Defensive Plays

During practice there were multiple plays made on the defensive side of the ball. During 7-on-7 drills, Bryan Scott intercepted and returned a tipped E.J. Manuel pass for a defensive touchdown.

Shortly after this play, Jamie Blatnick, a defensive end, was credited with a sack of Tarvaris Jackson.

Jackson, who had been having a strong OTA, had a rough go of it during the 11-on-11 drills. He found himself getting sacked three times, once by undrafted free agent Keith Pough.

Jonathan Meeks added a second interception for the defense when he caught a tipped Kevin Kolb pass.

First Team New Faces

The first team saw plenty of new faces on Thursday.

On defense, Blatnick, corner Nickell Robey and safety Mana Silva saw reps with the first team defense. Blatnick as previously mentioned, recorded a sack on defense. He also sniffed out a C.J. Spiller screen pass.

Robey lined up as the team’s starting slot corner and was happy to see how he was compared to other starters:

“It’s good to play out there with the ones just to see where your skill level is and see how good you are and how good you fit in with the players and how you work with them.”

Silva, the last new face on the defense, replaced Da’Norris Searcy who was absent from Thursday’s practice. Silva, like Robey, was appreciative for the extra work:

“Every day is an opportunity to go out there and make plays and do what they ask you to do.”

On the offensive side of the ball, tight end Chris Gragg, the team’s seventh round pick, played with the starting offense. Mark Armstrong, a contributing correspondent for BuffaloBills.com, noted that Gragg made multiple receptions. His most impressive was a 20-yard pass from Tarvaris Jackson. Gragg is an explosive athlete that can create defensive mismatches if given the opportunity. On his great practice, Gragg said:

“I’ve been telling [the quarterbacks] they can throw me the ball,” said Gragg. “I’m just trying to gain their confidence.”

Other News and Notes

• The E.J. Manuel/Da’Rick Rogers connection struck again for another touchdown on Thursday. The duo has built great chemistry in OTAs. Something to continue to watch in training camp and the preseason.
• The Bills are still working on their linebacker combinations. The team paired Alonso and Scott and then Alonso with Nigel Bradham. Arthur Moats was then paired with Scott and Bradham. The Alonso/Bradham combination is the twosome I’m most excited about.
• After practice, Scott Chandler took the field to catch passes and run routes. This is just five months after Chandler injured his ACL. Very encouraging news for Bills fans.

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Count down with me as I list my top four candidates for rookie of the year as well as why they can win rookie of the year.

Credit: Bill Wippert/AP

4. Da’Rick Rogers, Wide Receiver

a. Lack of Proven Receivers

The only proven wide receiver that is an absolute lock to make the roster is Stevie Johnson. Robert Woods, T.J. Graham and Marquise Goodwin are all near-locks in my eyes and Rogers is just as talented as the aforementioned names. Rogers will get plenty of opportunities to produce on the field.

b. Rapport with E.J. Manuel

I wouldn’t get too excited about OTAs as different players are shining daily for the Bills, but Rogers seems to have terrific chemistry with Manuel. While Manuel may not start the entire season for Buffalo, I see him starting the majority of the season. Any chemistry the two form will be beneficial.

c. Feel Good Story

The NFL loves a good story, and what’s better than an undrafted rookie winning OROY? I can see the story now. It’d chronicle Rogers’ character issues at Tennessee and discuss how his issues off the field led to him going undrafted in the NFL draft. It’ll end with highlights of Rogers’ big plays from his rookie season with the Bills.

Credit: James P. McCoy/Buffalo News

3. E.J. Manuel, QB

a. Quarterbacks Have Reigned Supreme

Sam Bradford, Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III have won the last three OROY awards. Quarterbacks in recent years have had plenty of success in terms of winning the award. Matt Ryan won OROY in 2008, Vince Young earned the award in 2006 and Ben Roethlisberger was named OROY in 2004. In the last ten seasons, the award has gone to a quarterback six times.

b. Playing Time

While I don’t think the starting job will be handed to Manuel on a silver platter, I see him starting the majority of the season, if not the entire season. This playing time will allow Manuel to put up impressive stats and sway voters.

c. Supporting Cast

Manuel will be entering a nice situation in Buffalo. He’ll have various weapons at his disposal. C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson can be Manuel’s safety valves. He’ll also have Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods, Scott Chandler, Da’Rick Rogers and speedsters Marquise Goodwin and T.J. Graham. That’s plenty of help for a young signal caller.

