It was a week for the backups as several teams managed to pull out wins despite losing their startup QB's. New Jersey got a huge victory over Ohio thanks to the late heroics of backup Todd Boumann. Jacksonville called on Josh McCown when Jake Delhomme was knocked out of the game and the young QB helped spark a Bulls' win. Will Furrer came in late for Brian Griese and guided the Stars to a road win, and Quincy Carter got the start for an injured Cade McNown and helped lead LA to a divisional win. Things were not so good in Michigan, where veteran Spence Fisher simply could not get anything going and the Panthers were blown out and shut out in what appears to be a spiral leading to Mike Martz being let go sooner rather than later. But let's start with the biggest upset of the week as the Ohio Glory lose their second in a row, despite building up a 14-point margin and knocking Tom Brady out of action.
NEW JERSEY 30 OHIO 24 -- OVERTIME
Ohio falls again as New Jersey, with Todd Boumann subbing for an injured Tom Brady, leads two late TD drives to even the score in regulation and then adds a third in overtime to upend the defending champs for a second consecutive week. Last year, as we watched the Ohio Glory race to a 17-0 season, we were quick to point out that the difference between 2002 and past seasons was that Ohio had a defense that would allow them to hold leads or keep teams from coming back on them. That defense appears to be failing the Glory this year as they have now lost two consecutive games, with both Pittsburgh and New Jersey scoring 30 or more points in their victories.
Unlike last week, a road loss to a Mauler squad that built up a lead and then limited Ohio’s opportunities to come back, this week the Glory were at home and had a lead to protect. They had successfully knocked New Jersey’s star QB out of thee game and by all accounts the game was theirs to win. That Todd Boumann was able to mount a comeback has to be a troubling revelation. Perhaps more troubling is the way New Jersey was able to counteract the Glory offense. While Pittsburgh focused on 3rd down stops and a ball control offense, New Jersey turned up the pressure. They brought blitzes on passing downs, to incredible success, as the Generals were able to record a staggering 11 sacks on the day, five from perennial All-USFL DE Phil Hansen, and 6 more from a variety of players who swarmed Kerry Collins on every passing down.
Collins remained in for the entire game but walked away battered and befuddled by the constant pressure. This showed in the 4th quarter, where New Jersey scored an unanswered 14 points to even the score at 24 and send the game to overtime. Whereas the first half had belonged to Ohio, with Collins connecting twice with Joey Galloway to build a 17-3 lead, and the 3rd quarter was a bit more even, with both clubs scoring once, the 4th quarter, after Brady had to leave the game, was all New Jersey.
Todd Boumann began the quarter with a quick strike attack that moved the ball 67 yards in only 5 plays, ending with a 23-yard TD toss to rookie David Tyree. After the defense got Collins off the field with one of four 4th quarter sacks, this one on 3rd and a manageable 4 yards, New Jersey took the ball down the field a second time. This drive required more time, 11 plays and 6 minutes to be exact, but the result was the same. Boumann found Terry Glenn from the 11-yard line and tied the game with only 1:22 left to play.
Ohio had a chance to avoid overtime, but once again the New Jersey defense sent rushers from every angle, and back to back sacks, one from Hansen and one from free safety Brian Dawkins, ended the drive and sent the game to an extra period.
Ohio got the ball first in overtime, but after an initial first down on an Eddie George run, the offensive line again misread the new Jersey blitz, leaving Hansen with one-on-one blocking and the league’s legendary edge rusher got to Collins just as he was preparing to release the ball. Collins avoided the fumble, but the Glory were forced to punt. They would not see the ball again as New Jersey, with momentum fully on their side, marched through a tired Ohio defense, and put the game to bed with Boumann’s third TD of the day, this time to Kevin Johnson.
For New Jersey it was a statement game. The Generals were back above .500 after losing two early games when Brady was hurt. For Ohio, it was a second consecutive outing in which both the offense and the defense showed signs of weakness and vulnerability. So now every team on the schedule will look at what Pittsburgh and New Jersey were able to do and can try to replicate the elements that worked to derail the Ohio offense and wear out the Glory defense.
