1991 USFL Wild Card Playoffs

The first week of the USFL playoffs is something of an appetizer for the main course in the Divisional Round. The two bottom seeds fight for the right to play each conference’s top seed. This year the Wild Card round produced a blowout and a tight game that ended with the winning defense simply not allowing a comeback to come to fruition. And once again we saw the old adage about winning with the run game and defense proven true again as both winning teams had fewer passing yards than their opponents, but won the ground game to survive and advance.

Houston Gamblers 34 Portland Thunder 17

The Houston Gamblers used their years of experience and an explosive offense, to get off to a jackrabbit start in their Wild Card matchup against Portland. By the time the Thunder got their feet under them, it was too late, and Houston rolled to a 17-point victory. Thurman Thomas had 65 yards and 3 TD’s in the first half, on his way to 108 for the day as Houston scored on its first drive and then on 4 straight possessions in the 2nd quarter before a last second field goal from Portland made it 31-3 at the half.

The Thunder racked up a lot of passing yards in the second half as they tried to come back, but they were unable to turn yardage into points against a Houston defense that bent but would not break. LB Tom Howard had a big day with 9 tackles (2 for a loss), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception on the day. Donald Dykes also intercepted Kerwin Bell, and Kiki DeAyala was again a stalwart leader for the defense. Portland was simply overwhelmed by the moment, and by the Houston Offense.

Houston will now face the Texas Outlaws, the in-state rival who they swept this year, giving Texas 2 of its 4 losses on the year, including a 35-31 shootout win on the final week of the regular season. Houston will come into that game having won 4 of their last 5 and with both sides of the ball playing their best football of the year. Expect ticket prices for the game at Bobcat Stadium (24,000 capacity) to skyrocket as fans from Houston try to get tickets to the in-state rivalry game.

Pittsburgh Maulers 17 New Jersey Generals 20

Another game where playoff experience played a part, as New Jersey held off a fierce Mauler comeback effort, and forced a scoreless 4th quarter to win by 3. Herschel Walker was, as expected, the game’s top performer, rushing for 156 yards on 26 carries, including both General TDs on the day. Both Chris Miller and Pittsburgh’s Jeff Hostetler seemed content to manage the game, taking care to avoid turnovers (0 picks between the two) so the difference was the ability of Walker to exploit the Mauler D, while Mike Rozier was bottled up by an effective run-blitz scheme from New Jersey, limited to only 32 yards on the day.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring on their first drive, taking the ball to the New Jersey 29 yard line before stalling and calling on Rafael Septien to put them on the board with a 46-yard field goal. The next 20 points would be all New Jersey as a Ruzek field goal to equalize the scoreboard was followed by a 27-yard Herschel Walker run on a pitch left. The Generals repeated the sequence in the 2nd quarter with another field goal and another Walker TD run.

Down 20-3 at the half, Pittsburgh changed gears in the second half, with fewer Rozier attempts and more shots to wideouts Mike Pritchard and Raynard Brown. The biggest play for Pittsburgh was actually a 65 yard TD toss to Matt Shaw as the third quarter began, a blown coverage that allowed Shaw clear sailing after the Free Safety blew the tackle. Pittsburgh would add another TD on a Ron Wolfley run from the 2 yard line as the 3rd quarter ended, but that would be the last score of the day. Both defenses played to prevent 1st downs, and both were very effective in the fourth quarter, leading to the final, 20-17 for the Generals.

New Jersey will now face Orlando next week. The two clashed early in the season, a very entertaining 31-26 win for the Renegades in Week 4. That game was Collier vs. Flutie, this one could well be Jordan v. Miller as we know Flutie is out, but Collier may not be able to return after an injury in Week 15. Coach Schnellenberger has been tight-lipped about his QB situation, so it is hard to know if Collier is ready to return for the Renegades or if it will be Jimmie Jordan under center.