Credit: buffalobills.com

2. Robert Woods, WR

 a. Day One Starter

Barring injury, Robert Woods is an absolute lock to be lining up across from Johnson for the entire season. Early in the season, teams will be game-planning for Johnson and this will lead to looks for Woods.

b. Best Route Runner in the Draft

Woods is going to find himself open plenty in the NFL. Leading up to the draft I called Woods a plug-and-play receiver due to his outstanding route running ability. There’s no doubt in my mind that Woods can cross up defensive backs and get open throughout the field. As long as Buffalo’s QB can find Woods, he’ll put up strong numbers in season one.

c. Lack of Competition

This year’s NFL draft didn’t have many highly ranked running backs. I’m not saying that a running back can’t win the award, but there are sure things at the position in terms of starter. My top candidate at RB to compete for OROY would be Giovani Bernard.

At QB, E.J. Manuel and Geno Smith are two quarterbacks most likely to start the season at QB. Tyler Wilson in Oakland has a chance to play as does Matt Barkley in Philadelphia, but much like the running back position, there are no sure things.

This leaves the WR position. Robert Woods has just as much talent as any of his possible competition for the award and may be in the best situation.

Defensive Rookie of the Year?

1. Kiko Alonso, LB

a. Instant Starter

When Kiko Alonso was drafted by the Bills many felt he’d play a good amount of time in the middle with Kelvin Sheppard. Fast forward a few days and Kelvin Sheppard was traded to Indianapolis for Jerry Hughes. Suddenly the ILB job is wide open and Alonso will benefit the most. The former Oregon Duck has the inside track to starting the season in the middle of the defense.

b. Great Fit

When Mike Pettine was hired as defensive coordinator of the Bills, Kiko Alonso was one player who I thought fit perfectly into his scheme. He has the athleticism that Pettine looks for in his linebackers. Alonso will be able to drop into coverage, blitz and be used at both inside and outside linebacker. At Oregon, Alonso was the team’s most consistent defensive player. In Buffalo, he’ll have a chance to pick up right where he left off.

c. Linebackers Rule the DROY

Since 2000, linebackers have won defensive rookie of the year 11 times. Nine of the last ten years, a linebacker has won the award. Keeping this in mind as well as my other two reasons above, I believe Alonso is the likeliest rookie to win their respective rookie of the year award.

The post Which Bill Can Win Rookie Of The Year? appeared first on Queen City Sports.

“Last year I’m the strongest guy; the fastest guy out there,” he said. “This year I’m playing guys my height or bigger who are stronger. It was a little bit of a wake up call, a little bit of a welcome to the OHL, but I expected to get something like that. Maybe not to the extent that I got it, but I think it was good for me, and after I came back from the concussion my season really started to progress.”

Progress it did. After returning from the injury,  Bailey felt better prepared for the road ahead, and figured out what he needed to do in order to produce for his team.  With 36 points (17+19) in 57 games in his first season in the OHL, Bailey was selected as the team’s rookie of the year and was ranked 38th overall in final NHL Central Scouting Rankings in April.

With his first season at the junior level behind him, Bailey is now preparing for the NHL scouting combine which takes place in Toronto from May 27 to June 1 where he will be one of over 100 draft hopefuls looking to leave his mark on teams in attendance. Considering the fact that he is considered a late first/early second round pick, the combine will be one of his last chances to leave a good impression, and boost his draft stock, with the scouts, general managers, and coaches who will be in attendance that may be considering the young forward.

