BAL 9 NJ 19
New Jersey wins their sixth in a row and jumps into 2nd place in the Atlantic Division with a solid defensive performance against Baltimore. Herschel Walker contributed 119 yards on the ground and Chris Miller completed 64% of his passes and hit Heath Sherman for the game’s only touchdown to knock off the winless Blitz.
PHI 15 PIT 16
A last minute touchdown from Hostetler to Raynard Brown gives Pittsburgh a vital win as they keep their playoff hopes alive. Philadelphia, whose only scoring was 5 David Trout field goals, again was hampered by interceptions as Chuck Fusina threw two on the game for a league leading 23 on the season. Both teams now sit at 7-7 and a game out of the fifth playoff spot.
BIR 20 JAX 23 OT
Jacksonville gains a game on Birmingham with an overtime win to defeat the Stallions. Tony Eason was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion, but Timm Rosenbach and a solid running game helped the Bulls pull out the win despite 139 yards rushing from Joe Cribbs.
MEM 7 ORL 10
In a game delayed twice by lightning and played in rainy conditions throughout, the Renegades saw Reggie Collier tweak an ankle on the wet turf. Jimmie Jordan came in to relieve him and scored the only TD of the day, an 8-yard toss to Wamon Buggs for the eventual game winner. Despite the rough conditions, WR John Jefferson still caught 9 balls for 91 yards on the day to lead all receivers.
CHI 39 TEX 41
In yet another shootout, the Outlaws had just enough in the tank to mount a final drive for a winning field goal from Nick Mike-Myer in his first action back after a season-long injury. The key player for Chicago was rookie HB Ricky Watters, who had a monster game with 143 yards rushing and another 43 through the air. For Texas it was Stouffer throwing for 350 and 4 TD’s, including 3 to AP POTW Dokie Williams (in for the injured Carson).
MGN 7 NOR 28
The Breakers lock up a playoff spot with a big divisional win over Michigan as Matt Dunigan gets 3 TDs in support from the combo of Hilliard (37 yards rushing, 1 TD) and Dupree (74 yards, 2 TDs). New Orleans’s defense again proved to be significantly improved over past years, allowing the Panthers only 233 total yards and only 28 yards rushing on the day.
LA 28 OAK 30
The Express had their best offensive performance in weeks, with Dan McGwire throwing for 2 scores and Darrell Thompson rushing for another 2, but it was still not enough as Richard Williams rushed for 138 and Gale Gilbert threw 3 TDs to help Oakland move to 9-5 and retain 1st place in the Pacific Division.
ARZ 9 POR 30
The deflated Arizona Wranglers put up little fight against the Thunder as Kerwin Bell found TE Clint Didier for 155 yards and a score to help pace Portland to the win. Kerwin Bell threw for 320 and 2 scores as the Thunder kept pace with Oakland at 9-5. The combo of Terrance Flagler and Robert Drummond added a combined 116 yards on the ground to help Portland hold off the Wranglers.
TBY 17 HOU 33
The Gamblers roll at home on the back of solid defense and a balanced attack. Tampa’s defense was able to limit Thurman Thomas to only 28 yards rushing, but Ricky Proehl gained 105 in the air and Keith Woodside ripped off a 15-yard TD run to help Houston to the decisive victory. Houston now all but wraps up a playoff berth with the win, while Tampa finds itself in the Southern Division cellar with a 5th straight loss.
WASHINGTON FEDERALS 20 DENVER GOLD 23 OT
There were a lot of close games this week, with 2 ending in overtime and several others coming down to the last minute, but we have opted to highlight this week’s “Upset Special” with the 4-win Gold knocking off the Atlantic Division leaders in Washington. The Gold played solid defense, led by Kurt Gouveia’s 12 tackle, 1 Int, 1 FF and 1 FR game to hold off the Federals and play spoilers.
While hardly explosive on offense, Denver got just enough to keep pace with the Federals, taking an initial lead on a Brian Speelman field goal and then breaking a 3-3 tie with a Vince Evans to Bill Brooks touchdown to wind down the 1st quarter. In the second, Washington equalized as Don Majkowski found Joey Walters for a score. Two more field goals led to a 13-13 halftime score.
