David Goff
OKBlitz.com Intern
TULSA, Oklahoma -- As the Tulsa Talons go into the bye week, they go in with a smile on their faces and a win in the books. The Talons trounced the Cleveland Gladiators 65-44 at home in Week 13. Now, after they can enjoy the bye week, they can begin worrying about making a run to finish out the season strong.
The players and coaches all expressed how this was the perfect time for the week off, especially after a roller coaster June.
“The up-and-down month we had plus the bye week coming up, it was now or never,” Andre Burns stated after the win against the Gladiators. "This was very much a necessary and needed win. I can’t say it enough, to have this bye week [now] was the most perfectly timed bye week.”
One of the main struggles over the last four weeks was definitely the defense. However, Tulsa was able to overcome that obstacle by limiting one of the best quarterbacks in the league, John Dutton, and Cleveland to a season low 44 points.
Head coach Mitch Allner says the need for his players to maintain this consistency and avoid mistakes throughout the rest of this season will be a vital to making a deep run in the playoffs.
“As long as we can go out there, be consistent and not make those mistakes, we can beat anyone in this league,” Allner after the game last Saturday. “[We've] just got to do things right all the time, not just some of the time.”
Another important factor that this win gave the Talons was momentum going into their much-needed break. This momentum was especially key for the defense, led by linebacker Jamar Ransom.
“Anytime you can build momentum going into a bye week, [you've] got something to build on,” he said after the win against the Gladiators. “If it was a loss, you’d come and try to reconstruct. This way, we can move forward to the next game, and we can go into this week resting with a win and going over .500.”
Every Talon will enjoy this week in his own unique way, but they must not forget the importance of finishing strong heading into the playoffs.
“Hopefully, if we finish things off and make the playoffs, we’re looking at a seven-game season to win the championship,” Allner said.
The Talons’ next game comes against Bossier-Shreveport July 10th at 7 p.m. at the BOK Center.
