XFL's Weekend Debut an Eye Opener
The first weekend of XFL games are in the books, and the first impression was a rather good one.
There were familiar names abound. The D.C. Defenders have some familiar former Eagles names on the roster, and wouldn’t you know it, but there’s a place in the new league for former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin, who spent time in Eagles training camp back in 2017.
Two members of the Eagles 2017 draft, which, three years later, barely has a passing grade.
Those two class members now in the XFL are running back Donnel Pumphrey, who the Eagles traded a seventh-round pick to move up seven spots in the fourth round to acquire, and defensive tackle Elijah Qualls, who the Eagles took in the sixth round.
Pumphrey had four carries for five yards for the Defenders in their 31-19 win over the Seattle Dragons on Saturday, but one of those carries went for five yards. He also had one catch on three targets for three yards.
The Defenders also have DeAndre Thompkins, who was in Eagles camp last year after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State, and Malcolm Bunche, an offensive lineman out of UCLA who came to the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2015 but never made it to the starting line of the regular season.
The Los Angeles Wildcats have safety Jerome Couplin, who played eight games for Philly in 2015. He made three tackles in L.A.’s 37-17 loss to the Houston Roughnecks on Saturday.
Some other former Eagles training camp and practice squad players: cornerback Ajene Harris and running back De’Angelo Henderson (Houston), cornerback Godwin Igwebuike (Seattle), and quarterback Matt McGloin (New York Guardians).
McGloin was OK on Sunday, helping the Guardians make their debut with a 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Vipers, going 15-for-29 with 182 yards and one touchdown.
Who knows if any of the XFL players will get another shot or their first crack in the NFL or even how long the XFL will stay in existence?
It didn’t work out so well for the American Alliance of Football. That one went belly-up before it could complete a full season.
The XFL feels like it has some staying power, at least longer than the AAF.
Whatever its fate, there are a few things the XFL is doing that the NFL should take a long, hard look at adopting.
First, the transparent replay review.
How refreshing it was to see cameras and microphones in the studio where a challenge was being reviewed? It was nice to see the process of seeing whether a challenged call stands or not.
What is there to hide, NFL?
Second, the kickoff rule. The NFL seems intent on trying to do away with the kickoff and there are way too many touchbacks. Boooring!
In the XFL, the ball is kicked from the 30-yard line and players on the kickoff team line up 35 yards from the end zone with the kickoff team just five yards away at the 30. The returner is stationed inside the 20. This eliminates high-impact collisions while keeping the kickoff in the game.
If the kickoff goes into the end zone or out of bounds, the ball comes out to the 35-yard line in the XFL, rather than the 25 on a touchback in the NFL.
It’s the same thing with a punt. If a punt goes out of bounds or into the end zone the ball goes to the 35. That might persuade more teams to go for a fourth down in plus territory rather than risk kicking a ball into the end zone or out of bounds.
There are some other twists on the rules, but the kickoff/punt and replay reviews are the two I’d be in favor of the NFL implementing.
