SCORES
POR 24 WSH 17
New coach, new energy for the Portland Thunder as Rusty Tillman leads the Thunder to the upset and their first win of the season. Washington looked to be in charge of this one, leading 17-0 at the half, but Portland rallied in the second half, putting up 24 unanswered points on their way to their first win of the year. Kerwin Bell, given the start after 3 weeks on the bench, threw for 3 scores and Rusty Tillman’s focus on the power run worked, as the combo of Owen Gill and Robert Drummond rushed for 122 yards.
OAK 13 BAL 10
A tough loss for the Blitz as Oakland absolutely shut down the run game. The defensive struggle limited both teams, but Eric Kramer and the Blitz were simply unable to get anything going, gaining a paltry 149 total yards on the day and losing the time of possession battle 38 minutes to 22.
LA 30 PIT 27
Los Angeles gets the win in this nip & tuck battle at Three Rivers, but at what cost. Both Jo-Jo Townsell and Eric Martin have to leave the game with injuries late in the game. Steve Young rebounds from a horrible week 10 game to throw for 305 yards and 3 scores, including the late toss to Emile Harry for the game winner.
ARZ 12 PHI 23
Robbie Bosco’s second start goes poorly and he is yanked for Stouffer in the 3rd. The Stars, meanwhile, get 131 yards and a score from Kelvin Bryant in one of his best games of the year. Philly is keeping pace in a lackluster division, while Arizona is fading fast.
DEN 19 NJ 31
Denver loses their second in a row as the Generals use 3 Flutie TD passes to earn a home win. New Jersey used a balanced attack, with Flutie throwing for only 168 while Walker rushed for 75 and Keith Byars contributed another 46 on the ground. Denver ran well also, with Sydney & Smith combining for 116 yards, but Bob Gagliano struggled, throwing two early picks that set the tone for the game.
TEX 38 TBY 35
A shootout between Outlaws and Bandits in Tampa. Troy Aikman threw for 4 scores and Gary Anderson had a combined 228 yards rushing and receiving, but it was not enough as Doug Williams tossed 3 scores of his own and Stump Mitchell ran it in twice. Texas built a 38-28 lead and held on in the final minutes to take an important road win.
MGN 19 ORL 3
Michigan has to win with defense, and they did this week, limiting the Renegades to 230 total yards of offense and keeping them clear of the endzone. Tony Franklin contributed 4 field goals and Mark Hermann found Jonathan Smiley for the decisive score as the Panthers win their second in a row without Jack Trudeau.
CHI 20 MEM 24
Memphis has 2 receivers (Gray and Edmunds) top 100 yards as Mike Kelley throws for 303 against the Machine. Chicago is forced to be one dimensional on offense as Memphis allows only 19 total yards on the ground. Compare that with 131 between Boone and Buford Jordan and this game goes to the Showboats.
HOU 27 JAX 6
Houston cools off Jacksonville’s win streak with a decisive win. Kelly hit both Verdin and Sanders for scores, and backup HB Keith Woodside rushed for 101 on the day. Add in 2 Chris Miller interceptions and it was a bad day for the Bulls all around.
GAME OF THE WEEK
New Orleans Breakers 22 Birmingham Stallions 23
The USFL has built up a reputation for amazing comebacks as it seems teams live and die with momentum. That was certainly the case in Birmingham this week, where the Breakers built up a 20-3 halftime lead only to see Birmingham storm back in the second half to take the narrowest of victories.
New Orleans was certainly hot early, pleasing the large Breaker contingent who made the drive up to Legion Field. Touchdowns by Dalton Hilliard and Charlie Smith, paired with two Tim Mazzetti field goals gave New Orleans a comfortable 20-0 lead. But, a late first half field goal from Scott Norwood started to turn that around.
