2001 USFL Week 16 Recap: Ohio, Philly and New Orleans Get Big Wins on Final Week of the Season

Hey everyone, an editor's note before we get to the final regular season recap for 2001. Over the next two weeks I may have very few or even no posts to the league site. This is not a sign that the project is done, and I apologize if this delays the playoff reporting, but I will be intensively dealing with my day job, traveling, working long hours, and trying to work from a chromebook, so the only way I can simulate results is if the VPN and VMWare works really well and I can log into my home computer and use the simulation remotely. So, maybe I can get thorugh the playoffs in these 2 weeks, maybe not. What I can promise you is that the project is not over and that the period between 2002 and 2010 is going to be full of storylines, including how the USFL deals with 9/11, Katrina, the 2008 recession, and a lot of franchise news in an age of instability due to a lot of issues that come up in the 2000's. It is worth sticking around for, so thanks for all your support, comments, suggestions, and interest. Expect even more opportunities to participate as we move forward. And now, on to the big news out of Week 16.

A huge final week of the year as Philadelphia and New Orleans get key wins to oust Baltimore and Portland from playoff position and claim the final Wild Card spots. Washington is upset and Ohio takes advantage to earn the Atlantic crown and a bye week. We have league award winners, some immediate retirements following the final games of the year, and perhaps the quietest Black Monday in recent memory. It's Week 16 in the USFL, and that means a lot to talk about. Let's get to it.

It was a game that started off as a battle of potential also-rans, but as this game happened simultaneously with the Portland-LA game, the later we got into the game, and the more it was obvious that LA was demolishing the Thunder, both the Gamblers and the Breakers realized that this was actually a playoff game. With Portland’s loss the winner of this matchup would leapfrog them into the 6th and final Western Playoff Spot. By the time the Thunder-Express game got to the half, about 10 minutes before the Breakers-Gamblers got there, it was 28-10 Los Angeles, and the Astrodome started to buzz. Both teams saw the score on the big screen and both put their games into win-&-in mode. It was a sight to see.

The game had been a good one from the beginning, with the teams swapping scores. Houston took their first drive all the way to pay dirt, with Matt Hasselbeck hitting TE Dan Campbell for an opening score. New Orleans responded with a big 28 yard screen play for a TD as Ricky Williams plowed over Houston DBs on his way to the endzone. Houston then finished off the first quarter with Koren Robinson snagging Matt Hasselbeck’s second TD pass. LA was up 7-3 on Portland at this point.

Midway through the 2nd quarter New Orleans tied the game at 14 with a James Bostic TD and as the quarter wound down, and LA’s lead increased, the Gamblers pulled ahead again with a late Chris Boniol field goal. During halftime both coaches told their players not to watch the scoreboard because the only game that mattered was the one they were playing, but it was clear that as LA piled on points against the Thunder, both the Gamblers and the Breakers knew that this game would be a playoff game for a Wild Card spot.

Trent Dilfer, who would throw for 302 yards and 4 scores, opened the 2nd half with a 19-yard touchdown to Raynard Brown. Houston pulled to within one on their next drive with another Boniol field goal, but their settling for field goals was costing them. When Dilfer hit Brown again, this time a 35-yard strike, Houston was now down 8 points. When Lin Elliott’s field goal in the 4th pulled that lead to 11, Houston knew they would need a TD, a 2-point PAT and a field goal to tie. They got the first two with 2:57 left in the game, a Hasselbeck to Robinson touchdown toss, and a swing pass to the pylon for 2 points from Kevin Faulk. With almost 3 minutes left Houston opted to kick the ball deep and trust their defense. New Orleans ran on 1st down, gaining 2, but then surprised Houston with a play action pass on 2nd and 8. Dilfer connected with TE Steve Johnson, gaining 9 yards and a first down. That was the beginning of the end for Houston’s chances. New Orleans ran on three straight plays, and Houston ran out of time outs after 2nd down. The Breakers would have to punt, but it would likely be the last play of the game.

New Orleans punted, Houston’s Faulk called for a fair catch and there was one tick of the clock left, but it would need to be a 65-yard pass to reach the endzone. Matt Hasselbeck is not Brett Favre. His arm is not going to make that throw. So, Houston tried for a bit of trickeration. On the final play of the game Hasselbeck threw a hook route to Koren Robinson, who tossed the ball back to Kevin Faulk. Faulk advanced the ball another 5 yards, before getting hit by the safety. He tried to toss the ball back to Antonio Freeman, but it took an odd bounce, and that created a dogpile. The ball would not advance any further. With LA crushing Portland, the 31-28 score meant that the New Orleans Breakers, who had suffered a 6-game losing streak from weeks 9-14, would, thanks to 2 season-ending wins in their division, would eke into the playoffs at 7-9. Portland would be out, and Houston would drop to 6-10.

