With some teams looking to lock up playoff spots, and others jockeying for position, we have entered the crunch time phase of the season. Week 12 marks the 3/4 mark of the year, and with only 4 games left to play the stakes are getting higher and the pressure to make a move is on. Who moved up? Who is sliding? Who is already looking at the draft and next season? Every team has a story to tell, but some are not getting the happy ending their fans wanted.
With Troy Aikman back under center, we had a hunch that Tampa Bay would not be an easy out for the Philadelphia Stars, and that certainly proved to be the case as this game went into overtime before we had a winner. Aikman had a rough day, throwing 4 picks, but still managed to throw for 320 yards to help keep Tampa in the game. Chuck Long and the Stars struggled to put the ball in the endzone, so we saw a second half with 7 field goals as the two teams just kept pushing each other 3 points further.
The game started with the same back-and-forth energy that it would see all day. After a Bandit field goal opened scoring, Philly responded with a long drive ending in a Charlie Garner 13-yard TD run. Tampa answered right back with their own back, Errict Rhett, scoring from 6 yards out. Philly then ended the first half with a 2-minute drill and a Marcus Pollard 3-yard TD catch. 14-10 Stars at the half.
Philly extended their lead as the 2nd half began with the first of what would be 4 second half kicks for cagey vet David Trout. Tampa pulled evened the score on their next drive as Aikman hit Robert Brooks for the score. The Bandits took a 3-point lead with Dean Biasucci’s chip shot 24-yarder on the next drive, and then went up by 6 on another Biasucci kick just as the 4th quarter began. But, Philadelphia can kick the ball too, and 2 straight drives ending in David Trout kicks brought us to 23-23 with 3 minutes left.
The Bandits got a good drive from Aikman and with 1:03 left in the game Biasucci kicked what the Tampa faithful hoped would be the game winner, going up 26-23. But, 1:03 and 2 time outs proved to be enough for the Stars to get into range for Trout, and with 7 seconds left in the game Trout equalized the score, sending the game into overtime.
Philadelphia won the toss, took the ball, and decided that they would not give Tampa Bay a chance by kicking again. The Stars took 8 minutes and 15 plays to do it, but when Long found Marcus Pollard for his second score on the day (on virtually the same call as the first), the Stars let out a sigh of relief and took the W, their 9th of the year. For the Bandits it was a frustrating loss yet again. The offense played well, but the defense faded down the stretch and was simply unable to contain the Philadelphia Stars in overtime.
LA 13 CHI 40
Ricky Watters ran wild against an ailing Express defense, gaining 131 yards on only 16 carries. That opened up the passing game as well, with McGwire finding Wendell Davis 6 times for 104 and a score as the Machine keep pace in the Central.
OAK 14 HOU 17
Ten points in the final quarter help Houston overcome the visiting Invaders. Oakland’s Bobby Hebert completed only 36% of his passes on a rough day (13 of 36) but they had the lead until Houston’s Keith Woodside plunged in from the 1 to give Houston the win, making them the first club to clinch a playoff spot this year at 10-2.
POR 21 MGN 34
Michigan got healthy against a Portland team that appears to be in a death spiral. Joe Montana threw for 3 scores and Wheatley rushed for 126 and a TD as this one saw the Panthers score 20 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to a home win and stay alive at 5-7.
ATL 19 NOR 26
Atlanta gave the Breakers a scare, but Erric Pegram came up big, with 122 yards rushing, to help New Orleans even their record at 6-6. Martin TDs to Ray Rowe and Qadry Ismail helped the Breakers upend the very game Atlanta Fire.
ARZ 39 STL 0
The Knights crashed and burned early, trailing 26-0 at the half as Arizona picked off Todd Collins twice including a Kerner pick six, eventually leading to David Archer coming into the game. That did not help either as Arizona was in QB hunting mode by that point. The Wranglers finished with 3 sacks and 3 picks on the day as they cruise to a win and the top spot in the division.
DEN 10 TEX 30
Arizona leads the division because Denver came out flat against the Outlaws and was quickly in a hole they could not climb out of. Kelly Stouffer threw 3 TDs, including a 40 yarder to Shawn Collins on the way to the Texas victory.
