SCORES
MEM 9 BAL 13
What do you get when you combine unseasonable cold, high winds, and a rookie QB? A low scoring home team win. Baltimore looked bad on Sunday, but Memphis, with Cary Conklin at the helm, looked worse. The Blitz managed the win despite garnering only 180 total yards in the game thanks to Memphis turnovers and the game’s only touchdown.
ORL 42 NJ 10
Gusting winds and occasional rain did not slow down the Renegades as they took advantage of a rusty Timm Rosenbach and a sloppy Generals defense. Orlando racked up a season high 499 total yards, including 314 yards and 5 scores from Reggie Collier to just manhandle the home team. Rosenbach completed only 35% of his passes on the day, while both John Jefferson and Wamon Buggs racked up over 100 yards receiving. Even fullback Craig “Ironhead” Hayward got into the act, catching 2 TDs on play action.
TBY 28 PHI 24
A much closer, more engaging game as Tampa and Philly battled the elements and each other on Sunday. The Stars went up 24-21 on an Alex Higdon TD catch only to watch Troy Aikman lead the Bandits down the field for the game winning score, a toss to TE Chris Kelley with just over 2 minutes left to play. All 3 Aikman TD tosses in the game went to tight ends as Philadelphia held the Tampa wideouts in check, but in the end Aikman outdueled Fusina for the win.
JAX 24 WSH 27
The Bulls showed signs of life but in the end it was Washington moving to 3-1 with a 2-point win. They pulled the game out despite losing Don Majkowski at the half to a possible shoulder injury. Mike Hohensee went 21 of 28 and threw two scores to help the Feds to their best start in team history. For Jacksonville, Chris Miller had his best outing, throwing for 267 and 3 scores, but it was not enough in the end as a Ray Wershing field goal was the difference in this one.
LA 13 CHI 16
Despite 313 yards passing from Chuck Long, Chicago had to fight back from a 13-3 deficit in the 3rd to eke out a win against the Express. LA had a solid day from rookie Darrell Thompson, but it was the scrambling of QB Walt Lewis (6 runs for 62 yards) that had them in the game until the final whistle. Chicago tied the game up at 13 as the 4th quarter drew to a close, but the winded Express could not maintain and the Machine won the game on their first possession of overtime with another Carney kick.
OAK 10 HOU 31
The Gamblers got Jim Kelly’s best game of the year (273 yards and 3 TD’s) and Thurman Thomas was back at 100%, gaining 111 on the ground and another 21 in the air, as Houston dominated the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps even more heartening for the Gamblers is that their defense showed up, picking Gale Gilbert off twice and keeping the Invaders at bay all day.
ARZ 17 NOR 24
A close one but another victory for New Orleans as the Breakers scored the game winner in unorthodox fashion. After tying the game at 17 with a Tim Mazzetti field goal, the Breakers got a break when a Robbie Bosco pass was tipped at the line and fluttered into the awaiting arms of FS Frederick Wilder, who shook off the tackle attempt by the Wrangler wideout and sprinted down the sideline for what would be the decisive score.
DEN 20 TEX 35
A huge day for the Outlaw passing game as Kelly Stouffer exploded for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns. Both Carlos Carson (6 for 137) and Eric Metcalf (6 for 129) dominated the Denver corners, and both scored 2 times each to lead Texas to a big win in San Marcos. The Texas D also contributed, holding rookie HB Barry Foster to only 17 yards rushing, with Brian Bosworth having another huge, 14-tackle, day.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Portland Thunder 16
Michigan Panthers 13
It may not have been the prettiest game to watch, and it did not go to overtime, but the sheer significance of Portland upending Michigan in the Silver Dome to move to 3-1 and first place in the Pacific should not be ignored. Coach Erickson has something going in the Pacific Northwest as the new-look Thunder are unrecognizable from their 1989 1-15 season. The defense is playing unselfishly, and the retooled offense is finding ways to move the ball even against solid defensive schemes.
In this game, David Archer was not at his best, throwing 2 picks to only 1 TD, but the Thunder got solid contributions from HB Robert Drummond and TE Clint Didier to offset the Michigan emphasis on slowing down wideouts Webster Slaughter and Cris Carter (8 receptions combined). Meanwhile Portland’s D may have allowed John Williams to reach the 100-yard mark, but their zone schemes kept Jack Trudeau out of the endzone entirely and snagged 3 takeaways on errant Trudeau passes.