After a sack of Cliff Stoudt in the endzone gave New Orleans a 22-3 lead at the start of the 3rd, the momentum shifted. The Breakers fumbled the ball away on their next drive, and Birmingham was able to get in the endzone on a Joe Cribbs 12 yard run. That was followed almost immediately by a poorly thrown pass by Robinson, leading to a Stallions interception and another short field. This time it was Brent Fullwood who ran it in, shifting the score to 22-17. Birmingham would add another field goal to start the 4th and then shut down the Breakers’ offense when it mattered most.
On a key series late in the 4th, Birmingham sacked Robinson to create a 3rd and 13, and then, when Robinson tried to hit Charlie Smith over the middle, a jarring hit from LB Kevin Greene popped the ball into the air, where Anthony Blaylock was able to bring it down. With yet another short field, Birmingham milked the clock before settling for a 3rd Norwood field goal on the day, this one giving the Stallions the 23-22 lead with 2:10 left on the clock.
Birmingham’s defense would once again prove pivotal as the Stallions forced New Orleans into a desperate 4th and 14 playcall from their own 34. Robinson could not connect with Nolan Franz and the Breakers turned the ball over on downs. Birmingham moves to a conference best 9-2 record with their ninth straight win, while New Orleans remains in a dogpack in the Central Division at 6-5 and trailing Michigan by 3 games.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
While kudos could certainly go to Troy Aikman or Gary Anderson for strong performances on a losing side, or to Doug Williams for pulling off the shootout win, we are going to look at the LA-Pittsburgh game and give this week’s award to QB Steve Young. Young has struggled this year, as has the entire Express offense. He has thrown 11 interceptions to only 13 touchdowns, and he has failed to live up to high expectations for the season. In Week 10 he had a horrific outing, throwing 3 picks in a home loss to Jacksonville. But this week he not only reversed his fortune, he found a way to lead LA to a win despite losing his top two receivers to injury.
Trailing the Maulers for most of the game, and with Christian Okoye largely managed by the Mauler defense, the offense fell to Young. He would hit 8 different receivers in the comeback win, including 7 balls to Jo-Jo Townsell before a late injury took him out of the game. By the final drive, LA’s two receivers were rookie Robb Thomas and little-used Emile Harry, and yet it was Harry who would win the day as Young found him for a 24-yard score as time ran out.
In addition to 303 yards passing, Young used his legs to keep LA in the game and on the path to victory. He avoided the Mauler DE’s, evading several sacks, and ended the day with 7 rushes for 25 yards. The Express are still a long way away from where many prognosticators pictured them this season, but on this day Steve Young played the type of game that tantalizes so many football fans. Now, can he do it again?
PLAYOFF PICTURE
As we have come to expect of the USFL, things are a bit messy with only 5 weeks left in the season. Michigan, even without Jack Trudeau, is finding ways to win and has the largest margin of error, a 2-game lead, over their closest division rival. Denver, New Jersey and Birmingham all have 1 game leads in tight division races.
It seems clear that only 1 team from the Atlantic Division is likely to make the playoffs, so that 1-game lead for New Jersey is key. It also means that 4 teams from the 5-team Southern Division are likely to get in, so while Birmingham holds a slim 1-game lead over Memphis for the division title, the Showboats, Bandits, Renegades and Bulls are all looking at the potential for a Wild Card even if the Stallions cannot be denied.
In the Western Conference the battle looks like it will be among the cluster of 6-5 teams, with 3 currently vying for 2 playoff spots if we assume Texas can stay ahead at 7-4. Chicago is still not out of the picture at 5-6, but we might be calling it a season for LA and Arizona at 4-7. A lot of hurdles for them to leap in order to get back in the playoff hunt.
