2000 USFL Week 2 Recap: Hot & Cold Running Football

Only Week 2 and we are already getting a sense that things may be different this year. Chicago, Seattle and New Orleans are all surprises at 2-0, while Texas and Pittsburgh are equally surprising at 0-2. Scott Zolak came up big for the Federals, while Oakland’s defense again struggled. Some of our new NFL transfers are also looking like rock solid investments as Napoleon Kaufmann has a huge day for Portland, and Bruce Smith leads the league with 4 sacks in 2 games for Atlanta. Seems like this season may prove to be one of the more unpredictable ones, or are we jumping the gun only 2 weeks into a 16 game season?

This one was not supposed to be very close, with St. Louis an 8 point favorite in Las Vegas. But, what no one saw coming was that the Thunder would find a weakness in the Knights’ run defense and Napoleon Kaufmann would nearly win the game single-handedly. It took a late rally by the Knights to put this one away for the home team as the Thunder gave the defending Central Division Champs all they could handle.

St. Louis started strong, with Todd Collins connecting with his favorite target, Bert Emmanuel on a 10-yard TD toss to open the scoring in the first. Portland countered, and following a 23-yard run by Kaufmann, one of 5 different 20+ yard scampers on the day, the Thunder got on the board with a bootleg throw from Akili Smith to the ageless Webster Slaughter.

St. Louis would add 2 field goals in the second quarter, but after 2, they had only a 13-7 lead and it felt like the Thunder were setting the tone with short passes and long runs. This continued on the opening drive of the second half, when a combination of runs from Kaufmann and backup Darius Turner moved the ball down the field for the Thunder, in a drive that was capped off by a Kaufmann 1-yard run to put the visiting side up 14-13.

St. Louis would get their next scoring opportunity at the beginning of the 4th quarter, whan an inopportune defensive holding call on a 3rd and 11 gave St. Louis a new set of downs. They responded with a score as free agent signing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rumbled into the endzone from 6 yards out. The Knights went for 2, but the off-guard run by Ahman Green was stuffed, so it was St. Louis ahead 19-14.

Portland would have two solid drives, one including a 45-yard scamper from Kaufmann, but on both occasions they could not punch the ball in and had to settle for 2 John Kasay field goals. Even with these issues, with the 2nd kick at 1:05 left to play, John Kasay put the Thunder up 20-19.

But 1:05 can be plenty of time for a club with all 3 time outs left, needing only a field goal. Portland would play prevent defense, and as it so often does, it appears this strategy would prevent them from winning. St. Louis dinked and dunked the ball along the sidelines, catching Kez McCorvey once over the middle and using a time out. They positioned the ball for Ryan Longwell, and the reliable kicker, taking advantage of a weather-free atmosphere inside the dome, connected from 44 yards out as the clock wound down, giving St. Louis a “skin of your teeth” victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Kaufmann would finish the game with an impressive 175 yards rushing, while the star for St. Louis was LB Kevin Hardy, whose 10 tackles, including 1 sack, kept them from falling too far behind the Thunder, forcing Portland to kick instead of score touchdowns when they had the upper hand. No receiver went over 100 yards in this game fought mostly in the trenches. With the loss the Thunder fall to 0-2, but they showed some signs of life in this game, something to build on. St. Louis moves to 1-1 after an opening week loss.

PIT 10 WSH 21

The Federals defense knew it had to play big to help their club, with Scott Zolak filling in for the injured Kordell Stewart the offense could not be counted on to win the game. The green-shirted Federal defense stepped up, holding Terrell Davis to only 78 yards rushing, sacking Charlie Batch 4 times, and picking off two errant throws on their way to an 11-point win. Herman Moore also came up huge with 9 receptions, 122 yards and a score as he helped transition Zolak into what may be the starting role the rest of the way for Washington.

BAL 28 NJ 21

Baltimore got on the board first and both clubs traded scores for 60 minutes, though the Generals would never lead in this one. The Blitz played most of the game with Jeff Garcia at QB after Trent Green went down with an injury which may sideline him for up to 3 weeks. Garcia played well, throwing 3 TDs and completing 23 of 28 passes on the day. With New Jersey concentrating on clogging the running lanes for rookie Ron Dayne (16 carries for only 27 yards) the passing game was the key for the Blitz. Two TD tosses from Jeff Lewis and 93 yards from Curtis Enis kept the Generals close, but they could not get on top in this one.

