Five different QBs are knocked out of games in a week defined by the importance of a good backup. Todd Collins could miss the rest of the regular season with a hip injury suffered against the Breakers, a game the Knights still manage to pull off. In LA, the Express may have to go to 3rd stringer Marques Tuiasosopo after Quincy Carter suffers a neck injury, and Orlando watches Jeff Blake go down with a knee injury that could cost him the remaining 4 games of the year. Aside from injuries, the story this week is that the playoff races start to solidify, with a lot of close battles across both conferences. Ohio’s loss to Tampa Bay puts the #1 seed in range for several teams, while it looks like Houston and Denver are going to battle to the wire out West. Let’s review the week’s action and then check in on the QB situation for each club.
KNIGHTS 18 BREAKERS 17
In a game that both squads saw as essential to their playoff hopes, the Nashville Knights rallied behind backup Craig Whelihan to defeat the New Orleans Breakers in the final seconds. The two clubs came into the week a half-game apart, with Nashville clinging to the division lead despite a 4-5 record, while New Orleans sat at 3-6-1, with a win allowing them to leapfrog over their division rivals. When the game ended Nashville would have a significant advantage to win the title, but at a cost, while New Orleans would see their playoff chances significantly diminished.
Both clubs have had issues with their offenses this season, although Nashville has been able to rely on HB Frank Gore to help them overcome a lackluster passing game. New Orleans has had issues on both fronts, with Eli Manning struggling in his first season as a starter. The recent roster shakeup that saw Trent Dilfer dealt to Texas and then Chris Perry brought in from Michigan was designed to solidify Manning as the starter and to enhance one of the league’s worst run games, but has yet to produce significant results.
In this game both Perry and Nashville’s Gore had limited success, both rushing for 80 yards. With both defenses focused on the run game, it was thought that Nashville’s potential through the air might be the difference, and while that proved to be the case, it was not in the way that the Knights had hoped. Only 2 drives into the game Todd Collins was taken down hard by DE Ty Warren of New Orleans, tried to stand up and then fell back to the ground in obvious pain. He was helped off the field and taken to the locker room with what would later be revealed by testing to be inflammation of the hip joint which could be the product of a chip of cartilage separating from the joint, a painful injury that may require several weeks, or even surgery, to sort out.
Craig Whelihan would have to lead the Knights the rest of the way in this game and for the next 2 weeks at a minimum. Nashville would only manage a 2nd field goal in the first half, and, thanks to a Chris Perry TD run in the 2nd quarter, New Orleans would go into the half with a 10-6 lead. Nashville fought on in the3rd quarter, and while the defense was able to stifle Manning and the Breakers, keeping them scoreless in the quarter, the offense struggled under Whelihan. They managed to add two more Matt Stover field goals, to take a slim 12-10 lead by the end of the quarter, but were unable to get inside the redzone on either scoring drive.
When New Orleans finally put up 7, scoring on a 20-yard Troy Davis run with only 3:32 left to play, the situation did not look good for the Knights. Down 5 with an offense that had not been able to get inside the 20 all game long, and facing a smothering zone defense, the Knights would have to muster something special to get the score they needed to salvage the game. Nashville would have exactly 3:32 to salvage the game and take command of the division. They would need every second of that time.
What Nashville would produce is an 18-play drive that included several vital 3rd and 4th down plays, and would come down to the final ticks of the clock. The kickoff got the ball to the Knight 31, where the epic drive would commence. What followed was one of the most exciting and heart-stopping drives in Knight history.
3:11 1st and 10, NSH 31: Frank Gore run for 1 yard.
2:41 2nd and 9, NSH 32: Incomplete pass to Merritt.
2:33 3rd and 9, NSH 32: Completion to Gore for 4 yards.
Facing a 4th and 5, Coach Johnson gave no thought to kicking the ball away. He called a pass play designed to force the linebackers to make a decision between two receivers making shallow crosses, hoping Craig Whelihan, who had not seen action all year, would make the right read and find the receiver with room to run. He did, and Nashville escaped the early moment of truth.
2:00 4th and 5, NSH 36: 6-yard completion to Derrick Mason. First Down. Two
minute warning.
1:46 1st and 10, NSH 42: Pass to Gore for 8 yards. Time Out #1.
1:36 2nd and 2, 50: 5-yard completion nullified by a holding penalty on Gandy.
1:28 2nd and 12, NSH 40: Whelihan hits Mason for 9 yards. Time Out #2.
1:18 3rd and 2, NSH 49: Whelihan to Gore for 8. Tackled in-bounds. Time Out #3.
1:10 1st and 10, NOR 42: Whelihan sacked by Brandon Mitchell right at the line.
1:00 2nd and 10, NOR 42: False Start on Nashville.
1:00 2nd and 15, NOR 47: Whelihan hits Reggie Kelly for 14 yards.
0:44 3rd and inches, NOR 33: Whelihan complete to Gore for 6 yards.
0:44 1st and 10, NOR 26: Whelihan spikes the ball.
0:33 2nd and 10, NOR 26: Whelihan finds Kelly again, this time for 12, but again
the TE cannot get out of bounds.
0:33 1st and 10, NOR 14: Whelihan spikes the ball.
0:18 2nd and 10, NOR 14: Incomplete to Gore.
