1958 Season Preview

 

 

1 - Cincinnati Rivermen
1957 Record: 10-2 (1st West)
1957 Result: Won Championship
Highlighted Players: DL Fergus Prenderghast (99) & OL Milton McCovery (54) 

Last year could not have gone any more perfect than it went for the Rivs. They gambled on the prime of DL Fergus Prenderghast and just by winning a title last year it has more than paid off. With how well last season went, Cincinnati’s main strategy is just to get everything back together to get back to the title game and repeat. RB Perry Ferguson was going to retire after the championship, but he was convinced to stick around for another year to win once more. TE Floyd Rankin and S Virgil Romano were given small extensions to stay in Cincinnati for another run. They have shown to have some of the best talent in the league, and now see themselves in the driver’s seat to win back-to-back championships. In years’ past, winning a title may have been a slightly easier task, but the West division has now become incredibly more to win outright. Chicago should be back to where they have always been, but now Detroit and St. Louis have come into the fray to fight for the division title and for playoff berths. This Rivermen team should easily make the playoffs once again, but stiffer competition may prevent them from being a shoo-in into the championship next year.

2 - Washington Federals
1957 Record: 8-4 (1st West)
1957 Result: Lost East Division Final
Highlighted Players: QB Johnnie Sellers (12) & S Josh von Bank (22)

Their title defense got off just about as well as the Federals thought it would go, but their championship dreams were killed by an underdog New York Lions team. Washington is still the clear favorite to win the East, and with QB Johnnie Sellers leading the way on offense and an elite defense with stars like S Josh von Bank and LB Howard Treadaway, it’s no surprise that they’re favored. There is one thing that is now a glaring issue with this team. This main core isn’t getting any younger and the team that made a miracle run made a spectacular move to take their spot at the top. Washington’s championship window is still wide open, but as we have seen with the West that momentum could change in an instant. The Federals have now finished behind the West champion for the third year in a row, and people are starting to wonder if this is their ceiling. They didn’t really make any moves in the offseason to keep that window open, but their inaction may come back to haunt them in the future. The East is slowly getting more difficult with Boston being right behind them the past two years, New York beefing themselves up for a deep playoff run again, and every team could possibly steal away a crucial win during the year. The East has had a reputation for being an “easier” division that the Federals are taking advantage of, but it’s the Federals’ division to lose as far as they see it. 

3 - Detroit Knights
1957 Record: 8-3-1 (2nd West)
1957 Result: Lost West Division Final
Highlighted Players: WR Paul Kent (14) & S Harvey Maynard (31)

The Knights managed to capitalize on their first winning season since joining the AFL but fell just a game short of the championship game Their main problem this year is not if they’ll make it back to where they were last year, as they have one of the best offenses in the league led by stars such as RB Jesse Brown and WR Paul Kent, as well as acquiring DB William Owens from Tri-Cities to strengthen what was their weakest position group last year. Detroit’s problem is the player who will be the main man under center. They anticipated QB Mike Major to improve in his second year under Tommy Park, but he went down in the first game of the year and looked unlikely to start another game for the season. Detroit then had to rely upon backup Mick Casey, and he more than exceeded expectations for a backup. The Knights had their best season in over a decade, but lost to Cincinnati for the third time for what was a breath of fresh air for a team long suffering at the bottom of the standings. Major was the plan to be the long-term starter, but Casey ran the offense just as well as he had in the past two years. It doesn’t help that the two looked practically identical during preseason training, so picking which one is the best long term will be something that the team will have to deal with at some point in the near future. They’re both great options to be the Knights’ long-term signal caller, it’s now just a matter of choosing which one is better for the team and hope that their decision doesn’t come back to bite them. 

4 - New York Lions
1957 Record: 7-5 (3rd West)
1957 Result: Lost Championship
Highlighted Players: WR Joey Staniskovski (19) & LB Duane Ackerman (58)

The Lions went into last season just hoping to improve upon a rather disappointing first two years in the league. Thanks to the rest of the division imploding, the Lions put together their first winning season and snuck into the playoffs. There they went on a run for the ages to the championship game, but they came up just short against the powerhouse Rivermen. Wanting to do just more than a one-and-done run, New York decided to capture their lightning in a bottle by going all-in on WR Joey Staniskovski in an attempt to not just prove that last year was not a fluke, but to even win the struggling East outright. QB Freddie Hughes had been an afterthought on both the Shamrocks and Rattlesnakes, but the Lions saw something in him when they acquired him from Philadelphia. He proved himself as quite the worthy starter, and now having more than just RB Felix Philipow at his disposal their offense is looking like one of the best in the league. The Lions are more willing to promote players from the ASPFL, such as RB Jon Dawson and DB Paul Keller, and as a result have one of the youngest rosters in the league. They seem to be very much a boom-or-bust type of team, and if they fail to improve upon last year then they will have a long road ahead to returning to the championship.

