It was a week that knocked off the last of the undefeated teams, and all but one team escaped going 0-3. It was also a week that saw the Stallions break the single game scoring mark by putting 66 on the board against the Orlando Renegades. Michigan also got into the win column as Montana and Marcus had their best team effort against the Generals, and in Pittsburgh, the Blitz proved they had the moxy to win a close one on the road.
The Baltimore Blitz have not had a lot to celebrate in recent years, but this game will certainly be one to bring a smile to the face of Blitz fans for some time to come. Their team engaged in a back and forth battle with the Maulers for 60 minutes, ending with a game-winning score in the final minute to give Baltimore their first win of the season.
Most pundits had this game set as a Maulers win, but apparently that lack of faith in the Blitz got into the locker room of the squad and egged them on to play some inspired football. Despite being outgained by Pittsburgh 440 to 264, the Blitz stayed with the Maulers all day and found a way to win in the end. The game started with a solid first drive for the visiting Blitz, as they took the opening drive 72 yards for an eventual Miller to Brooks TD. Pittsburgh quickly responded as Risher hit Louis Lipps for an equalizer and then set up Rafael Septien to go ahead with a 43 yarder as the 2nd quarter began.
Baltimore was opportunistic throughout, first connecting on a 54-yard kick to pull back to a tie, and then taking advantage of a poor Risher throw, as Fernando Marquez ran back the pick for a go-ahead score for the visitors. Pittsburgh thought they had an equalizing TD on the board at the end of the half, but a holding penalty called it back, forcing the Maulers to kick the field goal and go into the half trailing 17-13.
In the second half the Blitz added another 3 points, only to have Pittsburgh again tie the score on another Risher to Lipps TD pass. They would take the lead only 3 minutes later, just as the 4th quarter began, when a Chris Miller pass was intercepted by LB Godfrey Miles and returned for 6. Up 27-20, the Maulers felt the tide might have turned, but on three consecutive drives Baltimore chipped away, two field goals pulling them within one, and then in the final minutes of the game, Miller leading the Blitz down the field, eventually finding TE Ferrell Edmunds on a short pass for the go-ahead score, 34-27 and leaving the Maulers only 45 seconds on the clock. Pittsburgh tried to rally, but they could not convert on a 4th and 8, and the Blitz came away with their first win of the year, a road win in the division, which is sure to boost morale in the Magic City.
PHI 20 WSH 16
Philadelphia also snagged their first W of the season, also on the road, and also in division, as they upset the 2-0 Washington Federals in RFK. The Stars got 59 yards from Charlie Garner, who outpaced Kelvin Bryant despite having 12 fewer carries on the day. While Barry Word and Terry Kirby combined for more yards (126 to 95) it was Bryant and Garner who got the win for the Stars.
BIR 66 ORL 34
Four Brett Favre touchdowns, paired with 3 Reggie Collier interceptions returned for scores was more than enough for the Stallions to score a league record 66 points and crush the Renegades. Kevin Greene was everywhere in this game, rushing the passer, dropping back, and ended the game with 2 pick-six scores to boost the Stallions to 1-2 after a rough 0-2 start.
MEM 31 TBY 20
Memphis got their second win in a row, as Mike Kelley had another strong game and Tommy Agie continued to prove valuable as the backup to an injured Greg Boone. Agie rushed for 90 yards and Jo-Jo Townsell added 132 on 6 catches to help power the Showboats over the Bandits. Eric Truvillion continued to show off again in the loss, snagging 9 balls from Aikman for 150 yards and a score, but it was not enough for Tampa to get the W.
TEX 14 CHI 18
In a hard fought defensive battle, Chicago edged Texas thanks to two 4th quarter TD’s from Bernie Kosar. The game was 7-3 after three quarters before Texas got a score from Eric Metcalf to take what appeared to be a commanding 14-3 lead, but the Machine found their mojo in the final quarter, and after a Kosar to Eccles score and ensuing 2-point play pulled the Machine to within 3, a final drive got them more than a tie as Kosar found his other TE, Wessley Walls, for a score with 44 seconds left to take the home win, Chicago’s first this year.
HOU 22 NOR 34
Mike Ditka’s New Orleans Breakers got a statement win at home this week, shutting down Kelly and Thomas and getting a strong 3-TD day from QB Timm Rosenbach to knock off the division champs. Rosenbach tossed TDs to Dan Ross, Qadry Ismail and Herman Fontenot, and the New Orleans D got to Jim Kelly, sacking him 6 times on the day.
DEN 25 POR 14
The Denver Gold tightened up the Pacific Division by knocking off the 2-0 Portland Thunder in Civic Stadium. Mark Brunell completed 67% of his throws, mostly short tosses, and Natrone Means averaged 6.8 yards per rush for a total of 81 yards as he and Timmy Smith helped control the tempo of the game for the Gold. Four Jason Elam field goals and a stingy defense helped Denver head home with a win.
ARZ 34 STL 3
It was all Arizona’s defense in this one as the Wranglers picked off David Archer 3 times and sacked him another three in the decisive victory. Add in a combined 121 yards and 2 scores from Lester and James and the Wranglers took down St. Louis handily.
MGN 34 NJ 28
Michigan won a shootout with New Jersey thanks to their new acquisitions, with Marcus Allen scoring 3 times (2 rushes and 1 reception) and Joe Montana completing 70.5% of his throws to boost the Panthers to 2-1. New Jersey got 3 scores from Doug Flutie, but a pair of costly interceptions also killed promising drives for New Jersey in the home loss.
