We said last week that a divisional round without upsets seemed unlikely, but perhaps not as unlikely as which road team came out of the weekend unvanquished. The Seattle Dragons, the last team in, the only team with a losing record to ever win a Wild Card game, has done it again. Seattle upended the Oakland Invaders, who had beaten them twice in the regular season. It took a last minute TD to do it, but Seattle got it done. In all the other games the home favorite held court and advanced. Houston trounced Denver in a one-sided game no one expected, Chicago thoroughly outplayed the Stars in front of a rowdy crowd in the Windy City, and the Tampa Bay Bandits got 2 TDs and 139 yards from Randy Moss to knock the Federals out and advance to the Conference Championships. Four very different games, four very interesting stories moving forward. We start in Chicago, where the weekend kicked off on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Chi Town.
PHILADELPHIA 10 CHICAGO 31
It was a beautiful day in Chicago, 83 and sunny at kickoff, and a boisterous crowd of 49,202, one of the largest crowds in Machine football history, was on hand to root on their home town team. The Machine gave the fans plenty to cheer about right from the get-go, scoring twice in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead on the visiting Stars from Philadelphia. Jeff George connected with Curtis Conway for the opening score on Chicago’s second possession, and only 2 minutes later, after a Philly turnover, Brian Westbrook got into the end zone on a swing pass from George to make the score 14-0.
Philadelphia needed time to get their feet under them as Chicago’s defense played lights out football in the first quarter, but the Stars started to find ways to move the ball in the 2nd, getting their first points on a 2nd and 2 run by Ahman Green, that busted the Chicago line, and went for 47 yards and the score. It would be the longest play of the day for the Stars, and got the small contingent of Philly fans active for the first time in the game.
Chicago headed to the locker rooms at the half up by 7, and came out in the 3rd quarter with a newfound energy, again scoring on their next two drives, all but ending the competitive nature of the game. The Machine took the second half kickoff and in 11 plays marched the ball down the field, a drive that ended with Brian Westbrook’s second TD on the day, this one a 13-yard run. Westbrook would finish the day with 10 carries for 74 yards, while Michael turner had 18 carries for 58 as Chicago was more than happy to run, run, run as time ticked away from the Stars.
Philadelphia struggled all game long to get into scoring range, and a Mike Nugent field goal were to be their only 2nd half points. The 4th quarter was more a beach party for the sunbathing Chicago fans than a close game as Chicago simply kept grinding out the clock and Philadelphia went 1 for 3 on 4th downs, with two possessions ending with a turnover on downs.
The win moves Chicago into the Conference Title Game, their first appearance there since 1995, when Dan McGwire led the Machine to a 12-4 record and one game from the Summer Bowl. Chicago will host the Eastern Conference Final next week and the tanned and happy fans are likely to be back in force.
SEATTLE 24 OAKLAND 20
Oakland too saw great weather for their game against the Dragons, but their fans, all 41,010, likely did not leave the stadium with the same sense of summer fun, as the visiting Dragons kept their Cinderella story alive by knocking off the Invaders. Byron Leftwich and the Seattle defense both came up big when they needed to as the 6-8 Dragons upended the Pacific Division champs on Saturday night in Oakland.
The game started well for the home team, with the invaders taking an early 13-0 on three consecutive scoring drives. Trent had some issues on 3rd down, forcing the home team to settle for field goals twice, but he did find Teyo Johnson for the first TD of the game, and with 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the Invaders had a 13-0 lead.
Seattle would go into 2-minute mode after having failed to score on their first 4 drives. The strategy worked, as they moved the ball effectively while using a no-huddle strategy. With Leftwich connecting with 5 different receivers on the drive, his final “toss” was not a pass at all, but a toss run to the outside, where Dillon found the corner and dragged CB Aaron Beasley over the line for six. The game went to half with Oakland up 13-6, but Seattle feeling that they had turned a corner.
The 3rd quarter belonged to the Dragons, as they outgained Oakland 102-34 in the period. It started with an opening drive that killed 6 minutes before Seattle was forced to settle for a Dave Rayner field goal. After a quick stop of the Invaders, Seattle was back in action, and again, they had a long drive, this one taking nearly 7 minutes, and ending with Leftwich finding Reggie Brown for a 4-yard TD that gave the visitors their first lead of the day.
Down 17-13, Oakland changed gears. They fed the ball to Ricky Williams, and the big back found holes in the Seattle defense. Of his 113 yards on the day, 66 would be on this drive. But, as they Invaders got the ball into the red zone, a tired Williams had to be swapped out for Justin Fargas. Oakland showed run again, but instead of giving the ball to Fargas, Trent Green kept it, and found Plaxico Burress in single coverage. The lanky receiver brought down a high toss and Oakland was back on top, 20-17.
