SCORES
BAL 19 JAX 26
The Bulls are fighting their way back to relevance with a tough win against the Blitz. Baltimore’s Tim Spencer rushed for 68 but caught 3 balls for 103 yards and a score in the loss, but it was not enough. Chris Miller throws for 325 against the Blitz D and finds Hassan Jones for two scores, including the winning score in the 4th.
NJ 20 MEM 31
The Liberty Bowl is proving a tough spot for visiting teams as the Generals found out this week. Walker runs for 110, but the combo of Boone and Jordan combine for 124. Mike Kelley adds 3 TD passes as the Showboats send the Generals to 4-4-1 and build their own record up to 6-3.
PHI 0 ORL 21
This one was a shocker as the Renegade D shuts down and shuts out the Stars. Fusina is held to only 178 yards passing and a costly interception. Reggie Collier and Curtis Bledsoe both outperform expectations, with Bledsoe rushing for 101 yards and 2 scores. The win pulls Orlando up to 5-4 and sends Philly to a 3-6 record.
PIT 31 TBY 33
A fun shootout that ended with Tampa Bay edging the Pittsburgh Maulers on a late Benny Ricardo field goal. Both teams moved the ball well, with Pittsburgh outgaining Tampa 467-374, but two turnovers and 7 penalties hurt the Maulers and gave Tampa what they needed to snag a 6th win on the season.
WSH 24 BIR 26
Washington just cannot win the close ones, though, to be fair, this one was not as close as the final score indicates. Birmingham began the 4th with a 26-7 lead and got sloppy with the gam ein hand. Majkowski found Slaughter and Gunn for late scores and with two 2-point conversions the Feds made it look closer than it was. The big weapon for the Stallions? Who else? Joe Cribss with 28 carries for 166 yards.
CHI 20 DEN 22
Chicago thought they had Denver on the ropes, but a 20-16 lead could not hold as Denver came from behind to throw a wrench in the Machine. Neither team could run the ball well, and Bob Gagliano simply had more options than Chuck Long.
HOU 9 LA 7
This game may have set back pro football offenses 20 years. Absolutely nothing was working as both defenses had a field day in this one. The game had no turnovers, but 14 punts between the two teams. Houston used better field position in the 2nd half to get in field goal range for Doug Jacobs and salt away a game that neither team seemed interested in winning.
NOR 25 POR 22
Give a hand to the kickers. In a game delayed twice due to thunderstorms, and played on a wet field the two kickers, Breaker Tim Mazzetti and Portland’s Al Del Greco combined for 8 field goals. Del Greco helped save Ed Luther when several drives fell short, kicking 5 field goals, while Mazzetti’s 3 kicks helped New Orleans take and keep the lead throughout the day.
TEX 22 ARZ 19
In a game-time decision, Coach Tollner again went with Kelly Stouffer, but Stouffer struggled against the Outlaws defense, completing only 48% of his throws. Compare that to Doug Williams’s 3-6 yards and 3 scores and we have to wonder if Tollner made the right call, even if Bosco is not 100% back.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Michigan Panthers 27 Oakland Invaders 24
The Panthers led 20-10, gave up 14 in the 4th and then came back to stun the Invaders with a last-second TD from Trudeau to Butch Rolle to escape Oakland-Alameda Stadium with a win. Trudeau would end the day with a career high 448 yards passing as the Panthers gave up on the run early (they rushed for 25 yards total) and took advantage of a short-staffed Oakland secondary.
The Invaders had a more balanced attack as a good day from Gale Gilbert (280 yards and 3 scores) was matched by Richard Williams’s 110 yards rushing. Gilbert was looking like the hero of the day late in the 4th as he hit Mark Duper on a 61 yard score to pull the Invaders back to within 3 at 20-17. Just 3 minutes later Gilbert found Ellard for another score and it looked like Oakland was going to walk away with a 24-20 comeback victory.
But, as often happens, the Invaders left too much time on the clock, and a defense which had been unable to contain the Panther passing attack all day was in no shape to step up now. Trudeau was surgical as he marched the Panthers down the field, spiking the ball to save the team’s final time out. They took it with the ball on the 17 yard line, and Coach Stanley called the perfect play. Sending Holloday and Smiley both to the left side of the field, their slant routes, one at 5 yards and one at 10, drew the safeties away and left the field open for TE Butch Rolle. Rolle caught the ball at the 10 and had the option to go out of bounds with 5 seconds left at the 7, but he instead took the risk and finally dove across the endzone plane. The play took 5 minutes to review, but soon the Oakland crowd would learn what the officials saw, and what the TV crews caught beautifully, that Rolle had crossed the ball over as he fell to the ground.
