Four Options at Quarterback for Massachusetts Pirates

New England is Tom Bradyland. So, why don’t the Massachusetts Pirates have a quarterback? With the Carolina Cobras and Maine Mammonths already signing quarterbacks, here are four options the third NAL expansion team could sign to start for them in 2018.

Shane Boyd

Boyd played for four NFL teams (Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans). Boyd also played for the cologne centurions in NFL Europa.

He last played for the Baltimore Brigade in the Arena Football League (AFL). He is a former backup for veteran quarterback Nick Davila, who is considered one of the best ever in arena football. Boyd has done well as a starter. If the AFL folds, Boyd could be a great fit here.

Luke Collis

Collis last played for the Philadelphia Soul.  He also led the Beijing Lions to an undefeated record and a win in the China Arena Football League title game. He is possibly the best young quarterback in the AFL.

If/when the AFL folds, Collis should come to play in Massachusetts. He is a great up and coming quarterback that stands up to the stature of other NAL quarterbacks, such as Tommy Grady and Charles McCullum.

Chris Dixon II

As mentioned before, Massachusetts is Tom Bradyland.  Dixon is the indoor football equivalent of Tom Brady. He has won six indoor football titles, three of them coming with the six-time Indoor Football League (IFL) champion Sioux Falls Storm. Two  came with the Billings Wolves, where he is a celebrity, and one came with the Texas Revolution. He retired in 2014 and returned to play with Texas this year.

Should they not bring him back, the Pirates should consider bringing him in.

Colin Kaepernick

This is a long shot, but the Richmond Roughriders (AAL) offered Kaepernick  play on their team. He could be the biggest draw in the NAL if he decided to play for the Pirates.

Ron Selesky Speaks PIFL, Cleveland Gladiators 2017 Season

Before he coached the Cleveland Gladiators, Ron Selesky was the director of football operations for the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The league seemed to do well until it folded all of a sudden in 2015. He was also a full-time US scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

There were some solid franchises with committed owners. There just weren’t enough of them,” Selesky said. “One of the owners ran two teams and he just couldn’t afford to keep doing it.”

Selesky went on to become the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Gladiators. After head coach Steve Thonn’s contract was not renewed following the 2016 season, Selesky was named their coach for the 2017 season. After just one week of training camp, the team cut quarterback Arvell Nelson. He had been the leader of the team in the 2016 season.

“At the time the other two quarterbacks [Shane Boyd and Tanner Marsh] were progressing well and Arvell was struggling,” Selesky said on that decision. “I was running our defense and I entrusted our offensive coordinator [Siaha Burley] to give me his objective assessment. Hindsight is always 20/20.”

After two weeks in which both Boyd and Marsh had started and gotten injured, Selesky decided to bring Nelson back. Despite him coming back to lead the team, Cleveland got off to a 1-6 start to the season. Had it not been for the expansion Washington Valor having the same record, Cleveland would have been in jeopardy of missing the postseason.

On May 22, Cleveland traded both Boyd and wide receiver Brandon Thompkins to the other expansion franchise in the Baltimore Brigade. Cleveland got former defensive back Brandon Stephens, who Baltimore drafted in the AFL Dispersal Draft. They also acquired KC Obi, who went on to record 6.5 tackles and a sack.

“Baltimore asked for Boyd and Marsh was getting healthy,” Selesky explained why he traded Boyd. “With Thompkins, he’s a great player, but we felt like we had other wide receivers that fit what we were doing offensively a little better.”

Cleveland overcame their very slow start to the season and after a win in Washington at the end of July, they clinched a playoff spot. In the final week of the season, Baltimore lost, which meant that Cleveland would get the three seed.

Unfortunately for them, they fell one game short of the ArenaBowl for the second consecutive season.

Now, the focus is on 2018. Selesky knows exactly how him and the team will prepare for next season.

“Consistency. Starting from day one. Stick to the plan and execute it,” he said. “Injuries hit us hard but we’ll be better prepared. We found our offensive identity [in] the second half of the season so we’ll build off of that.”

The Philadelphia Soul defeated the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XXX on Aug. 26. Philadelphia had to overcome a 13-point deficit to win, the largest comeback in ArenaBowl history.

Cleveland Gladiators 2017 Season in Review

The Cleveland Gladiators had one roller coaster of a season. It all began when they released former quarterback Arvell Nelson just one week into training camp. They went with Shane Boyd as their starter Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Storm.

Boyd threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns. However, it wasn’t enough as Tampa Bay came out with the win. By Week 2, Nelson was back with the team, but wasn’t their starting quarterback.

Tanner Marsh took over as the starter Week 2 against the expansion franchise in the Baltimore Brigade. Marsh threw for 228 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, he also suffered a concussion in that game, which wound up ending his season.

Nelson took over the team in Week 3 against Tampa. Cleveland blew a 27-7 lead and lost, falling to 0-3 on the season. Some were worried about the team that was one game away from ArenaBowl XXIX just a season ago.

Cleveland would get off to a 1-6 start, tied for the worst in the league with the other expansion franchise in the Washington Valor. Could they really be the lone team out of the playoffs? Lucky for them, that wasn’t the case.

Washington went on to lose 10 in a row after their opening win over Baltimore. Cleveland, after their 1-6 start, won four of their final seven, including a regular season-ending win against the Valor. It was good enough to earn them the three seed in the playoffs.

Many thought that at that point, Cleveland was such a good team, they could upset the Storm in their playoff matchup. However, due to penalties at the end of the game, Cleveland would fall one game short of the ArenaBowl for the second consecutive season.

Their future is bright, however. They improved with every game last season, and if they can stay afloat in 2018, they could wind up in ArenaBowl XXXI.

Philadelphia Soul Beat Baltimore Brigade, Advance to ArenaBowl XXX

The Philadelphia Soul hosted the Baltimore Brigade at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday night. The winner would advance to ArenaBowl XXX.

After Philadelphia got on the board, Baltimore made it a 7-6 game with a touchdown from Reggie Gray. The Soul would take a 13-6 lead with a touchdown from Dan Raudabaugh to Shaun Kauleinamoku. Gray’s second touchdown of the game tied the game at 13 at the end of one.

The Soul took the lead back when Raudabaugh found Darius Reynolds for a touchdown. Baltimore tied the game at 20 with a touchdown from Boyd to Brandon Collins. Philadelphia would take control from there.

After Raudabaugh found Darius Prince for a touchdown, the Brigade turned the ball over on downs. The would take a 34-20 lead, then James Romain intercepted a pass to end the first half.

Baltimore would make a comeback in the second half. After Collins’ second touchdown catch of the game, Varmah Somie intercepted a Raudabaugh pass. The Brigade would capitalize on a rushing touchdown from Boyd to make it a 34-33 game. A back and forth third quarter saw the Soul lead 48-40 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter was more of the third, with both offenses going back and forth. With the lead, Justin Lawrence sacked Shane Boyd. Baltimore would turn the ball over on downs and another Reynolds touchdown would seal the game.

The Soul would win by a final 69-54. They will host ArenaBowl XXX on Saturday, Aug. 26. They will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between the Tampa Bay Storm and Cleveland Gladiators.