PHI 20 OHI 45

Eddie George had a career game, racking up 219 yards on 22 carries as the Stars’ defense was misaligned, missing tackles, and manhandled up front all game long. Bobby Hebert’s 3 interception day also did not help as the Glory got a convincing home win in this one. Add in 140 yards from Joey Galloway and 2 picks from the Ohio linebacking corps, and you have an easy win for the home team as Ohio moves to 2-0.

TBY 24 ORL 27

A great game in the Citrus Bowl on Saturday Night as Orlando got a 4th quarter TD from Danta Whittaker to upend the visiting Bandits. Troy Aikman found Randy Moss 7 times on the night but could not find the endzone. Meanwhile, Donald Driver caught 8 for 104 and Whittaker, an unheralded TE for the ‘Gades scored twice for Scott Mitchell and the offense.

BIR 21 ATL 24

The Fire get a huge win at home in front of nearly 43,000 (many having come from Alabama to root for the Stallions) as Tiki Barber rushes for a 4th quarter TD to put the Fire up 24-13, and they hold off Brett Favre in the final minutes to preserve the win. Aaron Brooks played well, scrambling 9 times to avoid Mike Rucker and the Stallion front 4, but also completed 16 of 26 passes for 241 and a score as Atlanta gets their first win of the season.

MEM 14 JAX 24

The Showboats came out flat and the Bulls took advantage in this one. By the half it was 24-0 Jacksonville and while Memphis finally got something going in the 2nd half, it was too little too late as the Bulls played keep-away with the ball, handing off to Sedrick Irvin, Kenny Bynum, and Edgar Bennett 17 times in the second half to kill the clock and preserve a good home win over the defending league champions.

ARZ 17 CHI 20

Chicago gets the home win to move to 2-0 as they bend but don’t break on defense. Jake Plummer threw for 353, but could only muster 10 points until the final minute of play, when a late score pulled them within 3. LB Keith Brooking for Chicago landed 2 sacks of Jake Plummer, acting as a spy the entire game to keep the fleet footed QB in the pocket and out of the running lanes.

DEN 27 HOU 10

The Gold get their first win of the year as they go into Houston and stupefy Matt Hasselbeck. The combo of run blitzes and ferocious outside pass rush was effective against the Gamblers, landing 5 sacks of Hasselbeck and limiting the Faulk-Levins combo to only 65 yards rushing. On offense, Mark Brunell returned to action and hit both Dedrick Smith and newly arrived slot receiver Tamarick Vanover with scores on the way to a 17-point victory.

LA 35 MGN 27

The Panthers scored a rarity, 2 safeties in the same game, but could not overcome a very solid and sharp LA Express attack. Cade McNown threw 4 TD passes, including 2 to Mike Pritchard, as LA picked apart the Panther defense. For Michigan both Jeff Campbell and TE Butch Rolle went over 100 yards receiving, bu tit was not enough as the Express outpaced the Panthers. A Martin Bayless pick 6 of 85 yards against Flutie proved to be decisive in the 8-point win.

OAK 3 NOR 38

The Breakers surprise again, this time by totally shutting down Ryan Leaf and the Invaders. Ricky Williams rushed for 112 and 2 scores, while backup Eric Pegram gained another 94 on the ground as Coach Nolan used the ground game to eat clock, shorten the game, and keep the ball out of Leaf’s hands. The plan worked as New Orleans controlled the clock for nearly 40 minutes in the game and Oakland never saw the endzone.

SEA 20 TEX 13

The Dragons move to 2-0 and the Outlaws fall to 0-2 after a lackluster performance from Reggie Cobb (29 yards on 10 carries) is overshadowed by a dynamic game from Seattle’s Corey Dillon (19 carries for 156 yards). Texas led 10-6 after 3 quarters, but late scores from David Boston and Ken Dilger helped flip the script and send Seattle home on a very happy plane, sitting pretty at 2-0.

