Tag: Vegas Vipers

Hazardous field conditions caused an XFL kicker to slip and miss a 23-yard field goal attempt

Somebody needs to go put a tarp down or something.

It’s one thing to say a game gets sloppy, but the latest XFL game between the Vegas Vipers and D.C. Defenders took that to a whole other level.

The rain was pouring at Cashman Field in Las Vegas on Saturday night, causing unusually slippery conditions for the Vipers and Defenders.

It got so bad that Vegas kicker Bailey Giffen literally slipped while attempting a field goal from 23 yards out. When we say slipped, we mean “banana peel in a cartoon” slipped. It was ugly.

Of course, the kick went to the side, and the Defenders celebrated the whiff. Although, the terrible field conditions were much, much more to blame than Giffen’s kicking. Justin Tucker couldn’t have hit that.

The Vegas Vipers are surely going to have to do something else to their home field to prevent hazardous conditions like this from popping up again anytime else this season.

The XFL is working out the kinks during its 2023 revamp, and it seems like making sure kickers don’t slip in the grass when it rains will be high on the list of things to iron out.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

XFL: Sea Dragons fall to BattleHawks 20-18 on last second field goal

The Sea Dragons made it interesting, but couldn’t stop AJ McCarron late

It’s been a rather inauspicious start for the Seattle Sea Dragons in the second season of the new XFL. Seattle is starting with an 0-2 record, having scored only 18 points in each of their last two games.

The Sea Dragons raced to an early 12-0 lead but couldn’t get much going after the successful 3-point conversion to former Seahawks receiver Josh Gordon. After that, it was a slow drip as the St. Louis BattleHawks slowly chipped away at Seattle’s lead.

To the surprise of no one, turnovers kill, and the Sea Dragons were reminded of this painful lesson on Thursday night. Seattle’s first possession of the second half never got a chance to get going, as receiver Jahcour Pearson fumbled the ensuing St. Louis punt. Unfortunately, the following consecutive Sea Dragon possessions resulted in lost fumbles as well.

Quarterback Ben DiNucci made things interesting late, as he passed for 55 yards on a 60-yard touchdown drive to give the Sea Dragons an 18-17 lead with under two minutes left.

However, the lead did not last as BattleHawks – and former Alabama 3x National Champion – quarterback AJ McCarron engineered a game winning drive of his own. McCarron drove St. Louis 50 yards, resulting in the game-winning 44-yard field goal.

Seattle’s next game is next Saturday, as the Sea Dragons travel to Sin City to take on the Vegas Vipers.

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Every Penn State player in the XFL in 2023

Looking for every Penn State player on an XFL roster in 2023? Here they are.

As the curtain closes on the NFL’s 2022 season with the crowning of a Super Bowl champion, the football calendar moves next to the start of the XFL regular season. The XFL is back under new leadership headlined by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the latest attempt to inject new life into the XFL brand kicks things off on Saturday, February 18.

When the new XFL season begins, there will be some familiar names for Penn State fans to keep track of. When the league kicks off, there will be five former Nittany Lions scattered across the league’s eight teams.

Former wide receiver [autotag]Saeed Blacknall[/autotag] will not be on one of those rosters despite previously being profiled by the league in an effort to showcase some players leading up to the start of the season. Blacknall was on the roster for the Vegas Vipers, but he did not appear on the team’s official roster shared by the league in an Instagram post a week and a half prior to the first games being played. But the Vipers do have a former Nittany Lion on the roster looking to make an impact this spring.

Here is a summary of where each former Penn State player is in the XFL and where they have been since their final days in a Penn State uniform.

Former Tiger finds new home in pro football

A former Clemson football player has found a new home in professional football. The XFL is having its player draft today as it gets ready to re-launch in 2023 after its 2020 season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Tiger and NFL wide …

A former Clemson football player has found a new home in professional football.

The XFL is having its player draft today as it gets ready to re-launch in 2023 after its 2020 season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Tiger and NFL wide receiver Martavis Bryant was one of the first names to come off the board in today’s XFL Draft, being selected by the Vegas Vipers with the fifth overall pick among offensive skill players.

The 2023 XFL season is slated to kick off on Feb. 18.

The last news regarding Bryant came back in May, when the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League announced that they had released Bryant. Bryant’s release came just a few days after he joined the Beasts, a team in the Fan Controlled Football league.

Bryant never saw any game action with the Elks after signing with the team in February. His rights were owned by the Toronto Argonauts in 2021, when he spent the season on the club’s suspended list after not reporting to training camp.

Bryant most recently played in the NFL in 2018 with the then-Oakland Raiders and was suspended indefinitely by the league that season after repeated violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Originally a fourth-round pick (118th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bryant tallied 145 catches for 2,183 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns while playing for the Steelers and the Raiders from 2014-18.

The Calhoun Falls, S.C. native played at Clemson from 2011-13, recording 61 receptions for 1,354 yards and 13 touchdowns along with a 17-yard carry and 291 yards on 14 kickoff returns over 37 games (13 starts) in his career. As a junior in 2013, he had 42 receptions for 828 yards and seven touchdowns along with two kickoff returns for 36 yards over 13 games (11 starts).

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!