Photos and Video from Saturday's Game

Hey Everyone! You can check out my pictures from the Battlewings game this past Saturday here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173080&id=44000338&l=6d39772242

Also here are the 3 videos I took:

Talons Escape Bossier with a Win

In a night when every call went against them, the Talons still came up with a road win. The victory broke a six game road losing streak stretching back to last season.

The Battle Wings received the ball first and appeared to be in trouble. The Talons defense was tough and tight forcing Kinsmon Lancaster's first three passes to fall incomplete. Lancaster kept the drive alive on fourth down by scrambling for a 23 yard gain before Terrell Mingo brought him down. Seven plays later the Battle Wings scored to start the game with a 7-0 lead. The Talons would answer back with a five play drive for a touchdown. The drive was topped off by a long pass to Donovan Morgan and then a strong Odie Armstrong run for the TD.

The Battle Wings would get a scare on their next series as Lancaster was hit on the second play of the series and was slow to get up (not a late hit as was reported in the arenafootball.com press release). Lancaster would leave the game, but it appeared to be a good thing for the Wings. Lancaster was replaced by Gary Cooper who had been a former Battle Wings QB before being picked up this week to fill the hole left by Raymond Philyaw who is currently on Injured Reserve. Cooper would eventually miss a few passes before the Battle Wings turned the ball over on downs after the first play of the second quarter.

Justin Allgood would start the next play off with a long pass to Donovan Morgan for another Talons TD. Tony Dodson would miss the extra point, however, to only give the Talons a 13-7 lead. The teams would continue to trade scores till the end of the half when both teams missed field goals to go into halftime tied at 26 each.

The Talons would stay one step ahead of the Battle Wings for the rest of the game taking a 52-48 lead early in the 4th Quarter. The game would conclude with series upon series of turnover on downs for both teams until the Battle Wings threw a deep pass to P.J. Berry that was picked off by Chris Royal to give the Talons the ball with about 14 seconds remaining. The Talons would run out the clock and get the road win.

The Talons defense was outstanding. The defensive front ended the game with three credited sacks (Nyenheis: 1, Scott: 2). On the defensive backfield of the Talons got one timely interception and multiple pass breakups.

Talons Quarterback Justin Allgood threw for 285 yards and passed former Talons QB Craig Strickland to take the franchise record in career passing yards. Talons WR Carlese Franklin wore #4 instead of his normal #5 as his jersey was lost (possibly stolen) in the Talons visit to Cleveland two weeks before.

The Talons return home next saturday to play the Orlando Predators (3-4) in the BOK Center where they are undefeated this season.

(Hopefully) Live Coverage of Tulsa Talons at Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings

Headlines - May 29th, 2010

Recap from last week's game: "In his last visit to the BOK Center, Tommy Grady threw 10 touchdown passes. This time, the Talons threw him around the Oklahoma City backfield like he was a rag doll."

A look from OKC's perspective: "The Yard Dawgz thought they’d fixed their problematic offensive line, but the Tulsa Talons’ scrappy defense showed Oklahoma City’s line still needs some work."

2 Talons received awards this week: "Franklin ended the night with three carries for 17 yards and two touchdowns and had five receptions for 62 yards and three touchdowns."

The Tulsa World looking at various aspects of the OKC game: "Officially, Gabe Nyenhuis was credited with one sack against the Yard Dawgz, but Talons line coach Marty Robinson argues that he deserved three more for causing Yard Dawgz quarterback Tommy Grady to fumble three times."

The NFL Network drops a Talons game

Allgood should set franchise record tonight: "Allgood needs 85 yards Saturday at Bossier-Shreveport to become Tulsa's all-time leader. AFL quarterbacks usually have that much yardage by halftime."

Mid-Season AFL Expansion Rumors

With the season half-over there are lots of rumors circulating about possible teams expanding and/or leaving the AFL. It looks like there will be 5-6 teams joining the league next year and I want to take a look at the possibilities.

