Feb 17th, 2023 00:00, by Dominik Krauss
Rhein Fire will have a top three rushing and passing offense
Welcome to Hot Take Friday! Every week I present you my newest HOT TAKE for the upcoming European League of Football season.
Rhein Fire has been doing an outstanding job this off-season. After just falling short of a playoff berth with a 7-5 record in their first season, expectations for Jim Tomsula’s team are high. After already ranking top three in total yards during the 2022 season, the offense is destined to take another giant leap to lead the team to success.
The franchise retained quarterback Jadrian Clark, who put up more than 2100 yards along with 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Rhein Fire also secured his favorite weapon Nathaniel Robitaille, who caught 62 passes for 1183 yards and 14 touchdowns, ranking second in those two categories. With breakout star Harlan Kwofie returning and experienced veteran Anthony Mahoungou joining the offense, Clark is expected to make the next step and potentially be an MVP contender.
Rhein Fire’s biggest weakness on offense has been the running game, which ranked in the middle of every major category. After adding MVP finalist and rushing leader Glen Toonga, as well as GFL standout Sergej Kundus, this is set to change. Although the Toonga situation is still unclear, those moves should make the team nearly unstoppable in the run game.
But just in case the stacked running back room can’t quite deliver, Jim Tomsula and his team recruited the best offensive line in the European League of Football. Adding GFL All-Star Yasir Raji, talented young standout Leander Wiegand and two-time First-Team All-Star Center Joachim Christensen to an offensive line that already featured First-Team All-Star Sven Breidenbach, 2021 All-Star Nick Wiens and Arnoud Holierhoek will not only give Jadrian Clark more time in the pocket, but also help the running backs. With Raji being the only projected starter to weigh under 135 kilograms, opponents should prepare for a lot of inside runs.
Being a top three team at every position group it is not a hard to predict that Rhein Fire will be good at running and passing the football. However, teams often focus on the things they are doing best and aren’t worried about balanced play calling. Still, I believe that Rhein Fire will impose their will on their opponents, establishing their running game, as well as attacking them through the air, making it extremely hard for defenses to adjust to them. Following this approach, I have Rhein Fire ranking top three in rushing and passing yards at the end of the regular season.
Share this article on your favorite platform:
MORE NEWS