It was a week that saw two huge offensive displays, with the Knights and Breakers combining for 88 points while Ohio and Memphis went 2 better and put up a combined 90 points. It appears that defense is no longer the strong suit for several clubs that made their name on shutdown defenses. We also got a big win for the Blitz, hoping their playoff push is not over, and the Atlanta Fire came close as a team can come to pulling off an upset win, but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the Federals. Orlando fell for a second straight week, and LA made their claim on the Pacific with a commanding win over preseason favorites Seattle. All this plus our first playoff race tally of the season in this week's recap.
For two clubs that were planning on a playoff run spearheaded by top level defenses, this one got offensive early and never looked back. This game saw 27 points scored in the 1st quarter, 31 in the 2nd, 13 in the third and 17 in the 4th as the lead kept going back and forth. Neither defense seemed particularly honed in on the other club as everything seemed to work for the two offenses. Trent Dilfer would have his first 400-yard game, throwing for 420 and 4 scores, while Todd Collins would also hit 400, throwing for 404 and 3 touchdowns himself. The running backs also found success, with Ricky Williams just barely losing out to Ahman Green 116-118 yards. Add in 160 yards for Raynard Brown, 130 for Bert Emmanuel, and 163 for Amani Toomer, and you have yourself a true shootout in the Central Division.
And for all the shootout elements of the game, neither team was able to fully take control. The score was 14-13 St. Louis after one quarter, with scores from Knights Bert Emmanuel and Ahman Green offset by a Hakeem TD (with missed PAT) and a Ricky Williams score, all in the first 15 minutes.
The second quarter saw both clubs go back and forth again, with St. Louis holding the lead once again at the break. Toomer opened the scoring with a 5-yard reception, followed by Hakeem’s 2nd of the day for New Orleans. Toomer then added a 2nd, this time a 78-yard bomb on a busted coverage, but New Orleans returned the favor, with Dilfer hitting Raynard Brown from 17 yards out. Ryan Longwell’s 21-yarder as time ran out in the half was the difference in the game.
Third quarter saw New Orleans take the lead after both clubs traded field goals. The Breakers got up by 3 when Steve Johnson caught the period’s only TD from 3 yards out. The 4th quarter opened with St. Louis regaining the lead, going up 41-37 thanks to an Ahman Green TD run. New Orleans got within 1 at 41-40 thanks to Lin Elliott’s 27-yard field goal. But, the deathblow would come 4 minutes later with the Breakers driving. Rookie CB Bhawoh Juh made the huge play, stepping in front of a ball headed for Andre Coleman and it was off to the races. Juh’ dove into the end zone and St. Louis had the largest lead of the game at 8 points. That would be the final score as New Orleans did not have enough in the tank to get an equalizer.
With the heartbreaking home loss, the Breakers fall to 5-5 while St. Louis gets a slight leg up, finishing the week at 6-4.
OHI 49 MEM 41
Hard to believe that the Knights-Breakers game was not the highest scoring of the weekend, but the combined 90 points in this matchup beat that game by 2 points. Both Kerry Collins and Heath Shuler went off in this game, Collins with 491 yards and 5 Touchdowns, while Shuler threw for 465 in what was simply a ridiculous game for both. Adrian Cooper caught 6 balls for 175 yards and all 3 Shuler TDs while Collins spread his wealth around, with both Galloway and Johnson going for over 100 yards and 4 different receivers catching scoring tosses.
BAL 31 BIR 24
Not quite as fast-paced, but still a very good game as Baltimore got two scores in the final period to knock off the Stallions at Legion Field. Ron Dayne rushed for 102 and a score, but it was Jeff Garcia’s 2nd TD pass, a 3 yarder to Rob Moore that got the W for the Blitz. James Thrash was the star for Birmingham, catching 6 balls for 140 as Lawrence Dawsey sat the game out with an injury.
NJ 31 JAX 23
The Bulls put a scare into New Jersey before a late Curtis Enis TD and a Neil Rackers field goal gave the visiting Generals the lead and the win. Enis would finish with 99 yards rushing and 2 scores, while both Terry Glenn and TE Anthony Becht scored on Brady TD passes. Jacksonville struggled to run the ball with Kenny Bynum and Sedrick Irvin combining for only 33 yards.
WSH 20 ATL 19
The Fire again proved a tough out, but fell for the 10th time this season as they held a 19-14 lead until the waning moments of the game. Having picked off Kordell Stewart twice and sacked him 3 times, the Fire were on the verge of victory, but Stewart would find TE Bubba Franks with 35 seconds to go to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
PIT 20 TBY 42
The resurgence of the Bandits continued as they scored on Pittsburgh from every angle. Five different Bandits got on the board in this one, with Rhett (2), Prentice, Moss, Doering, and Lonzell Hill all finding pay dirt against the Maulers’ defense. The win is Tampa Bay’s 4th in a row and has them at 5-5 and thinking about a playoff spot.
