The San Diego Fleet finds itself early in the inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football having to go farther into the depth chart to pursue a solution at the most critical position of all. And so they will be using a backup quarterback as they take the field against the Atlanta Legends in a game that begins at 8 PM ET at SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm, formerly Jack Murphy Stadium) in San Diego. Remember that you'll have all kinds of wagering possibilities available on AAF games when you are signed up through BetAnySports.

QB Mike Bercovici was well-known in Pac-12 circles as someone who had plenty of big games at Arizona State, but last week's effort, while something that provided material for highlight reels, did not prove to be fruitful. He got sacked six times (once where his helmet and football came flying) and was intercepted twice, and got benched in favor of Phillip Nelson, who threw for 68 yards in relief activity last week, in what wound up a 15-6 loss to San Antonio. Nelson was undrafted out of East Carolina, and has had some experience with head coach Mile Martz in one of those post-season college games (the NFLPA All-Star Game). But his time with the Fleet has been kind of limited. Martz was pretty direct at a press conference, in which he explained Bercovoci wasn't read, while at least Nelson had some familiarity with the system.

In the AAF football betting odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the home team is favored:

San Diego Fleet -9.5
Atlanta Legends +9.5

Over 39.5 points -110
Under 39.5 points -110

San Diego's Demontre Moore had nine quarterback pressures last week against San Antonio, and he was ranked second among all defensive players by the respected analytics site Pro Football Focus. And maybe that is trouble for whoever Atlanta has throwing passes. Matt Simms, whose father is a former QB for the New York Giants and now a TV analyst, had 128 yards on 28 attempts last week. And the team also used Aaron Murray, the former starter at the University of Georgia. But with either guy in there, they look punchless at the moment.

One thing you can guarantee about Martz's offensive system - the one that helped win a Super Bowl for the St. Louis Rams and Kurt Warner (when Martz was offensive coordinator) and took them back to the Super Bowl (to lose to the Patriots) when he was head coach, is that it is probably the most precise and exacting method in pro football. This I have been told by people who are most definitely NFL insiders and have seen the coach operate up close. As such, there is no "wiggle room" and little margin for error, and it is extremely difficult for quarterbacks to learn, much less master. Nelson has something of an advantage over someone like Bercovici in the sense that he did spend a week with Martz at that college all-star game, but it takes a lot longer than a week - or two, or three-to get this down pat.

The example you may want to refer to is JT O'Sullivan, who Martz made the starting quarterback when he was offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He was named the starter primarily because he had spent a season in Martz's system when he was with the Lions, but that didn't necessarily facilitate a lot of production. He threw for less than 200 yards a game and had an 8-11 ratio of TD passes to interceptions, and was yanked from the starting position when Mike Singletary became the interim coach and put handcuffs on Martz. This system is not a short-term answer.

So I would be expecting a continued struggle on the part of the San Diego offense to put points on the board, meaning that we would not only be looking rather solidly at an "under" here for the game itself, but also at a team total under 24 for the Fleet.

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