Michigan’s win moves them to 7-2, still ahead of the pack in the Central, while Oakland drops to 5-4, now 2 games behind Denver in the Pacific. Michigan will need to figure out how to build a stronger rushing attack, because there are not many foes who are going to struggle the way Oakland did with their defensive backfield, but for now they will take the win gladly.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Jack Trudeau is doing his best this year to help Michigan fans forget about their 2-time champion QB Bobby Hebert. Trudeau leads the league in QB Rating, has thrown for 2447 yards in only 9 games and has tossed 19 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions. This week marked the second time he eclipsed the 400-yard mark in a game, and the 4th time he has been over 300 yards. While there are some who will point out that he has struggled against some of the league’s better D-lines (Philly, LA, New Orleans) and feasted against some of the worst defenses ( 400 yards v. Portland, 448 against a shorthanded Oakland squad), it is undeniable that he is well ahead of any prior year in TD’s, yardage, and QB Rating. The heroics this week, with a last second score to win the game, may be just the thing to make the Panther Posse finally believe and start looking to the future instead of the past.
NEWS & NOTES
Can we give some respect to Mouse Davis and the Denver Gold? This is a team that is almost never mentioned as an elite squad, and yet they now sit at 7-2, having knocked off both Houston and New Orleans. They have made the playoffs 4 times in the first 6 USFL seasons, winning the division twice, and yet, they are often overlooked when we discuss the powerhouses of the league. Sure, they lack the pinache of the 1983 Bandits or the Panther squads that won two titles. And they do not have the playoff success that we have seen from Philly or even Houston, but this team is always there. Their worst season (1985) saw them finish 7-9 and only 1 game out of a playoff spot. In ’87 they won 12 games.
While their star QB Bob Gagliano is not Kelly, Hebert, Reaves or Williams, he is no slouch. This season he has thrown for more yards than Fusina, Mike Kelley or Cliff Stoudt. He has thrown 13 TD’s, more than Chris Miller, Robbie Bosco, Vince Evans or Reggie Collier. His QPR is higher than last year’s MVP Matt Robinson or Houston’s Jim Kelly.
The same lack of respect seems to permeate the team. Few people list Harry Sydney as one of the league’s best rushers, but this year he is ahead of John Williams, Marcus Dupree, Christian Okoye or Kelvin Bryant. For his career he has rushed for 6,580 yards (more than Tim Spencer, George Adams, or Marcus Dupree) and has scored 38 times, again ahead of Dupree, Spencer, and even Arthur Whittington.
The Gold defense has two former USFL Defensive Players of the Year lining up, last year’s POTY Kurt Gouveia at LB and 1984’s winner, CB David Martin. They routinely finish the year as a top 5 squad in both scoring and yards allowed, and yet, here we are, having to defend them. Seems about time that Denver got some respect. True, they have yet to return to the USFL Championship since their 1983 appearance, but this is a club that is always in the mix, always a tough out, and always getting the most out of their roster.
INJURY REPORT
Rather than simply run through the list of walking wounded this week, let’s talk about the teams that are currently most impacted by injuries. While some teams may have 1-2 players on their weekly injury report, others seem more like MASH units than lockerrooms. These squads have to make use of their practice squad, rookies, and even free agency to try to fill holes, not a good position to be in for any club.
Birmingham has 5 players on their report this week, and in addition to Bob Barber (out for the year) there is concern about 2 cornerbacks and wideout Clarence Collins (knee). In Baltimore, aside from the obvious loss of Vince Evans for the year, there are 3 other players on the report, the most notable being DT Joe Klecko, whose broken collarbone likely will keep him out another month. Michigan is one of the hardest hit, with 8 players indicated, although it does appear that some of the key players may be ready to return as Carter, Paggett and backup QB Mark Hermann are all listed as probable. The big loss is John Williams, who could miss up to 2 months with a hip injury.
Portland has three players out, including DE James Painter (up to 12 weeks with a broken foot) and left tackle Bruce Armstrong. While in Washington, their two biggest injuries, Jim Lachey and Dexter Manley are progressing well and could be back in action within 2 weeks. New Jersey is hoping two of their top defenders, Gary Barbaro and Kit Lathrop, will also be back in the same timespan, just in time for a playoff push. While in LA, their decimated offensive line is expecting 3 returning players, all listed as probable. Houston will be without Ricky Sanders and Ernie Jones at least one more week, as both are listed as doubtful, while Denver should get Mark Carrier back in action this week. Finally, Arizona is hoping that once again James Wilder can play through the pain as he was able to put in a full game last week despite being listed as questionable. This week he is probable to play and we expect he will be on the field.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week Ten sees some interesting inter-conference matchups as the Eastern Teams head to the Central Division and the Pacific Division hosts the 5 Southern squads. Our pick for game of the week is an easy one as the 7-2 Birmingham Stallions make a rare trip to Mile High to face the 7-2 Denver Gold. Two teams that pride themselves on hard-nosed, no-nonsense football should produce a heck of a game. Another game that intrigues us has the Memphis Showboats in Oakland to take on the Invaders. Tampa will be in Arizona to face the Wranglers, and we expect Robbie Bosco back to add some more drama. Jacksonville will be in LA and the Renegades are in Portland and hoping the rains hold off. Philadelphia faces a former rival as the Breakers (once of Boston, now New Orleans) play host. New Jersey has a tough matchup if they want to get over .500 as they face the Michigan Panthers at the SilverDome. Washington will be in Chicago and Baltimore will be in the dome in Houston. Finally, the Pittsburgh Maulers will be in San Marcos to take on the Texas Outlaws.
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