CHI 17 JAX 20
The Bulls scraped out a win despite losing their starting QB, just as New Jersey did. Jake Delhomme suffered an injury early in the first quarter and the defense held as backup Josh McCown slowly got into the flow of play. By the third quarter he found his stride, connecting with Bobby Shaw for the game-winning TD in the 4th, and the defense held Chicago out of field goal range as time wore down to take the W despite giving up 130 yards receiving to Curtis Conway and another 75 to Johnnie Morton.
WSH 10 ORL 9
Washington and Orlando dealt with downpour rains in the Citrus Bowl and again the combination of weather and defense was enough for the Federals to move to 5-0, while Orlando dropped to a surprising 0-5 on the year. Deuce McCallister slogged through the wet field to score the only TD of the game as both clubs combined for only 11 first downs. Orlando was particularly troubled by the weather, converting only 1 of 12 third down plays.
BAL 21 PIT 28
A good game at Heinz Field as the Blitz and Maulers went toe to toe for 4 quarters, with the deciding score a Patrick Surtain pick-six in the 4th quarter. Charlie Batch looked very proficient, throwing for 3 scores and avoiding turnovers, while Jeff Garcia also threw 3 scores but suffered 2 picks, including the costly pick six that gave Pittsburgh their 4th win of the young season.
PHI 29 TBY 28
The Stars got their second win of the campaign thanks to another backup as Will Furrer stepped in for a concussed Brian Griese and led the Stars on a 2-minute drill that produced a late TD to Alex Van Dyke. Despite the L, halfback Willis McGahee had another good game for Tampa, with 92 yards rushing, well outpacing the 43-yard day Philly’s Stephen Davis had.
SEA 27 LA 35
The Dragons hung with the 3-1 LA Express through three quarters, but the Expressed pulled away in the 4th and took home the 8-point win with a late Amani Toomer TD. Again, in a week of backups, we saw good play from LA’s Quincy Carter, who got the start due to Cade McNown’s week 4 injury. Carter finished only 12 of 20, but threw for 3 touchdowns to help LA get the home win. Tory Holt led all receivers with 141 yards on 5 receptions, but it was Toomer with two second half TDs that stole the show.
HOU 17 DEN 24
Denver’s rebound season continues as Mark Brunell survived a 3-pick day by connecting on all three Denver touchdowns. TE Marco Battaglia was the star for Denver as he caught 7 balls, including two Brunell TD tosses. The Gold were down 17-14 after three quarters but held Houston in check in the final quarter as they added 10 points to the total and sent the fans home happy from New Mile High.
POR 33 OAK 18
The Portland Thunder continue to ignore the chaos surrounding their long term future and move to 3-2 on the year with a solid win in Oakland. Akili Smith returned to action and led the team with 3 TD passes, connecting with new WR Muhsin Muhammad for 2 scores. The Portland D also came up big, picking off Marques Tuiasosopo 4 times in the victory.
TEX 34 ARZ 24
The Wranglers drop their 4th game in 5 tries as Texas gets a Marlon Kerner pick six, a rushing TD from Kevin Barlow, and two Jeff Lewis TD passes to outpace the efforts of Jake Plummer. Once again the run game was simply nonexistent for Arizona as Dominique Rhodes and Stanley Pritchett combine for only 52 yards total.
NSH 33 MEM 25
Nashville wins the in-state rivalry game a the Liberty Bowl and in so doing sends Memphis below .500 at 2-3. Ahman Green had a big day, rushing for 127 yards on 26 carries, and Todd Collins used play action effectively to connect on long TD passes to Bert Emmanuel and TE Justin Peele. Adrian Cooper was his usually amazing self, catching 9 balls for 161 and a score, but Nashville held the wideouts in check to keep Memphis’s offense off kilter.
NOR 18 BIR 17
The Breakers improve to 5-0 with a big road win in Birmingham. The defense played shut-down defense all day, allowing New Orleans to outgain Birmingham 427 to 299. Most of that offense was Trent Dilfer, surviving 4 Birmingham sacks to connect for 378 yards passing. He did throw 2 picks, so the pressure got to him, but Birmingham was only able to turn those turnovers into 3 points on the scoreboard. The score could have been higher, but New Orleans failed on two attempts to convert 2-point PATs after falling behind 17-6 and battling back with 2nd half TDs to Josh Reed and Kevin Dyson.
