Three games that went just about how most folks predicted, and one that no one could have foreseen. That is the story of this week’s USFL Divisional Playoffs as the Denver Gold, playing with their 3rd string QB upend the St. Louis Knights in a wild shootout. These are two clubs known for their defense and slow, stable offenses, but what we got in this game was two backups just cutting loose. A wild game, but not the only one that kept audiences engaged and excited about USFL football. Playoff football as we get to the last four clubs alive for a chance to play for a title in LA at Summer Bowl 1999.
The Memphis Showboats demonstrated to the nation how they had won 12 games and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference by rattling off 33 unanswered points to crush the upset hopes of the Pittsburgh Maulers. The Maulers had come into this game as a hot pick for an upset, having won 7 straight to get to the playoffs at 10-6, but Memphis put on a show against the Pittsburgh D and by the half the game was looking like a rout. The Showboats slowed things down in the second half or this could have gotten truly ugly.
Pittsburgh started the game well, moving the ball effectively after the opening kickoff and finishing with a Scott Blanton field goal to open the scoring, but after that it just got ugly for the Maulers. Memphis opened their first possession with a signature play, the slant & go by TE Adrian Cooper. Pittsburgh was caught flat-footed, and Cooper raced 65 yards to the endzone on Memphis’s first play from scrimmage. It did not get much better for Pittsburgh after that, as Memphis scored on 5 consecutive drives, ranging from the 1st quarter into the 3rd. First a Garrison Hearst TD run, then a Joe Horn TD pass from Shuler, two Jeff Hall field goals, and finally a Lawyer Tillman bomb, a 60-yard score from Shuler. All the while Pittsburgh kept shooting itself in the foot: two fumbles lost, 9 penalties, 2 of 11 on third down, and a Charlie Batch pick that looked like he was playing catch with Memphis DB Tebucky Jones. It was a complete meltdown as Memphis dominated every aspect of the game.
The Maulers would eventually get a TD in garbage time, but this game was truly over just as it began. Heath Shuler gave way to Gino Torretta with 8 minutes left in the 4th, having completed 14 of 25 passes for 304 yards and 3 scores. Moe Williams and Garrison Hearst combined for 104 yards and Lawyer Tillman ended the game as the top receiver with 122 yards and a score on 5 receptions.
For Pittsburgh a good season ended badly. They will lick their wounds and head back to the three rivers to regroup for 2000, having accomplished a lot more than most predicted for them, but with a sour taste left by this game. For Memphis, it is back to the Liberty Bowl again next week, 1 game away from the Summer Bowl and with a familiar foe on the opposing sideline.
Saturday’s night game was viewed pre-game as the least likely to be a close match, or to be an exciting showdown, but boy, were we way off on that. Denver had announced on Friday that it would be the athletic but largely untested Jeff Lewis who would get the start against St. Louis’s intimidating defense. That drove the line for the game up to an 8 point buffer for the Knights. Most expected this to be a game of field position, ground game, and eventual St. Louis dominance. What we got was an old-fashioned shootout, with both teams passing the ball against defenses designed to shut down the power run. Ahman Green ended the day with only 27 yards for St. Louis, and Rashaan Salaam fared only slightly better, carrying the ball only 12 times but gaining 62 yards (and 1 score).
What no one saw coming was that unheralded Jeff Lewis would survive 6 sacks to complete 30 of 41 passes for 376 yards and 4 TDs. Yes, he was picked twice, but overall this was a star-making performance from a player that up until this week had been considered only the emergency quarterback. A free agent after the season, Lewis’s performance may have just shot his value through the roof. Jim Miller, on the St. Louis side, also had a phenomenal game, completing 33 of 55 passes for 329 yards and 5 scores, but one short of what he needed.
The game went back and forth all night, with swings of momentum that made most fans dizzy. The game opened with a Knights’ field goal, but was quickly followed by Lewis connecting with Odessa Turner for a 75-yard bomb that shook the Knight fans to their core. St. Louis responded with a Miller to Lockett TD pass and we were at 10-7 St. Louis at the end of 1.
