XFL Preview and Pick: Houston vs Los Angeles

The one thing the XFL did that was very smart when it announced its latest incarnation, aside from taking the "WWE" angle out of it, was to hire people at the head coach and coordinator positions who were known to the public and the press, in many cases in the local markets especially. And we will see an example of it late Saturday afternoon as the Houston Roughnecks will host the Los Angeles Wildcats in a game that gets underway at 5 PM ET.

The site is TDECU Stadium in Houston. The network is Fox. And BetAnySports can get better prices when they bet the games in the new league with reduced juice.

June Jones is certainly someone who has cut a national profile. He's got some connection with the city of Houston by virtue of his season as an assistant with the USFL's high-flying Gamblers in 1984. And he was also an assistant with the Oilers. But he is much better known for his college coaching stints at Hawaii and SMU, where his teams went to a combined ten bowl games, and with the Atlanta Falcons, taking them to the NFL playoffs.

Now he brings the Run 'n Shoot to the XFL, and he was educated by the best - Mouse Davis, the foremost advocate of the wide-open offense - when he was a quarterback at Portland State.

So naturally he's going to want a quarterback who can air it out often. Apparently Jones had high hopes that guy was going to be Connor Cook, because he made him the team's first choice in the league draft (second overall). Something happened to Cook between his junior and senior seasons at Michigan State, where he went from being a guy who was actually mentioned as a possible #1 pick (go back and look it up) to a fourth-round draft choice.

He has played like someone who deserved to go undrafted. Cook has played in only two NFL games, and one of those was a playoff start for the Raiders against the Houston Texans, in which he completed 18 of 45 and was intercepted three times.

He obviously didn't impress Jones enough, because PJ Walker, who played for Matt Rhule at Temple, has beaten his out for the starting QB job. So this is how they'll go forward.

In the XFL football odds that have been posted on this game - and with reduced juice, we might add - at BetAnySports, the Roughnecks are laying considerable points:

Houston Roughnecks  -6.5 (-102)
Los Angeles Wildcats +6.5 (-108)

Over 51 points   -107
Under 51 points -103

And the reason they are laying that many is because there is going to be a significant player absence for Los Angeles. Pro Football Focus was doing some ratings of XFL players for fantasy purposes. And Josh Johnson was #1 in their quarterback ratings. He has the most experience, for certain; he has been with thirteen different NFL teams over the course of his career. And he started games for the Washington Redskins as recently as 2018.

So he is the kind of guy who is pretty much ready for anything. But he wasn't ready to sit out the opener. That's what appears to be the case. Published news reports have said that he will miss this opener with a thigh injury.

Johnson did not practice this past week. It looks as if Chad Kanoff will be the starter. He's not experienced at the pro level, although he spent time with three NFL teams last year - one in training camp and two on practice squads. Norm Chow, the highly-regarded offensive coordinator who spent all those years at BYU and other schools, working with three Heisman Trophy winners, has had to give Kanoff a crash course on digesting his offense, which emphasizes the QB getting the ball out of his hands quickly. Kanoff is a Princeton grad, so he should be able to process information quickly.

But it looks as if Chow and head coach Winston Moss are going to fiddle around with quarterbacks a little while they have the chance. Jalan McClendon has tools, but isn't refined, and threw 138 passes in college. He is supposed to get some opportunity to play, and he'll have quite a learning curve. So from that standpoint, this approach could be very much like an NFL pre-season game.

I'm just thinking Jones and his offense is likely to be further along at the moment. Walker, a small quarterback but one who can throw on the move, might take well to the Run 'n Shoot. We'll grab Houston in this game.

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