Call it a changing of the guard, or just the cycle of success in a league with pretty frequent shifts of power, but what we are seeing this year is a movement. From Seattle to Philadelphia, with stops in New Orleans, Orlando, and Columbus, the balance of power appears to be shifting. Will it hold up all season, or will the predicted league leaders step up as the season draws to a close? Can the upstart Dragons, Breakers, and Glory really run away with their divisions or will clubs like Denver, St. Louis, Baltimore and Memphis retain their positions of power? This week's games seem to hint at a new era in the USFL, but is it all a mirage?
Big games produce big performances, and that is what we got when the Seattle Dragons faced off against the St. Louis Knights on Saturday. Both defenses got a score on the day, both offenses put up plenty of points as well, and both clubs had a shot to win the game in the final minutes, but it was Seattle who eked out a road win to consolidate their position as a potential top seed in this year’s Western Conference playoffs.
The game actually began with the home team looking formidable, shutting rookie QB Giovanni Carmazzi down on 3 drives while scoring twice in the opening period. It was the usual suspects, with Todd Collins hitting Bert Emmanuel for one score and then repeating with Amani Toomer on the end of his second TD toss. But, Seattle shifted gears in the 2nd period, scoring 20 points in the quarter. They started with a Mike Hollis field goal before two consecutive drives ended with Corey Dillon bulldozing the line for a short TD run. Dillon would not have his most productive day against the St. Louis front 7, but his 62 yards did include the scores that got Seattle back in the game.
Seattle had a short-lived lead after Dillon’s second, but on their next possession Carmazzi made a fatal mistake, throwing in the middle of the field late in the play, a standard pro ball no-no. The ball was picked by Jerome Watkins and the speedy safety raced into the endzone to put St. Louis back on top. The quarter ended with another successful Seattle drive as Hollis got them back to within 1 at 21-20. In the third quarter the Dragon defense would pay back the earlier takeaway be St. Louis, with DE Steve Bates clipping Todd Collins as he threw. The lame duck fluttered in the air before being snatched up by Seattle’s Stephen Boyd, who followed a caravan of Dragons to the end zone. Seattle was back on top 26-21 as the 2-point conversion failed.
In the 4th, St. Louis would again take the lead, with Collins finding Toomer a second time. Toomer would finish the day with receptions for 83 yards and the two scores as Todd Collins went 27 of 40 for 336. With 8:38 left to play the Knights held a slim 3-point lead. Seattle would take their next drive nice and slow, using 14 plays to get the ball into the endzone, this time faking the ball to Dillon, Carmazzi found WR David Boston in the back of the endzone for the score. Two minutes exactly on the clock and St. Louis now down by 4.
The Knights would get the ball on a touchback, and with Collins alternating throws to Emmanuel, TE Reggie Kelly and HB Ahman Green, soon the Knights were in Seattle territory. 1:15 left and only 27 yards from paydirt. Collins hit FB Sammy Morris on a swing pass, but Morris slipped and could not get out of bounds. With only 1 TO left, Collins raced the team to the line, and while what he did was not a spike, the incompletion on 2nd down served the same purpose, stopping the clock with 38 seconds to play. Third down saw Collins try for Kelly in the middle of the field. He would overthrow the big man and bring up a desperate 4th and 4. On the key play the Knights isolated Emmanuel one-on-one with 3 receivers on the opposite side of the field. Collins looked immediately for Emamnuel, but the short hook was not there so he turned to Kelly again. The big TE had a step on the coverage, but the ball glanced off his hands and harmlessly to the turf. Seattle had survived and would go home with a vital conference win, their 7th win in 9 games. For St. Louis, the loss, paired New Orleans’s easy victory over Portland meant that the Knights were now 3 games behind the Breakers in the division, a division they had expected to win once again.
ARZ 35 TEX 31
Another example of Jake Plummer taking a team on his back in what may well be an MVP year for the Wrangler signal caller. Texas had this game won at 31-14 after 3 quarters, but Jake Plummer ran in his 2nd rushing TD and threw for two more scores in the final period to upend the Outlaws in the AlamoDome. He would finish with Player of the Week numbers, only 195 yards passing (with 2 TDs), but 127 yards rushing on 10 carries, including 2 scores and a 68 yard crazy scramble that just had to drive Outlaws fans out of their minds.