In the second quarter, Denver started to find a rhythm. After another St. Louis field goal, Denver got another TD from Odessa Turner, though this one was from only 1 yard out on a quick outcut route. Just as in the first quarter, St. Louis responded and Kevin Lockett again caught a short TD pass to bring the lead back up to 6, 20-14. Denver then moved the ball down the field until Lewis found TE Marco Battaglia from 8 yards out to put Denver on top 21-20. St. Louis tried to respond in their 2-minute drill, but suffered from the worst possible outcome, a forced ball that was picked off by Denver’s Anthony Tuggle and returned for a score with only seconds left in the half. 28-20 Denver at the half and a stunned crowd in the dome.
Denver stayed hot into the 3rd quarter, scoring 17 more points in the period. First was a 34-yard Rashaan Salaam run for a score, by far his longest of the day. That was followed by Odessa Turner’s third TD catch of the game, and then Jeff Wilkens’s first field goal. Denver had pulled out to a 45-20 lead and for many in St. Louis it seemed hope was lost.
But in the 4th the game began to turn St. Louis’s way. After Miller combined with Bert Emmanuel on a long play, a 53-yard TD, they immediately got the ball back off a Jeff Lewis pick. With the ball and momentum on their side, the Knights moved the ball into the Red Zone and Miller again found Emmanuel, this time form 12 yards out. 45-34 and this game was not yet over. After a quick 3-and-out that had to make Denver fans nervous, St. Louis again moved the ball well, this time it was Miller to Ahman Green for the score, and after the successful 2 point conversion it was 45-42 with 6 minutes left to play.
It was at this point that Denver did what their fans had been hoping for all half, they slowed the game down. Runs from Salaam and Ricky Whittle, short passes, nothing out of bounds, and 4 minutes later, Jeff Wilkensexpanded the lead up to 6 points. St. Louis would have to score a TD on their final drive to pull this game out.
The Knights looked to do just that, moving the ball well, but also using a lot of time up in doing so. They found themselves on the Denver 17 with just 23 seconds to play, first and 10. On first down Jim Miller missed on a corner route to Emmanuel. 17 seconds left. Second down and Miller dumped the ball down to Etheridge. It gained 8 yards, but Etheridge was unable to get out of bounds. By the time Miller spiked the ball, there were only 3 seconds left. Fourth and 2 from the 9 yard line, but only one play left. After consulting with Coach Johnson, Miller looked for Amani Toomer crossing the back of the endzone, but Denver SS Sean Lumpkin was there and tipped the ball out of the endzone. Game over. Denver had won in a fashion no one could have predicted. Jeff Lewis was an instant celebrity, and the Gold were moving on to the Western Conference title game.
The Michigan Panthers kept this game even through three quarters, but in the end the Cinderella story continued for the LA Express. At this point last year the Express were wallowing in a 2-14 season and looking ahead to the draft. Now they are one game away from a title, a truly amazing story of rebirth. For Michigan, a good showing fell short as the Express were the only team to score in the final period, and that was all the difference it took to earn the win.
Michigan kept the game close by putting the ball into the hands of Tyrone Wheatley and Winslow Oliver. Wheatley would finish with 111 yards rushing and Michigan would win the time of possession battle 33:10 to 26:50, but after scoring 3 touchdowns in the first 3 quarters, the Panthers could not get points on the board in the 4th, while LA kicked three Doug Brien field goals in the final quarter to pull out of a 21-21 tie and take the win.
Cade McNown was pursued by the Michigan defense, but still connected with both Tory Holt and Mike Pritchard for touchdowns on the day. Add in a TD run from FB Fred Lester and they were even with Michigan after 3. Michigan had gotten scores from Muhsin Muhammad, Desmond Clark, and Cedrick Tillman as Doug Flutie finished with 294 yards passing and the 3 touchdowns. But, in the final quarter, Flutie’s magic failed him. A pick on his first drive led to LA’s first of 3 field goals, and, down 6 late, he failed on a 4th and 3 from his own 33, leading to LA’s final score, and a 9 point lead that would hold up until the final whistle.
