SCORES
DEN 28 OAK 16 Denver’s Defense comes up big as the Gold build a 2-game division lead.
LA 31 ARZ 13 LA’s Chip Banks makes a huge first impression as Express roll.
MEM 14 TBY 31 Undermanned Showboats cannot keep pace with Banditball.
JAX 31 BIR 3 Bulls look primed for a playoff run with 3-phases win at Birmingham.
BLT 13 HOU 12 Houston slows the game down and almost pulls off a huge upset.
NJ 10 MGN 42 Hebert’s 4 TD’s lead to another big Michigan blow out at home.
WSH 38 NOR 13 Federals shock the Breakers in New Orleans on Collier’s 3 TD day.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Philadelphia Stars 20 Pittsburgh Maulers 25
Break up the Maulers!! After starting the season 0-7, Pittsburgh switched out their QB, signing former Wrangler Alan Risher, and the gunslinging Risher has given them 2 wins in 3 games. Sure, we cannot give him all the credit, after all, his stats show only 53% completion rate, but it is the lack of mistakes, and the ability to provide a credible passing threat to balance out Mike Rozier’s running that has made a huge difference for the Maulers. Risher threw two TDs in the game, both to TE Mike Shaw, and he avoided the big mistakes (only 1 sack given up and no interceptions) as the Maulers shocked the Philadelphia Stars.
Philly was not expecting the Pittsburgh defense to hold, but they did, keeping Kelvin Bryant to only 3.2 yards per carry, while also blanketing WR Tom Donovan. And yet, things looked good for the Stars early. They built up a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, but then Pittsburgh slowed them down and slowly crept back. By the half it was 17-13 Philly and by the end of the 3rd quarter Pittsburgh had built up a 22-17 lead, bolstered by a brilliant tackle by rookie LB Dino Hackett on Kelvin Bryant in the Philly endzone for 2. In the 4th, Pittsburgh would hold and expand the lead, as both teams settled for field goals on their only scoring drives.
Philadelphia was frustrated all day by Pittsburgh’s use of a 5-man line, and 2 LBs. It was unexpected and the Philly O-line never fully adjusted. LB’s Dino Hackett and Manu Tuiasosopo rarely came out of the game, while the line held the Stars run game in check. The win gave the somewhat sparse crowd in Pittsburgh something to cheer about in a relatively bleak season, and his performance gave QB Alan Risher a better foothold on the starting job, and a possible contract extension beyond 1986.
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
LB Chip Banks had an LA debut fitting for a Hollywood Premiere. The Express took the risk of a mid-season NFL poaching to grab Banks from the Cleveland Browns, hoping he would help provide energy and leadership to their sagging defense. He did that in dramatic fashion this week, leading the team with 8 tackles, causing an Owen Gill fumble and then falling on another from Gill later in the game, and to put the cherry on top of the sundae, at the end of the 2nd quarter, with Arizona in their 2 minute offense, and the game tied at 10, Banks stepped in front of a poor throw by Robbie Bosco and ran it back for the score, setting the momentum for the second half where LA would outscore Arizona 14-3 and pull away. The entire LA defense looked better with Banks drawing attention from LA’s offense and drawing rave reviews. If this is the star performance LA is going to get from Banks each week, this show could run for quite a while and this team could make a playoff run yet.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
It is too early for clinching just yet, but with only 6 games left, Baltimore and Michigan have to be feeling good with 5 game leads in their divisions. These two have been head and shoulders above the rest of the league all year, and it seems fitting that they will be clinching in the very near future. On the other end of the spectrum, the wildcard races are going to be just that, wild.
In the West there are 4 teams at 5-5 and only 2 spots. Denver has a 2-game lead on all 3 other Pacific teams, and New Orleans needs to keep pace or the Pacific Division could snag 3 playoff berths with both wildcards. In the East, Tampa has a 2-game lead over 4 teams at 4-6 for a wild card, and are more concerned with chasing the Bulls for the Southern Division, but the Stallions and all 3 teams in the Atlantic who don’t call Baltimore home are still itching for that final wild card position. Only 1 of them can have it, and with several intra-divisional games yet to play, this should be a real battle for survival.
NEWS & NOTES
News out of New York as the league this week is expected to review a potential share of the controlling interest in the New Jersey Generals from real estate developer Donald Trump to Malcolm Borg, a New Jersey based publishing and media mogul. Trump has been making noise about divesting from the USFL ever since the 1984 vote which retained a spring schedule. Trump had been the primary backer for a proposal to move the season to fall and potentially force an NFL-USFL merger. When that was rejected, and despite the court victory against the NFL which led to $675M in NFL restitution, Trump has clung to the idea that he was correct, that the USFL would always be “small potatoes” in the spring and that eventually the new car smell would come off the league and the combination of baseball and other spring sporting events would eat away at any profitability for the league.
The sale of his controlling interest in the Generals is a logical next step for Trump, who is likely to make up to $50M in profit from the sale after only 3 years of ownership in the franchise. After all, having the controlling position in a New York based franchise which is viewed as a cornerstone for the entire league is a major growth investment, if the league survives. So, for Mr. Borg who holds a more optimistic view of the league than Mr. Trump, it is a win-win situation. He provides Mr. Trump with an immediate profit, and now holds the cards to potential profit should the USFL defy Mr. Trump’s prediction and survive moving forward. League owners, some of whom have grown quite tired of the constant tone of negativity and criticism coming out of New Jersey, are expected to approve the sale without much controversy.
While Mr. Borg’s family is far less connected to New York than New Jersey, his media empire is expected to provide the market with greater regional coverage and a sense that the Generals truly will represent New Jersey rather than NY, potentially opening the option of a future expansion franchise for New York City, perhaps at Shea Stadium, as the largest market in the country can be split between NJ and NY for a natural rivalry.
INJURIES
This was a very good week for the USFL on the injury front. Yes, there were the usual twists, sprains and contusions, but no injuries of note, and no major players likely to miss the next few weeks. This is a rare thing to say in pro football, but this week most teams came out without major injury concerns.
LOOKING AHEAD
It is East v. West and North v. South in this week’s slate of inter-divisional play. With so many teams on the fringe of playoff contention, there is hardly a game without playoff potential. LA heads to Baltimore on a tough road assignment. Oakland will try to knock off New Jersey to get back over 500. Arizona and Philadelphia will tangle at Veteran’s Stadium, and the Washington Federals will try to solve Denver’s defense at RFK. Michigan will try to reach 11-0 at Birmingham, while the Breakers need to regain their winning ways but face a tough challenge at Jacksonville. Tampa will host the Maulers, and in a game that may determine who has the first pick in the draft, the 2-win Houston Gamblers are in Memphis to take on the 1-win Showboats.