PHI 6 BAL 3
In a game that was delayed twice due to thunderstorms in Baltimore, the Stars muddled through the downpour for their 7th win. Neither team could do much on offense, as evidenced by the final score, as high winds and torrential rain buffeted the Atlantic coast. The deciding play was a strip of Blitz QB Vince Evans on his own 33 which set up the Stars for the late David Trout fieldgoal which would determine the game’s outcome.
WSH 8 PIT 11
An equally horrible Sunday of storms and high winds kept both the Maulers and Federals from opening up their offenses. Mike Rozier’s 81 yards rushing proved pivotal as Pittsburgh was able to cobble together 3 field goal drives and a safety for an 11-point lead before the clouds finally parted. Washington scored a late Majkowski to Gunn TD but were unable to recover the onside kick to try for more.
MEM 17 BIR 10
No weather issues in this game, but still both offenses sputtered quite a bit. Mike Kelley managed two TD passes, including a beautiful catch by Bobby Joe Edmunds threaded between two defenders. Birmingham’s Joe Cribbs struggled all day against a stacked front and finished with a paltry 17 yards rushing and a 0.8-yard average. Meanwhile Greg Boone racked up 72 yards on the ground for Memphis.
TBY 20 ORL 17
The Bandits raced out to a 20-3 lead by the end of 3 despite an injury to Troy Aikman which may keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. Oliver Luck found Eric Truvillion for a 3rd quarter TD to boost Tampa’s lead to 17, and despite two late TD’s from the Renegades, the Bandits held on to go a game up on Orlando and keep pace with the Memphis Showboats.
NOR 25 HOU 22
One Marcus Dupree TD and 6 field goals from Tim Mazzetti proved just enough for the Breakers to outlast the Gamblers in a tough, back and forth game. Houston’s defense nearly got the win, but the leg of Tim Mazzetti proved deadly as he hit on all 6 of his tries, including a 39 yarder to give the Breakers the lead with only 1:50 left to play. Jim Kelly had a strong game with 3 touchdown throws to only 1 interception, and Thurman Thomas added 101 yards rushing, but it was not to be for Houston, who fall for the first time in a month.
TEX 28 MGN 23
Jack Trudeau had to come out of the game late, and with Mark Hermann already injured, it was Brent Pease who would try to rally the Panthers. Down 28-13, Pease helped Michigan put 10 on the board in the 4th but could not find a final game-winning drive against Texas. For the Outlaws, Reggie Cobb scored twice, and Brian Bosworth added 11 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble to help preserve a divisional win.
OAK 21 DEN 34
Denver took a shot on 2nd year QB Billy Joe Tolliver and it paid off against the sinking Invaders. Tolliver would throw two touchdowns, and the threat of the passing game opened lanes for Barry Foster and Timmy Smith to combine for 105 yards rushing. It looked like Oakland might pull it out after a late Henry Ellard TD pulled them within 6 but a Patrick Gannon interception of Oakland’s Gale Gilbert gave Denver the security they needed to hold on.
POR 22 LA 23
The Express returned to Walter Lewis at QB and he delivered a late drive to set up Scott Olivera for the winning fieldgoal as time ran out. Down 19-13 in the 4th, Lewis also hit Jo-Jo Townsell on a 75-yard TD pass to take the lead, only to watch Portland kick a field goal to regain it with 3:31 left. But Lewis was able to muster the often-lackluster Express offense for one last drive and their 4th win on the year.
CHI 20 JAX 26
A missed opportunity for the Machine as Chicago falls to a shorthanded Bulls team on a late TD pass from newly signed Craig Penrose to Brian Blades. Blades has been almost the lone highlight for Jacksonville all year, and his 129-yard day highlighted the win for Jacksonville. Penrose, who was signed on Tuesday, got the start on Sunday and threw for 301 yards and 3 scores to surprise the Machine, who had anticipated that the Bulls would emphasize the run.
Arizona Wranglers 17 New Jersey Generals 20
The Generals’ second half surge this season sees them even their record at 6-6 with a 4th quarter rally to knock off the Wranglers. Herschel Walker’s return was not spectacular but allowed New Jersey to balance their offense and Doug Flutie to concentrate on passing instead of scrambling. But all did not look great throughout the game.
Arizona built up a 17-7 lead through the first three quarters thanks to two touchdown tosses from Robbie Bosco, the first a 57-yard seam route to TE Terry Orr, the second a short toss to Trumaine Johnson. New Jersey had gotten its first points on a beautifully timed fly route by Lam Jones but struggled to mount consistent offense until the 4th quarter.
In the fourth, three consecutive General drives produced 13 points as New Jersey turned a 10-point deficit into a 3-point win. The comeback was highlighted by a Flutie pass to Jeff Spek for a TD with 6:23 left to play. New Jersey then forced Arizona to punt after a Chris Spielman tackle for loss on 3rd and 2 left the Wranglers with no options on their own 33-yard line. Flutie then led the Generals to the Arizona 28, where veteran Roger Ruzek split the uprights and put them up for good.
The win ties New Jersey with Pittsburgh for 3rd in the East and puts them one game behind Orlando for the final playoff spot. The loss by Arizona all but guarantees the top seed in the West to the New Orleans Breakers, who hold a 3-game advantage over Arizona and 2 games over Texas.