“I’ve prepared myself very well since I’ve come home from Kitchener for the combine,” Bailey said. “Weight wise, it’s going to be a little tough with some of the exercises.  I may not be the strongest guy there, but with my dad playing in the NFL at 250, 260 lbs, I think I have room to grow, and I think that will come within the next year, or even less.

“For the GMs and the scouts, for them to see my frame and what they have to work with I’m confident; athleticism wise I’m very confident; with the interviews too, I’m very confident I can make a good impression.”

With a size of 6’4″ 193lbs, Bailey knows that his role will likely be a power forward in the upper levels of the game. Because of that expectation, the 17-year old has focused on improving his strength since his season ended in April.

“Right before the season ended, I got together with my agents and we put together a program pretty much strength based,” he said. “This week I’m doing all the combine exercises, obviously, to get ready, but we put together just a strength program that I’ve been working on every day since I got home.”

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Part two of the series on Justin Bailey will focus on his decision to join the Kitchener Rangers after previously committing to Michigan State University.

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© Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

C.J. Spiller begins his first season as the top back in Orchard Park this year, and with that comes a slew of expectations. Spiller’s speed remains the name of the game, which meshes well the “speed kills” mantra that the new front office seems to be employing. The sky is the limit for Spiller in his fourth professional season and the only thing that can delay his galactic launch into stardom is an injury or two.

Player: C.J. Spiller

Years in league: Four

Age: 25

2012 Stats & Recap:  1,244 rushing yards on 207 carries; 6.0 ypc average; 43 catches for 459 yards; 8 total touchdowns in 16 games played

Spiller was easily the most explosive player on either side of the ball for the Buffalo Bills in 2012. After two years of indecisive running where he was often stacked at the line for no gain, Spiller let the game finally come to him. The results of a now-seasoned Spiller were incredible as he found long plays in bunches to set the team up with short-field opportunities. If only Ryan Fitzpatrick could have finished off those opportunities with touchdowns. Spiller was once again taken off the field when the team was near the goal line, but not at the same pace in years previous.

Passing plays to Spiller went for a higher clip (10.7) than in seasons previous—6.7 yards per catch averaged between two years—which helped open up some of the bigger running lanes out of the shotgun. Pass-blocking was not as good as you would like for a starting back, but there was definite improvement in this regard for Spiller. Quick throws at the line of scrimmage did tend to help him avoid getting beat in the blocking game.

What He Needs to Do in 2013:

Spiller is signed through the 2015 season, so he still has three years left on his contract before the team has to re-up with him. However, another brilliant season for the former Clemson running back could force the franchise’s hand when it comes to renegotiating a new contract. Spiller has a base salary just over $2.5 million, but has plenty of more opportunities to earn double that with incentives.

Head Coach Doug Marrone seems to committed to a run-driven attack and with the possibility of young quarterback EJ Manuel as the starter, Spiller’s workload should increase. How the balancing act of touches with Spiller and Fred Jackson is accomplished remains to be seen, but the new regime has likely learned what taking Spiller off the field can do to a coaching career. I think a 60-40 split in carries is about what we will see, depending on how effective Jackson looks in the offseason.

Regardless, Spiller should see his total touches increase for the fourth straight season. He showed the ability to play through injuries last season and made nine starts after taking over the position full time after the team’s bye week. As long as Spiller can stay healthy for a full slate of games, he has a perfect opportunity to get over 2,000 total yards next season.

Projections: 240 carries for 1,550 yards; 55 receptions for 675 yards; 16 games played

The post 2013 Player Profiles: C.J. Spiller appeared first on Queen City Sports.

Josh Johnson has struggled in four starts with the Blue Jays in 2013. (Abelimages)

Toronto Blue Jays ace Josh Johnson will start for the Buffalo Bisons on Saturday as the Herd host the Indianapolis Indians at Coca-Cola Field at 1:05.

Johnson has been on the disabled list since May 2^nd with right triceps inflammation.

The 29-year old righty made his first rehab appearance since going on the DL on Monday, allowing one run on three hits in three innings of action for Toronto’s Single-A affiliate Dunedin.

