SCORES
BLT 38 WSH 17 Vince Evans put on a clinic, throwing for 5 scores in DC.
PHI 9 NJ 20 New Jersey’s defense is beginning to get some respect after this win.
JAX 28 MEM 20 Another close game but another loss for Memphis, who drop to 0-2.
NOR 9 HOU 27 Eason looked ragged, while Kelly was efficient in Coslett’s new offense.
MGN 28 PIT 13 4 TD’s from Hebert gives the Panthers all they need in this one.
ARZ 27 OAK 21 140 from T. Johnson and 14 unanswered helps Arizona overtake Oakland.
LA 20 DEN 17 Denver builds 14-7 lead at the half but cannot hold against the Express.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Birmingham Stallions 41 Tampa Bay Bandits 35
Four interceptions from a struggling John Reaves helped the Stallions get the win in Tampa. While Birmingham played error-free, Tampa coughed up the ball 5 times on the day, including a Bob Barber strip-sack, recovery and defensive TD along with the 4 Reaves interceptions. Both teams moved the ball well, with Tampa gaining 474 total yards, but with several drives ruined by turnovers. Cliff Stoudt was efficient if not exciting to watch, throwing for a 77% completion rate and three scores. Truvillion had 169 yards and Cris Collinsworth another 118, but it just was not enough to overcome the mistakes made by the Bandits.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Vince Evans had one of those games where everything just goes right, and the Blitz defeated the Federals in the league’s closest rivalry. Evans was 26 of 36 for 363 yards and threw 5 scores with no interceptions. He found 7 different receivers on the day, and threw scoring tosses to Flowers, Keel (2), Balholm and Mel Gray. Much like Steve Young in week 1, Evans refrained from running for yardage, instead using his legs to keep plays alive and find open receivers. Last year, when he was on, it was a combination of scrambling and pocket passing. This week it was rolling left or right only to find a crossing receiver. The result was a resounding win for the Blitz, who stand atop the Atlantic Division at 2-0.
NEWS & NOTES
The league’s executive committee started reviewing bids this week for the 4 expansion franchises expected to begin play in March 1987. The committee is expected to review up to 15 different proposals before deciding upon a finalists list which includes 2 bids for the new Chicago franchise and 6 bids for the 3 remaining expansion cities. These 8 finalists will then be reviewed by the entire ownership group during their Spring meetings and we expect an announcement sometime mid-season as to the 4 newest expansion teams for the USFL. Early money is on Eddie Einhorn, co-owner of the Chicago White Sox, to get the nod for the Windy City, though don’t count out the proposal from Bill Wirtz, owner of the Black Hawks hockey club. Outside of Chicago it looks like there are solid bids from Miami (Sherwood “Woody” Weisner), San Diego (William Tatham) and Atlanta (Ted Turner), but there are so many bids in this stage of the review that any of the other cities in contention could come out of this as a finalist. The owners are going to be looking at financial viability, stadium options, market size and demographics, as well as the potential for ongoing fan support in each market. Hoping to avoid further relocation issues, the executive committee is very much looking at the long term viability of each city and each ownership group.
INJURIES
A few tough losses this week, but fortunately most are injuries that will have the players back within a few weeks. Washington was perhaps the hardest hit, losing 2 wideouts. Joey Walters will likely miss a month or more with a back injury, while rookie Webster Slaughter is expected to miss at least a week, perhaps more, with a shoulder injury. Washington also lost safety Mark Kelso to a hand injury, though he is likely only to miss a week. In LA, their new center Gerald Bradley will likely miss a couple of weeks with a groin pull, while in Michigan tackle Ryan Broderick is out with a hyper-extended knee. Arizona will be without CB Frank Minnifield for at least a week. Denver too will be missing a key defender as LB Manu Tuiasosopo deals with a lingering hamstring injury. Michigan, who were without the services of HB John Williams this week, expect him back from tendinitis next week.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week three has the entire league back to inter-divisional play, with some interesting matchups as several teams try to avoid starting the year 0-3. Tampa (0-2) will be at home against New Jersey, while Memphis (0-2) hosts Washington. Denver will try to get their first win at home against the Gamblers. In a battle of 0-2 squads, Pittsburgh travels out to Oakland-Alameda Stadium to face the Invaders. On the other end of the spectrum, we have two good matchups between 2-0 teams. Michigan heads out to the desert to play the Wranglers, while Baltimore will travel south to take on the Jacksonville Bulls. In other games Philly is in Birmingham while New Orleans stays on the road one more week, out in LA to face the Express.