Are You Ready for Some More Football? Get Ready for The XFL!
At this time of year, football fans often face a variety of emotions, but they are primarily a combination of happy and sad. They are delighted to watch the postseason unfold and to see a new Super Bowl champion crowned. But then they are depressed because that means the football season is over.
Not this year.
Once again, football fans will be treated to some more pro football upon the conclusion of the NFL season. But it will not be the defunct Alliance of American Football doing the honors. No, it will be the new and improved version of the XFL.
Yes, the XFL; that league the wrestling guy (Vince McMahon) tried a couple of decades ago. But he tried to film it like a WWE show, and it just didn’t work. Some of the rules were just silly, and the idea wasn’t thought out well.
This time around, though, he has appeared to learn from his mistakes. The rules emphasize a quick game without taking away from the action fans love or compromising safety—in theory. We’ll find out how well the new rules work once the games get under following the Super Bowl.
Best SportBook 2020
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The Planning and Care Behind the New XFL
McMahon took two years to plan it and made sure it is well-funded (unlike the AAF). All eight teams are currently working through training camp in Houston right now. Come Saturday, February 8, the new XFL season will kick-off with the Seattle Dragons taking on the D.C. Defenders.
Are you excited? Ready to bet on someone to win it all?
The league will go through a ten-week regular season and two weeks for the playoffs with the Championship game scheduled for April 26.
Gambling fans will take the league for what it is—another chance to make some money betting on football. It may not be great football, but it will hopefully at least be good football. NFL fans will watch preseason games. Surely these games will be better than at least those.
But we don’t know how good because we haven’t seen them play yet. We know who the coaches are and have seen the rosters. Without even a preseason game to review, it is impossible to know how good anyone is going to be.
So, once odds are posted, who should you consider betting on? Any recommendations at this point have to be taken with a massive grain of salt, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun speculating.
How to Bet on the XFL and What to do Before XFL Odds Come Out
For instance, of the eight teams, the Dallas Renegades seem to be generating a lot of buzz. Why? Likely because the head coach and quarterback shouldn’t have any trouble getting on the same
page. Afterall, Landry Jones played his college ball for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.
Working with him in the backfield will be a pair of solid running backs, Cameron Artis-Payne and Lance Dunbar. Jones will be throwing to a former Oklahoma receiver in Jeff Badet, the winner of the 40 Yards of Gold event back in June (that crowned the NFL’s fastest man).
With the talent just on the offensive side of the ball alone, there is reason to believe the Renegades could get off to a hot start in the new XFL—assuming Bob Stoops hasn’t lost his touch.
The New York Guardians have generated some positive buzz as well with longtime former NFL coach, Kevin Gilbride as head coach. Fans will be hoping he can make the most of his quarterback, Matt McGloin, who just couldn’t catch on in the NFL.
But from the looks of his roster, Gilbride may be winning more games with defense out of the gate then offense.
The L.A. Wildcats could be a lot of fun to watch as well if offensive coordinator Norm Chow can settle on a quarterback (former AAF QB Luis Perez and Josh Johnson) and stick with him. He has a lot of potential at the skill positions with former college standouts like wide receiver KD Cannon and running back Elijah Hood.
However, the team that could be the most exciting to watch may be the Houston Roughnecks. Few coaches know how to develop and run a wide-open offense quite like June Jones. He will have the skill position guys to do it. But it remains to be seen if his quarterback, Connor Cook, will be up to the task.
A lot can be said about every team, but not enough to really make an informed decision. So in the weeks ahead, we are going to dive into the rosters of all eight teams to see just how good each one could be. Hopefully, by the time we are done, the sportsbooks will have championship odds posted.
