A huge week of division matchups, with all 3 Atlantic games coming down to the wire, three blowouts in the South, a big upset in the Central, and a desperate shootout in the Pacific. This week had a bit of everything, and unfortunately for one team in the playoff hunt, that includes a QB going down for the rest of the regular season. We start with one of the best comeback games we have seen in a long time as a division leader falls and an expansion club most had written off for dead this year gets right into the thick of the playoff hunt.
A wild game in Columbus, where 37,500 witnessed their Ohio Glory come from a 24-6 deficit at the end of 3 quarters to edge the Blitz with an all out assault in the 4th. The win moved Ohio to a once unthinkable .500 record and place them squarely in the Wild Card hunt, while Baltimore drops to 8-4, still atop the Atlantic but clearly with some vulnerabilities.
For 45 minutes of game time it did not look like Balitmore would be challenged by the Glory. Afer scoring the game’s first 17 points on two Derrick Fenner TD plunges and a Zendejas field goal, the Blitz had to be feeling pretty good about snagging a 9th win and guaranteeing a winning season. The Blitz defense had largely shut down Eddie George and the Glory run game, and had minimized the impact of former NFL QB Kerry Collins. Even a late FG by Ohio to end the half seemed inconsequential. The Glory would add another Silvestri kick at the beginning of the third, but a Richardson to Cleeland TD pass erased the points Ohio had gained on Baltimore and as the third period wound down, Baltimore felt confident that their 24-6 lead had the game well in hand.
But something happened as the third period closed out. Ohio found a rhythm as a shift in blocking schemes, adding TE Derek Brown to create a 1 back, 2 TE formation, allowed Ohio to offset the effective Baltimore passrush, and with Collins getting more time, he was able to start connecting with Galloway, Rob Thomas and Steven Alexander. Of their combined 26 catches, 18 came in the final period. It began with a 7-play drive that got Ohio on the board with a Collins to Galloway toss just as the final period began. On their next drive Ohio again moved the ball well, but had to settle for a Silvestri field goal. The Baltimore lead was cut to 8. Getting the ball back with 2:55 left in the game, Ohio again found paydirt, this time Rob Thomas got them to the 2 on a brilliant catch and run for 37 yards, and then Collins hit FB Daiman Shelton to pull to within 2. The PAT saw Collins find Alexander and we had a tie game.
One would imagine that with only 1:54 left, this game was going to overtime, but Blitz coach Lindy Infante, clearly worried about the shift in momentum, opted to push the ball down the field instead of run out the clock. Three pass attempts netted only 8 yards, and burnt only 41 seconds. Baltimore was forced to punt the ball back to Ohio with over a minute left. By this point Collins and the Ohio offense were feelng it, pumped on by a growing energy in the home crowd. Colins would connect with Alexander for 11 on their first play, spike the ball, then connect with Galloway for the last of his 10 receptions for 147 yards. A short pass to Eddie George got the ball to the Baltimore 31, and then Collins scrambled for 6 more yards, setting Don Silvestri up with a 42 yard attempt on the game’s final play. The comeback became a Glory victory with Silvestri’s kick, and a stunned Baltimore Blitz club headed to the locker room in disbelief as Nick Saban got gatorade dumped over his head and the Glory players pumped up the crowd. You would think they had won a title in Columbus, but after an 0-5 start to the year, winning 6 of 7 to get back to .500, and being now a serious playoff contender, was reason enough for the fans in mid-Ohio to get excited.
HOU 20 CHI 33
A huge upset win for the Machine as Ricky Watters has one of his best games of the year, 16 carries for 94 yards and a score.The Chicago defense also came up big, playing on Houston’ lack of a run game by playing nickel almost the entire game, a move that held Chuck Hartlieb to only 25 of 55 passing.Houston at one point led 20-9, but the second half was all Chicago, with TDs from Ricky Watters and Kirby Dar Dar to propel them to the surprising win
PIT 24 NJ 27
The “Columbus Comeback” was not the only good game in the Atlantic this week. New Jersey and Pittsburgh played a classic game with no turnovers and 5 lead changes as the home club eventually edged the visitors, also on a late kick, this one by Adam Vinatieri. Enis and MacElroy both scored on the ground, and the Generals’ D completely shut down Dorsey Levins to help New Jersey move to 7-5 and into playoff position only a game back of the Blitz.
PHI 13 WSH 10
The third game in the division was a true smashmouth war of attrition as neither defense gave an inch to their opponents. Kordell Stewart gained only 170 yards in the air, while Washington limited Star HB Charlie Garner to only 2.2 yards per carry (28 yards on 13 attempts) as both defenses made their opponents one dimensional. Down 10-3 after 2 quarters, Philadelphia shut out the Federals in the second half and got a Cris Carter TD catch and a Lohmiller field goal to take the tough road win in what may be the best division in the USFL.