Looking at non-playoff news, the main item of the week is the pool of free agents available this year. With the NFL-USFL transfer window opening next week, there has been no movement yet, and, of course, players on playoff teams cannot join the free agent pool as long as their team remains alive. But, even with those caveats, the pool already looks like one of the most intriguing ones in years. Here are some of the big names who remain unsigned by their current clubs (the 10 non-playoff clubs and the 2 recently eliminated teams) and are now looking at free agency in the next week:

ARIZONA: WR Louis Lipps, C Ed Miller, DT Dan Saleamua

BALTIMORE: QB Bob Gagliano, G Tom Newberry, LB Ed Brady, HB Rodney Carter, DT Gregg Bombkamp

BIRMINGHHAM: LB Kevin Greene, FS Roman Lewis, CB Issaic Holt, TE Vincent Marchand

CHICAGO: T Ken Lanier, HB Owen Gill, WR Mike Williams

DENVER: WR Bill Brooks, FS Vencie Glenn, G Robert Schafer

LA/ST. LOUIS: CB Raphel Cherry, DE Blaise Winter, LB Tommy Taylor, QB Frank Seurer

MEMPHIS: HB Tim Spencer, DE Booker Reese, T Rick Boyd, CB Eric Moody

MICHIGAN: DE Ronnie Paggett, WR Danny Knight, HB Lydel Carr

PHILADELPHIA: C Blair Bush, SS Eric McMillian, WR Quinn Early, LB Eric Lindstrom

PITTSBURGH: LB Manu Tuiasosopo, LB Dino Hacket, HB Willie Strange

PORTLAND: TE Clint Didier, DE Bob Otto, WR Aubrey Matthews, QB Ed Luther

TAMPA BAY: WR Willie Gillespie, DT Kevin Fagan, QB Oliver Luck, SS Victor Sprouse

The fact that Raphel Cherry has not resigned with LA/STL is a bad sign for the former-Express. He is one of the top defenders in the league and there will surely be competition for his services. The same is likely true for other top defenders like Birmingham’s Kevin Greene, Memphis’s Booker Reese, Philly SS Eric McMillian, and Portland’s Bob Otto. On offense we are still waiting to see if Doug Flutie comes on the market, but there are some solid players in the pool already, including two from the big 4-way trade (Tim Spencer and Bob Gagliano). Wideout Louis Lipps is in his prime, Aubrey Matthews is mostly dangerous as a return specialist, Willie Gillespie is a valuable slot receiver, and Quinn Early is still on his upward trajectory. Of the backs, Tim Spencer is the biggest name, but has not been his earlier self the past 2 years, so teams may look for a cheaper option like an Owen Gill or Lydel Carr. Lots of solid linemen in this pack too, including top tier pass protectors like. Tom Newberry, Blair Bush, and Ken Lanier.

On the NFL side, there are a few gems out there for the transfer window, but not as many as there will be during the January-February window, when the NFL season wraps up. A few key names that have not signed NFL contracts yet include QBs Dave Krieg and Chris Chandler, HBs Alonso Highsmith and Gerald Riggs, FB Ickey Woods, and wideout Sterling Sharpe. On defense, some potential free agents (in January more than now) are LB Seth Joyner, DE Greg Townsend, LB Pat Swilling and CB Martin Mayhew.

In other news, the coaching searches are ongoing, with no one signed yet. Former Memphis Head Coach Vince Tobin has been interviewed for a possible DC position for the new St. Louis team, and is expected to speak with Coach Bicknell in Philly as well. Rumors have Chicago and Memphis both speaking with Marty Schottenheimer, while Baltimore and Birmingham have both spoken with former Jacksonville head coach Lindy Infante. Another name getting a lot of buzz is former Chicago Bears DC and Philadelphia Eagle head coach Buddy Ryan. Sources have indicated that Ryan’s people have been in communication with at least 3 USFL teams, though they would not specify which.

