1991 Week 9 Recap:

NJ 34 BAL 10

Things have gone from bad to worse in Baltimore as newly-acquired Bob Gagliano suffered a season-ending injury vs. the Generals. Eric Kramer came in and within 1 quarter he too was taken out of the game with an injury, leaving untested Peter Tom Willis to serve as the emergency QB. Amid all this chaos, New Jersey got 2 TDs from Herschel Walker, an interception return TD, and a late TD pass from Miller (in mop up duty) to Birden to coast to a win over the hapless Blitz.

PIT 23 PHI 17

One of the better Keystone Clashes we have seen over the years as the Maulers and Stars battle to a 17-17 tie in regulation, and the underdog Maulers pull out the win on a 30 yard toss from Hostetler to Raynard Brown in overtime. Hostetler, who had a huge contingent of WVU fans in the stands in Philly, played well against the stingy Philadelphia defense, going 26/43 for 279 and 2 scores.

JAX 21 BIR 28

The Stallions played tough at home, and knocked off the red hot Bulls, thanks in large part to two picks of Tony Eason (who also threw 3 TDs and 348 yards on the day). Birmingham was efficient on offense, as Joe Cribbs once again cracked the 100-yard mark (115) and rookie Lawrence Dawsey caught the key TD to put Birmingham up for good.

ORL 29 MEM 17

Orlando receivers John Jefferson (101) and Wamon Buggs (129) found holes in Memphis’s defense and exploited them all day long as the Renegades moved to 7-2 on the season. Collier found 8 different receivers on the day and the Renegades D held Memphis QB Cary Conklin in check as Orlando rolled to a road win in the Liberty Bowl.

TEX 31 CHI 24

As we always seem to say about Chicago, they played a tough, competitive game, but in the end they did not have enough to overcome the Outlaws. Glen Carano again fared well, finding both Metcalf and Carson for over 100 yards and a score each. Reggie Cobb was contained by the Chicago D, but Carano was able to pass for 328 yards and 3 scores. Chicago’s offense once again struggled to develop the run game and relied to heavily on Chuck Long.

NOR 18 MGN 24

The Panthers defended home turf and scored 10 points in the final quarter to win the back and forth match against the Breakers. Dereck Holloway was the star as he caught 6 Trudeau passes, two for scores. New Orleans’s Michael Jackson had 142 yards receiving, but was unable to find the endzone as the Breakers fall to 6-3, even with Michigan and both a game behind Texas.

OAK 24 LA 19

The Express scored 14 in the final 3 minutes of the game to make the score look respectable, but this was Oakland domination for 3 ½ quarters. Richard Williams rushed for 92 yards and QB Gale Gilbert avoided the interception, throwing for 224 and 2 scores on the day. LA was simply unable to run the ball, putting all the pressure on rookie Dan McGwire, and until garbage time, down 24-6, he did not step up. The final three minutes were crazy, but Oakland was not phased and came away with a key divisional win.

POR 27 ARZ 21

The Thunder took care of business on the road at the fading Arizona Wranglers. The combo of Drummond and Flagler gained 138 yards rushing, and David Archer completed nearly 79% of his passes as the Thunder built up a 27-14 lead after 3. Robbie Bosco threw the ball 41 times but gained only 213 on the day as the Portland secondary held. Their infamously bad run defense was at least mediocre, giving the combo of James and Clack only 105 total for the day, and while Clack scored twice, it was not enough for the Wranglers, who fall to 3-6 and nearly out of any playoff hopes.

DEN 27 TBY 47

Denver’s offense had some moments, but they were too few to keep pace with an explosive Tampa Bay offense. Troy Aikman threw for 349 and 4 scores on the day, and rookie Eric Bienemy did his best Thurman Thomas impersonation, leading the team in rushing with 73 yards, and in receiving with 92 yards. He also accounted for 3 of Tampa’s 6 touchdowns on the day. The Bandits are proving that 3rd down efficiency is overrated as they went 0 for 8 on the down, but still racked up 47 points.

HOUSTON GAMBLERS 27

WASHINGTON FEDERALS 35

Another classic USFL comeback as Houston built up a 27-7 lead at the half only to watch momentum turn hard towards the Federals, who racked up 28 points in the second half to take the win at home. It was a tale of two halves as an unstoppable Houston offense in the first half came out flat for the second half while Washington was determined to claw their way back and take the win in front of a good crowd at RFK.

The Game began with a huge play between Houston’s biggest stars as only 5 plays into the game Jim Kelly hit Thurman Thomas on a swing pass that ended up going 72 yards for the game’s first score. Thomas shook off the tackle from safety Mark Kelso and had clear sailing down the sideline for the score. After Washington evened the score on a Majkowski to Walters pass, it turned all Houston. Thurman Thomas had 91 yards in the first half, on his way to 135 rushing on the day, and scored on two consecutive drives to put Houston up 21-7. Two more drives finished the half ending on field goals as Houston looked like they were running away with this one.

But Washington was not ready to call it a game just yet. They took the opening drive of the second half 73 yards, ending with a Kevin Harmon 1-yard plunge, his first of 2 scores on the day. The defense came up big on the next possession as Charles Haley sacked Jim Kelly on 3rd and 8. With the ball, Washington scored again (Harmon from 3) and the crowd could sense a momentum shift. It was now 27-21 and the Feds were right back in the game.