After a scoreless third quarter, Denver opened the 4th with FB Kenan Travis diving in from 1 yard out to go back up 20-13. Washington responded later in the quarter with Majkowski hitting HB Kevin Harmon for the equalizer. Neither team was able to get into field goal range to end the game in regulation, so the two headed for overtime. In the extra period, Denver’s D came up big, with Kurt Gouveia forcing a fumble by HB Alfred Jenkins, recovered by SS Patrick Gannon, to give the Gold the ball in Washington territory. After a short 7-yard “drive” by the Gold offense, Brian Speelman put the game away with a 30 yard field goal and the Gold had pulled off the upset.
Denver’s offense still needs a lot of work, but it appears that Coach Walton has got the defense playing well, and the whole team not giving up on the season, which bodes well for next year. If the Gold can get a couple of playmakers on offense, this could be a much improved team next season. For Washington, the loss drops their division lead to 1 game over surging New Jersey, but they are still in a strong position to win out and clinch the Atlantic, or even if they stumble to nab a Wild Card spot.
We have to give the POTW title to Chicago halfback Ricky Watters despite the 2-point loss to the Outlaws. Watters, who has a total of 622 yards rushing on the year, has had an up and down season. He has scored 7 times for the Machine, but he has also had several games where he simply could not produce needed first downs.
His best game before this week was a 97 yard outing in Week 5, and this week marks the first time he has cracked 100 yards, and boy did he crack it. His 143 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground were huge in keeping Chicago in the game against the high-powered Texas offense. And, for the first time, Chicago also incorporated Watters into the passing game in a meaningful way. He had only 3 receptions, but one was a 33 yard TD catch on a swing route which was a thing of beauty. With two weeks left in the season, Watters wants to prove that he is a lead back in this league. He won’t crack 1,000 yards this year, but another couple of games over 100 yards, or in which he is dangerous as both a runner and a receiver, and Chicago can rest easy on the halfback position this offseason.
With two weeks left in the season we have a little more clarity, particularly in the Western Conference. In the West, the gap between the 5 current playoff position teams and the 6th team (Michigan) is now 2 games. In addition to Texas, the Invaders, Breakers, and Thunder have now all locked in playoff spots. Houston needs only 1 win or 1 Michigan loss (they have lost 5 in a row) to clinch the final spot. The biggest remaining issue is really who wins the Pacific Division and who gets the Wild Card. That should be settled next week when the Invaders host the Thunder.
In the Atlantic, Orlando remains the only team with a guaranteed playoff spot, though both Washington and Jacksonville are all but mathematically locked in. New Jersey and Birmingham currently occupy the 4th and 5th spots, but each has to worry about a late surge from either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, who are a game back at 7-7. The Feds can help out these clubs as they face the Generals this week. Pittsburgh is hoping their game in Baltimore will help propel them into the top 5, looking for Orlando to knock off Birmingham for the assist. A win for the Feds would also lock up the Atlantic title, putting NJ 2 games back and alive only for a wild card spot. An upset, however, would be rough, as it would guarantee New Jersey a better division record and would leapfrog them over the Feds for first in the division.
With two weeks left in the season, we thought this a good time to check in on the various quarterback competitions to see what has changed and what might be looming this offseason. Here are the most competitive of the QB situations in the league and our best guess of what is to come.
NEW JERSEY
This is without a doubt the ugliest of the situations as Doug Flutie has not been shy about his displeasure with Coach Perkins and the pressure put on by Chris Miller. With Flutie’s season finished due to a hip injury, it will be Miller who can lead the Generals into and through the playoffs. If Miller fairs well, expect the Generals to let Flutie explore the free agency waters without countering any deal. If Miller flounders then things will get interesting. There are a lot of Flutie supporters both within the Generals’ organization and among the fans, so there may be pressure to retain Flutie and trade Miller away much as they did with Timm Rosenbach last year. There may even be pressure to remove Coach Perkins if the Miller games do not go well for the Generals.
PORTLAND
The battle between season starter David Archer and a resurgent Kerwin Bell is likely not going anywhere. Both are under contract and not eligible for free agency, so both could be part of a protracted QB battle leading into next year. If, however, Bell shines in the playoffs it is possible that the Portland front office will look to maximize David Archer’s value by trading him away to another QB hungry team. That seems unlikely as it is clear that having 2 solid QB’s is a key to winning consistently in this league, but it is not out of the question.
DENVER
The trade that brought Vince Evans to Denver has produced some success, as Evans has helped lead the Gold to 3 straight wins, but with Evans’s numbers not looking great, a lot of the credit is going to the defense. Evans is a solid, but no longer a dynamic starter, and while both Cody Carlson and Billy Joe Tolliver have been adequate as replacement players when injuries arrive, we would not call the Denver QB situation settled. Denver could be a player in the offseason if there is QB talent in the pool. Don’t be surprised if they trade away one of their two backups, retain Evans and still bring in another potential starter. Could the Gold be looking at New Jersey’s situation and hoping Doug Flutie tests the market? Coach Walton, during his time with the NY Jets certainly had a chance to see what Flutie offers in the NY market.
