Two teams at 7-5, primed for a playoff run, clashed at Three Rivers Stadium on Sunday, and the results were stunning. A great game that saw Mike Kelley in full command of a revived Memphis offense, and which saw Jeff Hostetler once again come off the bench and play like a career starter. Hoss would throw for 259 and 3 TD’s in relief of a concussed Alan Risher. Don’t be shocked if he isn’t chosen by one of the expansion clubs in the offseason because he proves time and again that he is good enough to start.
Both clubs traded scores for most of the day, with Tony McGee starting things off with an 8-yard TD reception from Kelley. That was equalized by a Mike Rozier scoring run before McGee caught his second of the game, this time from only 2 yards out, to once again put Memphis on top. That only held for about 5 minutes before Hostetler, on after Risher suffered a rattling head to head collision, rallied the Maulers and found Mike Pritchard for a 19-yard score. The first half ended as once again Memphis took the lead, this time on a beautiful deep ball from Kelley to Jo-Jo Townsell, 45 yards and a 21-14 halftime lead.
The second half once again saw the game equalized as TE Mike Shaw of Pittsburgh showed he had red zone skills, catching a 20-yarder from Hostetler. And, once again, Memphis came back and put themselves on top, Kelley to John Embree from 3 yards out. The third ended with Memphis up 28-21. And then we got what we expected, a Pittsburgh answer. Hostetler to Robert Claiborne for 57 yards and we were all tied up at 28.
With all eyes on Memphis, expecting a quick strike and yet another lead change, fans in Pittsburgh sighed with relief when Quintin Jones, who had picked Kelley off in the 1st quarter, got in front of a pass to Carl Pickens on 3rd and 7, and apparently came up with a 2nd pick. The replay officials reviewed the film and Jones had bobbled the ball upon crashing to the turf, but it forced a Memphis punt, breaking the cycle of Pittsburgh equalizing only to have Memphis take the lead again. This time it was the Maulers who could break open the tie, and they did, driving the ball to the Memphis 18 and setting Rafael Septien up for an easy 35 yarder.
Memphis got the ball back with nearly 7 minutes left to play, but on two different drives, Kelley was unable to connect on a key 3rd down play, failing again on 4th down as time was running down. The field goal margin held and the hometown Mauler fans went home happy. Pittsburgh lept up the playoff standings and now sits alone at 8-5 in the conference, placing the top wild card seed squarely in their own control with 3 weeks left to play but still 1 game behind the defensive powerhouse of Philadelphia.
JAX 19 PHI 20
The Stars defense did it again, holding a team at 20 or fewer points for the 12th consecutive week. And they needed to do so as their offense mustered only 20 points themselves. Jacksonville actually had a 19-7 lead at one point in the third, but the Stars D shut them down the rest of the way and with 2 Chuck Long TD passes in the final quarter (1 to Bryant and 1 to Eric Green) the Stars edged the Bulls and moved to an impressive 9-4 record and sole possession of first place in the Atlantic.
ORL 31 WSH 12
Washington had a chance to move to 8-5 along with Pittsburgh, but an early game injury to Majkowski again put the dampers on the Federals’ offense. Add in a solid game from Reggie Collier, and a pick-6 of Hohensee and the Renegades get a measure of respect back, beating the Federals handily in RFK.
TBY 17 BAL 31
Two .500 teams showed up in Memorial Stadium, but only one had the gameplan that would get them to 7-6. Baltimore played complementary football for 4 quarters, picking off Troy Aikman 3 times, while avoiding turnovers themselves. The combo of Brooks and Foster pounded out 147 yards on the ground to help the Blitz get a key home win and move into Wild Card position.
ARZ 24 HOU 9
In a game where they did not turn the ball over once, Houston simply could not get points on the board against a fired up Wrangler squad. The Gamblers got 3 field goals form John Kasey and held a marginal 9-7 lead at the half, but their offense never found its mojo, and Arizona scored 17 unanswered in the 2nd half to take a much needed win.
DEN 27 MGN 24
Denver got back on the right side of the scoreboard and improved to 6-7 with a tight road win in the Pontiac Silverdome. The Gold picked off Joe Montana twice, and Timmy Smith found holes in the Panther defense as Denver had just enough to keep the Panthers at bay despite 107 on the ground from Marcus Allen. The late Jason Elam field goal did the trick for the Gold, who still trail in the Wild Card race but are not out of it by any means.
OAK 35 NOR 27
Oakland solidified their lead in the Pacific and moved one step closer to a playoff berth with a tough road win against a Breaker squad that was happy to have Timm Rosenbach back under center. The Breaker QB threw the ball 53 times, scoring twice without a pick, but it was not enough as Bobby Hebert threw for 338 and 4 scores to give the Invaders the road win.
POR 30 TEX 35
The Outlaws played well for Glen Carano, named the starter before the game due to the injury to Stouffer. He threw for 282 and 2 scores but got a huge assist from Reggie Cobb who scored 3 times and rushed for 109 yards for one of his best games of the season. Portland played well on offense, with Trudeau throwing for 404 and 3 scores, but the defense simply could not hold down the Outlaws, pushing Portland to 5-8 and severely hampering any lingering playoff hopes they had.
