It was a wild start to the playoffs when both Wild Card games went to overtime to decide who would move on to face each conference's #1 seed. Tampa Bay and Birmingham had a shootout, with both clubs proving that the passing game is still key to USFL football, while Portland and Arizona found out that even a night game in Tempe in July is a hot affair, as both clubs fought the heat and dehydration as much as they faced each other. In the end the weekend sent two teams on to the next round, and, as if that were not enough, the offseason kicked off with the first signings, first postseason retirements, and, for Denver and Philadelphia, the first stages of the coaching hire process. Let's get right to it.
TAMPA BAY BANDITS 28 BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 22 OT
The Bandits and Stallions battled to a draw after 4 quarters, but a blown coverage in overtime turned a simple swing pattern into a winning score for Tampa Bay. Eric Bienemy ran untouched for a 34-yard touchdown to help the Bandits advance to face the Showboats in Memphis next week. In a game that saw Tampa Bay surprisingly outgain Stallions on the ground (111 to 81) and saw Brett Favre sacked 4 times by a Bandit squad which had lacked pass rush all year, Tampa Bay stayed close all game, got the tying 2-point conversion after a late Speedy Neal run, and upend the Stallions in Legion Field.
The game was all Birmingham for 30 minutes. Brett Favre connected with Lawrence Dawsey for a 55-yard score midway through the first, but the PAT from Scott Norwood was missed. Two field goals wrapped up the first half scoring and it looked like the Birmingham defense would be the heroes of the day, with Birmingham leading Tampa Bay 12-0 at the intermission.
In the second half, Birmingham expanded on their lead as Favre again hit Dawsey, this time from 24 yards out, to increase the score to 19-0. Tampa made adjustments at the half, however, and in the next 7 minutes Troy Aikman found both Eric Truvillion and Robert Brooks for TD passes. Suddenly Birmingham’s lead was a tenuous 5 points at 19-14. The Stallions responded to the Tampa scores with a field goal, building their lead up to 8 points, but it would prove to be insufficient as the Bandits drove down the field late in the 4th. With just over 3 minutes to play, Speedy Neal scored on a 2-yard run to pull the Bandits within 2. On the PAT, Tampa opted to run an almost identical play from a slightly adjusted formation. This time it was Bienemy who dove into the endzone to tie the game. When Birmingham could not get Norwood into a comfortable range the game went to overtime.
In the extra period Tampa Bay got the ball first and never let Birmingham take a shot. Aikman completed passes to Ben Coates, Mike Espinoza, and Truvillion to get the ball to the Birmingham 34. On a 1st and 10 the deep route to Collinsworth was well-covered, so Aikman dumped the ball to Bienemy in the flat. The elusive back was stunned to see that the backer had not followed him out. By the time Stallion defenders caught on and sought to intercept the speedy back it was too late. Bienemy dodged a desperate tackle attempt at the 5 and lept into the endzone for the winning score. Tampa would live to fight another day and the Birmingham Stallions would have to return to the drawing board and plan for 1993.
PORTLAND THUNDER 17 ARIZONA WRANGLERS 14 OT
The second of two Wild Card games on the week also ended in overtime as two exhausted teams fought into an extra period before an Al Del Greco field goal thankfully concluded the game. The field temperature at kickoff was 107 degrees even with an evening start in the desert. As night fell the temperature dropped but never got below 85 degrees as both teams dealt with both the heat and their opposition. The heat led to a rotation of players at an above average pace. The result was inconsistent offense for both clubs, as Arizona’s Clack and James each got only 12 carries. For Portland, the trio of Drummond, Flagler and Dereck Loville each had their shots at the position.
Arizona had the better ground game, outgaining Portland 128-54, but Kerwin Bell compensated with a strong 354 yards passing without an interception. Arizona got on the board first, with 2:10 left in the first quarter, when TE Mark Boyer caught a short TD pass from Bosco. Midway through the second, Portland equalized as Bell found Robert Jameson for the tying score. The two teams went to half at 7-7 and several players took intravenous saline to rehydrate.
By the time the second half started the sun had mostly set, and the temperatures were more tolerable, but the damage had been done. Both teams were slow coming out of the gate, with the defenses benefitting from some sloppy play. Portland, in particular, was having trouble with concentration, as several mental errors led to penalties. The Thunder would outgain the Wranglers, but also ended the game with 13 penalties for 93 negative yards.
Arizona again scored first in the second half, scoring the only points of the third quarter as Keith Cash caught the swing pass from Bosco and dove in from only a yard out. It took Portland 3 more drives before they were able to equalize. With 9:19 left in the 4th, Robert Drummond took a short handoff and dove over the pile to once again tie the score, now at 14. Neither team was successful at retaking a lead, with both Del Greco and Luckhurst missing late field goal attempts. And for the second time this weekend the playoff game went into overtime.
