SCORES
BAL 34 PHI 24
This may be the game that comes to end an era in Philadelphia. The Blitz score a 10-point win and guarantee that the Stars will not have a winning season for the first time in league history. Tim Spencer’s 114 yard day, and 2 QB keeper touchdowns help seal the deal for the Blitz, who still remain in the thick of the hunt for the division title.
PIT 14 WSH 31
Washington bounces back after their embarrassing home loss to Portland by trashing the Maulers. Don Majkowski hits on 3 TD passes and Craig James adds another to dispatch Pittsburgh to their 7th straight loss.
ORL 13 TBY 23
Tampa flexes a little defensive muscle to go along with 2 Gary Anderson scores as the Bandits hold court at home against the Renegades. The win pushes Tampa to 8-4, only 1 game behind the two division leaders.
HOU 38 NOR 48
Houston’s usually tough defense was no match for the resurgent Breakers, and even a 4 touchdown day from Jim Kelly could not provide a win for the Gamblers. Matt Robinson had himself 4 scores, and both Dupree and Hilliard found the endzone as well on a day when punters need not have shown up to the game.
MGN 12 TEX 17
Mark Hermann’s surprising 2-0 start replacing the injured Jack Trudeau had to come to an end, and Texas found just enough offense to make it happen. A late Williams to Carson TD sealed the fate of the Panthers and pulled Texas to within a game of Michigan’s division lead.
DEN 15 OAK 13
Denver continues to win ugly, and with this win they boost their division lead to 2 games, all without ever scoring a TD. Five field goals were enough as Denver’s defense held Oakland scoreless until the 4th quarter. With Gale Gilbert struck with an unidentified stomach virus the day before the game, it was up to Jeff Kemp to guide the Invaders, and he struggled through three quarters before mounting a comeback in the 4th. But, despite these heroics, the Invaders could not get the ball often enough to come all the way back and fell by 2 to the Gold.
LA 34 POR 19
No win streak for the Thunder as LA scored the first 19 points of the game and kept the pressure up all day. Christian Okoye paced the Express with 135 on the ground, while Robb Thomas, thrust into a starting role with both Townsell and Martin out, garnered 2 TDs to help LA to their 2nd win in a row. It’s a long way to playoff contention, but LA may not be out of it yet.
NJ 24 ARZ 20
The Generals played the late Sunday game at Arizona, knowing they needed a win to stay a game up on Baltimore, and they got that win thanks to a Flutie to Brent Jones TD pass with only 22 seconds left in the game. The other Jones, Lam Jones, was the game’s MVP with 6 receptions for 121 yards as New Jersey pulled over .500 and kept ahead of the Blitz for the division title.
JAX 3 CHI 19
Chicago is .500 after 12 weeks thanks to a big day for John Carney, whose 5 ield goals, paired with a Jamie Morris TD run, helped the Machine knock off a lackluster Bulls squad. Jacksonville got little form George Adams (only 36 yards rushing) and Chris Miller threw two picks against an opportunistic Chicago D.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Birmingham Stallions 18 Memphis Showboats 21
Nearly 65,000 fans packed the Liberty Bowl to watch these southern rivals go at it for first place in the division. They did not leave disappointed, as the two teams battled down to the last seconds of the game before the homestanding Showboats pulled out the win. In a game that got chippy at points (Birmingham ended the day with 10 penalties, including 4 unsportsmanlike conduct calls), the yards were hard to acquire and the scores were even tougher.
Memphis started the day’s scoring on their 2nd drive, when Mike Kelley found improving WR Tim Moffett from 9 yards out. Memphis would double up that lead only 5 minutes later when Greg Boone, who only managed 17 yards on the day, got the 2 he needed as he dove off tackle for a score to build Memphis up 14-0.
But Birmingham was not going anywhere. They would score a field goal to get on the board in the 2nd. And then, after a scoreless third quarter, they started the 4th off right with Cliff Stoudt hitting Ernest Givens for a score, and then converting the 2-point play to pull within 3 at 14-11. Memphis tried to counter, and moved the ball well on their next drive, but a costly fumble by WR Bobby Joe Edmunds gave Birmingham the ball back, and with only 2:33 left in the game, a dynamic 8-yard run sent Joe Cribbs into the endzone and put Birmingham up 18-14.
Mike Kelley and the Showboat offense got to work from their own 22 with 2:30 in the game, and Kelley ran an outstanding 2-minute drill, aided by a 23-yard defensive pass interference call. With barely over a minute left, Mel Gray appeared to get into the endzone for a lead-changing score, but on replay he was ruled down on the 1 yard line. Memphis tried a bit of trickery on 1st down as a sweeping Boone tried to hit TE Keith Jackson in the endzone on a HB pass, but the ball was too high and the outstretched Jackson could not bring it in. The Showboats went back to basics on the next play, giving the ball to fullback Michael Coates, his first and only carry on the day, but it was a good one. Coates plowed just off center and found the endzone for the Memphis score.
