Two very different games this weekend as the USFL Conference Title Games provided us with a shootout and a major upset. Washington and Ohio went toe to toe, scoring at will one against the other, all the way to extra time before a winner was decided. Meanwhile in Denver, an explosion of points in the 4th quarter turned a somewhat humdrum 7-7 game into a blowout win for the underdog Breakers. The results set up an interesting Summer Bowl, but one in which the Ohio Glory are going to be heavily favored to become the first USFL club to ever repeat as champions. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
OHIO GLORY 41 WASHINGTON FEDERALS 38 OVERTIME
It was a game where the Washington Federals went completely against character, throwing points on the scoreboard with ease, while their vaunted defense seemed to have incredible difficulty keeping their opponents from doing the same. With the two teams combining for 1001 yards and 79 points and where the Federals did not trail until the 1:05 mark of the fourth quarter and yet came away with a loss as Ohio punched their ticket to a second consecutive Summer Bowl and a chance to repeat as champions, something no USFL team has ever done.
Ohio got huge performances from its big stars, with Kerry Collins completing 23 of 27 passing for 379 yards and 2 scores. Eddie George was unstoppable, gaining 108 on the ground and another 118 through the air. Three different running backs scored for Ohio, as did TE Stephen Alexander and WR Joey Galloway. For Washington, the results were even more astounding as Kordell Stewart threw for 357 and 2 scores and the defense contributed a pick-six to help the Fed’s keep pace all game long with the high-powered offense of the Glory.
The game started with a strong opening period from the home team as Washington scored on their opening drive, thanks to a short TD run from Deuce McCallister. When the defense got Ohio’s offense off the field in only 5 plays, the Federals’ offense doubled up their advantage with Stewart connecting with TE Cam Cleeland to go up 14. But, as expected, Ohio’s offsense would not be contained for long. The Glory struck just as the 1st quarter turned to the second, with Joey Galloway catching a short TD pass from Collins to bring the difference down to 7.
After halting a Washington drive, Ohio went back to work, and after 7 plays Eddie George got the handoff on the 3 yard line and punched it in to even the score. With 3:50 left in the half, Washington got the ball back and proved that they also had some offensive capacity left in them. Moving the ball quickly down the field, the Federals got help from a pass interference call in the endzone to put the ball on the 1, and Brock Olivo pounded it in from there with 37 seconds left in the half. Washington went in at halftime up 7.
The Federals pulled the double dip, scoring in the final two minutes and then getting the ball to start the second half, and, just as they did in the first quarter, they built up a 14-point lead on Ohio when Cedric Tillman caught an 11-yard fade pass from Stewart, just barely getting his toes in bounds. But, just as Washington was repeating their first half success, Ohio would do the same. Washington’s score was followed up by two consecutive scoring drives for the Glory. Musa Smith, subbing for George, took a handoff on the 15 and spun past a defender, diving for the pylon and bringing Ohio back within one score. When Kordell Stewart threw a bad ball on the next drive, Ohio got the first Federal turnover of the game, and they cashed in on it with a 27-yard Collins to Alexander TD pass. Once again the game was tied.
Washington got the ball back to start the 4th quarter, but on the 2nd play of their drive, Deuce McCallister fumbled for the 2nd time in the game. This one was lost to Ohio, unlike the earlier fumble picked up by a Washington lineman. Ohio had the ball on the Washington side of midfield, and it looked like they could take their first lead of the day, but as Collins tried to hit Chad Ochocinco on an incutting route, LB Michael Barrow made an incredible play, leaping high in the air, swatting the ball, and then having the presence of mind to not only catch the deflected ball, but to take the right angle as he started running, avoiding the hit of Eddie George and racing to a score for the Federals. Washington was on top yet again.
But the Washington defense had struggled all day to disrupt Collins, and once again Ohio would find a way, this time Collins getting the benefit of a defensive PI call, much like the one the Feds had benefitted from earlier. It was a pretty easy call as Ed Reed got there way to early and ran straight into Chad Ochocinco in the endzone. Again the ball ended up on the 1, and again a backup HB, this time Ohio’s Musa Smith, got the ball across the plane. 35-35 with 6:22 left to play in this barnburner.
Washington would continue to have miscues and on their next drive it was Stewart’s turn. The mobile QB scrambled out of trouble, but did not see Glenn Cadrez gaining on him from behind. Cadrez knocked the ball out of Stewart’s hand and recovered the ball to give Ohio the ball deep in Federals’ territory. Washington held, but John Carney’s kick was able to give Ohio the lead with only 1:05 left in the game. Stewart would need some big plays to get Doug Pelfrey, the league’s All-USFL kicker in range.
