After a delayed start due to a weather delay Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Bandits and the Pittsburgh Maulers kicked off their seasons in the last game of opening weekend for the USFL. Todd Haley and his team looked very impressive for a team playing their first game, defeating Pittsburgh 17-3.
Recap
The Bandits looked on point from their first possession. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu had the offense locked in. On the first possession of the game, the Bandits drove all the way down the field for an eventual three-yard touchdown by running back BJ Emmons. Emmons played very well throughout the game thanks to great blocking from the offensive line. The former FAU running back finished with 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 19 carries. The excellent blocking also gave Ta’amu lots of time in the pocket to make good plays. Ta’amu threw his first touchdown pass on a quick route to wide receiver Jordan Lasley on quick two-yard whiptail. Ta’amu would finish the game going 18 of 30 for 164 yards and a touchdown. It is safe to say that Ta’amu is arguably the best quarterback in the USFL.
Another player that played very well was Bandits’ tight end Cheyenne O’Grady. O’Grady finished with 10 receptions for 78 yards and Ta’amu said during the broadcast to the commentators that the team loves getting the tight end involved in their offense. Look for Ta’amu and O’Grady to have a solid connection going forward as the season progresses.
Tampa Bay’s defense stymied Pittsburgh all day, giving up only a field goal. Defensive coordinator Pepper Johnson had his squad locking down the Maulers attack all game. Quarterback Josh Love struggled to get the offense organized in Pittsburgh’s first game and the Bandit defense took advantage. Tampa Bay kept Pittsburgh off-balanced and the Maulers never got the opportunity to recover. The defense posted three sacks and allowed an average of 3.3 yards per play. They also gave up only 2.8 yards on average to the Maulers main running back, Garrett Groshek. Groshek had lots of hype coming into the season and many people thought he had a big first game coming. However, the Bandits held Groshek to only 55 yards on 16 carries.
Despite the win, Tampa Bay was not necessarily perfect. Ta’amu, in particular, threw two interceptions. One was tipped up but the other was a blatantly bad throw that should not have been made. Also, Tampa Bay stalled at times on offense. Early on, it seemed as if they were going to run up the scoreboard but could not quite expand the lead beyond the 17 points they did score. Coach Haley has some tweaks to make to his offense’s decision-making and consistency.
Nonetheless, it was a great game from the Bandits in their first-ever contest and it should be a great season as this team has the potential of being at the top of the USFL.