OAK 17 JAX 24
The Bulls win their second in a row, thanks in large part to their oft-maligned defense. Jacksonville got to Bobby Hebert for 5 sacks, 6 hurries, and 2 interceptions, one of which was returned by Eric Reid for a score. A second half TD from Vince Workman proved the difference as the Invaders were shut out in the final half and sent home on the long flight to Oakland with their first loss of the year.
The AP gave both of its POTW awards to Birmingham stars, as Brett Favre and Kevin Greene walked away with the offensive and defensive titles. We cannot argue with that as the 66-34 romp over the Orlando Renegades was the result of both a ball-hawking defense and an unstoppable offense. The game was not a statistical highlight for Favre who has had far more passing yards in games than the 345 this week, but his 4 touchdowns, and 141.7 QBR for the day were impressive. For Kevin Greene, it was about being in the right place at the right time. The backer who is known more for blitzing than pass coverage, found himself in the middle of the action when Reggie Collier made some bad decisions to throw to the middle of the field, leading not only to two picks for the outside backer, but two short scoring runs as well. The 66 points put up by the Stallions included 21 from the defense and 6 offensive touchdowns. While the D did give up 34 to the Renegades, the game was never in doubt as Birmingham took a 31-17 lead into the half and then scored 28 in the third quarter, including 2 Favre to Dawsey TD tosses. Kevin Green capped off the scoring in the final minute as he took a poorly-thrown 3rd and 7 pass from Collier back for a score to reach the milestone 66 points.
LOS ANGELES—The Expansion LA Express made two big announcements this week, first in joining with the LA Raiders of the NFL to announce the naming rights of their new Carson, CA stadium had been awarded to Farmers Insurance Group. The stadium, set to open in time for the 1995 Raiders fall season, will be know as Farmers Insurance Group Stadium, though one reporter quickly dubbed it FIG Field in his reporting, a name that has caught on among fans already. It is reported that Farmers will pay $11M to retain their name on the new 64,800 seat stadium for the next 10 years. The stadium, which will feature 56 luxury suites, and a state of the art giant display in the north endzone, is well on its way to completion, and will be used, after 1 year at Angel Stadium, as home to the expansion Express beginning in 1996.
The Express also made a major reveal as owner William Tatham, the team’s GM, former Oilers Assistant GM Floyd Reese, and coach Rick Neuheisel, revealed the NIKE-designed uniforms for the reborn Express this week. The design will look familiar to Express fans, retaining the basic design of the franchise from its days before relocating to St. Louis. A silver helmet with navy and speed blue stripes will include the revised LA monogram logo. The Navy jersey and silver pants are also very similar to the team’s original 1983 design. New to the uniform is the inclusion of a set of navy pants and the swap of the team’s original tertiary burgundy color for the new metallic blue called “Speed Blue” by the club. Fans can already purchase jerseys with the “95” inaugural year as the jersey number, apropos since the club has yet to sign any players. LA becomes the first of the four expansion clubs (Seattle, Atlanta and Ohio being the other three) to reveal their uniforms, though we expect the others will not lag far behind. Here is the released uniform template from the club.
Several tough injuries this week, including one that could be season ending. Orlando halfback Dalton Hilliard suffered a somewhat nasty looking broken leg in Orlando’s defeat to Birmingham. Hilliard was taken off the field with what appeared to be a protruding bone under his sock after being tackled by three Stallion players in the 3rd quarter of this week’s game. The prognosis is a minimum of 12 weeks for the bone to set and heal, but we expect a lengthier recovery, if one is possible for the veteran halfback.
The Federals suffered a major setback, not only on the scoreboard, but in their hopes of defending their division title, as Don Majkowski went down with a shoulder injury in his throwing arm. There is some tendon damage, so the Majik Man is expected to miss at least 4 weeks in rehab before he might take the field again. Philadlephia also lost a key player in that game as LB Ed Brady was carted off with a knee injury. Brady is also expected to miss at least 4-5 weeks.
Other notable injuries this week include Oakland tackle Muhammad Elowinibi (thigh), Birmingham CB Chris Dishman (foot), Pittsburgh SS Jason Belser (jaw), and Arizona DE Charles Haley (hip), though Haley is listed as Doubtful and could be back as soon as Week 5. Dave Krieg moved up to Questionable this week, though we expect Mark Brunell to get the Week 4 start. Oakland’s John Lynch, Memphis’s Jeff Query, and Houston CB Reggie Sutton are among the players expected to be back in action next week.
One more week of rivalry games and divisional play awaits in Week 4. In the Pacific it will be Oakland and Arizona facing off in a battle of 2-1 clubs, while St. Louis tries to rebound but is in a tough spot, facing Denver at Mile High. In the Central it is Michigan traveling to Soldier Field to take on the Machine, while Houston has their in-state rivalry renew with a trip to San Antonio to face the Outlaws. In the South, the Florida Fracas between the Bulls and Bandits is renewed in Tampa Stadium, while Memphis has a huge test, traveling to Legion Field to face the Stallions. And in the Atlantic It will be Philly traveling to Baltimore, with the winner returning to .500, while the 2-1 Generals face the 2-1 Federals in RFK. In inter-divisional play we have the surprising Breakers headed to Pittsburgh, while the Portland Thunder make the long flight to Orlando to face the winless Renegades.
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