2000 USFL Week 4 Recap: Down in the Dirt Rival Rumble

We are down to one undefeated club, one no one saw coming, at the 1/4 mark of the season. Chicago and Seattle both fall from grace, while a couple of clubs sneak into the 3-1 club, including a revived Jacksonville Bulls squad. In a week that saw the running backs take center stage, Michigan used their former Bull to upend the rival Machine, while in Florida the new look Bulls took it to their downstate rivals from Tampa Bay. But, any discussion of USFL rivalry games has to start with Stars-Generals, our Game of the Week.

It does not take much to turn any Generals-Stars game into a full on steel cage match. These two clubs just love to hate each other. So when you get a back and forth game that sees the momentum swing as much as it did on Sunday, well, that is just going to whip up a crowd frenzy, and that is just what we got. With a crowd of approximately 47,000 on hand at Veterans stadium, with a good number of those present visiting Generals fans, things got pretty exciting, both on the field and in the stands, where numerous fights broke out, and at one point a flurry of plastic cups got tossed all over the stadium. According to Stadium security, no fewer than 33 people were detained over the course of the game, not a record, of course, in the home of the Eagles, but still a pretty high total for a game between two clubs not predicted to be in the playoff mix this year.

But, as interesting as the action was in the stands, the game itself was better. Both Jeff Lewis and Bobby Hebert played well, with 5 TDs and no picks between them. Both Curtis Enis and Stephen Davis rushed for just about the same yardage (86 and 88 respectively) and both clubs saw their tight ends play a key role as rookie Anthony Becht caught 5 for 59 yards while veteran Eric Green caught 6 for 36 and a score for Philly. It was a balanced game, a well played game, though New Jersey did have 9 penalties on the day, but also a chippy game with both clubs getting in shots where they could.

Philadelphia looked the better team early on, scoring on their first two possessions of the game, a Pat Chaffey 2-yard reception and then a nice ball from Hebert to newly acquired wideout Bobby Engram. New Jersey responded in the 2nd quarter with two drives of their own, a Kevin Johnson TD reception and a 1-yard dive from their new acquisition, HB Olandis Gary. With 50 seconds left in the half, Philadelphia retook the lead on a Jeff Jaeger field goal and we had a 17-14 Stars advantage at the break.

The 3rd quarter saw the defenses dominate, with neither club able to advance to the other end of the field and plenty of action for the punters. Another Jeff Jaeger field goal opened the 4th as the Stars built up a 6-point lead, but that was short lived as New Jersey mounted their first solid drive of the half, and got a huge 23-yard scoring run by Enis to retake the lead 21-20. Philadelphia immediately responded, driving the length of the field, with Hebert hitting his TE, Green, for the score, and, after a short toss to Marcus Pollard for the 2 point PAT, the Stars were back up 7 with 3:18 left to play.

New Jersey moved the ball well on the next drive, getting big chunks against a Philly defense that had clearly tired. The pass rush was not getting to Lewis, and that let the young signal caller look at deeper routes. The score would come on a 46-yarder that was slow to develop, an out & up that broke open the Stars’ secondary. With the game tied, the concern was that leaving 1:46 on the clock for the Stars was too much time. Those fears proved to be well-founded. The Stars took their time, used their 2 timeouts, and got Jeff Jaeger into position. The former NFL kicker lined up the winning kick and with 10 seconds on the clock, Philly did not allow New Jersey any shot at an equalizer. The home crowd was happy, the visitors from Jersey not so much, and the local police and stadium security stayed busy as they cleared the stadium and the parking lot of a lot of drunk guys in gold chains and mesh shirts. In other words, it was a Philly-Jersey game.

BAL 29 PIT 18

Baltimore leaned on their rookie halfback again, and Ron Dayne came up with a solid game, rushing for 98 yards on 24 carries. Backup Mike Cloud added another 36 and the Blitz kept Terrell Davis in check (64 yards on 22 carries) to win a tough defensive battle. Jeff Garcia continues to look good in relief of Trent Green, who may be ready to return to action either this week or next.

OHI 9 WSH 29

The Ohio offense which was so strong in the first two weeks of the season is now struggling for rhythm. Washington’s strong defense held them to only 207 total yards as Eddie George was limited to 3.2 yards per carry and Kerry Collins was sacked 4 times in the defeat. Meanwhile, Barry Word had his best game of the year, racking up 126 yards on 19 carries for the homestanding Federals.

ATL 7 ORL 24

When Tiki Barber came up lame in pregame warmups you had a feeling Atlanta would struggle in this one. He may return next week, but rookie R.J. Redmond struggled to fill his shoes, rushing for only 2.2 yards per carry. Meanwhile Scott Mitchell balanced 3 picks with 3 scoring tosses as the Renegades outgained Atlanta 386 to 148 on a day dominated by the Orlando defense.