Arriving to the Blue Jays by way of Toronto’s 12-player trade with the Miami Marlins in the offseason, Johnson has fallen short of the high expectations of him before the season.

In four starts with Toronto, the two-time National League All-Star is 0-1 with a 6.86 ERA.

Johnson has a 56-38 career record with a 3.23 ERA. His best two seasons were in 2009 and 2010 when he went a combined 26-11.

The post Josh Johnson To Start For Bisons Saturday appeared first on Queen City Sports.

Ricky Romero made his home debut for the Herd, shining through five innings, only allowing one run before falling apart in the sixth.

Romero walked four consecutive batters to start the sixth, leading to him getting pulled by Bisons manager Marty Brown.

“I just got into trouble in the sixth inning and you know it’s a frustrating way to end the night. I put the team in a hole there but those first five innings were pretty good.” Romero said following the game.

“You can’t look at that last inning and say the outing was a failure,” Bisons manager Marty Brown said, “I really liked what I saw. I think he’s on the right track.”

Leaving with a 7-2 lead, Romero saw two more runs added to his line after Juan Perez allowed a bases loaded single to Angel Sanchez to bring the Knights within three.

Although an improved performance on the mound, Romero did acknowledge that his struggles have gotten to him.

“It’s tough, it’s frustrating. Nobody takes it harder than I do. It’s something that I take serious and I prepare for every outing as hard as I can and it’s tough to sleep at night.” Romero said.

Romero finished, allowing four runs on four hits and six walks. He looked sharper on the mound and left the game feeling better about his pitches.

“It was good. A lot of ground ball outs which is good and it just shows that the four seamer and sinker are working and the changeup is working pretty good.” Romero said.

Despite Romero’s poor sixth inning, he put the Bisons in a position to win.

The Herd led 7-1 entering the sixth thanks to a thrashing of Knights pitcher Simon Castro.

Buffalo clubbed the Knights starter for seven runs on 12 hits in five innings of action.

Ryan Langerhans first triple of the season in the bottom of the first put the Bisons in command early, scoring Mauro Gomez to put Buffalo up 3-1.

The Herd kept adding to their lead, eventually going up 7-1 when Andy LaRoche hit an RBI double to score Josh Thole in the bottom of the fifth.

The lead looked safe for Buffalo even after Romero was pulled but it was anything but.

Dustin McGowan struggled in his second appearance in Buffalo, blowing the Herd’s 7-4 lead in the top of the seventh, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks in one-third of an inning.

Tied 7-7 in the top of the tenth, a bit of drama unfolded as a controversial hit by pitch call by Ben May allowed Brandon Short to leadoff the inning at first.

It appeared that Neil Wagner’s pitch went off the bat of Knights hitter Brandon Short but was called a hit by pitch instead.

Shocked at the call, Marty Brown came out to argue with May, leading to his ejection.

“I felt that the ball hit the bat” Brown said, “Unless his bones are made of hickory, I thought I heard wood.

Facing adversity, Wagner was able to get out of trouble, allowing the Bisons bats to produce some magic in the bottom of the tenth.

After Gomez hit a leadoff single, his third hit of the game, Ryan Langerhans advanced the slugger to second on what was essentially a swinging bunt.

Coming to the plate with a chance to win the game, Bisons third baseman Andy LaRoche produced when it mattered the most, getting his third hit of the night to drive in Gomez and give Buffalo an 8-7 walk-off win over Charlotte.

“Those are the type of wins that build character. Obviously having the big lead and then dwindling that away and you see the character of our offensive players, just grinding it out and getting a run that we needed” Brown said.

The win brings the Herd to 26-18 on the year and helps them earn a series split against Charlotte.

Neil Wagner earned the win in relief for the Bisons while Ricky Romero earned a no-decision in his best start with the Herd.

Five Bisons had multi-hit games led by the trio of Jim Negrych, Mauro Gomez, and Andy LaRoche who each has three-hits apiece.

Buffalo now has Wednesday off before returning to the diamond Thursday evening to host Indianapolis at Coca-Cola Field at 7:05.