MGN 0 BOS 35
A truly ugly game in Boston as the Panthers simply could not do anything right. Michigan managed only 20 yards rushing, QB Spence Fisher was inaccurate and simply couuld not produce drives, and the defense gave up 174 yards and 2 touchdowns to Tiki Barber despite knowing all along that he would be the centerpiece of the Boston attack. This one felt more like Ohio State vs. Southern Utah than a game between two pro squads, a bad look if you are Mike Martz and you are hoping to keep your job.
Week of the Backup QB
If there was a theme this week, it was certainly the value of a quality backup QB. We saw Quincy Carter start for the Express and get LA a convincing division win. Todd Boumann came in for a dinged-up Tom Brady and not only led a comeback to send the game to overtime, but also won the game in the extra period. Will Furrer played less for Philly, but he too led the club to a victory in a tight game. Meanwhile Kent Graham looks like he will start the rest of the season unless Tampa Bay makes a trade in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Spence Fisher looked completely unprepared for his start as Drew Brees’s replacement, failing to score a single point against a Boston defense that is not exactly a brick wall. As we get into the meat of the league schedule, having a quality backup will be key as it has become rare for a starter to be able to start and finish all 14 games. While many will likely not get a start this year, at some point they are all going to see action one way or another, and in cases like that of Tampa Bay, having a backup who is not only familiar with the offense but able to jump in and get quality starts can be the difference between a playoff appearance and a low draft pick. Looking at the 24 #2’s across the league, we see a mix of youth and veteran presence, former starters and potential trade bait. In some cases the difference between starter and backup is so close that teams find themselves constantly second guessing who to start, while other franchises see such a gap that the fans have to hold their breath any time the starter gets so much as a hangnail. We looked at the 24 backups leaguewide and set up a categorization for you.
Openly Challenging the Starter
OAK: Jon Kitna—Coach Green is clearly giving Marques Tuiasosopo the benefit of the doubt as the younger player, but Kitna has been a starter before and could be again if Tuiasosopo struggles.
ORL: It seems crazy to think that Orlando would go away from Joey Harrington after all they did to sign him, but his play has been very erratic this year, and Mark Bulger has shown that he can start games and win them. He has been a workable starter before, and while he is unlikely to lead the league in QB Rating, he can win games for you, something Harrington has been unable to do this year.
PIT: Jeff Blake was brought in to challenge and push Charlie Batch, and while it seems to have worked and Batch is playing well, Blake is a legitimate starting QB, and could be trade bait if Pittsburgh feels comfortable with what they are seeing in Batch this year.
TEX: Ryan Leaf—No surprise here. Leaf was a #1 draft pick and still believes he should be the starter for the Outlaws. We could absolutely see him pushing Jeff Lewis, and if that does not work out, seeking a trade.
TBY: There were a lot of questions about Kent Graham, but it seems that Tampa Bay is feeling pretty good about what they have in him. It does not hurt his chances to actually earn the starting job that Trent Green has not looked good this year. Graham could finish the season as a starter if he can put together some wins for the Bandits.
Quality Backup who could start elsewhere
BOS: Jim Miller is a solid backup, and that is probably his best option right now, but it feels like he has been a QB who could produce quality starts if given the chance. Maybe we are overestimating his abilities, but when he has played, he has had flashes of really good football, so we think that he may be an undervalued commodity.
JAX: We debated whether Josh McCown belonged here or one category lower. He has a lot of raw talent, is big, strong, and young, so he could be a diamond in the rough for the Bulls. If he gets a chance to develop, he could be a quality signing if he ever becomes a free agent.
LA: Quincy Carter has shown, as recently as this week, that he can be a starter. He has great elusivity and a strong arm. He lacks experience and needs to work on both his footwork and his decision-making, but he could easily challenge for a starting spot on many teams.
NOR: Aaron Brooks was a starter in Atlanta, and could easily be a starter again. He has a lot of talent, and made the most out of a bad situation with the Fire. Right now, learning behind Trent Dilfer may be a good step towards him reclaiming a starting job, as it was decision-making and reading defenses that were his weak spots, two areas where Trent Dilfer’s knowledge can help him grow.