The two clubs traded defensive stands, with Seattle getting a pick of Leftwich on the Dragons’ next drive, but Seattle stuffing Verron Hayes on a 3rd and 2 run, forcing the Invaders to punt. Seattle got the ball back with just over 3 minutes to play, sitting on their own 19. Once again the switched to a no-huddle, fast paced attack, and once again they found success. David Boston brought in a 17-yard pass on the first play of the drive, then Corey Dillon ran for 9 on the next. After an incompletion on 2nd and 1, Dillon converted the first down. Leftwich would connect with Ken Dilger and O.J. McDuffie to get the ball to the Oakland 31 before spiking it to kill the clock. 2nd and 10 from the 31 and again Leftwich looked for David Boston. The big receiver had a step on the defender, and the ball grazed off his fingers, but the officials saw that CB Keith Smith had held onto the right arm of Boston and gave the ball to Seattle at the 9 yard line. The fans were none to happy, demanding a replay, but there was no overturning the call. Seattle ball on the 9, down 3 with 37 seconds to play. Leftwich faked the ball into the belly of Darren Sproles, rolled left, then looked back to Sproles in the flat, set up perfectly for a late-developing screen. Sproles took the ball, juked the LB out and high stepped his way into the endzone for the winning score.
Seattle had done it again. The plucky 6-8 club that no one thought deserved a spot in the postseason had knocked off the Pacific Division Champs and would now wait to see if they were headed to the mountains of Denver or the bayous of Houston to play in the Conference Championship game.
WASHINGTON 25 TAMPA BAY 30
It was 93 degrees at kickoff in Tampa, 107 on the playing surface, but a cool gulf breeze helped to keep things from being completely out of control. The Federals and Bandits would deal with the sun, but mostly they would deal with each other as they went back and forth all game in this pivotal divisional playoff. The winner would head to Chicago the next week, one game closer to the Summer Bowl.
Both clubs found that their best offensive weapons were effective on the day. For Washington that was HB Deuce McCallister, who would tally 150 yards and a TD on 18 carries. For Tampa Bay it was the big outside receivers, with Randy Moss making a couple of big plays on two long TD scores, while Chris Doering was able to rack up 104 yards on the day, keeping several drives alive with key third down receptions.
The game went back and forth all afternoon. Tampa Bay kicked things off with a short Nate Kaeding field goal to put the first points on the board. Washington countered with a Doug Pelfrey kick on their next drive. On the next drive, Tampa Bay was backed up to their own 9 yard line, but on 2nd and 8, they caught Washington in single coverage, playing the run, and Daunte Culpepper found a racing Randy Moss down the sideline for an improbably but heart-stopping 91-yard TD toss. The Stadium erupted.
Washington’s next points would come on another very similar play. After punter Michael Barnes again cornered the Bandits back on their own 5, Coach Spurrier called another play action pass, hoping to catch Moss in single coverage again. Culpepper backed up to throw, but almost immediately a flag came out as there was holding in the endzone. That’s a safety, and Tampa gave up the ball and 2 points to the Federals. Washington would capitalize on the good fortune, taking the safety kickoff and quickly putting more points on the board. Deuce McCallister would break free for a 25-yard scoring run that gave the Feds a 12-10 lead.
But the half was not over, not by a long shot. Tampa went right back to taking shots, and this time Culpepper again was able to connect with Randy Moss. The former Marshall Thundering Herd, thundered into the endzone for his 2nd score of the day, a 45-yarder that put Tampa Bay back on top by 5, 17-12. The Bandits would score twice more in the half, both long Nate Kaeding field goals, and Tampa Bay would go in to the half up 23-12.
Washington tried to claw their way back in the 3rd quarter, but Tampa Bay’s defense thwarted both red zone drives, forcing the Federals to kick. By the end of the period it was still Tampa Bay on top, 23-18. Tampa opened the final period with their most patient, sustained drive of the day. It would take Culpepper and the offense over 6 minutes and 12 plays to get on the board one last time, but the short scoring toss to Jeremy Shockey gave Tampa Bay a 30-18 lead with only 6 minutes to play.
Washington would get another score, to make it a one score game, as Deuce McCallister took a swing pass 19-yards for points, but they failed on the onside kick, and, needing to stop Tampa Bay on 3rd and 2 to get the ball back, the Federals defense gambled on an all-out blitz, and Culpepper found Jeremy Shockey just as the line got to him. The first down allowed Tampa Bay to run out the clock with a couple of kneel downs, and the Bandits were headed to Chicago.
