Talons out officiated, lose to Dallas 55-48

Well that was just about the worst officiated game I have ever seen. Yet, the Talons were still in it at the end.

The officials allowed Dallas to have their way with Talons receivers all night and allowed multiple late hits on Allgood. As such, the Talons offense was out of rhythm most of the game. Allgood went just 25-52 but threw 5 TDs and no interceptions. Troy McBroom was held beneath 100 yards for the first time, in like, forever.

However, down 21 at one point, the defense held their ground. Forcing a couple of turnover on downs and J.C. Neal added another 12 yards to his INT return yardage. Down 48-55, with less than half a minute left, the Talons defense was able to force a fumble and give the Talons offense one last chance to tie the game up. Will 11 seconds left Allgood threw to Trent Shelton at about the 10 yard line. Trent was jarred before the ball got there, and appeared to be facemasked. But there was no laundry on the field. The Talons took one more shot at the endzone that was batted away from Troy McBroom. At the end of it the Talons lost.

Both Utah and Spokane won this week, leaving the Talons one game out of the playoffs. The Talons also slid 3 games behind Dallas. Next week the Talons travel to Iowa.

Talons douse Blaze 81-51, Tied for 4th Playoff Seed

Well that felt good. The Talons, much like the Chicago game at home a few weeks ago, dominated for pretty much the entire game. Fueled by outstanding defensive play, the Talons took three turnovers to the house and helped the Offense, which played pretty flawlessly, maintain control of an 81-51 win to get into a four way tie for the fourth playoff spot in the National Conference.

The game started off shaky as Blaze WR Chris Bocage took the opening kickoff back for a TD after Kicker Juan Bongarra barely missed nocking him out of bounds. However, the Talons answered with a methodical drive to answer with a TD of their own. The Blaze and Talons then traded scores again until Defensive Back J.C. Neal picked off Utah QB Tommy Grady and returned it 52 yards for TD, which may be a Talons record for longest INT return (we are still checking on that), to give the Talons their first lead of the game.

At halftime the Talons lead 41-33 and would not lose that lead for the remainder of the game. The Third quarter was highlighted by a great forced fumble sack on Grady by Defensive End Victor Degrate that popped the ball up to a waiting Jack LB Jamar Ransom who scoped and scored. The Talons got to their final total 81 points off another J.C. Neal pick six, this time for 43 yards (giving him 95 yards off INTs).

J.C. Neal's two INT touchdowns leads the league for a single game high (along with his 95 yards). As one Talons player put it after the game, "if he doesn't get Defensive Player of the Week something is wrong." I can't disagree with that, he may even be a MVP of the week candidate. The Talons 81 points are also a league high for single game scoring.

The win brings the Talons into a four way tie for the fourth National Conference playoff spot along with San Jose, Utah, and Spokane. The Talons also remain 2 games behind the Dallas Vigilantes with six games to go (one of which against Dallas in two weeks) for the three seed.

The Talons travel to Philadelphia next Friday to take on the Soul at 6:05 PM. The game should be especially important to several Talons players. I'm sure Jamar Ransom wants a shot at former Talons WR Donovan Morgan and Justin Allgood will want to show the team that traded him away what they are missing.

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.

Talons get de-winged, Lose to Arizona 69-20

The term "clipped" isn't strong enough for this game. Bobby Reid could not the offense started all game, ending with 4 INTs and only 29 yards rushing. The Talons could not get on the board until the end of the third quarter, well after the game was out of hand at 49-6. But not much more could have been expected with a Talons team that is near the bottom of the league and inexperienced faced one of the best teams in the league.

Arizona QB Nick Davila ended the game 15 for 22, 158 yards, and four touchdowns. Former Talon, Odie Armstrong had 2 touchdowns and 10 yards on the ground.

Through the muck, there were some flashes of hope. Defensive back, and veteran, Fred Shaw was physical all night; with 3 tackles and a highlight reel of hard hits. Linebacker Jamar Ransom came in on offense to score a rushing touchdown followed by another rush for a two-point conversion. Finally, QB Matt Bassuener came in to replace Reid in the fourth quarter and looked impressive, despite some failures on the offensive line.