WEEK 1 ROSTER MOVES

WSH: Placed QB Kordell Stewart on IR, signed QB Perry Klien

DEN: Placed QB Erik Wilhelm on IR, signed QB Scott Covington

LA: Placed WR Rob Carpenter on IR, signed WR Stepfret Williams

OHIO OUTPUT

When we looked at Ohio in the preseason we said that their defense was a major concern and that the offense might have to carry them. If these first two weeks are any indication, it seems that Coach Luginbill may have been listening. Ohio has opened the season with two back-to-back strong offensive performances, and while the defense has played adequately it has been the play of QB Kerry Collins and HB Eddie George that has the Glory sitting at 2-0.

George leads the league in rushing after 2 weeks, and, of course, a personal best and very rare 200-yard game this week helps that a great deal, but the shifty former Ohio State back is looking at this year as a possible break out season. He has toyed with 1,000 yards before, but has yet to reach that target in his 4 years in the league, peaking at 976 in 1998. With over 330 yards after only 2 games, this could well be the year for George to reach the 1,000 mark.

For Collins, who has 5 TD passes in 2 games, there is hope that the former Penn State product is finally ready to be all that the Glory hoped when they snatched him away from the NFL. Not that Collins has struggled in the league, passing for over 4,000 yards in each of the last 2 seasons, but his QBR of 112.8 is well above the 81.3 or 86.2 of his first two seasons, and the fact that he has yet to throw a pick is certainly a good sign.

We could mention Joey Galloway as well, though in his case it Is hard to imagine him improving much on his last 4 seasons, seasons in which he has averaged over 100 catches and 1500 yards per year. His numbers are actually down a bit this season compared to the last 2 years at this time, which may be a byproduct of George’s success, or could be an indication that the Glory finally have a more diversified offense. Galloway is still seeing plenty of targets, but so are TE Stephen Alexander, WR Qadry Ismail and George as well. While perhaps not great for Galloway’s personal accolades, this diversified passing attack certainly helps the Glory in the long run.

BREAKER BLITZ

If Ohio’s offense has been a revelation this year, New Orleans’s early defensive success has been a complete shock. The Breakers, expected to be one of the weaker teams in the league, have come out of the gate at 2-0, and it is in large part thanks to their defense. In two games, New Orleans has allowed only 17 total points (14 to Washington and 3 to Oakland), and currently is in the Top 5 in total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and rushing yards allowed. They are plus 4 in turnovers after only 2 games, and it appears to be a team effort, as no one player is dominating statistically.

Lamar Lathon leads an unheralded LB Corps, but one that is getting the job done against the run, a huge help when it comes to dictating offensive options. The Breakers are also among the league leaders with 10 sacks on the season, split among 7 players. The Blitz is a huge piece of the puzzle for the Breakers, as Coach Nolan is sending at least 1 LB on almost every passing down. Robert Hinley, Gerald Dixon and Lamar Lathon account for 5 of the 10 team sacks, with DE Jerry Reese also landing 2 so far. Add in 4 forced fumbles (3 occuring during sacks) and we can see how New Orleans is doing it. The Breakers have a big test this week, traveling to Michigan to face the Panthers, so let’s see if the D can once again determine the fate of the game, allowing Trent Dilfer and Ricky Williams to play a conservative field position game.

STATS DON’T LIE, DO THEY?

Well, if you are the Philadelphia Stars they might. The Stars, suffering at 0-2, find themselves in a weird statistical place. They are currently 3rd in the league in yards gained, including 5th in rushing thanks to Stephen Davis’s strong start to the year, and 7th in passing. Those are all good signs of a potent offense, but the Stars are also tied for dead last in scoring. That is “no bueno”. While holding onto the ball and gaining yardage is certainly a good thing, and helps keep an iffy defense off the field for more of the game, the goal is to score points and that is just not happening for the Stars. Philadelphia earned only 13 points in their opener at home against Chicago, a game marred by bad weather and a frozen field. They then scored only 20 at Ohio, a club not known for stalwart defense.

What is causing the disconnect between yards and points, your first guess is probably a good one, turnovers. The Stars currently lead the league in a bad way with a -5 turnover differential, due both to a lack of defensive ballhawking (only 1 takeaway in 2 games) but also due to 6 turnovers by the offense. Bobby Hebert has 5 picks to only 2 TDs in the early stages of the season. That is a real issue, especially for a club that has weapons on offense, but needs to avoid self-inflicted wounds so as to protect their defensive shortcomings. Three of Collins’s picks have come in the opposition redzone, meaning not only a loss of possession but a loss of points as well.