The post LaRoche Walk-Off Caps Exciting Night For Bisons appeared first on Queen City Sports.

Johnson Participates

Johnson did individual position drills for the Bills on Tuesday. He felt happy to be participating and used his time to teach the younger wide receivers:

“It makes me feel like I have a role,” said Johnson. “I don’t like sitting out of practice or anything because I feel like I can’t talk to anybody because I’m not doing it and I’m not in that fire with them. But just doing the little bit that I did, I felt like I had the power to tell some people to do it this way or run the route like this. When you look at it, make sure you run it a certain way because I was out there with you. It just felt good being back.”

Johnson is not sure if he’ll do more in future practices as he’s still battling ankle and pain injuries.

Quarterback Rotation

Not much to report on the QB rotation from Tuesday. Tarvaris Jackson and Kevin Kolb continue to receive the majority of snaps, but E.J. Manuel did receive 14 snaps during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

As Buffalo gets closer to September, you’ll certainly see Manuel getting his opportunities to win the starting QB job.

Kicking Competition

There weren’t many field goals kicked on Tuesday, but Rian Lindell and Dustin Hopkins both had four field goal attempts.

Lindell was a perfect 4-for-4 with one kick of 50+ yards. The Florida State rookie, Dustin Hopkins, was 2-for-4. He missed both of his attempts of 50+ yards to the left.

Hopkins certainly has the leg strength to make the longer kicks, but needs to work on his accuracy a bit.

Defense Reigns

The defense outplayed the offense on day five. Two players that really stood out were Alex Carrington and Marcus Dowtin. Carrington ran with the first team defense due to Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams not participating.

Carrington, Buffalo’s third round pick in 2010, recorded a sack, as well as stopping a screen pass early. He also did a nice job of clogging up running lanes. Last season, Carrington was a big contributor on special teams last season and hopes to get more opportunities in 2013:

“Coach Pettine, is just doing a good job of throwing stuff at us,” said Carrington. “Seeing what we can absorb. Now, with that experience of playing different positions, it’s a little easier to take in having done it before. It’s definitely a fun, aggressive defense. It allows multiple guys to make plays, so I’m looking forward to it big time.”

The other player who did a nice job was Dowtin, a free agent signing, who played with the Jets in 2012. Dowtin’s experience in Mike Pettine’s defense has benefited him greatly. On Tuesday, Dowtin registered a sack and read plays very well. Pettine praised Dowtin’s play and versatility.

“He was primarily an inside linebacker in New York,” said Pettine. “We’ve been training him as an outside linebacker here, but he’s another player that has some position flexibility. He’s athletic enough, he can play inside, he can play outside.  He can do some safety type jobs, he can do some defensive end type jobs.  Again, that’s the type of player that we’ll always have a role for in our system, with that amount of versatility.”

Buffalo has had issues in recent years with injuries and lack of depth. Seeing many backups contributing at OTAs has certainly been encouraging.

The post Buffalo Bills Day 5 OTA Notes appeared first on Queen City Sports.

The southpaw blazed through the Charlotte Knights lineup, allowing only one run on four hits through five innings.

But then came the sixth…

Just as in his prior two starts with the Bisons, Romero lost complete control of the strike zone, walking four consecutive batters to start the sixth before being pulled by Marty Brown with a 7-2 lead.

Romero couldn’t find the plate if he tried in the sixth, throwing only four strikes on 20 pitches.

After walking in a run, Romero saw two more runs credited to him after Angel Sanchez hit a two-run single off of Juan Perez to bring the Knights within three.

Romero final line: 5+ innings, 4 runs, 4 hits, 6 walks

His lack of control has plagued himself all year long, contributing to his sky high 8.76 ERA in Buffalo.

Romero earned a no-decision in the effort, watching Dustin McGowan give up the Bisons three-run lead in the top of the seventh.