ATL 3 ORL 23
The South would not give us such close games, but it did get us a scary moment. With Orlando totally dominating Atlanta, Scott Mitchell was finishing out the game when he took a hard hit from Mo Lewis, and the entire stadium could see his throwing arm pop from its socket. The arm hung limp as the trainers raced on the field. It would be a painful end to what had been a good game for Mitchell, leading Orlando to an easy victory, but it is likely his last game for at least a month, putting in question the Renegade’s path forward to the playoffs, now in the hands of backup Scott Zolak.
BIR 42 MEM 28
The Stallions’ late run to relevance is in full force as they once again proved they could be an offensive juggernaut when their pass game was working. Brett Favre threw for 424 yards and 6 scores as Birmingham simply blew away the Memphis defense. Marcus Robinson, little used in past weeks, cuaght 4 balls for 140 yards and 3 scores, including TD catches of 64 and 53 yards as Birmingham exploited a depleted Memphis secondry to get the win.
JAX 16 TBY 45
Questions about the future of Jacksonville Bulls’ Head Coach Jim Fassel after the Bulls struggled to stay close with Tampa Bay. Natrone Means only touched the ball 7 times all game, while Troy Aikman, and later Kerwin Bell, combined for 5 TD passes and over 430 yards passing. Ben Coates added 2 scores to his dominant 1,000 yard season, and Randy Moss gained 91 yards on only 3 receptions to help pace the Bandits to their 11th win and a division title.
TEX 17 STL 20
The Knights also clinched the division this week, though they struggled against a feisty Texas Outlaw club. The Knights led throughout, but Texas kept it close thanks to a solid 77 yards rushing from Reggie Cobb. But, Kelly Stouffer had to endure 6 sacks and 2 picks by that nasty St. Louis defense, and when Todd Collins was able to get the Knights into field goal range at the end of the game, Ryan Longwell put them up for good with a 51-yarder, making the Knights the Central Divisoin Champs for the first time since moving from LA in 1992.
NOR 18 MGN 20
Two clubs with much higher expectations than results have borne out met in Michigan this Sunday, and in the end it was the Panthers who got a narrow victory. Terrell Davis struggled against the Panther defense, netting only 22 yards on the day, but neither team really impressed on offense. Jeff Campbell again proved to be the best of the Panther weapons, catching 10 balls for 79 yards and a late TD that got the win for the home team.
SEA 6 POR 37
The Thunder put a hurt on their Cascadian rivals as they roughed up rookie QB Brian Griese to the tune of 6 QB sacks. Despite a decent 75-yard day from HB Corey Dillon, the Dragons just could not put points on the board. A combined 8 catches, 217 yards and 3 TDs between wideouts Webster Slaughter and Matthew Hatchett was more than enough for Portland to move their record to 7-5 and be well-placed for a Wild Card.
DEN 45 ARZ 35
Denver also helped their cause, staying 1 game behind Oakland in the Pacific, and making life tough for Arizona as the Gold raced out to a 21-7 lead after only 1 quarter and then held Plummer and the Wrangler offense at arm’s length the rest of the way. Mark Brunell would go an impressive 29 of 33 for 266 and 3 scores to lead the Gold offense, while Jake Plummer ended the game at the half due to shoulder pain, and Craig Whelihan tried, but failed to rally the Wranglers despite 3 second half TD tosses.
OAK 38 LA 21
Ryan Leaf had another good day against an ineffective Express secondary, tossing 4 TDs to go along with 419 yards in the air. Henry Ellard was simply uncoverable as he brought in 8 passes for 201 yards for the Invaders, moving Oakland to 9-3 and solidly establishing them as the team to beat in the Pacific Division.
ON FIRE
Say what you want about the issues in Birmingham, just don’t say that the blame lands on QB Brett Favre. Favre won back to back Player of the Week awards after he topped his Week 11 305 yard, 5 TD game with an even stronger Week 12 424 yard, 6 TD game. Favre has thrown 17 TDs in just the last 4 games as the Stallions have crawled back into a remote playoff chance with back to back wins. With upcoming games against Arizona, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville, the Stallions realistically need to win out to have a legitimate shot at a Wild Card, but if Birmingham and their star QB can continue to put up points as they have this last month, they have a shot, even against 11-1 Tampa Bay in a game that could break offensive records.
