Paris Musketeers travel to Barcelona to take on the Dragons

| American Football | 07/29/2023

Today, the Paris Musketeers will travel to Barcelona to take on the Dragons in Week 9 of the European League of Football (ELF).

Both the Dragons and the Musketeers have had rough seasons. Both have won just two games, and they were some weeks ago. With the playoffs well out of reach, both teams will be fighting for pride and something to build on in 2024.

For the Musketeers, promise was high at the beginning of the season after securing several key signings. The team still has a stacked roster and this has shown in nearly all their games. There have been only one of two games this season that have been decided by more than a touchdown.

But things just haven’t clicked. Zach Edwards’ league-leading performance last year seems like a distant memory, which is odd considering he has twice as many weapons now. And the defense is hemorrhaging points all year, especially through the air. Despite their woeful record, they are not as bad as it suggests. Growing pains are a symptom of any first-year team.

On the other side of the ball is a team we have seen two different sides of this year. The Dragons exploded into the ELF this year despite many thinking they would struggle. The connection between Connor Miller and Theo Landstrom was electric and the two quickly became the most dangerous duo in the league through four weeks.

However, things have quickly regressed with the last two weeks being walkovers. They look like a shadow of the former self and since Miller’s injury, they have transformed into a run first team, which is never a good look when you don’t have the defense to back it up. 

These two teams have nearly identical records, but the Musketeers have been far more competitive in recent weeks. Don’t be surprised if Paris pulls away early and starts whaling on the Dragons in this one.

Daniel Mackenzie is a Press Association graduate who works in journalism and communications in the third sector. Daniel began playing football for the London Warriors and Team Great Britain and has since played across Europe.