2002 USFL Week 4 Recap: Atlanta Gets the News They Hoped Would Never Come

A rough week for Atlanta Fans as they get the news that their team is indeed a lame duck franchise, just as the club debuts their new QB and gets their first win of the year. It is official, the club is moving to Boston in 1993, name still to be decided, but it means that this season is it for fans in Atlanta, at least for the next few seasons. On the field, the big news was a huge win for Joey Harrington as the new QB of the league champion Renegades, and the first wins of the year for not only Atlanta, but Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Denver as well.

While it certainly was not in Coach George O’Leary’s original plans to have his rookie QB as his starter as early as Week 2 this season, if this week’s performance on the road in Portland is any indication, Joey Harrington being forced into playing may not be that bad an option after all. Harrington put together a performance against the Portland Thunder that feels like the start of something special. In a game in which Orlando trailed throughout the game, Harrington again and again led the Renegades to scores when they were essential, including the game winner as time ran out.

For Portland the story is one of continued disappointment, as a team that fought their way to 7-9 and the cusp of the playoffs last season dropped to 0-4 despite putting together a strong offensive performance (436 total yards, including 178 on the ground). The Thunder found success in the run game for the first time this year, with Napoleon Kaufmann gaining 102 yards on 13 carries, with 2 touchdown runs, while Correll Buckhalter also fared well, gaining 60 yards on his 13 carries. But in the end, it was not enough as the Portland defense could not get the stop when it was needed most.

On a rare clear and sunny Portland day in April the Thunder started the game on the right foot, scoring on their first possession, a Kaufmann 5-yard sprint to the corner pylon. They would add a field goal as the 2nd quarter began to go up 10, having forced 3-and-outs on the first three Orlando drives. On their fourth drive, the Renegades began to find a rhythm, with Sedrick Irvin gaining 20 yards on 3 carries and Joey Harrington connecting with 3 different receivers, the final connection being a 34-yard seam route for a score to his favorite target, TE John Henry Mills.

Up 10-7, Portland again moved the ball well, relying mostly on the run game, but with intermittent throws from Akili Smith mixed in. They would add another 3 points at the 2:36 point of the 2nd quarter, but their lead would quickly be wiped out as Harrington led the Renegades on a no-huddle, quick-paced 2-minute drill. Harrington connected with Keenan McCardell, Donald Driver, Rickey Dudley and then John Henry Mills again (his 2nd TD of the day) on the drive, giving the ‘Gades their first lead of the day at 14-13 with 1:02 left in the half.

Portland caught a break after the Orlando score when David Gibson got a 44-yard return on the kickoff, putting the Thunder at their 48 yard line with just under a minute to play. A short drive and a Carlos Huerta FG allowed Portland to go into the half with the lead. When the 2nd half opened, that lead would again be wiped out. Harrington hit Mills for a third time as Portland simply did not gameplan effectively to stop the big TE. The Mills TD gave Orlando a 21-16 lead, but Portland would respond. On their next possession, Portland held the ball for just under 8 minutes, and after 13 plays Kaufmann had his second TD on the day and the Thunder had the lead back at 24-21 (thanks to a 2 point conversion). They increased that lead to 27-21 in the 4th with another Huerta field goal.

After a failed drive forced Orlando to punt with 5:20 left in the game, the defense came up big, with Chris Doleman sacking Smith on 2nd down to create what would be an unmakeable 3rd and 15. Portland punted and Orlando got the ball back with 3:33 left to play. Once again Harrington was asked to lead a no huddle drive, and once again he came through. Consecutive passes to Reidel Anthony, Donald Driver, and a swing pass to R.J. Redmond got the ball into Portland territory. Following an ill-conceived draw play that forced Orlando to use their last time out, Harrington had just over 1 minute left and 44 yards to go to get in the endzone. He found Jabar Gaffney for 7, then Keenan McCardell for 13, missed on a pass to Dudley, but then hit McCardell again to get the ball all the way to the 3 yard line. Racing up to the line, Harrington spiked the ball with 17 seconds to play. The Renegades would have 2, maybe 3 chances to get the ball in the endzone. Would they dare run it? The answer was no. On 2nd and 10 after the spike Harrington faked the ball to Sedrick Irvin and found his fullback, Chris Fuamau-Ma’afala out to the right, uncovered. The big Samoan fullback hauled in the Harrington pass and plunged across the goal line for his first TD catch in 3 years.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the winless Portland Thunder, but for Harrington it was a triumphant drive that Orlando hopes is a sign of things to come. Their rookie QB finished the day with 364 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and a rating of 122.0, all his best to date in 3 starts. Orlando may still be considered a longshot to repeat as champions after a tumultuous offseason, but the future does look bright for the Renegades.