Finally, the newly-relocated St. Louis franchise has announced that they will reveal their name and identity at a press event at Busch Stadium this upcoming Saturday, as part of the pre-game events on ABC Sports leading up to Saturday’s 3pm game between Jacksonville and Washington, the first of the weekend’s 4 Divisional Games. Rumors have been rampant that the team, required to rebrand by the sale agreement, but likely to have done that anyway since the Express logo was a stylized “LA”, are looking at purple as their primary color. We will know next week, and, of course, we will bring their new identity and look to you as soon as it is revealed.

It’s the biggest football weekend of the summer, four games, eight teams, everyone battling to survive and move on to the next game. Here is our look at the four matchups, in order of the schedule this weekend.

3:00pm ET, Saturday

RFK Stadium, Washington DC

Two evenly matched 10-6 clubs as it is the #3 seed Bulls at the #2 seed Federals. The two played in Week 4, before Tony Eason took charge of the team, and it was a blowout in favor of the Federals. This time around we expect it to be a much closer battle. Jacksonville is all about the pass game led by Eason and featuring Brian Blades and Hassan Jones. For Washington, defense has gotten them here, a defense that allows fewer than 20 points per game. The Feds also boast a solid run game with Barry Word and Kevin Harmon sharing carries. If needed, Don Majkowski has also shown that he can gunsling his way to a win. Due to the more varied options in front of Washington, we are picking the Feds to win at home and return to the Eastern Conference Finals.

7:00pm ET, Saturday

Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos, TX

Houston gave Texas two of their 4 losses this year, and they are hoping for a third. To pull off the upset in San Marcos they will need to find a way to either slow down Kelly Stouffer and the Outlaw offense, or crank up Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas to win a shootout. Planning to shut down the Texas offense seems a futile effort, so we think Coach Willsey and the Gamblers better loosen up Jim Kelly’s throwing arm and give Thurman Thomas extra time in the training room. This could be a major shootout as Texas’s defense has gotten so used to protecting leads that they have been a little lax on shutting teams down early, so Houston has a chance if they can get out to a quick start this week like they did against the Portland Thunder. With Carlos Carson back to full health, we think Texas wins a shootout, so we are going to pick the Outlaws to hold home court and return again next week with a trip to the Summer Bowl in LA on the line.

1:00pm ET, Sunday

Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL

The Generals head down to Florida for what might be the hottest, most humid, game of the year. Temperatures could be in the mid-90’s (Why was this not scheduled as the Saturday night game?) at gametime. Will Herschel Walker and the Generals’ offense melt in the heat, or will it be Orlando who crumbles under the pressure of their first home playoff game? New Jersey certainly has the experience factor, though we have to remember that this will be the first playoff game for Chris Miller, who languished on losing Jacksonville teams for years. Experience is important, but talent matters most, and we like the quality of players on both sides of the ball for Orlando. It may be their defense and not Reggie Collier and the passing game that step up this week, assuming everyone does not decide to just stay indoors in the AC instead.

5:00pm ET, Sunday

Oakland-Alameda Stadium, Oakland, CA

The Breakers have the better record, and have looked like a very solid playoff team once again, but don’t we say that every year, and every year they seem to fall short in the playoffs. Oakland is no pushover, gaining inspiration from Gale Gilbert’s plucky play since season starter Jeff Kemp went down. Their offense depends on the run game of Richard Williams to allow for play action, but in Duper and Ellard, with Chester and Bowers at TE, this is a team with receivers that can burn any defense. The key will be Williams, and the Invaders’ ability to rein in the RB duo of Dupree and Hilliard for New Orleans. If the Breakers can get the run game on track, they are hard to stop. We like Oakland’s grit, but New Orleans seems the safe pick here. They have the experience, the top defense in the league, and the ability to run to daylight. Take the Breakers by 3.

(Make your predictions in the Comments section below. Thur = Divisionals, Fri = Conference title games, and Saturday is Summer Bowl 1991.)