The 22nd season of the USFL kicked off with a celebratory tone and a lot of excitement this week. From Friday night’s kickoff game in Washington through until the Sunday Night clash between the Dragons and the Maulers, the week was full of enthusiasm, hard hitting action, and drama. While we had one of the least weather-impacted opening weeks in recent memory, we saw how injury can impact a season even from the first games. We also saw that some teams could be looking very different from 2003 until today. It was the debut of some new faces, some transplanted players, and some eager rookies hoping to make a splash. Let’s get right to it with our first Game of the Week for 2004.
BIRMINGHAM 13 BALTIMORE 16 OVERTIME
It may not have been the biggest marquee matchup of the week, but the game between the Stallions and the Blitz had everything one could want from an opening week game, big players, rookies proving themselves, big plays, and a dramatic final drive to send the game to overtime. It also had something you don’t want to see, a starting QB going down with an injury. Ryan Leaf will likely miss at least 3-4 games, but is at risk of losing his job as well as #1 overall draft pick, former Miami of Ohio QB Ben Roethlisberger will take over at the QB spot while Leaf recovers. Leaf now runs the risk that a successful run by the young Roethlisberger could cost him his job, and in his first game as a pro player, Roethlisberger already provided dramatics with a 2-minute drill to tie the game and an overtime win.
The game started well for Baltimore. The retooled defense of Coach Tom Coughlin was effective against Brett Favre in the first quarter, keeping Birmingham on their side of the field and producing the firs takeaway of the season, a Tyrone Bell pick of Favre. The Blitz also struggled on offense and settled for two field goals in the quarter.
Birmingham came alive in the second quarter, equalizing the score on two Mike Hollis field goals as their red zone offense faltered both times they got the ball deep into Baltimore territory. It seems the Blitz defense led by LBs Dedric Smith and new arrival Mike Maslowski were able to fluster Favre through effective pressure. Favre would end the game with 351 yards passing, but would only throw 1 TD to two picks. Meanwhile, Ryan Leaf was playing well, completing 12 of 14 passes in the first half. His final throw of the half was his best, a 16-yard TD toss to another new Blitz player, wideout J.J. Stokes. Leaf fit the ball in between the corner and the safety, giving Stokes perfect placement to make the catch and score.
Up 13-6 at the half, Baltimore went into the locker room happy with what Coach Coughlin’s game plan was producing. But, as often happens, both teams made changes at the half. Birmingham shortened their routes, and got the ball out of Favre’s hand quicker in the 3rd quarter, leading to the only score of the period, a beautiful slant and go that produced a 44-yard TD for James Thrash. That evened the score at 13, and when Mike Hollis connected from 30 yards out on the next Stallion Drive, the visitors had their first lead.
Baltimore was driving for what they hoped would be a go-ahead TD when their drive was derailed by Stallion DE Antwan Odom. The rookie end took advantage of poor blitz coverage to get around the right tackle and drove Ryan Leaf to the turf. Leaf got up, but then immediately went down again, clutching at his side. The doctors were called out and they eventually put Leaf on the back board and removed him from the field on a cart. Later x-rays would reveal a fracture in a vertebra in his mid-back. It was not a major break, but very painful and the kind of injury that would need at least a month to heal fully.
Out came Ben Roethlisberger, the top choice in this year’s draft. Big Ben was shaky at first, missing on his first two throws, and the Blitz were forced to punt. When they got the ball back Roethlisberger looked a bit calmer, connecting with Rob Moore on his first pass of the new drive. He would not be asked to do much in this drive, handing off on 8 of 10 plays, 7 times to Ron Dayne and once to Marcel Shipp. The drive ate up a good chunk of the final period, and with under a minute left to go, when a pass to TE Antonio Gates was too low for the big receiver to bring in, the Blitz opted to tie the game with a Martin Grammatica kick. The game would go to overtime.
