Free pick for Renegades at Wildcats

Is everything a mess with the Los Angeles Wildcats right now? Only one week into the XFL season, it appears as if the wheels have been coming off with Winston Moss' team. Having been embarrassed a little by the Houston Roughnecks last week, the Wildcats will try to even their record at 1-1 as they take the field against the Dallas Renegades in Sunday action that is set to begin at 3 PM ET at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA.

It's an ABC-televised game, and BetAnySports customers can watch it and place wagers in real-time as they access what is available at Sports Betting Ultra.

Things looked okay for the first half against Houston, as the 'Cats got off to a 14-6 lead. Then, evidently, Roughnecks coach June Jones made some adjustments that the Wildcats' staff could not deal with. The ultimate result was four touchdown passes by Houston QB PJ Walker in the 37-17 rout. That means it was 31-3 second half.

When that kind of thing happens, a team tends to look for answers. And apparently head coach Winston Moss decided to find them by way of making a bold move. So he fired defensive coordinator Pepper Johnson, whose unit could not corral Walker, and traded linebacker and defensive captain Anthony Johnson, who was so disgruntled that he had declared himself a "free agent" after the opener.

So now what? Well, Moss is calling the defensive plays, and the Wildcats are wrestling with what is undoubtedly an unusual degree of dysfunction as they play host to a Dallas team that is looking for some redemption as well.

In the odds at BetAnySports through which we will make our XFL football picks, the Renegades are favorites on the road:

Dallas Renegades        5.5 (-105)
Los Angeles Wildcats +5.5 (-105)

Over 46.5 points -105
Under 46.5 points -105

Dallas is supposed to be one of those wide-open teams that runs the "Air Raid" system. The "Godfather" of that system, Hal Mumme, is the offensive coordinator. And head coach Bob Stoops was a proponent of such an approach when he was winning ten Big 12 titles at Oklahoma. But you can't run this kind of system if you don't have a quarterback who can challenge a defense. And Philip Nelson, who should have done better, having been part of an Air Raid at East Carolina, did not get the ball down the field, averaging just five yards per pass.

The Renegades were somewhat handicapped, as QB Landry Jones, who played for Stoops at Oklahoma, sat the bench, relegated to the role of third-string emergency quarterback, because of an injury. He had been physically cleared to play as of last week, but has had a full week of practice. And that should make a world of difference to the Dallas offense, which failed to score a touchdown in its 15-9 home loss to St. Louis last week.

Dallas also had a lot of problems dealing with the BattleHawks' ground game, which rolled up 191 yards and held a big possession advantage. Rushing doesn't seem to be a big priority in the XFL, but the Wildcats may have to go to the ground to be able to stay within earshot.

While the Renegades have their quarterback situation sorted out, the Wildcats may be facing some uncertainty there. Josh Johnson, who has been around long enough in his 12-team NFL career to have played with thirteen different teams, would seem an ideal pilot for an XFL offense. But he had to sit out last week with a thigh injury, while Chad Kanoff was largely inept in his place, having to actually having to surrender his spot twice during the game to Jalen McClendon. And now Kanoff is unavailable because of an injury he sustained to his shoulder.

We come into this expecting Johnson to get the start, but keep in mind that he's had limited practice snaps, and so we wonder about the timing factor. And as far as what Moss is trying to accomplish as, in effect, the "new" defensive coordinator, he'll have to do it without starting cornerbacks Jaylen Dunlap and Harlan Miller. The "stability" factor may weigh in Dallas' favor, and so we're not afraid to lay the points with the road favorite.

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