The Express are now one home game, against a division foe they know well, from making an astonishing run to a Summer Bowl. While Denver is expected to have Mark Brunell back under center for the game, the Express have to feel good about pulling this game out and having the home field advantage against the Gold next week.
The final game of the weekend pitted the Birmingham Stallions against the Baltimore Blitz. The story on this one was that Baltimore would try to keep the score down and win with defense while Birmingham wanted to force Baltimore to play catchup. In the end, it seems safe to say that things went Birmingham’s way, even if they scored 27, a low total for this offense. It was still 3 more than Baltimore had by game’s end.
Baltimore took the opening kickoff, a bit of a surprise as most expected them to defer, but it paid off as a long drive ended with Jeff Garcia connecting with Rob Moore to put the Blitz up early. Birmingham immediately responded, with Favre hitting Tyree Davis for a short TD pass to even up the game. Birmingham would add an Olindo Mare field goal at the end of the quarter to take a 10-7 lead.
In the second quarter, both defenses played well, but Birmingham’s made the big play. The only score of the quarter was a poorly timed ball from Garcia that was picked off by Stallions’ DB Blaine Bishop. Bishop sprinted the 41 yards to the endzone and suddenly the Stallion lead was 10.
Baltimore regrouped at the half, and in their first possession of the 3rd quarter they took the ball down the field before Garcia found Moore again, 17-14 Birmingham. Birmingham, happy to slow down the game with a lead, used up most of the rest of the quarter on their next drive, ending the possession with Favre hitting Lawrence Dawsey on a 3-yard slant that put them back up by 10 at 24-14. A field goal to open the 4th quarter expanded the lead to 27-10 and put some desperation into Baltimore’s offense.
The Blitz would get back to within 10 points with a Martin Grammatica field goal to open the 4th, but they would be stymied on their next two possessions. Birmingham had the upper hand, up by two scores. Baltimore would bring the game to within 3 with just seconds left, but their attempt at an onside kick failed and Birmingham was able to wrap up a road win.
The Stallions will need to be road warriors again as they will now head up to Memphis to face their arch rival. This game could easily draw 80,000 fans in the stadium could hold that many. We expect a sellout with huge turnout from Memphis but also an enormous contingent of Stallion fans making the drive from Birmingham.
New Orleans Finds Their Man
We have our second coaching hire of the offseason as the New Orleans Breakers have announced that their new head coach will be former NY Giants and Washington Redskins DC Mike Nolan. Nolan, who began his coaching career at Oregon and Stanford before a short stint with the Arizona Wranglers and then the NFL, takes over a club built by Mike Ditka but never able to obtain the type of punishing D that made Ditka a household name in the NFL. Nolan’s style is very different from that of Ditka, preferring to wear suits and not team apparel on the sideline, and preferring a defense predicated on speed and mixed coverages rather than aggressive line play and blitzing. Nolan’s choice for offensive coordinator will say a lot about his plans for the Breakers. While everyone expects an offense focused on HB Ricky Wiliams, the question of whether or not Jamie Martin remains the preferred choice at QB is very much up for debate.
The hire of Nolan leaves 3 positions still open in the USFL: Portland, Atlanta and Oakland may be biding their time to have a chance to speak with coaches involved in the playoffs, or they may opt to play the long game and wait for the window at the end of the NFL season to add on a coach just before camp. We have seen both strategies work in recent years, and all three front offices are being pretty quiet about their preferences at this point.
USFL REVEALS 2000 SUMMER BOWL LOGO
A week after announcing that Chicago and Pittsburgh will host the 2001 and 2002 Summer Bowls, the USFL revealed the logo for next year’s contest in Tampa Bay. The logo features the familiar blend of images from the world of football and the season of summer, with a golden sun rising over a football goalpost. The style and colors also nod towards the home team, with black and crimson taking a larger role than they usually do in Summer Bowl iconography, which tends to lean towards summery colors such as orange, gold, and pastels. The familiar Bandits script is also used in the logo, which also features 3 footballs as zeroes, perhaps a nod from the host team that they hope to seek a 3rd title in 2000 after a disappointing 1999 campaign.