NEWS & NOTES
Another big week for league signings as many key player resignings ahead of free agency were announced. It seems the USFL is taking seriously the potential for the NFL to ransack their rosters, as teams across the league seem eager to resign as many veterans as possible. Among those signed over the past couple of weeks we have:
BAL: WR Jackie Flowers and CB Leslie Frazier
BIR: T Emory Yates and QB Bob Lane
DEN: WR Mark Carrier
HOU: Safety Donald Dykes
JAX: WR Hassan Jones
LA: G Gary ZImmerman
MEM: CB Derrick Burroughs
MGN: DE Ronnie Paggett
NOR: TE Dan Ross and LB Marcus Marek
NJ: HB Herschel Walker and C Mike Baab
OAK: HB Richard Williams and WR Henry Ellard
ORL: FB Craig “Ironhead” Hayward and LB Winston Moss
PHI: HB Kelvin Bryant, DT Jumpy Gaethers, and CB Lorenzo Lynch
PIT: HB Mike Rozier
POR: DT Mike Golic
TBY: DT William Perry
TEX: WR Carlos Carson and C John Adickes
WSH: DE Charles Haley and QB Don Majkowski
While USFL bigwigs have to be pleased to see stars such as Young, Walker, Rozier, Majkowski, Ellard, and Kelvin Bryant resign, the list of players still unsigned has to be troubling. Among those unsigned we still find QB’s Jim Kelly, Doug Williams, Steve Beurlein, Steve Young, and Vince Evans, HB’s Harry Sydney, Curtis Bledsoe, George Adams and Christian Okoye, Craig James, Stump Mitchell, and Gary Anderson; wideouts Webster Slaughter, Chris Collinsworth, Flipper Anderson, Mike Quick, John Jefferson, Derrick Holloway, Anthony Carter, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders.
On Defense there are several big time players still to sign, including Baltimore LB Sam Norris, Birmingham DE Art Still, Chicago LB Clay Matthews, Houston DE Simon Fletcher, LA safety Chuck Cecil, Memphis DE Reggie White, Oakland DE Kim Bokamper, Orlando SS Bill Bates, and Philly DE William Fuller and CB Chris Dishman
With salary cap exemptions limited to 5 per team, and several teams facing multiple signings, the balance of retaining talent and keeping within league-mandated salary caps will put a lot of pressure on teams to find options. Expect to see several trades hit the block as soon as the season ends, as teams close to the cap trade unsignable players to other USFL squads for draft picks and lower-cost position players, and expect that some teams will simply lose talent to the NFL. It will be a crazy August for sure as we expect major efforts by the NFL to sign USFL talent and major scrambling by USFL teams to retain their top players.
INJURY REPORT
A very rough week for the LA Express as they lose Jo-Jo Townsell for at least a month with a broken wrist, and then, only 2 plays later, lose Eric Martin for at least 2 weeks with a hamstring injury. Denver also took a big hit as their top DE, Larry White, suffered a back injury which may cost him the rest of the regular season. Philly’s defense is looking even thinner as both CB Lorenzo Lynch and LB Frank Stams are expected to miss at least 4 of the season’s remaining 5 weeks. Returning to action this week are NJ wideout J.J. Birden, Breaker WR Herman Fontenot, Houston’s Ernie Jones, Birmingham’s Clarence Collins and Portland TE Clint Didier.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 12 begins the final push with division games for 16 of the league’s 20 squads. Out of division we have New Jersey in Arizona and Jacksonville visiting Chicago. The Bulls and Machine are both in playoff contention, so a win here would loom large for either club. Within divisional play we have some important matchups for playoff positioning. Baltimore is in Philly with the winner having the chance to possibly catch New Jersey if the Generals fall. Pittsburgh and Washington have much slimmer hopes, both at 3-8.
Birmingham has a huge game at Memphis this week. If the Stallions can win on the road they would build a 2 game lead with only 4 left to play, but if Memphis wins, then the division lead is tied between the two. Orland and Tampa also see their in-state rivalry having major playoff implications. In the Central, Houston and New Orleans, both 6-5, are hoping a win launches them on a late season streak to the postseason, while Michigan has a tough matchup in San Marcos against the Texas Outlaws. Finally, in late games out West, Denver is in Oakland hoping to build on their 1 game lead over the Invaders, while LA is hoping that Portland’s win this week does not turn into a 2-game streak.
No. That’s their actual uni
You photoshop some red into that Steve young picture above?