BALTIMORE
While the 4-team trade seems to have helped Denver, it has not brought any such luck to the Blitz. Almost immediately after getting into a game in a Blitz uniform Bob Gagliano succumbed to a season-ending injury. Gagliano was openly disapproving of being traded, and he is in the last year of his contract, so we fully expect him to join the free agent market. With a new coach to be selected at some point this summer, and with a new President of Football Operations, we expect QB to be a focal point. Eric Kramer is serviceable, but seems unlikely to return the Blitz to playoff glory without a lot of help. The draft is a possible option for the Blitz, but this is not exactly the 1983 class of QB’s so they might have to take a shot on a developmental player and perhaps stick with Kramer for another year. Would Baltimore take a shot at Flutie? That all depends on who is chosen as the new head coach. Flutie is an unconventional QB so it would take a coach with unconventional ideas to get on board with him.
PITTSBURGH
We haven’t spoken much about the Maulers as a team with a QB controversy, but with Alan Risher getting on in years, and after this pretty much lost season with him, it may be time for the Maulers to look for another option. Jeff Hostetler has shown flashes of both talent and leadership in his year at the helm, and Pittsburgh is close to a possible playoff appearance with the former West Viginia Mountaineer at the helm. We could envision a situation where the Maulers bring in a rookie and go with Hostetler for a year, while releasing Risher to the free agent market. We expect a lot depends on if the Maulers retain Ted Marchibroda. A playoff appearance likely means yes, another 7-9 or 8-8 year means perhaps not.
JACKSONVILLE
The situation in Jacksonville is less a controversy than an uncomfortable reality. The Bulls traded for Timm Rosenbach with full expectation that he would be the new starter for the Bulls, but he got hurt early and Tony Eason stepped up with one of the most amazing comeback seasons in football history. Eason is likely to be the MVP of the league this year, and after leading the Bulls to the postseason (all but assured) there is no way he is not declared the starter for next year. So what do you do with Rosenbach, who pushed Doug Flutie to start in New Jersey? Do you trade him away or do you retain him and make the case that he is where he needs to be and that means sitting and learning behind Eason?
OTHERS
These are the main “controversies” in the league, but that hardly means that the QB situation is locked up for the other 14 clubs. Sure, some are standing pat, but there are questions elsewhere. Did Dan McGwire do enough in his rookie season for LA to avoid competition next year? Is Matt Robinson’s injury one which pushes him to retire, and if so, is Dunigan the answer for the Breakers? Is a bad year for Chuck Fusina going to push him to retirement as well? What is Jeff Kemp’s long term prognosis after suffering a spinal injury this year? Will we see him back on the field or is Oakland looking at Gale Gilbert as their starter next year? Is Chicago satisfied with the big numbers but poor record of Chuck Long? Is there another team that will surprise us and move a starting QB to load up on players and picks? Lots to be decided and lots to watch out for this offseason.
The big news is that Orlando’s Reggie Collier is likely to miss the final 2 weeks of the regular season after a big hit this past week. The Renegades have a playoff spot locked up and will turn to Jimmie Jordan to finish out the year, with Collier slated to return for the playoffs. Jacksonville faired better with their injured QB as Tony Eason has been cleared to play this week after getting knocked out of their game this past week. Likely returning to play this week, and listed as probable, we also find Portland CB Gill Byrd, Arizona HB Lionel James, Orlando WR Alfred Jackson, Texas T Rene Dudley, New Orleans C William Copley, and Portland T Bruce Armstrong.
It’s Week 15 so you know there are big games as teams try to get that playoff spot locked down. The Washington-New Jersey match is perhaps the most impactful, but don’t sleep on the Portland-Oakland battle for the Division Title in the Pacific, or the Orlando-Birmingham clash in the Southern Division. The Breakers are also hoping to sneak up on Texas as they host the Outlaws this week, while Houston is in Chicago with a chance to clinch a spot with a win. Other games include Memphis at Michigan, Philly at Los Angeles (that may get ugly, at least as far as attendance goes), Tampa in Jacksonville, and the Pittsburgh Maulers hoping to sneak into playoff position if they can send the winless Blitz to 0-15.
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