On the heels of their season opening road win last week at Louisville, the Birmingham Stallions now turn their attention to the Houston Gamblers, where the two will face off on Sunday at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
BIRMINGHAM ADDS HUGE DL PIECE IN PERRION WINFREY
Winfrey, who spent last fall with the Dallas Cowboys after a stellar spring campaign with the Stallions, is a massive addition for Birmingham. The former Oklahoma Sooner should instantly bolster an already formidable Stallions DL room.
The Stallions made room for Winfrey when they released DT Isaiah Coe on Wednesday. Coe was inactive for last Friday’s game versus the Kings.
BIRMINGHAM LOOKING TO EXPOSE VULNERABLE GAMBLERS SECONDARY
The Houston secondary has to be a major cause for concern for Gamblers head coach Mike Sumlin, and for good reason. Dallas quarterback Austin Reed set a new UFL single game passing record by accounting for 376 yards through the air in their Week 1 blowout win over the Gamblers.
If they don’t stop the bleeding quickly, the Gamblers are subject to being victimized again on Sunday, as Birmingham’s Matt Corral enjoyed a solid performance against Louisville, completing 70% of his passes for 208 yards.
BIRMINGHAM RUSHING ATTACK HIT AND MISS
Although the Stallions as a team totaled 111 yards on the ground, their 3.2 YPC average leaves room for improvement. Snoop Conner led all Birmingham rushers with 56 yards on 16 attempts, including a touchdown, but his 3.5 run per carry average does not scream, “remarkable.”
STALLIONS NEED TO SET THE TONE EARLY
Even though the Gamblers fell short in Week 1, a loss to Birmingham this weekend would place them under the gun early in the season. UFL teams do not have the luxury of playing a seventeen game regular season schedule like the NFL, where starting off the season 0-2 does not necessarily mean doom and gloom.
If the Stallions can set the tone and jump out front early, it could result in the Gamblers playing on their heels. For Houston, taking the lead early would be beneficial indeed. Playing in front of friendly faces in the crowd won’t hurt, either.
GAME TO BE TELEVISED ON THE NFL NETWORK
Kickoff for the game is slated for 5 PM CST on the NFL Network, the first of two UFL games set to air in April on the ESPN owned entity.