Receiving the ball on the 25 after a touchback on the kick, Stewart took over on offense and immediately started using mid-range passes to try to get the ball into field goal range. He hit Cedrick Tillman for 8, then Cleeland for 5, and Bryant Johnson (playing for the injured Deion Branch) for another 11. On first and 10, Ohio flushed Stewart out of the pocket, but the elusive QB rushed for 17 yards on the busted play. Spiking the ball with 23 seconds left, Stewart lined up for one more play before sending out Pelfrey. He would connect with Tillman at the 35 yard line, use the team’s last timeout, and Pelfrey would line up for a 52-yarder to tie the game. Pelfrey’s kick flew dead center and the game was headed to overtime.
Ohio called heads, it was tails, and the Federals received the kickoff. Stewart, now not operating with the time limits of his 2-minute drill, struggled to find rhythm, missing on a 2nd and 8 throw, and then miscommunicating with Bryant Johnson on third down as Johnson hooked in while Stewart threw to a nonexistant out route. The Feds punted and turned to their defense for support. But, this was a defense that had been on its heels for a good portion of the game. In just 6 plays Ohio was in range for Carney, and when a Fed’s defender jumped offside on the kick, the ball was brought even closer, producing a very makeable 36-yarder for Carney. The Glory kicker made good and kicked the defending champs back into the Summer Bowl. Ohio now becomes the 4th league champion to make a repeat appearance in the title game, following the 1985-86 Stars, the 1992-93 Gamblers, and the 2000-10 Denver Gold. None of the previous three defending champs were able to win that elusive back to back title. Can Ohio do them all one better and take home a second straight Bassett Trophy?
NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 28 DENVER GOLD 7
A very different game at Invesco Field as both Denver and New Orleans struggled to put points on the board through three quarters before the floodgates opened, at least for one club. Both New Orleans and Denver scored in the opening period, but then the offenses dried up for the better part of the game. In particular Denver seemed to have no ability to sustain drives at all. Rod Smart led all rushers with only 61 yards while Mark Brunell completed only 17 of 31 passes for 115 yards. For New Orleans, Ricky Williams rushed only for 57 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Without Az-Zahir Hakim, the Breakers spread the ball among 8 receivers, but none were able to break a big one for New Orleans.
The Breakers did look good on their first drive, when Dilfer marched the visitors down the field with scripted plays, putting a score on the board when he hit Sanjay Beach for a 12-yard touchdown. Denver also looked pretty solid on their first drive, an 11-play, 7 minute drive that finished up when Rod Smart went off tackle at the 3 and squeezed his way between defenders to reach paydirt. It was a start that seemed to promise more fireworks throughout, but the next two quarters saw both defenses turn up the pressure and both offenses miss opportunities. New Orleans got to the Denver 30, but kicker David Green missed both kicks, from 43 and 47 yards out. Not much better, Jeff Wilkens missed Denver’s only other scoring opportunity in the 2nd quarter, a last second kick from 44 yards out. It felt like neither team wanted to win this one.
The score stayed 7-7 until the 12:31 mark of the fourth quarter, when Trent Dilfer finally managed to avoid a rough third down situation and keep the ball moving forward. From the 2-yard line Dilfer found backup TE Austin Wheatley alone in the endzone after a good fake to Williams. The score put New Orleans up for the first time since the early minutes of the first quarter. They kicked the ball off to Denver, and a muff on the kickoff put the ball on the Denver 9 yard line. They would move the ball out to the 20, but back to back penalties, first a hands-to-the-face infraction and then a false start, moved the ball all the way back to 9 once again. On 2nd and 19 disaster struck for the Gold when LB DeWayne Dotson burst through the line untouched, crashing into Brunell before he even got set. The ball popped out and before the Denver players could even react, Dotson was falling on it in the endzone to give New Orleans as 14-point lead.
Down two scores, Mark Brunell got desperate, and that desperation turned south again as he was picked off at his own 33 by Latin Berry, and 2 plays later New Orleans made it a 3-score lead as they faked the ball to Troy Davis and then Dilfer found Wheatley for a 2nd score. 28-7 and this one was all but over. Denver tried to go deep on their next drive, but on 4th and 10 had to admit defeat and punt the ball away. New Orleans went into time-killing mode, and that turned into victory formation mode as the Breakers’ bench celebrated the team’s first ever conference title. The Breakers were headed to the Summer Bowl for the first time in the 21-year old club’s pretty storied history. The problem now was that they would be going into that game as a prohibitive underdog.