STL 30 CHI 36
St. Louis again played hard for Coach Elway, but again fell short as the Machine got 4 TDs from Scott Zolak and Ricky Watters rushed for 104 to lead the Machine to 6-6-1 and back into the playoff hunt in the crazy Western Conference. Wessley Walls had a big day, catching 5 balls for 75 yards and 2 scores as well as the Machine get the home win.
BIR 23 NJ 7
The Generals defense did what they could to contain Brett Favre and the Stallions, but their offense did them no favors, going 2 for 12 on 3rd down, with 7 three-and-outs. By the time the Generals found the endzone on a Bam Morris run, it was already 20-0 and 5 minutes into the 4th quarter. Credit the Stallions D which harassed Doug Flutie and contained Herschel Walker all game long. Chris Dishman was the POTG with 2 picks of Flutie and 4 pass deflections as he stuck to Lam Jones like a glove.
For this week’s POTW, we return to San Antonio and take a long look at Reggie Cobb. Cobb came to play on Sunday, knowing that Glen Carano could use all the help he could get. Helped by a solid O-line, Cobb rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries and also contributed to the passing game, with 2 catches of 3 targets. Cobb has had a rough season, with this game being only his 3rd 100-yard game of the year. He is currently 7th in the league with 902 yards, so it has not been all bad. With 3 games left, 1,000 yards is well within his range, and with Texas one of 4 clubs at 6-7 a late season run for Cobb and the Outlaws could lead to playoff potential. With Stouffer expected to miss at least 1 more week, Cobb may have to take the team on his shoulders if the Outlaws hope to outpace New Orleans, Michigan, and Denver for a playoff spot.
With 3 games left, we are still at 18 clubs who still have a mathematical chance for a playoff spot. Only Orlando and St. Louis are out of the running, which is amazing 13 games into a 16 game season. Three of four division leaders (Philadelphia, Oakland, and Houston) all have a 1 game advantage, which is slim, but it means that each controls their own destiny. Birmingham is up 2 on Memphis with 3 games to play, so a win this week pretty much allows them to cruise down the stretch. Portland is in dire straits, needing a 3-game win streak and a lot of help if they hope to squeak into the playoffs at 8-8, while Pittsburgh, now a game up on the cluster at 7-6, also can control their own fate down the stretch. It will be a photo finish, and we are scouring the rule book to learn those tie-breakers, because parity is ruling this year and we expect 9-7 and maybe 8-8 to be enough for some teams to see postseason action.
We announced earlier in the year that the league is now allowing teams to have an alternate look that they can wear up to 2 times per year beginning in 1995. This week we got announcements from 3 clubs as to what that look will be. Baltimore and Washington both released throwback looks they will use next season in their head to head matchups in both cities.
The Blitz will return to their red jersey with white and blue striping, and Washington got permission from the league to offer an alternative white jersey instead of a dark jersey so they could go retro when facing the Blitz in their classic white on white look from the early years of the league.
The third team to announce a new look is the Tampa Bay Bandits, who, embracing the “Man in Black” look of their head coach Jerry Glanville, introduced a black-out look, with a black helmet, black jersey and black socks to go with their usual silver pants. The look, which many say seems to remind many of the Houston Gamblers, features the rider logo outlined in white on a black helmet and the same “western shirt” piping as their usual red jersey look.
The biggest injury news came not from this week’s games but from a Tuesday practice, when Orlando QB Reggie Collier, fresh off a solid game and a win at Washington, suffered a non-contact injury in practice. An MRI revealed a significant ACL tear which will likely keep Collier out for the rest of the year, forcing Orlando to finish out this lost season with Craig Erickson under center. In other news, we already told you that for the second time this season Don Majkowski went down. This time it was his shoulder, and while he could be back for the playoffs if Washington can qualify, he will be a scratch for the remaining 3 regular season games, meaning that any late playoff run for the Federals will be in the hands of Mike Hohensee.
St. Louis also lost their QB, as David Archer is expected to miss up to 2 weeks with a hyper-extended knee, suffered in their game against Chicago. Rookie Jim Miller of Michigan State is expected to finish out the season, giving St. Louis a look at their potential future starter. Finally, Denver has moved Dave Krieg up to probable, but we still expect Brunell to get the starts down the stretch as Krieg has been erratic since returning from injury earlier in the year.
Three weeks left, so every game has meaning. And while this week’s inter-conference games may be seen by some as trap games before the final 2 weeks of divisional play, there are matchups here that will impact the playoff picture significantly. Baltimore and Chicago meet up in the Windy City with both teams on the fringe of the playoffs, while Pittsburgh and Houston look like two heavyweights hoping to lock up a playoff spot with a win this week. Washington and Michigan both suffered bad home losses last week, so they are looking to rebound when they face off in Pontiac.
New Jersey also needs a bounceback game as they stay in Dixie to face New Orleans in the Superdome. Philly can all but wrap up the Atlantic if they can snag a win in San Antonio against the Texas Outlaws. It’s a clash of styles as high-flying Birmingham faces off against that shutdown defense of Arizona this week in Sun Devil Stadium. Orlando, with Erickson at the helm, will face off against Mark Brunell and the Gold in Denver, while the Tampa Bay Bandits have a long trip to face a very talented Oakland Invader squad by the bay. Jacksonville and Portland are both on life support so a loss in their matchup this week could be the end, and finally, Memphis travels up the river to face St. Louis, who can only play spoiler to the Showboats’ playoff hopes at this point.