Implosion, Redemption - Power vs Mustangs - The Aftermath

Implosions. A collection of some of the greatest ever captured on film. None, however, rival the one that the Pittsburgh Power offense suffered through on Monday night at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Maybe it's a sign that we're not as strong as we once thought. Maybe it's the injury bug biting at an inopportune time. Or, maybe, just maybe, it's a sign that the Pittsburgh Power are a team of destiny.

A pathetic crowd of 3,253 sporadically filled small portions of the lower level of the home of the Milwaukee Mustangs, as they stormed onto the field, fired up to take on their divisional rivals from Pittsburgh. Ten seconds later, they were losing 21-0. It was to be an epic beatdown the likes of which have never been seen. The brave souls who did turn out would "Rue" the day they heard the name Kevin McCabe.

Mustangs quarterback Eric Ward, constantly chased by a swarm of white jerseys, barely able to keep himself above water, fumbled and stumbled and ate turf, all the while throwing balls straight up in the air, hoping that Jesus would descend from the heavens to catch a touchdown.

Head coach Bob Landsee took another route, somewhere around the midpoint of the first quarter. He could be seen practicing Satanic rites on the Milwaukee bench. Anything, he hoped, to spark his misfit team of pathetic losers to a victory.

It all seemed to be for naught, as the Power, like nihilistic touchdown machines continued to steamroll the competition.

For as pumped up and ready to play as the Mustangs look as they took the field, it was akin to making it to the bathroom only to piss all over the floor.

It was all Power.

All the time.

However, by halftime, with the Power leading 35-20, somewhere in between the divine and the devlish, something took hold. In the guise of Antoine Burns, Dwayne Eley Jr., and perennial all-arena Damian Harrell, quarterback Ward finally found the angel he was praying so hard for, and that his coach was defending so hard against. That angel was backup quarterback RJ Archer. RJ would certainly prove to be the Archer-Angel of Arena Football on this fateful night.

Replacing Ward, Archer quickly found Harrell for a score. The defense suddenly came alive. The previously robotic football warrior-prince Kevin McCabe began to show signs of weakness. An interception return from his own endzone. Suddenly, things were looking bleak for the Pittsburgh squad.

Suddenly, it was 49-41. Then 49-47. Then the Mustangs, with their last gasping breath for life, called a quarterback keeper - The arena football league's dance of champions is sometimes met with some missteps - But on this night, the defense pulled out all the stops and Milwaukee was left to ponder what would be if they had just pushed for ONE... MORE... YARD.

FINAL SCORE
PITTSBURGH POWER 49
MILWAUKEE MUSTANGS 47

Player of the Game:
Offense: Josh Rue - 6 Car - 28 Yds - 2 TD
Defense: Gary Butler - 3 Tackles - 3 Assists - 1 TFL for -12 Yds - 1 Forced Fumble - 2 Fumble Recoveries

Saturday vs Tulsa.
Do work.

Aftermath: Bolts vs Barnstormers

A very satisfying victory last night for the Power. Say what you will about Bernard Morris, but he's Coach Sieg's starting QB. When you lose your starter, you're always going to struggle. Kevin McCabe picked it up and the Power put the pedal to the floor and never let up last night. Josh Lay made an immediate impact in his first game back from injury, as did Jerome Mathis.

No need this week for a "play by play" recap like last week. We liveblogged it. If you want a more detailed narrative on the game, check that out.

Cleaning out the notebook from last night....

First off, thanks to reader The Voice for pointing out a mistake in the liveblog. The Power did force a turnover vs Philly last week, which I forgot about and wrote that they had finally forced their first turnover. I forgot about it because Morris bojo'd it up and threw a pick right after a fumble recovery.

This blog, specifically this writer, has said all along that Kevin McCabe should be the starter. Morris has loads of talent, but is just too error-prone in big-time situations. You hate to see anyone get injured, but Big Kev really seized the opportunity. Coach Seig was asked if there was a QB controversy brewing.

