After several weeks in which lopsided wins and uneven performances seemed to be the norm, we get to Week 11 and things get a lot tighter, with 7 of the week’s 12 games decided by 1 score or less. A tough week to pick a GOTW, but a great week for fans of the game with lots of close finishes, even matchups, and, of course, playoff impact, across the league. What we ended up with is what we so often seem to see in the USFL, a few dominant teams, a few that are just not playing well at all, and a big middle group where “any given Sunday” is the norm and wins and losses are decided by the slimmest of margins. We got that in the game we chose for our Game of the Week, to be sure, with the whole thing coming down to a 2-point play.
From all the close matchups this week, we felt the most dramatic had to be this clash of Atlantic and Pacific, with the defense of the defending champion Federals against the emerging offense of the Oakland Invaders. Oakland put their rookie QB Ryan Leaf up against that Federal pass rush, and to be sure he got knocked around quite a bit (5 sacks and 9 more knockdowns), but Oakland did enough to hold an 8-point lead with 1:35 left in the game. For Washington, despite their defensive prowess, they still have to score points, so it was up to Kordell Stewart and the offense to come back in a final 2-minute drill if they wanted to tie the game and have a shot at overtime.
Washington found themselves in a hole with 1:35 left because despite the pressure on Leaf, and despite holding Oakland to an impressive 0 for 8 on third downs, the Invaders had found enough big plays to be in the lead. Their 21 points actually came the hard way, with 2 Nedney field goals, a safety, a McCaffrey TD catch, a Siran Stacy run and a missed 2-point conversion that gave Washington hope, down only 8 instead of 10.
Washington, which had only mustered an early Mike Williams TD catch and two Doug Pelfry field goals in 58 minutes of play would have to muster a final drive to tie the game and hope that they would get the upper hand in overtime. They received the ball after Oakland’s late field goal, down 8 and with the ball beginning on their 25. A roughing the passer call on 1st and 10 gave them 15 yards right off the bat, and then Stewart hit McNeal, Fletcher, and Herman Moore on 3 of 4 passes to get the Feds into range.
After spiking the ball to stop the clock on the Oakland 22, Stewart found Moore again for the last of his game-leading 10 receptions on the day (10 for 164 yards). This one was the 22-yard scoring toss the Feds needed. Now down only 2 they lined up for a 2-pointer. Faking the handoff to Barry Word, Stewart kept the ball on a bootleg and at first appeared to have an angle on the corner of the endzone. He seemed read to dive towards the pylon when Oakland safety John Lynch clipped his side, turning his pylon dive into an awkward crumple just 1 foot shy. Replay showed the ball hit the sideline before sliding into the end zone and the play was confirmed. No score.
The game ended with Washington 1 foot short of tying up the score. A huge victory for the Oakland Invaders, playing before their biggest crowd in over 2 years, and a big blow to Washington, who are desperately trying to keep pace in a crowded Atlantic Division field.
PHI 19 DEN 20
Another huge win for the often underestimated Pacific Division came with Denver’s 1 point victory over the Stars. Philadelphia led after 3, but late scores from Salaam and Kevin Dyson helped the Gold pull off the come-from-behind victory, moving their record to 7-4 and dropping Philly 2 games behind Baltimore in the Atlantic.
BAL 19 POR 17
Baltimore expanded their lead by traveling to Civic Stadium in Portland and eking out a win against the Thunder. Down 17-16 with 4:29 left to play, Wally Richardson did what he had done all game, dinked and dunked his way down the field, setting up a game winning kick from the old man himself, Luis Zendejas. The defense led by a 2-sack/constant threat presence of John Randall held Portland down for the final minute to give the Blitz the win.
OHI 23 SEA 17
The Glory won their 5th game in the last 6 by edging the Dragons in Seattle. Down 17-14, Ohio got the last 9 points of the game, all Silvestri field goals, and held down the Brian Griese comeback attempt in the final minutes to take the win, despite being outgained by the Dragons.
JAX 26 HOU 27
The Gamblers just keep finding ways to win. Like Ohio, Houston fought their way back from a 4th quarter deficit of 26-21 using the right foot of their kicker. The final score-shifting kick came with only 19 seconds left in the game as Chris Boniol booted home a 31-yarder to put Houston up for the first time in the entire game.
MEM 26 MGN 20 OT
The Panther’s backslide continued with a rough home loss to the Showboats. Three turnovers and an inabilityto get to Heath Shuler proved too much for the Panthers to overcome as Shuler found Lawyer Tillman for 155 yards passing, including the game-winning TD in overtime to end the game. Memphis too had needed a last second field goal, and got it to send the game to an extra period, where they won the toss and never let Michigan see the ball, scoring on a deep ball just 3 plays into the extra period.
