For this week's video we have Football Gameplan's preview of this week's matchup against the Arizona Rattlers:
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
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.
Headlines - March 19, 2011
Bobby Reid set a new franchise record last week: "Reid set a franchise record by racing 39 yards for a score in the second quarter and had a 34-yard scoring run in the third quarter. The previous long run from scrimmage by a Talon was a 37-yarder by Odie Armstrong last year. Unofficially, Reid totaled 91 rushing yards on six carries and 209 passing yards. But he also had a costly turnover, fumbling after a 12-yard run to snuff out a scoring threat."
AFL Insider's Week 1 Losers: "Talon fans hoping to get a glimpse of the new look offense: Tulsa had the ball on offense for just 19 minutes at Georgia, in other words: they scored 47 points in 19 minutes! That’s like scoring 47 points with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter, to be fair, with 7:00 minutes to go in the third quarter (averaging in another team’s 19 minutes). It’s too bad Cokinos is a child that likes to play keep away and maybe Tulsa fans will get to see more of Bobby Reid on the field next week."
Talons lead the league in Rushing
Someone is impressed with Bobby Reid: "The most notable performance of the night came from Talon QB Bobby Reid. Not only did he lead a furious comeback that eventually came up short, but the speedster also racked up a crazy amount of damage on the ground with 93 yards rushing and four TDs. If you’re looking for a sleeper fantasy QB in 2011, look no further. His WRs are a little shaky and unproven, but could post some downright silly numbers on the ground this year."
Mitch Allner on the team's progression: "as the game went on I saw a lot of guys starting to understand the speed and angles of the game. That is just something that you cannot simulate in practice no matter how hard you try. For young players in Arena Football, they need to be on the field and getting a lot of that experience during the game. We learned a lot from watching and studying our game film from this past week and I was able to really point out some of the small mistakes we made at certain times this past weekend. We will correct those mistakes this week and be a much better team for it heading down to Dallas this weekend."
Some love for the Tulsa market: "With Bossier City, Alabama and Milwaukee all re-branded as former AFL franchises; and if you consider Iowa an old AFL team because of its roots back in the mid-to-late 90s, then only two af2 teams remain in the AFL (Spokane and Tulsa). I consider these two franchises as the legacy of the af2 and both should have been considered as AFL markets long ago.'
AFL Insider's Week 1 Losers: "Talon fans hoping to get a glimpse of the new look offense: Tulsa had the ball on offense for just 19 minutes at Georgia, in other words: they scored 47 points in 19 minutes! That’s like scoring 47 points with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter, to be fair, with 7:00 minutes to go in the third quarter (averaging in another team’s 19 minutes). It’s too bad Cokinos is a child that likes to play keep away and maybe Tulsa fans will get to see more of Bobby Reid on the field next week."
Talons lead the league in Rushing
Someone is impressed with Bobby Reid: "The most notable performance of the night came from Talon QB Bobby Reid. Not only did he lead a furious comeback that eventually came up short, but the speedster also racked up a crazy amount of damage on the ground with 93 yards rushing and four TDs. If you’re looking for a sleeper fantasy QB in 2011, look no further. His WRs are a little shaky and unproven, but could post some downright silly numbers on the ground this year."
Mitch Allner on the team's progression: "as the game went on I saw a lot of guys starting to understand the speed and angles of the game. That is just something that you cannot simulate in practice no matter how hard you try. For young players in Arena Football, they need to be on the field and getting a lot of that experience during the game. We learned a lot from watching and studying our game film from this past week and I was able to really point out some of the small mistakes we made at certain times this past weekend. We will correct those mistakes this week and be a much better team for it heading down to Dallas this weekend."
Some love for the Tulsa market: "With Bossier City, Alabama and Milwaukee all re-branded as former AFL franchises; and if you consider Iowa an old AFL team because of its roots back in the mid-to-late 90s, then only two af2 teams remain in the AFL (Spokane and Tulsa). I consider these two franchises as the legacy of the af2 and both should have been considered as AFL markets long ago.'
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Week 2 Picks
Last Week: 4-3
Overall: 4-3 (.571)
Tampa Bay Storm at Utah Blaze: UTAH. The Storm surprised people last week, but that was mainly because of how surprisingly bad the New Orleans VooDoo's line was. Utah has built a much stronger team than last year and should be able to stave off the defending conference champions.
Orlando Predators at New Orleans VooDoo: ORLANDO. Orlando has brought back a large portion of their talent from last year that took them into the second round of the playoffs. They will be missing WR Bobby Sippio though and that could hurt. However, QB Nick Hill was sharp at the end of the season and if he continues that then the VooDoo should be well overmatched.
Philadelphia Soul at Chicago Rush: PHILADELPHIA. Well Philadelphia has picked up where last season's Talons left off. Allgood-Morgan should be better covered this week forcing Allgood to other receivers. The problem, Phily's other receivers are pretty good too.
Georgia Force at Jacksonville Sharks: JACKSONVILLE. Wow, what happened to Jacksonville's defense last week? Expect a strong turnaround on that side of the ball to give the Force more than they can handle.
Kansas City Command at San Jose SaberCats: SAN JOSE. The SaberCats look like they never took two years off. They utterly dominated the defending champs. I really don't see KC even competing in this one.
Tulsa Talons at Dallas Vigilantes: TULSA. I have to say Dallas looked impressive in their game last week. However, that game was against the Command. On the other side, Tulsa was pretty shaky, at least on defense and special teams. However, Bobby Reid is proving that he's a force to watch out for. Expect long routes to open up for the Talons as the defense stays home to cover Reid.