DEN 20 CHI 14
Chicago loses another tight one as they fell behind 20-7 and just could not come back on that solid Denver defense. Rashaan Salaam was held to only 65 yards rushing before leaving the game with a sore ankle. Duce Staley outgained him with 71 yards and a score for Chicago but Denver still got the W.
JAX 20 MEM 24
A great battle between two very good Southern Division squads, with Heath Shuler throwing for 3 scores in the 2nd quarter to help the Showboats take over the game. Jacksonville was game but even Sedrick Irvin’s 99 yards rushing could not get them all the way back as Chris Chandler threw a costly INT in the game’s final moments.
ORL 20 TBY 9
Another big Southern rivalry game as Orlando held Tampa Bay to only 3 field goals, sacking Troy Aikman a painful 7 times, 3 from Chris Doleman. Aikman still managed to throw for 306 yards, but no touchdowns as Orlando kept the deep ball from hurting them.
ATL 17 BIR 30
The Fire continued to struggle with Marc Bulger under center and Birmingham just spend the day slowly building a lead and expanding it over the course of 4 quarters. Atlanta’s D kept the game close for a while, but they just could not generate much on offense and Birmingham wore them down, with Marcus Robinson the pivotal target for Favre, with 108 yards and a score.
OAK 41 MGN 13
Oakland backs up their upset of Baltimore by going to Michigan and just laying it to the Panthers. Apparently the anger that recent games have produced in Oakland is being directed to the opposition now. Troy Davis scored the first 3 TDs of the game as Oakland flew out of the gate to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. Stacy and Davis combined for 137 yards rushing and Leaf threw for 329 as the Invaders won their second in a row despite Natrone Means shredding them for 132 yards rushing.
LA 17 HOU 40
Another huge upset, this time in Houston, where the Gamblers finally found some offense, much to LA’s chagrin. Mario Greer, stepping in for a dinged up Kevin Faulk, found all kinds of holes on his way to a 121 yard rushing day, adding 2 scores along the way. Matt Hasselbeck also had his best game, completing 14 of 26 for 220 and 2 scores before bowing out late in the blowout. Tory Holt had 4 catches for 134 yards but it was not nearly enough as LA got smoked in the Dome.
POR 3 NOR 27
No upset magic for the Thunder, who fall to 0-9. Akili Smith got knocked out of the game and that sent John Stark in to play. Needless to say, not much happened for the Portland offense. Meanwhile Ricky Williams had a solid 20 carry, 101 yard day and Bobby Hoying used play action to complete 14 of 22 for 167 and 2 scores as New Orleans just keeps rolling along.
BAL 6 WSH 24
Both defenses came after the opposing QBs, but despite suffering 7 sacks, Scott Zolak got the better of the matchup with Trent Green. Green was picked off twice while Zolak threw for 2 scores. This may just be the game that forces Coach Infante to go with Garcia as Baltimore loses their third in a row since Green’s return from injury.
NJ 23 OHI 59
Well, at least it was not a nailbiter as Ohio simply lays the lumber to the Generals. Both Eddie George and Darrell Thompson scored 2 TDs as the two combined for 170 yards rushing and 4 scores against the completely pliant General defense. Kerry Collins played only 3 quarters and threw for 3 scores in this blowout win for Ohio.
PHI 27 PIT 14
Philly kept pace with the Glory by knocking off the Maulers in Three Rivers. Stephen Davis had a solid day with 21 carries for 91 yards while both Troy Brown and Bobby Engram scored on Hebert TD throws. Andre Rison had a good day for Pittsburgh with 147 yards and 2 scores, but it was not enough as the Maulers fall to 2-7.
Some significant injuries this week, one which could be a career ending situation. Well, that may be a bit dramatic, but Ernest Givens being placed on IR with a Posterior Cruciate tear is quite possibly the last he will play in the USFL. We have been expecting a retirement notification honestly for the past 2 years, and this injury, with its lengthy recovery time, could just be the thing to push Ernest into retirement. No official word yet, and likely not until training camp next February, but we would not be shocked if he calls it a career.