POR 17 LA 52

Portland was one win from a surprise playoff season. LA had benched several of its key players, but it was the Express with a dominant win. Rookie QB Quincy Carter got the start, went 12 of21 with a TD, but the day belonged to the LA run game. Antowain Smith crossed 1,000 yards for the year with 116 in this game, along with 3 TDs. Backup Maurice Smith added another 81 and 2 more scores as Portland simply collapsed on run defense. The loss dumped them to 7-9 and out of the playoffs.

PHI 27 BAL 20

The Stars ended the season with 2 straight win, including this key game, and that got them the final playoff spot in the East, bumping Baltimore from the postseason in the process. Despite 123 yards from Ron Dayne, Philly got the job done, with Bobby Hebert connecting with Troy Brown twice and rookie Steve Smith for a 3rd TD to pull out the game and clinch a postseason appearance.

WSH 19 NJ 27

Washington’s 3 game losing streak dropped them from the division title and into the Wild Card round. New Jersey’s win here showed that they are ready for the playoffs, though they will still be on the road next week. It was the Generals’ defense that came up big in this one, picking off Kordell Stewart 3 times and giving Tom Brady short fields to work with.

PIT 28 OHIO 31

It was not easy, but Ohio pulled out the win thanks to 116 yards from Joey Galloway and an effective use of Eddie George in the passing game (133 yards and a score through the air). The win, coupled with Washington’s loss gives Ohio the Atlantic Division title and a bye week, their first division title as a franchise.

MEM 38 ORL 17

Orlando did not rest starters, but they did seem to play a vanilla game on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile Memphis came out hot, with Heath Shuler throwing the ball for 362 yards and 4 scores as the Showboats locked up the #4 seed and a home game in the Wild Card round. It was Orlando up 17-14 at the half, but the second half was all Memphis and that was the difference in the game. Orlando had already locked up home field so we were all surprised that they had Mitchell, Doleman, and Kirby in the game, but they did play nearly all 4 quarters.

BIR 28 JAX 35

Results during the 12 Noon games were not going Birmingham’s way, and that, in the end, as much as the Bulls’ efforts, seemed to take the wind out of their sails. Jacksonville built up a 28-14 lead after 3 quarters and even two late Favre TD passes could not bring Birmingham back as they finish a disappointing 8-8 and out of playoff contention.

ATL 11 TBY 21

Tampa Bay did their part to finish at 9-7, but they lose out to Philadelphia on tiebreakers, so it was to no avail. They won despite Errict Rhett having to sit out with an ankle injury, though it did not hurt that Atlanta started Spence Fisher, perhaps in an effort to show his talents before an offseason when we expect the QB to be on the trading block.

STL 0 CHI 13

The big news out of this game was the injury to Todd Collins. Collins came up lame on a scramble (he is not a scrambler) and that hamstring injury hamstrung the Knights. Of greater concern is the very real possibility that ineffective backup Rob Johnson may have to start next week in the Wild Card round. That is definitely not good news for St. Louis fans who are already deeply worried that this playoff game could be the last for the Knights in St. Louis (more on that below).

OAK 31 ARZ 28

Arizona had nothing to gain with a win, nothing to lose with a loss, and that sort of showed in how they played. Yes, Jake Plummer was Jake Plummer, with 83 yards rushing to go with 365 yards passing, but the defense gave up 375 total yards, including 137 on the ground to the usually anemic Oakland run game. Three turnovers (including 2 picks by Plummer) did not help either.

SEA 27 DEN 30

Denver rested Brunell as expected, but backup Elvis Grbac did enough to help the Gold win the game, throwing 3 TDs as the Gold moved their record to 11-5 and the #3 seed. They will be at home next week in the Wild Card range. Seattle finished the season a very disappointing 5-11 and with a lot of questions to answer this offseason.

TEX 42 MGN 35

The only game with no playoff importance this week turned out to be a pretty fun game to watch. Michigan gave Doug Flutie the start, perhaps again, hoping to increase his trade value, and Flutie came through with 316 yardsin the air and 78 yards rushing, mostly on improvised scrambles. Texas countered with TDs from Detson, Barlow, Query and Alford. Both clubs finish with 10+ losses (Michigan with 13) and the Pontiac Silverdome was somewhat cavernous with only 13,403 on hand for this one, but the game was entertaining throughout, with Texas getting the win on a TD with only 1:32 left to play.

