The Outlaws fall for the first time this year, the Denver Gold have a major stumble, Orlando blows a 17-point lead, and Tampa Bay gets bombarded in a full week of divisional matchups as the USFL heads to the midseason mark. It was a big week for DB’s as several pick-sixes contributed to big wins, while in New Jersey the shine came off the Spence Fischer apple as the Federals overpowered the Generals.
Epic comeback or epic collapse? It all depends on who you ask. Orlando raced out to a 17-0 lead in their matchup against Birmingham, but the Stallions ground out the next 18 points to edge the Renegades at the whistle. It was not a pretty win by any stretch, but it was a win nonetheless, and one which kept the Stallions atop the Southern Division while also showing that their much-maligned defense may actually be improving.
The Renegades started the game in Legion Field in a commanding way. Their first drive lasted 9 minutes and 15 plays before Terry Kirby plunged over the right side to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. They would add 3 more in the quarter thanks to the right foot of Charlie Baumann. In the second quarter they did it again, a 7-minute drive over 11 plays that led to Mitchell hitting Bert Emmanuel for a scoring toss with just over 3 minutes left to play in the half. Birmingham would tack on a last second Olindo Mare field goal to finish the half, but down 17-3, things were not looking good for the homestanding Stallions.
They looked even worse when on their first possession of the second half, Brett Favre came up hobbling after a tough hit. His day had not been much (8 of 10 for 146 and no scores) but with him out for the day, Danny Kanell would have to be the one to lead the comeback. One play after Favre went out, Mare hit his second kick of the day and it was 17-6, but after the Stallions’ D rose up to produce a three-and-out on the Renegades’ next possession, Birmingham would have another shot to close the gap.
Kanell, who would finish the game with a respectable 10 of 19 day for 189 yards, got the Stallions into Mare’s range again, and with another swing of his leg the Stallions made it a one score game, 17-9. The Stallion D kept proving up to the task against the ‘Gades, who would end the day 3 for 12 on 3rd down, including 0 for 4 in the final period. The biggest play of the day opened the 4th quarter, as Kanell found an unguarded Lawrence Dawsey for a 51-yard TD to pull Birmingham within 2. The 42,000 fans in Legion Field had a sense that momentum had shifted and were in solid voice by this point of the game. The defense responded and with the Stallions down only 2 points at 17-15 after a missed 2-point attempt, they kept Orlando from crossing midfield. The offense took over with just over 1:30 to play, needing only a 4th Mare kick to steal the win. Kanel hit Ernest Givens and Shannon Sharpe on consecutive plays and after spiking the ball to stop the clock, Mare came out and booted the home team into the lead. Orlando was stunned, their huge lead erased, and their spirit broken, they could not rebound and the game ended on a desperation heave from Mitchell. Birmingham would move to 5-2 and Orlando would drop a game behind at 4-3.
JAX 27 ATL 17
Like Birmingham, the Bulls also came into the week at 4-2, and like the Stallions they too emerged with 5 wins after a strong 120-yard day from Natrone Means helped put away the feisty Atlanta Fire. Cliff Stoudt was picked off 3 times, including a pick-six to open the game from Bulls DB Paul McGowan as the Fire fell back to 3-4 in this tight division.
TBY 13 MEM 34
The Bandits also could have finished the week at 5-2 and atop the South, but Memphis’s Showboats had other ideas. Three takeaways, including 2 fumbles from Tampa HBs helped the Showboats get the home win against Tampa Bay. Heath Shuler relied on league leading TE Adrian Cooper, with 6 completions for 91 yards, while Moe Williams helped keep the defense honest. Memphis moves to 3-4 with the win, right back in the hunt.
OHI 21 PIT 45
Don’t’ let the final score fool you, It was 42-0 after 3 quarters before the Glory got some easy points against the Mauler backups. Robbie Bosco and Raynard Brown were on fire, connecting for 3 TDs in the first half to put the game away early. Bosco would finish the week with 5 TD tosses, and backup Shane Matthews got to see some action in garbage time as Ohio was no match for the Maulers on this day.
NJ 6 WSH 33
It seems clear that the Federals’ defense was not buying into the Spence Fischer hype out of New Jersey. The Feds blitzed early and often, producing 4 sacks and limiting New Jersey to 254 total yards on the day. Meanwhile, Barry Word had one of his better games of the season, rushing for 111 on 19 carries.