Only one other player who is likely out for the rest of the year, Orlando fullback Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afalu has a broken arm that will require a cast and rehab. There are positions where a player could play with an arm cast, especially lower arm as Chris F-M needs, but fullback is not one of them.
While it is not officially a season-ender, Akili Smith’s collarbone injury is almost certainly going to be 4-6 weeks, and we simply don’t expect the young QB to come back and assume a starting role. Rick Mirer is healthy again and will likely start the rest of the year, though Portland did bring in a veteran backup as well (see below) so Smith is almost certainly done for the year and the club will have to re-evaluate for next year.
Other injuries of note include Birmingham HB Charlie Rogers, lost for at least a month with an elbow injury, Texas HB Reggie Cobb, who could miss 2 to 4 weeks with a foot injury that is proving difficult to isolate. Arizona DT Jason Peter cracked his jaw in some post-play shenanigans and could miss 1, maybe 2 weeks (and will likely get fined as well). Washington will be without Herman Moore, who is dealing with back spasms. They hope to have him back in 2 weeks after taking this next week off. Finally, New Jersey wideout Wayne Chrebet is dealing with some tendon damage in his meniscus, and that could cost him a game or two.
TRANSACTIONS
POR: place QB Akili Smith on IR, sign QB Timm Rosenbach
BIR: places WR E. Givens on IR, sign J. Armour
ORL: places FB on IR, sign FB Tim. Johnson
TEX: signs CB Rickey Parker
NJ: trades QB Spence Fischer & TE Chris Gedney to ATL ATL: trades QB Eric Zeier and DT Darwin Walker to NJ.
NJ: signs TE Patrick Hape
ATL: signs DT Tim Morabito
FISCHER OUT IN NEW JERSEY
Desperate to make some moves and do something to improve the defense, the Generals did finally trade away a pretty solid QB in Spence Fischer, along with TE Chris Gedney. The pair will be heading to Atlanta, who also sends a disgruntled QB back to New Jersey in the form of UGA alum Eric Zeier, but the big prize for New Jersey is defensive tackle Darwin Walker, who is expected to move into the starting lineup almost immediately. Zeier has been languishing in the 3rd QB slot, inactive in most games, behind Aaron Brooks and rookie Marc Bulger, while Spence Fischer has been listed as the backup in New Jersey behind Jeff Lewis.
This is likely a swap-in-kind deal in that Zeier is unlikely to challenge Lewis, who has played well for New Jersey despite their woeful record on the year. He may also find himself with a 3rd string designation again as Coach Schottenheimer has liked the development of rookie QB Tom Brady from Michigan. Walker is the big win for New Jersey, and should help their last-rated defense. For Atlanta, they get a veteran who can bring some calm to the quarterback room, and they also nab a solid contributor in TE Chris Gedney, who could move into the 2-TE formations right away. A solid trade for both parties as New Jersey needed offensive help and Atlanta was desperate to get help on offense.
In the wake of the trade, both clubs also backfilled their roster, with New Jersey signing TE Patrick Hape to replace the traded Chris Gedney, and Atlanta adding veteran DT Tom Morabito to add depth to their defensive line rotation. Neither player is expected to start, but both should participate in some formations or rotations within their position groups.
ERNEST GIVENS MAY BE DONE FOR GOOD
We mentioned it above, but it deserves noting that if things play out as many expect, Ernest Givens may have played his last game in the USFL. Givens has had several injury plagued years in his last few seasons, having not played in a full 16 games since the 1997 season. Givens’s season ends with only 5 games played, 32 receptions for 512 yards. If this is the end of his storied 15-year career, he will retire as one of the league’s most prolific receivers with over 1,500 receptions and 16,250 yards. A near certain Hall of Fame candidate who just a year ago had his 8th 1,000 yard season, gainin 1,177 yards with 6 TDs in only 12 games.
In the short term, Birmingham has signed receiver Justin Armour, but expect to see the primary impact being a shift for Marcus Robinson outside to Givens’s position, while Lawrence Dawsey maintains his usual spot as the flanker. Long term, don’t be surprised to see Birmingham hit WR hard in the draft or sign a potential slot receiver, moving Robinson outside permanently.