NO WORD YET FROM VETS
It is not unusual for the playoff weeks to be a time when several players will announce their plans to retire. Fans in Philly have been dreading that they would get such an announcement from Bobby Hebert after a year where his personal on-field success did not lead to team success. But, Hebert, and several other big name veterans such as Webster Slaughter in Portland, Kevin Greene in New Jersey, Cris Carter also in Philly, Terry Orr in Arizona, and Troy Aikman in Tampa Bay, are all silence at this point. Perhaps they are wrapped up in rooting for friends on current playoff teams, or focused on healing after a long season, or perhaps they simply don’t know what they want to do. We expect we will start to hear some rumblings soon, as the need to begin training again usually does not hit until early October, and that is when the body of some veteran players informs the mind that it might be time to step away.
Great news on the injury front for our 4 remaining clubs. No new injuries to report from this week’s games. Sure, there is some soreness and some bruises to go around, but no one added to the injury list. Better news in Denver where both Leslie O’Neill and Mark Brunell are expected back on the field for the Conference Championships. While there are some fans who are still reveling in Jeff Lewis’s performance this week for Denver, there are very few who will not be happy to see Brunell back under center.
Sunday, July 25 @ 3pm ET (FOX)
Liberty Bowl Stadium
This is the game everyone wanted to see, the two top QB’s in the league battling it out in what will almost certainly be a shootout. These two clubs essentially look like mirror images of each other. Both use a 2-back format with Memphis backing up Garrison Hearst with Moe Williams, while Birmingham often shifts Mike Alstott to HB to spell Stephen Davis. Both clubs have receiving corps with lots of weapons, and while the combo of Givens, Dawsey, and Robinson in Birmingham is certainly more prolific than Horn, Tillman and Olive, Memphis has a clear advantage at TE with Adrian Cooper, and out of the backfield with Larry Centers as a pass-catching fullback. On defense Memphis also has an edge, ranked 7th in PPG allowed and 8th in yards allowed, while Birmingham ranks 18th in both categories. The wild card may be pass rush, with veteran Reggie White in Memphis vs. rookie Mike Rucker in Birmingham. If either one of these edge rushers can put pressure on the opposing QB, it could turn this game.
OUR PICK: We love Brett Favre’s veteran leadership, but he is also know as a big game gambler, and those gambles can lead to big issues for the Stallions. Heath Shuler is not as playoff tested, but he is also more cautious with the ball, and we like that. Our pick, in a wild west shootout, is Memphis 38-35.
Sunday, July 25 @ 7pm ET (ABC)
Farmers Insurance Field
After getting a heroic performance from Jeff Lewis to get them here, Denver has Mark Brunell back, and that could be a huge difference maker. With all the success the Express have had this year, they still have a rookie at QB. He is likely the Rookie of the Year, but still you would prefer more experience there. Denver clearly has the advantage in the run game with Salaam being several notches better than Antowain Smith. LA has the deper receiving corps with Mike Pritchard, rookie Tory Holt, Curtis Mayfield and TE Tony McGee available. Both clubs have solid defenses, with Denver ranking higher (#2 in points allowed and #4 in yards allowed) while LA lives and dies by takeaways, leading the league at +26 in turnover margin. Denver is actually second from last at -6. That is huge. Turnovers can absolutely decide a close matchup of otherwise even teams. Add to that the potential that a slow start for Brunell could lead to Lewis making an appearance, and we think the slight edge goes to the Express in this one.
OUR PICK: We are going to keep the glass slipper on Cinderella and pick the Express to reach the Summer Bowl as the greatest team turnaround in league, and perhaps pro football, history. We pick LA to get 2-3 takeaways and edge the Gold 21-20.