Week 9 was a wild one, with one of the biggest upsets we can remember, some stunning blowouts, and several games that came down to the wire. And while some of the frontrunners continued to put some distance on the rest of the league, key matchups of top teams meant that some fell back a step as well. All this and 2 of 4 expansion clubs added another W in a truly memorable week of USFL action.
With Houston-Portland, St. Louis-Denver, Chicago-Oakland, and Pittsburgh-Birmingham all coming down to 4th quarter heroics, there were a lot of games this week worthy of GOTW honors, but we have to give the title to the crazy game between Michigan and Atlanta that led to the first win in franchise history for the Fire. No one saw this one coming, and from the looks on the faces of Panther players when the final whistle blew, not even the Panthers thought it was possible.
The loss drops Michigan to 4-5 and puts them well off the pace in the Central Division, while Atlanta, which finally showed signs of offensive continuity, finally gave the home town fans something to cheer about as they closed a game and took their first win as a franchise.
The day began with the news that Cliff Stoudt would get the start as Eric Zeier was still feeling the effects of his game last week and was having difficulty planting on an ankle that got rolled in their Week 8 game. Stoudt showed every bit of his 13 years of USFL experience as he guided Atlanta to an opening drive score, connecting on 4 of 5 passes and finding Terrance Mathis for the TD on a 3rd and goal. Coach Reeves had scouted the Panthers and determined that short passes, particularly slants and in routes were the best way to attack the Panther defense, getting the ball out of Stoudt’s hands quickly, and he was right. Stoudt would go on to finish the day 23 of 31 for 243 yards and was not sacked once thanks to the quick passing game.
The passing game was complemented, for perhaps the first time all season, with a better than average run game. Using a combination of quick traps and misdirection plays, Bernie Parmalee was able to average 5.9 yards per carry on 10 carries, and newcomer Ricky Blake added another 38 yards, with both players scoring touchdowns for the Fire.
Michigan, on the other hand, seemed out of rhythm the entire day. This was a classic trap game with the Panthers coming off a tough loss in Texas and possibly looking past the Fire to next week’s matchup against New Jersey. They scored a field goal in the first, and put their first TD on the board in the 2nd, thanks to a solid Tyrone Wheatley run, but trailed 17-10 at the half. Perhaps a bit too confident about their ability to pull the game out, there was a general lack of urgency about the Michigan offense. They continued to feed the ball to Wheatley, but he would average only 3.4 yards per carry and end the day with only 64 rushing yards. Montana was accurate (31 of 40) but that efficiency seemed to falter when it mattered most, as Michigan failed on 4 straight 3rd downs in the second half.
After two Brad Daluiso field goals pulled Michigan back to within 1 point at 17-16, Atlanta had its best drive of the day, an 11-play beauty that included a brilliant 3rd and 11 grab by wideout Ernie Jones, and a crowd-pleasing 14-yard catch and run by TE Frank Wycheck in which he caught the safety off balance and sent him crashing to the ground. The drive ended with a Ricky Blake 1 yard bulldozer into the endzone and an 8-point Fire lead. They added to that lead 5 minutes later with a Jason Elam 41-yarder, and led 27-16 with only 3 minutes left to play.
Montana would lead the Panthers on a desperation drive, and got the needed TD on a short pass to Jeff Campbell with 1:24 left to play, but when the 2 point conversion failed, it mean that Michigan needed another TD, not just a field goal, and that was too much to ask. Michigan had only 1 timeout left, and when they failed to recover the onside kick, Atlanta was able to milk the clock and end the game up 5 for their first victory after 8 long weeks of frustration.
The Fire are not ready to dominate the league with offensive firepower, but at least on this day they had enough to get the victory and hold off a solid opponent. Given time, and perhaps a few upgrades in personnel, the Fire could start to look a lot more like a tough out.
HOU 24 POR 20
While the Atlanta game was the week’s biggest surprise, the Houston-Portland showdown was perhaps the best played and most intense game of the week. It took a late Thurman Thomas TD for Houston to snatch the lead away from Portland and get the road win. Portland got 113 yards from Robert Drummond, but Thomas’s 81 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving, combined with another solid day (111 yards on 5 catches) from rookie receiver Antonio Freeman were enough for Houston to keep their win streak rolling.