Portland would start with the ball in overtime, and they moved the ball well, but when Del Greco tried his luck at a 43 yarder to win the game, the ball again sailed left on him and Arizona took over. The Wranglers moved the ball well, getting to the Portland 33, when a mistake cost them a shot at taking home the win. Robbie Bosco tried to force a ball to Trumaine Johnson and CB Gill Byrd jumped the route, falling to the ground wth the ball at the Portland 22. The Thunder would take that ball down the field and when given the chance to end the game with a 30-yarder, Del Greco did not fail a third time. Portland got their first franchise playoff win and were more than ready to hop on a plane to the cooler climate of the Northwest. Next week they face a tough matchup in Houston, but at least it will be at a guaranteed 72 degrees inside the climate controlled Astrodome.
Several news stories to report as the offseason gets under way. We have our first signings, and Denver seems to be close to getting their coach as Philadelphia speaks with candidates. We also have our first retirements to report. Let’s get right to it.
DENVER: The Gold are indeed seeking to sign the NFL Broncos’ D-Coordinator Wade Phillips as their new head coach. Phillips met with Gold executives this week and had glowing things to say about the meeting. If it is going to happen, it will likely happen fast, as the Broncos will be entering their training camp soon and once that happens the window closes to sign such a high-level staff member.
PHILADELPHIA: The Stars spoke with their first coaching candidates this week, bringing in both Patriots Head Coach and NFL Hall of Fame receiver Raymond Berry as well as former Breakers head man, Dick Coury. Philadelphia is likely to see 2-3 more candidates before making a final selection for their open coaching position. There are rumors that they have asked to speak with Eagles’ DC Bud Carson, and have also been in contact with former U. of Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Gottfried.
CHICAGO: Strong Safety William Cesare, who spent most of his career with the Stallions, has announced his retirement from the USFL. Cesare finishes his career with 13 career interceptions and 945 career tackles. Known as a hard hitter out of the secondary, Cesare cited wear and tear on his body as a primary motivation for the retirement after 10 seasons as a starter in the spring league.
PHILADELPHIA: Another retirement as 9 year veteran Niko Noga has informed the Philadelphia Stars that he too will end his career. Noga spent his first 4 years in LA with the Express, where he was a starter and had his best years, with 82 tackles in 1986 and 81 the year after. Since coming to Philadelphia, Noga has been a spot player, seeing action in only 1 game in 1990 due to injury, then playing in 9 games in 1991 and 12 this year, but never as a starter. He totalled only 41 tackles in 4 yours in Philadelphia.
JACKSONVILLE: The paperwork is not finalized but it looks like the Bulls have come to an agreement with former Panther HB Vince Workman. This very likely means the end of James Wilder’s stint with the Bulls. Wilder, who came to the USFL after several successful NFL seasons, has struggled in the spring league. His best year was in Arizona in 1988, his only 1,000 yard season in the league. Since coming to Jacksonville in 1990 he has not been able to stay healthy or average over 4 yards per carry. If released, Wilder could sign on with another USFL or an NFL club.
MICHIGAN: Michigan also jumped into the early free agent pool, in what almost amounts to a trade, coming to a verbal agreement with Bulls’ wideout Weegie Thompson. Thompson will almost certainly try to take on the #2 slot along with Dereck Holloway in Michigan as the Panthers look to the speedy wideout to try to recreate the magic of the Holloway-Anthony Carter years.
CHICAGO: The Machine has an agreement to sign their first free agent, DT Kevin Fagan of Texas, who is expected to sign the dotted line this upcoming week. Fagan started all 16 games for the Outlaws one year after coming to Texas on a short term contract from the Bandits.
BALTIMORE: Another defensive cog as Baltimore signs LB Todd Bell from division rival New Jersey. Bell, who has spent 5 seasons with the Generals, had his best year this season, starting 11 games for New Jersey and recording 47 tackles. With both Ben Apuna and Sam Norris in their 30’s the younger Bell make get a shot at starting right away, or at least being a regular rotation player.
NFL-USFL: We also have our first two NFL signings of USFL talent, with Orlando CB Melvin Jenkins signing with the NFL Lions and backup HB Johnny Johnson moving on the New York Jets. With several of the top free agents still engaged in the playoffs, NFL teams are still prohibited from speaking with the agents or the players, including QB Gale Gilbert or DE Charles Haley.
As we move through the playoffs, expect more movement within the USFL and between the spring league and the NFL. Several of the top free agents are still in action right now, but as more and more playoff teams are eliminated the hot stove will just continue to get hotter.