Now that was a championship game. Sure, the USFL has made a name for itself with wide open football and competitive championships (the average margin of difference in the USFL’s 11 prior championships was 6.4 points, with only 2 games having more than a 1 TD difference at game’s end, compared to the NFL, with a nearly 14 point average margin, and only 2 games being within 7 over the same period). All that said, this year’s final was a showstopper. It was a spectacle. If you are not on board with the USFL at this point, you just don’t know football.
In a game that saw momentum swing violently back and forth between the two teams, we almost went to overtime as it came down to a 2-point conversion to make the difference. The two teams combined for 996 yards and there were only 4 punts combined for the two teams. Brett Favre lit things up, throwing for 433 yards and 5 TD’s. Jim Kelly kept pace with 455 yards and 4 scores, but the difference in the game came down to Birmingham’s ability to focus attention on Thomas, preventing him from going off on their D, and one brilliant play at the end.
Thomas’s day started off roughly. Unable to find his helmet on the Houston sideline, he actually missed the first drive of the game, with Keith Woodside having to sub for him. It was an uneventful 3-and-out, but it set a tone for Thomas of frustration which would continue throughout a game that saw him rush the ball only 13 times for 47 yards and have only 2 receptions for 16, a far cry from the his performance in last week’s Conference Championship. Yet, despite Thomas being hamstrung all game, Houston’s offense was not.
Birmingham and Houston traded first quarte touchdowns as Brett Favre guided the Stallions to a TD on the first drive of the day for Birmingham. Completing 3 of 4 passes on the drive, Birmingham also got a 9-yard run from James Joseph on a 3rd and 4 draw play call, and then the 1-yard TD from Brent Fullwood on shovel pass from Favre. Houston responded quickly with their own bang-bang drive. Five plays in less than 2 minutes, capped with Tremealle Taylor’s 2 yard reception on a rub-aided crossing route. Taylor, who only had only 1 catch all season, was in the game only because Ricky Proehl had hobbled off with an ankle injury after the 2nd play of the game.
The second quarter saw the first real momentum shift, as a Scott Norwood field goal gave Birmingham a short-lived lead. Houston would go on to add 13 points in the quarter after that, a streak that expanded to 20 unanswered points in the 3rd. The first score was Kelly to Perriman, followed by two John Kasay field goals as Houston took advantage of a late Favre interception to kick a 21-yarder with only 14 seconds in the half. When they added a long TD to TE Ron Heller to open the third, it was beginning to look like Houston had Brett Favre’s number. It was 27-10 and while Favre had built up quite a bit of yardage in the first half, he had only 1 TD to show for it. That was about to change.
Following the Houston score, Favre could be seen rallying the offensive players along the sideline. What followed was a stunning turn of momentum as Birmingham rattled off 4 touchdown drives in succession, helped by a Jim Kelly interception and a failed 4th and 1 play by Houston on the Birmingham 38. Favre found Orlando Truit for the first score, then followed that with a Clarence Collins TD to finish out the 3rd quarter down only 27-24. The final period began with the first of two Ernest Givens TD’s, a 12 yarder. On their next possession, following Houston’s failed attempt at 4th and 1 as Kelly’s awkward QB sneak was rebuffed, Favre took 6 plays to get down the field and then used the shuffle pass again, this time to a crossing Ernest Givens. Birmingham had flipped the script, and now lead 38-27.
But, once again it seemed the tide was about to turn. Houston took the next possession and got it close enough for John Kasay to kick them within 1 score at 38-30. The Houston defense then proceeded to force a 3-and-out after a penalty on 2nd and 7 on Birmingham gave Favre a 2nd and 17. Two incompletions followed, the final one on a brilliant tip by Ashley Ambrose to stop Givens from securing the first down. Houston had just over 3 minutes to tie the game with a TD and a 2-point advantage.
The drive began with a short pass to Thomas, only his second reception on the day. It was followed by a deep ball to Brett Perriman for 28 yards. After a pass to Verdin on first down was broken up, the Gamblers went right back to the diminutive slot receiver, and this time they hit big. Verdin caught the slant and raced between the safeties to daylight. 33 yards later it was Houston down 36-38 and a 2-pointer could get the tie. Kelly looked to his most reliable player, Thomas, but so did the Birmingham defense. The pass was slightly behind Thomas, who turned to reach for it, but was just laid out by safety Darryl Williams. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground and Houston knew they needed to go for an onside kick.
The ball hopped once but was easily corralled by James Joseph at the Birmingham 40. Houston’s defense held Fullwood to -1 yards on first down, held Joseph to no gain on 2nd down, and Birmingham oddly chose to run Joseph up the middle on 3rd. They had killed about 1 minute, used up Houston’s timeouts, but now would return the ball to the Gamblers with still 1:15 on the clock, up by only 2. Houston received the punt at their own 46, excellent field position for a short drive towards a field goal.