TBY 24 NOR 19
We thought the Breakers might give Tampa a run for their money, and that is what we got, a close game that required a late Aikman to Errict Rhett TD pass to put the W in Tampa’s ledger. The Breakers harassed Aikman all day, sacking him 5 times and holding down the deep passing game. Aikman was forced to use dump off routes and relied far more on Ben Coates and Errict Rhett than Moss or Brooks. But, at the end of the day, the 10-1 Bandits found a way to win a tough road matchup.
ATL 20 STL 34
The other 10-win club, St. Louis got there by forcing 2 Fire turnovers and holding Atlanta to only 3 of 11 on third down. They also got a combined 137 yards from HBs Green and Thompson, including a TD run from each as they held home court and all but locked up the Central Division.
BIR 38 CHI 28
With Chris Miller knocked out of the game with a wrist injury, Alex Van Pelt got a chance to retake the helm but threw two picks against Birmingham’s zones. Meanwhile Brett Favre threw for 5 TDs and 308 yards against a shell of the Chicago defense we have come to expect. Cedric Tillman had a big game with 130 yards and a score, while Shannon Sharpe led all receivers with 5 catches on the day.
ORL 13 TEX 45
One week after their big win over the Stars, Orlando went to Texas and just laid an egg. Texas has rebounded from a very rough start and are in contention for a Wild Card after this blowout win over Orlando. Cobb and Thomas combined for 114 yards rushing and 2 scores, while Kelly Stouffer threw for 288 and 3 scores before having to bow out after a blow to the head left him a bit woozy. Irving Fryar finished the game with 126 yards as Orlando continued to double cover Carl Pickens all game.
PIT 21 ARZ 10
A bad game for Jake Plummer and a run game that could only produce 50 yards total for the game spelled defeat for the Wranglers at home. Pittsburgh relied on the pass against the Wrangler D, and Robbie Bosco got good production from Andre Rison (11 for 96 yards) and Freddie Solomon (10 for 105) as the short passing game worked well to keep Bosco out of harm’s way and connecting on 41 of 50 passes.
NJ 31 LA 17
The Generals made huge news with a mid-week signing, but the news on Sunday was backup HB Leeland MacElroy, who spelled a gimpy Curtis Enis and proceeded to gain 71 yards on only 11 carries for the Generals. LA was hurt by yet another change at QB, as Brent Pease was knocked out of the game early and Sean Salisbury, only recently picked up in trade, struggled in his first game with the Express, connecting on only 47% of his throws.
ONE MORE GO
An interesting situation played out this week between New Jersey, Birmingham and one of the breakout players from the past few years. New Jersey, dealing with the season-ending injury to LB Ty Hallock and deeply engaged in what they hope is a late run to the playoffs, bypassed the usual free agent options, and past the point of being able to trade for a stand in linebacker, they went one step beyond, agreeing to terms with former Birmingham Stallion and All-USFL linebacker Kevin Greene to come back from retirement to play for the Generals. Unlike Seattle, who signed former Mauler, Fire, and Invader DT Tony Siragusa to fill a roster whole, New Jersey went for a retired player in hopes he has one more stretch run left in him.
Greene, who had been helping out the Stallions with conditioning in something of a consulting role, had to clear the USFL’s retirement reinstatement protocols, which also meant that the Generals had to compensate Birmingham for the rights to the long-term Stallion backer. New Jersey offered a 7th round pick, Birmingham countered asking for a 3rd rounder, and the two agreed on a 5th round pick in next year’s draft. Greene was in New Jersey on Friday and on the sideline, though not in uniform, on Sunday. How quickly and to what impact the Generals can get Greene on the field and into games remains to be seen, but if he is even 80% of what he showed last year in his final season with Birmingham (13 sacks and 95 tackles), the Generals may have just outsmarted the system and gotten themselves someone who could be a huge help down the stretch.
KUDOS TO R.D.
After some doubters and some worriers seemed ready to write off Robert Drummond after only a few rough weeks, the big back in Portland has proven them wrong. Drummond seems to be gaining steam just as his team needs him, with Jack Trudeau’s health a question and the Thunder trying to make a Wild Card run. While getting fewer carries than in past years (well behind the pace of Barry Word, the league leader with 203) Drummond is getting better per-carry results, with his average back over 5 yards a carry, something that is clearly making the Thunderheads very happy out in Portland.
Another club happy with their run game has to be the St. Louis Knights. The emergence of rookie Ahman Green as a viable 1-2 punch with veteran Darrell Thompson has already created a 2-headed 1,000 yard rusher in St. Louis. Thompson has 558 yards and 6 TDs on the season while the rookie has added 532 yards and 4 scores of his own. The speed of Green paired with the power game of Thompson has helped St. Louis develop a run-first offense that aligns well for ball control and clock management, two factors that an offense can use to help their defense be even more potent.