The Talons travel to Pittsburgh Saturday to take on former Talon Terrance Carter and the Pittsburgh Power.

Offensive Miscues trip Talons, fall to Dallas 64-40

While competitive through the half, the Talons fall apart offensively in the second half to the Dallas Vigilantes. The Vigilantes had jumped up 14 on the Talons quickly as the the Talons turned the ball over on downs on their opening drive. This began the hole that the Talons nearly crawled out of.

After taking a 21-6 lead the Vigilantes attempted an onside kick to catch the Talons off guard. Fred Shaw recognized this quickly grabbing the kick and running it in to bring the Talons within 8. This started a momentum swing to Tulsa. On the ensuing drive, the Talon DB Jeremy Gray picked off Dallas QB Dan Raudabaugh. Bobby Reid then found Brian Copeland diving in the endzone for touchdown. A great run by Jamar Ransom would give the Talons the two point conversion and tie the game at 21. The teams would trade touchdowns until the half, leaving the Talons behind 35-33.

Coming out after halftime the Talons offense looked lost. On the first two drives the Talons turned the ball over on downs. The Talons only break came on a missed field goal attempt by the Vigilantes, which even then left WR Trent Shelton injured for most of the game. The Talons would bring the game within two at 42-40 after an outstanding rushing TD by Bobby Reid before the Vigilantes just pulled away to win 64-40.

The one thing that can be said about this game is that the offensive line needs work. The line committed several false start penalties and gave up several sacks, including a safety. Without time to throw, Reid looked panicked and shaken. However, in addition to line problems, the offense seemed to lack diversity. Everything was underneath throws or runs by Bobby Reid. Mitch Allner rarely let the team air it out and stretch the field.

The defense looked, at times, improved from last week. The DBs closed quickly on receivers and the front men put decent pressure on Raudabaugh. However, the defense still allowed Dallas to air the ball out by being slightly behind the receiver and out of position.

The Talons have a real test next week as the Arizona Rattlers come to town. The game kicks off on Monday, March 28th at 6:00 PM CST at the BOK Center.

Despite some late game heroics, new-look Talons fall short to Georgia, 53-47

At the end of last season Mitch Allner had one thing on mind. Improved size and talent. While last season's team was definitely talented, they lacked the size defensively to truly compete against improved opponents. Allner went on to sign a team with only three individuals with previous arena football experience. However, the team had loads of size and talented individuals. It was known the Talons would experience troubles in their first few games as players began to adjust. That is what we saw today.

From the opening kickoff, QB Brett Elliot had all kinds of time to work with. Elliot was able to be patient and wait for his receivers to get open, then pick apart the Talons secondary. After a seven minute drive to start the game, and a valiant goal line stand by the Talons, Georgia went ahead 7-0.

The Talons offense came out rather strong to start the game. Rookie QB Bobby Reid was sharp most of the day. On the Talons first drive Reid went 2-3 before Reid scrambled for one of his multiple rushing touchdowns of the day. Kicker Juan Bongarra failed his first arena football extra point to leave the Talons behind 7-6.

After a quick score by Georgia, Tulsa began to drive again with some great underneath passes. However, before the Talons could complete the drive, Reid broke a long scramble down to the 14 before being stripped with Georgia recovering. Georgia was then able to capitalize on busted coverage to extend their lead to 20-6, which they never lost.

The nail in the coffin was the start of the second half. After back-to-back sacks by the Talons defense to keep Georgia scoring for the half, the Talons offense makes mental mistakes to back the team up and then Bongarra's field goal attempt was blocked. Georgia took a shot and caught the Talons secondary off guard, increasing their lead to 33-17.

All day the Talons secondary was unable to maintain coverage and Elliot made them pay every time. This was compounded by the Defensive line's inability to get to the quarterback. For the Talons to be competitive, they will need to improve in both areas as the season continues.

