1992 Week 10 Recap: Jockeying for Position Begins

NJ 25 PHI 27

It all came down to a 2-point conversion to tie the game with no time left on the clock. New Jersey had just scored on a Jeff Spek TD catch from Flutie, but the Generals needed 2 to send the game to overtime. Flutie got the ball to Walker, but the pass was low and Herschel could not scoop it up, leaving the Generals 2 points short and giving Philadelphia their 2nd win of the year.

WSH 9 PIT 20

Pittsburgh’s D held the Feds to 3 field goals on the game, and Mike Rozier had another huge game with 143 yards rushing to help secure the Maulers a 2-game lead in the Atlantic Division. Washington went through three QB’s in the game as the Maulers knocked out Majkowski after only 2 pass attempts. Mike Hohensee played the rest of the 1st half before he too was forced out and Will Furrer played the entire second half.

TBY 23 ORL 30

The Renegades continue their win streak with a huge home win against in-state rival Tampa Bay. Troy Aikman returned for Tampa and threw for 3 scores, but on a day when the Bandits D knocked Reggie Collier out of the game, the Renegades got 303 yards from rookie QB Craig Erickson to pull out the win. Dalton Hilliard contributed 60 yards rushing and a score, but the big star was TE Danta Whittaker who bailed Erickson out on multiple occasions and finished the game with 113 yards and score.

MGN 21 HOU 41

Jim Kelly returned from injury and played angry, tossing 4 TD’s and throwing for 403 yards as the Gamblers punted only 3 times the entire game. Thurman Thomas contributed a combined 104 yards and 2 scores, and the combo of Proehl and Perriman combined for 199 yards receiving. The D also contributed, holding the Culver-Workman combo to only 33 combined yards.

TEX 44 NOR 31

Texas asserted that they were right in the playoff mix with a big win against the Breakers. Kelly Stouffer threw for 3 scores and a late interception return by the Texas D put the game away for the Outlaws. Matt Dunigan threw for 306 yards and 3 scores, but his 3 picks were decisive in the outcome of the game.

DEN 3 OAK 28

Things got ugly for Denver QB Dave Krieg, who threw 3 picks in this one as Oakland’s D dominated. Two early Gilbert TD passes were enough for the Invaders as they held Denver to only 247 total yards and forced 4 turnovers. Siran Stacy, despite being held to only 42 yards rushing, found the endzone twice in the Oakland win.

POR 21 STL 6

Portland escapes St. Louis with a huge divisional road win as the D holds the Knights to only 76 yards rushing. Kerwin Bell returned to action for the Thunder and got help from the run game as both Dereck Loville and Terrance Flagler scored to boost Portland to a comfortable win.

BAL 13 CHI 19

Chicago tops the .500 mark by beating the Blitz thanks to 4 John Carney field goals and a Ricky Watters TD run. Baltimore was held to only 252 total yards as the Chicago D limited Barry Foster to a 2.2 ypc average. Scott Zolak got the win, managing a game that was led by the Chicago defense.

BIR 27 ARZ 7

The Stallions continue to roll, despite Arizona shutting down Joe Cribbs (35 yards on 13 carries) as Birmingham FS gets a huge pick-six of a Robbie Bosco pass. Brett Favre adds two more touchdowns and completed 62.1% of his passes, hitting both Shannon Sharpe and Ernest Givens for six. The win moves B’ham to 6-4 and knocks Arizona back down to 5-5.

MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 20 JACKSONVILLE BULLS 21

Another strong game from backup QB Timm Rosenbach helps the Bulls knock off the division-leading Memphis Showboats and earn a share of the Southern Division lead. Rosenbach accounted for all three Bulls scores, including two 4th quarter TD’s to Hassan Jones as the Bulls came back from a 20-7 deficit to take the win.

Memphis relied on its high-pressure defense throughout the game, sacking Rosenbach 8 times, including 3 from perennial ALL-USFL DE Reggie White, but when the game was on the line Rosenbach was able to escape the pressure and find Jones for a 33-yard TD to pull within 20-14 and then hit Jones again at the end of a long final drive to secure the win.

Memphis’s offense struggled to establish consistency, although both Greg Boone and Tommy Agie ended the game with solid numbers, combining for 102 yards and a score. Mike Kelly was hot early, hitting 10 of his first 12 passes, but then the Bulls started shifting their zones and Kelly went only 11 of 28 the rest of the way, including 2 picks that helped Jacksonville keep the score within range to eventually come back.

James Wilder averaged a strong 6 yards per carry but was limited to only 11 touches as the Bulls played catchup in the second half and Rosenbach started hitting on passes to Blades, Jones and Weegie Thompson (10 receptions combined). The Bulls now share first place with the Showboats at 6-4 and with Tony Eason expected to return to action soon, could be positioned well for the final 6 weeks of the year.

We said earlier that Jim Kelly played angry, and we meant it. From the opening kickoff it seemed like Kelly was making up for lost time, coming back from injury. He hit on 4 of 5 passes on the Gamblers’ opening drive, eventually catching the Michigan D snoozing and found Keith Woodside for a 30-yard TD toss to cap off the drive.