JAX 22 BAL 13
Baltimore stumbles despite picking off Chandler twice. Both the Blitz and the Bulls scored on a pick 6 in a sloppy game that saw several turnovers and 11 combined penalties for nearly 100 yards. The game was 15-13 until late in the 4th, when an Owen Gill run gave Jacksonville the space they needed to finish out the game.
MEM 30 NJ 24
Rob Johnson threw for 243 and 3 TD’s but it was not enough as Heath Shuler had another strong day for the Showboats, throwing 3 scores of his own. Both Greg Boone and Tommy Agie rushed for 54 yards exactly as the Showboats pull off the road win despite 111 on the ground from Walker.
SEA 3 PIT 34
Getting Dave Krieg back under center was not a silver bullet for the Dragons as Pittsburgh remains white hot and steamrolls the Dragons. Alan Risher returned to action and threw for 3 scores, while Mike Rozier put in a workmanlike 22 carries for 91 yards and a score to help Pittsburgh stay on pace in the Atlantic.
BIR 33 WSH 17
Washington falls back into a 3-way tie with Philly and Pittsburgh thanks to the resurgent Birmingham Stallions. Keen to return to .500, the Stallions found holes in Washington’s highly-regarded defense. Ernest Givens caught 6 balls for 147 yards, and both Joseph and Philyaw scored rushing TD’s as the Stallions racked up 442 yards of offense to Washington’s 294.
Houston becomes the first playoff team to lock in a berth as they hit the 10-win plateau. Washington falls into a 3 way tie with the Stars and Maulers, and each of the three can clinch a spot next week with a win. Jacksonville now has to worry about what appears to be a reawakened Birmingham squad at 6-6 and within range of the final playoff spot if not the division title too.
Out West, Arizona and Denver are tied atop the Pacific, with Portland and Oakland falling back to 6-6. Portland has lost 4 in a row after a 6-2 start, while Oakland has just lost their 3rd in a row. Chicago, at 9-3, is in a good position to line up a playoff berth next week as well, though they are still seeking to catch Houston for the division and hopefully a bye.
1. Chutes & Ladders: There is something of a football cliché to talk about peaking at the right time, and while there is ample evidence that there is truth in this, there is also the inverse, the crunch time collapse. It appears that this year we have a little of both happening. Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are on impressive win streaks, 8 and 6 games respectively, and that has allowed them to catch up to Washington, who are 3-3 after a massive 6-0 start. In the South we have Orlando chasing on the tail of Baltimore for the final playoff spot in the East with a 2 game win streak, and Birmingham the winners of 3 in a row to reach 6-6.
In the Western Conference we have fewer positive streaks, though Arizona’s 3-game win streak has surprised many. What we have out west are plenty of negative slides. Oakland this week lost their 3rd in a row. Portland is on a 4-game slide that took them from 6-2 down to 6-6. Just why teams are either flopping late or surging towards the end of the year is tough to say. Injuries certainly can play a role, as can the maturation of younger players. Sometimes it is just a slow start to the year being rectified, or a pretender being unmasked that impacts the late season of a club. This year, with only 4 games left.
2. Too Little Too Late?: Brett Favre, and his 4,000 passing yards, have Birmingham surging at the right time as they reached .500 and are looking very dangerous for the rest of the season. Favre, who has been doing it without much semblance of a run game, is not only leading the league in passing yards, but is closing in on Jim Kelly in passing TD’s. Of course, Favre’s 20 interceptions are still a concern, well ahead of other interception leaders, Flutie, Mike Kelley and Aikman. The return of Ernest Givens has been huge, with Givens two straight games over 130 yards receiving after coming off of injury. The defense is still a concern, rated 21st in the league in points allowed, and 22nd in yards allowed, which means that in both categories there is at least one expansion club better than them. They will need to keep scoring in bunches, but there are few that think doing so is impossible for the Stallions. Whether they are playing spoiler or taking a shot at a late Wild Card push, no one wants to face Birmingham right now.
