In a week highlighted by four intriguing playoff games we saw a slower pace of roster turnover, but there were still some big hits taken and some players saying goodbye to longstanding USFL homes. We will get to the week’s player news, but first we look at some tough losses, big wins, and one team that pulled out a win but at a huge cost.
If defense truly does win championships, the Washington Federals may be well-positioned for a title this year. The Atlantic Division champion limited Jacksonville to only 265 total yards and a pitiful 27 yards rushing in a game that saw Washington double up on the Bulls. The Federals gave Jacksonville almost nothing in the first half, taking an impressive 17-3 lead into the break, and from their they just held on and allowed the Bulls to move the ball a bit in the midfield area before choking their scoring opportunities. The Bulls did themselves no favors with 8 penalties in the game and a failed 4th down early in the game.
Washington’s offense was adequate, though hardly intimidating, with Barry Word rushing for 80 yards on 21 carries and Kordell Stewart an efficient 22 of 29 for 236 and one TD. But, when Natrone Means gaines only 6 yards on 8 carries and Chris Chandler completes only 22 of 40 passes, there is room to be a bit vanilla on offense. Washington got a TD from Herman Moore and then added a Barry Word run, both in the 2nd quarter to take the 14-point lead. They expanded it to 17 with a Pelfrey field goal in the third and despite giving up a Marquette Smith TD early in the 4th quarter were not truly challenged by the Bulls in the final period. The win sets up the first conference title game appearance for the Feds since 1993, when they fell to the Stallions. Would they face Birmingham again this year?
The Portland Thunder used 5 field goals and a TD run from an unexpected source to edge the Chicago Machine 21-18, but they did so at a horrible price. Late in the 2nd quarter and down 10-6 the Thunder were driving when a simple 2nd and 4 run ended with two-time league rushing champion Robert Drummond writhing on the ground in agony. He would be carted off the field with an apparent knee injury. Later reporting would announce that the league’s Offensive Player of the Year had torn both his ACL and MCL and would be looking at immediate surgery and a lengthy recovery period that could extend even into the 1998 season. The injury is devastating for Portland, who built their season largely on the back of Drummond and the play action pass his presence permitted. Portland now heads into a conference title game without the centerpiece to their entire franchise.
The Thunder, devastated by the injury and down 10-9 at the half, rallied behind Jack Trudeau, despite 3 picks, and shared carries among backups Darius Turner (13 for 26), June Henley (2 for 12) and fullback Arnulfo Cowley. It was Cowley who gave them the play of the game in the 3rd quarter, a 2nd and 2 run that turned into a 23-yard statement of defiance against the Machine and the fates. The score gave the Thunder a 5-point lead (after missing the 2-point PAT), a lead Portland would slowly build to 21-10. Chicago got a late TD from Wendell Davis with 30 seconds left to play, but when Portland recovered the onside kick, the game was theirs, and they returned home to try to figure out how to move on with Drummond not among their ranks.
The Stars were game, and they managed to sack Brett Favre 6 times and force 2 picks, but the Stallion’s QB got the final word in the game, scoring in the most improbable way to crush the upset dreams of the Philly faithful. Philadelphia had held Favre largely in check most of the game, building a 21-14 lead after three quarters thanks to a strong game from Chuck Long, who would finish with 4 TD passes on the day. Long spread the ball around, hitting Glyn Milburn, Stepfret Williams, and Troy Brown with first half scoring tosses, while Birmingham struggled a bit to establish their passing game. They got a gift of 6 points from Long’s only pick on the day, a ball tipped at the line and then returned 34 yards by Keith Collins.