PHI: Will Furrer was the starter last season in Philadelphia. Yes, he struggled, but so did the Stars as a team. He lost the job to Brian Griese, and that seems like a good move for Philadelphia, but we could see Furrer signing with a club and making a difference if the talent is around him to allow his style of play (short passes, quick release, perhaps West Coast Offense) to function as planned.
WSH: Scott Zolak is not a true starter, but he may be the best “fill in” quarterback in the league. He has shown on several occasions that he can come in cold and lead the team to a win, and he can look really solid the next week. Why can’t he be a starter? The easy answer is that his arm talent is not quite there, and he is not quite fleet of foot enough to avoid rushers, so you have to gameplan to protect him, which is easy enough on short notice, but does limit the offensive options, something no OC wants to do long term.
Good for a few games a year if needed
ARZ: Tony Banks was brought in from the NFL in part because his skillset parallels that of Jake Plummer. He too can be a dual threat, but it would be a shallow imitation of the All-USFL QB to have Banks playing.
BIR: The Stallions have both Dany Kannell and Eric Zeier behind Brett Favre. Both have had chances in the league, with Zeier a starter in Atlanta over several seasons. Do we think either can replace Favre if called upon? No, not really. They are serviceable, and can finish up a game if needed, but if Favre were to be unavailable for more than a week or two, the Stallions would not be looking too good.
CHI: Ray Lucas has talent, and a lot of moxie as well. More of a raw athlete than a refined passer, Lucas has a very different style than starter Jeff George, so the fit in the Chicago system is an odd one, but you can gameplan for his skills and he can be successful if you do.
MEM: Bill Musgrave has gotten some starts and some relief duty in the past few years and has always looked prepared and capable when called on. He is not a guy you build a team around, but if Heath Shuler has to miss a few weeks, you could do a lot worse than to have Musgrave step in.
NSH: A couple of years back, the Knights realized that Rob Johnson was not the answer, even as the 2nd QB, so they brought in Craig Whelihan to back up Todd Collins. Whelihan is not a long term solution, but his savvy and good decision-making make him a solid “fill in” guy.
NJ: We are not sure that Todd Boumann has the arm talent to be a full time starter, but as he showed this week, when he is called into emergency duty he can get the job done. He is a smart player, well-suited to be a student of the game and to fill in as needed when the starter goes down. Do you want him to start 8 games? No, you don’t, but 1-3 is a window where he could be very useful.
POR: Rick Mirer was once a high draft pick in the NFL, and was a potential starter for the Thunder, but has clearly not developed as planned. We have seen him play enough to realize that spot duty may be his best option at this point. We just don’t see Mirer being successful as a long-term starter.
Pray your starter stays healthy
BAL: Fans may wish Baltimore had someone other than Jeff Garcia under center, but with Billy Joe Tolliver as the #2, no one is calling for Garcia to be benched. Tolliver, at 34, is not the old gunslinger he was when he first started out. The future for Baltimore may be rookie Seneca Wallace, who currently occupies a spot on the practice squad.
DEN: Eric Wilhelm is pretty much untested as a starter. He gets so few opportunities and has spent the last few seasons essentially acting as a signal-messanger for Mark Brunell and a holder on kicks, and that is about it. Ideally you want a backup who has seen enough action to not get rattled if called on in a pinch. That is not Wilhelm.
HOU: Neither Brock Huard nor Kris Kershaw inspires much confidence that the Gamblers could survive an injury to Matt Hasselbeck. They are both game manager types, which works well for Houston’s system, but they simply don’t bring much to the game as far as instincts or experience.
MGN: This weekend proved what Michigan fans have long thought, that Spence Fisher, despite a couple of strong years in New Jersey, is just not a quality backup. He is not a profoundly athletic player, and with so little opportunity to hone his skills as he backs up Drew Brees, he looks ill-equipped for emergency call-ups. Even 3rd stringer Spergon Wynn may give Michigan a better chance when Brees is unavailable.
OHI: It may be a bit unfair to put Chris Redman this low, but the simple fact is that we have no idea what he can or cannot do. Other than a few preseason snaps, we have simply not seen Redman under center. Maybe the talent Ohio saw from him in college will translate, but there is simply no way to know at this point.