Baltimore won the toss and proceeded to drive into Stallion territory, now with Roethlisberger looking more comfortable, connecting on 4 passes on the drive. He would connect with Bill Schroeder for 14 to get Baltimore into Grammatica’s range, but another 3rd down mistake, a drop by a wide open Daniel Graham, meant that it would be Grammatica kicking again. He drilled the 44-yarder for Baltimore to take the lead, but overtime rules meant that Birmingham would get a possession to try to equalize or win.
Brett Favre would find out on this possession that Baltimore had no intention of letting this lead go. After being sacked on first down, a speed rush from DE Chuckie Nwokorie, he got 4 of the 6 yards lost back thanks to a solid Shaun Alexander run, but that still left a 3rd and 12 and Favre would have 2 downs to keep the drive alive. He was pressured again on 3rd down, missing a connection with Marcus Robinson, leading to 4th and 12. On this final down, Favre would avoid pressure from DT Paul Grasmanis, but in his rush to get the ball away, he missed the LB dropping in coverage. Instead of connecting with TE Fred Baxter, he would instead see the ball picked by LB Daryl Smith to end the game.
A rough start for Favre, a comeback win for Ben Roethlisberger, and a potential QB controversy on the horizon for the Blitz. Big Ben will be the starter next week against the Stars, and how he performs could help define what may happen in a month when Ryan Leaf is expected back.
NOR 24 WSH 31
The USFL season began on Friday with the Breakers visiting the Federals. Washington took an early 13-0 lead thanks in part to a 9-yard Stewart scramble, and never trailed, building up a 31-17 lead by the 4th and holding on as Trent Dilfer tried to rally the Breakers. Dilfer would end the game with 304 yards passing and 3 TDs, but it was not enough as the Federals time and again ended Breaker drives outside of scoring range. The star for Washington on offense was WR Deion Branch, who racked up 146 of Kordell Stewart’s 227 yards passing, but this was a game for the Federal defense, and the star there was CB Charles Woodson who ended the game with 8 tackles and a pick of Dilfer.
NSH 18 PHI 15
Another overtime game in the season’s opening week as the Knights and Stars slugged it out for 4 quarters only to need an extra period. In a game that saw 16 combined penalties for over 120 yards, it was a bit sloppy. Philadelphia got a late Jeff Jaeger field goal to tie the game at 15, but in overtime Todd Collins got the Knights deep enough into Stars’ territory for their new kicker, Matt Stover, to connect on a 49-yard game winner.
MEM 9 NJ 30
If there was one team that lived up to preseason hype this week it was the Generals. Their defense was on fire against Heath Shuler, with 3 picks of the former MVP, including 1 from superstar acquisition Deion Sanders. The offense also looked good with Tom Brady distributing the ball to 9 different receivers on the day. Terry Glenn, as always, led all receivers with 7 catches, but Brady kept everyone in the game by completing on short passes all over the field. Rookie Lee Evans caught 4 for 31 to lead all Memphis receivers but this was New Jersey’s day from opening kickoff until the final kneel down.
ARZ 23 BOS 41
Boston also looked like a team to be reckoned with as they opened up to a sold out Alumni Stadium with a big win over the visiting Wranglers. Drew Bledsoe threw 4 TDs, including two to his new #1 target, Chad Ochocinco, and Tiki Barber found all kinds of running room, rushing for 127 and a score as Boston took an early lead and never let up.
DEN 10 JAX 17
A low-scoring affair in Jacksonville as the Bulls slugged it out with the visiting Gold on opening weekend. Talk about two very different styles, Mark Brunell attempted 40 passes on the day, completing 31, while Jake Delhomme only reared back 14 times, completing 10, but it was Jacksonville that got the big play, a TD pass from Delhomme to Boldin that gave them the win. Jacksonville would also rush the ball over 30 times, with Antowain Smith leading the way with 92 yards and Fred Jackson contributing 33 more and a score for the Bulls.
HOU 14 ORL 10
Houston’s defense came to play, while both offenses struggled on opening day. Two picks of Joey Harrington helped the Gamblers upend the Renegades. Orlando had the 10-7 lead into the 4th, but Houston’s defense came up big, with FS Leomont Evans picking off a poorly timed pass from Harrington to Reidel Anthony. Evans stepped in front of Anthony and had clear sailing 61 yards downfield for what would be the game-winning score.