All the scoring took place in the 2nd and 4th quarters as both teams seemed to amp things up at the end of each half. Portland got the only TD of the first half on a short Archer to Carter pass, and at the half they led the Panthers 10-6. In the 4th quarter Michigan would get their lone TD, a John Williams 1 yard dive, but two Al Del Greco field goals would bracket that score, leading to a 16-13 lead late in the game. When a deep ball with time running out was picked off by Portland DB Gill Byrd, the game was over and the surprising Portland Thunder stood atop the Pacific Division at 3-1, having defeated Denver, Houston, and now the previously undefeated Panthers to get there. We reach the ¼ mark of the season with Portland, Washington and Pittsburgh all at an unanticipated 3-1 while Birmingham, New Jersey, and Houston are shocked to find themselves at 1-3. It is a long season, so don’t lock in those playoff tickets yet, but so far 1990 has been a bit of a shocker around the league.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
It comes down to which passing attack you want to celebrate this week, Texas’s 368-yard, 4 score performance against Denver or Orlando’s 417 yards and 5 TD’s in rough conditions in New Jersey. We have to go with the Renegades here. With wind gusts up to 35MPH we did not expect a lot of aerial attack in the Renegade-General battle, but Orlando, and Reggie Collier proved us wrong. Collier thew the ball for 314 yards and 5 scores before being rested in a blowout. He was aided by the strong hands of John Jefferson, who caught 8 balls for 177 yards, and Wamon Buggs who caught 4 for 113.
Orlando utilized a lot of zone-busting slants and overload plays that found receivers open between layers of New Jersey defense. This strategy allowed Collier to gun the ball in on short to medium routes, rather than tempt the swirling winds with deep balls. What made the Renegade passing attack successful was the poor tackling of the Generals in the secondary, turning several 8-yard slants into 20+ yard plays over the course of the day. The other key aspect was Collier’s mobility, allowing Orlando to call several plays with either a shifting pocket or outright bootlegs to avoid New Jersey’s pass rush. Combine solid playcalling with receivers unafraid to go over the middle and you get a winning formula on a gusty day.
NEWS & NOTES
A good sign of financial stability for the USFL as some of their initial sponsorship deals have ended and new, more lucrative deals emerge. Commissioner Wayne Duke announced this week that the league has new arrangements with both Burger King and Pepsi. Add this to the recent shift from the somewhat poorly named athletic drink “Squelcher” to the more well-known Gatorade, and we see greater potential for USFL revenue and cross promotion nationwide. With sales of the USFL Tecmo Bowl game exceeding expectations, and with solid sponsorship deals already in place with major airline, automobile, and food industry sponsors, the league seems poised to increase their non-gameday and non-television revenue while also expanding their brand. The one missing piece of the puzzle is a major beer sponsor, though we anticipate news on this soon as the league has been engaged in high level talks with both Miller and Anheiser-Busch on this front.
INJURY REPORT
Some major setbacks this week as several players may be done for the year. New Jersey SS Gary Barbaro, who has had more than his fair share of injuries over his career, may be done for good after a ruptured disk in his back will likely cause him to miss the rest of what many thought would be his final season. Birmingham likely will be without CB Issiac Holt fo the year as well with a fully torn hamstring, while Washington is hoping that TE Mike Jones can return despite a partially torn ACL. Chicago’s newest acquisition, former Bill Darryl Talley will likely be out at least 4-5 weeks with a rib injury, while Denver FS Vencie Glenn could be out at least a couple of weeks with an ankle. Washington won this week despite losing QB Don Majkowski to a neck injury, and with the Majik Man listed as doubtful for week 5, it may again be up to veteran backup Mike Hohensee to lead the Feds. Some players expected back this week are Feds DE Charles Haley, Michigan wideout Daron Carter, Arizona wideout Trumaine Johnson, and Chicago wideout Michael Haynes. Memphis has listed Mike Kelley as probable but are still calling his return a game time decision.
LOOKING AHEAD
Back again to divisional play for Week 5 as Pittsburgh will try to get a road win at Baltimore and the surprising 3-1 Federals will face the surprisingly bad New Jersey Generals in the Meadowlands. Orlando will try to push Birmingham even further from the division race with a road win in Legion Field, while Tampa will be in Jacksonville, where they hope to move over .500. Denver and Arizona, both 2-2 will clash in Tempe, while the cinderella Portland Thunder head to Oakland to face the Invaders. Houston and Chicago meet in a battle of hard luck 1-3 teams, while Texas has the tough task of trying to steal a win in New Orleans. In the week’s two inter-divisional games we have a great Saturday Night matchup of 3-1 squads as Michigan hosts Philadelphia, and on Sunday we see Memphis, hoping Mike Kelley will be back in game shape, taking on LA in Angel Stadium.
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