Talons at Power Preview

"OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called 'two in a row'. And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a 'winning streak'... It has happened before!"

-Lou Brown, Major League II

Okay, so - I forgot to write a preview last week until it was too late.  I'm hoping that wasn't the lucky omen that helped the Power win their first game of the season, because I remembered this week.  Our boys traveled to the Big Easy and won a hard-fought battle against the Voodoo.  The game went the distance, they played a full four quarters and they brought home the "W."  Does this mean their problems are solved?

No.  They're still sloppy and have their problems on the offensive line, but they're getting better.  Also, the Voodoo are struggling this season - but a win's a win.  This is largely a symbolic victory.  It wasn't in our division and the majority of Power fans probably didn't even see it since it just aired online....but they won and on the road no less.  The team knows it and they can go into this week strong and not feeling like it's futile.

Hopefully, this meeting won't be as disastrous as it was when we went to their house last year.   Honestly, I don't think that's possible.  Even if it were, they no longer have Willis and Garcia, so those are two big factors taken off the field.  The main weapons that we have to contend with are Jomo Wilson and Dwayne Eley Jr.  Shut them down and things will be a lot easier.

Honestly, the Talons are looking pretty beatable right now.  Their record is the same as ours (1-3) and they've had a change-up at QB.  Last week, they brought in Nick Hill (previously of the Storm.)  Although he's a really good QB, he seemed very confused against the Rattlers last week and the Talons got crushed.  That could easily just be because he had new guy jitters and the Rattlers are still awesome.  However, if he hasn't gotten it together by this week, our defense has a prime opportunity to go pick-crazy again.

I think the Power has just about used up their home-field goodwill in regards to losses.  They need to start stacking up wins, and it needs to happen this week.

Elsewhere in the League

• GotW: Tampa at Spokane.  This one is tough to call.  Tampa doesn't look great, but they don't look terrible, either.  Spokane is one of the only undefeated teams left and this just might be the week they underestimate their opponent.
• On the opposite end of the scale are the hapless Orlando Predators.  I'm still sad to see them struggling like this, but at least we have a better record than someone.  They're winless and have to play the Ratts this week.  They're gonna owe some people money this year...
• I'm looking for the Voodoo to get a critical win this week when they host the struggling Sabercats who ask the question, "Is Garcia washed up?"  Their signing of accountant Russ Michna to a two-year contract seems to say "yes."  Garcia hasn't been able to gel with the San Jose offense's play calling scheme, and it looks like they've decided to move on.  I don't think Michna really expected to come back to the league, and I'm betting that he's going to have a lot of rust to knock off this week.
• The other undefeated team is the Jacksonville Sharks, who travel to the City of Brotherly Love Saturday.  The Soul have gotten pretty roughed up so far this season, but they're really strong at home.  Like the Shock, I'm not sure that the Sharks will make it through this week perfect.
• I can't believe I'm saying this, but after coming up huge against Philly last week and the Blaze only beating us so far...I might actually have to take the Gladiators at home against Utah.
• Finally, the first game of the week is Chicago at Iowa in a rematch of week one.  Wanna know how this game between two bitter rivals is gonna play out?  Flip a coin.

Talons Strike, Draw Blood

It was no great surprise that the Pittsburgh Power lost Saturday night. What is surprising is how badly they were beaten when they statistically played so well, save for a few key and devastating areas.

Randall's performance (with an exception to be mentioned later) was pretty impressive. He made almost twice as many attempts as Garcia and threw for around 120 yards more. He also went the night pick-free. Great for him in specific, and pretty darn good for a QB in this league in general.

Receiving was respectable, with our third-best in terms of yardage (Joystick) only 3 yards shy of the Talons top performer (Wilson.) Superman had a monster night with 188 yards in the air and 148 yards on returns. We even out-rushed them, though neither numbers weren't that impressive.

Even the defense wasn't having a bad night. The opening drive, they actually held the Talons to a field goal. During the rest of the game, they came up big on a few third and fourth down plays and sacked Garcia twice.

So, with everything coming up Pittsburgh, why did we lose 68-52?

Fumbles, sacks, special teams, dumb calls and kicking. Yes, I realize kicking falls under the umbrella of special teams - it was just so fucking bad that it has to be mentioned.

Randall flat-out fumbled one, got stripped another time and Joystick dropped another one. I don't know what's going on, but we have had a serious problem with that this season. Also, it isn't just the fumbles themselves - it's the falling on the damn ball part. Hell, we forced three fumbles ourselves, but failed to recover a single one of them. That's 6 lost balls in this game, and the Talons came up with all of them.

Our offensive line just could not protect Randall in this game, either. Besides the stripping, Randall got put on his back 7 times during the game for a loss of almost 40 yards. That's no good. We can't instill confidence in a QB if he knows he's going to get beat.

Now to address the disgraceful performance on special teams, which will include the kicking and dumb calls. The Talons had pretty free run of the field on returns. Three different players fielded the ball and racked up a cumulative 99 yards and two touchdowns.

As for kicking - and it's tempting to give them a pass on the fact that they're on their third kicker in three weeks - the Power did not make a single PAT during the game. Siegfried finally said to hell with it and started going for two on every touchdown. Now, he probably should have done that last week as well and I'm not going to fault him for it. However, it's a sucky, sucky situation to be in.

The cherry on the sundae was the fact that we attempted 3 onside kicks. I'm not a coach. I can't say when there's no other choice. I can say that there's about a 14% success rate in the AFL with them (citation be damned) and to succeed, you need an accurate kicker and great ability to dive on the ball. You need a kicker that can get it at least ten yards, hit an opposing player hard enough (or awkwardly enough) that it bounces off them at some weird angle, and then have special teams guys that can track that odd bounce and dive on it like a live grenade in the middle of a mass baptism where all the grandparents are war heroes.

To sum up: You need accurate kicking, surprise, good special teams and the ability to cover a loose ball. Go re-read everything I just wrote above and consider how mind-numbingly stupid that plan is. We lost by two touchdowns - and one of those was a return off of an onside kick. Let that marinate until next week when we play the worst team in the league and risk some serious embarrassment.

Elsewhere in the League

• I was unable to watch the NFL game of the week, which is unfortunate, given the division implications. However, the Gladiators were able to hold off the Mustangs.
• The Blaze and the Sabercats faced off in a brutal rivalry game that was - as I suspected - a lot of fun to watch. At 70-59, the Sabercats' victory was decisive, but hardly an easy win. Regardless, they stand alone at the top of their division, and continue to support my theory that they and the Soul will have a rematch at the end of the season.
• NOLA lost, but they hardly laid down for the Shock, 68-62
• Tampa Bay lost the top spot in their division again this week and sit a half game behind the Georgia Force after losing a tight one to the same. 44-41
• Philly had no trouble defeating the Sharks 56-38.
• No upset out in Iowa, as the Barnstormers tromp on the (still) winless KC Command, 62-42.
• Last game of the week was the Chicago Rush visiting the Arizona Rattlers. As I suspected, the Rush's glaring procedural errors were no match for the solid team out in the desert. Final score, 77-43.