1988 Week 9 Recap: Big Game in the Big Easy.

SCORES

ORL 17 BAL 10

In a battle of 5-3 teams, Orlando was one score better than Baltimore as Reggie Collier and Wamon Buggs were an unstoppable combo. Collier found Buggs 9 times for 158 yards as Orlando overcame a rough day for Curtis Bledsoe (20 carries for only 48 yards) and the Orlando D came up big when they had to. Vince Evans spent a good part of the day on the run, rushing for 33 yards on 12 carries in addition to throwing for 221, but it was just not enough as Orlando’s D made big plays to halt Blitz drives.

TBY 17 NJ 27

Tampa’s woes on defense continued as New Jersey rushed for 177 against the overmatched Bandits. Herschel Walker garnered 117 on 25 carries and fullback Keith Byars added another 60 on 11 carries. That success allowed Doug Flutie to effectively use play action to keep up with the Joneses (Brent and Lam), each catching a TD from the former Heisman winner.

BIR 27 PHI 14

Birmingham contained Philly’s Kelvin Bryant and picked off the usually accurate Chuck Fusina twice as they outmuscled the Stars in Veterans Stadium. Joe Cribbs was held under 100 yards (93 in total) but scored twice as Birmingham ground out a win, aided by 11 Stars penalties.

JAX 31 PIT 23

Jacksonville won their second in a row as the Pittsburgh D once again failed them. The Bulls gained 344 total yards, including a solid 264 and 3 TD’s from QB Chris Miller. Pittsburgh tried to keep pace, and depended heavily on Mike Rozier, who gained a seasons’s best 165 against the Bulls, but the Mauler defense just could not get stops when they needed them.

MEM 16 WSH 23

The Federals started the second half of the season off the right way, Edging the Showboats on a Lomax to Bavaro TD and a key Ray Wersching field goal in the 4th. The Federals D focused on HB Greg Boone and were able to contain him, holding Boone to only 48 yards rushing. Memphis also had 2 turnovers, including a Mike Kelley interception in the red zone which killed a promising late drive.

OAK 27 CHI 24

Gale Gilbert hit Henry Ellard with a last second TD to overtake and knock off the Machine in Chicago. Trailing 24-20 with less than 2 minutes left, Gilbert executed a perfect 2-minute drill and found Ellard open on a blown coverage, hitting the speedy receiver on a fade route with only 23 seconds to play to take the win.

POR 7 HOU 45

Houston had its best offensive performance of the season at home against the overmatched Thunder, gaining 494 total yards. Kelly, Thomas and Sanders all shone in the game, with Thomas gaining 119 on the ground and another 59 in the air. The lone bright spot for the Thunder was the play of rookie Flipper Anderson, who scored the lone TD for the Thunder and gained 88 yards on 6 catches.

ARZ 17 MGN 14

The Wranglers scored 10 unanswered in the second half to edge the Panthers in the Silverdome, and they did it without Robbie Bosco at the helm. Bosco was knocked out early in the 3rd and backup Kelly Stouffer came in and rallied the Wranglers to the win. James Wilder was a big piece of the plan as he had his best game as a Wrangler, rushing for 112 and catching 5 balls for 24 yards. Jack Trudeau again struggled, throwing 3 picks.

LA 20 TEX 17

In a game the Express nearly blew, they found a way to win. The Express built up a 17-0 halftime lead only to watch momentum switch in the second half. A Stump Mitchell run, followed by a Najee Mustafaa pick-6 of Steve Young helped Texas tie the game back up at 17. But a late pick by Doug Williams led to an Express field goal early in the 4th, and that score held until the final whistle.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Denver Gold 15 New Orleans Breakers 17

Just when we make a big deal about how the only way the Breakers win is by shootout, they go and play a hard-nosed defensive game and get a quality win against a tough Denver squad. New Orleans held Denver to only 73 yards rushing and held Denver QB Cody Carlson (in for the injured Gagliano) to only 49% completion rate on their way to a big win. Denver was equally tough, holding New Orlens to only 53 yards rushing, and led by back-to-back Defensive Player of the Week Kurt Gouveia.

Denver came into the game with concerns that with Carlson replacing the injured Bob Gagliano they had to avoid getting into a shootout with the high-powered Breaker offense, and early on it looked like their worst-case scenario was happening. New Orleans scored early in the first on a Marcus Dupree run, and then doubled up their lead with a Dan Ross TD catch midway through the 2nd. A late field goal got Denver on the board but trailing 14-3 at the half did not look good for the Gold.

But, the Gold defense, spurred on by Week 8 Defensive POTW Kurt Gouveia (see story below) shut down New Orleans repeatedly, containing the vaunted Breaker run game and harassing QB Matt Robinson. The Breakers would add a field goal to build a 17-3 lead, but Denver then was able to chip away at the lead throughout the second half. They finished the 3rd quarter with a field goal and added another early in the 4th to make it a one score game. They would need 8 to tie, but they also needed to keep New Orleans from responding.

The Denver D was staunch in the 4th, limiting the Breakers to only 34 total yards in the quarter, and with just over 2 minutes left Denver had to score. They did not hesitate, and on a brilliant play got their points in rapid fashion. On 2nd and 3 from their own 20, Cody Carlson handed the ball to speedy Timmy Smith on what looked to be a sweep right. Smith headed for the sideline, but then turned and tossed the ball back across the field to Carlson. Carlson then heaved it deep to a speeding Bill Brooks, all alone down the left sideline. Brooks hauled in the pass, fell to the ground, but rolled and got back up before the defenders could reach him. He raced the remaining 20 yards in for the score. It was a brilliant quasi-flea flicker that caught New Orleans off guard and unprepared. But it was not enough. The Gold had to go for 2 to tie the game.