TEX 10 TBY 33
The return of Bandit Ball was on display in this battle of desperadoes, with the Bandits blowing past the Outlaws. Duante Culpepper threw for 282, including 4 catches for 98 yards for Randy Moss, while Willis McGahee added two TDs as Tampa Bay built a 24-7 lead at the half and limited Texas to a field goal in the second half.
LA 9 CHI 13
In the only game truly affected by weather, whipping cold winds in Chicago made things tough for both offenses as the wind chill reached below zero. The big winner here was the Machine pass rush, who sacked Cade McNown 7 times (only 2 more than Jeff George suffered on this bitterly cold day). Brian Urlacher looked right at home in the cold, snagging 6 tackles, a sack, a pick, a forced fumble and a recovery to be named a Defensive Player of the Week. Chicago won the game thanks to those turnovers, getting 10 points off of turnovers in what was otherwise a battle of field position.
OAK 10 MGN 35
Just as the first game for Tom Coughlin went well in Baltimore, new Panther Head Coach Dick LeBeau began his first season with Michigan doing something the Panthers could not do at all in 2003, winning a game. Michigan looked dominant, with Drew Brees going 20 for 27 and throwing 4 TDs. The run game still struggled, with rookie Chris Perry gaining only 30 yards on 16 carries, but Brees found success against the Oakland defense. Trent Green, in his first start for Oakland, completed only 18 of 39 passes for 164 yards as the Panthers took this one easily.
LV 21 OHI 27
Ohio struggled a bit in their first game as repeat champions, but found a way to win. Kerry Collins completed 14 of 20 passes, but Las Vegas limited him to only 148 yards. Meanwhile Akili Smith threw for 340, revealing some issues in the Ohio secondary. And yet, Ohio led from the half on in a game where they seemed content to hand the ball off, and run down clock rather than try out new offensive fireworks. The strategy worked as the Glory held on to win by 7.
SEA 10 PIT 24
In the last game of the weekend, Pittsburgh won the battle of trendy preseason picks. They were able to get the W by holding Seattle to only 1 of 11 on third down, a conversion rate that killed a lot of Dragon drives. Charlie Batch went out of the game with an injury in the 3rd quarter, but with Pittsburgh up 17-3, all Alex Van Pelt had to do was keep the clock moving, and he got a lot of help from Terrell Davis to do so. Pittsburgh would end the game with a 36-24 time of possession edge.
First Impressions
Looking at the best of new players in new places, we have to start with Boston’s new big time receiver, Chad Ochocinco. The former Glory wideout started off his first season in Boston with a 2-touchdown game as the Cannons looked very dangerous against Arizona. Another receiver impressing his new home fans was Star wideout Amani Toomer, who caught 6 balls for 82 yards and his first Philadelphia TD.
Things were a little tougher for the relocated halfbacks, particularly Stephen Davis in Arizona, as he was able to accrue only 2 yards on 11 carries, a very familiar refrain of frustration for Wrangler fans as Arizona again struggled to create holes for their backs to run through. Rashaan Salaam, starting his first full season with Oakland, fared no better, averaging only 1.9 yards per carry against the Panthers. And, of course, one of the newest playes in Oakland, QB Trent Green, was also in the spotlight, Green completed only 18 of 39 passes (46.2%) and only gained 164 yards against a Michigan secondary that is not considered one of the league’s best.
We already mentioned the first game success of Deion Sanders in New Jersey, but he was not alone in making a good first impression for his new club. Sean Gilbert locked down the center of the line for Tampa’s defense, making 3 tackles and helping to limit Texas’s T.J. Duckett to 2.7 YPC. KGB did not record a sack for the Knights, but the Nashville defense was solid against the Stars.
Looking at the rookies, yes, Ben Roethlisberger got a lot of attention for his Week 1 appearance, but of all the rookies who started the week, we have to give special kudos to Houston WR Roy Williams, who looked like the sharpest receiver, catching 3 of 4 targets, 2 for first downs. Both big safeties, Pittsburgh’s Sean Taylor and Washington’s Bob Sanders also acquitted themselves well in their first action of the year.