The Stallions were down 3 with 1:10 left to play, but, as they had done all day, the Memphis D chased and harassed Cliff Stoudt. Reggie White barely missed bringing him down for a sack on a 3rd and 9, but his pressure caused Stoudt’s pass to sky over the receiver. On 4th and 9, Birmingham had no choice but to go for it, but when a pass intended for Danny Knight was deflected by CB Derrick Cudrup, the ball turned over on downs and the estimated 20,000 Birmingham faithful who drove up to Memphis for the game were drowned out by the 40,000+ Showboat fans who cheered in glee. The game left the two teams tied atop the Southern Division, with both a division title and a bye clearly up for grabs with 4 weeks left to play.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
New Orleans has won 5 of their last 6 and have crept back up into serious contention at 7-5, after a 2-4 start. Perhaps the biggest reason for this climb has been the return of the passing offense that we saw last year. Matt Robinson has not been having the MVP season that we saw in 1988, but this past week, in a key matchup against Houston, we got to see some of the magic that won him the award last year. Robinson completed 17 of 26 passes for the run-heavy Breaker offense, but those 17 completions were often mid-to-deep balls that created chunks of offense for the Breakers. Robinson would gain a total of 328 yards on the day, and 4 of his passes, would go for scores, including two bombs to speedster Charlie Smith, a 50 yarder and a 59 yarder that simply broke the back of the Houston defense. Robinson matched Jim Kelly pass for pass and TD for TD, and without the interceptions that have plagued Kelly all year. Both Smith and Nolan Franz would end the day with over 100 yards, and both tight ends, Dan Ross and Ron Heller, would catch their fair share as well. In a game both teams needed, it was the Breakers who looked more like playoff contenders and their win pulls them right back into the thick of things in the suddenly very tight Central Division.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
With 4 weeks left, things are getting tight indeed. Denver has a 2 game lead over Oakland in the west, but every other division is down to 1 game difference, with 2 teams tied atop the Southern Division. Memphis and Birmingham are fighting for both the division title and the #1 seed in the conference, but they have to beware because Tampa Bay is only 1 game behind as well.
In the Atlantic, New Jersey has a tenuous 1 game lead over Baltimore, and with only 1 team likely to make the postseason, the division title is all or nothing. In the Central all 5 teams are at or above .500, and with Michigan’s loss this week we now have 3 teams all within 2 games of the title. Even 6-6 Houston and Chicago still have a legitimate playoff shot as they are very much in Wild Card range. While it seems unlikely that Pittsburgh, Philly, Arizona or even Jacksonville can snag a playoff spot, they are all still mathematically alive, with only Portland having been officially eliminated at this time.
NEWS & NOTES
Four weeks left, and the coaching hot seat has already been heating up. After Portland sacked Jack Patera in week 10, the question has been who else is looking like they might be coaching for their job these final weeks. Pittsburgh, despite a down year, is almost certainly going to give Ted Marchibroda another season, as is Jacksonville with Galen Hall. Washington’s Sam Rutigliano may be feeling the heat as his Federals have simply not progressed since he came on board. And after predictions of a division title, fans have been pretty vocal in LA that John Hadl may have used up his time. If New Jersey cannot win the division, it may be the end for Ray Perkins as well, though last year’s deep playoff run may shield him for another year. And we are just not sure what to make of Dick Vermeil’s tenure in Oakland. While he has not turned the Invaders into a juggernaut, he has had more success than his predecessor, but is that enough?
We anticipate that this year’s Black Monday may be an interesting one, not only because several coaches are beginning to feel pressure, but because there remain persistent concerns that the NFL is simply waiting to pick off some USFL coaches, as several clubs remain with interim coaches despite the NFL offseason being well underway. It would be odd to wait until July for an NFL team to hire a head coach, but with interim coaches in place with the Oilers, Saints and Falcons, it is not entirely impossible that their may be some poaching on the minds of NFL clubs. It may not only be free agent players being lured to the fall league, but USFL coaches as well, making the upcoming offseason one to keep an eye on.
INJURY REPORT
After a rough season which saw him benched for 3 games, Kerwin Bell came back for one win, and then was knocked out for the rest of the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. Bell will be placed on IR by Portland and the question is whether he will return to the Thunder at all next year. In Philadelphia their loss was compounded by a broken leg for DE William Fuller, costing him the rest of the year. As if that were not bad enough, CB Lorenzo Lynch may also be out for the final 4 games with broken ribs. Denver’s defense will be challenged by the loss of both DE Larry White and LB Fred Stickland (2 weeks at least). While Oakland lost backup HB Paul Palmer for at least another week with a hamstring injury.
LOOKING AHEAD
We are back in divisional rivalry games for Week 13, with some major playoff battles to be had. New Jersey hosts Baltimore with a chance to build their lead to 2 games and all but clinch the division title. Memphis is in Orlando, hoping to push the Renegades back under .500 and themselves to 10 wins. The Central has two important matchups as Texas hosts Chicago and New Orleans face 1st place Michigan. LA’s slim playoff hopes depend on a win at Oakland this week, while Portland will try to get their 2nd win of the year, with Ed Luther at the helm, against Arizona. Philly is at Pittsburgh, Birmingham is in Jacksonville, and out of division we have Washington visiting Denver and a big game between Houston and Tampa to end the week.
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