In a week that saw the last of the unbeatens fall, and the last winless team get a W, and with so many teams hovering around .500, the question of who is actually good is a tough one to answer. Houston is 4-1 but Jim Kelly is playing horribly. Texas is 4-1 too but are they really that good? Is Denver someone to fear this year? Is Orlando? In a year when it seems teams are struggling to put together 2 or more wins in a row, we could be in for a long season of upsets and a potential logjam come playoff time. Or, will the quality teams start to pull away once depth becomes an issue? A lot of questions after 5 weeks.
SCORES
BAL 35 PIT 24
A high-scoring affair in Three Rivers as the Blitz score 22 points in the 4th quarter to upend the Maulers. The Maulers blow a 24-13 lead, allowing 3 scores in the final 15 as fans watched in disbelief. Spencer, Flowers and Vince Evans all scored as the Blitz steal one that looked lost after 3 quarters.
NJ 21 WSH 13
A tough fight in RFK as the Generals score 14 in the first to open up a lead and then hold on as the Feds try to claw back. Flutie again looked good with 3 TD passes, despite only throwing for 149 yards. Neil Lomax threw for 235, but just could not consistently find a path to the endzone as Washington drops another heartbreaking divisional game.
BIR 25 ORL 28
Despite a furious comeback by the Stallions, it was too little, too late against an Orlando team that is looking pretty solid this year. Reggie Collier was 19 of 26 for 285 in the win, while Cliff Stoudt threw more than Coach Dotsch usually likes, completing 31 of 43 for 316 as the Stallions tried to erase what started as a 28-10 Renegade lead.
JAX 28 TBY 30 OVERTIME
One of the weirder walk-off plays ever seen as Jacksonville sent the game to overtime with a Gary Clark pass from Chris Miller, only to have them lose on a botched snap. First and 10 on their 2nd possession in overtime and the ball sails over Chris Miller’s head and into the endzone. Both teams scramble for it. George Adams falls on it for Jacksonville, but he is still in the endzone, so it is a safety and Tampa walks off the field with their first win of the year, but a bizarre one.
ARZ 10 DEN 32
Either Arizona is just inconsistent, or Denver is just that good. The Gold shut down the Arizona offense, holding the Wranglers to only 171 total yards. Meanwhile, Timmy Smith and Harry Sydney both carried the ball 13 times, and between the two combined for 124 yards and 2 scores. Things were so good we even got a rare Cody Carlson sighting, when Gagliano was allowed to rest after building up a 32-3 lead.
OAK 13 POR 26
The Thunder double up the Invaders for their second home win of the year. Al Del Greco gets Man of the Game honors for his 4/4 field goal day as Portland wins despite being outgained 332 to 163 for the game. The key? Four Oakland turnovers, including 2 forced fumbles by Portland LB Billy Ray Smith.
CHI 13 HOU 27
As we will comment below, Houston moves to 4-1 but Jim Kelly does not look sharp, throwing for 3 INT’s and keeping the Machine in the game. Despite his struggles, Kelly finds Sanders for 122 yards, while Thurman Thomas rushes for 104 and a score.
MGN 7 PHI 6
The Saturday Night game was played in just horrific conditions in Philly. A rainsoaked turf left players sliding all over and made any offense pure luck. For Michigan, Jack Trudeau came out early and Ed Luther was left to play in the rain. Luther threw an early TD to Derek Holloway and Philly spent the rest of the game settling for field goals, as Michigan pulled out an unlikely win with an even less likely final score.
LA 17 MEM 19
The Memphis defense just would not allow anything on Sunday, as Christian Okoye averaged less than 1 yard per carry. Meanwhile, Mike Kelley found some open spots and hit rookie Anthony Miller on a key 2nd half TD to build their lead. The lead held and Memphis picked up their 2nd win of the young season.
GAME OF THE WEEK
New Orleans Breakers 42 Texas Outlaws 40
What is it with the Breakers and offensive shootouts? First they score 40 in a loss to Pittsburgh, and now they outgun the Outlaws to win another 80+ point offensive explosion. The star of the day was Matt Robinson, who tied Alan Risher’s recent record, throwing 6 touchdowns in the game, 3 to the elusive Charlie Smith. Doug Williams and Stump Mitchell kept pace for Texas, as Williams threw for 250 and 3 scores while Mitchell rushed for 93 and 2 scores of his own.
