We are getting down to crunch time in the USFL season. With so many teams clustered around the .500 mark every win is a huge step forward, every defeat a crushing blow. As 18 of the league's 20 teams remain actively in the hunt for only 10 playoff spots, the passions rise, the tensions mount, and the stakes continue to get higher each week.
For a second straight week we find Portland in our Game of the Week, but this time the defense which had kept St. Louis in the game last week proved a problem again as Oakland scored 14 points in the final period to upend the home team. Both clubs finished with over 400 yards each in total offense, with the star of the game being Bobby Hebert and his 5 touchdown passes.
Portland, which has made a reputation for itself as a team that cannot stop the run, did fairly well against Siran Stacy, limiting him to only 70 yards on 17 carries, but in doing so, they fell prey to the play action game of Hebert and he cost them dearly. Mark Duper was the lucky recipient of much of Hebert’s attention, gaining 111 on the day with 3 touchdowns to his name. Henry Ellard was held to only one reception on the day, but that catch, a 60-yard bomb for a score, was a backbreaker for the Thunder defense.
Portland kept pace through most of the game, with Jack Trudeau throwing 4 touchdown passes against the Oakland defense. He connected twice with both Clint Didier and Bruce Hill, but it proved to be just a little too little for the Thunder. The game was Oakland’s at 35-24 until Portland mounted a late comeback to tie, with a Bruce Hill TD reception (and 2 point conversion) paired with an Al Del Greco 50-yard field goal to tie the score at the 2-minute warning. But, 2 minutes on this day was plenty of time for Hebert and the Invaders. After a couple of dink and dunk passes to get them to midfield, Hebert found Duper on an out & up route, and the defense was simply out of position, leading to a 50-yard score and an endzone dance for Duper and his teammates. With the win Oakland took over first in the division, but it still remains a cluster with everyone but St. Louis very much in the hunt.
BAL 7 NJ 29
Defense was the name of the game for the Generals, who forced 5 turnovers, including a tipped-ball drill that turned into a Chris Spielman pick-six. Baltimore was held to 33 yards rushing and while NJ only scored one offensive touchdown, they had more than enough points to put away a deflated Blitz squad.
PIT 17 PHI 20
Philadelphia continues to improve each week and now sit atop the conference at 7-4. This week it was a strong day from HB Kelvin Bryant and a mistake free afternoon from Chuck Long that helped the Stars edge their in-state rival. The defense allowed 133 yards rushing and 2 scores to Mike Rozier, but held when they had to, averting a late Pittsburgh score as they batted away the hail mary to hold onto their slim lead and the game.
BIR 31 JAX 7
The Bulls looked overmatched and underprepared for the assault that Birmingham brought to the Gator Bowl. Brett Favre was largely untouched (1 sack) and threw for 313 yards and 4 scores as the Stallions simply overpowered the Bulls in every phase of the game.
ORL 22 MEM 23
Orlando saw this game as one they could win, and they took the Showboats down to the wire, but a late Kevin Shea field goal proved pivotal as Memphis eked out an uncomfortable win. John Jefferson was a menace all day for the Orlando offense, racking up 154 yards receiving and frustrating the Showboat secondary all game, but in the end the Renegades could not get the win they coveted.
CHI 27 HOU 27 OT
Scott Zolak did everything he could to win this game for the Machine, tossing 4 touchdowns and giving Chicago the lead with 1:35 left on a toss to Aubrey Matthews, but the undermanned Machine could not hold Houston for the final 90 seconds of the game. John Kasay evened the score with a 48-yard field goal with 9 seconds left, sending the game to overtime. In the extra period both defenses forced mistakes and neither team could take advantage, ending the game with a 27-27 tie that did not satisfy anyone.
MGN 17 NOR 21
New Orleans continues to find scrappy ways to win without their starting QB, Timm Rosenbach. Brent Pease did just enough and the Breaker defense came up big against Montana and Marcus as the Breakers pulled out a close one with a late Reuben Mayes TD to move to 6-5.
DEN 24 ARZ 27
Arizona rebounded from an embarrassing performance at Baltimore last week by returning to defensive basics. They picked off Dave Krieg 3 times and while they allowed Natrone Means to rush for 95 yards, they kept him out of the endzone. The defense also scored twice, turning two Krieg interceptions into points as both Leonard Bell and Martin Bayless ran picks back for points to lead the Wranglers to the W.
TEX 17 WSH 21
A second straight win for the Federals as Barry Word and Terry Kirby combined for 133 yards and a score. The turning point was the injury to Kelly Stouffer as Glen Carano was unable to mount a comeback against the Outlaw defense despite 238 yards passing in relief.
STL 31 TBY 34
Once again St. Louis played a solid game only to come up just a bit short in the end. A late pick-six of David Archer and an Errict Rhett TD run were enough to help Tampa Bay hold off the Knights. Rhett would finish with 105 yards on 15 carries and Eric Truvillion, the ageless wonder, caught 9 balls for 96 yards as Tampa moved their record to 6-5.
As much as we would love to praise Coach Vermeil for the patience with Bobby Hebert that led to him now being the #1 rated QB in the league and a 5-TD monster this week, we cannot let Chris Spielman’s week for New Jersey go unrewarded. Spielman dominated the game as New Jersey limited Baltimore to 7 points and simply shut down their offense all day. Spielman was at the center of the Generals’ defensive domination. Not only did he record 8 tackles, including a key stuff on a Baltimore 3rd and 1 play, but he also forced a Barry Foster fumble and then recovered the ball before it went out of bounds, leading to a short field and New Jersey’s only offensive TD.