5 - St Louis Stallions
1957 Record: 8-3-1 (3rd West)
1957 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final
Highlighted Players: QB O.J. DeMille (9) & LB Isaac Bullock (54)

What would have been a historic season for the fledgling Stallions was cut way too short in a humiliating defeat to the Knights in the first round of the playoffs. St Louis has found a way to punch well above their weight the past two years, and that might have been sparked by their win over Chicago in the 1956 playoffs. That motivation carried over into last season, where their acquisition of both RB Spike Roosevelt and WR Max Ausloss paid off in spades, proving that their high-scoring approach in their expansion year was no fluke. However, with how great their players were during the regular season, some of their mid-season mistakes cost them greatly when it came to the playoffs. They went toe-to-toe with teams at the top of the league, stealing wins from the Rivs and Federals, but could not beat the Knights in each of their three matchups and dropped games against Chicago and Cleveland. This team has the means to win games when it matters but will come up just short due to making mistakes early in the year. Head coach Archie Mathis has corralled this group of castoffs and budding stars into a dark horse contender for the championship, but until the Stallions can figure out how to replicate their postseason magic in their inaugural year (or get some luck) then they'll be destined to be quick exits in the playoffs. 

6 - Chicago Hogs
1957 Record: 3-9 (5th West)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: DL Eric Forbes (95) & OL Steven Holland (70)

A team fully relying on the talents of one player was destined to fall if said player were ever to miss time. And the Hogs suffered the full effect of losing RB Billy Gould long-term by looking completely lost without him. OC Johnnie Hendrix was shown the door after being unable to scheme the offense without him, and Leslie Gustafson was brought in to help diversify the offense. A team with this level of talent should be able to replicate their past success, but the space they left open from their faltering last year is an even more difficult West. Cincinnati seems to have overtaken them as the premier team in their division, and Detroit and St. Louis have both figured out how to compete with the best of the league. The Hogs still seem to be relying quite heavily upon Gould on offense, and their one-note approach may cause their defense to be playing plenty of catch-up. Granted, having to guard both DL’s Eric Forbes and Benjamin Walkins, Jr. is an incredibly difficult task, but teams have been more keen on exploiting the Hogs’ weakening secondary. They seem like they might be able to compete for a playoff spot, but their chances of winning another division title with this player core are quickly waning. Chicago needs to swallow its pride at some point before they’ll ever be able to replicate their past successes with how disastrous of a season last year was.  

7 - Boston Dragons
1957 Record: 8-4 (2nd East)
1957 Result: Lost East Division Semi-Final
Highlighted Players: LB Bob Jessup (58) & RB Lee Cannon (20)

After an inaugural season to forget, the Dragons have clawed out a niche for themselves in the East, and that’s playing second fiddle to Washington. They have exceeded the expectations that were put upon them when they entered the league, as they have turned into contenders for the East division in the years they have managed to not be riddled with injuries. Their offense has gotten in better shape since that inaugural year, with PAFC defecting RB Lee Cannon looking to be in charge of the backfield for the next few years. The offensive line is looking to be one of the best in the league, so neither Cannon nor QB Sam Eagleburger will have to worry about losing unnecessary yardage to free defenders.The Dragons’ main strength however is coaching players to punch well above their weight. Their defense is a prime example of this, as outside of LB Bob Jessup and S Tom Meltzger, there really isn’t another standout player on that unit. Now-Cleveland Crows head coach Benjamin Chambers and current defensive coordinator Garry Jefferson have figured out ways for their average Joes to make the plays that they need to. The Dragons did regress slightly back to the mean on the defense after letting up a historic low amount of points in 1956.The main question now is that are they destined to continue to regress and put more on the offense or will they keep this pace up to stay in tandem with the Federals. Their division mates are slowly getting more competitive, so Boston might have to get used to not being a lock for the second seed this year with New York and even Philadelphia on their tails.

8 - Philadelphia Rattlesnakes
1957 Record: 6-5-1 (4th West)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: RB Mickey Greene (38) & DB Roosevelt Richter (36)

Philadelphia replicated Chicago’s entire style of building a team, right down to basically relying on their star RB Mickey Greene to do it all. The good thing for the Rattlesnakes is that Greene is proving himself as arguably the best back in the league, and Neal Earnhardt is proving to be a good change-of-pace player to take some of the load off of Greene. Additionally, after sitting a year behind Roy Woodward to learn the ropes, QB Raymond Oram looks like he’s ready to be the Snakes’ first long-term option at quarterback. The bad thing for the Rattlesnakes is that there really isn’t anyone else of their caliber that can take them over the top. They were helped last year in the standings by the formerly top two teams in the East collapsing in on themselves that allowed them to narrowly miss the playoffs. They’re now relying on the same thing to happen yet again and more to improve upon last. Head coach Jimmie Crabtree is doing his best to make this team overachieve more than they can already do, but Chicago has proven that you can only rely on one of your players for so long before they’re suddenly gone. Greene and Earnhardt have proven they can carry this team to relevance, so it’s up to how Oram will do in his first season as a starter if he is able to will this team to be better than they can be. 