Simply put, Reid was fantastic for the most part. His ability to pull the ball down and run is something that no team in the league could do last year (at least to the ability Reid brings). Combined with his feet, Reid's arm was sharp. He was making the right decisions and throwing the ball away when he needed too. The only problem was that it seemed that Reid had a receiver picked out when he left the huddle. Better defenses will be able to read that and make him pay.

However, if the team can grow and adjust to the indoor game, their talent should make them a strong team. At this point though, things may be rough for awhile. Next week the Talons travel to Dallas to take on the Vigilantes at noon CST on Saturday March 19.

Talons/Storm Recap

Yesterday the Tulsa Talons opened the 2010 season of the Arena Football League with a home game against the Tampa Bay Storm. The Storm has been one of the most historic teams of the Arena Football League; while Tulsa has been one of the winningest teams of the af2.

I started the day by going to the official tailgate party on 3rd Street before the game. There were several vehicles grilling out. Some people were throwing around footballs and playing other games. Also, Z104.5 was there giving away Bon Jovi tickets. However, I didn't win any.

At around 5:30PM me and my friends went to get in line to enter the BOK center. There was a ton of fans piled up in line to enter.

After all the pregame warmups, entrances, and the coin flip the game was ready to begin! The Storm won the toss and deferred until the 2nd half. Thus, the Talons received the first kickoff. The Talons first drive started off great with a 1st Down completion to Donovan Morgan. The Talons would continue to drive and culminate with a touchdown pass to Carlese Franklin.

The Storm, however, would answer. With a 3 play drive to tie the game. The two teams continued to answer each other until the end of the half when, due to time restraints, the Storm had to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 5. The Talons went to the locker room leading 35-30 and set to kickoff to the Storm.

The Storm failed to continue scoring at the beginning of the 2nd half. The Talons forced the Storm to 4 plays and out, giving them the ball on the Storm's 11 yard line. The Talons would go on to score. The teams continued to answer each other in the 2nd half until turnovers by Tampa allowed Tulsa to build a decent double-digit lead. The Storm then could not catch back up to Tulsa before the clock ran down. Tulsa won 69-58.

The Talons played a near flawless game offensively. They never let Tampa Lead during the entire game. Justin Allgood didn't throw a single interception. Tulsa's only flaws seemed to be defensive penalties and stopping Tampa's Tyrone Timmons; who had 5 touchdowns.

Justin Allgood went 26 of 36 for 274 yards and 8 TDs. His most efficient target was Donovan Morgan who finished with 120 yards and 4 TDs. The defensive effort was lead by Andre Burns who had a league high 5 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Next saturday the Talons take on the Dallas Vigilantes at 7:00 at the BOK Center.

Rush at Barnsormers - NFL Network Game of the Week Recap

Ok, let me be the first to say it: "Chicago, I'm sorry." I underestimated some of your talent. Michna can still play and DeJuan Alfonso looks like a defensive all star.

The Barnstormers opened the game looking outstanding on defense. On the Rush's first possession Russ Michna could not get anything started and went to the ground more than once. However, once the Rush handed the ball over the Barnstormers it was a different game. Brian Villenueva opened his season by throwing a pick six to DeJuan Alfonso. From there he didn't get much better. He looked shaky the entire first quarter. After 3 turnovers in the first quarter, Chicago was up 17-0 and never really lost that lead for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter the Barnstormers pulled Villenueva for Ryan Vena. Vena looked a lot better than Villenueva, but could never bring the Barnstormers back from the whole they had dug for themselves. Chicago ended up winning 61-43, proving them better than the ninth place ranking I gave them.

However, the Rush didn't look perfect. There were plenty of miscues and failed snaps. They definitely didn't look like the best team in the nation. But they looked like could be a great playoff team.

In other AFL news, the Milwaukee Iron defeated the Spokane Shock 74-62. This brings my picks for the week to 1-1 leading into tonights games. Playing tonight are Alabama at Bossier-Shreveport, Arizona at Cleveland, Tampa Bay at Tulsa, and Jacksonville at Oklahoma City. I will be offering live coverage via twitter that will simultaneously post on the blog as well. However, if you are in the Tulsa area I encourage you to come out. There is nothing like an arena football game in person!