Hartford Colonials Game Notes
October 12, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Hartford Colonials News Release
HARTFORD COLONIALS (1-2) VS. OMAHA NIGHTHAWKS (2-1)
Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, 3 pm
TV: NESN
Radio: WPOP-AM/ESPN Radio 1410
COLONIALS SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time/TV
9/18 SACRAMENTO W, 27-10
9/24 at Omaha L, 26-27
BYE WEEK
10/9 FLORIDA L, 20-33
10/16 OMAHA 3 pm/NESN
10/23 at Las Vegas 3:30 pm/VERSUS
10/30 at Sacramento 11 pm/VERSUS
BYE WEEK
11/11 at Florida 7 pm/HDNET
11/20 LAS VEGAS 3:30 pm/VERSUS
2010 UFL Standings
Team W-L Pct. PF PA
Las Vegas 2-1 .667 60 54
Omaha 2-1 .667 57 65
Florida 2-2 .500 97 84
Hartford 1-2 .333 73 70
Sacramento 1-2 .333 51 67
THE GAME
The Hartford Colonials have lost two straight and look to rebound against the Omaha Nighthawks at Rentschler Field. It is the second meeting between the teams this season. In a hard-fought game Sept. 24, Omaha rallied in the fourth quarter for a 27-26 victory at Rosenblatt Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on the New England Sports Network (NESN) with play-by-play duties handled by Brett Haber and Scott Zolak providing analysis. Sideline reporters will be Tony Terzi (Hartford) and John Chandler (Omaha). ESPN Radio 1410/WPOP-AM will air the game with Jason Page on play-by-play and Rob Lunn doing color.
ANTICIPATED REMATCH
The Colonials are hoping for a different outcome than the 27-26 loss on Sept. 24 in Omaha. Hartford led throughout the game and had a 23-10 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Colonials defense allowed 17 points in the final 15 minutes. The decisive play was a 12-yard touchdown pass from Omaha QB Jeff Garcia to Robert Ferguson on fourth down with 6 seconds remaining, followed by kicker Jeff Wolfert converting the PAT. The loss overshadowed an outstanding performance by Colonials QB Josh McCown, who completed 22 of 25 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Hartford was held to 71 yards rushing on 28 attempts and the offense was held to a pair of field goals in the second half.
COLONIALS HEAD COACH CHRIS PALMER
Hartford Colonials Head Coach and General Manager Chris Palmer is in his 38th overall season as a football coach and 23rd year in the professional ranks. The UFL is the fourth different professional football league Palmer has been a coach. The other three: NFL (1990-2000, 2002-09), the defunct United State Football League (1984-85) and the Canadian Football League (1983). Palmer was the Quarterbacks Coach for the New York Giants the last three seasons (2007-09) and served in that role for one year (2006) with the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to that he was the Houston Texans Offensive Coordinator (2002-05), Cleveland Browns Head Coach (1999-2000), Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Coordinator ('97-98), New England Patriots Wide Receivers and Quarterbacks Coach (1993-96), and Houston Oilers Receivers Coach (1990-92).
"QUOTABLE..."
Colonials center Keith Gray on the anticipated battle at the line of scrimmage:
"I think it's going to be an all-out war, that's why they call it the trenches. It's just going to be a straight battle in there. We're expecting their best and we're going to give our best. We'll see who walks out a winner."
Colonials defensive end Maurice Fountain on the rematch:
"You can take a play here, a play there, from the last game and you want to build off that. I think because of the way they won the first game, it's really a heated rivalry. But really, for us it's just coming out and trying to get win No. 2."
Colonials cornerback Manny Collins on defending the Omaha receivers:
"I expect it to be a great game. We've got a lot more film on their receivers. This is going to be a physical match-up, going play for play."
Colonials Head Coach Chris Palmer on the first game against Omaha:
"Penalties hurts us in that game. We just have to clean up and not fall into the traps of retaliating if something happens."
A TALE OF 12 QUARTERS
The Colonials have played 12 quarters of football - some very good, some so-so, some not very good. The first six quarters were better than the last six. A closer look:
FIRST SIX LAST SIX
47 Points For 26
20 Points Against 50
654 Total Yards Offense 460
343 Total Yards Defense 495
56 - 209 Rushing Att.-Yards 37-134
461 Passing Yards 445
31 First Downs 24
1 Turnovers 6
8 - 80 Penalties-Yards 12 - 163
TELLING NUMBERS
3.0 - Rushing average of first two opponents (39 carries, 118 yards).
4.6 - Rushing average of Florida Tuskers in last game (32-146).
2.7 - Average gain on first down by Sacramento Mountain Lions.
