OPENING DAY THOUGHTS
Sports Club Florida’s coverage team was proud to be in attendance for the first Orlando Guardian home game.
After our first real opportunity to see the new team up-close, a few observations have become very clear. Local excitement continues to abound, even as the winless Guardians free-fall to the bottom of the standings, with a league worse two losses. But record aside, a jarring lack of consistency in on-field play is most stunning. Personally, I would always recommend patience, especially with a brand new team, but many fans would probably likely not extend such grace (especially in Orlando). So, while Kevyn has a full game breakdown for you, I have thoughts as well.
Several questions need to be answered for Florida’s XFL franchise.
WHO IS QB1?
First and foremost, Paxton Lynch is an incredibly talented quarterback.
As evident by Orlando’s most successful drives of the game, Lynch can make all the passes that matter. On Sunday afternoon, he also accounted for the Guardian’s first touchdown connection of the day, a 67-yard drive that concluded with a strike to Eli Rodgers in the back of the endzone. However, those big passes only connect when he has time, and a clean pocket. As the Guardians’ struggle to provide a front line that can consistently protect the ballcarrier, and help extend drives; Paxton Lynch is largely in a no-win situation under center.
That’s why, I’m looking for Deondre Francois to get a real chance. Thus far, Orlando’s most mobile signal caller has only been put into the game as a secondary option. I would love to see what he can do with an early opportunity to get in rhythm, and use his legs. ‘Escapability’ is priceless when offensive line play is suspect, and we’ve already seen other mobile quarterbacks thriving in this league. In Francois I Trust.
WHO IS COACH REPLACING (AND HOW)?
Coach Terrell Buckley is not happy, content or impressed with his team.
Orlando’s head coach is already mentioning the need to replace current players with “people that want to play“, in a campaign that’s only two weeks old. While this may have just been embarrassment-fueled conjecture, I fully expect this team to look very different by season’s end.
“Look at the score board”
One thing we haven’t seen in the new and improved XFL, is the process of talent acquisition. Aside from the draft, how would Orlando attract the new blood that coach is seeking out? How attractive of destination is Central Florida after two no-competitive showings? That’s yet to be seen. But what we do know, as preparation begins for next week’s clash with Houston, there’s plenty of talent on Orlando’s roster to be moved around.
During Sunday’s game, Stephen Guidry, Quinten Dormady, Dontez Byrd, Roman Tatum, Ja’Quain Blakely, and Sunday Deng were unavailable for the Guardians.
CAN THE DEFENSE SCORE?
On a bright side for Coach Buckley, his defense is legit.
In concert with his head coach, Defensive Coordinator Tony Cater has dialed up many of Orlando’s best plays of the season so far. In the secondary, playmakers like Matt Elam, Marcus Murphy and Mike Lee has made their presence felt, creating opportunities for the Guardians. Meanwhile, in the trenches, it’s Jacoby Jones and Co., that are making the biggest impact for the Guardians. Going into Week 3, if this defense can start converting interceptions into pick sixes, and fumbles into scope-n-scores, Orlando would turn into a threat overnight.
WATCH THIS SPACE
As Coach Buckley mentioned after Sunday’s loss, this is a team that’s addressing way more questions that the ones on this list. These were just mine, but let us know what questions you need answered in the comment section.
Check back here for updates.
THE CONVERSATION.