Michigan Gets Their Consolation Prize
It has to feel a bit weird to be Dick LeBeau. Yes, you just got a second head coaching job after being let go by one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL, but you are also so very clearly the backup option for your new team, and that cannot feel good. After making a fuss over Tom Coughlin only to miss out on the coach to the Baltimore Blitz, Michigan announced the hire of LeBeau this Tuesday.
LeBeau, known as a defensive mastermind and a bit of an old-school throwback, inherits the worst club in the USFL, and a team that desperately needs some structure and discipline. There is some talent in Michigan, particularly at QB and WR, but the defense needs a total overhaul, and the run game has been all but nonexistent. So, a lot of work to do for a coach who may just be entering this job with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, although sadly we won’t see a Baltimore-Michigan game on the schedule next year.
Arizona Double Dips
The Wranglers apparently had two coaches that really interested them and really stood out in interviews, former Bulls and NFL Giants head coach Jim Fassel, and former Bears and U. of Illinois offensive coordinator, and a former Wranglers QB, Greg Landry. So, what do they do? They work with Fassel to set up an agreement that brings him to Arizona with a focus on defense and special teams, and allows the Wranglers to bring in Landry as the OC and Assistant Head Coach.
It is a rare thing to have a head coach and an offensive coordinator on the same team who have never worked with each other before, but that will be the situation in Arizona. The good news is that in doing so, the Wranglers have brought in specialists who can work with the different squads within the team, and if it goes well the two can complement each other’s style and build something. But the risk is there that this is a two-headed monster, much like when a team has 2 equally-matched QBs competing to start. Landry is not much of an ego-driven guy, so maybe we are exaggerating the potential clash of styles and personalities, but this is certainly something of an experiment for the Wranglers.
Tampa Bay Still Searching
The hires of LeBeau and Fassel leave Tampa Bay as the only USFL club without a head coach. What is the delay? Well, there is a lot of pressure in Tampa Bay for the owners to make a symbolic move and sign former Bandit HC Steve Spurrier. And they may well be considering that, but no one from Tampa Bay is allowed to reach out to the former Bandit coach until the NFL/USFL Transfer Window opens in two weeks. So what is Tampa Bay to do in the meantime? Well, they had a brief (and we here somewhat fiery, phone call with Jerry Glanville, who seems to want no part of the Bandits any longer. They also brought in former Renegades HC and current Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger for a quick visit, but it seems that Big How is comfortable in small time college football and is not eager to take up the pressures of pro ball again. Rumors also have Tampa Bay interested in recently let go Baltimore Coach Lindy Infante, but we cannot imagine the fanbase in Tampa would be on board with that kind of lateral move at all. Spurrier may be the only option that allows the Bandits to bring the fanbase back to their usual level of rowdy fervor, assuming he is open at all to a switch, as it would force him to resign from the Redskins, giving up a significant portion of his 3-year contract to do so.
Divisional Game Knockouts Lead to Roster Shifts
Another round of playoffs, another round of players who either become free agents as their contracts expire and a few more retirements. That is the rhythm of the early offseason and we saw it again as Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle bowed out of the playoffs this week. Some pretty significant contributors leaving all four clubs, or at least testing the waters to see what options they have. We begin with a few noteworthy players opting to retire and step away from the game.
The biggest name in this new group is that of Chicago tackle John Thierry, whose retirement will leave a huge hole to fill for the Machine on their O-line. Punter Chris Mohr of Jacksonville, recently named the punter on the All-Time All-USFL team, has also decided to step away from the game after 15 seasons with the Bulls. Seattle will lose their backup QB as Craig Erickson announced his retirement, one of three Dragons who will call it a career. One more player of note as Chicago QB Browning Nagle, who has not seen a snap in real game action since 1997 departs to pursue a broadcasting position in Louisville.