COACHING DEBUTS
Speaking of rookies, we should applaud the rookie coaches, yes, we know, each is a pretty veteran guy and hardly a rookie in the true sense, but still, their first games went well. LeBeau and Coughlin both got solid wins in their first games at the helm of their new clubs. Steve Spurrier’s return to Tampa Bay was very impressive as well, as the Bandits played with a swagger we simply have not seen in a while. Only Arizona’s Jim Fassel came away from the week with a loss, but opening the year with a road game in Boston was a tough task to be sure.
The win by Michigan was perhaps the most impressive as the Panthers not only beat the visiting Invaders pretty handily (25 point margin), but looked disciplined doing it, something that had been lacking under Mike Martz. Michigan got called for only 2 penalties (one a bit dubious as well), and were an impressive 6 of 12 on third down. Yes, we know, Oakland is not Ohio, so a win at home against a 2-win Invader squad is not exactly a sign of dominance, but for a Panther squad that went winless in 2003, this is a very good start.
In Baltimore, Tom Coughlin’s group was tested by Birmingham, and by the injury to Ryan Leaf, but they percevered and pulled out a win in overtime. That is a good sign of the character and culture Coach Coughlin is trying to instill in the Blitz, a team that for too long has seemed content with mid-table finishes. The next few weeks, with Roethlisberger thrust into a starting role, will be a big test for Baltimore, but with a lot of veteran players on this squad there is no shortage of experience and leadership to help Coach Coughlin get the message out about play after play and week after week effort.
Trouble Ahead?
We are only 1 week into the season and the Breakers may already be facing an issue with their lead running back. After serving a 4-game suspension last year for a failed drug tests, reports out of New Orleans that Ricky Williams may have failed another test this week could lead to major issues. Williams would face a season-long suspension if the test is verified and once again Williams tests positive for marijuana. The Breakers have not released an official statement, but voices out of their team offices were sounding very nervous this week. Williams is slated to play this weekend as the Breakers host Seattle, but an announcement at any time could radically alter the plans for the Breakers’ offense at any point before Sunday. It is expected that a decision would come down no later than tomorrow (Thursday), but even if the decision is appealed and Williams is able to play this weekend, the uncertainty and the distraction are certainly unwelcome for Coach Nolan and the Breakers.
While the back injury to Baltimore QB Ryan Leaf was the headliner this week, the good news is that Leaf is expected to make a full recovery within a month. The same is not true for Jacksonville LB Lavar Arrington, who could miss anywhere from 2-3 months after a full tear of his quad on his left leg. Arrington was untouched on the play, chasing down a receiver and then simply collapsed as the muscle was stretched beyond its capacity. The Bulls are not putting their star outside linebacker on IR, in hopes he can return in 8 weeks, but that is a very ambitious timetable.
Another defender who could be out well over a month is newly-arrived Machine DT Ted Washington. Washington suffered a knee injury midway through the Machine’s opening game. It was determined to be a meniscus tear, and Washington will be sidelined at least 4 weeks. Other significant injuries in this opening week include Memphis DE Dameaion Jeffries (2-4 weeks, disc), Houston LB Nick Barnett (2-4 weeks, fractured jaw), Bulls’ guard Mike Verstegen (1-2 weeks, thigh), and Arizona WR Tim Dwight (1-2 weeks, wrist).
Doubtful or questionable for Week 2 we have Mauler LT Korey Stringer (shoulder), Breaker HB Troy Davis (pinched nerve), Seattle HB Corey Dillon (tendinitis), and Washington WR Cedric Tillman (tendinitis). Expected to play are Pittsburgh QB Charlie Batch (concussion) and Orlando QB Joey Harrington (toe).