We are going to do something unprecedented in the history of the USFL, just as AP did earlier this week, we are going to give the performance of the week to a kicker. New Orleans was able to keep pace with Houston and eventually win the game thanks in no small part to the right leg of veteran kicker Tim Mazzetti. The only kicker the Breakers have ever had is a regular near the top of the statistics each year and has an All-USFL Team award to prove it. The game this week marks the first 6-field goal effort of his long USFL career and a personal best for points scored in a game. The “Kicking Bartender” has been a key member of the Breakers since day one and has helped them attain 6 consecutive playoff seasons, which looks like it will be 7 with another strong season this year. And while Mazzetti does not get the accolades of a Matt Robinson or Marcus Dupree, he is a popular figure in the Big Easy, often found tending bar in the French Quarter during the offseason and connecting with fans.
With four weeks left to play, the playoff picture is still looking quite muddled. New Orleans holds a 2-game lead on Texas, winners of 6 straight, and Arizona has a 2-game lead over Oakland, but beyond that it is anyone’s guess. In the Atlantic we have a battle between Philadelphia and Washington at 7-5, but with New Jersey and Pittsburgh now at 6-6, any one of the four could win the title. In the South the battles between Memphis, Tampa Bay and Orlando rage on, but the injury to Troy Aikman could shake that race up a bit. And back to the Western Conference, at present there are only 4 teams with winning records so even 5-7 clubs like Chicago, Houston and Oakland are still very much in the hunt for a Wild Card.
The NFL-USFL arbitration meetings have begun and already there is a clear sense that this could be a game changer for both leagues. Unnamed sources within the meetings have identified a wide range of topics to be discussed including everything from collegiate eligibility, draft timing, free agent right of first refusal, transfer fees, even season schedules, as the representatives of the NFL, NFLPA, USFL and USFLPA try to come to an agreement about structures and processes which will avoid either league, or any of the constituent franchises, from violating existing contracts, undercutting ongoing negotiations between teams and current players, or causing late-preseason departures from one league to the other. The issues are complex, and with the two player unions involved, there are likely to be voices calling for minimal change, since the ongoing raids of one league against the other, along with dual drafts, has led to an inflation of player salaries the likes of which we have not seen in the NFL before. Contracts like Steve Young’s $40 Million deal with the LA Express in 1984 have been rare, but the overall impact of having two leagues competing for players has been a salary bidding war which benefits individual players but is clearly impacting the USFL bottom line and has to be hurting the profitability of NFL franchises as well.
While it is generally agreed that there is enough talent in the football world to support both leagues, the awkward timing of the two leagues, with one always entering free agency just as the other is about to start its season, has produced an untenable situation in which players in either league delay signing or resigning with their clubs in hopes of engaging in a bidding with the other league and a higher overall compensation. This has been effective for the players, but extremely disruptive for both leagues and their composite franchises. The hope of this arbitration and mediation period is that agreements can be reached which might regularize the draft and free agency processes so as to avoid the chaos that has ruled since the USFL was founded in 1984. Whether all sides can reach a comfortable middle ground, and just what concessions each are willing to make is very much on the table. There has been early talk of creating free agency windows, but the question of how this might impact scheduling for both leagues, including possibly the shortening or reconfiguring of each league’s season sechedule. That seems far-fetched but may be the best way to create viable free agency space without leading to long player holdouts.
The Draft is another issue for both leagues. The December USFL draft is widely despised by the NCAA as it directly conflicts with college football’s bowl season. It is also, and perhaps more importantly, several months before the NFL Draft in April. This leads to many USFL players delaying a decision or eschewing a USFL offer in hopes of an NFL offer in what is now mid-season for the USFL. Likewise, the NFL is not pleased at all to see on average 120-150 draft prospects signed by the USFL before the NFL has even held their combine or completed bowl scouting. Talk of a retimed or reimagined draft program will almost certainly be part of the talks, and likely will be one of the tougher issues for consensus building.
The injury to Troy Aikman’s elbow is the main injury news of the week, though certainly not the only impactful injury. Aikman is expected to be out for 2-4 weeks, which means he could be back at the end of the regular season, and if Tampa Bay can qualify for a bye week, certainly by the playoffs. The same cannot be said for Philadelphia punter Sean Landeta, who was undercut by a Baltimore defender on the slick turf during their monsoon game and tore his ACL, putting him on IR at least through the season and likely most of the offseason as well. For Washington, FS Mark Kelso is the main concern, as a mid-back injury, while not believed to be career-threatening, will certainly keep him out for the rest of the season.
Much better news for Michigan’s Jack Trudeau, whose concussion in this week’s game may force him to miss next week but does not appear to be serious beyond that. Orlando’s Craig “Ironhead” Hayward also suffered a concussion this week, proving his head may not be iron after all, and is listed as questionable for Week 13. Some players coming back from injury or cleared to play after being knocked out this week include Baltimore’s Joe Klecko, Philly’s Eric McMillian, Washington’s Alfred Jenkins, and Texas TE Mike Tice. LB Manu Tuiasosopo should be able to suit up, as will Generals’ DE James Lockette, and quite possibly Denver QB Bob Gagliano.
Week Thirteen is another key divisional week as teams jostle for playoff positions. In the Atlantic New Jersey will try to jump into the fray if they can defeat the homestanding Baltimore Blitz. Philadelphia is in Pittsburgh with hopes of staying in first, but the Maulers at 6-6 are also hoping to jump into the playoff picture with a win. In the South, Orlando has a vital game at Memphis, while the two bottom dwellers, Birmingham and Jacksonville face off in Legion Field. The Central has two captivating matchups as Texas visits Chicago and New Orleans is in Michigan. And out West we find Oakland in LA in what is a must win game for them, and Portland is at Arizona, who hope to rebound after losing to the Generals this week. In the two inter-divisoinal games, we have Houston traveling to a nervous Tampa Bay squad and we have the possible return of Bob Gagliano as the Denver Gold are in Washington to face the Federals.