The USFL Conference Championships may be the best evidence yet that the old cliché about defense winning championships may be a bit outdated. In both games dynamic offenses made two of the league’s best defenses look hapless, and blew both games open. Baltimore raced out to a 12-1 record this year, but it was Tampa Bay who finished the year stronger, winning their last 8 games to get here, and on Sunday they looked like a confident and dangerous bunch. In the Western Final St. Louis came in as the plucky underdog, and, well, they got plucked, by a team on a mission. Houston has been a dynasty for almost a decade in the USFL’s Western Conference and they played like one this week.
Things started off well for the Blitz, and they finished strong, but there was a solid 40 minutes of this game where simply nothing went right, and that was more than enough for the Tampa Bay Bandits, perhaps football’s hottest team, to punch their ticket to New Jersey and Summer Bowl 1996.
Troy Aikman would throw for 392 yards and 4 touchdowns against a Baltimore defense that had stifled the pass all season long. The Tampa defense, unheralded as a squad added one of the biggest moments of the game to help Tampa Bay secure a win and prove they deserved more respect than they had earned from many this season.
Baltimore started well. Their defense held Tampa to only 25 yards of offense in their first two drives and the Blitz seemed to be getting their own offense geared up, scoring on their first two drives, though in both cases they had to settle for Luis Zendejas field goals. But, with just over a minute left in the first quarter Aikman found a gap in the Blitz pass defense, and created a play that shattered the Blitz defense’s confidence, opening a floodgate that would soon put Baltimore behind the 8-ball.
On a 2nd and 4, Aikman faked the handoff to Errict Rhett, and, rolling to his right, found TE Ben Coates on a seam pattern. The Blitz safeties had committed to the run, and Coates got a step on them. Before they knew what had happened, he was 10 yards past them and on his way to a stunning 75-yard TD reception. Tampa Bay would go on to score the next 21 points as well, ripping open Baltimore’s conservative game plan as Aikman connected with both Sean LaChappelle and with Coates again. As the 3rd quarter began and Tampa held a 21-6 lead, Chris Miller tried to rally the Blitz, but instead got caught telegraphing a hook play. Kurt Schulz ducked in front of Miller’s receiver, and we had our second quick strike knife to the heart of the Blitz. Schulz returned the pick 36 yards and suddenly the Bandits were up by 22 points.
Baltimore tried to mount a comeback, but quick strikes were never their strong suit. They would add 14 points to their total, but with an Aikman to Brooks TD sandwiched between two Blitz scores, Baltimore never got within 10 points of the Bandits. Tampa would be heading back to the Summer Bowl for the first time since 1983 and Troy Aikman held aloft the trophy as the game’s MVP after a 19 of 24 day in which his accuracy was put on full display, as was the arsenal of weapons available to him in Tampa’s new vertical offense. Both Ben Coates and Shannon Baker ended the game with over 100 yards receiving, while Freddie Solomon, another late season revelation, caught 5 balls for 98 yards and Robert Brooks added 3 for 47 and a score. Aikman completed passes to 10 different receivers on the day, and while neither Errict Rhett nor James Stewart were asked to do much, they combined for a respectable 62 yards on 19 total carries.
For Baltimore it was a crushing end to what had been a dream season. For Tampa a long awaited return to championship football and one more bridge to cross.
While fans in Baltimore spent most of the game believing they could find a way back, the few Knights followers who made the trip to Houston could harbor no such illusions. The Gamblers dominated this game like few we have seen in recent years, and while the final yardage totals of 325 to 446 seem somewhat balanced, they do not reflect what the crowd saw this Sunday in the Astrodome. They saw their hometown Gamblers dismantle and embarrass a proud defensive squad. And it was not a sneak attack, it was exactly who you thought it would be, Kelly, tossing 5 TD’s, with 3 to Brett Perriman and one to the game’s leading receiver, Antonio Freeman. It was Thomas rushing for 138 and a score, and his backup, Keith Woodside, gaining another 87 as Houston just did not let up all game.
It was 17-0 after 1 quarter with the Gamblers scoring on all three possessions in the half. First Perriman from 18 yards out, then a kick from Kasay on St. Louis’s only red zone stop of the day, and then Thomas from 1 yard out. St. Louis would get their only points of the day on a Cole Ford field goal to open the 2nd quarter, but then another Brett Perriman score and it was 24-3 at the half.
In the second half, Houston got the opening kickoff and in the next 15 minutes scored on 4 consecutive possessions, including a Todd Bowles Pick 6, a 63-yarder from Kelly to Freeman, a Ken Dilger TD catch, and Perriman for a 3rd score. The game was 52-3 after 3 quarters and both St. Louis and Houston seemed content to let Thomas and Woodside run down the clock. A Kasay field goal would be the only scoring in the final 15 minutes, but the fans did not leave. They stuck around to celebrate a definitive win as Kelly raised his own game MVP trophy and the Gamblers toasted yet another trip to the Summer Bowl, their 4th in the past 5 seasons.
Now the pressure is on Kelly & Co. to not be satisfied getting back. Last season they fell to an underrated Pittsburgh club. Would that happen again with Tampa Bay? Or could Houston lift the Bassett Trophy for the 3rd time. We will find out next week when we have a matchup of two of the best offenses, the most diverse talent pools, and the most explosive playcallers in the game. Bandits-Gamblers for all the marbles.
