Coming off their second straight loss, the Seattle Sea Dragons head to Vegas in Week 3 to take on the Vipers. Both teams have gotten off to an 0-2 start, but a win on Saturday could be the spark one of them needs to begin turning their season around.
Seattle Sea Dragons (0-2) at Vegas Vipers (0-2)
Kickoff: Saturday, March 4th, at 4:00 pm PT
Where: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV
TV: FX, ESPN+, and ESPN Xtra on Sirius/XM
Broadcast Team: Matt Barrie (Play-By-Play Analyst), Joey Galloway (Analyst), Eric MacLain (Sideline Analyst), Tiffany Blackmon (Sideline Reporter)
Weather
Saturday afternoon’s forecast around Cashman Field calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures around 62 degrees and winds up to 21 mph. No precipitation is expected, and there will be around 22% humidity.
Betting Odds Per DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread:
Seattle Sea Dragons: -3
Vegas Vipers: +3
Moneyline:
Seattle Sea Dragons: -165
Vegas Vipers: +140
Over/Under: 38.5
Seattle Sea Dragons Week 3 Depth Chart
Offense
1
2
3
QB
Ben DiNucci – 6 (Captian)
Stephen Montez – 12
Harrison Frost – 14
RB
Brendan Knox – 28 (OUT)
Morgan Ellison – 25
WR
Josh Gordon – 0
Damion Willis – 15
WR
Jah’cour Pearson – 3
TJ Hammonds – 19
Kelvin McKnight – 86
WR
Blake Jackson – 80
McLane Mannix – 82
WR
Juwan Green – 4
Jordan Veasy – 88
TE
Charlie Tamoepeau – 89
OT
Liam Jimmons – 71
Barry Wesley – 69
OG
Mike Menet – 72
Paul Gratten – 65
OC
Jared Thomas – 73
Tejan Koroma – 56
OG
Chris Owens – 55
Josh Seltzner – 70
OT
Colin Kelly – 67
Defense
1
2
3
DE
Niko Lalos – 97
Daniel Jones – 96
DN
Antwuan Jackson – 52
PJ Hall – 92
Sama Paama – 50
DT
Austin Faoliu – 58
Trayvon Hester – 93
OLB
Elijah Ponder – 44
Shareef Miller – 48
ILB
Tre Walker – 8
Emmanuel Smith – 43
ILB
Jordan Evans – 26 (Captian)
Clarence Hicks – 9
OLB
Tuzar Skipper – 51
CB
Chris Jones – 5
Rojesterman Farris – 17
Zafir Kelly – 36
CB
Linden Stephens – 21
Shabari Davis – 24
Mykael Wright – 16
S
Bryce Thompson – 1
Qwynnterrio Cole – 32
S
Antoine Brooks – 2
Alijah Holder – 33
Special Teams
1
2
3
K
Dominik Eberle – 11
P
Cameron Nizialek – 10
LS
Thomas Fletcher – 45
KR
Jeylon Redd – 13 (IR)
Morgan Ellison – 25
PR
Jah’cour Pearson – 3
Kelvin McKnight – 86
Vegas Vipers Week 3 Depth Chart
Offense
1
2
3
4
QB
Luiz Perez – 12
Brett Hundley – 3
Jalan McClendon – 2
RB
Rod Smith – 15
John Lovett – 8
DeAndre Torrey – 5
Brian Burt – 18
WR
Geronimo Allison – 19
Matthew Sexton – 10
WR
Jeff Badet – 13
WR
Martavis Bryant – 4
Cinque Sweeting – 14
TE/H
Brandon Dillon – 86
Sean Price – 80
Travis Koontz – 16
Cam Sutton – 89
OT
Quinterrius Eatmon – 77
Jamil Demby – 65
OG
Isaiah Williams – 71
Michael Miller – 64
OC
Kahlil McKenzie – 69
Dohnovan West – 61
OG
Michael Miller – 64
Jamil Demby – 65
OT
Larry Williams – 56
Antonio Garcia – 53
Defense
1
2
3
DE
Robert Winsor – 88
LaRon Stokes – 97
NG
Jah’Sheem Martin – 90
Bryant Jones – 95
Kelvin Pickney – 96
DT
Destiny Vaeso – 99
LaRon Stokes – 97
SAM – LB
Pita Taumoepenu – 0
Max Roberts – 23
MIKE – LB
D.J. Calhoun – 48
P.J. Dawson – 46
WILL – LB
Vic Beasley – 44
Martrell Spaight – 45
BUCK
C.J. Avery – 28
Juwuan Johnson – 20
CB
Adam Sparks – 22
Nijuel Hill – 27
CB
Keylon Kennedy – 6
Antonio Phillips – 21
S
Deontay Anderson – 9
Stephen Roberts – 30
S
Mister Harriel – 1
Will Adams – 24
Special Teams
1
2
3
K
Bailey Giffen – 47
P
Michael Carrizosa – 17
LS
Adam Higuera – 40
KR
Matthew Sexton – 10
Cinque Sweeting – 14
PR
Matthew Sexton – 10
Cinque Sweeting – 14
Injury Report
Seattle Sea Dragons
RB – Brenden Knox – Foot – Out
