Tulsa 2009-- Year of the Cow (last for that nickname)

[tarcone]

The offseason started off with the hiring of Tarcone as GM. He inherited a 10-6 playoff team, but one that was ripe for reloading. And reload he did.
Key acquisitions in the offseason included: S Herman Almeida, S Herman McNamara, DE Lowell Nepolitano, DT Alfred Bowser, QB Todd Terell, WR Glenn Bess, WR Boyce Groth, and CB Landon Sobel. These players inprove the corp of that 10-6 team.
Expectations are high in Tulsa as GM Tarcone announced that he will open up the offense. The running game will probably never see a 1900 yard rusher again, but you will lkely see a 4000 yard passer.
The likely starting lineup is:

QB Devon Taylor
RB Tim Austin
FB Richard Southward
TE Randy Brennan*
FL Boyce Groth*
SE Roman Bronson*
LT Tony Esqueda
LG Chris Wagner*
C Theo Olivarez
RG Ernest Poston*
RT Gilbert Helman

LDE Marshall Brumitt
LDT Lane Williams/Thomas Gordon
RDT Tito Ash
RDE Lowell Nepolitano*
SLB Richie Currin
MLB Eric Jean
WLB Chris Frampton
LCB Landon Sobel*
RCB Hugo Callahan/Winston Mulder
SS Herman Almeida*
FS Herman McNamara*

* donates new starter in 2009

P Lester Clements
K Danny Alexander
KR Roman Bronson
PR Mel Fitzgerald

The team is geared for an exciting and successful 2009.

[tarcone]

WEEK 1-- Texas at Tulsa

The new era for the offense begins. A more pass oriented offense is the gameplan. Enough of the run game and throwing it downfield. We are going to open up the pass game but with more mid range passes.
Devon Taylor is too good to be just handing the ball off. The keys to the offense are handed to him.
We go into the game as 4 point underdogs. Not a good sign. Guess the oddsmakers dont think Taylor is the man.
Taylor proves them wrong and shows why he should have been utilized better in the past.
Taylor leads Tulsa to a 52-24 thrashing of division rival Texas. Here is how the performed.

Offense:
All I can say is wow. The team racks up 516 yards of total offense. Individually, the playmakers shine.
Taylor completes 21-31 passes for 374 yards and 4 TDs.
RB Austin rushes 26 times for 122 yards and 2 TDs.
WR Groth catches 9 balls for 215 yards.
WR Bronson catches 6 balls for 112 yards.
RB Thornburg catches 3 balls for 32 yards and 3 TDs.
Offense is everything i had hoped for and more.

Defense:
Defense was average and needs to improve. I think as the season wears on and the players get more comfortable with each other it will get better.
They gave up 426 yards, 136 rushing and 290 passing.

Special Teams:
Very good except for 1 missed FG. Otherwise, everyone did what was asked. I love that my punter Clements had 2 punts for a 49 yard average and both punts landed inside the 20.

Grades:

QB-- A+. If Taylor plays like this all season, the Cows are going to be tough.
RBs-- A. Austin had a great game. The backups were not so good.
WRs-- A. Bronson has 100+, Groth 200+. A couple drops though.
TEs-- C. hard to grade as they did nothing. Luong did recover a fumble and score a TD on special teams.
OLine-- A. Runblocking was ok. Olivarez was 6 for 7. Allowed no sacks.
DLine-- C-. No sacks, 1 pass block and 5 hurries. Struggled against the run. This needs to improve. losing Ash wont help.
LBs-- A-. Team leaders in tackles. Covered the pass well.
DBs-- A-. 4 defensed, 1 interception. A decent day, but more is expected.

Great start to the season. We go to Boston next week. We will see if the offense maintains the positive mojo.

[sovstar]

Good stuff.

[tarcone]

WEEK 2-- Tulsa at Boston

The team goes on the road and tries to maintain its offensive shine and improve its defensive effort. The team is a slight favorite to win on the road. The oddsmakers must think last week was an abberation.
The Cows prove them wrong once again. The passing game is lights out again. Boyce Groth could be the FA pickup of the year. He is excelling in the Cows offense, as is Taylor.
Taylor and Groth lead Tulsa to a 41-10 humiliation of Boston.

Offense:
Another week of spectacular passing. This week the offense puts up 412 yards of offense and 41 points. Individually the top 2 guns are the guys.
Taylor goes 25-37 for 367 yards and 6 TDs. Again, 0 Ints.
WR Groth catches 12 balls for 200 yards and a TD. 2nd week in a row with 200+ yards receiving.
Everyone else is a bit player in the game. Although, WR Bronson scores twice, and TEs Brennan and Luong and RB Thornburg each score once.
The offense kepps rolling.

Defense:
The defense improves this week. It gives up 262 yards of total offense. They held Boston to 51 yards rushing and 241 passing. They only allowed 10 points.
A much improved effort over last week.