A BAD MONTH AT A BAD TIME
Losing 4 consecutive games is never a good thing, and when that happens in this key portion of the season, it can turn a season of potential into one seen as a lost cause. That is what has happened for both the Arizona Wranglers and the New Orleans Breakers. Both clubs had hopes when the season began. Arizona had started the year 4-2, but have lost 5 of their last 6 and have gone winless in the last month. New Orleans was in decent shape at 4-4 until their 4 game losing streak seemed to suck all the air out of the SuperDome. Admitedly, having Portland, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay on the schedule back to back to back was not an easy gauntlet, but with a loss to Michigan this week it seems that Coach Ditka and the Breakers may already be looking at next year. Now 4-8, their odds of even reaching .500 are not looking good. Arizona, at 5-7, can still hope for a late surge, but they have to run the table to even consider a chance at the playoffs after a start that had many thinking they were on their way this year. A rough month for both clubs looks like it is dooming each to another losing season and more disappointment for fans.
CANNOT WIN EVEN WHEN THEY WIN
This seems the situation for the Chicago Machine this season. Expected to be a contender in the Central, the wheels have fallen off the bus for Chicago as they rank at or near the bottom in both offensive production and defensive fortitude. The Machine rank 23rd in points allowed, thanks in large part to their inability to defend the run, something Marty Schottenheimer teams usually do very well. Their pass defense is deceptively high ranked, but again, when you can run against a team, why risk passing? On offense, the experiment with Alex Van Pelt was cancelled, only to be brought back by injury to Chris Miller. Neither has been particularly effective, and with a run game that averages only 65 yards a game, there is not much there. But why did they lose by winning this week in their upset over Houston? Well, at this point you have to be thinking about draft position. With QB being a top need, moving down from the #1 spot to #2 means not necessarily getting your first choice. Not that this year is a bad year to have the #2 pick, especially with between 5-8 QB’s potentially being selected in the first round of either the USFL or NFL draft, but you always want the chance to get your top target if you can. Chicago has 4 games left, as does 1-11 Los Angeles, but even with a win by the Express they would still likely retain the #1 pick, which means Chicago really will be the 2nd City this offseason.
BULLS FEELING BEARISH
There are ot a lot of good feelings around Jacksonville this season. After an impressive 11-5 season in 1997, there were high hopes that Coach Jim Fassel had the Bulls looking like a regular playoff contender. But 1998 has shown fans in the Florida-Georgia line area that you cannot be complacent about competition. Tampa Bay has skyrocketed to the top of the divisoin while Jacksonville, with a very similar roster to last season, is looking like a pretty good bet for a top 5 draft pick. Sitting at 3-9 after 12 weeks is not what anyone anticipated from this squad. What makes matters worse is that there is not an obvious cause for the sudden decline. This is not a team beset by major injuries. They have no players on injured reserve and most of their regular starters from 1997 are still with the club and on the field.
The Bulls can still score points, evidenced by their top 10 ranking in both points per game and yards per game. The run game with Natrone Means has not been particularly good, that is true, but hardly enough to cause such a decline. Where the Bulls seem to be failing is on defense, where they rank in the bottom quarter of the league in nearly every category. Aside from Tedy Bruschi and Jessie Armstead, the LB corps is looking slow and getting old. They have a solid DT in the center with Michael Dean Perry, but he is in his 10th season, so age could be an issue here as well. At DE so far rookie Kenny Mixon has not provided much pressure, and Aaron Wallace has never been a big sack specialist, so this seems an area of need for the Bulls to be sure. Safety Mark Carrier is a solid performer, but is perhaps the only one in a secondary that has simply not produced enough big plays. Expect defense, and possibly HB, to be a big emphasis for the Bulls in the offseason. We still like Chris Chandler as a leader and his passing numbers are solid, amd the WR combo of Brian Blades, Terrell Owens, and Kez McCorvey can be explosive, but it is not enough when the defense does not get takeaways (Jacksonville is -4 in turnover differential) and when you have talented offenses in your division like Tampa and Birmingham.
Four weeks left to play and with only the two top teams clinched so far there is a lot to play for. Tampa Bay and St. Louis are now both locked into the playoffs, Tampa as the division champion of a weak Southern division this year, while St. Louis is guaranteed a spot, but needs one more win to clinch the Central. Meanwhile we have actual races in the other two divisions, where Oakland holds only a 1 game lead over Denver and where Baltimore has two clubs only 1 game back, with 7-5 Philly and New Jersey trailing the 8-4 Blitz.
There is a 6-6 cluster for the final Eastern Wild Card, with Pittsburgh currently holding the tie breaker. But, we know that with 4 games left, all 4 of the 6-6 clubs, and even perhaps a 5-7 club like Birmingham, are still in the hunt. In the West, Portland and Houston at 7-5 both have a 2 game lead on the current 6th place team, the 5-7 and fading Panthers. Arizona, Seattle and Texas are also 5-7, and if any can go on a streak to finish 9-7, they could oust either Portland or Houston, but that seems a tall order for clubs that have not proven able to win games consistently.
