Week eleven saw a bit of everything: A monster game from a monster defensive end, a veteran QB goes off on the Maulers’ banged up secondary, a scat back scoots for 113 yards, and a team known for defense gets just enough to slow down an offensive powerhouse. We had Chicago taking a bite out of the Texas Outlaws, the Breakers trying desperately to stay relevant, and the LA Express winning their second in a row under their interim head coach. So much to talk about.
We start in Jacksonville, where the upstart New Jersey Generals and their rags-to-riches QB Spence Fisher, came into town with upset on the mind. Jacksonville, tied atop the Southern Division was hoping to overwhelm the visitors from up north, but it was New Jersey that took advantage of overtime to head home with a win and a place in the playoff hunt.
The hero of the day for New Jersey was unsung backup HB Leeland MacElroy, who took over when Bam Morris went down with an ankle injury and proceeded to make a case for more carries, toting the ball 14 times in 2 and a half quarters, gaining 93 yards and a key 4th quarter TD. Fischer also had a good day, completing 31 of 43 throws as Coach Knox is starting to trust in his QB and open up the playbook. For Jacksonville, Browning Nagle was forced into action when a Phil Hansen sack took out starter Chris Chandler. Nagle played well, throwing for 249 yards and 2 4th quarter scores to take the game to overtime, but it was not enough on this day.
New Jersey came into the game looking to take advantage of Jacksonville’s run game. They did just that, with Morris gaining 81 yards before being dinged and MacElroy taking it from there. The strategy kept New Jersey in the game and wore down the Bulls’ defense. At the half it was 11-6 Generals, thanks in part to a safety on one of Nagle’s first snaps, but the Bulls were game, and after a Bynum TD, Nagle hit on the 2 point conversion to put the Bulls up 14-11. As the 4th quarter began New Jersey started to take advantage of a tiring Bulls defense. They snagged thei first TD with only 43 seconds gone in the quarter and then added another as MacElroy pounded the ball in from the 3 yard line to put the visitors up 25-14.
Jacksonville needed to rally, and they did, thanks to a Brian Blades TD reception and yet another catch for Blades on the 2 point conversion. Down 25-22, Jacksonville was able to stifle the run on 3 plays and New Jersey reluctantly punted the ball back to the Bulls. Nagle led Jacksonville into New Jersey territory and with 29 seconds on the clock Pete Stoyanovich tied the game, sending it to overtime.
In overtime neither team could muster much offense, both clubs seemed exhausted. But, when the Bulls punt returner Troy Shavers muffed a punt, it gave New Jersey all they needed. They recovered the ball on the Bulls 30, gained 7 yards on three rushes and on 4th and 3 trotted out Adam Vinatieri for the game winner. The young kicker put it straight down the middle for the Generals, who leave Jacksonville a surprising 6-5 and currently holding onto the 5th and final playoff spot in the East.
BAL 27 BIR 24
The Blits stayed relevant, moving to 5-6 with a hard-earned win in Legion Field. Brett Favre was sacked 7 times by the Blitz defense, including 2 from DE Mike Piel, and Barry Foster contributed 87 rushing yards and two short TDs to help Baltimore pull off the road upset.
PHI 13 ORL 10
Both the Stars and Renegades struggled to get any offense going in this one, as the defenses dominated all day. Neither team surpassed 60 yards rushing on the day, but the Stars got what they needed from Charlie Garner when he scored their only offensive TD. Scott Mitchell actually ran in Orlando’s only TD on the day, but with 2 field goals from the Stars they had enough to upend the homestanding Renegades.
PIT 21 TBY 41
Pittsburgh defense came into this road game banged up and the Bandits showed them no mercy, exploiting the secondary with a barrage of deep balls as Troy Aikman averaged 15.8 yards per completion on his way to 406 yards on only 19 completions. He added 4 TDs as well, with Baker, Brooks, Ben Coates and even FB Jerold Sowell snagging scoring tosses as Tampa Bay steamrolled the Maulers.
WSH 34 ATL 7
Back to their old ways, the Fire could get nothing done against an aggressive Washington front 7. Cliff Stoudt looked slow and shaky as he was sacked 6 times and threw 2 picks. Meanwhile Kordell Stewart went 20 for 29 and threw 2 TD passes for the Federals. Scatback Terrell Fletcher was also a weapon of choice, averaging 8.7 yards per carry on his way to a rare 100 yard game, 113 to be exact.
