A new season begins, with all the optimism and high hopes of a fresh start. But for 10 of the league's 20 teams, defeat is what they will find, raising questions and building concern. But as we saw last year with Birmingham's 0-4 start and Orlando's 4-0 start, in a league with only 1 preseason game, these early clashes are also a time to build towards something better, so if your team did not leave the best first impression, do not despair. It is a long season.
SCORES
JAX 23 NJ 10
Chris Miller threw for 231 and the Jacksonville D picked off Doug Flutie twice to ruin the home opener for the Generals in Giants Stadium. Rookie Brian Blades snagged 5 balls for 84 yards in his Bulls debut.
MEM 9 PHI 17
Both the Stars and the Showboats showed that their defenses were ready for prime time in this slugfest, held in a cold sleet in Philadelphia. Mel Gray still managed to catch 10 balls in the miserable conditions, but Philly’s 2 first quarter scores held up as Memphis could not fight their way back.
ORL 13 PIT 17
Bad weather also impacted the Renegades-Mauler games, but on a slick field the advantage went to the sure footed Mike Rozier, who rushed for 128 on the icy field. The win is Pittsburgh’s first ever on Week 1 of any season.
TBY 21 WSH 34
The Feds took an early lead on a rare John Reaves pick-6, and kept finding ways to score as they held off a Tampa comeback. Rookie Kevin Harmon scored his first in the USFL, as did Tampa’s Lars Tate.
ARZ 24 CHI 19
Chicago started Steve Beurlein, but when he went down with an injury, Chuck Long stepped in and looked like a player ready to roll in his second season. Long finished with a 74% completion rate, but it was not enough as Arizona QB Robbie Bosco returned from last year’s injury and hit Chicago with 3 scores in his first game in almost a year.
DEN 16 HOU 27
The rematch of last year’s Western Final was more of the same as Houston’s D contained Bob Gagliano (only 158 yards in the air) while Kelly threw for 259 and 2 scores. Rookie Thurman Thomas started and gained 36 on the ground and another 12 in the air.
LA 13 MGN 21
Michigan’s D looks as good as ever, holding Okoye to 58 yards on the ground and keeping Steve Young without a TD. Jack Trudeau threw 3, including a beauty of a bomb to Anthony Carter and another to Derek Holloway.
OAK 3 NOR 26
Matt Robinson looked strong for the Breakers, while the Invaders offense struggled to put points on the board. Free agent acquisition Richard Williams could only average 1.9 yards per carry in his first game in Oakland, while the combo of Dupree and Hilliard combined for only 66 total yards.
POR 9 TEX 35
Texas wins the battle of new clubs as they dominated the Thunder. Doug Williams threw for 2 scores and Stump Mitchell rumbled for 95 yards against a struggling Thunder Defense. Rookie QB Kerwin Bell had some moments, but ended up completing only 39% of his passes on the day.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Birmingham Stallions 23 Baltimore Blitz 26
Baltimore’s Vince Evans showed he still had some wheels as he not only passed for 263 against the Stallions, but also added 55 on the ground in a big home opening win for the Blitz. In a game that seesawed all day, it was Evans’s elusivity and the right foot of Luis Zendejas that helped the Blitz earn the win.
Birimingham was game, as Cliff Stoudt threw for 304 and found Jim Smith for yet another TD in his ageless career. But Baltimore, whose defense focused on stopping Joe Cribbs, were able to avoid the home run play and held Cribbs to only 2.2 yards per carry, far less than their own Tim Spencer was able to gain. Add in Evans’s runs and Baltimore outgained Birmingham on the ground 143-75.
Played on a cold, rainy day in Baltimore, the game saw its fair share of early season blunders, though with only 3 turnovers between the two teams, it was not all about turnovers. Baltimore committed 9 penalties and Birimingham 11 in a game that saw a lot of line errors (offsides, false start, illegal shift, etc.).
The win is a good start for the Blitz. For Birmingham, the loss is tough, but they can take solace in a well-played game against a tough team on the road. The Stallions look like the team that won 10 games last year, while Baltimore looks like they have learned from their tough 6-win season.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Several players threw for more yards than New Orleans’s Matt Robinson, but few demonstrated as complete a command of the offense. With pressure coming from CFL import Matt Dunigan, Robinson showed in this start that he is up to the challenge. He completed nearly 65% of his passes and found Nolan Franz twice for scores as the Breakers ran roughshod over the Oakland Invaders. Of course it helps to have a feared run game, as Robinson was able to use play action effectively on early downs. It is not Hall of Fame material, but for a team that is hoping not to go a whole season playing musical chairs with their QB’s this start for Robinson has to be appreciated in New Orleans.
NEWS & NOTES
In an opening week marred with bad weather in most of the eastern half of the country, the crowds still seemed ready to welcome back the USFL. The five Atlantic and five Central teams all had home field this week, and even in locations where the play has not been great of late (Pittsburgh and Chicago, for example) the crowds were decent. The league drew over 40,000 in Baltimore, New Jersey, Philly, Washington, Houston, Michigan and New Orleans, the first time that 7 games had crowds of that size in a single week. And while 23k in Texas may not seem huge, it was a near sellout for Bobcat Stadium to watch the first game of the Outlaws. TV Ratings were also strong, with the Denver-Houston and Memphis-Philadelphia games drawing the highest numbers. A strong start to the league’s sixth season.
INJURY REPORT
If there were no injuries it would not likely be football any more, and fortunately most teams came out of the week in good shape. The biggest hit was in Chicago where opening day starter Steve Beurlein appears to have suffered a hamstring tear, disconnecting the muscle from the bone. He is expected to be out at least 2 months, perhaps 3. Chicago will now rely on 2nd year QB Chuck Long and NFL import Rusty Hilger for the lion’s share of the season. In Michigan, they are concerned that the sprained knee suffered by ALL-USFL MLB John Corker could keep him out as much as 2 months, while in Texas, CB Gregg Butler may miss 2 months as well after breaking his arm in a fumble dogpile. Arizona rookie Al Noga suffered a concussion in the Wranglers first game, but is expected back next week, as is Denver WR J.T. Smith and Philly guard Eliseo Sneed.
LOOKING AHEAD
We get our first division games of the year in Week Two, with 16 teams playing rivals. Baltimore will be in New Jersey to test the Generals while Pittsburgh and Philly will renew the Keystone Derby in Three Rivers. Birmingham travels to Jacksonville and Memphis is in Orlando in two big Southern matchups. In the Central Chicago will try to get their first win when they head down to Texas, while the Panthers are indoors at the Superdome to face the Breakers. In the Pacific, it is will be a key California clash as LA is in Oakland. Arizona will travel up to Portland, where they hope to move to 2-0. In inter-divison play, Washington flies out to Denver to face the Gold, while the defending champs face Tampa in the Astro Dome.