“There’s no controversy, we’ve got two good quarterbacks,” the coach told ArenaFootball.com.

Read into that what you will. McCabe was 10-14 with 110 yds and 3 touchdowns, and turned what was a close game that looked like the last team to score would win into a laugher.

For as vague as that quote was, Coach Siegfried spoke to the Post-Gazette in much clearer terms. In Bill Brink's game wrapup, he flat out said that Morris is the starter.

For as much talk as there was about the offense, Tyrrell Herbert, Carlos Campbell, and Josh Lay were absolutely fantastic on D. Lay brought a measure of swagger that was perhaps missing or less emphasized in the first game.

The legend of Josh Rue also continues to grow. The Duquesne grad had three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and continues to be met with thunderous chants of "RUEEEEEE!" in every short yardage situation.

Credit where credit is due, when they were in synch, the Goggles had quite a rhythm. Brad Banks threw for 283 yards and four TD's (all to Todd Blythe), but, like Bernard Morris the week before, was a turnover machine, throwing four picks.

Apparently, we rule at evaluating QB's, because we said McCabe would tear up, and we designated the Iowa starter "Bojo Banks" -- boy did he ever live up to that billing. In spite of some unbelievable flashes of brilliance, there were an equal amount of wounded ducks tossed around.

Banks is very charitable like that. He wants to make sure every kid goes home with a souvenier.

Also, let me point out, as I pointed out on Twitter earlier, that Bob Pompiani did an ok job on the local TV play by play. I can also say with full confidence that Craig Woofley was horrific. I was following some message boards and chat rooms, and the entire Arena Football fan nation was laughing at him and his yinzerly ways. The games are all available (home and away) nationwide for free on NiftyTV.com and all games are archived. It's actually a fantastic service for keeping up with the Power when they're on the road, as they will be when they face the Milwaukee Mustangs next Monday.

That said, however... COME ON POMP! The Tulsa Taloons? Yeah, he mispronounced Tallons on the air. More than once. The same people who were laughing at Woof's caveman speak were equally shredding Pompiani for this gaffe.

Derp.

Either way, when all was said and done, the Bolts got the 'W' and that's all that matters.

That, and BoltsBurgh officially arrived in the AFL blogosphere. Can't tell you how unreal and badass it felt to be retweeted by not only the official Barnstormers Twitter, but the official Arena Football League Twitter.

We just started Tweeting, but the response has been fantastic and we've met a lot of very cool Power fans via the Twitterverse, so thanks for that, and if you know a friend or weren't aware that we were residents of the Twit City, make sure you follow us. We promise that if you tweet us, you will be twat back to in kind.

So, between the team getting the win and the blog gaining some traction in the legitimate sense, it's a great start.

Beat Milwaukee.

GAME PREVIEW - WEEK 2 - Power vs Barnstormers

(0-1)

vs.

(0-0)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

7:30 PM
TV: Pittsburgh's CW Channel 19
Radio: 93.7 The Fan
Consol Energy Center - Pittsburgh, PA

After the gut-wrenching loss to hated Philadelphia in week one, the Bolts return to the CEC for a matchup with one of the most storied franchises in the history of Arena football. The Iowa Barnstormers bring some familiar faces, and have several other ones laced throughout their rich history.

History, that's an interesting concept. Here in Pittsburgh, a town whose football tradition dates back only one week and ends in a bitter overtime loss, we don't care. It's a case of "What have you done for me lately?" -- The past isn't pretext, because it doesn't exist. No amount of legendary players, coaches, or history matches the passion and will to establish ourselves as the ones who will dwarf all others in AFL history. The time is now.

The Barnstormers, coached by John Gregory, are one of the longest-tenured (sort-of) franchises in Arena League history. In fact, Gregory is the Barnstormers first head coach. He stuck with the team from their formation in the mid 90's until their move to New York early on in the millenium, and is now back to lead an Iowa franchise that was resurrected in May of 2007. During his tenure, Gregory has amassed 5 division titles.