OHI 13 MEM 20
A good game between two midling squads as the Showboats needed a late Travis Jervey TD to defeat the visiting Ohio Glory. Joey Galloway continued his hot streak, catching 6 balls for 129, while his teammate, Robb Thomas caught 9 for 81 as Ohio went to the air early and often. Memphis kept it balanced, with Shuler throwing for 202 and Williams rushing for 70 as the Showboats pick up win #4.
TEX 14 CHI 31
The Big Game in the Central saw Chicago rattle Texas backup Tony Sacca, who completed only 19 of 43 tosses on the day. Chicago also played with a backup as McGwire was again unable to go, but Alex Van Pelt is pushing for starts and his 270 yard, 3 TD day is certainly going to help.
MGN 34 HOU 20
Michigan started the game knowing that Texas had lost, and they knew that if they could beat Houston in the Astro Dome, first place would be theirs. They struggled at first, but pulled away in the second half as Tyrone Wheatley and Jeff Campbell both came up big with 4th quarter scores. Brett Perriman was the game’s top receiver with 166 yards, but it was Campbell’s 118 and a TD catch that got the job done for Michigan. Doug Flutie finished with an impressive 350 yards and 4 TDs, helping him move onto the QBR leaderboard.
OAK 6 DEN 30
How dominant was Denver in this game, well, by the 4th quarter the Invaders had put WR Ed McCaffrey at QB hoping he could at least avoid the hits that both Cary Conklin and Mike Pawlwoski suffered against the Denver D. Sack specialist Leslie O’Neill had a career game with 4 sacks against Oakland QBs. Oakland was only able to convert 2 third downs all day and was never really in this one.
POR 23 ARZ 20
Portland did not have as easy a time against a plucky Arizona team that seems to be finding their sea legs late in the season. A pair of fourth quarter TDs from Plummer to Courtney Hawkins put a scare into the Thunder, but they were able to prevail thanks to a game-ending 51 yard field goal from Al Del Greco.
STL 24 NOR 34
The Breakers earned their 4th win and clipped the Knights’ win streak at 3 with a 10-point home win. Terrell Davis was key for the Breakers as his 105 yards and 3 TDs (2 rushing, 1 receiving) helped New Orleans hold off a late surge from St. Louis.
SEA 17 LA 20
The Express win their second in a row since sacking Rick Neuheisel and promoting Mike Nolan to the head position. In this one the Express sweated it out as they built a 13-0 lead in the first half, then gave up 17 straight to the visiting Dragons before a late Jeff Garcia TD pass to Dedric Smith pulled the game out in front of only 17, 202 in LA.
Air or Land?: With Robbie Bosco suffering a season-ending injury this week, the biggest competition for Offensive Player of the Year (assuming Brett Favre is MVP) is likely coming down to Philadelphia QB Chuck Long and Texas HB Reggie Cobb. Neither is leading the league in their respective category (passing or rushing yards) but both have been impressive for their squads. Cobb is closing in on 1,000 yards and has 12 total touchdowns to his name. Long has thrown for just under 3,000 yards, which is not among the league leaders, but his 26 TDs and his ability to help Philadelphia to a strong 8-3 record are in his favor. A longshot, but one we should consider is Michigan wideout Jeff Campbell, whose 84 catches lead the league. He also has 1044 yards to date and 9 TD, third in the league behind Birmingham TE Shannon Sharpe (13) and Stallion wideout Lawrence Dawsey (10).
On D Fence: Among Defensive POTY candidates we have Phil Hansen (yet again), but sentiment may be against him as he has already racked up a good number of awards. Birmingham LB Kevin Greene is a sentimental favorite due to his dramatic late-career surge this year, with 74 tackles and 8 sacks. We also think Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, after his 4-sack performance this week, could leapfrog Hansen for this award even if he cannot win the sack title. His 6 forced fumbles and 4 recoveries are huge in Denver’s favor.
Rookie Class: Still waiting to see who comes out of the pack for the Rookie of the Year category. Tiki Barber has slowed down a bit for Atlanta, but still leads all rookie rushers with 669 yards. Matthew Hatchette’s 42 receptions and 610 yards are nice, but hardly award-winning numbers, so perhaps we have to really look at the defenders as Federals’ CB Michael Booker, Philadelphia LB Mike Crawford, and Houston SS Chris Carter are all having solid seasons, each with over 50 tackles (Booker has 74). Crawford has 4 sacks and 5 forced fumbles, while Carter has a sack, 2 picks and 2 forced fumbles. This will be a tight race to be sure.
