So much optimism in the Windy City. A year after a surprise playoff run, and a run sparked by a newly-signed NFL quarter-back, that quarterback is done for they year and perhaps for his career, and Chicago's hopes for a return trip to the playoffs is now severely hampered. The ACL injury which forced Kosar out of the game in their first series against Arizona may also force him out of the game as he deals with yet another injury to his already ravaged knees. For Machine-heads in Chicago, this means their season rests on the shoulders of Blair Kiel, the Machine Defense, and the ingenuity of Coach Marty Schottenheimer.
Fans in the Big Easy are beginning to believe in Mike Ditka and his new-look Breakers. They were upset in the offseason by a lack of signings on offense as Ditke tried to mold the team to match his preference for defense and the run game, but after another strong game from the Breaker offense, it may be time to give Big Mike his kudos.
Tim Rosenbach was quiet but efficient, throwing for 224 and a 1/1 TD/INT balance. The big story on offense for the Breakers was the effectiveness of their run game in exploiting Portland’s traditional issue, run defense. Eric Pegram led the team with 12 carries for 88 yards and a score. Marcus Dupree, hampered by a hamstring issue, carried only 7 times, but exploded on several big runs and ended the day with 63 yards, and third back, former Saint Reuben Mayes, chipped in on the goal line, scoring twice.
Despite the strong run game, New Orleans found themselves in a tie game with 2:28 left. Jack Trudeau had kept pace with the Breakers’ O, throwing for 304 and 3 scores against New Orleans’s loaded fronts. Connecting with Didier, Slaughter, and Adrian Cooper for scores, Portland tied the game up with a Trudeau to Slaughter TD just before the 2-minute warning, but that left New Orleans too much time.
Rosenbach guided the Breakers down the field, dinking and dunking, using time outs and the sidelines to preserve the clock, and on a 2nd and goal from the 10 he found Qadry Ismail on a fade route to the corner of the endzone and put the Breakers up to stay. Portland failed on 4th and 3 and New Orleans moved their record to 3-2 and a share of the Central Division lead.
BAL 19 BIR 14
In a huge win for the Blitz, Balitmore held Favre and the Stallions offense in check, sacking the defending Offensive Player of the Year 3 times and picking him off three more as their defensive game plan worked to perfection. The Blitz gave up some runs to James Joseph, but that was not enough for the Stallions as a Leslie Frazier return for a score, a Foster TD run, and 2 FG were enough for Baltimore to get the road win.
NJ 21 JAX 27
Two scores from HB Vince Workman, and a late Eason to Dokie Williams TD toss helped the Bulls get the home win over New Jersey. Three picks of Doug Flutie were also huge for the Bulls. Former Gambler Domingo Bryant came up huge, making 10 tackles on the day and picking off a potential game-winner from Flutie in the final minutes of the game.
PHI 23 MEM 20
It took a final minute TD from Long to Carter, but the Stars moved to 3-2 with a road win against a tough Memphis squad. Tommy Agie continued to shine for the ‘Boats, outrushing Kelvin Bryant 91 to 44, but Long connected with both Carte rand Phelan enough to eke out the road win.
PIT 31 ORL 13
The Maulers took advantage of Orlando’s defensive woes, despite an injury to Mike Rozier. Rookie Dorsey Levins took over and rushed for 49 yards and a TD in the Pittsburgh win. Alan Risher took over the offense with Rozier out, throwing for 266 and 3 scores as Orlando once again failed to produce on either side of the ball, despite a 10 reception, 152 yard game from John Jefferson.
WSH 17 TBY 27
Coach Granville’s Bandits are playing well and making believers of the home fans. Troy Aikman completed 13 of 17 for 2 scores before an ankle injury forced him out of the game. But, with their defense containing Washington’s Mike Hohensee, the Bandits were able to win with Fourcade under center. TE Chris Kelly had 2 scores as the Feds focused on limiting Robert Brooks and Shannon Baker in Eric Truvillion’s absence.
CHI 24 ARZ 14
Chicago hung tough after a season-ending injury to Bernie Kosar on the first drive of the day. Blair Kiel took the helm and led the Machine to 3 TD drives, including TD passes to Reggie Langhorne and Rodney Carter. Meanwhile, the Chicago D upped their game to limit Arizona to only 14 points despite giving up 143 on the ground to Lionel James.
HOU 31 DEN 17
Houston took care of Denver, thanks to 2 TD’s apiece from Thurman Thomas and Clarence Verdin. Thomas gained 111 on the ground and another 87 in the air in his best game of the year. The Houston D also held the combo of Means & Smith in check, limiting them to 54 rushing yards in the Gambler win.
MGN 10 OAK 38
Bobby Hebert made his reunion with Panther friends a painful one for his former team. He tossed 4 scores and threw for 409 yards in a walk-away win over Michigan. Ellard, Bowers, Duper, and rookie Johnny Morton all scored for Oakland, who retains the best record in the league at 4-1.
TEX 16 STL 0
Things are getting ugly in St. Louis, where the offense barely gained 200 yards (206) again. Darrell Thompson left with a gimpy ankle after only 7 carries, and David Archer completed only 47.8% of his passes against an Outlaw secondary that has not exactly been earning praise all season. Meanwhile, Reggie Cobb and Roosevelt Potts combined for 102 yardsand a score for Texas. Not an offensive explosion, but it did not take much to upend the Knights this week.