Possible Expansion Cities (by likelihood):

1. Philadelphia, PA

The most likely of all the expansion talks is Philadelphia. This has been mentioned since day one. The only thing that was scary was the Tampa Bay Storm Radio reported on Twitter that there were some hangups with bringing the Soul back. However, there are rumors that the hangups have been solved. Possibility 95%

2. San Jose, CA

San Jose has been a historic franchise in the AFL. However, when the league reformed this year, workers compensation law scared the league away from California. As the league and San Jose (along with some changes to California WC law) have come to terms, this is looking more and more likely. Possibility 90%

3. Kansas City, KS

When the league was forming this year Kansas City was one of the 20 cities looking to join. However, certain things kept KC out. In addition to certain rumors I will talk about below, the league seems to want to have KC in the league. Not only were they a good fan base in the old AFL, it also makes sense geographically. KC sits perfectly between Tulsa and Des Moines, making regional travel very easy. This will help keep costs down for the league. Possibility 85%

4. Pittsburg, PA

The workers town of the USA. Rumors have been floating about this city for awhile now. It would make sense too. It's perfect for the region and the type of city where the AFL should flourish. Possibility 75%

5. Los Angeles, CA

LA was talked about in conjunction with San Jose. However, the biggest roadblock to the return of professional football to the City of Angels is finding a venue. The best thing they could do is put the team in Anaheim. Possibility 60%

6. Denver, CO

The Crush were a solid long-term franchise of the AFL, mainly due to involvement from John Elway. However, in the current league they are in a somewhat remote market. They could make a good addition to the West who are already spread out. Possibility 35%

7. San Antonio, TX

It has been rumored that San Antonio is hungry for a team. However, their first stint with a team in 1992 ended in the same year. The San Antonio Force was the first team shut out in the AFL. If the city is really wanting to join the AFL I can see it happening, but not next year. Possibility 20%

Possible Franchise Closing/Moving/Changing

1. Dallas Vigilantes

This rumor surprised me when I first heard about it, but it seems to make sense, but in a round about way. Rumors are that Jerry Jones wants to return to the AFL and bring the Desperados back with him. To do so, his "Franchise Fee" would be used to move the Vigilantes to Kansas City and be rebranded as the Brigade. Jerry Jones can fill seats in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, so if he really does want to come back it will happen.

2. Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz

The Yard Dawgz have been struggling with attendance (and wins). This is most likely due to the Thunder and NBA owning that city right now. If they don't think they can improve this would be a very likely closure.

3. Utah Blaze

The Blaze have been struggling all season with attendance. If they can't get a deal to get into an arena in downtown this team could fold just because their current arena doesn't pull in a crowd.

4. Bossier-Shreveport

This is something that has been rumbled but no specifics at all. The ownership seems to support the team, even as they fail to make money. But with the increased costs in the AFL who knows how long that will last.

How I see the league looking next year:

South Division:

Alabama Vipers

Jacksonville Sharks

Tampa Bay Storm

Orlando Predators

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings

Southwest Division (maybe renamed to Central):

Tulsa Talons

Dallas Desperados

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz

Kansas City Brigade

Iowa Barnstormers

Midwest Division

Milwaukee Iron

Chicago Rush

Cleveland Gladiators

Philadelphia Soul

Pittsburg

Western Division

Spokane Shock

Arizona Rattlers

Utah Blaze

San Jose Sabercats

Anaheim (Avengers)

Talons Central Week 9 Picks

First off sorry for the short updates this week. I have been planning my trip to Bossier-Shreveport for the game this week on top of being very busy.

Last Week: 5-2

Overall: 31-19

Tampa Bay Storm at Orlando Predators: TAMPA BAY. The War on I-4! Orlando has played better lately but it should catch up with them in this rivalry. Tampa is a good team that has only lost to better teams, and Orlando is not a better team.

Alabama Vipers at Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz: OKLAHOMA CITY. Alabama got lucky when Raymond Philyaw went down early last week. That shouldn't happen with Oklahoma City and the Vipers should struggle.

Arizona Rattlers at Utah Blaze: ARIZONA. Really? Should this even be a question? Utah stinks.

Chicago Rush at Cleveland Gladiators: CHICAGO. Chicago is hungry after a two week slide and should come out strong against Cleveland and play better than they did in week 2.

Dallas Vigilantes at Milwaukee Iron: MILWAUKEE.

Tulsa Talons at Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings: TULSA. Three words: No Raymond Philyaw.