The Big Man: Finally, thinking about Coach of the Year, the initial money was on Texas’s Jack Pardee, a familiar face to USFL fans, but if Texas fades without Stouffer at the helm, the vote could easily shift to either Michigan’s Skip Holtz, or, more likely, to Washington’s second year man, Paul Hackett. Honestly, though, if New Jersey finishes about .500 and in the playoffs, I may have to cast my vote for Chuck Knox, in his second year with a club no one saw winning more than 5 games.
Washington solidified their position this week thanks to losses by both Birmingham and Jacksonville, but Phllly has won 4 in a row and could be trouble. Michigan leapfrogs Texas into the #1 seed in the West, but it could come down to the wire, with Portland also in the mix. Hard to believe but New Jersey would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. They, Tampa, and Orlando all sit at 6-5, and only 1 of these clubs is likely to qualify unless the Bulls’ 2-game losing streak continues to grow. Out West, Chicago helped Michigan a great deal, but also helped themselves, now up 2 games on Houston for a Wild Card space. Denver, at 7-4 is also right there, though they are certainly hoping to catch Portland if they can.
Pittsburgh was dealt a huge blow this week as QB Robbie Bosco tore his ACL late in the loss to Tampa Bay. Bosco will undergo surgery to repair his knee in the next week or two, but will miss the rest of the season and well into the offseason in rehab. That puts the pressure of any slim playoff hopes the 5-6 Maulers have on either steve Matthews or Pat O’Hara, with rookie Mike Cherry still on the practice squad.
Texas just cannot catch a break. First it was offensive leader, QB Kelly Stouffer, lost for the year, and now one of their best DE’s Shawn Patterson is out for the season with a ruptured achilles. Add to that CB Corey Sawyer, who may be able to return in time for the playoffs and it is beginning to look like the Outlaws team that started the season will be very different from the one ending it.
Seattle got some bad news, as QB Jon Kitna will be out at least 1-2 weeks with a sprained wrist. Kitna has been battling Timm Rosenbach to win the long term starting job, but this could set him back.
In Jacksonville, Chris Chandler is still complaining of some blurred vision after getting knocked out of the game last week. He likely will take this week off to recover after the hard hit.
Some players expected to return to action this week include Ohio HB Ernest Byner, Michigan SS Tony Covington, NJ SS Eric McMillian, Houston CB Ashley Ambrose, LA tackle Blake Brockmeyer, and Pittsburgh WR Louis Lipps.
In another fruitless week on the CBA front, we do have a bit of brighter news, the first of the new NIKE USFL uniforms and logo redesigns is in. Memphis is planning on being Back in Black in 1998, well, at least a bit. Their uniform is still predominantly scarlet red and silver sky blue, but they are certainly reemphasizing the black accents which have been missing for several years.
You will see black as a component of the tweeked team logos, as piping on the uniforms, and as outline stripes on the new helmet. It’s not a huge shift, though we do find the new jerseys to be a bit “fashion forward”, with shoulder striping that extends well below the armpits. It is still very much the Memphis Showboats, but a club that wanted to add that third color back in again, and found a way to do it.
Week 12 is a huge week for playoff implications as The East is in divisoinal play and the west in inter-divisional games. In the Atlantic the big game is New Jersey at Philadelphia, with both clubs quite hot right now. Pittsburgh and Baltimore may be fighting a winner-survives, loser packs it in game, while Washington is at home against an Ohio Glory squad that has seen no glory this year.
In the South, we are keeping an eye on the Tampa Bay – Birmingham game in Legion Field. If the Bandits want to get into the playoff picture, they need to get wins like this one. Orlando is in Jacksonville in another pivotal Southern matchup, while Memphis heads to Atlanta with both clubs stuck at 4-7.
In the Western Conference we have a good game between Portland and Houston, but most of the other matchups look like one-sided affairs. You have 9-2 Michigan hosting 2-9 Seattle. 9-2 Texas hosting 3-8 Los Angeles, 7-4 Chicago hosting 3-8 Oakland, and 7-4 Denver at 4-7 St. Louis. The closest game other than the Thunder-Gamblers matchup may just be 1-10 Arizona headed to New Orleans to take on the Breakers.
What does BFBS mean as far as uniform types ?