BIR 28 MEM 38

A great rivalry and a shootout as Memphis gets the job done at home against the hated Stallions. Four picks of Brett Favre, including pick sixesby both Rahim Abdullah and Fred Weary highlighted the day for the Showboats. Favre did throw 4 touchdowns, but those two defensive scores were the difference in an otherwise tight game.

JAX 30 TBY 17

Don’t look now but Jacksonville seems to have found the quality of 2 years ago as they move to 3-1 with a convincing win over the Bandits. Despite allowing 156 yards rushing to Errict Rhett, Jacksonville pulled away in this game, one in which Patrick Rowe had a career game with 133 yards receiving, including a gorgeous 79 yard bomb from Chandler.

MGN 34 CHI 25

The Chicago-Detroit rivalry was renewed once again as the Panthers knocked Chicago from the ranks of the unbeaten. The star of the game was the Michigan run offense, which clearly figured something out about Chicago’s inexperienced defense. Not only did Natrone Means come up huge with 181 yards and 2 TDs on 32 carries, but backup Winslow Oliver broke several big runs as he gained 73 yards on only 6 carries.

STL 34 HOU 23

Houston played the Knights tough for 3 quarters, but Ahman Green eventually wore down the Gambler D to the tune of 120 yards and a score. Bert Emmanuel also had a big game with 139 yards and 2 scores on the day as the Knights move to 3-1, tied with Chicago and only 1 game behind the undefeated Breakers.

TEX 13 NOR 41

New Orleans is the last of the unbeatens as once again their defense held a club under 20 points. The offense also had a stand out game, with Trent Dilfer going 25 of 28 for 338 yards and 5 scores against a Texas defense that was supposed to be much better than what we have seen this season. Raynard Brown led all receivers with 160 yards through the air and 3 of Dilfer’s 5 touchdown tosses as New Orleans rolled at home.

SEA 27 ARZ 33

Arizona was efficient and effective on both sides of the ball as they edged past Seattle, sending the Dragons to their first loss of the season on a hot Tempe afternoon. Jake Plummer was again both the leading passer and the leading rusher for the Wranglers, while Rocket Ismail had yet another 100 yard receiving game. Former Invader Aeneas Williams had a big game on defense, with 8 tackles and the game’s only pick.

LA 12 DEN 17

Denver pounded the ball with Salaam, the big back getting 26 carries for 131 yards and 2 scores, and the defense hounded LA quarterback Cade McNown, sacking the Express signal caller 4 times. LA countered with their own run game, with the combo of Pittman and Smith rushing for 155 yards on the day, but it was not enough as LA fell to 2-2 and Denver took over a share of first at 3-1.

POR 28 OAK 47

In a battle of winless clubs, something had to give, and it appears it was the Portland defense as Oakland seemed to score at will in this one. Ryan leaf only completed 47% of his throws, but it was good enough for 2 scores, and another 2 were added by HB Siran Stacy, who had his best game in nearly 3 years against the Portland run defense, rushing for 131 yards on 19 carries. Portland QB Akili Smith spent most of the day scrambling, and was the leading rusher for the Thunder, which is never a good sign.

TRANSACTIONS

NOR: Placed TE D. Lafleur on IR.

NOR: Traded a 4th round pick in 2001 to Atlanta for TE Deems May

SEA: Placed T Lomas Brown on IR. Signed T Tobey Miles.

RETURN OF THE RUN GAME

Two trends have dominated the early part of the USFL season, the first being the rise of some unexpected clubs like Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Jacksonville to early success. The other, and perhaps more intriguing change we have seen is a significant return to the run game. Several clubs seem to be shifting away from the pass happy offenses that have brought success to teams like Birmingham and Tampa Bay, and are shifting to a run-first philosophy. This has produced more carries for bellcow backs and more games with totals over 120 yards. We even saw Corey Dillon go over 200 earlier this season. Looking at Week 4 this is clearly the case. In this week alone we had 24 carries from Ron Dayne, 22 from Terrell Davis, 25 from Errict Rhett, 20 from Garrison Hearst, 23 from Terry Kirby, 27 from Ahman Green, 20 from Troy Davis (along with 19 from Siran Stacy), 26 from Rashaan Salaam, a whopping 32 from Michigan’s Natrone Means and a combined 34 from the duo of Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman of LA. We also saw more 100-yard rushers in one week than at any point in the past 3 seasons.

Does this mean we are looking at a return to 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust? No, not likely, but what it clearly is saying is that teams, especially in the early stages of the season, when the weather and the field conditions can be a bit dicey, are seeing the value in establishing the run game. As the weather heats up we fully expect the passing game which has become synonymous with the USFL to once again assert its dominance in league offenses, but for right now, those of you would enjoy a good counter tre, or a big back shrugging off defenders, this is your time. Pick your favorite back and enjoy a mini-Renaissance of smash mouth football this spring.