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© Rick Stewart/Getty Images North America

Player:  Fred Jackson

Years in league:  Seven

Age: 32

2012 Stats & Recap:  115 carries for 437 yards; 3.8 ypc average; 34 receptions in 10 games played

Jackson missed six games for the second consecutive season and his statistics took a predictable dip as a result. The former Coe College back finished with less than half of the yardage he accumulated in the same amount of games played during the 2011 season, but that was mostly due to C.J. Spiller’s breaking-out party. Jackson’s tough, in between the tackles rushing style has finally caught up with him in the two seasons after he turned 30 years of age. The receptions are still very high, which is a testament to his usefulness on third down and he remains the best blocking back on the team.

What He Needs to Do in 2013:

Jackson is signed through the 2014 season, which means he will be close to 34 by the time his current contract with the Bills runs up. He will need to prove that his aging body can keep up with the toils of a long NFL season and fall back into solid backup role he filled behind Marshawn Lynch a few years ago. Jackson provides value as a receiver and run-blocker, which will make him easier to keep around as Spiller’s stunt double. Spiller barely received over 200 carries last season—which was the most of his three-year career—and it remains to be seen if he can handle more. Jackson is the ultimate professional when it comes to distribution of the ball and he has to realize that this is Spiller’s show now as long as he stays healthy. Buffalo has the flexibility to trot two players out there that would start on a bunch of other teams.

Projections:   160 carries for 700 yards; 45 receptions for 300 yards; 14 games played

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The Western New York Flash, who took two weeks to score a goal and a third week to book a win, have begun to gain momentum now that the full squad is healthy. Though they are ranked fifth in points, with two games in hand from the leaders, the league placed them fourth in this week’s power rankings. The Flash have yet to demonstrate explosive offense, but with a tightening defense the past two weeks, Abby Wambach and 19 year-old rookie sensation from Down Under, Samantha Kerr have done enough scoring to create a winning trend.

With league clubs having played between five and seven matches, a clear distinction is forming between contenders and pretenders. Seattle Reign looks weakest on paper, and is playing accordingly. It is not helping that their only superstar, legendary USWNT keeper Hope Solo, has been injured.

The Chicago Red Stars, who look a bit better in the abstract, are, like Seattle, yet to win a match, but have doubled Seattle’s draw points.

Kansas City has been especially tough on defense. In fact, it took them five matches to give up a goal in regular play. They gave up two to Western New York. Still, they seem to be in the league elite along with Sky Blue and Portland, who are currently tied at the top with identical records.

Boston, though a point ahead of Western New York, is fifth in the power rankings due to a reversal of momentum. The Breakers started strong but lost their last two;. They’ll need a course correction this weekend or they’ll drop at least one more place on the table, especially if the Flash continues its current momentum.

There have been a few surprise players emerging for the Flash this season. Of course everyone expected Wambach to stand out. Flash veterans Angela Salem, McCall Zerboni, and Laura Heyboer have lived up to their reputations. Samatha Kerr, the Australian rookie has emerged as the club’s second leader, quite consistently, but that was not completely unexpected. The biggest surprise is the play of Alex Sahlen, who is also the president of the franchise, daughter of club owner Joe Sahlen, and wife of Head Coach Aaran Lines. Sahlen barely got on the field during the WPS season, in 2011. She did start last season in the NPSL Elite Division, but the quality of play was far below first division. No one expected her to keep her starting spot in the new league, but not only has she kept it, she has ratcheted up her level of play. Sahlen hustles more than anyone on the club, and has definitely earned her playing time. No coach’s favorite issues here at all.

Across the league, a few players have emerged as elite. Only one is a real surprise. Familiar names from WPS and national team competition such as Wambach, Sydney Leroux, Heather O’Reilly, former Flash stars Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan have dominated up to this point. The surprise is FC Kansas City midfielder-defender, Desiree Scott.

Over five games, Scott has been the most consistent player on the pitch for FCKC, anchoring the league’s best defense. Usually paired with Jen Buczkowski in the midfield, an injury-adjusted line-up left her as the sole defensive midfielder for the Blues last Saturday night. Going into the match as the NWSL’s leading scorer, Boston’s Sydney Leroux was frustrated time and again by Scott and managed only one shot all night. That performance earned Scott a nomination and probable recognition as the current NWSL Player of the Week.