Retirements are expected, and often quite predictable, but each of these teams is also significantly impacted by the players who did not resign with the team during the season and now become free agents. Looking at each club, we see these players as the most significant to test the waters:
CHICAGO: DT Sean Gilbert, G Leo Goeas, WR Johnnie Morton, TE Fred Baxter
JACKSONVILLE: WR Terrell Owens, G Matt O’Dwyer, T Jon Runyan, FS Omar Stoutmire, WR Bobby Shaw
LOS ANGELES: DT David Rocker, C Bryan Stoltenberg, G Tom Ackerman, WR Amani Toomer, QB Shane Matthews, DT Travis Kirschke, LB Barry Minter
SEATTLE: SS John Lynch, DE Antonio Edwards, WR J.J. Stokes, LB Mike Maslowski, G Troy Sienkiwicz, DT Shane Burton
There are some big impact players on that list, starting with Bulls receiver Terrell Owens, who will almost certainly be a major target for both NFL and USFL clubs looking for a true #1 at the position. Safety John Lynch is also in the prime of his career and a former All-USFL selection. For those on more of a budget, snagging either J.J. Stokes or Amani Toomer could be a huge addition, while DT Sean Gilbert or Travis Kirschke could be huge upgrades for several teams as they try to build up a solid D-line. A lot of talent here, but as teams try to negotiate the salary cap and prioritize key positons, there may well be some bidding wars at play that impact who has the space and the drive to sign some of the bigger talents in the free agent pool. We will see how aggressive the NFL is and who within the USFL is willing to match NFL salaries to sign some of the talent in the free agent pool. Just four teams left, with Denver and Washington the next to see departures as we fully expect unsigned players like Denver’s Gennaro DiNapoli, Tracy Boyd, and Lloyd Hill to hit free agency along with Washington’s Sam Garnes, Tommy Vardell, Kevin Lockett and center Jim Pyne. With Ohio and New Orleans still playing we wait yet another week to see if the Glory can resign both Joey Galloway and Chad Ochocinco. The expectation is that they have room in their budget for only one.
Great news for both New Orleans and Ohio as there were no additions to the injury report this week. That doesn’t mean some players won’t be missed, with the Breakers going without WR Az-Zahir Hakim and DE Chidi Ahanotu. Without their top weapon in the receiving corps the Breakers are going to have to get inventive if they want to keep pace with Ohio. The only lingering injury for the Glory is a player they would not expect to see the field, backup QB Chris Redman, so they have their full arsenal available to them as they prepare for their title defense in the Summer Bowl.
Success Boosts Breakers Asking Price
The Breakers picked a good year to make a Summer Bowl run as on-field success, which also boosts financial success as fans flock to jump on the bandwagon, immediately improves the value of the club and interest in potential ownership opportunities. The longtime lead owner of the Breakers, Jerry Canizaro is looking to cash out and while David Dixon, the influential league architect of the WFL and to a degree the USFL is still going to retain his share of the club, the Breakers are hoping to get top dollar for the controlling share of the team. Winning their way to a title game this year only helps them garner attention. The latest news is that Azram Glazer,son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer has taken an interest in the team.
This would not be the first time that we see an NFL-USFL connection in ownership as way back in 1984, Edward DeBartolo Sr., father of 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., signed onto the new league as owner of the Pittsburgh Mauler expansion franchise. It took some negotiating and legal maneuvering, but the deal was cut. A similar situation would almost certainly come around were Glazer to be the nominee to take over the Breakers. Already heavily invested in athletics through the Glazer’s ownership of both the Buccaneers and English soccer club Manchester United, Glazer would almost certainly want a stronger role in team operations than Cannizaro held. That may be a sticking point for Dixon, who fancies himself more of the hands-on owner within the franchise’s structure.
We appear to be a ways away from someone signing on the dotted line with the Breakers, as they are still very much exploring options, reaching out to interested parties, engaging in thorough financial checks, and negotiating internally about the desired value for the club, and the percentage of the ownership consortium which will be sold off versus reallocated or sold internally to David Dixon and others within the current ownership structure, but the clear good news of this season is that the value of the club is taking an upward turn as the team’s on-field success expands their revenue potential.
Seating Plan Under Scrutiny
Much the opposite situation in Las Vegas, where the plan to add an additional 11,000 seats to Sam Boyd stadium has run into a significant snag. UNLV, the primary tenant for Sam Boyd Stadium, and a significant voice in the stadium commission, has balked at the initial plans for the expanded temporary seating, even though the new seating would be dismantled well before fall football season would begin for the Rebels. It seems they may have an ally within the city as well as initial plans for the expansion have come under scrutiny on grounds of their structural soundness. The plan called for structural additions within the framework of the stadium that would allow for anchoring of the new seating areas, essentially an upper deck to the endzone areas of the stadium, but engineers are warning that the plans could compromise the existing structure and do not provide ample support for cross-directional stresses, such as strong winds. That sounds on the surface like a very untenable situation, and it seems clear that the Thunder are going to have to go back to the drawing board if they want the appropriate permits and the clearance from the stadium commission to make the addition.