The Stars have proven they can run the ball with Davis and Chaffey. Their receiving corps, while talented, needs time to gel, with newcomer Bobby Engram currently leading the squad in receptions, but it is diversified, with Engram, Brown, Eric Green, and Kevin Dyson all seeing significant action and attention from Hebert, but the Stars need to focus on avoiding the big turnover if they want to turn the corner and return to the better play of past years.

A much better week around the league, with two exceptions. Michigan looks like they will be in the market for a kicker after Brett Conway tore his quad trying to tackle on a kick return. Baltimore QB Trent Green hurt his foot on an awkward drop back when his right guard stepped on him, but is only expected to miss 2-3 weeks, leaving Jeff Garcia at the helm.

Other injuries of note fall into the Doubtful or Questionable range, meaning a possible return to action in Week 4. These include LB Joey Porter (POR), DE Roosevelt Nicks (BIR), CB Thomas Pittman (MGN), CB Deon Figures (ORL), T Leon Searcy (NJ), and SS John Lynch (SEA).

At this past fall’s League Meetings, one of the hot topics was expansion. The league voted pretty one-sidedly to postpone any discussion of expansion to no earlier than 2005, and while that decision makes sense on the one hand, with several cities itching to be added to the USFL roster, it has left a lot of ownership bidding groups looking for alternatives. The truth is that there is a market, a hunger, for USFL football across the country in cities not represented by the league’s 24 teams. There are well-financed groups hoping that they too will have the chance to bring a club to their city, and cities hoping to expand revenue from their very expensive locally-funded stadiums. In many cases we have NFL cities hoping to add a second tenant to their big arenas, while we also see a few non-NFL cities hoping to earn something of a big league status by bringing spring football to town.

And so, what should we expect over the next few years? Well, if the league will not even consider discussion of expansion until 2005, that means the earliest possible expansion may not be until 2007 or 2008, and some of these bidding groups may decide that it is too long to wait. The risk is there that these groups will start to make offers to current USFL clubs that are not in ideal situations financially. Relocation is a real prospect. With major markets like Boston, Dallas, Miami, the Twin Cities, and (arguably) San Francisco, not represented in the USFL, and with emerging markets like Nashville, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas hoping to build some clout by expanding pro sports in their areas, there is certainly no shortage of potential destinations. But just which USFL clubs might be in a position to seek greener pastures? Here is our Top 5 potential targets for relocation temptation.

WASHINGTON: Yes, DC is a huge market, and the Federals draw pretty well at RFK Stadium, but the ownership of the NFL Redskins, first with Jack Kent Cooke, and now with Daniel Snyder, has been outright antagonistic towards the USFL presence in the city. While there was initial hope that the sale of the Redskins would reboot the relationship between the USFL and NFL franchises in the nation’s capital, it seems that Snyder shares Kent Cooke’s vision of the USFL as unwanted competition and not as a potential local partner. With their own state of the art stadium in Maryland, the Redskins are in no mood to consider a potential new stadium in the District. In fact, they are very likely to fight any effort for even modest renovations to RFK as a potential threat to revenue for their club. This leaves the Federals in a tough position, as clearly the 2nd most popular franchise in the area, despite their success in the USFL, and with a hostile rival currying far more favor with local and national authorities.

OAKLAND: We all know what the issue is with the Invaders, it’s that stadium. Oakland-Alameda Stadium is a bit of a pit. Designed far better for baseball than football and well past its prime, it is not a great venue. But, with the Raiders happily sharing Farmers Insurance Field in LA with the Express, and the A’s playing baseball on a modest budget, how do the Invaders get themselves a new facility? They have considered playing at Cal-Berkely down the road, but playing on campus means abandoning beer sales, and that is a huge deterrent for any pro team. The Invaders simply don’t have much leverage in Oakland, but they may find an answer if they look further afield. The money in the area is not in Oakland, or even really in San Francisco (itself trying to find a way to satisfy the growth needs of the NFL 49ers), but in San Jose. With their first pro team, the NHL Sharks, having significant success, and a possible co-tenant in mid-major NCAA program San Jose State, there might be an option for the Invaders to remain in the Bay Area and still get the kind of facility that Oakland seems unwilling to provide. And yet, can a club based out of Oakland’s gritty, yet funky, community really retain its identity if it moves to nerd-centric Silicon Valley?