Special Teams:
Good again, this week, with the exception of 1 missed extra point.
The KR team was a little shaky. Stat of the week is Fitzgeralds 4 punt returns for 59 yards a 14.7 average.

Grades:
QB-- A+. Taylor continues to shine in Cows new offense.
RBs-- C-. Ugly day for the backs. 22 rushes for 59 yards.
WRs-- A-. Groth another 200 yards. Bronson 2 TDS. A good day. 4 drops though.
TEs-- A. Good day. 6 catches for 66 yards and 2 TDs.
OLine-- D. Terrible run blocking and allowed 2 sacks. Must improve.
DLine-- A. Much improved performance over last week. 5 sacks, 2 hurries, and helped shut down run.
LBs-- A another good day from this group. Many tackles, a sack and an Int. Also had hurries, Defensed passes.
DBs-- A. 1 sack, 5 defensed passes. Shut down passing game. Starting to improve.

Another oputstanding week. The offense is on fire and the defense takes a major step forward. Next week, Madison comes to town.

[tarcone]

WEEK 3-- Madison at Tulsa

Back at home and facing the defending NC Champion. Definitely the toughest challenge of the season. The offense is still hot going into the contest, but the defense of Madison may be able to derail the Cows.
Not today, as the Cows defeat Madison 24-21, on a late 4th quarter TD by Boyce Groth. Big stats for the big players.

Offense:

The passing game was geared up again. 406 yards oassing and 449 total yards. Again, Taylor to Groth is a winner.
QB Devon Taylor goes 21-41 for 406 yards, 3 TDS and 3 Ints,
WR Boyce Groth catches 10 balls for 211 yards and 2 TDs.
WR Roman Bronson catches 8 balls for 156 yards and 1 TD.

Defense:

Defense continues to improve. It gives up 286 yards total offense to Madison. Run defense gives up 115 yards while the pass defense gives up 196. A good pergormance against a very good team. team had 7 defnesed and 5 hurried, plus, 4 sacks.

Special Teams:

Kicking, kick return, and punting teams are playing poorly. The punt return team played well. P Lester Clements and K Danny Alexander played well.

Grades:
QBs-- A-. Taylor goes 21-41 for 406 yards 3 TDs. Negative: 3 Ints. Did lead team to last minute win.
RBs-- C-. Another bad day for the run game. 20 rushes for 49 yards. This needs to improve.
WRs-- A-. Groth 10 catches for 211 yards and 2 TDs but 2 more drops. Bronson 8 catches for 152 yards 1 TD but 3 drops.
TEs-- D+. Brennan caught one pass for 6 yards. Thats pretty much it.
OLine-- C+. Run blocking was a little better. Still no production. Allowed 1 sack, and 4 hurries.
DLine-- B. 4 sacks and 5 hurries. But gave up 115 yards rushing.
LBs-- B. A solid day, but nothing spectacular.
DBs-- A-. 7 defensed, 196 passing yards against. Every game they are getting better.

A big win against a good opponent. Next we look to continue our streak when Newark comes to town for a visit.

Side note: At the begining of the game and each offensive series Cow fans yell "SSSTTTAAAMMMPPPEEEDDDDDDDEEE!!!!!!"

[Warhammer]

You realize that Cows is one of the best nicknames in the league as well as having one of the best non-dookie helmets!

[Kobeck]

I agree

There's just something about farmyard mascots...

[Suicane]

Plus, even though it's technicaly a bull i guess, I prefer to think of it simply as a satanic cow.

[Matt]

The Madison victory was nice. Tulsa is for real this year.

[ifl]Chase Webb[/ifl] has given the Bulldogs some inside information to help shut down Taylor..........or something

[Matt]

Our matchup is rather intriguing as we've got the #1 ranked pass defense, and Tulsa has the #1 passing offense. Now I'm not naive enough to understand that other teams haven't tested our secondary, but it does make for a nice side plot

[tarcone]

Great game ahead. I can't wait to test your pass defense. Good thing I get home cooking.

[tarcone]

WEEK 4-- Newark at Tulsa

Another tough opponent comes for a visit. They bring the best RB in the game in Crespo. Awesome run offense faces an awesome pass offense. We decide to try and stop the run and make their QB beat us. Things were ugly all day for the Cows.

Offense:

We sucked all day. 6 1st downs, 148 yards total offense. Terrible.

Defense:

Gave up 389 yards, 167 on the ground. We came in focusing on the run. Disappointing.

Special Teams:

Punt and Kick teams still bad. Others good.

Grades:

QB-- F. 7 for 28 for 99 yards 0 TDs. 8 defensed. Terrible.
RBs-- F. 56 yards rushing. Tired of the incompetence.
WRS--F. 6 drops. 99 yards.
TEs-- D. 1 catch for 24 yards.
OLine-- D. Terrible ruun production.
DLine-- F. Couldnt stop the run. Couldnt get to the QB.
LBs--A. 1 hurry, 1 Int, 1 defensed. 25 tackles 7 assists.
DBs-- F. Got lit up. Plain and simple.