AKILI SMITH TO IR, PORTLAND SIGNS ROSENBACH OUT OF RETIREMENT
Well, never let it be said that the Thunder are not inventive in how they deal with team roster needs. With Akili Smith likely done for the season with a broken collarbone, and with Rick Mirer also having some injury issues, the Thunder needed an answer at QB, a 2nd option just in case Mirer went down again. They could have tried to make a deal for Fischer, or asked in Houston about Hartlieb. They could have found a young free agent, but they went the opposite way, bringing a player back from retirement. Timm Rosenbach, who has played for 4 USFL franchises over his career, was out of football for the past 16 months, but answered the call when Portland rang him up. Rosenbach has always been a bit of a loose cannon, but he does have arm talent, and a lot of experience. Of course the Thunder hope that Rick Mirer, who has been with the club all season since signing from the NFL, will be healthy and ready to go, but if he needs to be subbed at any time, bringing in a veteran presence like Rosenbach may not be a bad deal.
Well, we have hit midseason, which means we start to see rollouts from the league’s uniform providers of looks that will be in place for the following year. The first team to roll out a new look is a team that seems to be in an optimistic upswing altogether, the Ohio Glory. Reebok and the Glory released the team’s new look this week as part of a midweek pep rally preceding their big game against Jacksonville. While a lot will remain the same with the Glory, there are a few interesting tweaks for the 2001 look.
Ohio is adding a secondary logo to go with their “eagle & banner” primary, it is a map of the state of Ohio, with a draped blue, red & white banner that places a star right about where Columbus lies in the state. This new secondary does not appear on the uniform itself, but the banner pattern of star and striping is a prominent feature of the uniform. The uniform will feature the same blue helmet, blue and white jerseys and blue and white pant sets, but with some new elements. Firstly, the jersey will have a shoulder and sleeve yoke that is predominantly blue, with white piping, which means the yoke appears as only two thin blue lines on the dark jersey, while it has a full blue shoulder/sleeve treatment on the away whites. Mid-sleeve there will be a series of three stripes, red-white-red, to break up the yoke. This is the same pattern as we see on the new secondary logo and in the ribbon of the primary.
The pants do something a bit innovative, eschewing the traditional vertical striping of most teams and going with a star and 3-stripe angled horizontal stripe at mid-thigh. Again, this pattern of a star above 3 stripes parallels the new secondary logo. On the White pants, this is contained within a wide blue vertical stripe, while on the blue pants the angled horizontal stripes stand alone on the blue background.
The team is also changing fonts, with a more “Colonial” font being used for the lettering and a more rounded, smoother font for the numbers. The new-ish “U” logo for the league will be included as a patch on the front of the left shoulder, and the Reebok symbol, as with all teams, appears on the sleeve cuffs and the right front hip, with the USFL logo on the left front hip. Here, below, is the new uniform design sheet. A sharp look if you ask me.
Week 10 brings the Western Conference into divisional play with some big games that will start to impact our first playoff board next week. New Orleans has a 3-game lead on the field as they face the St. Louis Knights. A win and they all but guarantee themselves the division title. Michigan and Chicago are both 4-5 and cannot afford to lose as they face off against Texas and Houston respectively.
In the Pacific, the upstart Oakland Invaders face a tough test as the Denver Gold are in town. Seattle is hosting LA and a loss by the Express could be fatal as it would drop them to 4-6. Arizona is hoping they can take advantage of the Portland Thunder’s hospitality to move to 6-4 and solidly in playoff contention.
In the Eastern Conference it is time for the Southern teams to head north to face the Atlantic. Memphis will be tested as they face that explosive Ohio offense in front of what may be the biggest crowd in the Glory’s short history. Orlando also has a tough task as they face the 7-2 Stars and that rowdy Philadelphia crowd. Birmingham is not out of It at 4-5, but need to pull off a win in Baltimore, and we are still waiting to hear who the QB will be for the Blitz. Jacksonville has what looks like an easier task, going to New Jersey to face the 1-8 Generals, while Tampa Bay is in Pittsburgh to face the Maulers and the Atlanta Fire will face that brutal Washington defense in RFK.