Without additional seating, Sam Boyd Stadium would be the smallest capacity facility in the league, a full 4,000 seats below the capacity of Portland’s Civic Stadium, a building that kept the Thunder from reaching the financial capacity of the market or league averages. To play in an even smaller stadium would be a disaster for the newly-relocated Thunder. Now, there is time for owner Phil Ruffin to develop a new structural plan for expanded seating, but that time is not endless. In all likelihood, the plan would need to be in place before the Winter Holiday season if the club wants to have any hope of completing the plan in time for a March kickoff. This is not a situation where new stands can simply be erected as you may see with a stadium that has an open end where bleachers can simply be set up for additional seating. Sam Boyd would require structural additions or modifications in order to add this temporary deck of seating, and that will require significant time to complete, especially since construction cannot begin until the conclusion of UNLV’s fall football season, assuming UNLV and the commission approve of a plan this fall. It may well be that the Thunder once again are handcuffed, at least for the short term, with a stadium that simply does not have the capacity to allow for the kind of ticket and in-stadium revenue that most other USFL clubs take for granted.
Here we are, only days from Summer Bowl 2003, and the feel around the country and around the football world is focused on the question of whether or not Ohio can be stopped. New Orleans opened as a 7-point underdog, and as betting has shifted in Las Vegas, that line has grown to 10 points. Fans and wagerers simply seem to believe that the Glory are destined to take the title again, and who can blame them. Ohio has lost only 2 games in 2 years, has the top rated offense, a three-time MVP at quarterback, a two-time Offensive Player of the Year at running back and perhaps the best 1-2 combination of wideouts we have seen since the early Carter-Holloway combo the Panthers used to win two titles in the 1980’s. This will be a major upset if New Orleans can pull it off. So how could they?
That is the question most pundits have been debating since Sunday’s championship games. The general theory goes something like this: Hold the ball, slow the game, and make plays on third down. Sounds simple, right? But that is a strategy that many have tried and failed to accomplish. We saw Pittsburgh successfully use Terrell Davis and a short-yardage passing attack to defeat Ohio for the first time in over a year, but that was back in Week 4, and when the Maulers tried a similar tactic in Week 10, they could not sustain it and Ohio scored 34and won the game in Heinz Field. The Federals had moderate success with that strategy, leaning heavily on Deuce McCallister and blanket zone coverages back in Week 11 of the regular season, and kept the score down, but still lost 17-10, their only defeat of the regular season. When those two met this past week the game played out very differently, but Washington again could not come out on top.
New Orleans has the run game to eat clock. They can hand off to Ricky Williams as often as they like. They also have a solid screen game with Troy Davis as the primary target, but it can be predictable because it is so rare to see New Orleans engage in standard inside runs when Davis is in the game. The issue for the Breakers, at least on offense, is going to be consistency in the passing game. Without Az-Zahir Hakim, they have to rely on Kevin Dyson, Sanjay Beach, and Josh Reed, with TE Bubba Franks as a safety valve. That is not a receiving corps that would be classified as elite, or even fall in the upper half of USFL clubs. Trent Dilfer is going to have to be decisive, and varied in his targets if New Orleans wants to keep drives alive and shorten the game to keep Ohio from having chances to score.
The reason that will be so important is because, unlike the Federals, the Breakers’ defense is somewhat suspect, especially against the pass, where they gave up 291.1 yards per game this season (near the bottom of the league). You do not want to have a shaky pass defense when playing against Collins, Galloway and Ochocinco (We still have trouble taking his name seriously, can we just say that?). The Breakers will almost certainly try to use similar blanket zone plans that we saw so many teams use, which means they cannot blitz as much as they would like. That puts pressure on the front 4 of Michael McCrary, Moe Gardner, Brandon Whiting, and Clyde Simmons. Expect to see a lot of rotation, especially on the interior where Chris Maumalanga could get a lot of 3rd down snaps. If they are going to blitz, expect it to come from DeWayne Dotson, the player who helped the Breakers lock down the win against Denver this past week.
Do we see New Orleans pulling this out? Not really, but that is also what we thought about Pittsburgh in 1995 when they shocked the Houston Gamblers and Orlando in 2001 when we thought Denver was sure to repeat as champions. A repeat has never happened, and that must be for a reason. All the pressure is on the Ohio Glory. New Orleans has no expectation for victory and that free & easy position makes them dangerous. If Ohio comes out tight, if they are not at their best, they too could become a victim of the repeat pressure that knocked out 3 prior champions trying to defend their crown. So, are we predicting a Breakers title? Sorry, we just can’t be that detached from what we have seen on the field this year. We are going with Ohio to become the first club to repeat, and we agree with the Vegas book, 10 points seems about right. Our pick is Ohio 38-28.