3. Future's So Bright?: Looking at the opposite side of the standings, we can start to look at the 1996 draft. Seattle seems destined to grab the #1 pick as they have only 1 win on the season, but a 2nd win could lead to Atlanta grabbing the top pick. After Seattle and Atlanta, we find St. Louis, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tampa Bay. Looking at the draft, the players expected to be at or near the top of USFL wish lists include USC wideout Keyshawn Johnson, Illinois defenders Kevin Hardy (LB) and Simeon Rice (DE), Nebraska and Michigan HBs Lawrence Phillips and Tim Biakabatuka, and Ohio State speedster Terry Glenn.
Seattle could go a lot of directions with their first pick, and with no top notch QB’s on the table, they might just look at a halfback or some defensive help. Their best bet to get a player who will count only 50% on their cap would be to look at either Oregon DB Alex Molden or Washington Husky DB Lawyer Milloy, but is CB really a need area for a team that lacks offensive punch.
We all think Atlanta will look for a HB in the draft, not only because their run game has been so bad in their inaugural year, but because they seem to have QB set with the combo of veteran Cliff Stoudt and rookie Eric Zeier. Either Phillips or Biakabatuka could be a good fit, but don’t count out Auburn’s big tackle Willie Anderson as a way to improve the run game, and then a lower round back like Auburn’s Stephen Davis.
For LA, which seems to have some decent talent on offense, they will have to look defense, so they could take a flyer on one of the Illinois products, or go for a half-price cap player such as USC DE Israel Ifeanyi or UCLA LB Donnie Edwards. Of course, the LA schools, UCLA and USC, also offer a lot of offensive talent which might make LA double down. Players like Keyshawn Johnson, HB Karim Abdul Jabbar, and tackle Jonathan Ogden are all enticing options for a team that lacks depth.
As for St. Louis, we assume they wish to test out Todd Collins at QB for a full year, so no go for that position. They too could use a halfback, and Phillips would bring in some fans, but they also need defensive help. DE Cedric Jones of Oklahoma or Simeon Rice would be an immediate impact player for the Knights.
4. INJURY REPORT: Arizona’s J.J. Stokes continue to face issues in his rookie year, this time a hip issue could cost him a week or two. In Baltimore the concern is DE, where Mike Piel could be done for the year. Chicago looks like they could be without their offensive engine for at least a week as Ricky Watters has a hamstring issue that could linger. They also are without two starting LB’s as both Robert Hinkley and Mark Munford will miss time. Denver is hoping that Kurt Gouveia can play with what appears to be a case of turf toe, while Jacksonville’s hopes that Natrone Means could return look to be on hold for another week.
Pittsburgh could be down to their third best corner as both Quintin Jones and Sonny Gordon are listed as questionable this week, and finally ST. Louis may have to go with David Archer at QB if the injury to Todd Collins’ right eye (a poke from a DE) continues to blur his vision.
As always the ability to sign a top recruit, to block out the NFL, remains a major factor in all personnel decisions. As much as the USFL would love to sign the entire top of the NFL draft class, that is just never going to happen. I anticipate perhaps 10 of the top 30 prospects signing with the spring league, just based on what we see year in and year out. So the key, as always, is to find gems among lower-rated players, much as New Orleans seems to have done with 3-year veteran Jamie Martin and rookie HB Terrell Davis.
Week 13 looks like a good one, with some really interesting inter-divisional games. The big game is a divisional one as we have 9-3 Washington headed into Pittsburgh to face the surging Maulers. This game could well decide who wins the Atlantic this year. Also in the Atlantic we have Baltimore hoping to knock back New Jersey and stay a leg up on the final Wild Card slot. Philadelphia is in Ohio and eyeing their 10th win. The Pacific also has a key divisional game as Arizona takes on Denver in Tempe. A win here for either team could propel them to a division title.
Oakland is headed downstate to face the LA Express, while Portland hosts the Atlanta Fire in an intra-divisional matchup. The other games of interest include Houston facing the red hot Birmingham Stallions, Michigan traveling to Jacksonville, New Orleans in a regional rivalry game with Memphis, St. Louis visiting Orlando and the “Battle of the Bad Guys” as the Outlaws face the Bandits in Tampa Bay. Finally we have Chicago flying out to the Northwest to face the 1-11 Dragons.
Comments