Oh, and did we forget to mention the pick-six Spielman snagged off a tipped ball. That score moved the Generals from a 9-7 lead to a 16-7 advantage just as the second quarter was ending, crushing Baltimore’s hopes for a halftime lead and shifting the game’s momentum entirely. Spielman was a monster all day, helping to limit the Baltimore run game to only 33 total yards, and commanding the center of the field, all but removing TE Deems May from action. The Generals have been erratic on defense, but when they are on, particularly when Spielman’s energy infects the rest of the D, this defense can be smothering. This was one of those games.
Philadelphia staked their claim on the #1 seed with their win this week, but New Jersey is right there with them at 7-4. Birmingham has a 1 game lead on their division and now seems to be clearly ahead of the pack performance-wise. In the West, Houston’s tie did not cost them the #1 seed, but will likely come into play later in the season. Oakland and Arizona both sit at 6-5 and face off this week. One will emerge as the division leader. With no teams other than Orlando and St. Louis below 5 wins, basically the entire league is still very much engaged in a postseason chase. That is great to see, though there are some fans who wish that at least a couple of teams would emerge as dominant forces. Parity can be unnerving, after all.
With the league recently announcing the expansion draft format, we can already see a lot of potentially tough decisions to come this offseason. With each of the 20 current teams only able to protect 12 players from the expansion draft (and able to protect 1 more each time they lose a player) there are some serious issues to consider. Do you keep your stars, including the older, more expensive players, or do you retain a core of younger emerging players? Do you use trades to move some players ahead of the draft so that you can protect others? The last expansion draft in 1987 was rough on older vets, as teams tended to protect younger talent. Will this year be any different? Every team has their issues, but here are the Top 5 questions we have as we look at team rosters.
5. Will loyalty to past performance be enough for aging running backs?
We know that Atlanta would love to draft former UGA Bulldog Herschel Walker just to boost their fanbase. Would NJ actually allow him to go? What about Rozier? Bryant? or Boone? Each is over 30 years old and while they remain highly productive, they are expensive players to retain and may only have 1-2 seasons left in them.
4. Will Denver protect Krieg or Brunell?
They cannot keep both, right? Brunell looked promising in his early season games, but signing Dave Krieg was something of a coup for the often frugal Gold. Will they simply let that investment walk?
3. What about older receivers?
Would Tampa really let Truvillion walk? Or Trumaine Johnson in Arizona? Or John Jefferson in Orlando? Older receivers are a tricky commodity in the league because they are often key mentors for younger players, but when you lose a step your value clearly declines. Hard to imagine that these clubs would give up on their #1’s, but not impossible.
2. What happens to O-line and Safeties?
These two positions, more than any others, have great importance to gameplans but low importance to fans, so they are often the most expendable, because no GM wants to explain why they let their starting QB or star HB go so that they could protect a guard in the draft process. Expect to see these 4 expansion clubs have a solid range of linemen and safeties to choose from as teams protect the higher visibility positions like DE, CB, and the offensive skill players.
1. What will the QB strategy be for the Expansion clubs?
There are a lot of options in front of them. The top USFL QBs will be unavailable, of course, but there are some very solid backups around the league, several of whom have shown they can be winners when offered a starting job. Would a Cody Carlson, Mark Brunell, Brent Pease, or even Kerwin Bell be attractive to an expansion club, or do they look for a veteran until they can draft their future star. Cliff Stoudt is likely to be available, as will Jeff Hostetler, Sean Salisbury, and possibly Mike Kelley or Scott Zolak (depending on Bernie Kosar’s career decision). The best looking rookie QB’s are either raw but athletic, like Division 1-AA Steve McNair (Alcorn State) and Colorado’s Kordell Stewart, or productive but flawed, like Penn State’s Kerry Collins, Michigan’s Todd Collins, and Georgia’s Eric Zeier. We could see Atlanta going after Zeier just to build fan base, and LA may take a shot at USC’s Rob Johnson, but this is not a draft with a clear “pro ready” prospect, and if a veteran like a Mike Kelley or Dave Krieg is available, that may be the best option if immediate wins are a pressing interest.
While there are players with more serious injuries coming out of week 11, the big news this week has been the injury to Texas QB Kelly Stouffer. Stouffer’s plant foot suffered a bad sprain on Sunday, and the Outlaw signal caller is likely to miss this week’s matchup against Houston and perhaps more time as he rehabs it. Tampa is without Eric Bienemy due to an ankle injury of his own, which in past years would have been a major issue, but with Errict Rhett dominating carries, will likely impact the Tampa pass game more. Oakland goes into their matchup with Arizona down their best pass rusher as Ken Harvey is listed as doubtful with a neck injury that fortunately does not involve spinal damage only muscular strain. Jacksonville will be without Brian Blades again this week, and New Orleans looks like they will hold out Timm Rosenbach one more week before bringing him back to lead the Breakers.
Week 12 brings us another round of crucial divisional games as teams claw for positioning and playoff possibilities. In the Atlantic we have a classic rivalry game that, for the first time in a long time, seems to matter to the playoff hunt as Washington travels up the highway to Baltimore to face the Blitz. This week also pits the Maulers against the 7-4 Generals in the Meadowlands. Down south we have Tampa Bay hoping to gain ground on Birmingham but facing a tough task as they head to Legion Field. Orlando will try to get their third win as they face an erratic Jacksonville Bulls squad in the Gator Bowl.
In the Central we have two regional rivalries as Chicago heads to Michigan to face the Panthers and Houston hosts the Texas Outlaws in the dome. The big game in the Pacific Division is Arizona, coming off their close win against Denver, they are now facing the division leading Oakland Invaders. Denver will try to get back to .500 with a win at St. Louis. Out of division we have two surprising teams when New Orleans faces the Stars in Philadelphia. Portland travels to Memphis in the final game of the week with both teams fighting to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Air McNair and Kordell would be perfect fits for this league