The first ever 8 team, 4 game wildcard weekend for the USFL went about as well as the league could have hoped, with some major battles, some upsets, and some plays that will be remembered for a long time. The higher seed home teams prevailed in the East while in both Western matchups the hungrier upstart visitors used momentum to unseat the homestanding higher seeds. A good weekend of football, with 4 solid games to lead into the Divisional matchups.
BALTIMORE RALLIES LATE TO KNOCK OFF ORLANDO
Down 7 after three quarters, the Baltimore Blitz shut down Scott Mitchell and the Renegades’ offense when they needed it most, and walked out of the game in Memorial Stadium with a victory. As it has been so many times, it was the Baltimore defense that helped keep things close and timely play by the offense got them the win in the game’s final minute.
Scott Mitchell threw for 369 yards but tossed 3 costly picks as the Blitz pressured the veteran all game long. After scoring runs from Darryl Daniels (ORL) and Obafemi Ayanbadejo (BAL) helped both teams reach 10-10 midway through the 2nd, Baltimore got their first break as a poorly thrown ball by Mitchell found its way into the arms of Blitz CB Donnell Woolford, who returned the ball untouched for a Blitz go-ahead TD. Mitchell would end the second quarter by atoning for the bad throw, finding McCardell from 10 yards out to tie the game as it went to the half. In the third quarter Orlando went up, moving to 24-17 on a Terry Kirby TD run, but the going was not easy. Kirby and Kantroy Barber combined for only 41 yards rushing on the day as Baltimore tried to force the ball into Scott Mitchell’s hands.
In the final period, that strategy paid off as another errant Mitchell throw found its way to a Blitz defender. This time it was Torin Dorn, who would finish as the day’s Defensive MVP with 10 tackles, 3 passes defended and 2 picks. This pick led directly to the equalizer, a Richardson to Cleeland 8-yard connection. Richardson struggled all game, throwing for only 197 yards, but on this drive, spurred by the takeaway, he went 4 for 5 to produce the tying score. Seven minutes later he would get another chance, and this time he led the team from their own 23 into Orlando territory, spiking the ball with 16 ticks left on the clock at the ‘Gades’ 27 yard line. From there the game was put onto the foot of the veteran kicker of the Blitz, Luis Zendejas, and he did what he has been doing since 1985, he put it through the uprights for a Blitz win. Baltimore now heads to Tampa Bay with the unenviable task of slowing down the Bandit Ball offense.
OAKLAND FALLS TO TEXAS'S BALANCED ATTACK
It was a rough day for rookie Ryan Leaf in his first USFL postseason game. Texas used combination blitzes to overwhelm the Invader front 5, and Leaf often found himself scrambling just to survive. With Siran Stacy ineffective against the blitzes, Leaf was forced to play longball. He did connect with Henry Ellard 9 times for 118 yards, and with Ed McCaffrey 5 times for 137, but this was mostly random big gainers that could not sustain drives. Oakland would convert only 2 of 10 third down plays, and settled for field goals twice on drives that looked good early but could not find paydirt.
Texas, meanwhile, used solid balance to keep the Invader D off QB Kelly Stouffer. Reggie Cobb rushed for 101 yards and caught another 4 balls for 33 yards and a score as Coach Pardee toned down the passing game in favor of a run-first philosophy. The strategy paid off as Texas racked up 27 points in the first half, enough to hold off the Invaders in the 2nd. Cobb, Thomas, and Rodney Thomas all scored for the Outlaws as they held a 27-17 halftime lead, and then turned it over to the defense in the second half as Cobb kept the clock running and the chains moving.
Leaf would finish the day with 330 yards, but was also sacked 7 times and threw a killer pick late in the 4th on what looked like a possible game-tying drive. For Texas, both Carl Pickens and Irving Fryar both finished with 111 yards apiece, while Cobb and TE John Henry Mills also played a part in the offense. Texas now moves on to face the Denver Gold for their second straight road playoff game.