But, when crunch time came, Favre came alive. He found Shannon Sharpe for a 6-yard TD to end the third, and then hit on 3 more TD passes in the game’s final quarter to give the homestanding Stallions the win. First was another short pass, this time to Walter Reeves. That tied the score at 21. On their next drive Favre found Cedrick Tillman to go up by 7. Philadelphia went on a long drive, and what they believed to be an overtime-producing drive when Long hit Jeff Graham for a TD with only 1:25 left in the game. When Birmingham opted to hand the ball to Mike Alstott on first down following the Philly score, the Stallion fans got restless, assuming, as everyone did, that their club was content to head to an extra period. But, on second and 7, Favre faked the ball to Stephen Davis and found Shannon Sharpe wide open in the middle of the field. LB Frank Stams could not keep up, and the safeties were out of position, giving Sharpe a lane, and the big man took it all the way, 75 yards down field for the game winner, just 24 seconds after Philly had tied the game. It was a dramatic win for the Stallions, a huge fourth quarter for Favre and a collapse that would be remembered in Philadelphia for a long time.
The final game of the weekend pitted two divisional foes in Michigan and Texas. The two clubs played like two older boxers who had met and battled countless times in the past. Jabs and rope-a-dope was the theme, as neither team was able to overpower the other. The first half saw 4 field goals, 3 from Michigan, as the only scoring. The third quarter opened with Texas’s best drive of the day, ending in a Reggie Cobb 2-yard TD run. The Boniol kick was shanked, so the game ended up tied at 9 after Cobb’s run.
Michigan would respond with a drive of their own, capped off by Doug Flutie hitting Weegie Thompson on a fade route for the score. Down 16-9 after three quarters, Texas rallied and Tony Sacca, who had been having a rough day with 2 picks and 3 sacks, made a great read on 2nd and 7 and found Shawn Collins for a score, but, once again, Chris Boniol, who had been playing through injury after taking a rough hit and tumble while covering a kickoff, missed the PAT. Instead of a tie at 16, Texas still trailed by 1. When Michigan got a late field goal to go up by 4 it took the pressure off Boniol, but put it squarely on Sacca. The inexperienced QB struggled to rally the Outlaws, and on a desperate 3rd and 14 he lofted a duck which ended up in the hands of Michigan CB Chris Snyder for the 1996 INT leader’s 2nd of the game. Michigan advances, and now licks their chops as they will face a wounded Portland club without Robert Drummond.
Only 2 new injuries for the 4 clubs to face next week, with Michigan claiming CB Kurt Minnifield as questionable, but the big news is the Drummond injury. Drummond will have surgery to repair his knee later this month, but the big concern is that even with a full offseason to recover there is no guarantee that Drummond will be ready to play when the 1998 season kicks off in March, or that even if he can that he will be the same back. A combination ACL/MCL can be a career ending injury, and even with advancements in laparoscopic surgery there is no guarantee that Drummond will recover the power or the shiftiness which has made him one of the leauge’s most dangerous runners. It is truly sad but somehow Portland has to prepare for a matchup next Sunday with the Michigan Panthers, with a trip to the Summer Bowl on the line.
A big week and a light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s get right to it with the huge news out of the league’s emergency owners meeting.
OWNERS BLINK
We knew something was up when the owners called an emergency meeting without the presence of the USFLPA. It could not be ongoing negotiations on a new CBA, and it turns out it was not. What we saw was more akin to a mutiny, with several owners shifting positions and demanding a retraction of the vote from earlier this year. Birmingham’s Marvin Warner, looking at the very real possibility of losing Brett Favre to the NFL, led the charge of owners for a revote on the season schedule and alignment. His arguments, that several owners, along with Commissioner Wayne Duke misled owners about the financial and labor impact of the shift.
While Duke and the subcommittee report was correct that the major TV contracts could be reworked without significant loss of revenue for the league for their 2-week cut in regular season games, the labor crisis the decision created has been far worse than owners anticipated, with trust between the players and ownership deeply eroded and the union gaining strength through solidarity around the issue of player contract viability and compensation maintenance despite the schedule shrinkage. Warner was joined in his objection by 4 other owners who had originally voted in favor of the realignment/rescheduling proposal, Arizona’s Ted Dietrich, Chicago’s Bill Wirtz, New Jersey’s Malcom Borg, and Jacksonville’s Fred Bullard cosigned the motion to cancel the initial vote and return to a 4-division, 16 week schedule for 1998.