Summer Bowl 1996, the 15th Championship of the USFL, could be one of the most exciting yet. In the Tampa Bay Bandits and the Houston Gamblers we have the top two scoring teams in the league, the #1 and #2 in total offense, and the #1 and #2 passing offenses in football. On the one hand you have the master gunslinger, Jim Kelly, appearing in his fifth title game. On the other sideline you have the deadly accurate Troy Aikman, making his first appearance in the spring league’s biggest game. This has all the makings of a classic. As we dissect the matchups, it becomes clear that this game will be one of momentum, of big players making big plays, and of inches between completion and incompletion, first down vs. fourth down, between winning and losing. Let’s take a look at each team’s key playmakers and what they are likely to face in this game.
Houston’s passing attack against Tampa’s pass defense.
If there is one squad that is viewed as suspect in this matchup it is the Tampa pass defense, and that has to be scary for Head Coach Jerry Glanville. But Glanville is a gambler, and that means he is likely to throw everything in the book at Kelly. We expect CB Eric Allen to be assigned to Antonio Freeman all night, which means that the pressure will be on Darrien Gordon and safeties Kurt Schulz and Chris Crooms to deal with Perriman, Proehl and the Houston TE’s Dilger and Heller. The big X-factor will be whether or not Tampa tries to cover Thomas out of the backfield with a linebacker or if they bring in a nickel to free up Schulz to be on Thomas.
We know Glanville will want to blitz, but can he afford to with his secondary stretched so thin? If he does it will have to be either Bobby Houston or Kevin Mitchell, but these two have a combined 8 sacks on the year, not exactly a pedigree for disrupting the Houston pass game. We give the distinctive edge to Houston here.
Tampa Bay’s passing attack vs. Houston’s pass defense.
You would not know it from the press, but Houston’s pass defense is actually rated as the 3rd best in the league. Houston likes to get pressure from their front four, especially DEs Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair. Behind their front 4 they play a lot of 2-deep zone, daring teams to go deep while often containing them to short passes. Aikman certainly has enough weapons to stretch the coverage, including a quality deep threat in Shannon Baker (24 yards per catch this season), and while Baker goes deep it opens up Brooks underneath. And if Houston rotates coverage to Brooks, you still have to worry about TE Ben Coates in the middle of the field. And with the emergence of Freddie Solomon as a slot receiver, Tampa has weapons which can exploit zones. If they can hold off the Houston pass rush, they can go toe to toe with the Gamblers on explosive plays.
The run games.
Neither team relies heavily on their run game, though Errict Rhett averaged 4.2 yards per carry on his way to 991 yards on the ground this season. Thomas is a step slower in the rush game than in his heyday, but still gained 851 yards, largely on draw plays. We don’t expect either teams to step back from their pass-first strategy, but of the two running games, we think Tampa’s has a better chance of making an impact. The Bandits can also rely on James Stewart to get some tough yards in the middle, whereas neither Thomas or Woodside are particularly strong inside rushers. If this were a bad weather game, it would certainly favor Tampa and their run game, but with Thomas also likely to play a big part in the passing game, and the weather in New Jersey expected to be sunny and calm, we just don’t see this as a game that will be determined on the ground.
Turnovers.
Neither club is particularly prone to turning the ball over, after all Houston led the league with a +21 turnover margin, in large part to only turning the ball over 12 times all season. Tampa was not far behind at +16, with only 21 turnovers all season. The Tampa defense can ballhawk at times, so it will be up to Kelly to avoid errant throws and avoid a costly mistake. He is a gunslinger and has, on occasion, forced a ball that a more cautious QB would not have thrown. Aikman is more calculating, and more accurate in general. He is more likely to take a sack or throw the ball away rather than force it into double coverage. Slight advantage to Tampa Bay here.
Coaching.
Well, Ray Willsey has had Houston in the playoffs every season but one since taking over for Jack Pardee, and that includes 4 trips to the Summer Bowl in that time, so we cannot knock that pedigree. His overall record in the USFL of 73-37 is one of the best in league history. Not bad for a guy who almost never gets credit for the team’s success.
On the other hand we have Jerry Glanville, who while entertaining, has also caught some flack in his 3 years in Tampa Bay. After coming over from the NFL, where he was more known for bravado and wardrobe than for winning games, Glanville had two pretty mediocre years at the helm of the Bandits. 8-8 in 1994 was followed by 7-9 last season, and rumors that he was on the hotseat this year. He responded with an excellent 12-4 season, his best in coaching. He is known as a risk taker and as someone who prizes passion and energy, but he is also known as a coach who does not always handle adversity well. What will happen if the Bandits get down early, will he cut loose, and is this team ready to do that if needed? We have to favor Houston and Willsey in this area.
OUR PICK: Well, we said it would be Baltimore over Houston, so now do we rate Tampa as a potential underdog here? They have talent, no doubt, but they are inexperienced, led by a coach who has not exactly built up a reputation for winning the close ones, and they are facing a squad that has something to prove after losing in last year’s title game. I think we have to lean towards Houston here. In what could be Jim Kelly’s final game (those rumors persist) the Gamblers will be prepared, motivated, and ready for anything Glanville throws at them. We are picking Houston, but hoping that Tampa makes this a game to remember. After all, it is former Bandits owner, John Bassett, whose name is on the trophy, seems only fair that Bandits are the team Houston needs to beat to claim it.