DEFENSE WINS OUT AS FEDERALS STYMIE FAVRE
In the eternal battle between attackers and defenders this round goes to the defenders. Washington held the potent Birmingham passing game to only 249 yards, sacking Brett Favre 8 times on the day and keeping the Stallions out of the endzone until late in the first half. By the time they got their first TD, a Favre to Tillman toss, it was already 17-0 Washington on TDs from Barry Word (83 yards on 26 carries) and Bill Schroeder. Kordell Stewart would only throw for 158 on the day, but the combination of Word, Fletcher and Stewart rushing helped Washington rack up 174 yards on the ground (160 more than Birmingham, which abandoned the run almost entirely). Washington also held onto the ball, keeping Favre and company off the field, to the tune of 38+ minutes for the Feds.
Favre just did not have enough time to play deep ball. With the Feds not respecting the Stallions as a rushing team, the defense focused on making Favre’s day a miserable one. Sacks from Jerome Brown, Mike Dumas, Mike Thompson, Bobby Hamilton, Michael Barrow, and Tony Brackens ended drives, frustrated Favre, and caused more than a few angry words on the Stallion sideline. Birmingham got as close as 17-14 after Favre got a TD from Mike Alstott on a screen play early in the 3rd, but Washington got a field goal, and then a safety late to end the game with a 12 point victory. They head off next to face the Philadelphia Stars in the Divisional Round.
ARIZONA STUNS PORTLAND WITH LATE RALLY
Despite losing Jake Plummer to injury early in the game, the Arizona Wranglers rallied to upend the favored Portland Thunder in Civic Stadium. Late scores from rookie Hines Ward and TE Keith Cash undid a 24-15 Portland lead in the final period as Arizona stunned the Thunder crowd. With little film to go on, Portland tried to defend backup Craig Whelihan much as they would Jake Plummer, but Whelihan is less free-wheeling and more precise, evident in his 325 yards. He did struggle at times, especially early, as he went 1 for 10 in his first 10 throws, but got better as the game moved along. His biggest flub was a 2nd quarter interception that was run back for a score by Ben Smith of Portland early in the 2nd (his 4th pass of the game) but by the third quarter he was looking much more comfortable, hitting Rocket Ismael for a 34-yard TD to get Arizona within 17-12. By the 4th quarter, despite real issues trying to get a run game going, Arizona seemed to have stolen momentum from the home team, silencing the crowd in the process. They pulled within 22-24 on the Keith Cash run, a nice misdirection play, with about 7:50 left to play, and then on their next possession Whelihan found Hines Ward from 18 yards out to give the Wranglers the lead with only 1:24 left to play. Needing a TD to win, and with a field goal not helping at all, Portland had to go for it on 4th and 8 from the Arizona 24, and when LB Sam Cowart knocked the ball from TE Lonnie Hill’s hands, the game ended with a jubilant Wrangler bench giving Coach Art Shell a hard-earned Gatorade shower. Arizona now has a bigger task at hand, finding a way to deal with the St. Louis Knights in the Gateway City.
Looking at the upcoming slate of divisional games, there are a few injuries which could impact the results. The good news for Arizona is that Jake Plummer should be good to go after suffering a concussion this week, but the news is not as good for center Ron Payne, who could miss the game with a sprained wrist. They face off against a Knights team that is pretty healthy, with only backup QB Jim Miller and swing tackle Jason Fabini listed as probable.
Washington heads to Philly with severa players dinged but likely to play, including FB Sam Gash, WR Bill Schroeder, TE travis McNeal and DT Chris Zorich. Philadelphia will be without rookie wideout Germaine Crowell, as well as guard Mike Wythcombe, but center Bill Conaty is cleared to play and could see some snaps at guard as well.
Baltimore had hoped Trent Green might be available to return to QB, but it looks like it will once again be Wally Richardson under center. SS Lawyer Milloy also looks unable to come back in this game, which is a blow for the Blitz defense. For Tampa Bay, the big issue is whether or not Randy Moss is back to 100%. He is listed as probable, which could be a decoy to force Baltimore to plan for him, or could mean that the outstanding rookie is truly ready to play this week.