Jacksonville Sharks at Spokane Shock: JACKSONVILLE. This is easily the game of the week. That being said Spokane has not played well at home in big games this season. Jacksonville is very complete as a team and should pull this one out.

Talons Central Power Rankings

The AFL Writers Association has released their Top 8 Poll for the week:

1. Jacksonville Sharks

2. Spokane Shock

3. Milwaukee Iron

4. Chicago Rush

5. Tulsa Talons

6. Alabama Vipers

7. Arizona Rattlers

8. Tampa Bay Storm

In addition, the AFLFanzone Fan Poll for the week has been released. The Fan Poll is made up by a group of fans, one from each AFL team. Check out their rankings:

1. Jacksonville Sharks

2. Spokane Shock

3. Milwaukee Iron

4. Chicago Rush

5. Tulsa Talons

6. Alabama Vipers

7. Arizona Rattlers

8. Orlando Predators

9. Tampa Bay Storm

10. Cleveland Gladiators

In my ranking the Sharks still hold the top spot, which it seems that everyone else has come to terms with finally as well:

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

Talons v. Vigilantes NFL Network game bumped

Today it was announced that the NFL Network would be exercising their Flex Scheduling to switch games on June 11, 2010. The original game was suppose to be the Tulsa Talons at the Dallas Vigilantes; a great matchup from week 2. In it's place the Tampa Bay Storm at Alabama Vipers game will be moved from Saturday to Friday night. This will be Alabama's only scheduled appearance on the NFL Network this season.

While congratulations are in order for the Vipers getting an NFL Network game, the decision sheds doubt on future games, including the only other Talons NFL Network appearance, week 18 at the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. With OKC struggling, the NFL Network may look for a more competitive game to fill that date.

However, it does open up the possibility of the NFL Network Flexing to the Tulsa Talons v. Spokane Shock game in early July. There is a large amount of rivalry between the Shock and Talons. In addition, it would be a matchup of (most likely) two division leaders.

What do you think of the NFL Flexing the Dallas game and future possibilities? Let us know by leaving a comment!

YouTube Tuesday - May 25th, 2010

In honor of the firing of Rich Ingold as Dallas's coach yesterday we have some highlights from the Jackonsville Sharks/Dallas Vigilantes game this past weekend:

Weekend Roundup

Sorry for taking so long, been having internet problems for the last couple of days. Gonna keep it quite short too, partially because this is a hard week to explain:

Orlando Predators 58, Milwaukee Iron 54

Arizona Rattlers 52, Iowa Barnstormers 48

Jacksonville Sharks 46, Cleveland Gladiators 44

Tulsa Talons 67, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 41

Chicago Rush 63, Dallas Vigilantes 56: BREAKING NEWS: Dallas has fired head coach Rich Ingold

Alabama Vipers 56, Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings 19

Spokane Shock 77, Utah Blaze 28

Congratulations to the Talons on taking the league lead in sacks.

Live Coverage: OKC Yard Dawgz v. Tulsa Talons

Headlines - May 22nd, 2010

Last night the Iowa Barnstormers inducted Kurt Warner into their "ring of honor".

Recap for last week's game: "The Tulsa Talons lost four turnovers and allowed Cleveland quarterback John Dutton to throw nine touchdown passes — not the best prescription for success."

The Oklahoman takes a look at this week's instate matchup: "The Talons and the Yard Dawgz are more than just division adversaries and in-state foes. OKC coach Sparky McEwen said the bitter rivalry is no different than the one between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees."

Donovon Morgan assures he's going to work on ball control: "It's a bad habit I've gotten into, holding the ball with one hand, and I see that it's something I'm gonna have to work on in practice," he said. "I promised my teammates that it would never happen again. I'm not a guy who fumbles and turns the ball over, so I let my them down in that aspect."

Jason Dixon of Tampa Bay Storm Radio gives the Talons a C+: "I think Tulsa was one of the teams that I hit the nail on right on the head early on. They are real good at home. Take them out of Tulsa and they struggle. 3-0 at the BOK Center, 0-3 everywhere else. The Talons have been hard luck losers. They lost two straight games on the last play of the game. They will have a chance to beef up their record. They have played just one game within their division and the Southwest is likely the weakest in the AFL. Tulsa needs to shore up its defense. It is giving up more than 63 points per game putting it near the bottom of the league. They should win the division and get to host a playoff game, but to get to the Arena Bowl, they will have to win on the road."

