Iowa Barnstormers @ Spokane Shock Preview

Arena Football is kicking off this weekend, so it's time to break down the Iowa Barnstomers and their first matchup with Spokane. I'll be breaking games into matchup categories as follows: Offense, Defense, Special Teams, and Overall. So let's get going with week 1. Naturally, we haven't seen anything yet this season, so I'll be working with the information history gives us for week 1.


OFFENSE

Spokane:

The Shock aren't returning much power on offense, and are relying on QB Eric Meyer to replicate his performance in the last few games of last season.

Iowa:

The Barnstormers are bringing back last year's reception leader in Jesse Schmidt, and J.J. Raterink is historically good at minimizing turnovers through the air, though his ability to minimize fumbles remains to be seen, and is largely on the offensive line as well.

ADVANTAGE - Iowa

DEFENSE

Spokane:

The Shock are young at DB for the most part, and Barnstormers fans will remember Patrick Stoudamire and his questionable coverage towards the end of the season. They also have a solid DB in Terrence Sanders. The Shock also lost their top two defensive linemen from last year, and so they'll be looking for some younger linemen to step up.

Iowa:

The Barnstormers have a lot of confidence in 2nd year DB Cameron McGlenn to continue improving on last year's performance, and brought back Jason Simpson to compliment him. The rest of the defense is young, but I like what I've seen on tape from a few of them, especially Rodney Gnat on the defensive line.

ADVANTAGE - Push

SPECIAL TEAMS

Spokane:

Spokane is bringing in a kicker without AFL experience, but his kicking for the PIFL Alabama Hammers was fairly consistent. They also have a potentially explosive kick returner in Terrence Sanders.

Iowa:

Iowa's kicker, Craig Camay, brings in AFL experience and should be a safe bet for PATs and most field goals. However, the Barnstormers don't have a sure thing at KR, and need to see a lot more from that phase of the game.

ADVANTAGE - Spokane

OVERALL

Spokane:

The Shock finished last year with a 9-9 record, and are returning last year's offensive coordinator to the head coaching position.

Iowa:

The Barnstormers finisehd last year's campaign at 5-13, and have a revamped coaching staff.

ADVANTAGE - Push



Prediction - I have the Barnstormers winning their season opener on the road in a close contest.

IA - 52 SPO - 49

-Shard
Follow @ShardNet