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.