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Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR. Takeaways from the Double A-F, aka, the Alliance of American Football … Through two weekends of play, the upstart Alliance of American Football shows promise of sticking around as an unofficial NFL spring developmental league. It has plenty of familiar former NFL executives, coaches and players. It has some rules innovations to pique the serious interest of NFL observers. It has an interactive app to acclimate and condition everyone to the future of in-game pro sports gambling. And, most importantly, it has firm broadcast contracts with CBS, NFL Network and TNT. What it doesn’t have are decent quarterbacks and wide receivers to recreate the high-scoring offensive hijinks of the NFL. While it aspires to produce the next Kurt Warner – a la the Arena League and NFL Europe of a bygone era – it would benefit from signing currently NFL-unemployed marquee names Colin Kaepernick or Tim Tebow, both of whom rebuffed it. Alas, it may be reduced to prying Johnny Manziel from his CFL contract as a curiosity draw. In the AAF, quarterbacks aren’t protected like ancient Inca vases. A few have had their helmets knocked off by hits without drawing penalty flags. But one rule innovation helps them immensely – defenses are limited to five pass rushers on any given play. The best innovation of the AAF may be the “sky judge,” an official overseeing challenged plays in the replay booth whose deliberations are miked on camera for full transparency. Other rules of note: * There are no kickoffs. Series start at the 25-yard line. * There are no PATs. Each touchdown is followed by a mandatory two-point play, called a try. * An attempt to retain possession after a score is allowable if a team converts fourth-and-12 at its 28-yard line -- but only if it’s down 17 points, or behind by any score in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. (This option needs to be available at any point of a game, in my opinion. It also needs a catchy name.) * The overtime format gives each team a maximum of two possessions from the opponent’s 10-yard line with no field goals allowed. If points are tied after two possessions, the result is a tie. The AAF had surprisingly good ratings in Week 1, but those numbers undoubtedly will decline as the curiosity factor diminishes. Six of the eight teams are situated in non-NFL cities. For now, the value of the AAF appears to be in feeding America’s insatiable hunger for tackle football on TV. The Cleveland factor: By my count, 22 former Browns executives, coaches and players have positions or roster spots in the AAF. Executives Phil Savage, Browns GM in 2005-08, is general manager of the Arizona Hotshots. Trip McCracken, former Browns salary cap specialist, is Arizona’s personnel director. Joe Pendry, who was Marty Schottenheimer’s offensive coordinator in 1985, is GM of the Birmingham Iron. Coaches Ray Hamilton, who was Butch Davis’ defensive line coach in 2001-02, is defensive line coach in Birmingham. David Lee, Hue Jackson’s quarterbacks coach in 2017, is QB coach of the Memphis Express. Players Birmingham running back Trent Richardson, the Browns’ top draft choice in 2012 – No. 3 overall in the NFL – is the highest NFL-drafted player in the league. Richardson broke Jim Brown’s rookie rushing record in 2012 with 950 yards. It was eclipsed by Nick Chubb (996) in 2018. But Richardson’s 11 rushing touchdowns are still a Browns rookie record. Atlanta Legends safety Ed Reynolds started seven games for the Browns in 2016 and had one sack. Salt Lake Stallions wide receiver Jordan Leslie had one spectacular, one-handed catch for 26 yards from DeShone Kizer in a 31-28 Browns loss to the Indianapolis Colts in 2017. Arizona tight end Connor Hamlett caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Whitehurst in a 33-13 Browns loss to the New England Patriots in 2016. All the other former Browns were either training camp participants or practice players. None played in a regular-season game. They are: Arizona wide receiver Richard Mullaney, Arizona cornerback Richard Nelson Jr., Arizona linebacker Scoobie Wright III, Arizona center Patrick Lewis, Atlanta wide receiver Bug Howard, Birmingham punter Colton Schmidt, Memphis cornerback Channing Stribling, Memphis running back Terrence Magee, Orlando Apollos wide receiver Ranell Hall, Orlando wide receiver Charles Johnson, Salt Lake Stallions quarterback Josh Woodrum, San Diego Fleet tight end Gavin Escobar, and San Diego running back Terrell Watson. The AAF even will beat the NFL to Las Vegas. The first Alliance Championship will be played April 27 in Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
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