The motion apparently had vigorous debate within the emergency meeting, with concerns about scheduling the additional 2 weeks of regular season games on top of the 16 week season already planned. There were also concerns that the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams would also be nixed were the original vote undone. These were apparently quelled by an amendment proposed by Houston owner Jerry Argovitz, to carve out the expanded playoff roster from the proposal to revoke the earlier vote. And so, after 5 hours of discussion and debate, the owners voted on a proposal to revoke the earlier league vote, while maintaining the 12-team playoff provision. With the shifted votes of the owners who brought the motion, along with additional late support from Oakland’s Taube and Baltimore’s Thalheimer, the vote came out an overwhelming 18-6 in favor of revocation.
But, even with this huge reversal, the drama was not completed. The vote to revoke the changes to the USFL format was immediately followed by a vote of no confidence in Commissioner Duke. By a 16-8 vote, Duke was removed from office and Jacksonville’s Fred Bullard was voted in as interim Commissioner until a permanent hire could be made. Duke, who became commissioner before the 1989 season, leaves after 9 years at the helm of the league, nine years that were largely marked by economic growth and franchise stability.
So now the key question left to answer, does the revocation allow for a quick recertification of the current CBA by the Union or do the labor talks continue between ownership and the USFLPA? A quick decision on recertification could allow for clubs to once again sign players and could avert even further NFL poaching, but how quickly this could be done may be the key to saving the offseason for many USFL clubs. The Union does not have a timetable for the decision, but almost certainly a vote will be take at the club level within the next week. If it is agreed to recertify, USFL clubs could begin the process of signing and resigning players, if not, this could still drag on through the NFL-USFL transfer window.
PLAYER MOVEMENT
For some clubs the damage is already done, both through retirements and NFL poaching. We highlighted Pittsburgh’s largely-retirement dilemma last week. This week the focus is on Baltimore ,which, in addition to the retirement of Leslie Frazier and Bill Brooks, had lost starting HB Barry Foster to the NFL last week. This week two more members of the 1997 squad were signed by the fall league, linebacker Mike Junkin to Detroit and backup QB Cody Carlson by the Houston Oilers. With a total of 17 players on the free agent list, Baltimore may be in an even worse situation than the Maulers, who still have to be concerned about further losses with Levins, Dan Saleamua, Demetrius DuBose and Paul Gruber all free agents, but not yet signed away.
This week did not see the massive exodus of talent as the first week of NFL transfers, but that does not mean there were not some important departures. The most noteworthy was of multitalented HB Thurman Thomas of the Houston Gamblers, who signed with the Miami Dolphins this week, ending his career with the 3-time USFL Champions. Along with Howard Ballard, Houston has now taken a big hit on offense. Denver, following their Wild Card loss, became the newest team to also lose a key player when DE Dante Jones signed with the fall league. The Gold also lost punter Josh Miller to the NFL, and had a retirement, though not unexpected, as wideout Willie Gillespie called it a career.
The other Wild Card loser, Orlando, saw Center Jim Juriga sign with the Chicago Bears, but is also concerned that they could lose wideout Bert Emmanuel, tackle Leon Searcy, or DT Tracy Rocker, all of whom are being courted by NFL clubs. Other NFL signings this week include Memphis guard Dave Cadigan, New Jersey DE Bob Otto, Oakland HB Reggie Brooks, and two kickers, Tampa Bay’s Dean Biasucci (Colts) and Houston’s John Kasay.
COACHING NEWS
We also had news from the coaching ranks, with two hires and one departure. Denver, frustrated with how a 5-1 start to the season turned into a 9-7 #5 seed and a quick playoff exit, parted ways with Head Coach Wade Phillips. Philllips had guided Denver to the playoffs each of his five seasons with the club, but had frequently been stuck at 9-7 and had a playoff record of only 2-5. While not the worst situation in the league, clearly Gold ownership expect that their roster can do more, and are looking for a coach who can take them to the next level.