The seeds are set, the teams finalized, and we know what we are getting next week. It will be the 7-9 New Orleans Breakers traveling to Denver to face one of the best home field advantages in football. 9-7 St. Louis, likely without Todd Collins, will host the up and down Arizona Wranglers in the other Western Wild Card game. In the East, Philadelphia, who needed 2 wins and help to get to the playoffs now head to Washington to face a familiar divisional foe. Memphis will host New Jersey in perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the week. Resting and healing we have top seeds Orlando and Los Angeles and second seeds Ohio and Chicago.

BLACK MONDAY

As expected we had a non-event on Monday following the close of the season with no coaches let go. Prior to Sunday’s game the one team that some suspected might go a new direction, Oakland, confirmed that Dom Capers would receive a 3rd year. Jacksonville’s late surge to 7-9 meant Gunther Cunningham would get another year, and the only other team that could potentially change leaders was low-end Wild Card team Arizona with Art Shell, so we knew that if it was coming for Shell it would not be this week. With Pittsburgh’s Emmitt Thomas and Atlanta’s Bobby Petrino already ousted the only real news was that Atlanta would not commit to retaining either of their interim coaching team, and that Pittsburgh stated they would have an open search for a new coach. So, the quietest Black Monday in a long time was not a shocker.

LEAGUE AWARDS

The league, with its new voting system for league awards, released the season award winners on Wednesday, in advance of the playoffs. Voting was conducted over the past month, designed to remove the late bias that a playoff win or loss could have on final voting. So, we have our league award winners and congratulations to each.

MVP: Congratulations to Ohio QB Kerry Collins. The split of votes between Collins and Shuler never developed and Collins came in well ahead of Phil Hansen (2nd) and Shuler (3rd). Ohio has been an offensive powerhouse all year, with Collins at the helm. He finished the year first in the league with 5,466 yards and 51 touchdowns, highlighted by 5 games in which he threw 4 or more touchdowns, including a huge one against Tampa Bay (6 TDs in Week 15) that may have put him over the top. Well deserved, and now fans in Ohio get a week to prepare for the Glory’s first Divisional playoff game.

Offensive POTY: Wideout Terry Glenn of New Jersey pulled in the OPOTY thanks to his league leading 1,762 yards. He also finished 4th in receptions with 109 and 2nd in TDs with 17, all with an untested QB at the helm. Glenn is preparing for a Wild Card game that few thought New Jersey would earn in Coach Parcells’ first year, and we know the Memphis secondary is going to focus on him as the Generals’ most dangerous weapon.

Defensive POTY: It’s a clean sweep for New Jersey as, to no one’s surprise, Phil Hansen picks up the award. Twenty eight sacks this year put him one below the league record. Add into this the fact that he has grown into an effective run defender as well, with 76 tackles on the season, and it is clear to see that the future first ballot HOF defensive end was a force to reckon with all season. Rookie CB Fred Smoot of Arizona beat out LB Broderick Thomas for 2nd in the voting on the heels of an 8 interception debut season.

Rookie of the Year: It is surprising on the one hand that Smoot did not receive ROTY, but defenders rarely do (Hansen was an exception back in his first season). It came down to a battle between HB Deuce McCallister of Washington and WR Chad Johnson of Ohio, and Johnson won this one pulling away. Despite lining up opposite Joey Galloway, it was Johnson who finished the year as the team’s top receiver, raking in 61 receptions to Galloway’s 42, 1,355 yards to Galloway’s 1,287, and snagging only 1 fewer TDs, 11 to Galloway’s 12. Yes, Galloway missed 3 games with an injury, but Johnson proved just as effective as a #1 receiver during this time than in his role as the #2 man in the rest of the season.

Coach of the Year: While arguments could be made for Chicago’s Marty Mornhinweg, Ohio’s Al Luginbill, or Orlando’s George O’Leary, the first year of Coach Bill Parcells in New Jersey was such a prime time performance, with the Generals far exceeding expectations, and Parcells is such a known commodity and media darling that you had to know it would go to the Big Tuna. In his first year with the team, Parcells took New Jersey from 3-13 to 10-6, all with an unknown backup QB at the helm for 15 of 16 weeks. He improved a defense that had been 19th in yardage in 2000 up to 7th in 2001, and built an offense around Curtis Enis, Terry Glenn, and young Tom Brady. Perhaps more importantly for the Generals, he made them a hot ticket in Giants Stadium. After several years of finishing well behind the Jets and Giants in media attention, the Generals’ Cinderella rise from the basement to prominence made news, drew in fans, and created a media darling in plucky QB Brady.

