PHI 22 NJ 17
It is always a battle when these two Atlantic Division rivals face off, and this game was no different. Browning Nagle put Philly on top 12-7 before being knocked from the game, but veteran Bob Gagliano came in and went 19/29 to help Philly preserve their lead. Once again Sam Wyche opted to focus on the pass, but despite 2 TD passes, Doug Flutie could not provide the win.
JAX 17 MEM 29
Memphis gets a huge home win to go up a game in the Southern Division at 10-3. Four Kevin Shea field goals, and a late TD from Mike Kelley was enough to hold off the Bulls as the Showboats D collected 3 picks and 4 sacks on the day. Reggie White got two sacks to take over the league lead, while Greg Boone rushed for 118 and a score to help Memphis retake the top spot in the division.
ORL 17 TBY 24
Tampa Bay’s resurgence continues with a big win in the Big sombrero. Kelly hit Chris Kelley for two scores and Eric Truvillion had a massive 178 yards receiving as the Bandits overwhelmed the Orlando pass defense. Aikman would finish the game with 3 scores and 312 yards passing.
NOR 23 CHI 20
Coach Arnsparger’s gambit paid off as Danny McManus took the helm for the Breakers. His 275 yards passing and 53% completion rate was nothing to write home about, but he did not turn the ball over and provided good balance to the Breaker run game, which did just enough to knock off the Machine. Fans in Chicago started calling for Scott Zolak to play as Chuck Long was once again ineffective leading the offense.
TEX 26 MGN 21
A nice division win for Texas as they go into the SilverDome and upend the Panthers. Reggie Cobb had 95 yards rushing and backup Mark Higgs added another 46 as Texas used the run game effectively to slow the pace of the game. Add in 236 yards and 2 TD’s from Kelly Stouffer and the Outlaws go home with a win and are now 2 games over .500.
ARZ 21 POR 24
The Thunder got a much-needed divisional win, pulling their record to 7-6 and staying well in the hunt for a playoff spot. Kerwin Bell found Webster Slaughter and Adrian Cooper for scores and the Portland D held Clack and James to only 46 yards combined on the ground as the Thunder edge the Wranglers in rainy Portland.
STL 7 OAK 41
Oakland made a statement against St. Louis. Moving into sole possession of first in the Pacific Division, the emphatic win reminded everyone that this is the defending league champion. Gale Gilbert threw 3 TD passes and Siran Stacy had his second consecutive 100-yard game, this time with 2 scores as well. LB Ron Rivera also had a strong game, garnering 4 tackles, a sack and the game’s lone interception.
BAL 6 HOU 31
Houston too made a statement, though the Blitz are hardly a top-level opponent. Thurman Thomas had 103 yards rushing and added another 73 through the air, with 2 TDs on the day as Houston rolled over Baltimore. With Ricky Proehl hobbled by a nagging ankle issue, it was Thomas, TE Ron Heller and Brett Perriman who did most of the damage through the air. Eric Kramer, in his first start since Week 1, only completed 14 of 48 passes (29%) as the Houston D was simply all over his receivers all day.
BIR 37 DEN 17
Despite the return of Joe Cribbs, the Stallions opted to take advantage of a banged up Denver secondary. The result? QB Brett Favre set the USFL league record with 522 yards passing. He completed 25 of 33 passes on the day and connected with Ernest Givens and Joe Cribbs twice each for scores as Birmingham rolled over the Gold. 3 Different receivers (Givens, Shannon Sharpe, and Lawrence Dawsey) topped 100 yards receiving as the Stallions simply shredded the undermanned Gold secondary.
PITTSBURGH MAULERS 17 WASHINGTON FEDERALS 20
The two top teams in the Atlantic gave us a real slobberknocker in RFK as the Federals outlasted the Maulers and took over a share of first place in the division. The star of the game was Joey Walters, wo caught 12 balls from backup Mike Hohensee, gaining 118 yards and scoring an early TD to get Washington on the board.