You may remember Coach Gregory as the man who signed grocery store shelf stocking journeyman no-name Kurt Warner to his first Arena League contract with the Barnstormers in 1995. Warner would lead his team to two ArenaBowl losses (ArenaBowl X and XI) and never be heard from again.

The "new" Barnstormers started out their existence in AF2, the minor leagues of Arena ball, during the NBC/TNN era, a time in which the league was shooting for the stars with larger market teams (hence the relocation to become the NY Dragons) - relegating many of the league's famous micromarket teams to this league to serve as a feeder organization not unlike the NBA D-League.

However, after the cancelled season, the league knew it had to reach back into it's deep history to help it get back on their feet, and the Barnstormers were moved back to the AFL proper in 2010.

In their first season back in the big leagues, Iowa went 7-9. Coach Gregory was left to deal with what was basically a minor league squad in a major league sport, and wound up doing a pretty admirable job, given that.

This year, however, it's a totally different story. History doesn't matter anymore, either. This is a new era. This is the POWER era. Oh, and the Barnstormers have goggles on their helmets.

I'm pretty sure this officially makes them bojos.

Anyways, nobody knows what to expect from the goggles.

Ugh.

Sorry, I'm distracted. Maybe I'm just nervous because of the illustrious history of the Iowa franchise, I mean, Kurt Goggles.

Goggles.

Ugh!

Why do they have goggles on their fucking helmets?



*Shakes head*

OK. I think I've got the cobwebs out now. Back to the preview.

Goggles. Oh my God. Are you bojos serious? Goggles? On your helmet? Fuck.

The Goggles, in an attempt to upgrade from last year's undersized AF2 roster, have added 16 new arrivals to their 24 roster players. The only returning players are stud DL and Iowa State grad Brent Curvey, DL Charles Johnson, and WR's Jesse Schmidt, Toddy Blythe (of ISU fame as well), Tommy Ellington, and Errick McCown, who is out with a hip pointer.

Up until today, we didn't know if the starting QB was going to be former Heisman Trophy runner-up Brad Banks (Iowa) or the venerable Bryan Lee-Lauduski. As was the rumor (he tore up in their scrimmage) - Banks will get the start, per the Des Moines Register. It will, like Bernie Morris for the Power last week, be Banks' first significant AFL experience.

Other than that, we don't know a whole bunch about the Barnstormers. They haven't played a game yet this year, and, as I said, they have had more than half of their roster turn over, including the entire offensive line and the quarterback. We do know that losing to a team with goggles on their helmet will not sit well with this Pittsburgh fan base.

For the Power, we'll need Bernard Morris to step up his game. Although he threw for 264 yds and 5 TD vs the Soul last week, his three interceptions, including an overtime game winner, were killer. If he picks up where he left off, we could see Kevin McCabe get some action.

It's going to be up to Mike "Joystick" Washington (111 Rec Yds, 1 TD), Lonnell Dewalt (2 TD), and Jason Willis (2 TD) to get open and give their QB support and get his confidence up early. Josh Rue has proven he is clutch in short yardage situations, and the city has absolutely fallen in love with "The Golden Boot" Paul Edinger.

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 -
Bernard Morris needs to get his head together and not throw picks in the goggles.

Er..

The clutch.

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt this week, because I think Coach Sieg will have him focused. Brad Banks will struggle in his first goggles experience.

Shit.

Arena Football experience.

Power 60
Barnstormers 49

- Pro -
The only time you need goggles is if you're Michael fuckin' Phelps. Bojos. 67-52 Bolts.

Power 67
Barnstormers 52

- Schwartz -
Seems like a good week to win 74-51.

Power 74
Barnstormers 51

KEYS TO VICTORY:

1)
2) Michael Phelps
3) Win