1991 USFL Divisional Playoffs

A slog in the heat, a defending champ asserting themselves, a Texas shootout, and a team on a mission, this week of USFL playoff football had it all. Eight teams entered the weekend hoping to step up and move on. Four teams survived and will face off next week in the Conference Championships. It was a great weekend for football fans.

Bulls 7 Federals 30

Defense wins championships. That is the cliché, and this week at least it held. The Federals, with one of the league’s best defenses, held Jacksonville’s high-powered offense scoreless through three quarters, and built up a lead that the Bulls could not overcome in the 4th. And it is not that this was a game where turnovers decided the game. Jacksonville had none. They just could not pick up first downs when they needed them and simply did not move the ball well against the stingy Federals D. Don Majkowski, on the other hand, proved why the Federals are defending champs, and why, even though he was not among the league’s passing leaders, Majkowski is a dangerous QB. His 3 TD’s in the first half took Jacksonville by surprise, and forced them to play catchup against a defense designed to rush the passer. Tony Eason would be sacked 4 times, twice by Manley, and the Bulls just could not get the ball moving in time to mount a response to Washington’s early scoring success.

Eason finished with 212 yards, but no scores, while the Bulls’ run game was limited to 59 total yards. Majkowski finished the game with only 190 yards passing, but 3 scores, and with both Harmon and Word each rushing for over 50 yards, the Federals topped 100 yet again. The defending champs won this one handily, and appear to be playing their best ball as they head into next week’s Conference Championships, with a chance to become the first back-to-back Summer Bowl/Championship team since the Houston Gamblers did it in ’87-’88.

Gamblers 37 Outlaws 24

It was an old fashioned shootout at the Bobcat Corral as both the Outlaws and the Gamblers racked up over 425 yards of offense in their Saturday night spectacular. Houston would get the early lead and Texas would just keep clawing back, but in the end, the edge went to the Gamblers, and a late Thurman Thomas TD would put the Gamblers up for good. Thomas would finish with 85 yards rushing, as it was the Gambler passing game that proved decisive. Both Jim Kelly and Kelly Stouffer finished with over 300 yards passing, and both would toss 3 touchdowns, but Kelly’s INT sheet was clean, while Houston managed to pick off two Stouffer passes, and in a game where every possession counted, that hurt the Outlaws.

Kelly found Ernie Jones, who was often matched up on either a nickel back or a safety, for two scores as he spread the ball around to 7 different receivers (including a highlight reel 33 yarder to FB Tim Manoa who simply flattened 2 different Outlaw players with a killer straight arm on the play.) And while Texas’s Carlos Carson again came up big, with 123 yards on 7 catches, Houston contained the damage, and limited the touches by Eric Metcalf (2 Rec.) and Theo Young (3) to limit Texas just enough. With the win the Gamblers are headed to the Conference Championship, hoping to once again pull off a road win and become the rarest of 5 seeds to reach a championship game.

Generals 11 Renegades 14

The NFL had its “Ice Bowl” and now the USFL has had its “Sweat Bowl”. With temperatures on the field reaching 101 degrees and teams going through Gator Ade at unprecedented rates, this was a scorcher for all involved, and that kept it from being a scorcher on the field. Heat and humidity seemed to suck the life from both teams, as it was exhaustion, and not defensive acumen, that seemed to keep both teams from sustaining offense. New Jersey would be held to a field goal for 3 quarters as Orlando managed only two scoring drives.

Reggie Collier started but was pulled when he reported significant discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Jimmie Jordan would go 15 of 21, finding both John Jefferson and Alfred Jackson for TD’s. For New Jersey, Chris Miller went 19 of 39, tossing a late TD to Scott Schwedes to bring the game to within 3, but also tossing 3 interceptions on the day, though, admittedly, one of them was off a receiver’s hands and into the air, so not really Miller’s fault. Herschel Walker rushed 18 times for only 64 yards and had to be pulled for either Heath Sherman or Bobby Morse during several drives. The same was true for Orlando’s Curtis Bledsoe, who was spelled by Todd Fowler on multiple occasions. Phil Hansen garnered 2 sacks of Jordan, but again needed frequent relief due to the heat and humidity.

The game ended with a missed Roger Ruzek field goal, a desperate 61 yard attempt by the Generals which just sunk in the heavy air. With the win, Orlando guarantees that they will host the Federals next week, and we think it is safe to say that for everyone who was at this game, we all hope that the USFL learns its lesson and schedules this as a 7:00 or 8:00pm start.

