Albany Empire Game Notes Week 8 vs Baltimore Brigade
Published on May 30, 2018 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Albany Empire News Release
SATURDAY
Albany vs Baltimore at 7:00 p.m.
ALBANY EMPIRE (4-2)
Vs
Baltimore Brigade (5-1)
7:00 p.m. Saturday June 2nd , 2018 Times Union Center
MATCHUP PREVIEW
Riding a four-game win streak, the Albany Empire matchup against the first place Baltimore Brigade at home on Saturday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Times Union Center. The Empire will look to win their fifth consecutive game as they face a surging first place Baltimore team who leads Albany in the standings by one game. The game will be broadcast live on Facebook.com/AFLWatch and on Alt 105.7 fm.
The first matchup to look out for is between Baltimore quarterback Randy Hippeard and the Empire backfield. The Empire defense leads the league in nearly every defensive stat category while Hippeard leads a Brigade offense that tops the league in scoring. In the first meeting, Hippeard threw for seven touchdowns as Albany's backfield just could not stop the veteran quarterback. Hippeard currently leads the league in passing yards and pass attempts, so look for him to air it out and continue to take shots down the field. Hippeard spreads the ball around to all his targets, having four receivers on the team with at least 20 catches on the season.
The next matchup to look out for is between the Empire defensive line against the Brigade offensive line. Though Hippeard likes to get the ball out quickly, he is content to sit in the pocket and wait for a play to develop down field. In the Week 3 matchup in Baltimore, Albany recorded two sacks on Hippeard, but kept the quarterback under duress all game long. The Brigade offensive front has been a weakness all year long, surrendering 12 sacks already this season. Albany's defensive front leads the league in sacks with nine and expect to add a few more this weekend against Baltimore
The last matchup to look out for is between Tommy Grady and the Brigade defensive backfield. The Baltimore defensive front doesn't produce many sacks so that will leave Grady with plenty of time in the pocket to locate his targets. In the first matchup between the two teams, Grady torched the Brigade by throwing for 253 yards and six touchdowns. Look for much of the same as Grady takes his time to scan the field and find the open man. Expect the Empire to mix in a lot of plays deep down the field for big scoring plays. So far on the season, Grady tops the league in passing touchdowns with 34. Don't be surprised to see the Empire gunslinger pass the 40-touchdown mark once this game is all said and done with. Expect Grady to continue to feed the ball to his top targets; Joe Hills and Malachi Jones. On the season, the two receivers have combined for 23 receiving touchdowns and have been unstoppable as they are the top two wideouts in the league in the category. Despite losing the Week 3 matchup, Hills and Jones combined for a whopping 19 catches for 217 yards and five touchdowns on the night. Expect to hear "Grady to Hills" often in this matchup as the two connect in the end zone multiple times and increase Hills' active streak of consecutive games with a receiving touchdown to 87.
THE IFS:
If the Empire defeats the Brigade it would...
* Extend the Empire win streak to five games
* Put Albany in a tie for first place with Baltimore
* Even the series up between Albany and Baltimore 1-1
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