We mentioned the Scott Mitchell injury in our game recap, and that certainly is a blow for the Renegades. He could be back in as few as 2 weeks, but most estimates put him at 4-5 weeks, which means perhaps if Scott Zolak can guide the ‘Gades to a Wild Card they will have to decide between Zolak and Mitchell at that point.
The other big story this week has been a rash of injuries on offensive lines across the league. Pittsburgh took a big hit with LT Zach Wiegert breaking a bone in his foot, which will mark the end of his season. Across the state in Philadelphia guard Mike Wythcombe is also likely out for the season with a neck injury that will require limited motion for at least a few weeks. In Arizona the concern is for center Gene McGuire, who suffered an ACL injury when he was rolled up on by one of his teammates. And finally, in Chicago, where just nothing has gone right this year, center Frank Winters dislocated his knee in a non-contact injury, and again is likely done for the rest of what has been a forgetable season for the Machine.
The USFL this week announced that a new contract for league merchandise and on-field/sideline gear had been agreed upon between the league and Reebok. This marks the first change in the league-wide contract since Nike came on board in 1990. Reebok, the British-owned sporting goods manufacturer, is most well-known for their line of sports shoes, including the iconic “Pump” sneakers. In recent years the company has branched into a wide range of on-field sporting goods, working with clubs in several sports, but the USFL will be their first major foray into American football. While Riddell will remain the helmet supplier for the league, all uniforms, including cleats, will be produced by Reebok, along with a wide range of fan gear and sideline casual wear for coaches and staff.
While Reebok certainly has the capacity to produce both casual wear and sports uniforms, they do lack the deep pool of design specialists which allowed Nike to produce new looks, including new logo designs, for so many USFL clubs. For this reason the USFL is expected to expand its own in-house marketing department to now include a greater emphasis on branding and design. This should lead to a greater control over individual team brands, leaguewide campaigns, and league marketing in general. We anticipate that this new office within USFL lead offices will be the primary contact with Reebok as they get into the design and uniform game. We already know that after their delay this year, the Birmingham Stallions will be one of the first design projects for the Reebok-USFL partnership. Nike will still have the contract for 1999 designs and updates, and we do expect two more clubs, Portland and St. Louis, to get a new look for 1999, but beginning with 2000 it will be the USFL-Reebok partnership that will produce new looks for USFL clubs, and rumors have it that in addition to Birmingham, there is interest in a revamped look in places like Houston, Arizona, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Just how new these looks will be and just when we can expect to see them is simply not known yet. As we wait for the last two Nike designs, particularly in Portland and St. Louis, it seems the league is already looking ahead to 2000 and the league’s 20 year anniversary in 2002.
Week 13 could be a make or break week for some clubs. There are some very precarious playoff scenarios in place for several teams, so this week could be huge. With no divisoinal games on tap that might sound a bit odd, but there are so many clubs that need to avoid a loss right now, that it just may be the case. We start with those 5-7 and 5-5 clubs that simply cannot lose another game.
Pittsburgh is on the fringe at 6-6, but they have the 2-10 Machine in town, so they are counting on a win this week. Of course Houston thought they had the win against Chicago last week and that just did not pan out. At 6-6 themselves, Ohio is still hoping to squeek into the playoffs and a home game against 5-7 Texas will be a good indicator of whether that is realistic. The Federals are somewhat shocked to be 6-6, but not as shocked as their opponent, Michigan, is to be 5-7. One more loss and we remove the Panthers from consideration, and a loss would not help the Feds either. Arizona is in Birmingham this week to face the Stallions, and while both clubs are 5-7, the Stallions feel a lot better about themselves than Arizona does this week. Birmingham has faint hopes at a playoff spot while the Wranglers good early season has all but faded from their memory after several tough losses.
Another 5-win club whose optimism is quickly fading is Atlanta. They host Portland this week and need a win if they want any chance at getting back into the hunt. Seattle and Memphis come into their Liberty Bowl clash both at 5-7, so again, one more loss likely ends the hopes for one of these squads. Orlando, sittting at 6-6 has some reaosn for optimism. They can get right back in the hunt with a win and some Atlantic team losses, and they face the worst club in the league, 1-11 Los Angeles.
One last game between teams with something to prove is the showdown in Philadelphia when the 7-5 Gamblers, just off a shocking loss to Chicago, visit the Stars. That one should be good. St. Louis is in New Jersey, a possible trap game for the Knights as the Generals are playing with a lot of passion these days. Baltimore (8-4) is hosting a disappointing 4-8 Breakers squad in Memorial Stadium. 8-4 Denver is hoping to snag a road win in Jacksonville against a 3-win Bulls squad. And, in what may be one of the better games all year, Tampa Bay and their Banditball offense go up against another club unafraid to air it out, the 9-3 Oakland Invaders, in a battle of the top two Rookie of the Year candidates, Bandit WR Randy Moss and Invader QB Ryan Leaf.