PIT 31 BIR 24
Birmingham played well, but it was not enough against the red hot Maulers. Pittsburgh got 126 yards rushing from Mike Rozier and Alan Risher threw for 2 scores and 315 yards as the Maulers built up a 31-17 lead late in the 4th. Brett Favre threw 3 TD’s but also added 3 more dreaded picks to his league lead in that dubious category.
CHI 24 OAK 27
Chicago had been winning games through sheer grit, but against Oakland that would not be enough. The Invaders secondary picked off Dan McGwire twice, and Bobby Hebert found just enough room in the Machine secondary to hit Mark Duper for 108 yards and a score as the Invaders held home advantage and used it to their advantage, getting the winning kick by Joe Nedney with just under 2 minutes to play.
STL 24 DEN 29
Denver got the home win, but it was not easy against a Knights squad that has awakened over the past month. Todd Collins threw for 2 scores for the Knights to give them a slim 24-22 lead with 7:17 in the game, but Mark Brunell pushed the Gold down the field as time drained down, hitting Mark Carrier with the winning score with just over 1 minute left to play in this exciting duel of young QBs.
BAL 26 MEM 16
Mike Kelley had yet another rough outing, throwing 4 picks against an aggressive Baltimore defense, and yet, Memphis had a 16-13 lead after 3 quarters. But, the final period belonged to the Blitz as Chris Miller led Baltimore on 3 scoring drives, first a 21-yard TD to Rob Moore, followed by two more Luis Zendejas field goals as Baltimore took home the road win to keep pace in the Atlantic.
NJ 18 ORL 45
In a game that was 17-11 after 3 quarters, the wheels fell off the Generals’ bus in the 4th as Doug Flutie threw 3, count them 3 pick sixes in the final period. It was a monumental collapse as each Orlando score made New Jersey more desperate and each poor throw turned into 7 for the homestanding Renegades. What started as a close game became a farce by the end, prompting many in the NY-NJ market to declare Flutie washed up and demand a change.
OHI 26 TBY 14
Ohio still leads the expansion derby as they nabbed their third win against an ineffective John Fourcade and the Tampa Bay Bandits. Jeff Hostetler went 24 of 33 and Ernest Byner rushed for 2 scores as Ohio dominated time of possession (35-25) against a Tampa squad that simply could not string together drives.
PHI 41 SEA 10
Seattle did not have Ohio’s luck as they faced a fully stocked Stars offense. Chuck Long had a career day, going 31 for 36 (a stunning 86%) for 328 and 3 scores, while Charlie Garner and Pat Chaffey combined for 156 yards rushing against an overwhelmed Dragon defense.
WSH 30 JAX 3
Washington, angry after their first loss, took out their frustration on a pretty good Bulls squad, dominating from the opening whistle. Duane Gunn was the surprise star of the day, catching 2 TD’s from Majkowski, while Barry Word (93) and Terry Kirby (58) combined for 155 yards on the ground as the Federals left no doubt that they were still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
NOR 20 ARZ 7
The Breakers rebounded from their poor showing last week with a solid win over the offensively-challenged Arizona Wranglers. Jamie Martin completed just under 70% of his passes and Erric Pegram scored a key second half TD to help put Arizona away. The Wranglers, for their part, struggled to convert 3rd downs (4 of 15) and Robbie Bosco suffered 5 sacks on the day, as New Orleans smothered their passing game.
1. Changing of the Guard?: Our first story this week is potential QB controversy in both New Jersey and Memphis, where 4-interception days do not have fans feeling particularly loyal to either Doug Flutie or Mike Kelley. In Memphis, where the drafting of Tennessee product Heath Shuler last year has put pressure on Kelley, and in New Jersey where former USC signal caller and “prototype QB” Rob Johnson has the New Jersey fans calling for Doug Flutie’s job, the pressure seems to be getting to both starters. It has been a rough year for both, and this week might just prove to be a breaking point. New Jersey is in Michigan this week, and that would be a tough first start for Johnson, but it may have to happen anyway. Memphis has an even tougher task, playing in Portland against an energized Thunder defense, so perhaps going with the 2nd year Shuler is not the way to go, but Coach Ryan is not an orthodox coach, so we shall see if he gives Mike Kelley the hook or not. Either way, a bad performance from either QB on the road could spell the end and we could soon see Shuler and Johnson on the field for two teams whose seasons are slipping away.
