Written by Brian Pohl
Atlanta, GA- The Atlanta Legends offensive struggles continue as they lose 28-12 in home opener to the undefeated Birmingham Iron.
In front of an announced crowd of over 10,000 fans for the home opener at Georgia State Stadium, the Legends were unable to shake the offensive struggles that have plagued them so far in the inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football.
Squaring off against a Birmingham defense that is standing out as one of the best units in all of AAF, Atlanta would look to quarterback Matt Simms to try and come up with their first win in franchise history. Unfortunately, the former University of Tennessee product was unable to make the plays needed to come away with the win, as the secondary of the Iron shut down any hopes of downfield movement by the Legends.
Simms completed 28 of his 48 passing attempts for 328-yards, but it was the turnovers that proved to be the difference. With three interceptions in the game, the Iron were able to often start their offensive possessions inside Legends territory, setting up scores to extend their lead throughout the contest.
Atlanta fans in the stands could be heard yelling for a quarterback switch, as former University of Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray is on the Legends roster, and coach Coyle was asked after the game if he thought the chants affected Simms at all.
Atlanta Legends head coach Kevin Coyle on if the chants for Murray, “I don’t think so. I mean, I think it’s unfortunate but yet it’s understandable. Local fans that are excited about Aaron and looking for his opportunity to come, but I don’t think it affected him at the end of the day.”
Although coach Coyle didn’t talk about a potential change at the quarterback position, if Simms continues his inconsistent play, the calls for the Murray will only intensify.
Along with the turnovers, Atlanta’s offense failed to capitalize on four trips to the red zone, only able to come away with six points. Coach Coyle talked about the red zone struggles saying, “There were some things that we missed and some errors that we made.” He continued, “We’ve just got to clean it up, big time because we had three chances down there in the red zone where we didn’t come away with touchdowns, and we could have, and that’s the game right there.”
Defensively, the Legends actually played better than the scoreboard showed, as they limited the Iron offense to just 234 total yards. Atlanta was hamstrung, however, by the field position set up by the turnovers, and could on keep Birmingham for capitalizing for so long.
The player of the game was Birmingham running back Trent Richardson, whose three touchdowns served as the offensive standout. The former University of Alabama star finished with 17 rushes for 46-yards, while adding three reception out of the backfield.
The loss moves the Atlanta Legends to 0-3 on the season. After next week’s road game, the Legends will have three straight games at Georgia State Stadium, and a great opportunity to get back and moving in the right direction.
Next, the Atlanta Legends will take on the Arizona Hotshots on March 3rd, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m.