Finally, we have Texas @ Denver and in this game the Outlaws are still without two key pieces of their secondary as SS Mike Minter and FS Rayna Stewart are out. For Denver we know that CB Anthony Tuggle is out for the year, while RT Warren Wheat will be a game time decision. It looks very good for TE Keith Jackson as well, as he was a full participant in practices on Wednesday.
FASSEL OUT IN J’VILLE
One more victim of Black Monday, though there was some initial confusion about it. Jacksonville’ owner Fred Bullard, who is also serving as interim commissioner for another 3 weeks, initially rejected the resignation of head coach Jim Fassel, before coming out 3 days later to announce that Fassel was indeed relieved of duties. It was a change that riled some in the region, while pleasing others. After all, in his 4 seasons in Jacksonville Fassell had produced a 10-6 and an 11-5 season, both strong outings for the Bulls, but this year’s 3-13 debacle was such a precipitous fall from that 11-win 1997 that something had to be done, and that thing was cutting Fassel loose. With Wayne Fontes (LA), Marty Schottenheimer, and Nick Saban all looking for work, there is some speculation that Jacksonville let Fassel go because they already were looking into one of these other USFL castoffs, most likely Schottenheimer. Time will tell, but for now we have openings to watch in all 3 of the league’s biggest markets, New Jersey, LA, and Chicago, along with Jacksonville and Ohio.
LA STORY GET WEIRDER
The Express may just need to lock up a new head coach quickly, because the dysfunction in the City of Angels seems to already be impacting their draft options. With still one season of play ahead of them, both Syracuse’s Donovan McNabb and Kentucky’s Tim Couch have made it known that if they are chosen #1 by the USFL Express, they are likely to wait it out and see what the NFL has to offer. That is the level of mistrust and concern college prospects seem to have about joining the franchise, despite the fact that the LA market is one that could mean millions in sponsorship opportunities, not to mention great weather and a top destination for athletes in general. What does LA do if the top QB prospects are already looking elsewhere? Is there a chance they move out of the top spot, address other issues and try to get a less problematic QB later in the draft? It is a deep draft this year, so that may not be out of the question.
The Divisional round brings us 4 interesting games, though none are exactly seen as nailbiters. Tampa Bay and St. Louis are huge favorites over Baltimore and Texas. Denver is a 6-point favorite over an 8-8 Texas squad. Only the Washington-Philadelphia game is seen as a potentially close match, with the Stars favored by only 2. In all honesty, it is hard to imagine either Baltimore @ Tampa Bay or Texas @ St. Louis as anything but tickets being stamped for the Conference Championships for the two best clubs all season long. There was some thought that Birmingham could put a scare into the Bandits, but Balitmore is not the kind of offense that is likely to keep pace with the Bandits, especially if Randy Moss is back on the field.
In St. Louis, the defense of the Knights was more than capable of keeping most clubs under 20 points a game, and with Arizona lacking a strong run game, it will be a tough day for Jake Plummer against that Knights’ D. St. Louis will want to protect Todd Collins, and they should be able to do so using their run game with Ahman Green and Darrell Thompson. We see a pretty solid chance for a big win by the Knights here.
The Texas-Denver game could be interesting, or could fall apart for the visitors. It all really depends on how they handle Rashaan Salaam. If he gets going early it makes Mark Brunell and the play action pass game that much harder to defend. If Texas can shut him down, or if they can jump to an early lead, then perhaps Texas has a shot.
The most intriguing game has to be Washington at Philadelphia. The two only met once this year, a 13-10 Stars win in RFK, and there is nothing Washington would like better than to repay the favor in the playoffs in front of a loud and often ill-mannered Philadelphia crowd. Expect no love lost here, and expect not a lot of points either as both of these clubs believe in slowing down the game, playing hard-nosed defense and forcing their opponent to beat themselves. This could easily be determined by a field goal one way or the other.
Should be a week worth tuning in for, and, of course, a trip to the Conference Title Game is on the line for all 8 clubs.