The Gold lined up at the 2 for the two-point try. Carlson motioned TE Jay Novacek across the formation, then, at the snap, rolled left and tried to find Novacek in the back corner. But, pressured by Breaker LB Marcus Marek, Carlson was off target and despite a leap with outstretched hands, Novacek could not bring the ball in. Denver still trailed 17-15 with 2:17 left in the game.

The Gold had 2 timeouts left, plus the two-minute warning, so it was imperative that the Breakers get a first down to control the clock and end the game. On first down they trusted the ball to their “pounder”, HB Dalton Hilliard, who gained only 2 on the run. On second down they tried the more elusive Marcus Dupree, but Dupree was stopped after a yard, leading to a 3rd and 7 with the clock stopped by Denver’s 2nd time out. Coach Arnsparger called over the offense, and when they came back out on the field, they moved Matt Robinson into the shotgun position, with Hilliard to his left and Dupree to his right. The ball was snapped, and Robinson feigned that it had flown over his head, drawing in the aggressive Denver D. It had actually been direct snapped to Hilliard, who blasted past the distracted blitzers and found space in the secondary for a 9-yard run before sliding down to the ground. It was a brilliant misdirection play, and it gave New Orleans the ability to draw out the clock and finish the game in the victory formation. A tough loss for Denver, a hard-nosed win by the Breakers, and a dynamite game for the fans.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

We have to talk more about the two-week run Kurt Gouveia has had for the Gold. It is rare that we honor a player on the losing side, and even more rare (a first?) that we honor the same player two weeks in a row, but after winning Defensive POTW last week, Gouveia came out even hungrier this week. The stat line is impressive, 9 tackles (2 for loss), two sacks, and a whopping 4 forced fumbles against the Breakers backs. But his presence was more than gaudy numbers, he was a force all day, rallying the defense, stuffing key 3rd downs, intimidating receivers, and threatening Matt Robinson almost endlessly. It was the type of performance we associate with the greats, a Dick Butkus redux. Yes, the Gold came up short in the game, but Gouveia did his part and more for the Gold.

NEWS & NOTES

Let’s talk attendance so far this year. The USFL is averaging just over 36k per game, which is solid, certainly above their target of 35k, but what may be more impressive is the way they are doing it. Unlike in past years where a few high-attendance teams would buoy the numbers for several low attendance team, there is more parity in the box office, just as there has been on the field, in 1988. With 9 games down, we see that only 3 teams are below the dreaded 25k revenue sharing number, and two of those (Portland and Texas) have no choice, as both play in stadiums with roughly a 24,000 capacity. The third, Chicago, was just horrible last year, and while they are not turning people away, their 22,392 average is better than one might expect.

On the other side of the coin there are currently 10 of the 20 franchises averaging over 40,000 a game, with representation in all 4 divisions. It is no longer domination by the south with everyone else trailing. Birmingham currently leads the league with an average of 46.080, but not far behind are Baltimore (44,989), Philly (44,496), New Orleans (44,684), New Jersey (44,496), Orlando (43,957), and Denver (43,241). You know things are going well when even two of the most jaded fanbases, DC and LA, are showing up, with Washington averaging 38,506 and LA a very respectable 33,305.

The league has to be pleased with the balance and with the overall numbers, as the overall attendance has now topped 3 million in only 9 weeks. With attendance holding above 35k per game and TV ratings also holding steady, the case can be made that the league’s early growing pains may now be leading into a stable and predictable level of support, one which makes the league even more attractive to partners, sponsors and networks. As the league continues to negotiate to develop expanded revenue opportunities, numbers like these will only help them make their case that the NFL is no longer the only game in town.

INJURY REPORT

This week saw some big hits taken by teams that cannot afford to lose quality players. Memphis got a Rookie of the Week performance from wideout Anthony Miller, only to see him go down late with what looked like a bad knee injury. Early reports seem to point to an ACL tear, which could keep Miller out for the rest of the year. Philly got bad news on their top rookie, TE Alex Higdon, whose wrist is worse than expected. Higdon could be out at least 2 months. Portland took another hit as wideout Flipper Anderson is expected to miss at least a month with a fracture in his left arm, just one week after losing HB Rodney Carter.

Birmingham was also hit, as their top wideout, Ernest Givens, will miss at least 2-3 weeks with a rib injury, while in Arizona, there is concern that Robbie Bosco may be out at least 2 weeks after taking a bad hit to his left knee. Among those expected to return to action this week, we have Arizona HB Darryl Clack, Tampa DT William Perry, Arizona wideout Louis Lipps, and Jacksonville wideout Hassan Jones.

LOOKING AHEAD

We are back for 8 games of divisional play again in week 10, as the final stretch for the playoffs begins. New Jersey at Baltimore headlines the Saturday games. Pittsburgh travels to Philly for an in-state rivalry game. Jacksonville, winners of 2 straight, head to Birmingham, while Orlando hopes to steal a win from the Showboats at the Liberty Bowl. Texas will face another 1987 expansion team in Chicago, while New Orleans will try to make a statement in Michigan. It’s the Hwy 1 War as Oakland is in LA, while the Thunder stay on the road with a game in Tempe against the Wranglers. A couple of good inter-divisional games as well as Houston in in Washington and the Gold travel to Tampa to face the Bandits.