9 - Pittsburgh Shamrocks
1957 Record: 3-7-2 (5th East)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: OL Horace Perez (77) & DL Roy Forbes (71)

Pittsburgh might want to stay in the rebuilding phase for a bit longer, though the moves they made certainly don’t appear that way. Trading for QB Billy Ray Boesseler is telling of how the Shamrocks feel about last year’s first round pick Aksel Kahr. Kahr was expected to take over the starting duties, but he lost the backup role to Eric Trueblood, likely ending any chances of him getting a starting role in the AFL anytime soon. The offense with Boesseler is looking to be much improved compared to last year's, and having a pretty solid offensive line will be a great benefit for the first-time starter. This offense was the second highest scoring unit just two years ago, and now with a decent player under center head coach Lester Kimball can finally work out to get the offense in their groove. The one thing that will be holding this team back is their suspect defense. They have already traded away several of their key starters over the past few years to rebuild, so outside of veterans like DL Roy Forbes, DB Jerry Pruitt, and S Raymond Knowles there really isn’t any other player ready to take the next step to stardom. Expect a similar result to 1956 where the offense is running on all cylinders but is held back by a defense that is about as strong as a feather. 

10 - Buffalo Hammers
1957 Record: 3-8-1 (6th East)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: QB Brendan Turnbull (17) & DB Rogelio Amos (33)

Last year was a complete disaster for the Hammers. They had been trending in this direction for the past few years, but losing a good majority of their veterans caused a blow that they were unable to recover from. Buffalo has undergone a 5 win swing in the past two years, and many are questioning if head coach Vincent Merritt is able to adapt to the changing times. They certainly have the talent to make it to the playoffs. QB Brendan Turnbull and wideouts Harry Chilton and Justin Harris are some of the best players in the league on offense, and the defense has players such as DL Martin Stark and DB Rogelio Amos. So what’s causing this team to flounder when they have what they need to win? Merritt could be partially to blame, and he’s attempting to save himself by bringing on former protege Hugh Harrison to salvage their atrocious defense from last year. Another place to blame is their backfield, or lack thereof. Return specialist Tyler Dye and second-year Duke Cooper could carve out a starting role for themselves, and Buffalo might have to find someone to be a bonafide starter if they want to think about competing again. With how the rest of the East is turning out, they might still be struggling while their competition is beginning to lap them. They’ll need some of the magic that brought them their early success in the AFL if they want to make the postseason this year.

11 - Cleveland Crows
1957 Record: 2-10 (6th West)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: TE Zebulon Jackson (89) & DL Ralph Rogers (93)

The Crows are continuing down a downward spiral as they have to welcome the basement as their new home. The first year under new head coach Benjamin Chambers was anything but a success. His defensive prowess never really got to see the light of day as Cleveland received the dishonor of having the first double-digit loss season in the AFL. The season where they made the title game now seems incredibly far away, and signs are pointing to this being the last year for several of the Crows’ top performers. They arguably should have gotten rid of more players this offseason, so them being sellers at the trade deadline will not seem like it's out of the blue for them. The West is already a tough division as is, so even if the Crows pull off a miracle they’ll need to play 8 games against the teams that are in contention to finish at the top of the league. They’ll be fighting with the remaining team, the Hawks, in the basement and possibly their third straight first overall pick and fourth one since the draft started less than a decade ago. Many fans are demanding that Ike Schwann step down from football operations and let someone else take the reins, as they have seen work with pretty much every team around them. They’re expected to fight for the bottom and most likely not much else.

12 - Tri-Cities Hawks
1957 Record: 3-9 (4th West)
1957 Result: Missed Playoffs
Highlighted Players: QB Rocco Vanthourenhout (14) & DB Dan Hoover (25)

If the Hawks had a rough season last year, then this year might be even worse. This team is struggling to build around QB Rocco Vanthourenhout, and shipping two more of their best players in DL Albert Young to Philadelphia and DB William Owens to Detroit leaves them as one of the most inexperienced teams in the league. Bob Hester has done himself no favors in creating a successful team like his father had, and his moves and inaction to do anything except affect the bottom line are losing the Hawks fans in droves. They even failed in getting the top draft pick last year with Chicago collapsing in on itself and Cleveland doing Cleveland things. They did luck into WR Sonny Delvecchio, which may actually give QB Rocco Vanthourenhout somebody good to throw to, but their backfield is doing them absolutely no favors. 4th year RB Peter Moss has risen above both starters from last year (Darryl Kelly & Brian Bruce), who have unquestionably regressed more than expected in the past few years. The offensive line has improved slightly, but the defense as a whole seems to have declined with the shipping off two of their better remaining defensive players. Most of the remaining defensive players are no better than players that could be grabbed off of the average ASPFL roster, and the other 11 teams could find it extremely easy to practice new concepts against the Hawks defense. If you’re a Hawks fan, you should already be looking forward to next year or the year after that.