For head coach and general manager Jonathan Hayes, his coaching staff and the St. Louis BattleHawk players, the big day is almost here.
And they cannot wait.
“We’re ready to go; we better be,” Hayes said following his team’s workout Friday at the Lou Fusz facility in Earth City. “As long as we’ve been at this, if we’re not ready then shame on us. The guys are ready to go. That’s why you practice, lift all the weights and do what they do. We’re excited to show what kind of football team we can be.”
The new XFL kicks off Saturday with two games. The BattleHawks will open their season in Dallas, at 4 p.m. Sunday, against the Renegades in a game to be televised by ESPN. Every XFL game this season, which includes a 10-game regular season followed by two weeks of playoffs, will be on national TV. The championship game will be played on April 26, a Sunday.
The BattleHawks will also play away from home in Week 2, taking on the Houston Roughnecks at 5 p.m. Feb. 16. The team’s first home game will be against the New York Guardians, at 2 p.m. on Feb. 23 — a Sunday.
“I think that starting with two road games can be an advantage,” said quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, who starred in 2017 and 2018 at the University of Mississippi and who was in camp with the NFL’s Houston Texans late last summer. “As coach Hayes said, we need to be road warriors and then hopefully come back to the Dome to keep things rolling.”
This is the second go-around for XFL, which is led by Commissioner Oliver Luck and WWE CEO Vince McMahon. The first, in 2001, lasted just one season.
But this version of the XFL isn’t as gimmicky as the last one. The 2020 XFL promises fewer play stoppages and a faster tempo than the NFL.
“I’m interested to see how the kickoff and kickoff return works out,” Hayes said. “To see if it is safer and if it creates more explosive plays or not.”
Kickoffs will be taken from the 30-yard line and must travel in the air to land between the opponents’ 30 and the goal line. Players on the line can’t move until the ball is touched by a return man or three seconds after the ball hits the ground.
After touchdowns, teams will have the option of running a play from the 2-yard line (one point), the 5-yard line (2 points) or the 10-yard line (3 points). There will be no extra-point kicks.
Another key difference from the NFL is the double-forward pass. A team completing a pass behind the line of scrimmage can throw another pass, as long as the ball has at no time crossed the line of scrimmage.
‘Hawks at the bottom
According to BetOnline, the Tampa Bay Vipers open the season as XFL favorites as the over-under betting line for the number of games they win this season is 7½.
The BattleHawks and Seattle Dragons are at the bottom, predicted with he over-under at 3½ games. Dallas and Houston are at six games each, followed by the DC Defenders (5½), LA Wildcats (four) and New York Guardians (four).
“Like coach said, opinions don’t matter,” quarterback Ta’Amu said. “All we can control is going out and playing to our abilities and our standards.”
Hayes said he did not see the line. And that he didn’t care about it.
“First of all, how did they determine it?” the coach asked. “I have no idea who they surveyed; I can’t worry myself about those things. I have too much other stuff to concern myself with. That’s been our focus since we started and that will continue to be our focus throughout the season.”
LOCAL LINE
The BattleHawks’ roster has a definite St. Louis flavor, including a pair of offensive linemen from Florissant — Brian Folkerts (Washburn) and Brian Wallace (Arkansas).
Folkerts, the starter at center, is a Hazelwood Central High grad and a veteran of 28 NFL games, including a pair with the St. Louis Rams in 2015. Wallace, a right tackle from CBC, was acquired in a late January trade with the New York Guardians.
“When I first got the call, I thought I was being cut; my heart just dropped,” Wallace recalled. “At first, I was kind of sad because I’d gotten to know some of the guys in New York. But then, I was pretty excited about going back home. Here, I feel there’s been more focus on technique and that’ll help make me a better all-around player.”
Other players on the roster with some local connection include defensive lineman Dewayne Hendrix (O’Fallon, Ill./University of Pittsburgh), University of Missouri receivers Marcus Lucas and L’Damian Washington and former University of Illinois defensive end Gimel President.
Asked about key players, Hayes is focused on the trenches.
“Probably the most important part of any football team is its play along the offensive and defensive lines,” the coach said. “The way they go is the way we’re going to go. I truly believe that.”
Photos: BattleHawks win Sunday's XFL opener against Renegades in Dallas