But, unlike the Breaker-Mauler game, this one was not as close as the score would indicate. After 3 the Breakers led the homestanding Outlaws 42-24 and then let up a little too much on the gas. Texas scored 17 in the final quarter to make it interesting, but in the end the clock was a foe they could not beat. The game did not set records as the earlier Mauler game had, but it was still an amazing show of offensive talent.
With the win, New Orleans moves over .500 and both they and Houston find themselves only one game behind the Outlaws in the Central Division.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Of course we could, and maybe should, recognize Matt Robinson for his 6 TD game in Texas, but with the way New Orleans is playing these days (all scoring, no defense) we feel we will have plenty of chances. Let’s also celebrate when a player knows his team needs something extra and he takes the reins. That is exactly what 5-year veteran John Reaves did for the previously winless Bandits. Reaves knew that an 0-5 start in the tough Southern Division meant the end of the season. He knew that in facing Jacksonville and Chris Miller, it would take a major scoring flurry to keep pace, and he delivered. Reaves threw for 335 yards and threw a TD pass in each of the game’s 4 quarters, finding Eric Truvillion twice, but also getting Willie Gillespie and Chris Collinsworth into the game. With Jacksonville shutting down Gary Anderson and the ground game, the Bandits needed Reaves to step up, and like a true leader he led by example.
NEWS & NOTES
After 5 games, one of the big mysteries this season is “What happened to Jim Kelly?”. After setting team records last year, leading the Gamblers to a 13-3 record and walking away with the MVP tropy, Kelly is starting this year in a definite funk. Yes, the Gamblers are 4-1, but Kelly is one of the 5 lowest rated QB’s in the league, having thrown only 10 TD’s to 11 INT’s in the league’s first five weeks. It just does not look like the same man as we saw last year. Some of this is on the line, which has allowed more sacks to date than in 8 games last year, but it may also be the strategy. Unlike last year, when Houston used a hurry-up offense nearly 80% of the time, this season the huddles are longer, the check-downs more frequent, and Houston is just not tiring out the opposing defense over the course of the game. Yes, some of the issues have to lie with Kelly, but it also seems that others around him are not putting him in a great position to excel, even if the Gamblers keep finding ways to win.
INJURY REPORT
Normally we go around the league to look at how injuries might impact different teams, but this week we just have to look at what just happened to the Chicago Machine. In one game, this week’s matchup against Houston, Chicago lost not one, not two, but all three centers on their roster to injury in the same week. And, to make it worse, all three are out at least 6 weeks. Starter Frank Winters looks to have a disc issue in his mid-back, an issue that could cost him even longer if he cannot rehab it properly. Backup Charles Sikes, partially tore his ACL just minutes later, and emergency center Doug Gamboa went out later in the game with a shoulder injury that will also keep him out at least 6 weeks. So what do you do when this happens, well, in the moment you move tackle Brian Williams over to Center to finish the game. Then you sign the most able bodied former college centers you can find. For Chicago that is Melvin Wallace, a former Alabama product who has been kicking around the CFL and some USFL practice squads for the past 5 years. Chicago is likely to keep Williams as their starter, but now have to carry 4 centers on their roster unless they decide to move one of the three onto Injured Reserve, ending their play for the year.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week Six has some fascinating divisional games on the docket. In the East, Baltimore will host Philadelphia, hoping to gain ground and bring the entire division to 3-3. That cannot happen of course as both Washington and Pittsburgh will be at 2-3 when they meet this week. The other Eastern player, New Jersey, is hosting Chicago and hoping they can move to 4-2 and take over first place. In the South Tampa hopes to win a 2nd in a row with another in-state game, visiting the Citrus Bowl and the 4-1 Renegades. Memphis, fresh off their 2nd win, will be in Birmingham, also at 2-3. Two huge games among contenders in the Central as New Orleans heads to Houston while Texas is in Michigan. In the Pacific, 1-4 Oakland gets no favors as they head to 4-1 Denver, while Portland will be in LA to take on the Express. Our final game of the week is a rare clash between Arizona and Jacksonville at the Gator Bowl.