RETIREMENTS

Just a few days out of the regular season and we already have several retirements of note to report. Always tough to say goodbye to players we have come to respect, but retirement is a part of every year. Here are the early announcements that will have their teams scrambling to find solutions for their absence in 2002:

Portland guard Stan Parker calls it a career at 37. A staple of the Thunder line for years, Parker is the last player on the roster to have started with the team in their 1 season as the San Antonio Gunslingers. A 1987 draft pick, he started all 16 games that year and retires with a whopping 181 starts under his belt.

Seattle LB J.D. Fuller retires after nearly 20 years in football. Fuller came to the league as a rookie in 1984 with the Federals, played with Washington, Orlando and Seattle, and retires with a career total of 1,146 tackles and 59 sacks. Sadly, injuries kept him from playing more than sporadically these past two seasons and both time and physical wear and tear made it time to retire.

Atlanta LB Johnny Holland leaves the game after 15 seasons in the league. Holland played for Houston, Jacksonville, and Atlanta over his long career, racking up 1,087 tackles, 43 sacks and 15 interceptions. He was named a 2nd team All-USFL player in 1993 and won two titles, both with Houston.

TE Butch Rolle, known for red zone domination that gave him 66 career touchdowns, retired from the Michigan Panthers after 16 seasons in Pontiac. A fan favorite, Rolle was always a clutch target on third down and inside the red zone but never a huge yardage guy. He finished his career with 1,043 receptions for 10,405 yards and 66 touchdowns.

And, of course, the big story out of the season’s early weeks, Troy Aikman’s retirement has been known for a while now, but still receives a lot of attention as battle with post-concussion traumas has brought the danger of brain injury to the attention of the nation.

The Todd Collins injury would not be a big deal during the year, perhaps a 1-week absence, but when that one week is the first round of the playoffs, his hamstring is a huge issue. He is listed as Doubtful, which is better than “Out” but not what Knight fans want to see. Other key Wild Card week injuries include the following:

ARZ: TE Matt Cushing is doubtful with a pinched nerve.

DEN: The Gold will be without LB Dat Nguyen (out), CB Deral Boykin (out), and guard Tracy Boyd (out)

MEM: DE Dameaion Jeffries is questionable, as is LB Jim Schwantz. Both game time decisions.

NJ: CB Kenny Gales is doubtful, LB Bobby Houston is questionable but could play with his broken finger splinted.

NOR: We know CB/KR Walt Harris is out. DT Chris Maumalanga is questionable as well.

PHI: SS Larry Wigham is on IR and WR Bobby Engram is out again, so it will be Troy Brown stepping in.

STL: In addition to the Collins injury, we still have Ahman Green as questionable, center Calvin Collins is out, as is DE Vonnie Holliday.

Big news on both the sale of the St. Louis Knights and Portland Thunder. It is not official, but we have heard that both ownership groups have provided the league office with a single offer for final review and league approval. This is intriguing news on both fronts as this indicates that the process has moved further along than we anticipated. This could also be bad news at least for one city hoping to retain their team. Let’s briefly discuss both franchises.

PORTLAND: We knew that Portland had 3 potential bids, with two retaining the club in the Rose City while the other would almost certainly include a proposal to relocate the club to Boston. We knew that the grassroots effort to develop community or public ownership through a localized IPO was nearly dead, so we do not expect that this would be the bid now being put forward for final review and approval. That means that it is either the proposal put forward by the Boston Colonials Group, looking to house the team at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium, or the proposal to retain the club in Portland and work towards a new city in Portland’s east side.

We know what Thunder fans are hoping for, that the ownership group headed up by Canadian telecom executive Bernard Ebbers and Las Vegas real estate and casino magnate Phil Ruffin, is the bid under consideration. We know that both bids are well-financed, and we also know that current ownership has strong roots in Portland, so our guess is that they are pushing hard for the Ebbers-Ruffin bid to keep the team in the city. Of course, if a big part of the proposal is approval for a new stadium, that is in no way guaranteed, and that could be a major hangup, just as stadium issues have been a hangup for many past sales, including the case of the Boston Breakers and their inability to find a suitable home in Beantown. If, as is currently believed, the Colonials group has a deal in place with BC, that might indicate that they are the frontrunners. After all, the problems in Portland absolutely revolve around the size of Civic Stadium and the somewhat hostile attitude of many Portland residents to spending for a new stadium, despite the popularity of the Thunder.

