Headlines - July 16, 2011

Free tickets to tonight's game for veterans: "The Jack C. Montgomery V.A. Medical Center is hosting the event.
Veterans get a free ticket at the door along with a meal voucher."

Talons on hitting stats milestones: "I like winning," McBroom said. "It's good sometimes to when my numbers come along, but it's more important that I do whatever I can to put us in a position to win the game."

Talons looking to sign SIFL leader: "Panthers defensive back Demetrie McCray is heading to Atlanta for a tryout with the Georgia Force on Thursday. The Force aren't the only team interested in McCray. The Tulsa Talons have offered the former Albany State Ram a contract. Demetrie McCray was among the SIFL leaders in interceptions this season."

Tonight is a big night for both teams: "The Orlando Predators travel to the BOK Center to face the Tulsa Talons (7-9). For the Predators, the scenario is easy: win and they're in. The Talons need some help and will probably be big SaberCats fans this week too. But if Tulsa wins, they'll stay alive for another week."

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.

Dallas Vigilantes at Tulsa Talons: Pregame Primer

vs.

Dallas Vigilantes (8-5, 3-4 road) vs. Tulsa Talons (6-7, 3-3 home)

TV: N/A
Stream: Click here
Radio: KRMG 740 (740 AM)
Time: 7:00 CT

Passing Yards per Game: Talons – 230.2 (16th), Vigilantes – 266.6 (11th)
Rushing Yards per Game: Talons – 47.5 (1st), Vigilantes – 46.2 (2nd)
Total Yards Allowed per Game: Talons – 281.5 (8th), Vigilantes – 319.0 (18th)

View from the enemy: N/A

Tulsa is coming off a strong road win over the Philadelphia Soul last Friday. Justin Allgood over the last couple of weeks has just been outstanding.

Dallas coming in: The Vigilantes had a strong victory over the Iowa Barnstormers last Saturday.

THE MATCHUP

Dallas is a team that has struggled on the road this season. Dallas QB Dan Raudabaugh has been on and off throughout the season. On top of that, the Vigilantes give up more yards than any other team in the league.

QB Justin Allgood has not thrown a pick in two games now. His timing with the receiving corps is improving as well. Troy McBroom is looking to be even better than Donovan Morgan last year. If the Talons continue to click, it will be hard for Dallas to stop them.

On Defense, J.C. Neal has become a force to be reckoned with. Neal is currently 10th all time in INT return yards in a season. If the Talons can get some pressure, Raudabaugh is a QB that will make mistakes. The front line will need to stay on their heels however as Vigilantes FB Derrick Ross is probably the best FB in the league.

With a win, the Talons would move one game behind the Vigilantes for the 3 seed in the Playoffs.

Kickoff at 7:00 CT.

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 11, 2011

Allgood is getting adjusted to his new teammates: "Allgood said getting acquainted with his teammates will help. Over the offseason, the Talons lost most of the veterans Allgood played alongside the past four years, going 45-12 as the team's starting quarterback. Most of his new teammates are playing arena football for the first time."

A great look at scoring to win: "the only team to lose a game despite scoring more than 5 points per offensive possession is the Iowa Barnstormers. Iowa put up 6 points per drive against Tulsa and managed to lose, thanks to a last second field goal on Tulsa's extra possession (the Talons had 11 possessions to Iowa's 10)."

Talons Playoff Hopes: "The Utah Blaze visits Saturday for a game that is vital to the Talons' playoff hopes. The Blaze and San Jose Sabercats lost last weekend, leaving Tulsa just a game out of the fourth National Conference playoff spot, currently held by the Blaze, which is second in the West Division."

Timing issues between McBroom and Allgood: "We had some timing issues, especially between Justin and (Talons receiving leader) Troy McBroom," Allner said. "Troy has been banged up and Justin hasn't thrown a (practice) pass to him in the two weeks that he's been here."

All eyes are on the Utah/Tulsa game: "Out in the National Conference, the Utah Blaze-Tulsa Talons game is shaping up like an early playoff game as well. The Blaze hold the last spot in the playoffs, and Tulsa is one game back. If the Talons can get the “w,” they’d tie Utah and have the head-to-head tiebreaker as well."

Arena Pigskin takes the Talons tonight: "It may not look like much, but this is a pivotal game when it comes to the National Conference side of the playoffs. If Utah takes the win, they will have the upper hand in for the forth seed. If Tulsa wins, the Talons will be part of a three-way tie for the forth seed. Utah has been a trendy team through out the season after a really rough 2010. Quarterback Tommy Grady has been a big reason why. But Tulsa has been on the upswing after a rough first couple of weeks and will be a team to contender with. And they will force a three-way tie for the forth seed."

Talons are contenders: "After a tough, rough start, the Talons have made a charge back into the playoff picture. With a win over Utah this week, Tulsa will be tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the National Conference. And I like their chances to get that spot. If you take off those first few weeks when Bobby Reid was their quarterback, the Talons would be in a much better position. The best part about this team is that they are also improving every week. With Utah, Philly, Iowa and Kansas City left on their schedule, The Tulsa Talons are contenders."

Football Gameplan's Preview for tonight's game.

One final look at the Rush game: "As for the dramatic finishes that are trademark in the AFL, QB Russ Michna dove over the Tulsa Talons defensive line with no time on the clock to get a 49-48 for Chicago. The Rush began its drive with over a minute left, but ran the clock all the way down without a second to spare. The Talons defense wasn’t letting Chicago go through it, so the Rush had to go over it."

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 23, 2011

McBroom is taking the blame for Bassuener's 3Q INT: "McBroom said he tried to fake an underneath route and run past Moten, but the veteran defensive back didn't take the bait. Instead, Moten stayed over the top of the route, leaving the underneath free. "I should have stayed underneath, because that's where (Bassuener) threw the ball, but I tried to work back outside and left (Moten) inside," he said.

ArenaFan sees promise in Troy McBroom: "In a losing effort, Tulsa WR Troy McBroom had 13 catches for 177 yards and two scores. This is just his second game this year and already McBroom looks to be the heir apparent for Donovan Morgan. McBroom has led the team in receiving yards and scores in both games."

Football Gameplan's Preview of Tonight's Game

Tulsa World on Safety J.C. Neal: "I don't know a lot about it. There's a lot to get used to. I'm trying to learn as we go and help this team win," Neal said. The North Carolina State rookie has been one of the most productive Talons. He ranks among the Arena Football League leaders with 32.5 tackles and eight pass breakups.