gwinnettsportsreport.com

 The Atlanta Steam set for playoff meeting with Seattle this Saturday.

The Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Steam (3-1) will square off with the Seattle Mist (3-1), the runner-up in the Western Conference, this Saturday in the first of a two-game LFL playoff event to be played at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. With Seattle averaging 50-points a game during the regular season and Atlanta just shy of 36 a game, the matchup has the makings of a high-scoring affair.  

Steammates To Watch

 Dakota Hughes leads the Steam to another postseason appearance.

Veteran QB Dakota Hughes leads the Steam offense into the post season and is coming off another solid regular season performance. Dakota had the second-best QB Rating (95.7) in the LFL and finished the regular season with 11 TDs and only 2 INTs, a 5 to 1 ratio that was best in the league.

Steam down Bliss to earn East title, the second for the franchise. 

The Atlanta Steam (3-2) defeated the Chicago Bliss (4-1) by a 14-6 score to earn the second East Conference title for the franchise in the second game of a LFL playoff doubleheader that opened with the Seattle Mist (5-0) easily defeating the Los Angeles Temptation (4-1), 24-6, to earn their third consecutive West Conference title.

Los Angeles (3-0) @ Atlanta (2-1)

The LA and Atlanta contest should provide something the LFL is in dire need of-a good game. While both teams are locks for the post-season, both have much to play for in the regular season finale for the LFL.

Win or lose, Atlanta will meet the Chicago Bliss (pictured) in the East Conference tile game.   

The Chicago Bliss (4-0) closed out their regular season with a 66-0 blowout of the Denver Dream (0-4) in Week 16 of the LFL 2017 season in what was also the season (and possibly the franchise) finale for Denver. As projected in last week’s preview, Chicago didn’t come close to the century mark, but left no doubt as to their preparedness for the Eastern Conference title game.

Three key veterans to a championship season for Atlanta are Adrian Purnell, Lauran Ziegler, and Dina Wojowski.

The Atlanta Steam (0-0) will open their 2017 Legends Football League season on the road against the Pittsburg Rebellion (0-1) in what will be the home opener for the first year franchise. The meeting comes in Week 4 of the LFL season. Pittsburgh kicked off their inaugural season in Week 2 with a 32-9 road loss to the Omaha Heart (1-0).

The Atlanta Steam are ready to take on the Omaha Heart in their LFL opener on June 3. (Pictured at a meet-and-greet last Saturday).

The Atlanta Steam (0-0) still have 18 days to wait before they play their first game of the 2016 LFL season which will come on June 3 when the Omaha Heart (1-0) visit the Infinite Energy Arena looking to end two years of Atlanta domination. While the revamped Omaha team already has more wins (1) than they have managed over the last two years, look for the Steam unleash a pent up fury that has been building over the last two months while preparing for the season and scoreboard watching.

QB Dakota Hughes is set to return for her third season as the Atlanta Steam field general. 

Coach Dane Robinson has confirmed that eight LFL veterans with at least two years experience will be returning to the Atlanta Steam for the 2016 season. There will also be some players that were rookies last season that will have the opportunity to earn a spot on the roster based on their performance during the open tryout that is set for November.

Leanne Hardin (20) is one of the three-year Steam veterans that will notbe back for the 2016 season. Image courtesy Mike Delrio.

The Atlanta Steam will begin their fourth Legends Football League season with an open tryout in November, but it’s clear that the new edition will be very different from previous versions. A number of veterans will not be returning this season, including some that have been with the team since its inception in October 2012.

Dane Robinson, second-year head coach of the Atlanta Steam (3-3), took some time last week to talk with me about the just concluded season and shared his thoughts on the season as well as the future of the franchise.