PHI 31 ORL 20
The Stars hand Orlando their second consecutive loss as the Renegade defense struggled without Chris Doleman I the game. Davis and Chaffey combined for 127 yards and 2 scores while Bobby Hebert threw for 2 more in the Stars’ road win. Orlando drops to 8-2, while Philadelphia moves to 7-3 in the Atlantic.
SEA 21 LA 49
Another offensive showcase for the Express as Cade McNown wins Offensive POTW with his 364-yard, 6 TD game. Corey Dillon went down in this game after only 1 carry and that sunk the Dragons on a day when they needed every weapon possible. Mike Pritchard caught 5 for 132 and 2 scores and Brandon Manumaleuna added 2 scores of his own as the Expressed cruised to win number 7.
OAK 25 DEN 32
Oakland gave the Gold a fight, but in the end the home team had enough to hold on and win a close one. Rashaan Salaam (90) and Rod Smart (44) combined for 134 on the ground, but it came down to a late Peerless Price TD reception to give this game to the Gold. Ryan Leaf returned to action as Jon Kitna went down with an injury. Leaf went 12 of 20 for 125 and a TD, and for once kept his mouth shut after the game.
POR 11 ARZ 20
Oppressive heat on Saturday made this game a marathon for both clubs, but in the end it was Portland who wilted in Tempe. Arizona rushed for only 8 yards in the game (with Plummer not helping with 10 carries for -15 yards), but Plummer’s passing game was good enough to outlast the heat-impacted Thunder.
MGN 17 HOU 37
Houston bounced back against the Panthers with a solid run game for once. Kevin Faulk and Mike Anderson (back from injury) combined for 137 yards rushing as Houston kept the ball away from Drew Brees. The Gambler D also got to Brees, sacking him 5 times, Kavika Pittman getting 3 of the 5.
TEX 13 CHI 24
It was close through three quarters as Texas held a slim 13-10 lead going into the final period, but a Duce Staley 12-yard TD run and a Johnnie Morton TD reception were the only scores of the final period, and that propelled Chicago to the W at home and a 7-3 record in the Windy City.
BACKUPS WHO DESERVE A SHOT
Last week we spoke about Atlanta’s QB conundrum as the Fire simply don’t feel great about any of the signal callers on their roster (Bulger, Brooks, or Fisher). And yet there are teams out there with some top quality talent on their bench. Usually somewhat untested behind established starters, these backups deserve a chance to shine, and we wonder if there is not a chance that someone will make a move to sign or trade for one of these potential starters this offseason. Here is our pick of the 10 best backup QBs in the USFL right now.
Ryan Leaf (OAK): With Leaf in the doghouse in Oakland, there is a real shot that the Invaders will not resign the young and cocky QB. That would make him available this offseason. He shown as a rookie, but has seemingly been coming apart at the seams since then. Would someone, seeing that $1M arm, be willing to deal with the $1 head?
Doug Flutie (MGN): With Drew Brees clearly the favorite to remain the starter in Michigan, it seems only fair for Flutie to get a shot somewhere else as he wraps up his USFL career. You know what we want, for Flutie to end up in New Jersey, but the Generals are certainly enamored of young Tom Brady, so perhaps the Generals are not the best location if we actually want to see Flutie on the field.
Bobby Hoying (NOR): Filling in for an injured Trent Dilfer, Hoying had decent success this year, throwing for 9 TDs to only 3 picks. He is not the strong-armed gunslinger that so many teams seem to crave, but he is a smart player with good accuracy.
Craig Whelihan (ARZ): Tall, athletic, capable, but simply unable to get any snaps. That is the story of Whelihan as a Wrangler, trapped behind Jake Plummer. The lanky QB deserves a shot to compete, but he won’t get that if he remains Plummer’s understudy.
Craig Erickson (ORL): For years now Erickson has been coming into games when Scott Mitchell gets hurt, and when he does, he plays well. He will never be a 4,000 yard QB, but some clubs just need a steady hand and his experience and skill set would be a good fit for several clubs that have tried the flashy athlete and maybe need to go with more of a game manager.
Kent Graham (TBY): Another player who just never gets a chance to start. For a brief period it looked like he might be the guy after Troy Aikman signed with New Jersey, but the Bandits went and traded for Trent Green and Graham again finds himself riding the pine.
Bill Musgrave (MEM): He saw quite a bit of action in Denver, where he subbed for Mark Brunell, but in Memphis he is stuck behind Heath Shuler. While he is a great insurance policy for the Showboats, it feels like a lost opportunity that he is not getting a chance to compete for a starting job.
