Playoffs? You're talking about Playoffs?

Well actually I am. A lot of people have made comments about how much of a disappointment this season has been. Starting out 0-3. Losing on last second plays on back to back weeks. Countless injuries. Losing veteran players.

However, will all that a side. The Talons are just one game out of the playoffs with 7 more games to play. Even more, the game against Utah this week is much more important than we realize. Utah currently is the four seed in the conference. With a win on Saturday Tulsa would be in a three way tie with Utah and San Jose for the four seed. That's pretty exciting!

Also, the Talons are playing good ball right now. We are the only team on the outside looking that is in the top five in scoring defense (we are third). The Offense has been getting better and if Allgood can click with Copeland and McBroom we could be more dangerous that last season's league leading team.

All this combined with a pretty easy remaining schedule (at least according to arenafootball.com) the Talons are poised to make a strong run into the playoffs and face either Chicago or Arizona. I plan to make either trip if we get there!

So get excited Talons nation because the season really is just starting! Bring all your friends out to the BOK center at 7pm on Saturday and lets help push this team in a victory over the Blaze!

Behind injuries, Talons fall to Gladiators 34-30

Well what can you say (except for a few expletives)?

The Talons opened up the game perfectly. The defense was playing tough, making Cleveland work for everything they got and eventually came up with a safety in the first half. The offense scored on their first 3 possessions and the team took a 23-21 lead into halftime with the ball to start the second half.

Then the game changed. But not because both teams weren't playing well. To start the downward spiral, Cleveland's QB Kurt Rocco went down and didn't return. Shortly thereafter Talons WR Al Hunt injured his ankle on a kickoff. Then to start the fourth quarter, star Talons WR Troy McBroom took a big shot and left the game with what appeared to be a concussion.

The Talons defense closed the game well, holding the Gladiators to only 13 second half points (usually a winning performance). However, the Talons offense sputtered without its two big receivers only putting up 7 points (0 after McBroom left the game).

In the end, the Talons were left with one last shot at the endzone which fell off the nets incomplete. However, it appeared that Cleveland had jumped two yards offsides before the snap with no call. It was finished, the Talons lost.

Matt Bassuener finished the game 23 for 40 and 246 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Both Brandon Copeland and Troy McBroom ended the game with 101 yards each. DE Collin Bryant had a forced fumble that ended up in a Cleveland safety.

Next week the Talons return home to the BOK Center to face off against the Chicago Rush. However, I think everyone can agree that if feels like the Talons need a bye week to recover.

Headlines - April 16th, 2011

Arena Pigskin has Tulsa at 15: "Tulsa at 1-3 – averaging 38 pts a game in the home town of league headquarters. Not good."

Coach Allner on Matt Bassuener: "I knew going into the game that he was a very athletic quarterback and we tried to incorporate that into the game plan as much as we could. I was very pleased with the production of both our quarterbacks in last weekend’s game and hope to see improvement in both as the season goes on."

Brandon Copeland's Arena Career: "At the end of the 2008 AFL season, I was on the Philadelphia Soul’s practice squad. After the league ceased operations for the 2009 season, I spent time with the Peoria Pirates and Tri-Cities FeVeR of the af2. I also spent all of last year with the FeVeR."

Football Gameplan's preview for tonight's game.

The QB Situation for Tonight's Game: "Allner said quarterback Matt Bassuener would start Saturday's game, based on his winning performance in his first AFL start against Pittsburgh. But Allner said he would continue to evaluate both quarterbacks and was pleased with how Bobby Reid handled his backup role against the expansion Power."

The AFL apparently will now also reveal the Coach's Poll in Highlight Form too.

A look at the game from the SaberCats prospective: "The matchup features one of the AFL’s best passing attacks against one of the league’s best rushing offenses. QB Mark Grieb sits atop the league rankings in passing yards (1,511) and passing touchdowns (28) while ranking second in completion percentage (70.5) and fourth in passer rating (122.1). Tulsa QB Bobby Reid currently leads the Talons in passing (509) and rushing (211) yards with the Tulsa defense only allowing 278.0 yards per game, good for a tie of fifth in the league."

Matt Bassuerner on the effect of the Arizona loss: "Quarterback Matt Bassuener said the Talons have to win back the fans' respect, and Saturday's home game with the San Jose SaberCats would be a good place to start."