The second half of the USFL season kicked off this week with a lot of games that got out of hand for a lot of teams. Not a lot of nailbiters this week, but a lot of games that will have an impact on the playoff futures of so many franchises, whether dashing the hopes of some or giving inspiration to others. Atlanta gained a lot of confidence with a big win at home against Birmingham, while Baltimore asserted their claim on the Atlantic, moving into a tie for 1st with a solid win over their rival, Washington. Philly won the Keystone Clash handily, while Tampa Bay dispatched with a challenge from Orlando. Out West, Houston moved over .500 by dispatching the Express, Oakland trounced Michigan, and St. Louis just kept plugging along.
In a week that saw very few close games, our GOTW is more about the symbolic importance of Atlanta’s 38-24 defeat of Birmingham than by the drama the game presented. Admitedly, Atlanta did have to come back in the 4th quarter to win, but the way they did this was an emphatic statement that this is not the same Fire franchise we have come to expect. This fire will burn you.
What this game had was an incredible self-destruction by the Stallions and an opportunistic win by Atlanta. Birmingham outgained Atlanta 471-274, but huge mistakes by QB Brett Favre were the key to Atlanta not just winning but winning by double digits. Favre threw 4 picks in the game, including two pick sixes to the same defender in the final quarter of play as Favre just could not seem to avoid challenging Fire FS Charles Mincy, and Mincy burned the Stallion QB badly.
The game was tied at the half after Atlanta had built a 17-3 lead on a Tiki Barber TD run and a Zeier to Sharpe TD. Zeier had a bit of a rough day, completing only 18 of 39 passes, but he generally avoided turnovers and let the game come to him. Favre could not say the same. Despite throwing a pick in the 1st quarter that ended a Stallion drive deep in Fire territory, Favre kept chucking the ball into coverage. In the first half this paid off, with Birmingham coming back to tie the score at 17 with TDs to Shannon Sharpe and Cedric Tillman, but that luck would run out later in the game.
Birmingham actually took the lead after Favre hit Tyree Davis with a 5-yard toss for the only score of the 3rd quarter, but after Atlanta countered with a game-tying Tiki Barber TD run, the wheels fell off the Stallions’ bus. With the game tied at 24 at the 6 minute mark of the final quarter, Favre tried to force the ball to Lawrence Dawsey, despite double coverage, but Charles Mincy was there, as he had been all day. Mincey had been burnt on a few passes earlier in the game as Dawsey got deep twice on the safety, but as the game wore on the Fire safety stopped falling for the double moves and Favre found himself throwing right into coverage. On this play the slant and go led Dawsey right into Mincey’s waiting coverage. The safety stepped in front of the receiver, snagged the ball and had an easy path to the endzone to put Atlanta up 7 and get the Bobby Dowd stands rocking.
Birmingham seemed to have learned the lesson on their next possession, feeding the ball more to Stephen Davis and throwing short to Sharpe and Walter Reeves, but with time winding down and pressure mounting, Favre again tried to force a ball into double coverage, and once again Mincey was there to take advantage of a forced throw, first tipping the ball into the air and then grabbing it off the tip. The play could have ended there, as Mincey fell to the ground, but Lawrence Dawsey failed to make the effort to tag the player down, so Mincey rolled to his feet. With many of the Stallion players looking as if the play were done, he cruised down the sideline and into the endzone. After a lengthy conversation the officials raised their hands to signal touchdown. It went to replay and it was confirmed. No one had touched Mincey after he had possession of the ball, so he was live and the play was a score. Atlanta fans went wild in the stands as Coach Erhardt looked apoplectic on the Stallions sideline. But replay clearly showed that Mincey was untouched and despite the non-effort by Stallion players, his run to the endzone was still an active play.
The win, and the play, was a microcosm of the season for both clubs, with Atlanta playing hard for coach Lewis, while Birmingham continues to be mistake prone, forcing bad decisions, or simply not defending to the whistle. Atlanta now moves solidly into playoff contention at 5-4, while the Stallions, languishing at 3-6, look like a club that needs to reevaluate itself.
MEM 37 JAX 34
The only game this week that came down to the wire was in Jacksonville, where Memphis forced Chris Chandler to the sideline with a possible concussion, but Danny Wuerfel played well in relief to keep the Bulls in a game they should have won. Down by 3 with seconds remaining, Wuerfel found Kez McCorvey open for a game winning final second TD, only to have the ball hit McCorvey in the chest and not the hands, preserving the win for Heath Shuler and the visiting Showboats.