Alex Van Pelt (PIT): Van Pelt was a phenomenon for a short while in Chicago. Traded to Pittsburgh the thought was he could unseat Charlie Batch, but Coach Thomas has been solidly in the Batch camp all season. With the Maulers struggling for wins, perhaps the time is now to see what they have in Van Pelt.
Danny Wuerffel (JAX): This is a former Heisman winner who simply has never gotten a true shot to be a USFL starter. He may get that shot soon as many expect Chris Chandler to retire after what has been a very frustrating year. If that is the case, then we want to see Wuerffel get his shot to continue his story in Florida.
Will Furrer (PHI): No pomp, no circumstance, just a solid performer. We have seen Furrer in action very sparingly as Bobby Hebert’s backup, but he has shown a steady hand and a good grasp of Coach Mora’s offense when he has gotten into games. We could see him as a solid plug-and-play guy for a team that is just one piece short of a solid playoff run.
OK, one more, just to mix things up a bit. We have only seen 1 rookie QB get any playing time, Drew Brees in Michigan. With Oakland’s season all but over, and with Jon Kitna now out for several weeks, we think rookie Marques Tuiasosopo deserves a shot to show us what he has. This is especially true if the Invaders are done with Ryan Leaf. Yes, they want some good games from Leaf to possibly deal him with a sign-and-swap contract, but you do not want to do that at the expense of giving the young Tuiasosopo a few games to show if he can be the answer for the Invaders.
DEFENDERS WORTH DEFENDING
We spend a lot of time here discussing offensive playmakers. So much so that it may seem we don’t value defensive monsters who bring it to the opposition each and every week. So, to remedy that, we are going to highlight this week 5 defenders who are showing us grit, ferocity, and game-changing skills this year. These are guys who don’t just excel in one area but who are making plays all over the field.
Broderick Thomas (LB-Wranglers): A regular near the top of the leaderboard for tackles, we often forget how nasty Thomas is behind the line of scrimmage. Not only does this disruptive force currently sit third with 74 tackles, but he has 7 sacks and 13 tackles for loss as well. Thomas is one of the best pass-rushing linebackers in the league, and his run blitz can devastate an offensive game plan.
Allen Aldridge (LB-Gamblers): A bit of an under-the-radar player, Aldridge is used to Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair getting all the attention, but this year, with Sinclair on IR, Aldridge has really stepped up. He has 6 sacks on the season, 16 tackles for loss, and 71 tackles (4th in the league after 10 weeks). That has truly helped Houston deal with the loss of Sinclair and still produce one of the league’s best pass rush defenses.
James Fuller (CB-MEM): Another “no glamour” player, Fuller currently leads the league with 24 passes defended. If he had better hands he could easily be an interception leader, but he tends to go for the swat or the punch out instead of the pick. He has 2 picks this season, but he still remains one of the most effective man-to-man coverage guys in the league.
Rodney Harrison (SS-STL): A sledgehammer waiting to strike in the secondary. Harrison Is third among safeties with 58 tackles, but he may be leading the league in “decleaters”, hits that separate the player from the ball or from his shoes. Add in 4 picks and Harrison is a guy you do not want to lose in the defense.
Pat Williams (DT-ORL): We tend to talk a lot about Jerome Brown in Washington, and he deserves every word we say about him, but while Brown is a pass rushing disruptor at DT, Pat Williams is the quintessential “brick wall” at the nose. The man is huge, he is impossible to move off his position, and he just takes up space, making the run game impossible up the middle. Add to this his tendency to occupy both the center and the guard and you can see how Chris Doleman is able to get the better of tackles and make all the sacks he does. Williams is actually second behind Jerome Brown with 4 sacks (2nd among DTs) but his game is not penetration, it is filling space and holding the line.
Our first playoff preview of the season and a lot to talk about here. Orlando, thanks to two consecutive losses, has actually dropped to 2nd in the East, with the 8-2 Federals holding a tiebreaker edge on them, thanks to a 7-1 record in conference play. Ohio, Philly, and New Jersey are only 1 game back at 7-3, while Memphis and Birmingham round out the top 7 with 6-4 records.
In the West, it is Arizona sitting atop the playoff standings, with Chicago in 2nd despite a 5-0 division record in the Central. LA is right there as well, with all 3 at 7-3. Denver and St. Louis are the only other clubs with winning records in the conference, while New Orleans currently holds the 6th spot at 5-5.
On the outside looking in, but still very much in the hunt, we have Tampa Bay and Baltimore at 5-5 in the East, and, believe it or not Houston, Portland, and Seattle all at 4-6 with Portland actually holding the tiebreaker and only 1 game behind New Orleans for the final spot. Still 6 weeks of action to go, but this season’s playoff race could just now be heating up.
