as he could not do anything with the ball this weekend. Maybe the Dome gives the Battlehawks superpowers and when they play away they look "human". However, that was a surprising game that I hope is a one-off. So I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and keeping them at #2, especially because, then #3, Dallas lost as well.

#3 New York Guardians (3-2)

Moving up 4 spots, from #7, the New York Guardians went into #3 Dallas and knocked their block off. 30-12 was the final score and it didn't even feel like it was that close either. The Guardians played a hell of a game and QB Luis Perez looks to be the answer they have been searching for. I've had my reservations about New York over the last couple weeks as they were outscored 56-9 in weeks 2 and 3. But since then they have beaten LA, after coming off a huge win against DC, and beat Dallas after putting on a good show against Houston last week. Outscored them 47-26 with Perez under center. It's a whole new team with him out there on the field and they showed me that they are coming together nicely as a real contender to the XFL crown.

#4 LA Wildcats (2-3)

I was tempted to put LA at the #3 spot, but NY did beat them, and while LA did just beat last week's #4 team, NY beat last week's #3 team. So #4 is where this team landed, up 2 spots from last week. For a moment there last night, LA's stock was plummeting. They were losing 26-9 to a very strong looking Vipers team, then out of nowhere, it turned into a full-blown shootout and with a pick in the endzone, LA sealed the win at 41-34. This is the Game of the Year for me, at this point in the season. Both teams had their ups and downs, but both teams looked so damn good. Josh Johnson put on a hell of a show, 20 of 36 for 288 yards and 4 TD's. He dropped some dimes in that game. The defense played great as well forcing multiple turnovers including 2 INT's and a scoop and score fumble recovery. Last week I felt their loss against NY was a weakness, but as it stands right now, they are just 2 damn good teams.

#5 Tampa Bay Vipers (1-4)

Yes, the Vipers. As I just mentioned, they looked like they were going to absolutely crush the Wildcats last night. For the first quarter and 3/4 that's what I thought was going to happen. And then all of a sudden it looked, to me, like they just let their foot off the gas. They didn't seem to have that same toughness and aggression they started off with. They let LA come right back and take the lead. They did put it back into gear and have some real grit in that final quarter. They had the ball in the redzone with less than a minute on the clock, down 7, and QB Taylor Cornelius, who went 22 of 34 for 300 yards, threw his 2nd pick of the night in the endzone to seal the deal for the Vipers. Though they are 1-4, they had a real good game against #1 Houston, the shut out DC 25-0, and they just had a fantastic game against LA. This team is better than their record.

#6 Dallas Renegades (2-3)

I have a love-hate relationship with this Dallas team. I feel they can be SO good... but yet they continue to pass themselves into the ground. In the first few weeks, I had them at #4, but I felt they weren't that good. I didn't have a good enough case against them to put them lower. Then their defense won me over in the game against Houston and with DC getting blown out again, I moved Dallas into the #3 spot. And then they crap the bed and get blown up by the Guardians showing me I was right about them all along, or though it may seem right now. Their defense looks great at times, but they aren't consistent. Their run game is really good, but they don't utilize it, their pass game is awful and they continue to force the pass. They want to be something they are not, instead of being who they are and they would be a lot better for it. Until they figure that out they aren't going to be any good.

#7 DC Defenders (3-2)

The DC Defenders are the opposite of the Tampa Bay Vipers. The Vipers are way better than their record, and the Defenders are not nearly as good as theirs. They are terrible in every way you can be on the football field. I believe they really are the worst team in the league. Then why do I have them at #7? Well, they are 3-2, that holds some weight, and they just beat the #2 team in the league, so how can I have them at #8. I don't know what happened with St. Louis but my gut tells me it was more to do with them than it was DC making them look bad. Their defense did look good, don't get me wrong, but I just don't put any validity into that game. At least not yet. 70-15 is what they have been outscored by in 3 games. There is no way they should have beat the Battlehawks, but here we are. But there is no way I can put them any higher than #7.

#8 Seattle Dragons (1-4)

This one hurts the most. I believe in the Dragons. I had them at #5 last week and I truly believed they were going to pull off the upset and beat the undefeated Roughnecks. They almost did it too. And I was right, people had Seattle as the worst team in the league last week and I knew they were a lot better than people were giving them credit for. This past weekend proves that. However, the way things unfolded was not kind to Seattle. New York, LA & Tampa all had tremendous games. DC beat the #2 team in the league. Though I am really down on Dallas, they don't deserve to be lower than where they are. So this is where we are, sadly. I hate to do it. After all my talk during that game against Houston, about how I was right about Seattle, they end up at the bottom of my Power Rankings regardless. It's almost like a wash. I was right about them being better than people thought, but yet they are still dead last in the Power Rankings. I wanted to keep them at #7 at least, but I felt this was the right ranking at the moment. I feel they are better than #8 and I hope the rest of the season will let them move up. But this is the reality for the Dragons right now.

So there it is. That is how I see the XFL landscape right now. I am sure there is a lot of different point of views and opinions but this is how I truly see the league after 5 weeks. I am interested to see what others think and where teams end up. Maybe we will be closer in opinions this week. Maybe we are way off. One thing is clear though. This XFL season has been great!