KRMG previews Justin Allgood's chance to set a franchise record: "It could also be a record-setting night for Tulsa's starting quarterback. During the last home game, running back Odie Armstrong set a franchise record with a 37-yard TD run against Alabama. Now it is quarterback Justin Allgood who has a chance to rewrite the team's record book.
Allgood trails all-time franchise leader Craig Strickland by just 262 yards in total passing."

Dallas coach Rich Ingold claims they will win the division: "I'm going to go out on a limb right now and I'm going to tell you -- we're going to go out, we're going to compete and win this division," Ingold said.

The Tulsa World previews tonight's game: "Friendships and rivalries are renewed whenever the Tulsa Talons tangle with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz."

Be sure to mention sickle cell night when buying your Talons tickets tonight: "Tickets are $12 each and $4 of each ticket purchased will go to the sickle cell group."

Talons Central Picks - Week 8

Last Week: 4-3

Overall: 26-17

Milwaukee Iron at Orlando Predators: MILWAUKEE. The Iron had a little bit of a letdown against the Blaze after a big win over Chicago last week. However, that enthusiasm should be over and they should be focused on the Predators this week. The Iron have too much talent to lose this one.

Arizona Rattlers at Iowa Barnstormers: ARIZONA. This is a tough one to call. The Rattlers are an average team while Iowa is coming off a big win over Chicago. Expect Iowa to come out a little flat after such a great showing last week.

Cleveland Gladiators at Jacksonville Sharks: JACKSONVILLE. Cleveland has had a great three weeks to get back to .500. However, Jacksonville is a complete team. With the best past rush in the league and an outstanding offense Jacksonville should get the win at home.

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz at Tulsa Talons: TULSA. The Talons definitely have issues in the defensive secondary. Lucky for them the have one of the best pass rushes in the league. That will be invaluable this week against an OKC team without a strong offensive line and a quarterback that panics. Tulsa should squeeze this one out.

Chicago Rush at Dallas Vigilantes: CHICAGO. After a 2 loss slide by Chicago they get a struggling Vigilantes team. The Vigilantes just can't seem to get things started this season. Backup QB Collin Drafts has been okay, but the team just seems to be lacking chemistry. Chicago should right their ways with a win.

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings at Alabama Vipers: BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT. This could be a tough game for Alabama if they are still without injured Eakins. Last week the Vipers offense struggled without him. On the other hand, last week Bossier's defense turned out to be a surprise. If the Battle Wings offense can get back on track this should be an easy victory.

Utah Blaze at Spokane Shock: SPOKANE. Utah has been continuously improving every week. Combined with Spokane's lack of luck at home, the Blaze could give the Shock a run for their money. However, Spokane still has a lot of talent and should be focused on improving at home. Expect Spokane, in a close one, to pull it out.

Talons Central Power Rankings

The AFL Writers Association has released their Top 8 Poll for the week:

1. Milwaukee Iron

2. Jacksonville Sharks

3. Spokane Shock

4. Chicago Rush

5. Cleveland Gladiators

6. Iowa Barnstormers

7. Tampa Bay Storm

8. Tulsa Talons

In addition, the AFLFanzone Fan Poll for the week has been released. The Fan Poll is made up by a group of fans, one from each AFL team. Check out their rankings:

1. Milwaukee Iron

2. Jacksonville Sharks

3. Spokane Shock

4. Chicago Rush

5. Cleveland Gladiators

6. Tampa Bay Storm

7. Tulsa Talons

8. Alabama Vipers

9. Iowa Barnstormers

10. Arizona Rattlers

In my ranking the Sharks still hold the top spot, while Cleveland moves into the top 5 after a horrible 3-3 start:

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

YouTube Tuesday - May 18th, 2010

Seeing as we play Oklahoma City this week, here are some highlights from their Sunday game against Spokane:

Weekend Roundup

Jacksonville Sharks 70, Dallas Vigilantes 49: Jacksonville continues to develop both offensively and defensively. The defense forced 3 turnovers while the offense kept the ball safe. That is always a recipe for success. For Dallas, they need to really evaluate the team and figure out what is wrong.