SEA: Byron Leftwich has been all Seattle hoped for, but Dragon fans have to worry about what happens if he gets injured. Craig Erickson used to be considered one of the league’s best backups, but his skills have clearly deteriorated as he aged, and he does not have the quickness to escape defenders any longer. Seattle has toyed with using Tee Martin as the #2 simply because his athletic skills would allow them to use the same playbook that Leftwich is using, but Martin’s accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.
The future for 0-5 Mike Martz and George O’Leary
We are five weeks into the season and we have two clubs that have yet to win a game, Orlando and Michigan. Losing that many to start a season puts immediate pressure on ownership to make a big move and very often that move is to remove the head coach. Looking at Coach O’Leary in Orlando, that seems like an unlikely result. After all, Coach O’Leary brought the Renegades a title only 2 years ago, and with a 2nd year quarterback and a lot of losses in free agency and retirement since the title, a period of rebuilding seems appropriate.
What is concerning for Orlando is that Joey Harrington is looking like he has not progressed since his rookie year. Harrington’s completion percentage has dropped, he has thrown as many picks as touchdowns, his yards per game are down, and his QB rating has dipped from 90.4 to 79.2. None of those are good signs. It has not helped that the run game led by Sedrick Irvin has simply not worked this year. Irvin is averaging 3.7 yards per carry, which is about what it was last year, but it is simply not good enough to develop a credible threat for the run. Irvin’s yards per game are down below 50, whereas last year he was in the mid 60’s.
Finally, the defense is not where it was either, which, to a degree is expected when you lose a dynamic playmaker like Chris Doleman. Orlando is currently ranked 22nd against the run, allowing 122.4 yards per game, and 18th in points allowed at 25.6 per game. Last year the Renegades averaged 21 PPG and only 89 yards per game on the ground. So, while we expect patience for Coach O’Leary, this season is not working out as Orlando fans had hoped, and improvement over the final 9 weeks of the year will be a significant expectation.
Mike Martz does not have the same security as O’Leary, and could well be yet another example of a coach who loses his job midseason unless we start to see some changes. Michigan is averaging a paltry 11 points per game, dead last in the league. The rushing attack has been nothing short of pathetic, averaging only 33.6 yards a game, again dead last, and not even close to 23rd. Yes, their numbers dipped with this week’s shutout, but even with Drew Brees under center Michigan scored only 9 points (no touchdowns) against Chicago, 10 against LA, and 17 against Jacksonville. The defense is dead last against the run, 154.4 yards per game, which means teams are simply dominating time of possession against the Panthers.
So what can Martz do? First things first, he should be considering some personnel shifts. Signing Rashaan Salaam could be a risky proposition, but it could also provide a bit more dynamism to a run game that desperately needs something. The Panthers have some decent receivers in Hines Ward, Laverneus Coles, Dedrick Ward, and rookie Charles Rogers, but the line has been a problem all season. Drew Brees has been scrambling or throwing a lot of passes away just to avoid being crushed. Signing Salaam won’t solve that issue, but just the threat of a quality run game could slow down the pass rush and force the defense to play both options. Michigan needs to bring in linemen, and that may require them to trade away either picks or quality players to get some help. Do you do that if your club is 0-6 or 0-7 or do you mortgage this year for the future, and in so doing, condemn the coach to a lame duck session? Right now that is the decision ownership in Michigan needs to do, because the odds of a turnaround for the Panthers is just not looking very likely at all.
No fewer than 7 quarterbacks showed up on the injury report this week. The good news, if we can say that there is good news, is that none of the injuries are season ending, and, in fact, other than Trent Green continuing to show up on the report for Tampa Bay, no other QB is expected to miss more than 2 weeks. Looking at the injury report, it seems New Jersey will once again be without Tom Brady, as he is expected to miss up to 2 weeks with a minor fracture. Cade McNown will miss at least one more week as he recovers from a rib injury suffered in Week 4. Jake Delhomme in Jacksonville and Drew Brees in Michigan are both listed as Doubtful for this week. Brian Griese is recovering from a concussion and is listed as questionable, while Portland’s Akili Smith, who played this week, remains on the list but is cited as probable for Week 6.