CHI 23 BIR 14

To look at the stat line, where Birmingham controlled the clock for 33 minutes and outgained Chicago 369-263, you would think this a Stallion victory, but the Machine held the Stallions to only two Marcus Robinson TD receptions, while Chicago would score on 5 possessions (3 FG and 2 TD) to take the win. Deuce Staley had a huge game, rushing for 126 to pace the Machine to the victory.

MGN 12 MEM 19

Michigan played conservatively and held Memphis to only 291 total yards, but could not muster enough offense late in the game when they needed it and Memphis held on to win by 7. Joe Horn and Garrison Hearst scored for the Showboats, who struggled to make big plays against a protective zone Michigan employed.

OHI 24 NSH 22

Ohio raced out to a 24-9 halftime lead but sputtered in the second half as the Knights slowly clawed back into the game. Eddie George was held to only 33 rushing yards by the Nashville defense, while Ahman Green rushed for 104 in the loss. Red Zone defense proved the key for Ohio as they forced Nashville to kick field goals in the 4th quarter instead of getting touchdowns. That difference helped Ohio cling to the 2-point victory.

PIT 16 NOR 28

The Breakers racked up nearly 500 yards of offense against a well-regarded Mauler defense. Ricky Williams had his best game of the year, rushing for 132, while Trent Dilfer threw for 327 and 3 scores. Dilfer’s main target was tight end Steve Johnson, who caught 6 passes for 126 and 2 scores, one of them a 61-yard backbreaker when the game was within 1 score.

BAL 24 ARZ 19

The Blitz find themselves atop the Northeastern Division at 2-2 thanks to a solid win on the road in Tempe. Jake Plummer threw two picks, and despite 86 yards rushing, could not outpace the Blitz, despite Jeff Garcia being out. Billy Joe Tolliver relied heavily on Ron Dayne’s rushing (101 yards on 23 carries) to set up play action, but found both Kyle Brady and Bill Schroeder for touchdowns in the Blitz victory.

NJ 13 DEN 33

Denver’s offense finally came alive in this strong home performance against the Generals. Robert Holcombe rushed for 90 yards and 2 scores and Rod Smart added another 53 on the ground as Denver rediscovered their power run game. The defense also came up big, picking off Tom Brady 3 times on their way to a convincing win, their first of the year.

PHI 21 HOU 38

Houston remained unbeaten by surprising the Stars with an inside-outside run game. Mike Anderson handled the inside game, rushing for 41 yards on 10 carries, but the bigger success came from Kevin Faulk, who had an impressive 162 yards on only 13 carries to pace the Gamblers. His 61-yard TD scamper in the opening quarter set the tone for the game.

WSH 3 TEX 20

The Outlaws also stayed unbeaten as they knocked off a listless Washington club, keeping the Federals out of the endzone and scoring on defense as CB Jimmy Hitchcock returned a Kordell Stewart pick for a touchdown. The Federals only averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the ground, against the Outlaws. Sticking to their QB rotation, Ryan Leaf won the start in practice and performed well, going 17 of 30 for 152 with no picks.

ATL 23 LA 7

Maybe all the Fire did need was a new QB, as they played inspired football in Drew Bledsoe’s first start. Bledsoe would go 18 of 31 for only 168, but his presence forced the LA defense to respect the passing game, which allowed Tiki Barber to rack up 161 on the ground. Meanwhile, the usually soft Atlanta defense showed up in force, limiting LA to only 54 yards on the ground in a surprisingly complete game for the visitors.

JAX 6 OAK 26

Another big upset on the West Coast as the undefeated Bulls were shocked by the Invaders. Jackonville converted only 1 third down all game, as Oakland’s D gave up some big plays but kept from allowing drives to develop. On offense, it was Rodney Thomas, in his best game so far as an Invader, who stole the show, rushing 28 times for 133 yards, including a 42-yard TD to pace the Invader offense. Plaxico Burress aided the cause with 2 touchdown receptions as Oakland shocked the bookmakers, winning by 20 when they had been a 2 touchdown underdog.