Milwaukee Iron 56, Utah Blaze 55: The Iron almost gave this one up. The Blaze have really started to come on and should end the season with a decent amount of wins if they keep this up. The offense looked strong, and barring a bad penalty at the end of the game, they would have won.

Cleveland Gladiators 68, Tulsa Talons 55: What is the opposite of being a road warrior? Because that is what Tulsa is becoming. The biggest difference in this game and others was the turnover ratio. Cleveland won the battle 4-1. With how well the Talons offense has played this season it was only a matter of time when they had a game where they made mistakes. The good part of the game was the play of the Talons Defensive Front who got the first sack on Cleveland this year and forced a fumble in the process.

Iowa Barnstormers 44, Chicago Rush 30: This game wasn't much different than the teams first meeting in week 1. The big difference was Iowa started the right quarterback this time. The Rush continued to make mistakes that Iowa could capitalize on.

Tampa Bay Storm 48, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 44: On a night where the Battle Wings made countless mistakes on offense, their defense kept them in the game. The game was close the entire time. In the end, Tampa got the ball in the last minute and proceeded to score to take the lead and leave Bossier with too little time to work with.

Orlando Predators 48, Alabama Vipers 31: Last week's loss of Vipers QB Kevin Eakin seems to be a hard hurdle for the Vipers to overcome. Against a struggling Predators team backup Stephen Wasil threw two costly interceptions and gave Orlando their chance to win.

Spokane Shock 68, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 63: The game started out rough for Spokane. The Yard Dawgz seemed to be more physical and Tommy Grady making the right plays. This began to turn after the first quarter however. Spokane finally got on track, took back the lead, and never looked back.

Headlines - May 15th, 2010

A well written recap of last week's win over Alabama: "There were also all the strange plays on the field. This definitely wasn't your ordinary arena football game."

John Klein of the Tulsa World writes on why the new AFL will work: "What was wrong was the business of arena football. AFL revenues no longer kept up with the escalating costs of arena football teams. The AFL had a salary cap of $2.2 million per team. That's a lot of tickets, sponsorships and television revenue. In fact, salaries were totally out of whack with the revenue that the teams generated. So, the league went away after the 2008 season."

My YouTube Channel where I will upload videos I take at games.

The Tulsa World takes a look at the AFL's best sack defense: "Tulsa and Jacksonville are tied for the AFL lead in sacks with nine in five games. 'I don't think there's a better front five than what we have here (with linebackers Jamar Ranson and Steve Watson), and I think you're starting to see a little more of it,' said [Adam] Huebner, who played at Bossier-Shreveport last year."

The Florida Times-Union takes a look at fan interference: "Sometimes the fans get into the action as when Tulsa Talons WR Donovan Morgan tries to catch a pass as Sharks defender Micheaux Robinson closes in. Fans get to keep balls that are thrown in the grandstands, which adds a unique element to the fan-player interaction during an arena football game."

I guess the Florida Times-Union are running an AFL Clinic: "At some point in almost every Arena Football League game, you might see an onside kick. Maybe when you least expect it. And chances are, the kicking team already has the lead."

Mark Anderson at Pro Football Weekly takes a look at who's for real in the AFL: "This team lives too much on the edge. So while the Talons should be a factor down the stretch and maybe even make the playoffs, don't count on them going all the way."

Cleveland QB John Dutton had good words to say for the Talons: "They're pretty impressive on film," Dutton said. "Their front is probably the best we've faced all season. They fly around and get after the quarterback. Tulsa's a fast team, in general. They present a lot of challenges."

The Talons website has a new intro video

Preview of Talons Defensive changes this week: "But three more defensive backs were in camp this week as Allner sought answers for a unit allowing 342.8 passing yards per game, last in the AFL."

Talons Central Picks - Week 7

Last Week: 5-2

Overall: 22-14

Dallas Vigilantes at Jacksonville Sharks: JACKSONVILLE. I really don't know what to think of this Dallas team. They have a ton of potential, but seem to just fall apart every week. Meanwhile, Jacksonville, after picking up WR Sale' Key, have been lights out. Strong of Offense and Defense. Unless Dallas lives up to potential, Jacksonville should get another win in the Shark Tank.

