Alpine Rams travel to Vienna for their toughest test yet
The Alpine Rams travel to Vienna on Saturday for a game that will tell us a lot about where they really stand. Facing a Vikings side that has won all three of their opening games and looks like the team to beat in the South/East Conference, the Rams have a chance to make a real statement. But they will need their best performance of the season to get anything from this one.
Vikings are firing on all cylinders
Vienna come into this game in the kind of form that makes them very difficult to play against. Ben Holmes is orchestrating the offense with the calm and precision of a quarterback in his third season who knows this system inside out. Yannick Mayr has been explosive with big plays, Noah Touré remains one of the safest and most productive receivers in the league, and the running game with Karri Pajarinen and Albert Wiesigstrauch gives the Vikings a physical dimension that wears defenses down. On the other side of the ball, Alejandro Fernandez leads the entire league in sacks and is the most dangerous pass rusher in AFLE right now. The Vikings defense as a unit has been suffocating and gives up very little. For the Rams, finding answers to all of those questions in one game is a tall order.
Kaya must be the difference maker
If the Rams are going to cause an upset, Kevin Kaya will almost certainly be at the centre of it. He was the best player on the field in the comeback win over London Warriors in Week 3 and has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting offensive players in the league. Getting him the ball in space and letting him make plays will be the key to keeping the Rams offense moving against a Vikings defense that does not give anything away cheaply. Quarterback Seth Morgan will need to be sharp and decisive. Any hesitation in the pocket with Fernandez and the Vikings pass rush bearing down will be punished.
Discipline will decide how competitive this game is
One of the recurring themes around the Rams this season is the need for better discipline. Penalties and self-inflicted mistakes have put them in difficult positions in both of their games so far, and against a Vikings team that is clinical and experienced, any gifts will be taken. Vienna have the firepower to punish mistakes quickly and decisively. If the Rams can stay clean, stay disciplined and keep the game tight into the second half, they have the character to make this interesting. They showed that in London. The question is whether they can do it against the best team in the league so far.
A chance to prove themselves
The Rams will be the underdogs walking into Vienna on Saturday. But they have already shown this season that they are a team willing to fight, willing to work and capable of performing when the pressure is on. A win here would be one of the biggest results of the young AFLE season. A competitive performance that goes down to the wire would still say a great deal about who the Alpine Rams are becoming. Vienna will be ready. The question is whether the Rams will be too.