TBY 24 SEA 19

The Bandits get their first win of the season thanks to a 67-yard pick-six from Greg Jeffries, and a mistake free game from Trent Green (11 of 20 for 204 and no picks). Seattle got 122 on the ground from Corey Dillon, but it was not enough in the end to catch up to the Bandits.

THE MIDSEASON TRADE WINDOW OPENS EARLY

Maybe it’s the new 14-game season, or perhaps just that desperation has started early for some clubs, but this week, following Sunday’ games, we saw an early start to the mid-year trading block. Normally we would expect to see some action in Week 6 or 7, but to see teams make significant moves after Week 4 is unusual, and yet, we got 5 teams on the block, making deals to either get some much needed help, or in one team’s case, to try to turn a good start to the year into a potential playoff run.

New Orleans was the big mover and shaker, making two trades to shore up areas of concern. First, following the news that Bobby Hoying’s foot injury was significantly worse than first diagnosed (moving from turf toe to a fracture with possible staff infection in his toe), the Breakers felt the need to add a QB who could actually step in if something happened to Trent Dilfer. They found a willing partner in Atlanta, who was sitting on three pretty hefty QB salaries with Drew Bledsoe now added to a QB room that had Mark Bulger and Aaron Brooks in it. Atlanta was more than willing to send Brooks (a healthy inactive this past week) to New Orleans and get some value for the move. New Orleans got their solid backup, and Atlanta picked up a quality cornerback from the Breakers in Allen Rossum as well as a 6th round pick in the 2003 draft.

Simmons now a Breaker

But, the Breakers were not done yet. Viewing pass rush as the main weak area for a defense that has had some issues this year, the Breakers were on the lookout for a potential upgrade on the edge. They again found a willing partner in Portland, who, after taking their 4th loss of the year, were hoping to shore up the run defense by adding a space-occupying DT. So, the Thunder and Breakers made a deal to swap outside D-line for inside D-line in hopes that both could solve what they saw as their primary defensive concern. Portland would add big-bodied Leon Bender (as well as a 4th round pick in the draft) to help them against the run, while veteran DE Clyde Simmons would get a new opportunity to harass QB’s as a member of the Breakers.

Trading away 2 draft picks and 2 solid defensive contributors (Rossum and Bender) to land Simmons and Brooks sure seems to indicate that the Breakers see this year as an opportunity to redefine expectations, with their eyes squarely set on competing with Memphis for the division title.

New Invader Pearson Prioleau

The third move this week saw the New Jersey Generals add a needed weapon on offense, while the Oakland Invaders tried to deal with one of their defense’s many weak spots. Oakland has been atrocious in the secondary, an area where New Jersey had depth to offer, so they made a case to acquire backup strong safety Pearson Prioleau from the Generals. The deal, offer New Jersey a solid 3rd down back, one with receiving skills that neither Curtis Enis nor Olandis Gary really possess. The deal sounded good to New Jersey, who have struggled getting their backs involved in the passing game. So, Prioleau goes to Oakland, while the Generals pick up elusive HB Amos Zeroue and a 5th rounder to boot. A good move for New Jersey, but very likely a stronger move for Oakland, who simply needed more skill in the DB room.

Will these three moves profoundly impact the teams involved? Hard to say, though certainly if Trent Dilfer were to miss any time the Breakers would feel more comfortable with Aaron Brooks as the backup than their third stringer, Jesse Palmer. And we expect that Coach Parcells will find a way to make use of Amos Zeroue’s skills. The real question is whether Atlanta, Portland, or Oakland will see much benefit from these moves, or if more holistic change is needed.