Daunte Culpepper was named the player of the game for his 371 yard, 3 TD performance, but in fairness,the true honor might be for left tackle Ross Verba,who kept Washington’s Greg Spires off of his QB for the entire game. Washington was forced to commit blitzers to get to Culpepper, and that meant that the 1-on-1 coverages that Steve Spurrier’s offense counts on were available. A good win for the Bandits, who return to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row, after losing to New Jersey at home last year.
DENVER 17 HOUSTON 42
No weather issues inside the closed dome at NRG Stadium, but perhaps Denver could have used some Houston humidity to change things up. This was predicted to be a close game and very likely a defensive battle, but Houston simply had Denver’s number all game long. Denver’s pass rush only got to Matt Hasselbeck one time all game, and the Houston QB made Denver pay, throwing for 3 TDs on an 18 for 24 day.
After Denver got the first points of the day on a Lonnie Johnson TD catch, Houston rattled off 25 unanswered points, including a safety and TDs from Antonio Freeman and Dan Campbell. They would later add two more touchdowns, one each from David Patten and Mike Anderson as they ran away with this one. The final total was 42-17, and Houston set themselves up for a home game in the Conference Final, a game that could send them to the Summer Bowl, also at home in Houston’s NRG Stadium. With Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Kiki DeAyala all on hand, the Gamblers looked the part of a resurgent power in the West with this win. Next up for them, the Cinderella squad, the Seattle Dragons. Will Houston play evil Queen to this Cinderella and punch their ticket to a home-game Summer Bowl?
Retirement Announcements Continue to Come In
While not a tidal wave, we do have a few more retirements to announce. The biggest, but not a surprise, came after Denver’s loss in Houston, when Mark Brunell confirmed what many had believed, announcing at the post-game press conference, that he had played his last game in the black and gold. Brunell played his entire career in Denver, arriving in 1993 as a rookie. He would get his first start the following year, and would remain the starter in Denver for 12 seasons. At 35, Brunell is not completely outside of the range of veteran QB’s but when the body tells you enough is enough, you have to listen. After all, in his 12 years as a starter, Brunell has been sacked 120 times, and hit far more. He retires as Denver’s all-time leader in Attempts, Completions, Passing Yards, and Passing TDs. His triumph was in 2000 when he led Denver to its only league title, a 27-20 victory over the Stars.
While Brunell was certainly the biggest name in the USFL to hang up the helmet this week, he was not alone. Jacksonville’s Sam Adams announced he would retire after the Bulls’ defeat in the Wild Card Round. A 12-year veteran of the Panthers and Bulls, Adams was a stalwart and reliable piece of Jacksonville’s defense since coming over from the Panthers in 2000.
Memphis says farewell to one of its brightest stars as Tight End Adrian Cooper calls it a career at the age of 34. Cooper, who played 15 sesons in the league, the last 11 in Memphis, became a star after the 1996 season, when he caught 91 passes for 1,024 yards and 8 TDs. Long overshadowed by Sterling Sharp and Keith Jackson, Cooper would go on to record 8 consecutive seasons of at least 800 yards receiving before an injury-plagued 2004 campaign held him to only 586. He holds Memphis records for receiving yards and receiving TDs, surpassing the incomparable Mel Gray in both categories.
Two other retirements of note as Pittsburgh HB Kenny Bynum and Las Vegas CB Steve israel also declared their intention to file the retirement notification with the league. Bynum leaves Pittsburgh after two seasons serving as Terrell Davis’s backup. He had come to Pittsburgh hoping to bounce back after injuries cut short his 2003 season, only one year after rushing for 1,039 yards with the Jacksonville Bulls. While Bynum was productive in Pittsburgh, averaging 4.1 yards per carry in his two limited stints with the Maulers, he was largely used to spell Terrell Davis.
Steve Israel came to prominence as a member of the St. Louis Knights. Drafted by the Knights in their first season after relocating from LA, Israel quickly found a role as a nickel back and then as a starter for one of the better defenses in the league. He played with the Knights in both St. Louis and Nashville before spending his final season with the Las Vegas Thunder. He reties with a career total of 30 interceptions and 845 tackles.