TRENT DILFER PROVING HIMSELF

After a 5-Td game, we need to talk more about Trent Dilfer. We were pretty quick to question New Orleans’s decision to sign the former Buccaneer. After all, his 6 years in Tampa Bay with the NFL Buccaneers were not exactly All Pro seasons. He never passed for more than 3,000 yards and in 3 of 6 years had as many, if not more, picks than touchdowns. His best year saw him complete only 56.2% of his passes and throw only 21 touchdowns. Now, we understand that the rules and the style of play of the NFL mean that QB numbers are not necessarily comparable to the more wide open USFL, but these numbers in the NFL did not indicate that this was a QB who would come to the spring and become a major factor.

And, yes, it is only 4 weeks into a long 16-game season, but what we have seen so far has been very encouraging for the 4-0 Breakers. Dilfer currently sits at #1 in QB Rating, with a score of 126.7. His 11-2 TD-INT ratio is among the league best, with only Brett Favre having thrown more scoring tosses so far this season. He is completing nearly 72% of his throws in New Orleans’s short passing game structure, and his 961 yards, while not Top 10 in the USFL, is certainly enough to help the Breakers take pressure off of Ricky Williams to do it all, and enough to help them reach a totally unexpected 4-0 start. The early results certainly make it look like the move to the USFL was a good one for Dilfer, and the pick of Dilfer was a good one for the Breaker franchise.

MEANS MEANS BUSINESS

We had gotten so used to Natrone Means underperforming in Jacksonville, and the bemoaning the way the Bulls were using him, that I think most of us were willing to believe that Means himself was the issue. A bigger guy, without breakaway speed, Means always said his goal was to wear defenses down. Well, it seems Michigan is giving him that chance. The big man is averaging 92 yards a game so far this season, with an average of 20.5 carries a game. Compare that to his last year as the starter in Jacksonville, when he only averaged 11 attempts a game, and 48 yards. Michigan is feeding him the ball consistently and what we are seeing is that teams simply cannot keep up the energy level needed to tackle him for 4 quarters. In this week’s game against Chicago, Means carried the ball 32 times, including 13 in the 4th quarter, where he gained 92 of his 181 yards for the day. He simply wore down the Machine defense over time. That is a very good weapon for a club like Michigan to have, the ability to just pound the ball, run the clock, and eat up yards at the end of a game. If Means can hold up for the entire season we may see him reach the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career, and we may see Michigan right in the thick of the Central Division playoff race.

EARLY ROOKIE WATCH

Four weeks in, a quarter of the season, and time to recognize 5 rookies who are making their GM’s look pretty smart. We start with HB Ron Dayne, who is racking up 18 carries and 80.5 yards per game. He has also shown that, while not exactly a wideout, he is capable in the passing game. Dayne currently sits 7th in the league with 322 yards (a pace that would put him above 1,200 for the year), but more importantly, his success has made it easier for backup QB Jeff Garcia in the absence of Trent Green, and that has made life better for Coach Infante and the Blitz, who sit at 3-1 and are looking very solid on both sides of the ball.

Plaxico Burress has not been able to produce wins for the 1-3 Oakland Invaders, but he has at least shown clear signs that he could be a player to build around. He currently leads the Invaders with 33 targets, 19 catches, and 224 yards. This week he added 2 touchdowns, his first as a pro, and one which was an instant classic, a toe tap along the sideline of the endzone that seemed to defy gravity.

John Abraham has been making waves in Seattle as a defensive disruptor. He has 5 sacks in only 4 games and has helped the Dragons start the year as a top 10 defense in both scoring and yardage defense. Lining up alongside Gilbert Brown means Abraham sees few doubleteams, and that is freeing him up to use his speed on the outside. Good for Seattle, bad for opposing QBs.

Mike Brown has stepped into the Michigan defense and made an immediate impact. A big hitter who is unafraid to get up into the run game, Brown already has 24 tackles and 2 sacks for the Panthers. Lined up alongside Chris Canty and Thomas Pittman outside, and with the guidance of veteran free safety Mike Prior, Brown is quickly adjusting to the pro game and becoming a player opposing offenses want to account for.

Finally, the Portland Thunder are suffering through a brutal 0-4 start to the year, and their defense has been a huge disappointment, currently 23rd in points allowed, but the one bright spot has been the play of rookie LB Mark Simoneau. Simoneau leads the team with 36 tackles so far this season. He is ranging across the field, allowing Bryce Paup to focus on pass rush. The Thunder certainly have issues on defense (21st in the league with only 6 sacks, last in picks with only 1, and allowing 30 points a game), but Simoneau is certainly not the problem.

