Inside the Pit--Volume 1

The first three posts were written for "The Arena" from now on my Vipers articles will appear here, on insidethepit.com!

In the two years that the Tennessee Valley Vipers have been back as members of the af2, the Vipers have been in unfamiliar territory—at home during the playoffs. Last season’s 7-9 team was much improved from the 3-13 season a year before, however, with a loss to Louisville in the final game of the regular season it allowed the Vipers arch-rivals, the Alabama Steeldogs to sneak into the playoffs despite being beaten twice by the Vipers.
This season is really do-or-die for the Vipers and the team’s fans. With just under 4,500 fans attending games last season, the Vipers are far and away from the marks set in the franchises’ early days. The days when almost 1,000 more people showed up per game to fill the Von Braun Center to near capacity.
The offense has been beefed up a little, and will hopefully out-perform the 25th worst offense in the af2 last season. The defense is getting even better with additions of former Steeldogs Eric Scott, RaJohn Myles and Deon Deboise, who were all a part of the Grand Rapids Rampage training camp roster.
Last season, the Vipers averaged scoring 41.6 points a game, but gave up only 45.4—good enough for ninth best in the league.
This season, the Vipers will look to improve on that offense with the addition of Andy Hall, a rookie quarterback from the University of Delaware and former Philadelphia Eagles back up. Hall spent last season with Vipers head coach Dean Cokinos. Also making his af2 debut is Jasper, Alabama native, Antwan Courington. Courington spent his college years in Hattiesburg under Jeff Bower and spent last season in the Intense Football League, where he was third in the league in scoring by a non-kicker and third in receiving yards per game while playing with former Southern Miss signal caller Dustin Almond.
Five players on the training camp roster for the Vipers have previously played in the AFL. That alone gives Vipers fans a reason to be excited about the upcoming season. Training camp starts soon and the season is just a month away.