Utah Blaze at Milwaukee Iron: MILWAUKEE. Milwaukee, even without Damian Harrell, looked like a championship team last week. They simply took Chicago apart in the second half. This week they have one of the worst teams in the league and it should be an easy walk for them to get another win.

Tulsa Talons at Cleveland Gladiators: TULSA. Yeah I know the Talons are 0-2 on the road. Yeah I know the Gladiators are on a 2-0 streak. But here is the big thing, Tulsa's defense looked real for the first time all season last week. And it wasn't just the Talons top sacking front five. The secondary was causing troubles and should have had at least one INT. The Talons should ride that momentum into Cleveland and get the road win they are hungry for.

Iowa Barnstormers at Chicago Rush: CHICAGO. Chicago has already beat Iowa in Des Moines in the opening week. The only difference is Ryan Vena didn't start that game. If he had, it would have been a closer game. Still, Chicago has been better than Iowa since week 1 and should still pull this one out.

Tampa Bay Storm at Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings: TAMPA BAY. Bossier-Shreveport has one big weakness: DEFENSE. They rely on outscoring you. If you can get one or two stops against them you can win. Tampa's defense is good enough to get those two stops on the Philyaw show.

Orlando Predators at Alabama Vipers: ALABAMA. This pick was tough. Alabama may have issues at QB, but RB Dan Alexander should try to bounce back from his weak game at Tulsa. On the other side, Orlando just picked up a big win against Dallas. However, I don't think they will have the talent to beat Alabama.

Spokane Shock at Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz: SPOKANE. Spokane has had a week to recover after a heartbreaking loss to Cleveland at home. OKC is coming off a big win against the Battle Wings. OKC doesn't have the talent to hold up against Spokane's defense.

Talons Central Power Rankings

The AFL Writers Association has released their Top 8 Poll for the week:

1. Milwaukee Iron

2. Chicago Rush

3. Jacksonville Sharks

4. Spokane Shock

5. Alabama Vipers

6. Tulsa Talons

7. Cleveland Gladiators

8. Arizona Rattlers

In addition, the AFLFanzone Fan Poll for the week has been released. The Fan Poll is made up by a group of fans, one from each AFL team. Check out their rankings:

1. Milwaukee Iron

2. Jacksonville Sharks

3. Chicago Rush

4. Tulsa Talons

5. Spokane Shock

6. Alabama Vipers

7. Arizona Rattlers

8. Cleveland Gladiators

9. Tampa Bay Storm

10. Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz

This week saw a new #1 as Chicago fell to Milwaukee. While my pick, Jacksonville, may seem like the odd choice for the new top dog, they appear to be the most complete team in the league. Here are my picks:

1. Jacksonville Sharks

2. Milwaukee Iron

3. Chicago Rush

4. Tulsa Talons

5. Spokane Shock

6. Tampa Bay Storm

7. Alabama Vipers

8. Cleveland Gladiators

9. Arizona Rattlers

10. OKC Yard Dawgz

11. Dallas Vigilantes

12. Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings

13. Orlando Predators

14. Iowa Barnstormers

15. Utah Blaze

YouTube Tuesday - May 11th, 2010

This week's video is an assortment of highlights from this past saturday's games:

Weekend Roundup - Week 6

Jacksonville Sharks 46, Tampa Bay Storm 43: This was a great game for the NFL Network. Both teams had strong showings from their defenses. Jacksonville simply came up with the win at end of this hard fought battle.

Orlando Predators 70, Dallas Vigilantes 59: What is it with this Dallas team? Once again Dallas had the lead going into the fourth quarter and let it slip away due to turnovers. What makes it hurt even more? It was against one of the worst teams in the league.

Milwaukee Iron 71, Chicago Rush 48: Chicago called back into question the quality of their 4-0 start. After going into halftime tied at 27, Chicago fell apart in the 3rd Quarter to let this one slip away. On the other side of the ball, Chris Greisen continues to be perfect with 0 INTs in 5 games.