LEAF HAPPY FOR A CHANGE

Leaf Happy to Be Out of Oakland

Challenged to step up during practice, Ryan Leaf earned the start for the Outlaws and was not replaced during his game against Washington. And while his 17 of 30, 152 yard day was hardly anything to write home about, the simple fact that Coach Gailey did not pull him for Jeff Lewis seemed to have the tantrum-prone former top draft pick in a better mood after the game. In his post-game interview he managed to both commend his teammates for stepping up, admit that he has areas for improvement, and declare that his goal each week is to prove to the coaches that he is the best option at QB. Awfully mature for a player often criticized as being a man-child. Of course, those of us who have dealt with his prior outbursts still wonder what will happen should Coach Gailey opt for Lewis in future weeks. Will the mature new Leaf disposition hold or will we see more of what we saw when he was in Oakland?

ROOKIE MAKING WAVES

General LB James Harrison

It is unusual for a rookie to come from nowhere to lead his team. You see it occasionally with a high round draft pick, perhaps at positions like HB or CB, where individual talent can often trump knowledge of the pro game, but what we are seeing in New Jersey is certainly unexpected. James Harrison, a bit of a wild card pick in the mid rounds of the draft, has defied the odds. Not only did he win a starting position as the weak side LB in New Jersey’s 4-3, but he currently leads the team with 32 tackles, good enough for 5th in the entire league. Harrison is a big hitter, that is for sure, and he seems to relish taking on running backs, as he showed this week with a huge hit against Robert Holcombe of Denver, knocking the back right off his feet. It is early, but this little-heralded LB out of Kent State could be a serious candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Run & Shoot Yourself In the Foot

Is Coach Martz too cool to run the ball?

Concern in Michigan where Coach Martz seems to be leaning very heavily into the Shoot part of Run & Shoot. His offense after 4 games is not exactly what you would call balanced, with 78% of all plays being pass plays. The fact that the leading number of rush attempts by far is from Drew Brees scrambling (and he is not a scrambler by nature) is not a good sign. Brees has officially rushed the ball 60 times in 4 games, while the big acquisition at HB, Michigan State rookie T.J. Duckett, has only 39 rushing attempts on the year.

Folks in Detroit are beginning to question the logic of asking Brees to throw the ball as much as he has. The success throwing nearly every down has not been there. Brees has 4 TDs but also 3 picks and is only at a 64.5% completion rate. For a QB known for his accuracy, that is not good. Yes, a lot of the blame could go to an offensive line that has simply not gelled yet, but the playcalling is also a big question. You signed Duckett, a top-rated draft pick, with the intention to run him and make life easier for Brees, but so far Martz is not calling a game that takes advantage of the big back. It seems time is right for the 2-2 Panthers to reevaluate whether their wide open offense makes sense with the personnel they have.

The big story this week was that of Bobby Hoying’s new diagnosis. Not only was his turf toe not turf toe, but when doctors discovered the radial fracture in the toe, they also realized that infection had set in, so what was expected to be a 1-2 week minor issue became a pretty serious season-ending concerns. Hoying is expected to recover fully but will be unable to contribute to the Breakers’ 3-1 season, one of the big reasons the Breakers traded for Aaron Brooks.

Hoying was not the only player who got bad news this week as Washington DE Dan Footman is also out for the year with an ACL tear. Seattle CB Al Harris is likely out for the season as well after injuring his back this week. In Pittsburgh the concern is for SS Sam Shade, whose torn MCL likely means 6-8 weeks on the bench. Pittsburgh got hit with a double whammy as their top receiver, Andre Rison, will also be out at least 2 weeks after fracturing his lower arm. It is not a displaced fracture, so he is expected to return quickly, but 2 weeks without Rison could be an issue for the Maulers.

Another important receiver, Michigan’s Laverneus Coles, is likely out at least this week with a sprained ankle. Ohio will be without their star TE Stephen Alexander who sprained his knee this week, while in Texas, rookie TE Matt Schobel is also questionable with a foot injury. Jeff Garcia, the starter for Baltimore may miss another game as his hamstring continues to be a problem.

Expected back in action this week are Denver WR Germaine Crowell, Tampa WR Chris Doering, Pittsburgh TE Jay Riemersma, Nashville tackle Jason Fabini, Portland LB Joey Porter, Philly backer Sam Rogers, and Washington DE Bobby Hamilton.

IT IS OFFICIAL, ATLANTA IS OUT, BOSTON IS IN.