A bad week for Orlando on lots of fronts. Without Chris Doleman, they relied on Israel Ifeanyi to pick up the baton, but he went out midway through the game with a knee injury and post-game we learned that it was an ACL tear, ending the young DE’s season. Doleman is expected back in Week 11, but this certainly hurts the D-line rotation for the Renegades.
A big hit in Chicago as well, as CB Jimmy Hitchcock could be out for 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. In Oakland it looks like Ryan Leaf gets a second chance as Jon Kitna’s injury was diagnosed as a significant knee sprain. He could be out a month or longer even without ligament damage. Portland will be shorthanded in the secondary as cornerback Corey Sawyer could miss 4-6 weeks thanks to a stress fracture in his right foot. Birmingham WR Lawrence Dawsey had more tests done and we are still looking at 2-3 weeks before he could return. Seattle could be without David Boston this week as a patella issue might hold him out. Expect a game time decision there. Garrison Hearst in Memphis is hoping to return to action, but again a likely game time decision. Others likely to return to action include Michigan LB Andy Katzenmoyer, Birmingham tackle Todd Steussie, Tampa guard Craig Novitsky, Michigan TE Butch Rolle, and Seattle tackle Willie Anderson.
The Philadelphia Stars become the next club to reveal their new look for 2002, holding a posh “reveal” event at the Union League on South Street for a select group of fans (mostly suite holders, as you would imagine) this past Thursday evening. With players Stephen Davis, Regan Upshaw, Bobby Engram and Bobby Hebert on hand and in uniform, the Stars presented the new Reebok designs for the 2002 season. While not a radical departure from past and present looks, the design does come with an updated “shooting star” logo and a new color added to the palette. The new look Stars logo still features a series of stars creating a shooting or fading effect from the primary red star, now through orange, and into gold. Orange is new to the Stars look, and acts as a transitional color in the logo and uniforms. The team will still primarily be decked out in a bright red and metallic gold look, though the gold is slightly richer, with more yellow tones, helping to distinguish Philly’s look from that of Birmingham (with a darker, more grey-rich gold tone).
The logo now has four stars, starting with a solid red star and progressively fading to a light gold star. The Stars wordmark remains at the top of the primary star and the secondary logo, the Liberty Bell, remains unchanged. The uniform features the familiar metallic gold helmet with white facemask and the red-over-gold jersey and pants combo. The primary gold pants now are stripeless, with only the secondary Liberty Bell logo on each hip. There is also a secondary set of white pants, likely added to help with extreme heat days in midsummer. The white set features a wide red stripe, similar to past Stars’ looks, with the Liberty Bell also on the hip.
The two jerseys, white and red, are mirror images of each other, both with a new, more rounded block font, both with tri-color colors fading from red to gold through orange, and both feature a 3 stripe pattern on the sleeves: thick red to thinner orange and gold on the white jerseys and thick white with thinner orange and gold stripes above it. The home jersey numbers are gold with white trim, the road whites have red numbers with gold trip.
It is a look that will be very familiar to Stars fans, not straying far from the original look of the club while adding subtle elements to update the look. Honestly, other than the addition of orange, and the adjustments to the logo, which are only truly noticeable from quite close up to the helmets, the changes to the look could go largely unnoticed by most casual fans. After all, this is a club with a proud history and 3 titles, so it seems clear that a total overhaul was both unnecessary, and unwelcome. One interesting note about the Stars; with the logo update the Stars still remain the only team in the league that does not have a logo set that includes the city name. We guess the Liberty Bell is identifier enough for the City of Brotherly Love.
It’s another inter-conference showdown week with the Atlantic Teams headed to the Pacific Coast while the southern clubs head north to face their Central Division foes. Among quality games we expect a lot of folks to tune in to the matchup of New Jersey and LA out at Farmers Insurance Field. Both clubs enter the game 7-3 in this coast to coast showdown. Philly @ Denver also looks like a good one between Eastern and Western clubs. Ohio is in Seattle in a battle of two 1995 expansion clubs hoping to make the playoffs in 2001, while Baltimore is in Portland, Washington heads out to Oakland, and Pittsburgh will face the Wranglers in the desert.
In our North-South battles, the best game is likely to be the Birmingham-Chicago clash at Soldier Field. Two very different styles on display there. Another to catch is Tampa Bay, winners of 4 in a row, as they head to New Orleans to face the Breakers. Orlando hopes to end their short losing streak as they head to San Antonio to face the Texas Outlaws, while Houston welcomes the Jacksonville Bulls to town in a game that has potential to be a wild one. Atlanta has a rough game if they want their first win, heading to St. Louis to face the Knights. Finally, Memphis will be in Michigan, hoping to pick up a win against the offensively challenged Panthers.