Both defenses focused on stopping the run, with Pittsburgh being slightly more successful. They held Barry Word to only 41 yards on 14 carries (2.9 average) while Mike Rozier struggled to gain 75 yards on 22 carries (3.4 average). The change of pace of bringing in Lydell Carr worked for the Maulers as he gained 34 yards on only 6 carries, but it would not be enough for the Maulers to pull out the win.
After Washington went up 7-0 on the Walters TD in the first quarter, Pittsburgh got the equalizer 5 minutes later on a Carr run to paydirt. Washington would respond with a FG-producing drive, only to have Pittsburgh score again with 2:45 left in the half, a Raynard Brown 17-yarder from Risher. Washington had just enough time to get Ray Wersching in position again, and he knocked through a short FG to make the halftime score Pittsburgh 14, Washington 13.
The tight game would continue in the second half. Both teams limited possessions and shut down big play opportunities, with Washington garnering 3 second half sacks of Alan Risher and Pittsburgh also getting to Mike Hohensee 3 times, leading to a lot of stalled drives. Though the game produced no takeaways, the two defensive teams made moving the ball hard for each offense. Pittsburgh would get a long Rafael Septien FG 12 minutes into the 3rd quarter to increase their lead to 17-13, but it would not hold.
Washington had only one productive drive in the second half, but it would prove to be the game winner. Mike Hohensee led the Federals on a 71-yard drive late in the 3rd and entering the 4th quarter. The Federals benefitted from 2 Pittsburgh penalties on the drive, and on a 2nd and goal from the 8, Hohensee would find Travis McNeal in the endzone for the game-winning TD.
The win levels Washington with Pittsburgh at 8-5, ensuring that the Atlantic Division would likely come down to the wire. Pittsburgh next faces two Central Division teams, with Texas in Week 14, then New Orleans, before traveling to Philadelphia to end the season. Washington may have an easier path with home games against New Jersey and Texas before a season finale at Chicago.
Yes, Denver’s defense is a walking MASH unit, and yes, the secondary has not been good even when healthy, but we still have to celebrate the amazing numbers put up this week by Birmingham’s 2nd year QB Brett Favre. He went 25 of 33 (76%), threw 4 TD’s and an incredible 522 yards at Mile High. This included completions of 71 yards to Ernest Givens, 37 yards to Clarence Collins, 31 to Shannon Sharpe, 39 to Lawrence Dawsey, an d21 to Walter Reeves. On the day, Favre connected with 8 different receivers, even throwing 2 td’s to halfback Joe Cribbs.
Favre is almost certainly locking up the Offensive Player of the Year award, if not the MVP (at 7-6 that might be a stretch) with his performances for the Stallions. Birmingham had a much-deserved reputation as a run-first, conservative offense, but with Favre at the helm, the Stallions are beginning to look like a more open, more dynamic, risk-taking offense. Some of the kudos go to Coach Ron Erhardt, who brought some NFL wrinkles to the Stallions’ offensive scheme, but it is hard to believe that had Favre not stepped in for an injured Cliff Stoudt we would be seeing these kinds of numbers. Stoudt has certainly lost his starting job to Favre at this point, though the veteran seems happy just to be on a team with another playoff run in them. For Favre, after a year sitting on the bench and itching to play, he has proven that he has the stuff to be an elite QB in the USFL. He currently stands behind only Jim Kelly of Houston in the QB Ratings and is yards (4,090) and touchdowns (36). The game against Denver is just one of many this year in which the young gunslinger has simply dazzled fans and overwhelmed defenders. Looks like Birmingham may just have a true superstar on their hands.
In a normal year, having 3 games left to play we would start to see teams locking up playoff berths, and we would expect the number of contenders for the 10 playoff spots to be around 12-13. This year we have 16 teams in the thick of a playoff hunt (and both Philadelphia and New Jersey are still mathematically alive as well.) No division leader has more than a 1 game lead on their closest rival, and we have a cluster between 7-6 and 6-7 that is going to come down to the wire.
