Talons at Soul - Pregame Primer

vs.

Tulsa Talons (5-7, 2-4 road) vs. Philadelphia Soul (5-8, 3-2 home)

TV: N/A
Stream: Click here
Radio: KRMG 740 (740 AM)
Time: 6:05 CT

Passing Yards per Game: Talons – 225.8 (16th), Soul – 228.0 (10th)
Rushing Yards per Game: Talons – 50.3 (1st), Soul – 14.9 (14th)
Total Yards Allowed per Game: Talons – 278.1 (7th), Soul – 268.0 (2nd)

View from the enemy: N/A

Tulsa is coming off a huge blowout win over the Utah Blaze behind QB Justin Allgood and a strong defensive peformance.

Philadelphia coming in: The Soul played last Friday in a big loss to the Spokane Shock on the NFL Network.

THE MATCHUP

QB Justin Allgood will be looking for revenge against the team that benched and then traded him earlier in the season. Having knowledge of the Soul defense should help Allgood with his reads this week. The most interesting dual of the game will be between Soul WR, and former Talon, Donovan Morgan and new Talons WR Troy McBroom. McBroom, if he had been with the Talons all season, would be 3rd in the league in receiving yards. Morgan is 1st in the league with 124 yards per game. (McBroom has a little over 119 yards per game)

On Defense, the Talons will face a QB who hasn't played organized football in 3 years in Brandon Kirsch. Hopefully the Talons defensive line, lead by Victor DeGrate, can get pressure and force some mistakes. Fred Shaw and league MVP J.C. Neal will have their hands full this week with a slew of strong Soul receivers lead by Donovan Morgan.

Kickoff at 6:05 CT.

Headlines - June 17, 2011

Tulsa World's recap of the Utah Blowout: "Rookie defensive back J.C. Neal returned two interceptions for scores and scored on an onside kick as the Talons blitzed the Utah Blaze 81-51 before an estimated 5,000 spectators. Veteran linebacker Jamar Ransom scored with a fumble and Victor DeGrate made two game-changing plays as the Talons (5-7) broke a two-game losing streak and put themselves back into the running for a National Conference playoff berth."

Talons QB Matt Bassuener gets a Special Honor: "Tulsa Talons quarterback Matt Bassuener is one of 39 players selected for the U.S. Men's National Football Team that will compete in the International Federation of American Football Senior World Championships next month in Austria."

Talons finally faceoff against Donovan MorganCoach Mitch Allner will see a familiar face Friday as his team lines up against one of his former players, Donovan Morgan. He played for the Talons last season and was the leading receiver with 1,707 receiving yards. This year, he is second in the AFL with 1,614 yards. "Donovan is a very good ballplayer," Allner said. "I definitely know what he can do."

The Blaze Blowout has the league watching: "I was expecting offense in the Utah-Tulsa match up, but the wrong one showed up. It was an 81-point night for the Talons. Justin Allgood looked to regain his magic in Tulsa, with six touchdowns and no interceptions. It always helps to get a couple of scores from the defense. That was only the third time all year the Talons put up over 50 points. Last year with Allgood at the helm, the Talons scored at least 74 points three times, and were held under 50 points only once in the regular season."

The Soul will be braking in a new QB tonight

Two Talons received honors this week: "Hunt (5-11, 205, Northwestern Oklahoma State) hauled in a 7-yard, touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Allgood in the second quarter with 55 seconds left on the clock. Hunt fell in the endzone and still managed to catch the ball as it bounced off the wall. The touchdown gave Tulsa a 34-33 lead."

JC Neal named Week 14 National Guard MVP: "In a race that was tied up with less than two hours remaining of voting, Neal defeated Meyer by six votes on Facebook.com. Neal had an explosive evening in the 81-51 win over Utah on Saturday. Neal hauled in two interceptions for touchdowns, totaling 95 return yards. He also returned an onside kick for a touchdown. Neal ended with the night with six tackles, placing him eighth in the League in total tackles (70.0)."

A look at the new Soul QB for tonight: In 2008 with Colorado, Kirsch tore his right anterior cruciate ligament while playing linebacker. He was the backup quarterback, and the team needed some help on defense. "Since then I haven't played organized football other than, say, flag football tournaments the past three years," Kirsch said. During his career at Purdue from 2002 to 2005, Kirsch completed 292 of 489 passes for 3,532 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also rushed for 757 career yards and five touchdowns and started at least one game in each of his four years.

YouTube Tuesday - June 14, 2011

This week the Talons travel to Philadelphia to take on the Soul and former Talons WR Donovan Morgan. Here's a look at a Q&A with Donovan from training camp with the Soul:

Allgood to return to the Talons?

