Mark Grieb is the guy to watch for the San Jose SaberCats. The long-time quarterback was by far the biggest question mark going into the 2011 Arena Football season, and it's pretty clear the questions have been answered, for the most part. Obviously, one game does not a season make, but one game where the ball was thrown with such efficiency and poise goes a long way in telling one part of the story.
Whatever the case, the team's performance, especially Grieb's, was enough to put them at the top of Examiner's AFL Power Rankings through the first week of play. This of course means that I voted as well, and as you can probably guess, I've got San Jose on top of my own personal rankings:
1. San Jose SaberCats
There was no doubt here, the SaberCats were the only team to score sixty or more points in week one (76 to be exact) and they did it against the defending ArenaBowl champions, the Spokane Shock. What else is there to say? Expectations were high coming into the year, and the bar is now set for the rest of the season. Mark Grieb and the SaberCats offense will need to continue to produce the kind of point totals they did in week one, and they have to display the same efficiency as before. The SaberCats are riding the top of my personal power rankings.
For the rest of my personal rankings, the link is right here. In other news, the SaberCats are currently riding the top of the Coach's Poll. They came in second in the Preseason Coach's Poll, receiving only a couple votes, but this week they've received a whopping twelve votes to make the top. The top three is rounded out by the Orlando Predators and the Arizona Rattlers. The Spokane Shock, week one victims of Grieb and Co., fell from the top spot to fifth. The rest of the list is below.