ST. LOUIS: A good team in a city that has a reputation as a baseball town. The Knights were welcomed with open arms when they relocated from LA back in 1992, but when the city also added the NFL Rams, the new dome started to get a bit crowded. Unlike many other cities on our list, who suffer from a lack of negotiating power because they do not have an NFL team in town, the Knights have a different issue. The Rams are now the golden child in the eye of local football fans. The Knights, despite on-field success, are still dealing with the fact that their season runs alongside the MLB Cardinals, a team that has as devoted a local following as any club in baseball. Attendance has been adequate, averaging in the mid 30,000s, but that is not enough to truly make the Knights a revenue leader. Add to this the preferential terms the Rams received with the dome as enticements to relocate from Anaheim, and you can see why the Knights might be ripe for the picking from a well-funded ownership group in Boston, Dallas or Miami.

MEMPHIS: Yes, the defending champions, who often are at or near the top of the league attendance numbers, have stadium issues. As with so many other clubs in non-NFL cities, the Showboats are finding it difficult to persuade local authorities to upgrade an aging facility. The Liberty Bowl is a bit of a relic, with few luxury suites and amenities far more appropriate for a mid-major college program like the U. of Memphis than for a pro football franchise. Revenue is adequate, and Memphis certainly has been a welcoming community, but it is not a wealthy city, with a wealthy consumer and corporate base. That is one reason why the NFL expanded to Nashville instead of Memphis back in 1995. Nashville could be a very viable option if the Showboats wanted to expand their revenue stream. The up and coming city is already on the hook for a new stadium to support their NFL Copperheads franchise, and would love a 2nd team to bring in revenue. Can the City of Memphis find the funds to support the improvements the Showboats need? That may be the biggest question for longstanding USFL presence in the city.

PORTLAND: The Thunder, like many of the squads on this list, have a decent ownership group, though the loss of Nike founder Phil Knight at the lead of the club was a blow, but they too suffer from the single-tenant concern when it comes to stadium expansion and renovation. With no NFL club in town, and not even a top tier college program to potentially partner with, it is a tough sell to get the city to expend significant resources to either expand Civic Stadium or build a new state-of-the-art facility in the Rose City. The Thunder were able early on to get the former minor league baseball stadium expanded from around 20,000 seats up to its current 34,000 seats, but it still remains the smallest stadium in the league, and is in no position to be expanded again. The odds are just not good that the Thunder will be able to coax the voters of Portland to spend half a billion dollars or more to provide their club with a 50,000+ seat stadium in the near future. That means revenue is stunted for the franchise, something which very well could entice them to look for an option elsewhere.

Week 3 flips the script, with the 12 Western Conference teams all in divisional play while the Atlantic Division hosts the Southern in the Eastern Conference. We have some rivalry games out west to start with, including the Cascade Clash as 2-0 Seattle visits 0-2 Portland, the California Derby as Oakland visits LA, and the Mountain Zone Mellee as Denver is in Arizona.

In the Central Division we also have 3 good matchups, beginning with a Saturday Night tilt in St. Louis, when the surprisingly 0-2 Texas Outlaws come to town to face the Knights. New Orleans and their 2-0 record will be tested when they visit the Michigan Panthers in Pontiac, and on Sunday afternoon we have Houston heading to Chicago with hopes of knocking the Machine from the ranks of the early season unbeatens.

A huge match for the Pittsburgh Maulers, who find themselves 0-2 and facing the 2-0 Orlando Renegades at Three Rivers this Saturday. Ohio is also 2-0 and at home again against a dangerous Jacksonville Bulls squad. Philadelphia will need all the home cooking they can muster as the league champion Showboats are in town. New Jersey hosts Birmingham, with both clubs sitting at 1-1, and Atlanta is in Baltimore, where Bruce Smith will be hunting down backup QB Jeff Garcia of the Blitz. Finally, Tampa Bay will be in Washington as one of these clubs will rise to 2-1.