Terrible game all around. Need to rebound quick next week. Still lead the division.

[tarcone]

WEEK 5-- Orlando at Tulsa

Another game at home. After a terrible offensive performance, The Cows look to get back on track. Favored to win vs. Orlando.

Offense:

389 total yards. Rushing game returned with 126 yards. Passing game was average and 5 drops and 2 picks hurt.

Defense:

Gave up 392 yards. 245 rushing yards was terrible. Plus Orlandos QB was very efficient. Not good.

Special Teams:

Played well. An improvement over previos weeks. KR team still giving up too good of starting position.

Grades:

QB-- C. !5-35 and 2 INTs. 5 drops didnt help. 264 yards and 2 TDs is a plus.
RB-- A. Thornburg takes over starting job. Rushes for 120 yards on 23 carries for a 5.2 average.
WR-- D. Ouch. 5 drops. Bronson did catch 2 TDs.
TE-- F. Didnt contribute. except for 1 KRB.
OLine-- A-. Run blocking improved. Allowed no sacks.
DLine-- D-. Got lit up for 245 yards rushing. Did have 2 sacks.
LB-- C. Had to try and stop the run, since the Dline was no help. Made numerous stops.
DB-- D-. Couldnt stop the few passes thrown at them. Case in point, CB Hugo Callahn allows 6 catches and defends none. They only threw 18 passes.

2 losses in a row is not a good sign. Offense needs to get back on track against a solid Vermont team.

[tarcone]

WEEK 6- Tulsa at Vermont

The 2 game losing skid must end. Offense must get back on track. Traveling to Vermont will not be an easy way to end the streak. We are favored going into the game. We need to win.

Offense:

We're back. After a couple of lackluster weeks, the offense finds its groove. 191 yards rushing and 347 passing. We roll up 530 yards and 33 points.

Defense:

defense was ok today. We did just enough to win. Still getting killed by the run, as we give up 160 yards rushing. Only 171 passing though. In the end, we give up 323 yards and 30 points.

Special Teams:

kicking teams were terrible again. Too many long returns. Our return teams do well. K Danny Alexander 4-4 on FGs and 3-3 on XP.

Grades:

QB-- B. Taylor set a standard early. his 19-31 performance is good, but we want it better. He did pass for 347 yards with 3 TDs and 1 Int.
RB-- A. Thornburg taking off in new roll as starter. 27 rushes for 136 yards. Austin did well in reserve with 7 rushes for 40 yards.
WR-- A. Limited drops to 1 this week. Welcome back Tyrell McCoy, 7 catches for 197 yards and a TD. 3 TDs thrown to WRs this week.
TE-- B. Another player back from injury shines. Fretwell catches 5 for 47 yards. Good to have the TEs in the gameplan.
OLine-- A-. Run blocking improving each week. Only allowed 1 sack.
DLine-- F. Terrible against the run again. Only 1 sack and 3 hurries.
LB-- C. Not as active. Very average performance from this group this week.
DB-- B. 4 defensed. Lots of tackles. The safeties were very active against the run.

Get off the losing streak against a good Vermont team. Next week we travel to Texas for a division battle. We are only 4 point favorites. this game makes me very nervous.





.

[tarcone]

WEEK 7-- Tulsa at Texas

Texas is down but it is a division opponent and they are at home. A trap if Ive ever seen one.

Offense:

We roll up 443 yards total. Only 68 come on the ground as Texas shuts down our running game. We score 28 points.

Defense:

We give up 373 yards. Only 98 on the ground, still a 4.4 avg. Very aggressive defense today.

Special Teams:

K team improved. P team still average. PR and KR teams pplaying well. One long missed FG. P good.

Grades:

QB-- B+. We see a pattern. 18-30 375 yards 3 TDs 2 Ints.
RB-- F. Should be lower. Thornburg 24-37 yds 1 fumble Austin 3- 7 yds
WR-- A. This group is outstanding top to bottom. Groth out for a couple games.
TE-- A. Fretwell cements the job as his, and no one is taking it.
OLine-- C-. Horrible run blocking. Didnt allow a sack and kept Taylor pretty clean.
DLine-- B+. Avg on run defense. Good on pass rush. 1 sack, 3 blocks, 7 hurries.
LB-- A. Leading tackling group. 5 defensed passes.
DB-- A. Sobels 2 picks and Callahans 4 defensed, made for a rough day.

Outstanding division win. We are still in 1st place. Next up is the Monday Night Matchup. NC South leading Tulsa travels to Lawrence, to battle the NC East leading Phantoms. Another shoot out is possible.
At 5-2 we need to continue to win and put pressure on Little Rock.