BAL 27 PHI 14
The Blitz needed a win to get back into the hunt in the Atlantic, and they did what they needed to do to secure it in Philadelphia. The defense picked off Chuck Long 3 times and Barry Foster had a strong day with 2 scores and 107 yards. While the game was close through 3 quarters, the 10-point lead provided by Leslie Frazier’s pick-six of Long was enough to lock up the win for the Blitz.
CHI 13 STL 10
Another defensive struggle for St. Louis, but they could not do enough to get the win as Chicago got a late Aubrey Matthews TD from backup Alex Van Pelt to pull out the 3-point win. The combo of Ricky Watters and Duce Staley helped the Machine control the tempo, combining for 107 yards rushing on 25 carries.
HOU 10 NOR 20
Two clubs needing a win to stay relevant, and it was the homestanding Breakers who got what they needed. Jamie Martin had a strong game, completing 26 of 32 passes for 300 yards and 2 scores, while the combo of Terrell Davis and Erric Pegram combined for exactly 100 yards rushing. Houston, still playing without Chuck Hartlieb, struggled behind both Chuck Clements and Perry Klien.
MGN 21 TEX 13
We had a feeling that Texas was due for a loss after winning their first three. They focused on Tyrone Wheatley and managed to hold the Panther back to only 47 yards on 23 carries, but in doing so they left receivers open for Panther backup QB Jeff Lewis, and the Northern Arizona product did just enough to get the win, throwing 2 TDs, both to the team’s leading receiver, Jeff Campbell.
ARZ 16 OAK 21
We thought this could be a shot for Arizona to get their first win, but early TDs from Siran Stacy and Ed McCaffrey put the Wranglers in a hole, and they simply could not recover. The dagger came in the form of a 3-yard TD pass from Hebert to TE Christian Fauria in the 4th, just as Arizona had come back to within 1 point at 13-14.
DEN 6 SEA 25
A shocker at Husky Stadium, where the 1-win Dragons upended the division-leading Gold. Kudos to the Dragon D, which held Denver to only 3 of 14 on third down conversions. Corey Dillon and Roosevelt Potts did lion’s work on the ground, combining for 95 Dragon rushing yards, while Tim Rosenbach, now subbing for a dinged-up John Kitna, completed 26 of 34 pass attempts to help Seattle get their 2nd win of the season.
LA 13 POR 45
With both Brent Pease and Jeff Garcia ineffective, and no run game at all for LA, the Thunder rolled. Jack Trudeau went 22 of 27 for 217 yards and 2 scores, while Robert Drummond barely missed out on yet another 100-yard day, ending with only 91 yards, but 2 scores. With Denver’s loss to Seattle, the Thunder are right back into a tie for first in the division.
WRANGLER FUTILITY: Optimism was high with the drafting and signing of ASU QB Jake Plummer, but with the Arizona defense floundering at 15th in the league in yards per game, and even worse at 22nd in points per game, a lot is falling on the young QB. Plummer has not played poorly, though his youth has shown at times, but there is just not enough support for him. The run game, led by HB Tim Lester, is 19th in the league, and the Wranglers have simply not been able to put themselves in good scoring position. Their 0-7 start is the worst in team history, and while HC Art Shell has the buffer all first year coaches get, the fans in Arizona are not willing to overlook losses each week just because the club signed Plummer.
KNIGHTFALL: Another club who is underwhelming their fan base has to be the St. Louis Knights. This was a club that finished 1996 at 10-5-1 and had built real optimism in St. Louis as they competed against the NFL’s Rams. But this season their no-name defense has not been able to replicate the success of last season. They are still top 10 in the league against the pass, but it is simply not enough. Most of the blame has to fall on the offense, where the Knights average a paltry 14.1 points per game (good enough for 23rd out of 24 clubs) and are one of the worst passing clubs in the league. The loss of Rocket Ismail in free agency clearly has been an issue. In the past 4 weeks the Knights have scored 3, 13, 10, and 10 points. That is not going to get the job done.
O-H-I-Oh, No!!!!: Ohio finishes out our tour of misery. Another club that was expected to make a leap this year, the 1-6 start for the Glory has been a huge disappointment. Sure, none of the 1995 expansion clubs have made the leap fans had hoped for (With LA at 1-6, Seattle at 2-5, and Atlanta the best at this point at 3-4), but Ohio has seemed to step back compared with last year’s promising 6-win season. Joey Galloway is not repeating his success from 1996, Eddie George simply cannot find holes to run through, and the defense is giving up over 30 points a game, including 34, 30, and 45 in the past 3 weeks. Coach Saban is under some pressure in his 3rd year to show growth, and the direction the Glory seem to be going is not what fans or ownership expected out of this year.