Spokane Shock 63, Arizona Rattlers 56: Much like their game with Tulsa two weeks ago, Arizona was caught in another offensive shootout. However, unlike two weeks ago Arizona came out on the wrong end at the end of the game. Spokane scored on the last drive of the game to take the lead and the win.

Tulsa Talons 62, Alabama Vipers 56: After an early 0-14 deficit and some bad calls the Talons started to pull themselves back out of the hole they dug for themselves. In the second half the defensive line really started to wear down the the Alabama offense leading to multiple sacks, one of which was for a safety to give Tulsa their first lead of the game. After that the Talons started to pull away, even though they almost gave it away on a bad on-side kick decision.

Cleveland Gladiators 70, Iowa 56: The Gladiators are starting to put it together. John Dutton threw for 5 TD and 0 INTs. Iowa played a good game but just came up short against a rolling Gladiators team. Cleveland will get a real test this week with a road-win hungry Tulsa team.

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 88, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 79: OKC picked up their second win of the year on one of the most exciting last minutes of the season. After cutting the lead to 3 and holding Bossier to a field goal attempt, OKC returned the ensuing missed field goal to the house to win the game.

Special Congratulations:

Donovan Morgan: took the sole league lead for TD receptions this week. (19)

The Talons Defense: now tie the Jacksonville Sharks for team sacks. (9)

Jeff Hughley: leads the lead in kick return yardage. (500)

Live Coverage - Talons v. Vipers - May 8th, 2010

Headlines - May 8th, 2010

I know we are ready to forget, but a recap of Saturday: "The Tulsa Talons are turning into the Heartbreak Kids of the Arena Football League."

Finally an explanation on why time was put back on the clock: "Were the officials correct in adding time in the waning seconds of the Talons' loss at Jacksonville last Saturday? It's an option in the arena game to prevent defensive teams from killing the clock with repeated fouls. Talons head coach Mitch Allner said he requested time after a Jacksonville penalty put his team at the Sharks' 4 with 6.4 seconds left."

Adam Markowitz at Arena Fan gives the Talons an Award: "It's amazing to believe that a team can really lose back to back games with no time whatsoever left on the clock, but the Talons figured out how to pull the stunt off."

A great article on Terrance Carter: "In his fourth season, he's the franchise career leader in sacks (26.5), tackles for loss (34), forced fumbles (11) and quarterback hurries (48). But few know it."

A look at tonight's game and Alabama's rushing attack: "Alexander represents the top running threat in the revived AFL. He leads the league in rushing yards (108) and rushing touchdowns (15). With four years in the old AFL, he's the sixth-leading rusher in league history with 1,050 yards and 81 TDs."

Talons Central Picks - Week 6

Last Week: 3-4
Overall: 17-12

Jacksonville Sharks at Tampa Bay Storm: TAMPA BAY. These are two outstanding teams in Florida. The arena should be packed since Jacksonville is bringing a large crowd to Tampa's already packed arena. I feel Jacksonville is the better team, but Tampa playing at home should be hard to beat. It will be an amazing game for sure!

Chicago Rush at Milwaukee Iron: MILWAUKEE. Milwaukee is coming off a tough loss to Alabama and should have the drive to win this game. Chicago is a great team, but no Chicago team has started 5-0. It should be a close one, with a lot of Rush fans, but I think Milwaukee will pull it out.

Orlando Predators at Dallas Vigilantes: DALLAS. This is a battle of two teams struggling to start the season. The difference between them, however, is that Dallas has started to put it together and has a lot more talent. On the other side, Orlando is the worst team in the league. Dallas should get back to .500 after this game.

Spokane Shock at Arizona Rattlers: SPOKANE. The battle for the west. Both of these teams have been good in the beginning of the season. Both of them are coming off very tough losses. One of them will definitely leave this match with another tough loss. This was a tough one to call but I'm gonna have to go with Spokane in a very close game.

Alabama Vipers at Tulsa Talons: TULSA. Alabama is coming off probably their biggest win in franchise history. The problem is they are running into a Talons team that is hungry for a win after a pair of heartbreaking last second losses. On top of that, the Talons have been undefeated in the BOK Center. This will be another close game for the Talons but they should be able to pull it out.

