A few days later, the loss stings less. An albeit disappointing show from the Brigade against the defending champion Philadelphia Soul could’ve been expected. The Brigade have to not make a habit of going down multiple scores in the first quarter. It didn’t work against the Valor nor the Soul. Ryan McDaniel absolutely torched the Brigade’s secondary for five touchdowns. He was named game MVP. Once the game was 21-0, there was no way Brigade would catch up.

Next up, the 1-2 Baltimore Brigade host the 2-1 Tampa Bay Storm as the Brigade’s 2017 home opener. Tampa Bay is coming off a bye week after defeating Cleveland two weeks ago. Tampa has a very lethal receiving corps highlighted by Joe Hills, LaMark Brown, and Kendrick Ings. The Storm’s offense is lead by QB Randy Hippeard. In the game against Cleveland, he scored all nine touchdowns for his offense. He leads the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, with 884 yards and 19 touchdowns (to only 2 interceptions).

This is what the talented Baltimore defense must come up against. We all know the Bmore D by now. They lead the league in sacks with 8. The Baltimore defense must improve in one aspect to win against the Storm: turnovers. So far, the Brigade have 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery (on defense). The Storm offense doesn’t turn the ball over much. To give the struggling Brigade offense a spark the defense may have to produce.

Another key spot for the Brigade is first quarter performance. So far. the Brigade have been outscored 48-7 in the first quarter. 48-7. 48-7. For comparison, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters combined the Brigade are only behind 121-117. And most of the is from being outscored in the fourth quarter (specifically in the games against Cleveland and Philadelphia). Any non-experienced team should not have to play catch-up every game. For example, in the game against Cleveland, the score was only 7-7 at the end of the first (yes we only scored a touchdown in 1/3 first quarters). If you’re gonna let up 20+ points, you have to have the firepower to retaliate.

If the Brigade can keep it close for the first quarter, contain the dangerous Tampa passing game (the opposite of how they defended Philly’s pass attack) and get some turnovers, the Brigade could steal this game. But, my gut says Storm.

Prediction: Brigade 48-55 Storm

Hopeful Prediction: Brigade 58-52 Storm

Sidenote: I may be live-tweeting along with the game. Tweet me @BrigadersDaily if you’d be interested on some live commentary from me during the action. The game is Sunday, May 7th, at 1:00 PM Eastern.