Early in the 4th Majkowski started to find coverage on Herman Moore slipping. He found him on 3 key plays, including an 8-yard TD pass to put the Feds up by 1. Moore ended the day as the team’s leading receiver, with 5 catches and 120 yards. On Washington’s final scoring drive, Moore was again the star, nabbing a deep ball for 52 yards before stepping out at the 4 yard line. Majkowski then hit Duane Gunn for the short TD pass, and it was now 35-27 Washington, a score that would hold up as the Houston offense was unable to mount a final drive.

The loss was certainly a crushing one for the Gamblers, but exactly the kind of resilient performance Washington needed as they face a tough final stretch and a race with Philly to win the division and its bye week perk. With Pittsburgh’s upset of Philly earlier in the weekend, the Federals now share first place with 7 weeks left to play and, it would seem, with momentum on their side.

The AP gave the POTW to Thurman Thomas, for his 135 yard rushing and 95 yard receiving day against the Federals, but we want to also recognize TT version 2, Eric Bienemy, who is being given the chance to do in Tampa Bay exactly what Thomas does in Houston. Since coming over from Memphis in the massive 4-team trade earlier this spring, Bienemy has slowly been increasing his touches, and is becoming a focal point of the Bandits run and pass game. This week he finished with 73 yards rushing, 92 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns, as close a parallel with Thomas’s game as we have seen. This may be the future of the halfback position moving forward, an elusive back who can make the screen or swing pass game as deadly as any wideout, and who can still gain that 3rd and 2 when needed. Bienemy is smaller than Thomas, and lacks some of the Houston back’s power moves, but he is shifty, has great hands, and a quick first step, enabling him to hit holes before they close down. While some teams still rely on the big bruising, between the tackle backs, the success of backs like Thurman Thomas, Lionel James, and now Eric Bienemy, may herald a new age for dual-purpose backs.

As the league prepares for a special owners’ meeting to review the sale and expected relocation of the LA Express, other news out of New York. The league has agreed to an exclusive licensing and production agreement with Nike, the sports apparel and footwear company led by Portland Thunder majority owner Phil Knight. The deal will grant Nike the contract to design and produce all on-field gear, including team uniforms and sideline gear (t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, caps, etc.) for all 20 USFL franchises. Additionally, Nike will sell replica items and branded USFL gear to the general public. This is the first time that the entire league will be operating with a single uniform provider, and essentially shuts the door on Russell Athletic, Logo 7, and Champion as both uniform providers and team merchandize purveyors for a period of 5 years, beginning in January of 1993. Nike will work with each USFL franchise to produce uniforms for the 1993 season, and, as outlined in the agreement, franchises will have the opportunity to use Nike’s design and branding team to update or modify everything from their on-field look to their colors, logos, and marketing designs.

Michigan and Houston are scheduled to have updated designs released for 1992, which will mark the last year of their Russell Athletic contracts. Michigan has already announced that they will wait for the switchover to Nike to update their uniforms, while Pittsburgh has announced that they will replace Michigan for a uniform revamp in the last year of the Russell Athletic contract.

This marks a watershed moment for both Nike and the USFL as the former gains its first major professional league for leaguewide design, production, and sales of both authentic and retail/replica merchandise. For the USFL, the contract provides a lucrative partnership which will allow for nationwide distribution of USFL jerseys, t-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, jackets, and ball caps.

Some big blows delivered to teams that cannot afford any more obstacles. We mentioned already the season-ending injury to Bob Gagliano, just recently starting over in Baltimore. Gagliano came out of the game after an awkward tackle and many suspected a knee injury, but the medical staff has diagnosed it as a quad tear. The injury impacts the stability of Gagliano’s right knee as well as his ability to effectively scramble, or even drop back in the pocket, so the choice was made for him to undergo surgery and try for a comeback in 1992.

Another big hit came in the form of a ruptured Achilles to Oakland’s best corner, Tory Nixon. The tear is partial, but could take up to a month to heal and be strong enough for Nixon to keep pace with the league’s speedy receivers. In Memphis the concern is for Tim Spencer and his hyper-extended knee. Spencer is expected to be out this week, but may return in Week 11. Texas will be without Najee Mustafaa for the rest of the year after the corner tore his ACL trying to tackle Chicago’s Michael Haynes this week. He will likely be placed on IR along with safety Terry Porter (neck injury), significantly weakening an already suspect Outlaw secondary.

On the mend this week and expected to return to action in Week 10 are Philly wideout Quinn Early, Oakland CB Aeneas Williams, Washington LB Dante Jones, New Jersey TE Jeff Spek, Texas QB Kelly Stouffer, and Houston DE Aaron Wallace.

It is inter-conference play this week as the Southern Division squads head out West to face off against their Pacific Division foes, while the Atlantic Division visits the Central. Among the key matchups this week we find Tampa @ Arizona, Orlando @ Portland, Philadelphia visiting New Orleans, and Pittsburgh in Texas. Other games include Baltimore @ Houston, Washington in Chicago, New Jersey facing the Panthers in the Silver Dome, Birmingham @ Denver, Memphis in Oakland, and Jacksonville @ LA.