Las Vegas Unable to Get Permits for Temporary Seating
The saga of the Thunder and their attempts to add 11,000 temporary seats to UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium continued this week as the city of Las Vegas refused to grant emergency clearance for the addition of the seating to the 30,000 seat stadium. The hope had been that a last minute clearance could allow the team to install the seating in time for a Week 3 game against the Dragons. With the failure of this effort, the Thunder will be limited to the stadium’s 30,000 seat capacity at least until Week 9.
The process proposed by the Thunder to add this significant temporary structure to the stadium requires at least 2-3 weeks to complete, and the only road trip long enough to accommodate it is a 3-game swing weeks 6-7-8 that sees Las Vegas in Oakland, New Orleans, and Philadelphia before returning to Sam Boyd for a Week 9 clash with LA. Even that option seems unlikely as it would require a new clearance and OSHA approval by Week 4 at the latest. It very well may be that the 2004 Thunder have moved from a Portland Civic Stadium with a 34,000 seat capacity to a stadium in Las Vegas with only 30,000 seats, at least for this season.
Glendale Plans Move Forward
On the other side of the stadium situation we find the Arizona Wranglers. Arizona, working closely with the NFL Cardinals and the state government, are moving ahead with plans for a new retractable roof domed stadium in nearby Glendale, Arizona. The new stadium would be the first of its kind as it would have the capacity for the entire turf tray to move between the stadium floor and an outdoor location where it would benefit from Arizona’s everpresent sun. This would allow both the Cardinals and Wranglers to play on a real grass field while also playing in a climate controlled environment.
The City of Glendale was convinced to approve the plan after both the NFL and USFL agreed to locate Championship games in the new facility within 5 years of its completion. The unanimous approval by the city council means construction can begin in earnest, and the stadium could be completed in time for the Fall 2006 NFL season. If all goes to plan, both the Wranglers and Cardinals would call the stadium home, meaning that Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium would no longer host either team. The USFL would almost certainly be the first to place a championship in Arizona, as the NFL has booked out their Super Bowls through 2009, while the USFL plan only goes as far as 2006 (Orlando in 2004, Houston in 2005, and Philadelphia in 2006), meaning that the USFL could host Summer Bowl 2007 in Arizona at the conclusion of the stadium’s first year of occupancy.
A Stadium without a Team?
An intriguing but somewhat odd bit of stadium news as the city council of Portland has approved plans to move ahead with their East Side stadium project despite the departure of the Thunder to Las Vegas. The plans for a 50,000 seat stadium make little sense for the city unless there is high confidence that an ownership group is forming that could put together a viable bid for a 2008 USFL expansion franchise. The 50,000 seat partially roofed stadium which was originally designed as a home for the Thunder is too small for a potential NFL expansion club (and we know the NFL has no current plans to grow beyond the current 32 franchises), and far too large for the small 1-AA program of local Portland State. The vote to approve construction might well indicate that an ownership group heretofore unknown in the region, has informed the city of their plans, swaying votes on the council to construct the stadium, and that Portland will indeed be a potential bidder for the two USFL expansion teams to be added in 2008.
Week 2 brings us our first divisional action as all 12 Eastern Conference teams battle within their divisions. We are excited to see the matchup between New Jersey and Washington, an early season showdown that could set the tone for the Northeast this season. With those two matching up, that leaves Philadelphia to host the Blitz and rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger.
In the Southeast it is Tampa Bay hoping to go to 2-0 but facing a tough Jacksonville team, even with Arrington unable to play. Boston is on the road as they visit Orlando. In the Central Division, Ohio will face their first divisional test as they host Chicago. Meanwhile Michigan, fresh off their first win in over a year, will head to Pittsburgh to face a very good looking Mauler squad.
In the West, the best of the interdivisional games could be Houston at LA, as the Gambler D tries to slow down that LA Express balanced attack. Denver is in Memphis as both 0-1 teams try to get their first W of the season. The same is true for the Stallions and the Wranglers as they face off in Legion Field. Seattle and New Orleans both came off disappointing first games, and now clash in the Super Dome. In Nashville, the Knights can move to 2-0 if they can hold off the Las Vegas Thunder, while the Oakland Invaders hope to get their first win against a Texas club that did not look ready for prime time in Week 1.