A rough week across the league as we saw 2 more players join the IR and several more who could miss as much as 2 months before a late season return. The biggest blow was for the Seattle Dragons, who saw their All-USFL left tackle, Lomas Brown placed on IR after suffering a significant issue with his left shoulder. As the outside shoulder, lack of mobility and strength here makes it impossible for a tackle to do his job, and with Brown out, Seattle has to scramble to find protection for Brian Griese.

New Orleans suffered a less-dramatic loss, with backup TE David LaFleur out for the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon. They moved immediately, sending a draft pick to Atlanta to land veteran Deems May, who will likely be limited to big formations as Scott Gailbraith is expected to remain the starter.

In LA the concern is for DT Chester McGlockton, who suffered a compression of a disk in his mid-back. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks in recovery. A similar timeframe for Washington DE Bobby Hamilton, who suffered a dislocated elbow and hairline fracture in his upper arm after an awkward fall and pile up this week. Baltimore will also be without a key player due to an arm injury, as guard Hayward Haynes had his wrist severely strained, with possible ligament damage, during a fumble scrum.

Others expected to miss at least one game this next week include Birmingham wideout Ernest Givens (hamstring) who always seems to miss 3-4 games a season, Denver CB Bruce Pickens (Finger), Portland LB Joey Porter (knee), Orlando center Mike Devlin (knee) and New Jersey CB Gene Atkins (tendonitis). The status of Tampa Bay WR Chris Doering (concussion), Breakers DT Chidi Ahonotu (neck), Michigan tackle Ross Verba (ankle), Atlanta HB Tiki Barber (hamstring) and LA linebacker Donta Jones (quad) are expected to be game time decisions, all are listed as either Questionable or Probable.

Last year we told you about an investigation being led by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch into the financial dealings of Knights owner James Orthwein and issues of over/under reporting ticket sales to various investors, insurance providers and the IRS. It appears that this has taken a turn for the serious, now with other aspects of Mr. Orthwein’s finances being called into question not just by the paper but by state and federal authorities. The ticket concern seems to now be part of a major concern about overvaluation of assets for insurance purposes and undervalue for tax purposes, a relatively common bit of financial voo doo, but one which can get someone into serious hot water if proven. This practice can lead to both insurance fraud and tax fraud charges, and after 2 years of investigation by local media, it appears that a grand jury may be hearing evidence on both of those possible charges.

Should Orthwein be found guilty, or potentially should he plea out to a settlement, it could have major implications for his ownership of the Knights. Since the finances of the franchise are directly tied to the investigation and potential charges, it seems unlikely that Mr. Orthwein could maintain principal ownership of the club, and may have to abandon all ownership claims as part of a plea agreement. If that were to happen, the most likely scenario would be that the club would be put up for sale, which is exactly what the USFL has dreaded, a club potentially going on the open market, with well-funded groups from several other cities ready to pounce on a chance to acquire and relocate not only an existing club, but one with a pretty solid squad in place. Of course it would be expected that were the Knights to go up for sale, there would be an ownership group representing St. Louis looking to keep the club in the Gateway City, but at present no such alternative group exists, whereas the groups representing Boston, Dallas, Nashville, Miami, and several other cities are already incorporated, funded, structured, and ready to jump at the chance to bring spring football to their town. We will continue to monitor the situation as it now falls into the hands of various legal teams.

Seems the Eastern Conference is hell bent on getting their divisional games done early, as once again we find the Atlantic and Southern divisions in divisional play while out west all 6 Central clubs head off to face Pacific foes. Looking first at the Atlantic, the big game is the rivalry game between the 3-1 Blitz and the 3-1 Federals. With both clubs looking very formidable on defense, this one could be a very low scoring affair. In other games, the Glory, who have lost 2 in a row after a surprising 2-0 start are in New Jersey, where the Generals have dropped to 1-3. Pittsburgh, also disappointed to be at 1-3, travels across the state to visit the Stars, who have won two in a row.

In the South we are looking forward to 3-1 Orlando visiting upstate rival Jacksonville, also sitting pretty at 3-1. Tampa Bay has a tough game to get back in the win column as they head to Birmingham to face the Stallions. Memphis is hoping to go over .500 if they can get a win in Atlanta against the Fire.

We are down to one undefeated team in the Western Conference, the surprising defensive might of the Breakers. They will be sorely tested as they travel to Mile High to face the 3-1 Denver Gold. Another good matchup has the 3-1 St. Louis Knights facing off against the Express in LA. Michigan, after their big win against Chicago, will be in the desert to face off against the 2-2 Arizona Wranglers. Texas may have their best shot so far this season to get a W as they visit 1-3 Oakland. Chicago is hoping Portland does not score their first win as the Machine visit Civic Stadium to face the Thunder. Finally, Houston is in Seattle to take on the 3-1 Dragons.