The Memphis Showboats think they have found a solution for their problematic team dynamics and the recent decline of the team, which has hovered between 7 and 9 wins for four years before crashing this season to a 5-11 mark. They turn to former Stars Head Coach and recently released Oakland Invader Jim Mora. The Showboats will be the third USFL squad which Mora has coached, with a successful stint with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints wedged between his championship squads in Philly and his rough run in Oakland. Mora inherits a team with a dynamic QB in Heath Shuler, a shaky roster in several areas, and a major concern as the face of the team, DE Reggie White remains a free agent and has been linked to interest from both the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. If the USFL CBA is recertified, the first order of business for Mora and the Showboats will be fending off NFL interest in the Minister of Defense.
The Los Angeles Express have also found their man, and it is a very interesting choice. LA went to the NFL for their new leader, agreeing to a 4-year deal with former Detroit Lions Head Coach Wayne Fontes. Fontes, who started his coaching career in LA with the USC Trojans in 1975, had marginal success in Detroit as their head coach, a position he earned after several good years as the club’s defensive coordinator. Fontes’ record with Detroit was hardly legendary, at 66-67-1, but he did lead the Lions to a division title in both 1991 and 1993, and to 4 playoff appearances. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1991, when he took the club all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
Fontes was let go by Detroit after a 5-11 season in 1996 and had been rumored to be considering retirement before LA came calling. He inherits a club that finished 4-12, the third straight 10+ loss season since returning to the league in 1995. He has some talented players on the squad, including wideout Mike Pritchard, rookie halfback Antowain Smith, LT Jonathan Ogden, DE Santana Dotson, LB Donta Jones, and DT David Rocker. The club has concerns at QB where neither Brent Pease or Jeff Garcia have exactly lit the league on fire, and they could potentially lose a couple of key contributors to free agency, having already lost HB Bernie Parmalee to the NFL, and with CB Willie Davis, Jones, and FS Tim Hauck all free agents.
Among other positions we have no definitive hires, but there has been action in Oakland, where the Invaders are rumored to be interested in former Atlanta Fire and Denver Bronco head man Dan Reeves. Seattle has contacted several clubs to ask for for interviews with coaches, and Tampa Bay has done the same, though both may be waiting for some of the playoff clubs to finish their seasons before finalizing their short lists.
Twenty teams out, four clubs left in contention for a league title. We have Michigan traveling to Portland in the West and Washington headed to Birmingham in the East.
In Portland we all know what the story is. How do the Thunder structure an offense without their leading weapon? Michigan has the 3rd rated scoring defense and the 2nd rated D for yardage, but they have given up some big plays in the passing game. Does Portland try to run the ball with a mix of Darius Turner, rookie June Henley and fullback Arnulfo Cowley, or do they put the ball into the hands of Jack Trudeau and ask him to carry the team on his back? Expect TE Lonnie Johnson to be a huge target for Trudeau, as the Panthers are sure to focus their attention on wideouts Webster Slaughter and Matthew Hatchette.
For Michigan, the key will be whether or not they can exploit a wounded Thunder squad. If Tyrone Wheatley can run on the Thunder defense, the Panthers can mix in passing from Flutie to keep ahead of Portland offensively. We expect they will blitz Trudeau heavily and hope to take advantage of turnovers. Despite being the road team, Las Vegas has the Panthers as 2-point favorites in this game, and we tend to agree, still reeling from the Drummond injury.
In the other matchup we have a classic immovable defense against unstoppable offense as the Feds try to slow down Brett Favre and the Stallions. We know Washington can bring it with just their front 4, three of whom (Brackens, Manley, and Jerome Brown) have 10 or more sacks this year, but the Feds also blitz to really bring heat. LB Tracy Scroggins has 8 sacks on the year and both Michael Barrow and Winston Moss can get to the QB as well.
As for Birmingham, they would love to get an early lead and make Washington one-dimensional. They certainly have the offensive weapons to do so, and if they can build a 10+ point lead, they can unleash Kevin Greene and John Copeland against the young Kordell Stewart. If Washington is able to mix the running of Barry Word and Terrell Fletcher with Stewart’s passing, they have a shot, but that is a pretty big “if” once the Stallions take a lead. The best chance for an upset is for Washington to pressure Favre, hope for some early takeaways, and avoid falling down to a point where the run game is abandoned. We think the odds are very much in Birmingham’s favor, and Las Vegas agrees, with the line sitting at Birmingham at -5.