Bobby Hebert’s performance against Michigan is exactly the type of electrifying play he became known for as a Panther before leaving for the NFL. It is also exactly the type of game Oakland fans have been waiting to see for the past year. Hebert completed 20 of his 34 throws, but also went deep often, hitting Henry Ellard for a 57 yarder early in the game, but also connecting with Duper for 52, McCaffrey for 53, and Morton for his 29-yard TD. On a day when Siran Stacy only mustered 55 yards on the ground, it was all about Hebert and his receivers. Oakland stands atop the league at 4-1, and in large part that has been due to the defense, but it was all about the Cajun Cannon today.
CHICAGO—The Machine got the bad news they were hoping to avoid on Monday, when it was confirmed that Bernie Kosar would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Kosar, who is not a mobile QB to begin with, will have difficulty rehabbing such a considerable injury, meaning that this may be more than a single lost season, this may be how Kosar exits the game altogether. The hit was a clean one, but Kosar’s knee was torqued well outside of his normal range, and he immediately called for medical assistance when the pile cleared off him. Waving to the fans as the cart took him away, everyone hoped it would not be a farewell wave, just an “until later” wave, but an MRI confirmed the worst. Chicago would be without the QB who led them to their first playoff appearance as a franchise last year.
The Machine moved quickly to add depth, signing former St. Louis signal caller Dan McGwire. McGwire will need time to get up to speed, and Chicago will likely hand the keys to the offense to veteran backup Blair Kiel for the foreseeable future. But with Kiel, Scott Zolak, and McGwire on the roster, pressure is going to be on Coach Schottenheimer to improve the run game of Ricky Watters, and the defense, if Chicago is going to return to the postseason this year. The win over Arizona was a good sign, as Kiel was able to muster enough offense, and the D stepped up to shut down the Wranglers. Can they do this every week? Fans in the Windy City have to hope so.
WASHINGTON—The Federals may be turning to the “Old Man of USFL QB’s” in order to stay competitive after another poor performance from Mike Hohensee. Washington has lost three in a row after Hohensee came in for the injured Don Majkowski, and with Maj expected to miss up to another month with his fractured non-throwing arm. So, the Feds, who signed former Showboat, Knight, and Invader Walter Lewis for depth, but now it may be Lewis’s chance to prove a point about his quality. Lewis is a lifetime 81.5 QBR quarterback, which is hardly earth-shaking, but he has won games, particularly in Memphis, where he was the starter over several seasons. His 10 games starting for St. Louis were problematic, with as many picks as TDs, but Lewis may be the best option available for the Feds until Majkowski can return.
TAMPA BAY—Coach Glanville will have his hands full over the next 2-3 weeks, with Troy Aikman likely sidelined after suffering a high ankle sprain this week. With only John Fourcade and untested rookie Perry Klien on the roster, Glanville will have to put the ball into the hands of Errict Rhett and Eric Bienemy. He will also have to rely heavily on a defense that has had issues in the past, but which has been playing well this season. After a rough first week, in which they gave up 45 to Portland, the Bandits have steadily improved, giving up only 13 to Jacksonville and 17 to Washington in their last two games.
COLUMBUS—The Ohio Glory have become the second of the four 1995 expansion clubs to reveal their look for the inaugural season of play. Team brass were on hand at OSU’s Ohio Stadium to reveal the uniforms for the Glory. They also brought in some well-known names to serve as models, as the new duds were showcased by former Buckeye greats Archie Griffin and Kirk Herbstreit. The uniforms are, as expected, a patriotic combo of red, white, and blue, with flag blue being the dominant color, as it is on the helmets. The jerseys have a striking similarity to those of the NY Giants, with red and white cuff sleeves, though the white jerseys do stand out with the sleeves being flag blue rather than white. The pants are also quite traditional, with both blue and white options. The team logo is placed above the stripes on both sleeves. Here is the image released by the team this week. Next up for the Columbus-based Glory is to find, sign and announce a head coach.
You already know the two big QB stories of the week, Kosar in Chicago and Aikman in Tampa Bay. Other injuries which might influence the coming weeks include Oakland’s loss of center Mike Devlin for the year with a nasty broken arm. Orlando will be without halfback Dalton Hilliard at least another month, and Texas’s star guard Larry Allen is likely out at least a couple of weeks after being diagnosed with a hernia this week. Memphis will be without two key contributors this week as TE Tony McGee and SS Bennie Blades are both listed as doubtful. Denver has listed star LB Kurt Gouveia as questionable, as has Pittsburgh with Mike Rozier’s thumb injury.
Back to divisional play in Week 6, and some great games on tap. New Jersey (3-2) will have a tough game as they visit the 4-1 Pittsburgh Maulers. Meanwhile, surprising Baltimore has a chance to take another big step if they can go into Washington and beat their weakened rival. Jacksonville stays in state to face the winless Renegades in Orlando, while Birmingham, with a surprising 2-3 record can get back to .500 if they can upend the Aikman-less Bandits in Tampa Stadium. Another surprise team, New Orleans, has a huge test as they travel to the Astro Dome to face the Houston Gamblers, and Chicago, with Blair Kiel taking over, will be in San Antonio to face the Outlaws, with both teams at 3-2, a win here could propel one of these teams towards a very good year. In the Pacific Division we find the struggling St. Louis Knights having to face that tough Arizona defense in Tempe, while Portland will be in Denver to face an angry Gold team after this week’s loss. In inter-divisional play it is Michigan at Philly, with both teams hoping they can get started on the right path, while the Pacific-leading Invaders head to Memphis to face Reggie White and the Showboats.