ST. LOUIS: The fact that the sale of James Orthwein’s majority share of the Knights has already found a buyer and that the bid is in for final review cannot be seen as good news for the Gateway City. Grassroots efforts to build up a bidding ownership group of local investors is still at its infancy, which means that any proposed bid would have to represent an outside party. In our investigations, there is no major outside party that has come forward with a bid that would keep the Knights in St. Louis. The ones we know were in talks with Orthwein all represented potential franchise relocation, to Dallas, Miami, or Nashville. So the most likely scenario here is that one of those three bids has been reviewed by Orthwein’s people and has been sent on to the league as the preferred option. While relocation will not be viewed positively by the league, and particularly for a league that has somewhat low representation in the Midwest region (only Chicago, Michigan, St. Louis, and, depending who you ask, Ohio) represent the MidWest, with no franchises in other hubs such as the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, or Kansas City.

While a relocation to Dallas, Nashville or Miami would not necessarily mess up the plan to have the Knights share a division with New Orleans, Birmingham, and Memphis, there would be pressure to place a Miami franchise in the same division with the other 3 Florida teams, and a Dallas team in the same division with the other 2 Texas franchises. Both could be done, though both would be awkward. Regardless of the somewhat secondary issue of league alignment, there will be resistance to a move. The league likes St. Louis as a market, even with the Rams not being one of the NFL clubs that has worked well across the league divide. We also know that a move to Dallas will be opposed by the other 2 Texas clubs, a move to Miami will be opposed by all 3 Florida clubs, and a move to Nashville is likely to be opposed by Memphis, but also by Birmingham and Atlanta.

In all 3 cases, competition for a broader, regional fanbase is impacted by a new franchise in proximity to existing teams. The biggest concern is likely for a Nashville franchise, as it is estimated that the Memphis Showboats draw no less than 15%, perhaps more, of their fanbase from the Nashville area and cities between the two locations. This dipped a bit from a high of around 27% when the NFL put a franchise in the state capital, drawing many Nashvillians away from the more distant Showboats and towards the Tennessee Copperheads who called Vandy and now Adelphia Stadium home. There is no doubt that Memphis will be impacted if the Knights are sold to a group that proposes a move to Nashville. Lesser impact to be sure, but still significant impact potential for the Stallions and Fire as well, and we could say the same were Dallas or Miami the preferred destination. The big news, regardless of the mystery of which bidder has been selected is that none of these options look like a good plan if St. Louis is going to remain a USFL city. That is going to make for a very weird playoff run for the Knights as fans will either be furious with the team or rally to support what may be their last hurrah in the city.

Let’s take a look at the 4 Wild Card games on tap for next week as we get ready for playoff football.

Philadelphia (9-7) @ Washington (10-6)

RFK Stadium, Saturday @ 3pm ET

Three weeks ago we would have given this one to the Federals with little pause, but the Stars have won two straight while the Federals have lost their last 3 games. That does not bode well for the home team here. This one could be ripe for a road upset. That said, the Feds still have the 4th ranked scoring defense and the 8th best scoring offense. Philly comes ranked 10th and 15th in those two categories. Our key to the game, can Stephen Davis get some good early yards and force Washington to respect the run. We think he can, and we are going to pick the upset. Philly by 3.

New Orleans (7-9) @ Denver (11-5)

Mile High Stadium, Saturday @ 8pm ET

We really like the Gold here. They have only lost once in their last 8 games, a 3-point letdown in Jacksonville. And, to be honest, we are still not sure that New Orleans really belongs here at all. They pulled off big wins against Chicago and Houston to get here, but they are not looking particularly good on either defense or offense. Their 19th ranked run defense will be tested by Denver, to be sure. We are picking the Gold by 10.

New Jersey (10-6) @ Memphis (10-6)

Liberty Bowl Stadium, Sunday @ 12pm ET

This one is a tough one to call. Good arguments can be made for either club. Memphis has not lost over the past month and have the 2nd best offense in the league, led by Heath Shuler’s amazing 5,040 yards passing. New Jersey are 2-2 over the final 4 weeks of the season, but have a very tough defense, the league’s best pass rusher, and an offense that can balance the pass and the run. This one is a true tossup, but if we have to give the edge, we give it to Phil Hansen’s ability to put pressure on Heath Shuler.

Arizona (8-8) @ St. Louis (9-7)

Trans World Dome, Sunday @ 4pm ET

If both teams had their starting QB’s we would call this one another toss up game. But when it is Jake Plummer against Rob Johnson, and if Ahman Green is either out or not at 100% we just cannot see St. Louis mustering the offense to win this one. If, as suspected, this is their last game in St. Louis, expect the fans and the team to be energized, but we just don’t think that will be enough. We are going to pick Arizona in this one.