OHI 35 NJ 13
The shocker of the week was in the Meadowlands, where the Ohio Glory took advantage of backup Tommy Maddox’s 4 picks to the tune of 21 points off of turnovers. With Eddie George limited to 45 yards on 19 carries, the hero was actually backup HB and longtime Houston Gambler Keith Woodside, who surprised New Jersey to the tune of 51 yards on only 10 carries. Kerry Collins had his best game as well, connecting on 22 of 27 passes and tossing 2 scores in the Glory win.
PIT 10 PHI 23
The big game in the Atlantic was the Keystone Clash, and in this one it was all about that Stars defense as yet another USFL QB threw 4 picks this week. Robbie Bosco got down early, and with Dorsey Levins hampered by an injury too much was put on Bosco’s shoulders. Philly blanketed his receivers and Bosco forced too many throws, leading to short fields for the Stars’ offense as Philadelphia took the home W.
WSH 11 BAL 29
The Blitz were another club that took advantage of home cooking as they upended their rivals from DC. Limiting Barry Word to only 43 yards rushing, Baltimore got a very solid game from backup Wally Richardson (31 of 49 for 331 and 2 scores) and WR Rob Moore came up big with 90 yards and 2 scores. The defense did not get picks as we saw in other games, but did force 2 key fumbles by the Feds to help preserve their win, a win that puts them atop the division with Philly at 6-3.
TBY 24 ORL 10
Early on Orlando looked like they would give Tampa Bay a challenge, but the Bandits came back from a 10-3 deficit with 3 consecutive scoring drives to break the Renegades and get their 8th win. Ben Coates continued as a key target for Aikman, catching 6 balls for 137 yards, including a wrecking ball of a 53-yard catch and run for a 3rd quarter score that gave Tampa the lead for good.
MGN 24 OAK 44
Michigan had high hopes for a W in Oakland, but the Invaders simply outplayed the Panthers in this one. Both QB’s threw three picks each as the defenses keyed in on their top receivers, and while Jeff Campbell did catch 11 for 137 and 2 Michigan scores, the Invaders still outpaced the Panthers thanks to 4 TDs from Ryan Leaf and strong games from Christian Fauria, Ed McCaffrey and Johnny Morton.
HOU 24 LA 17
Houston moved to 5-4 with a hard-fought road win in LA. With the game tied at 17 with only 1:42 left, it came down to Chuck Hartlieb on a final drive to get the win. Hartlieb connected with Antonio Freeman with only 11 seconds left to crush the Express dreams of a home win and give Houston real hope for a playoff spot in a season many considered a rebuilding year.
NOR 10 POR 31
The Thunder got a strong game from backup Bill Musgrave (3 Tds and 385 yards passing) as they reasserted their claim on the Pacific with a solid thumping of the New Orleans Breakers. Musgrave hit 10 different receivers on the day, including TD tosses to Kerry Simeon and TE Rickey Brady, both of whom had not scored all season, to knock off a lackluster Breaker squad.
STL 26 SEA 10
Brian Griese struggled in his first start for Seattle as the Knights slew the Dragons (how medieval of them!!) with 3 picks of the Seattle QB. Ahman Green had a solid day with a 4.2 yard average, and Todd Collins found both Amani Toomer and Bert Emmanuel for scores as the Knights scored the final 17 points of the game to pull away from the Dragons.
TEX 38 ARZ 10
A big game for the Outlaws as they stun the Wranglers in Tempe. Arizona just seemed out of synch as they converted only 3 of 14 third downs on the day, while Texas QB Kelly Stouffer completed 26 of 30 passes and Reggie Cobb found the endzone twice. Irving Fryar also had a big game for Texas, scoring twice on a 7 catch, 109 yard afternoon.
CHI 17 DEN 45
Mark Brunell returned to action with a statement game, tossing 3 scores as Denver just manhandled a Chicago club that seems to have already given up on the year. Coach Schottenheimer pulled Alex Van Pelt after a weak 1st quarter and former Blitz starter Chris Miller struggled to get the Machine moving as well. It did not help at all that the Denver defense simply shut down the run game, with Rickey Watters gaining only 14 yards total on the day.