With 3 games left, Memphis is one good week away from clinching a playoff spot, but their division title may not be settled until they face off against Orlando in Week 16. Jacksonville is right on their heels, but has tough games at Tampa Bay and home to Birmingham to contend with. Out West, Oakland is hoping that they can build on their lead this week. After Portland, they have to travel to Memphis and then Denver to end the year. Houston may be in the best position. They are the only division leader who will not have another team on their schedule with a winning record (as of today), facing off against Chicago before traveling to New Jersey and Michigan.
With so many close divisions, we may not have any confirmed playoff teams until week 15 or 16, which is fine by the league, as they want as many teams to be playing meaningful football as possible over the next 3 weeks.
Big news on the LA Express front as William Tatham and the new LA ownership group have scheduled a press conference for tomorrow in conjunction with Al Davis of the NFL’s Los Angeles Raiders. It appears, from all accounts, that Davis, Tatham, and the city of Carson, just outside LA, have agreed in principle to a plan to develop a new football stadium within the city. This new stadium would be both the home to the Raiders and Express, and the first incident in the short history of the USFL that the spring league and the NFL have worked in a truly cooperative way.
After years of uneasy co-tenancy of the Express in Angel Stadium, home of the MLB Angels, the Express left LA for St. Louis, but a new stadium would help to usher in a return to LA for the Express. The Raiders too have had several issues with their home, the LA Coliseum, and have made overtures to the city to build a new facility or perhaps lose the Raiders to another city. The combined financing of the USFL’s new LA franchise and the NFL’s Raiders may be enough to minimize the needed contribution of Carson and Los Angeles County to get approval for the stadium.
Details remain sketchy, but the stadium would be expected to have a capacity of approximately 65,000, with the option to tarp off the upper deck for the often less-attended USFL games, creating a 40,000 seat space. If approved, construction could begin as early as mid-1993, with a target opening date of Fall 1995. This would not be in time for the return of the Express in March 1993, but would allow the USFL franchise to inaugurate the stadium for the 1996 season. More to come as details are released and we report on the press conference between Mr. Davis, Mr. Tatham and the Mayor of Carson.
As teams battle for playoff position, injuries can have a huge impact on the success or failure of a team. Birmingham is certainly hoping they can overcome the loss of FS Vencie Glenn, who is out for the rest of the year after tearing his hamstring this week. Michigan’s playoff run may be hampered by the loss of rookie HB Rodney Culver to a torn MCL. Oakland is looking at patching up their O-line as both tackle Muhammad Elowinibi and guard Guy McIntyre will be out for the rest of the regular season.
New Orleans may be without their lead back, Marcus Dupree, this week as he is dealing with the aftermath of a dislocated shoulder. In Philly, Browning Nagle will likely be replaced by Bob Gagliano, as his wrist remains swollen and movement limited after an awkward landing in the game this week. And finally, Jacksonville’s Timm Rosenbach may be back on the bench as Tony Eason is expected to return to action this week despite the success Rosenbach has had in his stead. Washington too expects to have their starter, Don Majkowski, back under center as they face the Generals.
Week 14 looks like another big one in the division races. Birmingham will be hosting Memphis and hopes to be able to pull the upset and get back into the playoff picture at 8-6. Jacksonville has to try to rebound at Tampa Bay, who are on the rise the past month. New Orleans and Michigan are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive with a game in the Super Dome, as Houston faces Chicago at home with an eye on pulling ahead in the division. Oakland puts their division lead on the line as they head up to Oakland, while Arizona hosts Denver with hopes to get back to the top of the division. In the Atlantic, it’s the Generals heading to Washington and Philly traveling to Baltimore. Out of division play we have 2 games that still have playoff implications as Pittsburgh is in Texas and Orlando heads to St. Louis to face the Knights.