Beyond the QB position, the injuries most likely to impact their clubs over the long haul include Oakland DT Jermaine Smith (4-6 weeks with a torn quad), Orlando CB Fernando Bryant (torn bicep, 4-6 weeks), Texas CB Jimmy Hitchcock (4-6 for a stress fracture), Jacksonville tackle Luke Petigout (2-4 with a dislocated shoulder), and Nashville DE Chad Bradtske (1-2 weeks with a foot injury).
Last week we reported that league expansion was being studied and would be an item on the agenda in next week’s league owners meeting. This week a leaked document showed exactly what the report put together by the combined competition and finance committee are presenting to the 24 ownership groups of the league. The report makes a recommendation for a 2-tier expansion from 24 clubs up to 28 between now and 2008. Citing market sizes, television viewership, and the potential to minimize team poaching by cities currently unserved by USFL football, the report points specifically to the situation that led to both the St. Louis and Atlanta relocations and which currently are impacting Portland and Memphis.
The proposal for a 2-stage expansion has two very different elements. The first wave would be a targeted expansion specific to the cities which lost their franchises over the past 2 years, with bids limited to ownership groups that would place teams in St. Louis and Atlanta by 2006 or 2007. No specific ownership groups are mentioned, which is to be expected, but we are aware of several potential investors in both cities, including quite possibly the first minority-owned franchise forming in Atlanta.
The second phase would be an open expansion call for 2 additional franchises, a process which would allow bidding groups like those known to exist for franchises in Dallas, Miami, Kansas City, and Sacramento to make their case to the league. If the league were to approve this plan, the immediate impact may actually be to undercut one of their own current franchises, as it would almost certainly impact the ability of the Showboats to use St. Louis as a possible counterweight to their demands for improvements to facilities in Memphis. Expect the Showboat ownership to demand some form of exemption, or the option to swap St. Louis for Memphis as an expansion location should the Showboats seek to accept the offer put forward by St. Louis to relocate the team.
The second significant impact is that the second wave of potential expansion could force some of the more amorphous bidding groups to get serious and get to the nitty gritty of negotiating stadium deals, sponsorships, and season ticket estimates. The process might advantage some locations, such as Dallas, which have existed for some time, while others, such as Kansas City, have largely been theoretical only, with several big names connected to the idea but no formal movement on any major front to organize into a legitimate bidder.
League owners will review the findings, discuss the pros and cons, and very possibly vote on the plan, with the understanding that with a 2006 target date for the first expansion round, they both stick to the already designated moratorium until 2005 or beyond, and also provide themselves with 3 years to move from plan to proposals to fielding a team in the target cities, with another 2 years to complete the more complex process of seeking open bids for a wide range of markets. Of course, the other issue which will be a major topic of discussion and debate at the meetings is the fate of the Portland Thunder. If, as expected, the proposal from Phil Ruffin includes relocation to Las Vegas, then the question of USFL football in Portland is also on the table and that could easily upend the plans as put together by the two committees this past month.
Week 6 is an inter-conference week, with most clubs flying north to south or coast to coast to take on foes they are less familiar with. It is a chance to see if one conference has the edge over the other or to give teams a chance to reinvent themselves against a club that is just not that familiar with tendencies and personnel. Among the more interesting games we have one of this year’s 2 unbeaten teams hosting last year’s unbeaten club as Ohio, sitting now at 3-2, visits 5-0 New Orleans in the Dome. The other unbeaten squad, the Washington Federals, face their own 3-2 club, and one who should match up well, as they head to Houston to take on the Gamblers in what could be a defensive mano-a-mano matchup.
Beyond the two unbeatens we have several 4-1 clubs in action, including LA hosting the 4-1 Jacksonville Bulls in a battle of two clubs that have started very hot. Denver, also sitting at 4-1, is at home against a game Baltimore Blitz club. The final 4-1 club, Pittsburgh, will be in Nashville to face a very tough Knights club in Music City. For the league’s two 0-5 clubs, there is hope this weekend as Michigan travels to 1-win Birmingham while 0-5 Orlando travels all the way across country to face 1-4 Seattle.
Other games on the schedule this week include Chicago @ Memphis, New Jersey visiting Arizona, Philadelphia headed to San Antonio to face the Texas Outlaws, Boston in Oakland, and Tampa Bay taking on the Thunder in Portland.
I think you forgot to post the Bandits vs Cannons recap