New Free Agents Hit the Market
With the elimination of four clubs in this week’s Divisional round, more players saw their contracts end and their ability to play the market begin. Among the notable players who will soon enter the free agent market we have HB Rod Smart, WR Danny Farmer, and RT Kevin Landoldt of the Denver Gold; HB Verron Hayes, QB Rob Johnson, and WR Karsten Bailey from the Invaders; Philadelphia TE Marcus Pollard, along with QB Will Furrer and FB Reinaldo Deal. Finally, Washington will have to compete to resign LB Michael Barrow, WR Cedrick Tillman, LB Dwayne Rudd, DT Jim Flanagan, and WR Travis McGriff.
Of the newly released players, expect a lot of interest in Barrow and Smart, two solid contributors who simply could not come to terms with their clubs. We don’t see either Will Furrer or Rob Johnson garnering much of a market, particularly not in a year where there are several backup QB’s already available.
LA Finds Their Man in Boston’s Hue Jackson
The LA Express wasted no time hiring Hue Jackson, inking the Boston OC to a contract only 24 hours after his interview with the club in LA. Jackson, who began his USFL career on the staff with Al Luginbill in Ohio, went to Boston as the OC with Coach Fox when the club relocated from Atlanta. In Boston he helped to craft the offense around Drew Bledsoe and Tiki Barber that took off when Chad Ochocinco came over from the Glory. The Express are hoping that with talent like Cade McNown, DeShaun Foster, Tory Holt, and Keyshawn Johnson, Coach Jackson can craft a similarly devastating spread offense. Of course, with the recent retirements of Mo Lewis and Aeneas Williams, Coach Jackson may also need to devote some time to a defense in transition.
New Orleans Finds a Buyer
The New Orleans Breakers believe they have found their man, well, men. The Breakers have submitted a proposal for the sale of Joe Canizaro’s majority share of the Breakers. The sale involves a splitting of Canizaro’s share, with 10% to be purchased by minority owner David Dixon, providing him with 52% of the franchise and making him the majority owner. The remaining shares would be sold to James and Thomas Duff of Hatttiesburg, Mississippi.
The Duff Brothers are investors and owners of Southern Tire Mart, a chain of automobile supply franchises. The Duffs fit the bill as locally-based owners who will agree to retain New Orleans as the franchise location, and will agree to the structure of the deal which makes Dixon the majority owner and CEO of the franchise. The Breakers have been one of the league’s most consistent moneymakers and attendance leaders despite an up and down decade of play on the field. The deal is thought to be in the ballpark of $250,000,000 for the minority share, not a bad investment for Canizaro, who got into the USFL with barely over a $5M investment in 1986. The deal will be reviewed by the USFL legal team in both New York and New Orleans, but approval is anticipated by the Fall meeting of the league owners.
Summer Bowl 2006 Logo Released
One week earlier than expected, the USFL has released the logo for the 2006 Summer Bowl to be located in Philadelphia’s newly christened Lincoln Financial Field. The 2006 logo features many familiar elements of the Philadelphia skyline, including the Mint and Freedom Hall, along with the secondary logo of the Stars, the Liberty Bell. The “O” in “Bowl” is a brilliant sun with rays of orange and gold. The entire logo is rendered in the very summer colors of the Stars, red, orange, and gold. Across the bottom is a script “Philadelphia” in the style of the signatures found on the Declaration of Independence.
The 2006 Summer Bowl will be the 2nd USFL title game to be held in the City of Brotherly Love. Veterans Stadium played host to the then “USFL Championship Game” in 1988, a game that saw Houston take their first title by defeating the Memphis Showboats, 17-13. This is the first time a Northeastern team has hosted the title game since New Jersey played host in 1996, although, technically, the Pittsburgh Summer Bowl of 2002 was, at the time, a Northeastern squad hosting, though now they play in the Central Division.
Following Philadelphia, the USFL will head out west to play the 2007 title game in the new domed and climate controlled stadium in Glendale, Arizona which will be home to the Wranglers and NFL Cardinals, before returning to the Southeast when Jacksonville hosts the game in the summer of 2008.
Two very different games between the East and West. We have the top two seeds in the East getting ready for battle, while out west we see the #1 seed, Houston, preparing for an unexpected foe, the #6 seed, Seattle. Here is what you need to know to prepare for both games.
Sunday, July 10 @ 1pm ET
Soldier Field, Chicago
2005 Meetings: Chicago defeated Tampa Bay 20-3 in Week 11.
Rankings: Chicago, despite having a lower yardage total than Tampa Bay, averages nearly 3 points per game more than the Bandits. This is likely due to short fields produced by the higher-ranked Machine defense. Chicago is #1 in overall scoring defense in the league, allowing only 16.5 PPG, however, Tampa Bay is also quite solid in this category, allowing only 2.3 points per game more than the Machine. Where Tampa Bay excels is in takeaways, where they are second only to New Jersey with a +19 turnover margin.