A NEW KING OF SACKS?
Chris Doleman looks to be the first real challenger to Phil Hansen’s dominance among sack leaders as he leapfrogged over the New Jersey General DE with 3 sacks this week, moving him to 16 for the year, 2 ahead of Hansen. Of course Hansen has seen challengers in the past, most notably Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, who sits in 3rd along with veteran Reggie White and Philly’s Regan Upshaw with 12 sacks on the year, but Doleman seems poised to take the crown, and 9 weeks in also has a shot at the league record of 25 set by Hansen 2 seasons ago. There are still 7 weeks of action left, but it is certainly good for the league to have a Sosa-McGwire-esque battle happening for the sack title this year as the USFL battles for media attention as the HR rage strikes the country with the two heavy hitters both going for the home run record over in MLB.
QB CHANGE OVERDUE?
Many are wondering what has taken Coach Marty Schottenheimer this long to put Chris Miller into action in Chicago. Now stuck at a stunningly bad 1-8 record, Schottenheimer finally pulled the plug on Alex Van Pelt, who has simply not gotten the job done this year, and is handing the reins over to Miller, but it seems far too late for this to salvage the Machine season. Van Pelt’s numbers are not atrocious, he stands 10th in the league in passing yards at 2,395, but only 17th in TDs (14) and does not crack the top 20 in QBR. The main problem has been costly mistakes (11 picks) and ineffectiveness on third down, when teams have been pressuring through the blitz and Van Pelt has seemed unable to make the quick decision.
Miller has had his critics in the past, and while his lifetime QBR of 82.8 is not exactly HOF material, his 231-148 career TD-INT ratio is solid, and his leadership skills have been a big part of his success over the years. So, now we have 7 weeks for Marty to analyze Miller’s performance ahead of the offseason. Does the 10 year vet become the new face of the franchise at its most important position, or does Chicago use Miller as a bridge QB as they groom a younger future prospect. With some strong QB options in the draft, and the Machine likely to have a top 5 pick this year, the pressure will be on for Schottenheimer to look to the future. Of course this assumes that Marty survives this year’s awful showing. That is certainly not guaranteed, particularly if there is a sense that the team is no longer fighting to win for the veteran coach. If Marty’s position is secure then we think Miller may have a legit shot at retaining the job with even a midling performance this year, but if Schottenheimer were to go, the clear “rebuild” vibe might lead as well to a new direction at QB, with all eyes looking to Kentucky’s Tim Couch and Syracuse’s Donovan McNabb as strong candidates to get a good look from Machine scouts.
APPLE OF MY EYE
Another anticipated 1999 draft stud, Texas halfback Ricky Williams has caught the eye of at least one USFL Head Coach. Breakers’ head man Mike Ditka was effusive in his praise of Williams this week, speaking about Williams as the next Earl Campbell in unsolicited comments on his radio show on Monday. While New Orleans has a very solid starter at the position in Terrell Davis, there has been some friction between Davis and Ditka, and we could certainly see the hotheaded coach opting to go for the shiny new college stud over a disgruntled veteran if things continue to be combative between the two. New Orleans sits at 4-5, and, barring a major collapse, is unlikely to be in a position to find the Texas back available at the midpoint of the draft. If Ditka sees a new Earl Campbell in Williams, he may have to do some major wheeling and dealing to bring him to the Breakers, not just financially, getting Donald Dixon to cough up the cash to compete with the NFL, but also getting the GM to be willing to move players and picks to get in position to draft the star Longhorn back.
RUNNING WILD
While we are speaking about halfbacks, we should take a moment to highlight two backs who are having outstanding seasons. The first is Atlanta halfback Tiki Barber, who has emerged in a big way in his second season. After a very solid 986 yards (61 yards per game) in 1997, the young former Cavalier from UVa, has become a major force in the Atlanta offense this season. He leads the league with 696 yards this season, with his YPC average now at an outstanding 5 yards per game. Barber has also seen his production in the pass game skyrocket. After a rookie season where he was targeted only 11 times all year, he has already had 31 passes thrown his way this year. Hopes are, of course, that Barber can develop in the mold of a Thurman Thomas or Gary Anderson, a dual threat in the backfield.
