The af2 effect and why it needs to return

Throughout the season longterm AFL fan/media site ArenaFan has complained about the talent level in the AFL. This culminated in Adam Markowitz's ArenaBowl preview where he said:

After all, it's pretty clear that both of these teams would have been smoked by basically any other ArenaBowl team from the 2000s before the league went on hiatus in 2009. The talent level just isn't there anymore for various reasons.

The bulk of the argument has been that the pay grade in the league no longer attracts top talent. But I see a different answer.

One major thing that the league had in the past decade, when the league saw the talent level raise, was the af2. The af2 served as a developmental league for arena football. No longer did teams have to train rookies on the fly throughout the season. The af2, centered in mid-market cities that would probably never house an AFL franchise, took mostly regional players and taught them the game.

In fact the last Rookie of the Year before the demise of the old AFL was former af2 Tulsa Talon Donovan Morgan. That same year, ArenaBowl champion Jeff Hughley almost made the leap to the AFL as a part of the Colorado Crush. And these were not the only players to do so. They were able to jump right into the AFL without much of a learning curve.

It was just this past week when I realized how important this development in the af2 was. I was reminiscing about the Talons' season and how great it would have been if the team that ended the season started the season. But it wasn't the actual players I was referring to; it was the experience the players had gained.

At the start of the season the Talons' defensive backfield, which had two rookie players, was horrible. The team gave up touchdowns on a multitude of busted coverages. These guys just did not understand the game. But what happened about five games into the season? It finally clicked. The biggest example was J.C. Neal's record setting game against the Blaze where J.C. demolished the AFL record for INT return yards in a single game.

In the old AFL this would not have happened. Players like J.C. would spend a season (or less) in the af2 before moving on to the AFL. But now, you have a decent amount of teams carrying a number of these rookie players who still have to learn the game. As a result, the first half of the season is going to be a little ugly until the players finally "get it".

As such, I don't think simply increasing pay will improve the talent of the AFL. What the league needs is experience. The only place that will come from is playing time. Accordingly, that will either come in the form of a developmental league, or at the cost of games early in the season.

YouTube Tuesday - August 16, 2011

So that happened. The Jacksonville Sharks won the ArenaBowl on a last second TD that rocked the top spot on Sportcenter's Top 10 all week. Check out the play below, and congratulations to former Talons star Jeff Hughley on his championship ring!

ArenaBowl XXIV Features Matchup of Former Talons Stars

Two former Talons stars make big noise elsewhere in the league this year. Odie Armstrong showed the league he more than a blocker for Justin Allgood. Jeff Hughley made a name for himself on a team that was already stacked with WRs. Now each of them are Conference Champions about to face off in the ArenaBowl. In light of this, I wanted to do a little comparison as we prepare for the game here in an hour.

Odie Armstrong

In 2010 Odie rushed for 349 yards on 74 carries for 13 touchdowns. This year with the Rattlers his yards dipped to 295 on 77 carries, but his touchdowns rose to 17.

Jeff Hughley

In 2010 Jeff had 1258 yards on 113 receptions for 28 touchdowns. In addition, Jeff had 91 returns for 1642 yards and two touchdowns. With Jacksonville this year he had 1171 yards on only 89 receptions for 22 touchdowns. On kick returns he had 1447 yards on 69 returns and one touchdown.

Overall, Hughley made the better improvement. However, Odie seems to be on the better team as the Rattlers are heavily favored tonight. It will the first time Hughley and Armstrong have faced off against each other, as Hughley was injured in week one when the teams played.

Kickoff on NFL Network at 7:30 tonight.

Morgan to Soul, Hughley to Sharks

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the Philadelphia Soul should be announcing early next week the signing of Donovan Morgan.

See the whole story here: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20100925_Source__Talented_WR_will_be_Soul_s_first_player.html#ixzz10Y0jTWAj

In other Talons news, Jeff Hughley announced via facebook that he is heading to Jacksonville to join the sharks. This will leave the Talons with no remaining starting receivers for next season.

Hughley named to All-Ironman Team

Today Jeff Hughley was named to the 2010 AFL All-Ironman Team:

WR/KR Jeff Hughley, Tulsa Talons

Finished the season with 113 receptions for 1,258 yards and 28 touchdowns…Had the second most All Purpose yards in the league (2,808), third most Kick Return yards (1,551) and fourth most All Purpose yards per game (175.5)

The one bright spot from the playoff loss...

Jeff Hughley did a ridiculous job at kick returns and kept his consecutive games with a TD streak alive (though most stats groups don't count playoff games anyways). This was enough to earn him the Nifty Playmaker of the Week Award this week:

"Hughley (5-8, 175, Averette) is awarded his second honor this season, previously receiving Ironman for Week 16. Hughley kept any hope alive for Tulsa in the loss against Tampa Bay, leading the team in kickoff returns and helping offensively. Hughley returned six kickoff returns for 111 yards, plus caught six receptions for 58 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Hughley had one tackle."

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)

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.