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings at Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz: OKLAHOMA CITY. Oklahoma City has shown hints of glory all season. Primarily on Defense. The Offense has struggled, but this week faces one of the defensively weak teams in the league. The Battle Wings will put up a lot of points, but they will give up a lot as well. When it comes down to it, Oklahoma City is more likely to get stops in this matchup.

Cleveland Gladiators at Iowa Barnstormers: CLEVELAND. Have the Gladiators finally put it all together? Their win against Spokane was impressive and hopefully they continue to roll. Iowa has done well to start the season, all things considered; however, they have made a lot of mistakes that should cost them this game.

Talons Central Power Rankings - May 5th, 2010

The AFL Writers Association has released their Top 8 Poll for the week:

1. Chicago Rush

2. Vipers

3. Milwaukee Iron

4. Jacksonville Sharks

5. Tulsa Talons

6. Spokane Shock

7. Arizona Rattlers

8. Tampa Bay Storm

In addition, the AFLFanzone Fan Poll for the week has been released. The Fan Poll is made up by a group of fans, one from each AFL team. Check out their rankings:

1. Chicago Rush

2. Alabama Vipers

3. Milwaukee Iron

4. Jacksonville Sharks

5. Tulsa Talons

6. Arizona Rattlers

7. Spokane Shock

8. Tampa Bay Storm

9. Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings

10. Iowa Barnstormers

A real shakeup this week as everyone at the top of the list fell if they played:

YouTube Tuesday - May 4, 2010

This week we have a funny highlight from the NFL Network Game of the Week between Iowa Barnstormers and Orlando Predators this past Friday:

Weekend Roundup - Week 5

Ok so gotta apologize again. Finals week has full control of me and didn't get a chance to do this week's roundup.

Here is the official recap from the AFL

Special Congratulations to Donovan Morgan who now is tied for the most receiving TDs this season.

Talons at Jacksonville - Quick Reaction

At the half: Talons 26 Jacksonville 28

The loss of secondary starters is apparent. We have given up some easy TDs but are still are still in it. The front line are starting to get some pressure and left Garcia hobbling at the end of the half.

Even more poor is our kicking game. Continuing from mosses last week we have missed another 2 pats.

The offense has been strugling. Gave up our first sack of the season on the first play from scrimage. On multiple occasions we have been saved by penalties.

The Talons need to improve on both sides of the ball if we want to continue to compete.

Post Game Update: Well that just happened... again. To be fair I will admit that Jacksonville looked like the better team the whole night. However, we hung in there. We did a great job at causing some turnovers, but we never took advantage of them. Simply turned it back over.

We didn't make the mistake of scoring too quick at the end this week. However, it was still enough time for Jacksonville to make a good kick return and a couple of passes and score.

The only thing is, how was the last play in regulation pass interference? Seriously, go watch it on NiftyTV... We didn't do anything to deserve that call. However, once again we have an untimed play where we make a defensive mistake to loose the game. Well played hard loss. After the Thunder game and now this I'm just gonna try to forget this weekend.

Headlines - May 1, 2010

In what I'm hoping will be a new weekly feature, "Headlines" will bring you some of the news and blog headlines from around the league for the Tulsa Talons.

Mike Brown with the Tulsa World looks at Jacksonville's Aaron Garcia return: "About all Garcia hasn't accomplished is winning a title. He hopes to do that before hanging up his shoes."

John Klein with the Tulsa World looks at how Tulsa made the transition to the AFL: "We knew we would be facing a new level of players in this league," Allner said. "But, we also knew there are a lot of quality football players out there. Over the years, we've seen so many great players that are available out there, through NFL cuts, other arena team camps and tryouts. There are guys all over the place that can play at this level. The key is to find them and get them in here."

Mike Brown at the Tulsa World in an article about Tulsa's defensive losses: "The Talons will play without at least two starting defensive backs at Jacksonville on Saturday night."

Gery Ledman with the Florida Times-Union with a story about facing the Talons Offense: "That defense might face its toughest test of the young season tonight against an offense averaging nearly 70 points with a nucleus of players from its days in af2, the AFL's dormant feeder league, a veteran quarterback (Justin Allgood) and three favorite receivers (Donovan Morgan, Carlese Franklin and Jeff Hughley)."