Jerry Giese, Sioux City Journal (Feb. 21, 2010)
SIOUX CITY -- The new quarterback of the Sioux City Bandits was jokingly referred by one of his friends as James McFavre.

James McNear, who chose not to resign with the Indoor Football League's Omaha Beef, was being compared to Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Brett Favre, only in one aspect. The 26-year old McNear, who passed for 2,233 yards and 41 touchdowns last season for an 11-3 team that won the Central Division title, was questioned by this friend if he was going to continue to play or retire, like Favre, who threw one too many interceptions for the Vikings in the NFC championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

"That's probably the best comparison," smiled McNear Sunday afternoon as the Bandits hosted Media Day at the Tyson Events Center. "A good friend of mine called me James McFavre because I was indecisive if I was going to play or retire.

"I chose not to resign with them. Obviously, I still have friends and teammates (with the Beef), guys I call brothers. I just needed a change of scenery."

It's a fair comparison. Favre was reunited with Darrell Bevell, his former offensive coordinator from the Green Bay Packers. McNear followed new Bandits' coach Tommie Williams, who was his offensive coordinator the previous two seasons with the Beef.

Williams feels with McNear at the controls, the Bandits, 4-10 a year ago, has the potential to average between 40 and 50 points per game. Only time will tell, as the 11th indoor football season in Sioux City starts Saturday night as the Bandits travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face the Colorado Ice.

"I think it's an excellent comparison," said Williams. "If you look at it that way, James is comfortable with me and I'm comfortable with his play calling. With James and Scott Jensen, we could turn this around from being an average team to an outstanding team."

Like Favre, McNear has sharp wide receivers. Damon Mothershead had 33 catches for 368 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago for the Bandits.

Mothershead has two former Morningside College receivers on the Bandits, including Trae Johnson, who in 2008, had 100 catches for 1,027 yards and 17 touchdowns for af2's Quad City Steamwheelers. Antuan Bloom had a combined 113 catches for 1,858 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Mustangs in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Another key receiver is Leon Hall, Jr., who came to Sioux City in a trade with Sioux Falls for wide receiver Tommy Hofer and defensive back Buddy Williams. Hall was part of four United Indoor Football championship teams with the Storm, starting with the 2005 squad that beat the Bandits 40-38 in United Bowl I at the Tyson Events Center.

"(McNear) brings a lot to the table," said Hall. "He looks like he has a small frame, but he doesn't. He's intelligent and he also has a nice arm and he can elude rushers. That's a dual threat in this league, the way he can pass and the way he can run."

T.J. Williams, who played for Michigan State before transferring to Valdosta State, is another receiving threat for the Bandits along with Solomon Jones. And, the Bandits also have 2008 UIF rushing champion John Bentley (1,106 yards, 29 TDs the last two seasons) at their disposal.

"I'm defitely impressed with our receivers and how they're taking their game and making it their own," said McNear. "All of our receivers can stretch the field. We have some shifty receivers, some of them are good at catching the deep ball. They're all capable receivers."

"We're going to try to give McNear between 50 and 60 touchdown passes," said Hall. "As a whole, we expect good things. There's a lot of skill and a lot of good receivers. Nobody in this league has heard of a lot of these guys and that's good. They don't know what we'll be able to do until they see us on film."

The offense also includes three brand new linemen, coached by Erv Strohbeen, who's in his second season on the staff after playing center for the 2000 Sioux City Attack and with the Bandits from 2001-08.

Sam Weaver, a 6-2, 295-pounder, will play center. Pat Elvis So'oalo (6-5, 315) and Penisini "Ben" Liu (6-5, 295) will line up at left and right guard, respectively Saturday night against the Ice.

"We want to average over 40 points a game and put the defense on their heels," said Williams, who coached an offense that averaged 50.3 points a year ago to rank fourth in the 19-team IFL.

"Our offense is going to dictate the flow of the game. We can do it by slowing it down or we can speed it up. We want to scare defensive coordinators by scoring every way."

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