Scoring: Tampa Bay 24.1 PPG (7th) Chicago 27.3 PPG (4th)
Yardage: Tampa Bay 354.9 YPG (8th) Chicago 341.0 YPG (10th)
Scoring Defense: Tampa Bay 18.8 PPG (6th) Chicago 16.5 PPG (1st)
Yardage Defense: Tampa Bay 364.6 (19th) Chicago 327.6 YPG (10th)
Turnover Diff.: Tampa Bay + 19 (2nd) Chicago -6 (23rd)
Top Performers:
Tampa Bay: QB Daunte Culpepper, HB Willis McGahee, WR Randy Moss, LB Kevin Mitchell, CB Samari Rolle.
Chicago: QB Jeff George, HB Michael Turner, HB Brian Westbrook, WR Curtis Conway, WR Donald Driver, LB Brian Urlacher, DE Anthony Weaver, DE Simeon Rice.
OUTLOOK: Earlier this year Chicago shut down the Tampa Bay offense, winning handily at home. They face the same team at home again, and look to do much the same. In the earlier game Chicago was able to make mincemeat of Tampa Bay’s line, recording 9 sacks of Culpepper. The other big advantage Chicago had in that game was Michael Turner, who had his only 100-yard game of the year against the Bandits. One bright spot for Tampa Bay was that they were able to get Randy Moss in single coverage against Chicago. As we saw against the Federals, if they can do that again, they could produce some big plays. Tampa Bay has lived by takeaways this season, so expect them to try to swat at the ball whenever they can get more than two defenders in on a tackle. Takeaways were not as prevalent for Chicago this year, but they still had the #1 scoring defense in football, so Tampa Bay will need to take advantage of every opportunity to get the win.
OUR PICK: We are going to go with the Machine to hold court at home. Their offense is not as explosive as Tampa Bay’s but it is consistent, and their defense can make any team abandon their gameplan. We expect the Bandits to try to use the pass as their primary weapon, so expect Chicago to once again pressure Culpepper on most downs. We think Chicago takes this one, 21-17.
Sunday, July 10 @ 5pm ET
NRG Stadium, Houston
2005 Meetings: Houston defeated Seattle 30-24 in Week 4.
Rankings: The rankings all favor Houston, who is Top 10 in each category. The biggest disparity is in yardage allowed, where Houston ranks first in the league while Seattle is in the lower half of the league. The only advantage Tampa Bay has is in turnover margin for the season.
Scoring: Seattle 23.0 PPG (13th) Houston 23.6 YPG (10th)
Yardage: Seattle 370.5 YPG (5th) Houston 357.6 YPG (7th)
Scoring Defense: Seattle 22.6 PPG (13th) Houston 18.6 PPG (4th)
Yardage Defense: Seattle 348.4 YPG (16th Houston 286.4 YPG (1st)
Turnover Diff.: Seattle +10 (9th) Houston +7 (11th)
Top Performers:
Seattle: QB Byron Leftwich, HB Corey Dillon, WR David Boston, WR O.J. McDuffie, LB Takeo Spikes, CB Marcus Truffant, CB Al Harris, DT Gilbert Brown.
Houston: QB Matt Hasselbeck, HB Mike Anderson, WR Antonio Freeman, WR Roy Williams, LB Sam Cowart, CB Ronde Barber, DE Kavika Pittman, DE Osi Umenyiura.
OUTLOOK: I think it is easy to assume that very few people had Seattle getting this far. But, they have already beaten both Nashville and Oakland, two division champions, to get to this game, so perhaps we should not take them lightly. Houston is the better team on paper, and they are playing at home with a chance to represent the West at their home stadium in Summer Bowl 2005. As much as America loves a Cinderella story, Seattle has a lot going against them. The best chance for the Dragons is to find ways to get Corey Dillon on track for 100 yards, and hope they can force Houston to run the ball more than they are comfortable with. The Dragons could use the nickel as their primary defense, as that was effectively done by New Orleans in a surprise win a few weeks ago. If they can force Houston to use a run game that they are not entirely comfortable with, that could slow things down, keep Seattle in the game, and then hope that Byron Leftwich has some magic in him.
OUR PICK: We feel foolish picking against Seattle for a third straight week, but most Cinderella stories end at one point or another. Everything logical says Houston should win this game, and when you add in the ability for the Gamblers to play the Summer Bowl at home, that has to be an added incentive for them to go all out in this game. We think Houston ends the fairy tale and secures a trip right back to NRG Stadium for Summer Bowl 2005. Houston wins 27-13.