Iowa Barnstormers at Pittsburgh Power: PITTSBURGH. Pittsburgh was impressive in their opener against the Soul. They appear to be a very complete team that is just a step or two away from championship caliber. They should easily handle an overmatched Iowa team.
Milwaukee Mustangs at Arizona Rattlers: ARIZONA. The Mustangs, while keeping it close all game, was never a threat to the Rush this past week. On the other side, Arizona was very sharp in their opener against a very talented Jacksonville game. This should be a solid win for the Rattlers.
Cleveland Gladiators at Spokane Shock: SPOKANE. Cleveland has a talented roster, boasted even more with the return of Troy Bergeron. However, they walk into an opening game against a Spokane team coming off a rough loss and ready to avenge. Expect a strong showing from Spokane to barely knock off Cleveland.
Overall: 4-3 (.571)
Tampa Bay Storm at Utah Blaze: UTAH. The Storm surprised people last week, but that was mainly because of how surprisingly bad the New Orleans VooDoo's line was. Utah has built a much stronger team than last year and should be able to stave off the defending conference champions.
Orlando Predators at New Orleans VooDoo: ORLANDO. Orlando has brought back a large portion of their talent from last year that took them into the second round of the playoffs. They will be missing WR Bobby Sippio though and that could hurt. However, QB Nick Hill was sharp at the end of the season and if he continues that then the VooDoo should be well overmatched.
Philadelphia Soul at Chicago Rush: PHILADELPHIA. Well Philadelphia has picked up where last season's Talons left off. Allgood-Morgan should be better covered this week forcing Allgood to other receivers. The problem, Phily's other receivers are pretty good too.
Georgia Force at Jacksonville Sharks: JACKSONVILLE. Wow, what happened to Jacksonville's defense last week? Expect a strong turnaround on that side of the ball to give the Force more than they can handle.
Kansas City Command at San Jose SaberCats: SAN JOSE. The SaberCats look like they never took two years off. They utterly dominated the defending champs. I really don't see KC even competing in this one.
Tulsa Talons at Dallas Vigilantes: TULSA. I have to say Dallas looked impressive in their game last week. However, that game was against the Command. On the other side, Tulsa was pretty shaky, at least on defense and special teams. However, Bobby Reid is proving that he's a force to watch out for. Expect long routes to open up for the Talons as the defense stays home to cover Reid.
Iowa Barnstormers at Pittsburgh Power: PITTSBURGH. Pittsburgh was impressive in their opener against the Soul. They appear to be a very complete team that is just a step or two away from championship caliber. They should easily handle an overmatched Iowa team.
Milwaukee Mustangs at Arizona Rattlers: ARIZONA. The Mustangs, while keeping it close all game, was never a threat to the Rush this past week. On the other side, Arizona was very sharp in their opener against a very talented Jacksonville game. This should be a solid win for the Rattlers.
Cleveland Gladiators at Spokane Shock: SPOKANE. Cleveland has a talented roster, boasted even more with the return of Troy Bergeron. However, they walk into an opening game against a Spokane team coming off a rough loss and ready to avenge. Expect a strong showing from Spokane to barely knock off Cleveland.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Week 2 Power Rankings
Well it was a crazy week 1 in the AFL. Some teams were crisp and ready to play. Others not so much so. Here are this weeks rankings from around the league:
AFL Fanpoll Rankings
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Philadelphia Soul
3. Arizona Rattlers
4. Orlando Predators
5. Chicago Rush
6. Jacksonville Sharks
7. Spokane Shock
8. Tampa Bay Storm
8. Utah Blaze
10. Cleveland Gladiators
Coaches Poll
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Orlando Predators
3. Arizona Rattlers
4. Philadelphia Soul
5. Spokane Shock
6. Chicago Rush
7. Georgia Force
8. Jacksonville Sharks
9. Pittsburgh Power
10. Tampa Bay Storm
As for my own rankings:
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Orlando Predators
3. Philadelphia Soul
4. Arizona Rattlers
5. Chicago Rush
6. Jacksonville Sharks
7. Spokane Shock
8. Georgia Force
9. Cleveland Gladiators
10. Tulsa Talons
11. Tampa Bay Storm
12. Pittsburgh Power
13. Utah Blaze
14. Iowa Barnstormers
15. Dallas Vigilantes
16. Milwaukee Mustangs
17. Kansas City Command
18. New Orleans VooDoo
AFL Fanpoll Rankings
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Philadelphia Soul
3. Arizona Rattlers
4. Orlando Predators
5. Chicago Rush
6. Jacksonville Sharks
7. Spokane Shock
8. Tampa Bay Storm
8. Utah Blaze
10. Cleveland Gladiators
Coaches Poll
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Orlando Predators
3. Arizona Rattlers
4. Philadelphia Soul
5. Spokane Shock
6. Chicago Rush
7. Georgia Force
8. Jacksonville Sharks
9. Pittsburgh Power
10. Tampa Bay Storm
As for my own rankings:
1. San Jose SaberCats
2. Orlando Predators
3. Philadelphia Soul
4. Arizona Rattlers
5. Chicago Rush
6. Jacksonville Sharks
7. Spokane Shock
8. Georgia Force
9. Cleveland Gladiators
10. Tulsa Talons
11. Tampa Bay Storm
12. Pittsburgh Power
13. Utah Blaze
14. Iowa Barnstormers
15. Dallas Vigilantes
16. Milwaukee Mustangs
17. Kansas City Command
18. New Orleans VooDoo
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
YouTube Tuesday - March 15, 2011
Well it was a tough loss this week, but there was a tougher loss for another former af2 team. To cheer us up, I thought we could use a look at Spokane's week 1 loss:
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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.
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