Talons snakebit
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
3/29/11 at 9:15 AM
Related Story: Talons notebook: Good ol' guys
Tulsa Talons fans saw first-hand what happens when a franchise allows a veteran core to slip away and has to start almost from scratch with first- and second-year players.
And a lot of the fans weren't happy.
There were smatterings of boos by the end of the first quarter of Monday's 69-20, landmark loss to the Arizona Rattlers in the 2011 Arena Football League home opener before an announced crowd of 9,311 at the BOK Center.
Most of the fans tried to stay positive. They cheered when the Talons scored their first touchdown on rookie quarterback Bobby Reid's 6-yard pass to T.J. Williams with 8:45 left in the third quarter. But it was little solace.
Mostly, the fans started leaving early, which is unusual for a franchise that has won nine consecutive division titles. But those were the days when the Talons were almost never out of a game. They were out of this one quickly.
Arizona led 42-0 at halftime, well on its way to handing the Talons the most lopsided loss in franchise history. The previous worst loss was to the Quad City Steamwheelers 66-27 in Tulsa's inaugural season of 2000 in the old af2 developmental league.
"It was a disappointing night," Talons head coach Mitch Allner said. "We had a great crowd show up, and obviously in a home opener you want to show up and put on a better performance than we did tonight."
"We need to get better in a lot of areas, and it's on (the coaching staff) to get things straightened out. We'll have another home game coming up here in a couple of weeks and the game will be much better than (Monday's)," Allner said.
It may take a miracle for the Talons, 0-3 for the first time, to pull things together for their next home date - April 16 against the San Jose SaberCats - not to mention Saturday's game at the expansion Pittsburgh Power.
They made one mistake after another Monday night. They had busts in pass coverage and penalties that wiped out positive plays.
And they lost six turnovers, including four interceptions by Reid, who played his worst game in three pro starts. The league's leading rusher was held to 29 yards on the ground and 108 passing yards.
"When I woke up this morning, I didn't know it was gonna be like this," Reid said. "Things just weren't going right for me. What'd I have, three or four interceptions? That's unacceptable. You can't win games turning the ball over like that."
Arizona (3-0) led 13-0 when Reid airmailed a pass to Rattlers linebacker Kevin McCullough, who returned it 10 yards untouched for a score and it was 19-0.
Reid's first pass on the next possession was also intercepted when Marquis Floyd made a leaping, one-handed grab along the sideline and held on when he crashed down on the retaining wall.
Rattler's quarterback Nick Davila threw 38 yards to Trandon Harvey, one of Harvey's four TD receptions. Next, Reid was tackled in the end zone for a safety and Davila followed with a 5-yard toss to Rod Windsor.
Adding insult to injury, the Rattlers raced 45 yards in the final minute of the half to make it 42-0.
Slide Show
Here is an explanation of the buttons on the player above.
Play slide show with sound
Next image / play slide show without sound
Previous image
Expand the slide show to full screen
To see each slide
To see all of the Tulsa World slide shows, go to tulsaworld.com/photos.
| Arizona | 19 | 23 | 7 | 20 | - | 69 |
| Tulsa | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | - | 20 |
A: Armstrong 3 run (kick failed)
A: Forse 3 pass from Davila (Schroeder kick)
A: Kevin McCullough 10 interception return (kick failed)
A: Harvey 38 pass from Davila (Schroeder kick)
A: Safety, Reid tackled
A: Windsor 5 pass from Davila (Schroeder kick)
A: Harvey 15 pass from Davila (Schroeder kick)
T: T.J. Williams 6 pass from Reid (kick failed)
A: Harvey 32 pass from Harris (Schroeder kick)
T: Ransom 2 run (Ransom run)
A: Harvey 12 pass from Harris (Schroeder kick)
A: Armstrong 1 run (kick failed)
T: T.J. Williams 28 pass from Bassuener (pass failed)
A: Geathers 15 pass from Harris (Schroeder kick)
ARENA FOOTBALL: RATTLERS 69, TALONS 20
Up next: at Pittsburgh
6:30 p.m. Saturday
Radio: KRMG am740, fm102.3
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Talons lineman Jordan Bedore looks on as the Arizona Rattlers celebrate another touchdown during their 69-20 win Monday, spoilng the Talons' home opener at the BOK Center. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Talons quarterback Bobby Reid talks with his team during their home opener Monday night against Arizona at the BOK Center. The Rattlers defense limited Reid to 29 rushing yards in handing Tulsa its most lopsided loss in franchise history. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Talons defensive back Darien Williams grabs Arizona's Trandon Harvey during the Talons home opener Monday at the BOK Center. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Talons defensive back Fred Shaw pursues Arizona's Virgil Gray on Monday night. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
|