Following several leaks that pointed to a relocation for the Atlanta Fire franchise, the USFL this week officially announced that an agreement had been reached with the Fire and the Boston Colonials Football Group to sell the club, an agreement that allows the club to relocate to Boston for the 2003 season. The league had certainly hoped to get further into the season before breaking this news, knowing full well that this will likely cause a backlash in Atlanta and would very likely negatively impact the rest of the season for the Fire, both on field and in the ticket office.

Alumni Stadium will see USFL action in 2003.

The details of the sale have not been disclosed, though our sources tell us that the asking price for the Fire was not as high as that obtained for either the Portland Thunder or St. Louis Knights. Quite simply put, the Fire had just not built up enough value in Atlanta to ask for more than the other two older franchises. Among the details that were released during the USFL league office’s announcement were that the club will play their games at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium starting with preseason 2003, that the ownership group would be headed by current Boston Bruins owner and CEO Jeremy Jacobs, though the group is truly a consortium of several significant figures and not a part of the holdings of Jabobs’s Delaware North consortium, owners of the Bruins. Finally, the league announced that as part of the agreement to sell the Fire to the Boston-based group, the league would pursue an agreement with the NFL and New England Patriots to allow for the potential use of the Colonials name, but that in the intermim the Boston ownership group must develop alternative options for a team identity should the NFL or Patriots refuse to relinquish their rights to a trademark infringement case against the club or the USFL. This was apparently one of very few contingencies built into the sale and it appears that the Boston group has agreed to explore alternative team identities over the upcoming months.

In Atlanta the news was met with some degree of frustration, but also an overwhelming sense of resignation. The Fire have not been able to develop a strong and vehement fan presence like those seen with several other Southern franchises such as Birmingham, Memphis, New Orleans, or Jacksonville. While there is certainly a sense of loss with the franchise being sold and relocated, the general sense is that this was seen from a mile away, there is no shock, no disbelief, and while football fans in Georgia are certainly not happy to lose their USFL franchise, we are simply not seeing a reaction similar to the ones witnessed in St. Louis after the announced move to Nashville was made, or in Portland when the franchise was looking at multiple bids, including one by the very same Boston group.

In Boston the move was met with enthusiasm, fans gathering downtown to celebrate the arrival of a new football team, the first to play in the city since the Boston Breakers departed for New Orleans (since the Patriots have been well outside the city in Foxboro for years). While the fans cannot be sure that their club will be the Colonials, or have some other identity, enthusiasm seems high for the city to rejoin the spring football world next season. It certainly does not hurt that among those coming to Boston will be Drew Bledsoe, longtime Patriot QB and the first QB to lead the Patriots to an NFL title.

So now the big questions remaining, with all 3 franchises on the market now claimed, are different. First, just what will this new Boston club be named? And second, will the USFL’s Southeastern Division truly be three Florida teams and a Boston franchise, or will 2003 see another realignment, and just who moves out of their current division? We shall have to wait and see, though we know already that neither Washington nor Baltimore has any desire to split up their rivalry between two divisions, which does not leave a lot of options. If Boston goes to their logical place in the Northeast, one of the 4 current teams will have to move out. An intriguing issue to follow as we move ahead with the relocation process.

Week five brings us divisional play in the East once again, with some big matchups as teams try to move their way to the top of some tight divisional races. Baltimore leads the Northeast at 2-2 and heads to New Jersey hoping to put more space between themselves and the competition. Philly and Washington are both mired at 1-3 but face off at RFK, with both hoping to get win #2. In the Southeast, Atlanta, fresh off their surprise win in LA, must now face Jacksonville, who just suffered their first defeat. Tampa Bay will be in Orlando as well, with both hoping they are now headed in the right direction after Week 4 wins. In the Central we have two good rivalry games, with Chicago visiting Michigan and Ohio headed to Pittsburgh.

Out West it is interdivisional play this week, with the big game being 3-1 New Orleans headed to 3-0-1 Texas in what used to be a divisional rivalry. Houston shares the top spot in the Southwest at 3-0-1 and prepare to host the Nashville Knights. Denver and Oakland just scored their first wins of the year and now face off at Mile High. LA, surprisingly at 1-3, heads to Arizona, where the Wranglers hope to build up a divisional lead with a win. Birmigham travels to winless Portland hoping to avoid an upset, while Memphis, at 4-0, hopes to stay unbeaten as they visit 2-2 Seattle.