Breakers 10 Invaders 20

In a much more enjoyable 78 degree day in Oakland, the homestanding Invaders found holes in the vaunted Breaker defense, jumping out to a 20-0 lead, and hung on, thanks in part to a controversial call that cost the Breakers a chance to get in striking range. With the Breaker D focused on stopping Richard Williams (held to 57 yards rushing) it was up to Gale Gilbert to deliver, and he did, to the tune of 65.4% completion rate, 167 yards, and 2 scoring tosses. The Oakland defense also came up big, holding Matt Dunigan to 163 yards passing, and keeping the Dupree-Hilliard duo to a reasonable 92 combined yards.

Oakland had a well-scripted first drive that ended with Gilbert finding Duper for the game’s first score. They would follow that with a Kevin Shea field goal and finish the first quarter up 10-0. The game would be 13-0 at half as New Orleans simply was not locked in on offense and made some self-defeating mistakes that cost them drives, the largest being a holding call on a successful 3rd and 7 play.

In the third quarter Gilbert found the ageless TE Raymond Chester for his second TD toss of the day, putting Oakland up 20-0. New Orleans, having revamped their plans at the half, came out slinging the ball and Dunigan found Herman Fontenot for 6 on a beautiful 32-yard corner route. New Orleans would tack on a field goal to begin the 4th and there was audible concern from the Oakland crowd that the tide had turned. That sentiment would be very present when, on their next drive, it appeared that Dunigan had found rookie Michael Jackson, for a 51 yard TD score as Jackson outfought SS Marcus Quinn to bring in the TD toss, but a late flag showed up on the field. Jackson was called for a rare Offensive Pass Interference call on the play, apparently having pushed off Quinn before the ball arrived. The play was cancelled, and when Coach Arnsparger called for review of the play, the replay also came back in favor of Oakland. The turn of fate changed a 7-point play into a 4th and 8, ending the Breaker drive. New Orleans would never recover, and the Oakland Invaders would come away with the win and a chance to host Houston in the Western Conference Final.

Coaching news was the story of mid-week in the USFL as two teams found their coaches and one may be on the way out.

Chicago wasted no time in signing former Baltimore Blitz Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer as the new head man in the Windy City. Despite a rough run in Baltimore, one which included losing every game this year, Schottenheimer is still considered a top tier coach, and one whose brand of discipline and hard-nosed play seems a perfect fit for the underachieving Chicago Machine. Schottenheimer remains in the USFL with this hire, and gets a second shot to prove that he can build a winner in the spring league. His former DC and interim head coach of the Blitz, Bill Cowher, is also expected to join the Chicago coaching staff, likely in the same position as DC that he began 1991 with in Baltimore.

Birmingham also made its coaching hire, going to the NFL and making the first cross-league hiring since the mediation agreement came into effect. On Thursday, Birmingham announced former Patriots Head Coach and NY Giants Offensive Coordinator Ron Erhardt as their third head coach. Erhardt. (Pictured while HC in New England) has served as the OC for the Giants since 1982, helping them to victory in Super Bowl XXI against Denver, and a near victory as the Giants fell 20-22 to the Buffalo Bills this past February in Super Bowl XXV. Many expected Erhardt to leave the Giants in search of a head coaching position this year, but he had agreed to a special “Assistant Head Coach” position with the Giants until Birmingham came calling. As per the agreement between the two leagues, the Stallions will pay an amount equivalent to 20% of Erhardt’s 1992 salary to the Giants this year, and if he remains coach in 1993, another 10% of that year’s salary. Erhardt, who is known for a “smashmouth” run game supported by a mid-range passing game seems a good fit for a team led by Joe Cribbs and Cliff Stoudt. With Birmingham having issues on defense, Coach Erhardt’s choice for who coordinates the D will likely be a key one.

Finally, while no official announcement was made after their loss to the Renegades, it does seem that a change is coming for the New Jersey Generals. Ray Perkins has been in an open feud with Generals brass over his preference of Chris Miller over Doug Flutie. With Flutie due to join the free agent ranks starting on Saturday, there is a lot of pressure on Perkins to resolve his issues with the BC signal caller so that the Generals can retain one of their premier players.

According to our sources within the Generals’ organization, Perkins is not taking that direction well and may just tender his resignation and search for other coaching options. The timing could not be better for Perkins as a choice job in the college world has opened up late in the hiring season. Alabama has forced the resignation of Bill Curry after the NCAA has initiated investigations into certain recruiting and potential tutor-related discrepancies within the Crimson Tide football program.