THUNDER CLAPS: Let’s end on a positive note. Other than the 6-1 start in Texas the biggest positive swing is in Portland, where the Thunder are 5-2 and have a perfect 5-0 record against the Pacific Division. Their convincing win over Denver has fans in the PDX excited about the possibility that this club is finally ready to take the next step. As usual, Robert Drummond is impressing, with over 750 yards rushing in 7 games, and while the passing game only ranks 21st in the league, it has proven adequate to keep Portland among the league leaders in points scored (3rd with 28.3 PPG). The defense is just barely outside the Top 10, but has kept teams to only 22 points per game, well below the offense’s average. The Thunder have a few tough games coming their way, with New Orleans, Washington, and Baltimore on the schedule before they get a “bye” against Arizona. Their final 6 games of the year are all against teams with 3 wins or fewer at present, including 2 games against the winless Wranglers, so Portland could be in position to run away with the division if they can survive this next streak of 3 games against Eastern Conference Foes.
As the league approaches the midpoint of the season, there are some teams really struggling with injuries, while others seem to have gotten off almost Scott free. That is the nature of the game, but it does not make life any easier for those clubs that have a laundry list of injured players. Arizona’s usually stout defense is struggling with both starting safeties out, including a season-ending injury to FS Martin Bayless. Denver is missing two defensive leaders as well, with Kurt Gouveia out for a month and CB Latin Berry listed as questionable. LA on the other hand may finally be getting healthy as both C Mark Tucker and HB Antowain Smith are expected back this week.
Memphis has 5 players on the injured list, though most are expected back next week. DE Reggie White will miss this week, listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury, but should return in Week 9. Orlando also has 5 players on the report, including LB James Folston, out 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. Seattle is looking at possibly 1 more week with Timm Rosenbach under center as Jon Kitna continues to recover from a dislocated shoulder. They are also missing HB Derrick Loville, C Mike Flynn and SS Alton Montgomery.
As negotiations between ownership and the USFLPA take a hiatus, and as we await the results of the USFL Hall of Fame vote, we have a bit of a lull in league news. The biggest news this week was the announcement this week that NIKE would be producing new looks for three clubs next year. Washington, Memphis, and Baltimore will be getting updates from the sports attire and shoe company. Nike still has 2 years on their contract with the league, and while there is expected to be competition for the contract that begins in 2000, for now the focus is on design updates.
Washington is expected to seek a new logo and new style going into 1998 and rumors have them possibly returning to more of a white and green emphasis after a long stint of silver helmets and pants during the Don Majkowski era. For Memphis a new logo is not in the works, but we do expect some changes to their red and silver-blue combo. Baltimore is more of a mystery as to how dramatic their update will be. We expect the main logo to remain, as it is ubiquitous in the Charm City after their strong season last year, and there does not seem to be a need to update a pretty classic red, blue, and silver look, but the Blitz are looking at defining this club for a new era after years of frustration in the Atlantic Division, so we would not be surprised if they opted to mix things up a bit.
Week 8 looks like another interesting one, especially in the Eastern Conference, where divisional games bring in some serious rivalry energy. In the Atlantic it will be 5-2 Washington facing off against the Blitz in Baltimore, while in Philly the Stars hope to rebound and to avenge an earlier loss to Pittsburgh. New Jersey is hoping to rebound as they host the Glory at the Meadowlands.
In the South the big game is 4-3 Tampa Bay and 4-3 Orlando facing off in the Citrus Bowl, but in this division all games have playoff implications. Birmingham is in Atlanta hoping to move to 6-2, and Jacksonville hopes to do the same as they face off against Memphis in the Gator Bowl.
With divisional games in the East, that means it is interdivisional play in the West. The best clashes here include Denver, coming off that shocking loss in Seattle, hosting Chicago. 6-1 Michigan in Oakland, New Orleans headed up to Portland, and the 6-1 Outlaws hoping to blow past the winless Wranglers in Tempe. St. Louis is in Seattle and Houston heads to LA to round out the schedule.