A slightly different strategy is being used with Eddie George in Columbus. After two somewhat disappointing seasons with the Ohio Glory, coach Saban has switched up the run schemes and it seems to be paying off for the former Buckeye. George is well on pace to smash his prior personal best of 774 yards in 1996. His yards per carry are up from only 2.7 in 1997 to a very solid 4.0 so far this year, and he already has 6 rushing touchdowns, after scoring only 7 times all season last year and only twice as a rookie. The difference seems to be a shift away from zone blocking up front to a more direct man-on-man scheme. While Ohio is struggling on defense and Kerry Collins has had his ups and downs in his first USFL season, the emergence of George as a legitimate threat out of the backfield has been a big positive for a Glory squad that has emerged from an 0-5 start to win 3 of their last 4, all quality wins over Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey.
A scary moment on Sunday when a head to head collision left New Jersey DE Marcellus Wiley on the turf for a solid 10 minutes. The awkward collision caused Wiley’s head to bend back awkwardly, and there was real fear of a spinal injury, which led to trainers bringing out the back board and the cart to wheel Wiley to the locker room. News out of New Jersey is that there was no spinal injury but that the collision did cause a fracture to Wiley’s skull, an injury which produced temporary paralysis, but which, given time, Wiley is expected to recover from fully. He is out for the year, but considering the initial fears, we are relieved to learn that a full recover is anticipated.
Another huge injury this week impacts Baltimore as their star safety Joe King will likely need to undergo surgery to reattach a fully torn hamstring. The muscle rolled up after the tear as King landed awkwardly after an attempt to high point a ball. King could potentially be back for a Blitz playoff run, though that is by no means certain. Birmingham’s defense, which can ill afford to lose any star players, will be without LB Cornelius Bennett for at least the next 2-3 weeks as the veteran LB sustained a hip injury in this week’s game. Finally, Portland may be without wideout Webster Slaughter as doctors diagnosed a bulging disc in his back as the cause of leg pain on his right side. He is expected to recover within a week or two as doctors provide relief and prescribe rest to alleviate the issue.
COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCED
Big news this week out of New York as the decision on the next USFL Commissioner has been made. The league announced this week that beginning immediately after Summer Bowl 1998, the new chief executive of the league will be current NBC Sports guru Dick Ebersol. Ebersol, who helped to bring NBC not only an NFL contract, but leadership as the network for the Olympic Games, will take over a league just one year away from major TV contract renewals and likely bidding to diversify its broadcast footprint. Ebersol will likely also inherit ongoing discussions about league calendar, structure and scheduling, as last year’s disastrous vote and retraction on realignment has not ended internal discussions about the structure of the league’s 24 clubs and its calendar.
Ebersol is viewed as a safe pick, one who will bring a wealth of sports knowledge, as well as broadcasting expertise, to the league. Expect Ebersol to be pivotal in developing new media strategies for the league as well, as the recently-announced agreement with GeoCities is likely to require a lot of attention over the next year, with the league hoping to move to the cutting edge of online monetization of their product. Finally, expect a new CBA to be on the table within the next 3 years, always a risky time for a professional sports league.
STADIUM UPDATE
Just a week after we did out story on the stadium situation around the league, we have two big announcements on the subject. The first big break was in Houston, where the AstroDome has been slowly falling out of favor with both Bud Adams, owner of the NFL Oilers, and Jerry Argovitz, owner of the USFL Gamblers. The two influential owners have had a tough time coming to an agreement with the city and with Harris County, but this week it was announced that a new stadium would be constructed near downtown Houston using a mix of public and private funds. The stadium, which is expected to be one of a new wave of retractable roof domed stadiums, allowing for open air games when the city’s famous heat and humidity do not make that unbearable. A retractable roof could allow both clubs to enjoy outdoor football and a grass field for the first time since the early days of the Oilers in the 1960’s, while also allowing the Summer Bowl to be held in Houston despite the often stifling heat of the city in August.