With the option to join the Crimson Tide an apparent open invitation for Perkins, he may feel that now is the time to extricate himself from the situation in New Jersey. What this means for Flutie, who is still expected to test the market this year, is unknown. If Perkins does leave, it seems likely that New Jersey would try to lure Flutie back with their coaching hire. So, keep your eyes open for more news on this developing situation as things are getting messy in the Meadowlands.

Looking ahead to the Conference Championships, there are a few injuries which may impact the two games. In Orlando, the Renegades are confident that Reggie Collier will be able to play on Sunday, after a failed attempt to start the game this week, leading to an early hook. They will be without halfback Todd Fowler however, as the dual threat back suffered a fracture in his hip after a bad fall on the sideline during this week’s game. This puts more pressure on Curtis Bledsoe to deliver for the Renegades run game. Their opponent, Washington, will have to scramble on defense, as both Brandon Zavala and Dante Jones may be out after suffering injuries this week. Two of three key linebackers in Washington’s 4-3 system being unable to go could be a huge blow for the Federals.

In the Houston v. Oakland matchup, the biggest question for Oakland is CB Tory Nixon, who is listed as questionable, and could return in this game. His groin injury has been a day to day situation, but it does not seem to be improving at a pace the Invaders would want. For Houston the biggest concern is also in the secondary, where FS Donald Dykes is out with an ankle injury. Dykes has been a key member of the Gamblers’ pass defense, and while the Invaders are not the Outlaws when it comes to their passing attack, they still have a strong cohort of receivers to counteract.

Four teams remain, including the defending champion, a returning past champion, and two teams, both hosting the games, who have never attained these heights before. Will we see experience win out, or is their magic in the runs being made by the Renegades and Invaders? It will all be played out on the field on Sunday, as these four teams try to punch their tickets to the USFL Championship in Summer Bowl 1992.

In an unusual turn, it will be the West Coast game played first, as the USFL has heeded the lesson of this week’s Orlando game in sweltering heat. The Renegades will have the night game, while the Invaders will host the equivalent of a Noon start in the East Bay.

3pm ET, Sunday on ESPN

Oakland-Alameda Stadium

Oakland, CA

The Invaders hope that the Houston invasion of Oakland-Alameda Stadium fails, as they are within eyeshot of playing their first ever championship game in front of what is likely to be a very friendly California crowd in Los Angeles’s Coliseum next week. Oakland enters the game as a 1 point underdog to the Gamblers, and that is certainly understandable when we see that over 28 players on the Gambler squad have already played in two USFL Championship games. This is a Gamblers squad used to playoff football and used to playing in these pressure cooker games.

Oakland has only 3 players with prior championship experience, and the only starter who has seen a title game is former Memphis Showboat Richard Williams. Both teams won last week by coming out fast and forcing changes to their opponents’ offensive strategy. Expect both to do the same this week. Both have running games that can make life easier for their QB’s, but if we have to pick a winner, we are going to go with the team that has a savvy and pressure-proof QB, and that is Houston and Jim Kelly.

8pm ET, Sunday on ABC

Citrus Bowl

Orlando, FL

Orlando has exceeded expectations all season. Picked to finish behind Tampa Bay and Birmingham in most preseason projections, and behind Memphis in several others, the Renegades have outperformed expectations all year, winning the division, earning the #1 seed and knocking off New Jersey to get to this point. Washington was expected to be here. The Defending league champions have a defense capable of upending even the best plans of the league’s offensive coordinators, but while the team’s dominant D-line is still intact, they have significant injuries in the linebacking corps which may impact their ability to shut teams down.

It is an interesting matchup of an overachiever against a proven champion that is hurting a bit. Will the Federals rally or will the exuberance of the Renegades prove too much? If Orlando can get a full game from Reggie Collier, and if their defense can limit Washington’s two-headed rushing attack, the Renegades have a very good shot at making their first Summer Bowl, but if Washington gets some hero ball from Don Majkowski, or if their defense finds ways to compensate for the loss of Jones and Zavala, it may be a repeat appearance for the Federals in this year’s Summer Bowl. This one is tough, and arguments can make our pick lean either way, but in the end, we believe that defense does win titles, and even with their weakened LB Corps, we think Washington can pull it out and return to the Summer Bowl with a chance to repeat.