Talons Central Power Rankings 3/31/2010

With opening day just two days away, the AFL Writers Association released their Top 8 Poll:

1. Chicago Rush
2. Tampa Bay Storm
3. Dallas Vigilantes
4. Cleveland Gladiators
5. Orlando Predators
6. Spokane Shock
7. Milwaukee Iron
8. Arizona Rattlers

I am not quite confident in this poll. I cannot see what the Rush have done to deserve the ranking. They have lost much of the talent they had in 2008 (Damian Harrell to the Iron, Donovan Morgan to the Talons) and didn't seem to replace it. Also, the Orlando Predators are another team that hasn't done much to deserve the five spot. The Predators were easily outmatched in their scrimmage with the Tampa Bay Storm. They are definitely in my bottom half of the league.

My Final Preseason Power Rankings are as follows:

1. Milwaukee Iron
2. Dallas Vigilantes
3. Tulsa Talons
4. Cleveland Gladiators
5. Jacksonville Sharks
6. Tampa Bay Storm
7. Spokane Shock
8. Arizona Rattlers
9. Chicago Rush
10. Alabama Vipers
11. Utah Blaze
12. Orlando Predators
13. Iowa Barnstormers
14. OKC Yard Dawgz
15. Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings

Milwaukee has made all the right moves this season. They easily have the best offensive talent in the league and will be hard to stop. The turning point will be how effective their defense is.

Dallas has looked great this preseason, however, there are rumblings of resentment towards to team in their own locker room. If this proves to be true then it could affect the team detrimentally.

The Talons have a great receiving core, probably second to only Milwaukee. In addition, they have many AFL veterans on defense. Their success will depend on QB play.

Be sure to check in next week for the next set of Power Rankings after opening weekend!

EDIT:

For fairness gonna add in the Fan Poll done by AFL Fanzone (Mainly because I just saw it. Somehow I missed it.):

Preseason Rankings (Points) [First Place Votes]
1. Dallas Vigilantes (134) [5]
2. Milwaukee Iron (131) [9]
3. Arizona Rattlers (94)
4. Tampa Bay Storm (64)
5. Jacksonville Sharks (63)
6. Spokane Shock (62)
6. Tulsa Talons (62)
8. Chicago Rush (61)
8. Cleveland Gladiators (61) [1]
10. Orlando Predators (35)

Others receiving votes; Iowa (22), Alabama (19), Oklahoma City (7), Utah (5), Bossier City (2)

YouTube Tuesday - March 30, 2010

Today we have a video from Talons last season. Highlights from game with Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings:

Don't forget the season starts this weekend! Be sure to come out to the BOK Center on Saturday to watch the Talons take on the Tampa Bay Storm.

Talons Wide Receiver Core

With the season set to kickoff in just a week we want to take a look at the Talons key receivers; Donovan Morgan and Jeff Hughley.

Donovan Morgan was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2004 by the New York Jets but did not survive training camp. In 2005 Morgan started his career with the Tulsa Talons. Donovan was a standout, gaining the nickname "Spiderman" due to his acrobatic catches. In his rookie season Donovan set af2 records for touchdown receptions (54), total touchdowns (57), and points scored (346). After two outstanding seasons with the Talons Morgan was signed by the Buffalo Bills in 200, but was released before the season started. Morgan went on to play for the Chicago Rush in 2008. In 2009, with the AFL season on hiatus, Morgan played for the IFL's Chicago Slaughter.

Jeff Hughley has been another veteran of the Talons franchise. After a stellar season with the Talons Hughley was picked up by the Colorado Crush in 2008. After the 2008, with the AFL season on hiatus, Hughley returned to the Talons for the 2009 season. In 2009 Hughley was the Talons lead receiver and a strong reason for the Talons success in the playoffs.

With Morgan and Hughley, Tulsa has probably the second best receiving core in the AFL, behind the Milwaukee Iron. Damian Harrell of the Iron is the only reason I can't say Tulsa has the best. He is a dominate individual with years of AFL experience. However, Morgan is not to be taken lightly. His acrobatic receptions are the reason arena football remains an exciting fan experience. Regardless of how the season ultimately turns out, the Talons will be a fun team to watch.

YouTube Tuesday - March 23, 2010

Today we have a video from the Spokane Shock. The Shock were last year's af2 champions defeating our own Tulsa Talons in the Conference Championship game:

To find out more about the Spokane Shock visit spokaneshock.com.

YouTube Tuesday - March 16, 2010

Originally I had planned to have a Battlewings video today in honor of the Preseason game for Haiti Relief coming up this Sunday between the Dallas Vigilantes and the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings. However, I could not find an interesting video. Thus, in honor of the signing of Damien Harrell I decided to share this video:




As I mentioned yesterday, Damien Harrell has signed with the Milwaukee Iron. Today the Iron guaranteed a playoff performance on their twitter feed. To find out more about the Milwaukee Iron visit mkeiron.com.

Milwaukee Makes Big Move

The news of the last week is the signing of Damian Harrell to the Milwaukee Iron. Harrell is the all time Touchdown leader of the old AFL. While 36, you have to believe he still has a lot of gas in the tank. However, the last time Harrell played a game was two years ago when he and the Chicago Rush put together one of the best seasons in franchise history. Combined with former UFL Quarterback Chris Greisen, the Iron are looking to be a force to be reckoned with this year. Expect to see them make a large rise in the next set of Power Rankings.

In Talons news, the Talons have released their training camp roster (image courtesy of Tulsa World) :

YouTube Tuesday - March 9, 2010

This week, in honor of meeting a huge Iowa Barnstormers fan this past weekend, we have a Barnstormers video:




To find out more about the Iowa Barnstormers visit theiowabarnstormers.com

Official Talons Tailgate Parties Announced Today!

Today on the Talons Facebook and Twitter accounts it was announced that there will be official tailgate parties before each home game from 2PM to 6PM. It will take place on 3rd Street next to the BOK Center. This announcement was made on Friday as well in an email to season ticket holders.

In addition, the email to season ticket holders announced that the Talons Cheerleaders and Swoop will be spending St. Patrick's Day at CJ Maloney's in Broken Arrow.

Preseason Game for Charity March 21st

Last Week the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings announced they will be having a preseason game on March 21st against the Dallas Vigilantes. All tickets for the game will be $10.00 with $5.00 of that going to help with Haiti relief. At the moment there is no word whether the game will be broadcast on NiftyTV or by any other outlet. I encourage anyone in the Shreveport area to check out the game for a great kickoff to the new AFL and for the great charity the event is going towards.

Check out the entire press release here.

YouTube Tuesday - March 2, 2010

This week we have the promotional video for Talons division rivals, the Dallas Vigilantes. In the AFL the old Dallas franchise was named the Desperados. Due to some legal issues the owners decided to change the name and recently uploaded this video to promote the new team name:




To find out more about the Dallas Vigilantes visit dallasvigilantes.com

Congratulations to the New Talons Cheer Team!

This weekend was tryouts for the Talons Cheer Team. There hasn't been to much media coverage and I wasn't able to attend. There was the following Tweet however:

rcourikrmg

Judges for Talons cheerleader try-outs. Miss Oklahoma (Taylor Treat), @rcourikrmg and Chuck the Sports guy. http://twitgoo.co

m/fcp4y

Then today on the Tulsa Talons facebook page there was a photo released of this year's cheer team:

The names of this year's cheer team has not been released at this time, however I want to say congratulations to my friend Courtney who made the team! Courtney was the only one, of three, Oilers Ice Girls to make the team!