Thursday, March 31, 2011

GAME PREVIEW - WEEK 4 - POWER vs TALONS


(0-3)

vs

(2-1)

Friday, April 1, 2011
7:30 PM
TV: CW 19 and NiftyTV
Radio: 93.7 The Fan
Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA

The Talons are one of the biggest jokes of the entire AFL thus far in the 2011 campaign. After a disasterous offseason which saw almost the entire team roster turn over, Tulsa has limped out of the gates to an 0-3 start. Last week, in one of the most humiliating defeats in Arena Ball history, the Talons dropped a 69-20 decision which saw them get completely shut out in the first half. It was 42-0 at one point. Really bad.

The Tulsa World newspaper ran a tell-tale article on the sad state of the franchise on Wednesday that would make even the most aggressive AFL apologist cringe. Tulsa co-owner Paul Ross waxed poetic on how difficult it is to keep AF1 caliber players in such a market. The whole thing smells bush league.

On the field, the Talons seem to be playing a different sport than the rest of the league. QB Bobby Reid is a shining example of this. In a pass-first sport, Reid's stats stand out in a nauseating and disturbing manner. 499 Passing Yds - 6 TD to 5 INT- a QB rating in the low 60's. His rushing stats, 18 carries for 206 yards and 7 TD.

It's all well and good to have a running QB in gridiron football, but one has to wonder why a franchise would take such a leap of faith on a system which is a proven loser in a league that lives and dies by the deep ball.

The Talons have tried to shore up their offense, bringing in WR Rodney White from San Jose this week. White has had a few really solid seasons in the AFL, putting up more than a thousand yards a couple of times with the SaberCats, where he's spent his entire arena ball career.

However, what good is it, if you have a quarterback who can't throw?

Meanwhile, the Power are facing some adversity of their own, as WR Lonnell DeWalt is serving a league suspension for unspecified violations. Attempts to contact the league and the Power front office for comment were met with radio silence. This is a massive loss for an offense that absolutely fell apart in the 2nd half on Monday against Milwaukee.

QB Kevin McCabe showed signs that he was human for the first time, throwing three picks, including one that went for a Mustangs TD out of their own endzone. Mike Washington randomly didn't show up for the game. Irv Campbell remains on IR with the conscussion. It will be up to Jerome Mathis, Eddie Thompson, and Jason Willis to put big Kev up on their backs and carry him to a good performance this week if Joystick decides to no-show again. We're really hoping that this is not the case. Again, information is sometimes dicey in the AFL, and we have absolutely no idea why Washington was inactive against Milwaukee.

It's been a tenuous time for the entire league, with attendance dipping, players randomly disappearing and showing up elsewhere, and traditionally powerful teams falling off the face of the planet (Read: Tampa Bay Storm)... Here's hoping a return to the friendly confines of a packed Consol Energy Center is good for what ails the league.

Also, make sure everyone sends a friendly reminder to @KDPomp on Twitter that it's the TALONS, not the TALLOONS. What a professional.


Pomp's daughter is an astrobabe. All is forgiven.

PREDICTIONS:
For every Power game we cover here on the BOLTSBURGH POWER BLOG, our three contributing editors will pass along their expert picks for the game, along with the key to victory. We call these our BOLTSBURGH POWER BLOG KEYS TO VICTORY! There are three of them. One each.

- Perry -
In spite of the 2nd half meltdown against Milwaukee, I think Kevin McCabe will be just fine this week. I think his confidence comes back and his receivers pick up the load against a very weak opponent. Power get the victory much more comfortably than Monday.

Power 49
Tallons 21

- Pro -
"Talons" sounds like some bojo dek team at Bill's that have their own jerseys but only score 6 goals all season. One of their players probably has highlights in his hair.

Power 76
Talons 17

- Schwartz -
Seems like a good week to win 94-14.

Power 94
Talons 14

KEYS TO VICTORY:

1) Receivers need to pick up McCabe's confidence.
2) Frosted tips.
3) Score 94 points. Give up 14.

7 comments:

Dom Errico said...

Dom Errico from TribLive Radio and The Power Plant chiming in with my official prediction.

52-42 Power. Offense is going to struggle a bit without DeWalt, but Tulsa has been awful.

I do think we'll make some mistakes on O which will let an offense as bad as Tulsa score a bit more than they should.

Bernard Morris' Injured Shoulder said...

no way its that close voice. power blow this team out easily.

Dom Errico said...

I didn't think the Milwaukee game would be that close. Especially after the way we started off the game.

This is a young team, and I think McCabe is going to make some mistakes.

Tulsa is also going to want to atone for the buttwhooping they got last week.

Dallas Strimple said...

I think it will be a lot closer that you guys think. The Talons are on the verge of making the turn on being good. The problem is, their defensive line needs to get pressure. That's where the mistakes come on defense. The DBs can't really cover forever. Eventually a WR will get open.

On offense, the playbook just needs to be opened up, a few things need to start bouncing the right way, and the protection needs to improve (which it will now that Bolden is getting back into the groove, and note he know's Carter's strengths and weaknesses in rushing).

A thing to remember about last week. Arizona is probably the best team in the league. And didn't make a single mistake in that 42-0 run. Combined against a team that is still learning to play the game, and play together, that's a devastating matchup.

PowerFan219A said...

Word from Tulsa is that Reid is so broken up about the state of the Talons, and the Pittsburgh Media's pronunciation of the team name, that the only word he can now say is "California".

Desperate for a spark for their team, Coach Allner and WR Brandon Copeland took Reid to California this week, so that he could compete in a video game competition against a snot-nosed brat with a sucky Power Glove. Man, that thing's awful.

Despite long odds, Reid won the competition at the last second after finding a Warp Whistle.

So things are, indeed, looking up for the Talons. However, I predict one more week of craptasticness before Tulsa is able to put all the pieces together.

Power 62, Talons 39

Perry said...

@PowerFan - Awesome. The Wizard rules.

PowerFan219A said...

@Schwartz:
94 points???

Even against the Talons - hell even against the 2010 Battlewings - the only thing capable of putting up that many points in a single game is a bolt of lightning!

I said a bolt of lightning!

Unfortunately, you never know when or where it's ever gonna strike....