LB – Jordan Evans – Hip – Doubtful
DT – Austin Faoliu – Knees – Questionable
RB – TJ Hammonds – Ankle – Probable
S – Roe Farris – Lumbar – Doubtful
DT – Antwuan Jackson – Thumb – Probable
CB – Linden Stephens – Foot – Probable
WR – Jordan Veasy – Knee – Probable
LB – Elijah Ponder – Ankle – Probable
Vegas Vipers
DB – Marwin Evans – Concussion – Out
DT – Destiny Vaeao – Lower Leg – IR
DB – Will Adams – Toe – Probable
LB – Pita Taumoepenu – Shoulder – Probable
WR – Geronimo Allison – Shoulder – Probable
RB – Rod Smith – Hip – Probable
WR – Cinque Sweeting – Knee – Probable
Seattle Sea Dragons – Vegas Vipers Prediction
Both of these teams have gotten off to a rough start this season. Seattle could just as easily be 2-0, rather than 0-2, if it weren’t for turnovers and some questionable coaching decisions.
A similar thing could be said for Vegas, who lost their Week 1 matchup against the Arlington Renegades by only 2 points, then had to deal with monsoon-level rain and wind in their Week 2 matchup against the D.C. Defenders.
Seattle’s quarterback Ben DiNucci currently leads the league in passing yards, with wideout Jahcour Pearson leading the league in receiving yards. However, turnovers and converting short-yardage situations have been significant weaknesses for the Sea Dragons.
With DiNucci slinging the ball and how well both of Seattle’s running backs have played through the first two games, Seattle could have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the league. Unfortunately, they’ve struggled to lean on the run game as much as they probably should and have fallen apart late in games in part to it. Additionally, running back Brenden Knox has been ruled out for their Week 3 matchup, so expect Morgan Ellison to take on the lead back role, with TJ Hammonds likely getting some touches as well.
Defensively, Seattle’s played well at times, but their recent matchup with the Battlehawks showed they’ll need to tighten some things up moving forward. That said, Emmanuel Smith, Chris Jones, and Tuzar Skipper have been a few of the bright spots on Seattle’s defense so far this season.
Despite their disastrous loss to the D.C. Defenders in Week 2, the Vegas Vipers have a talented roster and will not make things easy for Ben DiNucci and the Sea Dragons. The Vegas defense, headed by former NFL linebacker Vic Beasley, may have fallen apart in their Week 2 monsoon matchup, but they’ve forced turnovers in both games so far, which has been one of Seattle’s main issues.
Offensively, Vegas moved the ball well in Week 1 against the Renegades but couldn’t do anything after the second drive of their home opener against the Defenders. The Vipers have Luiz Perez listed as the starting quarterback heading into Week 3, but considering we saw Brett Hundley get playing time against D.C., it’s safe to assume we’ll see the NFL veteran again this week.
With this Saturday’s matchup in Vegas not plagued by terrible weather, we should be in for a more exciting game than Week 2’s debacle. While Seattle’s performance through the first two weeks hasn’t given them the results they’d like, I haven’t given up on the Sea Dragons yet. I think Seattle has a bit of an edge roster-wise in this matchup with the Vipers and should be able to come away with their first win of the year.
If the Sea Dragons continue to clean up the turnover issues and the team’s coaches make more intelligent decisions regarding clock management, they should be in a good spot to win this game. If the problems continue, Seattle could easily lose another winnable game.