Not so good news on another front as the city of Memphis and the state of Tennessee have turned down the latest proposal from Showboats ownership to form a stadium coalition to develop an alternative to the aging Liberty Bowl. Memphis seems to be suffering from stadium fatigue after the approved construction of a stadium for the NFL’s Tennessee Copperheads in Nashville. With Nashville getting a new stadium (expected to open in fall 1999) and placing additional bond and tax burden on the state, there is simply not much public good will towards creating a second stadium for the Showboats, despite the club’s position as the state’s first pro football franchise. Nashville has been in economic boom over the past 10 years, while Memphis has seen a decline in economic growth, a situation which has been seen as a major issue, as well, of course, as Nashville’s position as the state capital, meaning more politicians have a connection with the city and its pro sports franchise than they might with Memphis. The Showboats may have to pivot now and look to a far less expensive renovation proposal if they have any hope of developing greater stadium-generated revenue in Memphis.
UNIFORM/LOGO NEWS
While there is no news this week on the USFL’s Marketing Committee’s ongoing bidding process for the league’s game & sideline gear, with Nike getting fierce competition from both Adidas and Reebok, there is news on the team identity front, where the first of Nike’s 1999 redesigns has been revealed. At a midweek event at historic Market Square, the Maulers held a fashion show of sorts to reveal their new look for 1999. Mauler legend Mike Rozier and current players Andre Rison, DeMetrius Dubose and rookie QB Charlie Batch were on hand and in uniform to reveal the new look. The logo is updated, though still very familiar to Mauler fans, with the new hammer-wielding figure sporting a new look that some have already described as the Mauler on Steroids, although our favorite was Lou Ferrigno Mauler.
The more dramatic change is in the uniforms, where the traditional sleeve stripes are once again replaced with a shoulder yoke treatment. As we have seen in other clubs (Chicago, for example) the use of a offsetting color yoke has become a major trend in the league. The new uniforms feature a metal grey yoke with orange flares on the front of the home jersey, with a purple yoke on the white away jersey. Other features include a new hexagonal “bolt” motif on both the pant stripe and the helmet stripe, with three bolts placed on the center stripe on both. The colors remain the familiar purple, orange and metallic grey, and the basic format of purple helmet, white and purple jerseys, grey pants and purple socks is not changed, though the team is also introducing a purple pant set for use with the white jerseys, though the greys are also likely to see use with this look in the hotter months of summer.
It’s the Western Conference’s turn to battle it out within divisions while in the East all 5 Southern teams travel to their Atlantic foe’s homes. Within the Western shootouts we have some really key games as the divisional and Wild Card scenarios start to form. Top among these is a battle for first in the Pacific as 5-4 Denver tries to draw closer to 1st place as they host the division-leading 7-2 Oakland Invaders. A win by Oakland could all but remove hopes of a Gold division title. Meanwhile in Tempe, the Arizona Wranglers and Portland Thunder, both 5-4 try to stay in the mix. Finally, Seattle (4-5) hopes to get the road win in LA to pull to .500, while LA, having traded away their season starter at QB is now fully banking on Brent Pease to revive the offense.
In the Central Division. St. Louis has a 3 game lead on their closest competitor, but face a challenge as they travel to New Orleans to take on a plucky Breakers squad. Michigan and Houston are both hovering around .500 as they clash in the AstroDome. A win by the home team puts them 2 games over .500, which would be quite a surprise and a feather in the cap of Head Coach Ray Willsey. Finally, a very disappointing Texas Outlaw squad faces a stunningly disappointing 1-8 Chicago Machine club at Soldier Field in a game that quite frankly won’t make anyone happy even with a win.
Back East we have fewer big-ticket games, though I think a lot of fans are interested to see if Atlanta, after their big win against the Stallions, can move to 6-4 as they host the Washington Federals. Both clubs are 5-4 coming into this game, and one will move into much better playoff position with a win. Another 5-4 club hoping to stay in the divisional hunt is Pittsburgh, but they will have a very tough task trying to slow down the white-hot Tampa Bay Bandits in Tampa. Philadelphia, sitting atop the Atlantic at 6-3 will be challenged by Orlando when they meet in the Citrus Bowl. The Renegades can move back to .500 with a win. Two other clubs also hope to hit .500 with a win as 4-5 New Jersey is in Jacksonville to face the Bulls and 4-5 Memphis hosts Ohio at the Liberty Bowl. Finally, Baltimore, sharing 1st place with Philly at 6-3 in the Atlantic is in Birmingham, where the 3-6 Stallions are still reeling from their loss to Atlanta this week.
That new Maulers look is snazzy! Ebersol as commish, I like it. Also, what the heck was that Wranglers?