He would add another TD pass to Ricky Proehl only 4 minutes later to give Houston a 14-0 lead. He would later add TD tosses to Thurman Thomas and Keith McKeller as Houston pulled away from the Panthers. He finished the day with 23 of 28 passing (82.1%) and 403 yards, including 100 to Perriman, 99 to Proehl, 89 for his TE McKellor and 68 yards to Thomas. Sacked only once and with no picks on the day, this was one of Kelly’s best games in his storied career. If he is able to stay angry, Houston has a very good chance of staying atop the Central Division and could have their eyes set on a return to the Summer Bowl.

Week 10 and time for our first look at the playoff picture. There is quite a logjam out west as we have 8 teams within 1 game of the #1 seed. With both the Central and Pacific Divisions both having several contenders vying for the lead, this will likely come down to the wire. In the East Pittsburgh has opened up a 2 game lead over Washington, and it looks like the rest of the Atlantic Division are bowing out (all at 2-8 after 10 games), the real battles will be in the South, where Jacksonville and Memphis are tied atop the division at 7-3, with Birmingham and Orlando both coming on strong. Even Tampa, at 4-6, is still very much alive in a tight race. With a lot of divisional games left to play, we could see a lot of motion up and down the standings in both divisions.

The Texas Outlaws are apparently ready to be sold as USFL executives met with current owner William Tatham and potential new majority owner Red McCombs this week. McCombs, who brought the San Antonio Spurs to the city in the ABA only to sell them once they were within the NBA, is once again looking at getting a foothold on the San Antonio sports community.

With the Outlaws looking to relocate from San Marcos to the new AlamoDome in San Antonio, McCombs is poised to take over ownership of the franchise and reap the benefits of having a very popular team move into a much larger venue. For Tatham, the sale would provide the assets needed to begin work on returning the Express to Los Angeles. With solid financial backing, and support of the community in San Antonio, there are not expected to be many hurdles to the sale of the Outlaws, and the league is expected to announce the ownership shift within the next few weeks.

In LA, discussions are underway between William Tatham and both Angels Stadium and Dodger Stadium as the soon-to-be Express owner hopes to secure a 3-year lease for a home for the franchise ahead of his formal pitch to the USFL. Recognizing that both the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in nearby Pasadena are much too large and cost prohibitive for the restarted Express, Tatham is exploring both local baseball stadiums, and is still floating the idea of an eventual stadium to be built in Carson, CA as a new home for the reincarnated Express franchise.

Meanwhile, suitors for potential USFL expansion are beginning to line up. In addition to known entities in Seattle, Atlanta, and Kansas City, there are rumors of a group in the Twin Cities hoping to bring spring football to Minnesota, and even a group of investors trying to put together a pitch to add a second team to the New York-New Jersey market by placing a team in Shea Stadium in Queens. The official bid process is set to begin this offseason, and it may be a wild one as the league has yet to decide if they are going to add 2 teams (LA and one new location) in 1995, or boost the expansion up to 12 teams to create a 24-franchise league. Meanwhile, the NFL has announced that they will be adding 2 franchises in 1995 to move from 28 to 30 teams. We very likely will see some bidders hoping to hedge their bets by submitting to both leagues, though this will be limited to locations which have no current franchise in either league, cities such as Columbus (OH), Nashville, or Charlotte.

We mentioned that the Federals lost their top 2 QB’s this week. Prognosis looks good for Mike Hohensee to return next week, which is good because Washington will likely be missing Don Majkowski for 1-2 weeks with a sprained wrist, the result of a post-release contact between Majkowski’s throwing hand and a Pittsburgh defender’s helmet.

Memphis QB Mike Kelley came out of their big game with Jacksonville late, but he has been listed as probable for this week. Chuck Long is also listed as probable, and should resume starting duties from Scott Zolak. We also expect this to be the first week when Cliff Stoudt is on the sideline in uniform, but will be the backup to Favre for the Stallions.

Among those not suiting up this week will be Chicago TE Wessley Walls (Out), Portland tackle Siupele Malamala (Out 4-6 weeks), Bulls LB Mo Lewis (Out 2-4 weeks), and Birmingham HB Joe Cribbs (likely to miss 1-2 weks with a deep thigh bruise). The other big loss this week is Orlando QB Reggie Collier, who may miss as much as 2 weeks after he too sprained his wrist.

We stay in division for more playoff-impacting play as Pittsburgh hopes to build up its league as they host Philadelphia. Jacksonville will face a Birmingham team without Joe Cribbs, and Memphis takes on an Orlando squad without Reggie Collier. Houston will be in Chicago hoping to secure sole possession of first in the Central, while Matt Dunigan and New Orleans will be in Pontiac to face the Michigan Panthers. In the Pacific it will be Arizona at Denver and Portland at Oakland. Out of divisional play we find Washington with a tough road game in San Marcos against the Texas Outlaws and Tampa Bay hoping to get a road win in St. Louis against the Knights. The Generals and Blitz will also face off with draft day on both teams’ minds.