2. Diamond in the Rough: In what is a rough first year for the expansion LA Express, we should still find the bright spots, and one of those shining lights is the play of wideout Mike Pritchard. Pritchard, who came over to LA after 4 moderately successful years in Pittsburgh, has flourished under the tutelage of Coach Rick Neuheisel, and with a starting spot assured on a far less polished receiver corps. The result is a receiver who now leads the league in both receptions and yardage. Pritchard is on course to have his first 1,000 year season, after gaining only 321 yards in 1994 behind Louis Lipps and Raynard Brown with the Maulers. His 5 TDs to date are also a career best, and while wins have been hard to come by, you have to be impressed with the way Pritchard has come out of the gate with the reestablished Express squad.
3. Sack Race: After a start to the season that saw some new names at the top of the Sack leaderboard, things seem to be reverting to predicted form as veteran names like Dexter Manley, Phil Hansen and Charles Haley find themselves pulling away from the pack. Add in Leslie O’Neill, a very shrewd NFL signing by the Denver Gold, and you have 4 solid competitors for the title this year. But, where is the Minister of Defense? How is Reggie White not up at 10, 11 or 12 sacks along with these four? White has had a rough year without Santana Dotson lining up opposite him. He has 7 sacks on the season, on pace for 13-15 total, which is no small feat, but he is far off the pace being set by Manley and Hansen. And what about Dotson, playing now for the LA Express? Only 4 sacks on the year as LA has issues all across their defense, and teams can double team the speedy DE, something he never saw when he lined up opposite Reggie White. It is a prime example of how expansion has, to a large degree, watered down the play across the league, and how some teams, like Memphis, took bigger hits than others with key players lost to the expansion draft.
4. Back to Basics: Does anyone remember the weird stat last year that saw 3 of the top 5 tacklers in the league at cornerback? That is proving to be an anomaly, as once again it is linebackers leading the tackles board, as we would expect in most seasons. Pittsburgh’s Demetrious DuBose is flourishing in his new role as the leader of the Mauler LB corps, leading the league with 80 tackles after 9 weeks. This week he also picked up his first interception of the season. Just behind him is New Orleans’s Lamar Lathon and Arizona’s Broderick Thomas. But, lest we think the passing game has lost favor (though there has been more balance this year), we do find both Aeneas Williams (OAK) and Jerome Henderson (TEX) among the league leaders in tackles and both at the CB position. This is still the USFL after all, and while the run game seems to be rebounding, we still expect more 1,000 yard receivers than rushers by season’s end.
5. Injury Update: Finally, looking at injuries, a few concerning blows to the offensive lines across the league. Chicago took a big hit as Juan Castaneda is likely out for the year with a Posterior Cruciate Ligament tear. Tackle Robert Curry in Orlando is also down, this time with an Achilles rupture. And Arizona got word this week that tackle Kirk Lowdermilk will undergo surgery, ending his year as well. In other injury news, Arizona took another hit, as veteran TE Terry Orr will likely miss the rest of the year with an ACL injury, while in Atlanta, their starting MLB, John Roper could be out up to 6 weeks (which is most of the season at this point) with a broken bone in his right foot. Houston could be without starting wideout Brett Perriman for a week or two due to a hamstring issue, while Texas will be without DE Bob Buczkowski due to a wrist injury. The Outlaws will also likely miss wideout Lawyer Tillman at least 1 week as he is dealing with a shoulder problem. And finally, Denver CB Bruce Pickens, the league leader in interceptions, will have to sit out a game after rolling an ankle this week. On the upside, Dave Krieg was able to begin practice for Seattle, and could return to the lineup as early as week 11. Houston’s Pat Swilling is expected to return to action this week, as is Chicago wide receiver Reggie Langhorne and Memphis wideout Carl Pickens.
Looking at the Week 10 schedule, we wonder if we will see Rob Johnson start for New Jersey as they travel to Michigan, or Heath Shuler open for Memphis as they play the Thunder in Portland. Washington has another tough game as they head to Chicago, and the Baltimore Blitz will face the best team in the West, the Houston Gamblers. Ohio travels south to New Orleans to face the Breaker while Birmingham heads West to play the LA Express. In Texas the Pittsburgh Maulers will try to win their 6th in a row, while in St. Louis, the Stars come to visit. Tampa Bay hopes they can have Troy Aikman back in the lineup as they head to the desert to face the Wranglers, while Denver hopes to get back in playoff position with a home game against Seattle. Jacksonville will have a tough road trip to Oakland this week, while Atlanta, hot off their first win, gets the erratic Orlando Renegades at Bobby Dodd.
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