6.2 - Average gain on first down by last two opponents, Omaha and Florida.
BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
In the first three games, the Colonials have run the ball a total of 93 plays and passed it 91 plays. But as the chart shows, the team has scored all seven of its touchdowns through the air. The breakdown:
PASSING RUSHING
Att. - TD OPPONENT Att. - TD
23 - 1 Sacramento 40 - 0
30 - 3 Omaha 28 - 0
38 - 1 Florida 25 - 0
91 - 7 TOTALS 93 - 0
ONE STREAK CONTINUES, ANOTHER ENDS
Colonials QB Josh McCown has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of the first three games. He connected for three in the Sept. 18 season opener against Sacramento, two on Sept. 24 at Omaha and one last week against Florida. However, his streak of not throwing an interception ended at 54 passes when he was picked off by Florida's DeJuan Tribble late in the second quarter.
SPREADING IT OUT
All six touchdown passes thrown by Josh McCown have been to a different receiver. The breakdown:
PLAYER YARDS OPPONENT, DATE
Lorenzo Booker 80-x vs. Sacramento, 9/18/10
Pat Carter 35 at Omaha, 9/24/10
Jason Chery 59 vs. Sacramento, 9/18/10
Tyson DeVree 14 at Omaha, 9/24/10
Ronnie Ghent 1 vs. Florida, 10/9/10
Markee White 4 vs. Sacramento, 9/18/10
QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE
The Colonials have engineered some quick scoring drives in the first three games. Four of their seven touchdown drives have taken five plays or less. The average time of possession in those four TD drives has been less than a minute (:59.75) and have covered an average of 70 yards. A closer look:
Plays Yards Time of Pos. How Scored
4 50 1:08 Josh McCown 4-yard pass to Markee White
2 8 :54 McCown 59-yard pass to Jason Chery
2 78 :57 McCown 80-yard pass to Lorenzo Booker
5 70 1:00 McCown 35-yard pass to Pat Carter
FIELD POSITION IS EVERYTHING
Field position was among the determining factors in the 33-20 loss to Florida. Excluding the final possession when the Florida QB Brooks Bollinger took a knee, Florida started five possessions in Hartford territory. The Tuskers took advantage of the excellent field position, scoring 20 points on four of those possessions. Meanwhile, the Colonials began just one drive past midfield.
RETURN MAN
In his debut with the Colonials, defensive back Gerard Lawson returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown late in the first half to give Hartford a 13-10 lead at the break. Lawson also returned five kickoffs for a 84 yards, giving him 125 all-purpose yards on the day.
ROSTER MAKEOVER
Only nine of the 52 players on the current roster were on the team for the final game last season. The players: OT Orrin Thompson, TE Ronnie Ghent, TE Charles Davis, DT Jonas Seawright, LB Joe Mortensen, S Tra Battle, LS Jared Retkofsky, DE Maurice Fountain, DE Michale Spicer.
COLONIALS YOUNGEST IN UFL
With an average player age of 25.3 years old at the start of the season, Hartford is the youngest team in the UFL. Florida (27.8) and Omaha (27.8) are tied for the oldest team. The average age of a UFL player at the start of the 2010 season was 26.8 years old. The youngest player on the Colonials is LB Simoni Lawrence, 21 (DOB: 2/1/89). Punter Jy Bond (DOB: 4/22/79) is the oldest player on the team at 31, followed QB Josh McCown (7-4-79).
SUPER BOWL RINGS
As the New York Giants Quarterbacks Coach in 2007, Chris Palmer earned a Super Bowl ring when the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Colonials linebacker Tank Daniels was on that Giants squad and has a ring. Colonials long snapper Jared Retkofsky won a ring with the Steelers when they defeated the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Colonials Offensive Line Coach Todd Washington has ring as a player with the Buccaneers after their victory over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII.
United Football League Stories from October 12, 2010
- Sacramento Mountain Lions Game 4 Game Notes - Sacramento Mountain Lions
- Hartford Colonials Game Notes - Hartford Colonials
- Tuskers Players Earn POW Awards - Florida Tuskers
- UFL Notes Week 5 Notes - Florida Tuskers
- Nighthawks Sign Draft Pick Adrian Jones - Florida Tuskers
- Tuskers Enjoying Bye Week, Begin Preparation for Mountain Lions On - Florida Tuskers
- UFL Notes, Players of Week 4 - Florida Tuskers
- Four Lions Added, Four Cut This Week - Sacramento Mountain Lions
- Ryan Star To Perform At Halftime Of Hartford Colonials' October 16th Game - Hartford Colonials
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