The inaugural season of the Alliance of American Football, or AAF, kicks off on Saturday, when the Orlando Apollos and head coach Steve Spurrier host the Atlanta Legends. Atlanta will be leaning heavily on former Michigan quarterback and Jaguars running back Denard Robinson to lead them to victory. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Orlando is a seven-point home favorite with the total at 49 in the latest Apollos vs. Legends odds. However, the AAF is a newly-formed league with very little data available to find a handicapping edge. Making your Apollos vs. Legends picks is going to be all about inside knowledge of all levels of football, which is why you'll want to see the latest AAF predictions from SportsLine pro football expert Mike Tierney.
A renowned sportswriter whose work appears in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has reported from seven Super Bowls. He's intimately familiar with all levels of pro football -- including the young, hungry players who populate the AAF -- and knows every coach's philosophy and approach to devising game plans.
Tierney was all over the Patriots in the 2019 Super Bowl, enabling him to finish the season with a sparkling 63-46 record against the spread. Anyone who has followed him is up big. Now, he's locked in his AAF picks for Legends vs. Apollos (stream on CBS All Access).
After it was announced on Thursday that Michael Vick was out as Legends offensive coordinator, Atlanta might be scrambling. But, Vick will reportedly remain on as a consultant and the Legends still have plenty of intriguing talent on the offensive side of the ball.
Robinson put up 1,368 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns in four seasons with the Jaguars, and his 4.32-second speed in the 40-yard dash should make him a big-play threat that the Legends could use to their advantage. At quarterback, the Legends have legendary Georgia signal caller and former Chiefs backup Aaron Murray. He threw for 13,166 yards and 121 touchdowns in four years as the Bulldogs' starter.
On defense, expect the Legends to be leaning hard on a ball-hawking secondary. Doran Grant was a star at Ohio State who helped lead them to the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015 and went on to become a fourth-round draft pick the same year. Atlanta also has Damian Swann, another former Georgia star who was an All-SEC cornerback and eventually drafted in the fifth-round. A big year in the AAF could help revitalize those two talented defensive backs' NFL hopes and should give the Legends an advantage in the back end all season.
However, expect the football-hungry fans in Orlando to make life difficult in Vick's coaching debut.
Spurrier is expected to turn to former Texas and SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert and also has former Florida quarterback Austin Appleby on his roster. Gilbert was a sixth-round pick in 2014 and has hung around in the NFL for the last five seasons, spending a brief time with the Panthers at the end of the 2018 season.
Orlando's roster is stocked with former collegiate stars from within the state. In total, Spurrier has 26 players who played their college ball in the Sunshine State on the Apollos roster, including former Florida safety Will Hill III. After three years with the Gators, Hill played 50 games in the NFL and made 32 starts with the Giants and Ravens. His presence in the secondary could be a big advantage for the Apollos.
We can tell you Tierney is leaning toward the Under for Saturday's game. However, he has found a critical X-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's only sharing what it is, and who to back, at SportsLine.
Who wins Apollos vs. Legends? And what critical X-factor causes one side of the spread to hit hard? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the Apollos vs. Legends spread you should be all over, all from the incomparable expert who just racked up another big cash in the Super Bowl.
