The Dallas Renegades went down in their opener to the St. Louis BattleHawks 15-9. (Credit XFL.com)
Sunday did not go the way the Dallas Renegades were hoping it would go. They debuted their team on the new look Globe Life Park field to over 17,000 fans in the stands. The result of the game was a tough loss for fans and the team to go home to. The Dallas Renegades went down in their opener to the St. Louis BattleHawks 15-9. There were some positives to the game and some negatives that fans were able to observe on the field during the game that will set the tone for the rest of the season.
The Running Backs Will Catch the Ball Often
It was apparently from the beginning of the game that the running backs were going to be involved in the offense. On the first drive alone, fans saw Lance Dunbar catch two passes out of the backfield. He ended the game with six catches. The assumption was that the running backs were going to be apart of the identity of the team, but without Landry Jones, they were a good portion of the passing games. Many times, Philip Nelson would dump it off to the running back as a safety net. It will be interesting to see how much Jones will use his running backs.
Landry Jones is Needed
Hal Mumme’s play calling could be seen as conservative as he didn’t call many deep ball passes until the second half. Most of the game consisted of Nelson hitting Lance Dunbar or Flynn Nagel on short five to seven yard passes. While the offense was efficient in moving the ball down the field, the Renegades was very conservative with their pass calls. This has a lot to do with the fact that Nelson had calls that were all short passes. With Landry Jones most likely coming back into the lineup in week two, that should change how they play.
Rushing Attack is a Concern
All four running backs struggled as they combined for 12 carries for 58 yards. The Renegades was never able to establish a running game throughout the contest. The offensive line could be part of the responsibility as they weren’t able to open up many holes. Lance Dunbar was the most established back. Cameron Artis-Payne came in as the starter, but only got two carries in the game. The passing game was part of most of the game plan, but the team will need to work on opening up the running game more often.
Defense Had Trouble Against the Run
The front seven was considered to be one of the best and played well compared to other teams over the weekend. The weakness came in a couple of deep balls that were caught by the BattleHawks. Stopping the running game was shown to be the tough for the defense. Matt Jones and Jordan Ta’amu had big games on the ground as they are now the league’s top two rushers. Not a good sign for the team. Despite the fact that they allowed 191 yards rushing, the defense did only allow 15 points and have something to look forward to in the upcoming weeks.
Bob Stoops is the Right Man
Nothing bad can be said about how good it felt to have Bob Stoops back on the sidelines for the first time in three years. Stoops looked confident and handled the Jones injury as well as he could. He handled the media well after the game as he seemed excited to be back in coaching. This was a good test for the team and for Stoops to see how they would respond. The offense wasn’t able to finish drives and the defense struggled against the run, but the team was in the game the whole time. Stoops had his players ready for the game even though the result was not what they wanted it to be. Jones looks good to return next week against LA and with all the changes happening to the Wildcats, it looks to be a good matchup for the Renegades to bounce back with.