Of course, given the state of the business of first division women’s soccer in America, any progress report would be incomplete without an analysis of the health of each franchise.

While the league may ultimately have more staying power than its two failed predecessors, due to the support of the three North American soccer federations, there are some troubling signs in the early going.

Despite having their strongest start in club history in various leagues and incarnations, New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC is drawing fewer fans to Yurcak Field at Rutgers University this season than in previous campaigns. One of their first three home games drew less than a thousand. That embarrassing non-crowd put Sky Blue dead last in average attendance in the league at this milestone, with 1,400.

The biggest disappointment might be Seattle, whose MLS club leads the men’s league in attendance by a long shot, but is averaging only slightly better than Sky Blue, at 1550 per match.

That has to hurt those in Seattle who care, since their arch-rivals, the Portland Thorns, are high atop the league, averaging a low-end NHL attendance of around 13,000. It would be even higher were it not for a “weak showing” of 11,000 for a Thursday night ticket. Portland, though, has to be seen as an outlier since they are the only women’s club owned by the MLS club in town, using the same stadium and playing at least some of their matches as tandems with the men.

Excluding Portland, Kansas City is the clear winner, if franchise strength is measured in attendance. Despite using a high school stadium as the home pitch, Kansas City has averaged over 5,000 per match. There has also been very little fluctuation from match to match. The range is from the low 4k’s to the high 6′s. By WPS and WUSA standards, that is a good attendance.

Another big surprise is the lack of enthusiasm shown at the gate for the homecoming of Abby Wambach in Rochester, where Western New York plays their home games. During the Flash’s WPS year, they drew 8,000 and 15,000 for Wambach’s two appearances with her club at that time, magicJack. The sum total of Flash home attendance this season is barely 8K. With average of about 3,000 per match, the Flash is number 4 in league attendance. That is as embarrassing for the Flash. that the number is so low, as it is for the league, that such a number would rank so high.

Boston had one of the strongest, most consistent crowds in WPS. They’ve moved from Harvard Stadium to the smaller Dilboy Stadium, and their numbers are also smaller relative to WPS days, putting them at 5th place in league attendance.

Chicago’s downfall in WPS was the size and cost of Toyota Park. Sharing the state of the art stadium with the MLS Chicago Fire killed the Red Stars a year before WPS managed to kill itself. Now they’re playing in a refurbished venue at Benedictine University, with a capacity of around 3,000. They’ve been filling the place enough to generate crowd energy, something the cavernous (by comparison) Toyota Park sucked out of them. Still, with all the interest there is in soccer in Chicago, one would expect the Red Stars to draw better than they do. Part of the problem is that Benedictine is even further from downtown and from most of the metro area, than Toyota Park. Chicago would do well to consider building a small soccer only venue downtown, or perhaps in Jackson Park where an Olympic venue was planned for their 2016 bid. I think they could sell out a 5-6,000 seat venue in the city. But someone besides the club owners would have to pay the bill. They’re operating on the margin already. Averaging just over 2,000 per match, Chicago ranks 6th.

The success of the Portland club, if it continues to hold up, may be the strongest argument yet for a MLS run model for women’s soccer, similar to the NBA/WNBA model in women’s basketball. Their success may give other MLS franchise owners interest in trying it for themselves. As NWSL expands, that seems to be the best growth strategy. The only question is, will the weaker franchises improve, or how long before they’re dissolved or sold off to MLS owners to hasten the Portland model? Perhaps the biggest question is, are there three or four or seven MLS owners willing to take on the women’s game?

Hopefully attendance will improve for the league overall. Otherwise, nobody other than Portland and Kansas City, and maybe the Flash, if Joe Sahlen continues his willingness to subsidize the club, is safe. But with an average of only 3,000 coming out for Abby someone’s going to have to eat a lot of hot Sahlen’s hot dogs. Sahlen may have to eat a lot of them himself.

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