Getty Christian Hackenberg will start for the Memphis Express.
The Birmingham Iron will host the Memphis Express at Legion Field on Sunday for what will be each team’s inaugural Alliance of American Football debut.
The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, but if you don’t have cable, you can still watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via any of the following options:
AAF Digital Platforms
You can watch all AAF games on your computer via AAF.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Alliance of American Football app.
You can watch a live stream of CBS Sports Network and 75 total channels via the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Additionally, CBS, NFL Network and TNT, which will broadcast the other AAF games, are also included.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch the game up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including CBS Sports Network, CBS and TNT.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Memphis vs Birmingham Preview
On Friday, Memphis Express head coach Mike Singletary named Christian Hackenberg the team’s starter under center.
The New York Jets selected the former Penn State quarterback in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. After two years in New York, Hackenberg got traded to the Oakland Raiders, who waived him three weeks later.
In the 2018 offseason, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, who waived him before the first week of the season. He then spent a month on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad before attending the Alliance of American Football’s quarterback camp.
The Express drafted him in the second round.
“It didn’t make sense to do it just to say, ‘Hey, I’m on an NFL roster, but I’m sitting there watching practice’,” Hackenberg said of his decision to join the eight-team league, according to The Patriot-News.
“Where I was at in my career, I’ve got to go play. So we came here.”
Express offensive coordinator David Lee — who’s served as a quarterbacks coach for five NFL teams — believes he and Hackenberg identified a flaw in the quarterback’s mechanics and made adjustments that should help his accuracy moving forward.
“Christian had an elongated backward release and he flipped the ball out,” Lee said in a video for The Patriot-News. “There’s nothing wrong with him mentally. Just a mechanical flaw. When he tried to get it back here he couldn’t get it in the release position and he would lose it. Even on short passes. It was more severe on short passes than deep passes. It can come and flip out as long as it comes up, but when it gets long and flips out it’s too long getting back into the throwing position where things can go wrong.”
Hackenberg told the paper: “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown the football this good. Never. I wish I had this five years ago. But the good news is I’m 23, not sure that I could do it and I did it. Now it’s just about going out and playing.”
The Iron feature several former Alabama Crimson Tide players, including running back Trent Richardson — the 2011 SEC Offensive Player of the Year who played three seasons in the NFL — and quarterback Blake Sims, who’ll back up former Texas A&M-Commerce standout Luis Perez.
The team’s coached by Tim Lewis, who’s served as an assistant coach for six NFL teams.
“I’m hoping that [fans] join us here,” Lewis said, according to AAF.com. “We’re going to put on a great show. We’re going to show them what that ‘Birmingham Iron Way’ looks like, and hopefully they can cheer us on to a victory.”
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