AFLWA > News > Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll

March 12, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Derry
504-232-9944

Rush drops six spots to No. 6; Soul hops to 2nd in rankings

DALLAS TOPS SCHUTT SPORTS AFL TOP 12 POLL

LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – There was some shuffling among the Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll for Week 3, except for the top spot, that is.

With a four-vote cushion – as compared to last week's one-vote lead – Dallas, which received 10 first-place votes, remained No. 1 in a poll of members of the Arena Football League Writers Association. Despite being without one of the league's top quarterbacks in Clint Dolezel, backup Chris Sanders came in and threw five touchdown passes in the Desperados 46-36 win over the defending National Conference champion, Columbus.

With its 60-49 win over previous No. 2 Chicago (which dropped to sixth) on Sunday, Philadelphia jumped to second this week and received five first-place votes. No. 3 Tampa Bay and No. 4 Los Angeles each moved up a spot and each garnered a first-place vote.

The two highest climbers of the week were Cleveland – the AFL's only other 2-0 team besides the top four – which moved from 10th to fifth, and New Orleans which entered the poll at No. 9 after defeating Orlando 54-53 on Sunday.

Despite defeating Grand Rapids on Monday, San Jose dropped from sixth to seventh, and Colorado, which had a bye last weekend, dropped from seventh to eighth. No. 11 Arizona (from ninth) and No. 12 Georgia (from eighth), both losers in Week 2, took a tumble as well.

New York entered the poll at No. 10 after defeating Kansas City on Sunday.

This week's biggest game is the only one pairing undefeated teams, as top-ranked Dallas (2-0) hosts Colorado (1-0) Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern (ESPN2).

SCHUTT SPORTS TOP 12 POLL (MARCH 12)
Rk.	Team [1st Place]	W-L	Pts.	Pvs.	This week
1.	Dallas Desperados [10]	2-0	192	1	vs. No. 8 Colorado
2.	Philadelphia Soul [5]	2-0	188	3	vs. No. 10 New York
3.	Tampa Bay Storm [1]	2-0	168	4	at No. 9 New Orleans
4.	Los Angeles Avengers [1]	2-0	153	5	at No. 12 Georgia
5.	Cleveland Gladiators	2-0	125	10	at Columbus
6.	Chicago Rush	1-1	120	2	at Grand Rapids
7.	San Jose SaberCats	1-1	109	6	vs. No. 11 Arizona
8.	Colorado Crush	1-0	95	7	at No. 1 Dallas
9.	New Orleans VooDoo	1-1	59	-	vs. No. 3 Tampa Bay
10.	New York Dragons	1-1	50	-	at No. 2 Philadelphia
11.	Arizona Rattlers	1-1	39	9	at No. 7 San Jose
12.	Georgia Force	0-2	11	8	vs. No. 4 Los Angles
Others receiving votes: Utah 9, Orlando 4, Kansas City 2, Grand Rapids 1, Columbus 1.
Dropped out: Kansas City (11), Orlando (12).

Schutt Sports, the sports gear company with a reputation for innovation, is sponsoring this season's Top 12 Poll. Its website is schuttsports.com.

The AFLWA, founded at the start of the 2004 season, is a national organization made up of media members who cover the Arena Football League. Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the AFLWA's founder and executive director.

2008 AFLWA Rankings (No 1. team):
• Preseason (Dallas) • March 5 (Dallas) • March 12 (Dallas) • March 19 (Dallas) • March 25 (Dallas) • April 1 (Philadelphia)	• April 8 (Philadelphia) • April 15 (Philadelphia) • April 22 (Philadelphia) • April 29 (Philadelphia) • May 6 (Philadelphia) • May 13 (Dallas)	• May 20 (Chicago) • May 27 (Dallas) • June 3 (Dallas) • June 10 (Philadelphia) • June 17 (Philadelphia) • June 24 (Philadelphia)