Each week, Greg will present what we learned from UFL games over the previous weekend.
-It was Jekyll and Hyde for some teams from week one to week two. Inconsistency is going to be the name of the game for some teams early on in the season, as we saw in the first two weeks. A lack of preseason games and the shuffling of lineups will have this effect. Notably, the Houston Gamblers looked in shambles in week one against Dallas but in week two, they upset Birmingham on a last-second field goal. St. Louis did a number on D.C. in the opener but appeared much less polished on Tuesday. D.C. was on the receiving end of that number from the Battlehawks; they were able to recover nicely and put up 44 points against Columbus. Many of these players are still getting used to playing with each other and each team will take a different amount of time to gel, hence that week-to-week inconsistency. Expect to see more of that in week three.
-The Dallas Renegades are for real. Inconsistency has not been a problem for Dallas, which has looked like the class of the UFL in the first two weeks. For anyone who thought Houston was a cupcake in week one, the Renegades handled business similarly against the Battlehawks in week two. They're not perfect - the run game needs work and the kicking game has had some hiccups - but to be where they are in week two after a truncated pre-season is impressive.
-The Louisville Kings are in trouble. In week one's Friday night opener, Louisville was able to keep it close against Birmingham. They did the same against Orlando in week two but despite the 10-point margin, the Kings looked overmatched at times. Quarterback Jason Bean, a player some expected to be a dynamic presence under center, was replaced by Chandler Rogers, who had more success in the passing game. It'll be interesting to see who Head Coach Chris Redman opts to go with in a week three rematch with the Storm.
-This ain't your 2022 Kevin Sumlin Gamblers. Sumlin's first go-round with the Gamblers was in the relaunched USFL in 2022, and in that season, the team finished 3-7. What did them in was several close losses, including three each by one point. It looked for a while like the same recipe would be followed in week two against Birmingham. In a wild final drive, however, Houston converted two fourth downs - one by penalty upon review - and kicker John Hoyland hit the game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired. It immediately became an early contender for UFL game of the year.
-First-time Head Coaches are struggling. It should be no surprise that the three coaches who came into the UFL with little to no coaching experience, period, let alone head coaching experience - Redman, Ted Ginn Jr. and A.J. McCarron - are a combined 1-5 through two weeks. And McCarron's win came against Redman's Kings. Even casual observers could see this would likely be an issue. For a league that was so intent on shuffling rosters to ensure parity to the greatest degree, opting to staff half the league with novice head coaches and the other half with veterans was a curious choice. The league would've been better served by going all in one direction or the other.
-Columbus continued the attendance success of new franchise openers; Orlando dipped. The last of the three new franchises to host a game, Columbus opened up some new sections to accommodate late interest. Drawing in the first game is one thing; being able to keep it up is another, as we saw with the Storm, whose second game dropped by about 3,000 people. Louisville hosts their second game in week three so we'll check their follow-up next week.