Finally, sticking with the HB position, we don’t talk much about the contributions of running backs to the passing game, at least not since Thurman Thomas retired, but we are seeing some good numbers this year from the halfback positoin. Corey Dillon in Seattle leads all backs with 38 catches, though most of these are screens and dump offs. His 181 yards an 1 TD are a far cry from the league leaders among backs. Tampa Bay’s Errict Rhett, benefitting from the Tampa deep ball game, has 472 yards and 5 scores on only 27 receptions. That is a solid 200 yards ahead of the #2 yardage receiver. If you are looking for scoring, Orlando’s Kantroy Barber has been a good optoin for Scott Mitchell, catching 4 TD passes, second only to Rhett. Another player to watch down the stretch is Memphis’s Garrison Hearst, who started getting incorporated into the pass game in more recent games, but has a nice 10.9 yard average per reception.
One more on-field story, we mentioned the amazing year TE Keith Jackson is having, leading all tight ends by 19 catches (94 to Butch Rolle’s 75 in second) but we also should mention a few other big targets around the league. We all have seen how good Ben Coates is in Tampa Bay, with 1,026 yards already and 13 scores as well to lead all at his position. Another who is getting a lot of red zone looks is Washington’s Travis McNeal, with 6 scoring grabs. We also should mention Lonnie Johnson out in Portland, who is second in yards with 809. A good year for the positoin all around.
While it is still too early to have teams clinched (the next week could move us far closer) It seems very good for 5 clubs who find themselves well over .500. St. Louis and Tampa Bay are not just thinking about getting playoff positions, but of locking up their divisions, with St. Louis holding a 3 game lead over Houston and Tampa Bay a whopping 5 games up on Memphis and Orlando. Both should also be heavily favored to get the #1 seeds in the conference as they both have 2 game leads on the other division leaders.
Oakland and Baltimore are also in strong positions, while Denver and Houston are in a pretty good position, 2 games up on the 6th place team. The real meat of the final weeks is likely to be the battles for the final Wild Card spots. Right now it seems the entire Atlantic division is 6-5, with 4 clubs sitting in a tie there, but Ohio is only 1 game back and has been very hot the past 6 weeks. And we should not forget that Memphis and Orlando are also both right there. In the West, we have 1 club, Portland, at 6-5, but a cluster of clubs (Seattle, Arizona, Texas) within easy striking distance at 5-6. With 5 games left, there is a lot to be gained down the stretch for many of these clubs.
More bad news for Seattle as they now lose a key defensive contributor. DT Tim Johnson is done for the season after a neck injury created a scary scene on the field. The good news is that there appears to be no risk of permanent damage, but any time we see a player carted off on a back brace it is a scary sight. Ohio will be without their nickel back, Corey Raymond after an ACL injury puts him out of commission for the rest of the year. In Chicago the lost season is now lost for Ricky Proehl as well, out with a broken foot.
Jack Trudeau was able to play this week, but that seems a bad call now, as he was quickly pulled and his wrist again reevaluated. This could be a real problem down the stretch for Portland. New Jersey got a scare when Spence Fischer took a nasty fall on his throwing shoulder this past week, but he is listed as probable for the game this week, so apparently the concerns about a separation were unfounded. Finally, Kordell Stewart was placed on IR for a unique reason, allergies. Apparently Kordell has some issues with the summer grasses in bloom across the D.C. area. Hard to keep that snap count going when you are sneezing. We expect he will find a way to play with the Federals in the heart of a playoff spot hunt.
Week 12 looks like it will be a big one with all 24 clubs once again in divisional play. In the Eastern Conference the big battles look like they will be in the middle of both divisional packs. With all 4 clubs at 6-5 and trailing Baltimore by 2 games, New Jersey hosts Pittsburgh and the Federals try to rebound as they host the Philadelphia Stars. Baltimore is at Ohio, which looks like a much tougher game than it did a month ago.
In the South, the big game is Atlanta in Orlando. With both clubs sitting at 5-6, a loss in this one may be the end of any real playoff aspirations for either club. Memphis also sits at 5-6 as they face their rival, Birmingham, at the Libety Bowl. Finally, Tampa Bay will host Jacksonville in a Florida Derby that does not look like a fair fight at this point of the year.
In the Central Division we are not sure if Texas has enough to go into St. Louis to face the Knights, but if they want to crawl back into playoff contention they need to find a way to win. Houston, looking solid at 7-4, is in Chicago where the Machine seem to have nothing left to give. And in Michigan a battle of two clubs very disappointed to be sitting at 4-7 as the Breakers face off against the Panthers.
Finally, in the Pacific, Arizona needs to upset the Denver Gold in Tempe to get back to .500 and stay alive in a crowded division. Seattle (5-6) faces a similar challenge as they head to Portland (6-5) very much trying to keep playoff hopes alive. And in a Golden State Clash, we expect Oakland to have no trouble knocking off the 1-10 LA Express even with the game being played at Farmer’s Insurance Field.
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