On first down pressure forced Kelly to throw short to Thomas. On second down, Kelly hit McKeller for 7 before Blaine Bishop took him down. 3rd and 3 and the play of the game. Kelly took a 5-step drop, looking for Verdin across the middle, but his protection broke down, and LB David Brandon, blitzing right in Kelly’s line of site, forced the QB to tuck the ball back down and try to scramble. Brandon caught him by the left leg, and Kelly fell. The sack cost the Gamblers 7 yards, pushing the ball back to the original line of scrimmage at their own 46. They had to go for it on 4th down. Kelly got the ball out of his hands on 4th and 10, but it was thrown into traffic as Ernie Jones was covered by both Anthony Blaylock and Blaine Bishop. The ball tumbled to the ground and the game was over. Birmingham was the new USFL Champion. Houston would not repeat or snag their 3rd title.
Brett Favre, with his 29 of 42, 433 yard and 5 TD game was named MVP, and the players raised Coach Erhardt onto their shoulders in jubilation. In the locker room, team owner Marvin Warner thanked the players, praised Coach Erhardt, then pointed to the sky and asked everyone to remember former coach Rollie Dotsch, who passed away before he could reach this mountaintop. It was a jubilant but respectful scene all at once. Coach Erhardt took the traditional phone call, President Clinton thanked him on behalf of the nation for a game well-played and a championship well deserved. Houston was a worthy opponent, the game itself was everything you want a title game to be, and the USFL moves on with a new champion and an offseason of anticipation.
Even in Championship Week there is always offseason news, and this week provided some real excitement, at least for one fanbase.
MICHIGAN—The transformation of the Michigan Panthers under Coach Skip Holtz continues, and in a big way. The Panthers this week held a press conference to announce signings, and they did not disappoint. Not only did they introduce former San Francisco 49er as the new starting QB for the Panthers, signed on a 3-year deal thought to rival that of Favre and Kosar. But they went one further, introducing another huge NFL signing in former USC Trojan and LA Raider, halfback Marcus Allen.
In the matter of less than a month the Panthers have completely redefined who they are as a franchise. Trudeau is gone, Culver is likely to be traded as well, and now you have two bonafide superstars in Michigan garnet and sky. We expect that next week we may very well be announcing record ticket sales for the 1994 season in the Pontiac Silverdome. This was a bold move by Panthers’ ownership, and one that we are sure fans in playoff-starved Detroit will embrace wholeheartedly.
PORTLAND—The signing of former 49er legends does not stop with Joe Montana in a Michigan uniform. Portland, fresh after trading for Jack Trudeau, has added another quarterback, this time on the defensive side of the ball. Former 49er and current Los Angeles Raider safety Ronnie Lott has inked a deal to play with the Thunder after the 1993 NFL season. Lott will remain with the Raiders this season, before heading to Thunder training camp in Corvallis in February. The big time hitter and highly respected defensive leader should help Portland add some grit to a defense that too often seemed rudderless.
TAMPA BAY—An interesting development in the Tampa Bay coaching search. While there has been no movement on signing a head coach, and Ron Zook retains his interim HC position, the Bandits did sign a new Offensive Coordinator in former 49er Wideouts Coach Ray Sherman. Sherman will take control of an offense centered around QB Troy Aikman. The move also clearly signals that either Zook will be staying on as Head Coach, with defensive coordination duties as well, or Tampa is expecting to sign a defensive minded coach to lead the team, one who does not mind that the team has already committed to an offensive coordinator and the style of football he prefers to run.
NFL SIGNINGS: The USFL has lost some good players over the past 2 weeks. Among them are LB Bryce Paup, who is leaving the Blitz to play in frigid Green Bay. LB Brian Noble, who leaves Arizona for the LA Raider and Tampa HB Kevin Harmon, who will head to Buffalo. Wide receiver seems to be a coveted position for NFL teams as three quality starters have departed for the fall league. Hassan Jones of Jacksonville was the first to depart, despite being a featured player on a playoff team. Jones will now suit up for the Minnesota Vikings. Michael Haynes followed Jones to the NFC Central as he signed with the Bears, and Michael Jackson has left the New Orleans Breakers to sign with the New York Jets. Finally, we received word just today that starting left tackle for St. Louis Gerald Perry will be headed off to the NFL, as will CB Najee Mustafaa of the Texas Outlaws.
LEAGUE RESIGNINGS: Finally, as expected, we have begun to see a flurry of teams resigning top players. The list of players reupping with their teams includes some major contributors, among them are DE Reggie White in Memphis, QB Alan Risher in Pittsburgh, HB Barry Word in Washington, CB Kirby Jackson in New Jersey, and HB Timmy Smith in Denver. There are still several players who need to sign on the line, and we expect many more who will take their talents elsewhere, so keep checking in as we follow the USFL through their offseason moves, trades, and signings.
And finally, after the first week of voting on the new Seattle club name, the team has announced that the 4th place name choice, Seattle Pirates, is out. That leaves Admirals, Dragons, and Sea Devils still in the hunt. At this point in the voting, Dragons is slightly ahead of Sea Devils, with Admirals in third, but with 2 weeks left, it really is anyone's race. The team announced that they will eliminate 1 more name next week, and that the 2 finalists will then vie head to head to be the name of the club.
The club also released the logo that would have been the Seattle Pirates' identity, a purple, orange-red, and gold pirate in side view. Honestly, I think that even without seeing this logo first, the folks in Seattle somehow knew that this name and identity was not a winner. Keep up the good work, Seattlers? Seattlites? Seattlans? What are those folks called?