One Philadelphia outlet is reporting it:

The Soul pulled the plug on quarterback Justin Allgood yesterday, sending him back to the Tulsa Talons in a three-team deal that netted Philadelphia an offensive lineman and future considerations.

I don't really know what to think. Allgood put up impressive numbers last season with the Talons. But this is Matt Bassuener's team now. As much as we loved Justin, he was inconsistent. He will lack the chemistry Bassuener has created with Troy McBroom and Brandon Copeland. So easily stated, I can't see Allgood starting.

However, it does give the Talons a better backup. We saw how Bobby Reid did at the end of the Chicago game. He could not get the ball off. Took a safety. Not something to inspire confidence in a backup. With Allgood the Talons will have a quality backup.

All in all, it could be good news for Allgood who has been benched in Philadelphia. Now he can return home to his child and girlfriend in Tulsa.

Allgood to Soul looking likely

Today the Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the Philadelphia Soul are close to signing former Talons QB Justin Allgood. This follows a week of speculation and rumors after a facebook post by former Talons WR Donovan Morgan implying that Allgood could be following him to the Soul. Several former Talons have also commented that the Allgood to Philly rumor is true.

Last season Allgood lead the AFL with 109 TD passes. A large portion of those were to Donovan Morgan. The Soul offense is sure to look a lot like Tulsa's from last year.

In other news, the Talons inked two more players yesterday:

WR Reynaldi Audate 6’2 210 5/3/86 Merrimack
DB Abdal Morris 6’0 180 1/7/88 Western Kentucky

EDIT 4:34 P.M. CST: It's official, Allgood to Philly. The Philadelphia Soul just released a press release announcing the signing of Justin Allgood.

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.

More Free Agency News

So after my post last night, Coach Ho (Philadelphia Soul, formally of the Chicago Rush) commented on Donovan Morgan's status with "Soul Blue. . ." This may indicate that is where Morgan is heading for next season.

Also last night, Terrance Carter posted on facebook that next year he will have a "new attitude, new city" so it looks like he may be leaving Tulsa as well. This is surprising as he has spent so many years with the Talons.

If I hear anything else I will post it here. But according to a source, many more may be leaving the Talons.

What will the AFL look like next year?

Well the ArenaBowl is over, and congratulations to the Spokane Shock; even if I did pick against you. Now comes the offseason, a horrible 7-8 month wait till the next kickoff. At least in the mean time I have NFL, NCAA, and NBA to keep my busy. But also, we have AFL speculation to keep us busy as well. As of this morning there are a lot of rumors for shakeups for AFL franchises.

First off, we know the announced expansion teams will be around:

Philadelphia Soul
San Jose Sabercats
Kansas City Brigade
and as of last night, the Pittsburgh Power

But where does that leave the other 15 franchises? For some it may mean relocation.

The Alabama Vipers:
Late last night it was announced that the Georgia Force may be returning. But they may not be an expansion team. Instead it has been rumored that the Alabama Vipers will be relocating and rebranding as the Force. This season Alabama played in the smallest arena in the AFL. They could only max out at around 7,000 fans. That heavily limited the amount of income the team could bring in, both is tickets and in sponsorship. That combined with higher costs could be too much for the owners to handle.

The Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings:
It has been rumored for weeks, since their owner registered aflvoodoo.com, that the BattleWings could be relocating to New Orleans and rebranding as the VooDoo. The BattleWings never pulled a large crowd, even in their time in the af2. The difference was that in the af2 the loss on the owners was acceptable, in the AFL its much larger. This could spell doom for the BattleWings.

The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz:
The Yard Dawgz were a decent team this year. They pulled decent crowds as well. However, they still were loosing money, and have been since at least the time the Thunder came to town. That combined with the new AHL Hockey Team (Barons), could mean the owners aren't willing to try to compete with other sports in town. Instead they could take their team elsewhere and try to turn a profit. The rumored location? Seattle. Yeah, another Seattle/OKC team swap. Very Ironic, but could happen.

As for the rest of the league nothing seems likely to change. The only team with light rumors is the Milwaukee Iron. The Iron have had issues with an ownership group and attendance. However, for the foreseeable future they will probably remain in the league.

YouTube Tuesday - August 17th, 2010 (ArenaBowl Edition)

Don't forget to tune into NFL Network on Friday at 7 PM CST for ArenaBowl XXIII!

YouTube Tuesday - June 15, 2010 - Return of the Soul

In honor of the announcement in Philadelphia tomorrow about the return of the Philadelphia Soul we have a video from their training camp in 2008:

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)