Welcome again- to the Talon's roster report, this time we will look to the defensive side of the ball.

Along the defensive line- No changes will be made to the starters. [b332d87d]David Hance[/b332d87d] is the teams top D-lineman, and he will start at DRE- Hance is a very solid DE who is best at stopping the run, but still has a chance for 10 sacks this season. On the other end [b332d87d]Matt Bevis[/b332d87d] will be the starter once again, Bevis has a very similar playing style to Hance as he is better at stopping the run than rushing the passer- Bevis had a very dissapointing '05 season, and if he does not improve this might be his last season in Tulsa. The primary back up to both Bevis and Hance is [b332d87d]RJ Stokes[/b332d87d]- Stokes is in his 3rd season and if either should go down with an injury Stokes will start, and should be able to do an ok job. At NT the Talons drafted [b332d87d]Jessie Sherman[/b332d87d] with the 18th overall pick, however Sherman will not be the starter on opening day. That job belongs once again to [b332d87d]Vince George[/b332d87d] the former second round pick. George is a big strong DT who excels with his stregnth when rushing the passer. He has struggled against the run, and if he starts slow he might lose his job to Sherman for good. Behind them is [b332d87d]George Herzog[/b332d87d] who has started 47 games for Anaheim, he will be the # 3 DT, and should see very limited playing time this season behind the two young guys.

Now to the position with everyone's favorite Talon, the ultimate underdog- [b332d87d]Nickolas Snodgrass[/b332d87d]- No question Snodgrass will be starting at the SILB position, where he will continue to rack up tackles and sacks this season. Snodgrass is not getting any younger but the team is hoping for 1 more great season out of him before he starts to slow down. At the other ILB position [b332d87d]Arthur Rausch[/b332d87d] will be starting, Rausch had a slow season last year, but is hoping to improve this season and get both more tackles and sacks. Backing them up will once again be [b332d87d]Johnnie Carter[/b332d87d] who has started 21 games in the past 2 seasons as primarily a backup / injury replacement player. The outside linebackers have two of the best run stopping OLBs in the league in [b332d87d]Don Brack[/b332d87d] and [b332d87d]Ira Saxon[/b332d87d]- Brack has had injuries the past 2 seasons that have kept him from being an impact player. The Talons are hoping this year he will be able to stay healthy and be back in his '03 form where he racked up 127 tackles and 5.5 sacks. The other OLB, Saxon, had his best year last year with 85 tackles and 5.5 sacks, Saxon has never really lived up to his talent yet. The Talons are hoping this is the year everything clicks for this group and they get the job done on defense.

In the secondary, the Talons have 3 great players who are going to try and stop the Cavalry division's young QBs from throwing the ball too much- At the # 1 CB position the team holds one of the top CBs in the league in [b332d87d]Damon Jankowski[/b332d87d]- Jankowski is a tall CB who is able to shut down his side of the field. He had 22 passess defensed and was voted to the league's 2nd team All Pro team. This offseason the Talons locked him up for 5 more years which is great news in Tulsa as they have always wanted a shutdown corner. At the other CB position there will be a rookie starting on opening day [b332d87d]Floyd Bruce[/b332d87d] impressed coaches during the preseason and training camp and was able to beat out [b332d87d] Pete Henderson[/b332d87d] for the # 2 CB spot. Bruce is much better in bump and run than Henderson, and that played a very big factor in deciding the starter. Henderson will be the nickle corner this year with [b332d87d]Otis Ames[/b332d87d] being the dime back, quite a fall from starting 8 games as a rookie. At safety the Talons hold one of the leagues best pair- [b332d87d]Desmond Ward[/b332d87d] and [b332d87d]Seymore Horgan[/b332d87d] will be starting their 3rd season together. Both of them are ball hawks and hard hitters- WRs in the calvary division better be scared of going across the middle with these 2 roaming around looking for a big hit. Backing up Horgan and Ward will be an undrafted rookie in [b332d87d]Brett Silas[/b332d87d]- Silas had a great training camp and preseaon and won a roster spot, he has great size for a saftey and fits into the Talons scheme very well.

And that concludes the Talons opening day roster report for the 2006-2007 season. This year the Talosn have their best team ever, and will possibly be in contintion for a playoff spot! Heres to hoping we open the season on the road with a win over El Paso!

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