0:13 3rd and 10, NOR 14: Short pass to Bert Emmanuel, who runs from the hash to
the sideline to get out of bounds, but fails to pick up the 1st down.
0:02 4th and 2, NOR 7: And Johnson needs a play…
Fourth down again, clock stopped at 2 seconds. No time to worry about the first down. This play from the 7 yard line would be the game. The Knights line up with Emmanuel, Mason and Kelly lined up in a tight bunch on the left, Gore and TE Jabari Holloway on the right of the line. Gore goes into motion to the left, a possible screen. Whelihan, in the shotgun, takes the snap, all three receivers on the leaft fan out into a shallow cross, a slant, and a deeper in route, forcing the zone to compress into the middle of the field. Gore is forced to stay in to help block Ty Warren, but backup TE Jabari Holloway crosses against the formation, slanting to the left just as the three receiver set moves the defenders towards the middle of the field. The linebacker following Holloway gets caught up in the traffic in midfield, giving Holloway the 2-step advantage he needs. Whelihan fires a frozen rope just in front of his TE, and Holloway hauls it in just as he hits the goal line. He is hit by the safety, falls to the ground, but holds on. 4th and 2 from the 7 with 2 seconds to play and the Knights called the perfect play, executed perfectly.
The Nashville bench erupts, the Breakers can only stare at the replay on the scoreboard, hoping to see Holloway juggle the ball as he was hit, but no such luck. They return to the locker room despondent about a game that got away, failing to contain a backup QB as he led the club down the field in an epic 2-minute drill. The Knights move to 5-5 and New Orleans falls to 3-6-1.
STALLIONS 9 SHOWBOATS 27
Heath Shuler had a strong game, completing 22 of 26 throws for 286 yards and 2 scores as the Showboats take the season sweep of their archrivals. Cadillac Williams also looked ready for a final quarter push as he rushed 23 times for 117 yards. For Birmingham, things were not so rosy, with Shaun Alexander remaining stymied by loaded fronts and Campbell unable to make them pay for dropping fewer players back in coverage.
GAMBLERS 27 OUTLAWS 12
Trent Dilfer got his first start, struggled to an 11/22 day with 2 picks into the third quarter, and then got injured on a hurried pass, forcing Jeff Lewis to come in. By this point the game was already out of hand, with Houston holding a 27-5 lead until a late Texas touchdown made the game seem closer than it was.
WRANGLERS 7 GOLD 31
You have to feel for rookie QB Andrew Walter, forced into action with an offense that has not been working all season even with Jake Plummer at the helm, forced to endure 6 sacks and then blamed by many for going 5 of 20 on the day for only 90 yards passing. Just nothing was there for the Wranglers, as Denver racked up a 31-0 lead despite Mark Brunell going into the locker room at the half and not re-emerging due to deep thigh bruise. He was not needed for the final 20 minutes as Denver had this game won early.
INVADERS 36 DRAGONS 24
Viewed as a must-win game for the Dragons, the home squad was simply not up to the task. Trent Green went 22 of 33 and threw for 3 scores and Ricky Williams had one of his better days against the Dragon D, rushing for 101 and a score as Oakland simply dominated time of possession to move their record to 6-4. Both Boston and McDuffie went over 100 yards for Seattle, but they just were not able to get enough stops to force a closer game.
THUNDER 17 EXPRESS 29
Even after knocking Quincy Carter out of the game, Las Vegas could not muster enough to upend the Express. Marques Tuiasosopo relieved the injured Carter and threw for 226 and a score as LA got the upper hand on Las Vegas thanks to a pick-6 from rookie Lofa Tatupu, and a safety from DE Jevon Kearse. Kearse and Udeze remain the #1 sack duo in the league, adding 2 more to their combined total this week.
BULLS 18 MACHINE 29
The Bulls came in hot but Chicago doused that fire with a stifling defensive effort, led by MLB Brian Urlacher. Neither team would score a touchdown until the 3rd quarter, as the first 8 scores in the game were field goals, 5 for the Bulls and 3 for Chicago. But in the 2nd half, Chicago added two Michael Turner TD runs, while Jacksonville could only add a 6th Kris Brown kick, and that was the difference in this one.
PANTHERS 17 STARS 28
This battle of two up-and-coming squads was won by Philadelphia’s red zone defense. Michigan outgained the Stars 450-310, but were stymied on two separate red zone drives, first by a Quentin Jammer pick, and then by a failed 4th and 2 play in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia had fewer drives deep into Michigan territory, but 3 of them ended with Kurt Warner TD tosses, he would finish the game with 4 TDs on the day, including two into the hands of Steve Smith.
GENERALS 27 RENEGADES 17
A big day for James Jackson as he had his heaviest work load (16 carries) all season, and converted those carries into 91 yards rushing for the Generals. New Jersey also got TD’s from TE Patrick Hape and WR Terry Glenn to slowly pull away from the plucky Renegades late. With Jeff Blake injured, rookie Matt Cassel was given a chance to play most of the game, going 16 of 25, but Cassell was not able to produce 4th quarter drives to come back on the Generals.
BANDITS 32 GLORY 20
The game of the week quickly turned into a Tampa Bay showcase, as they raced out to a 17-0 lead, with early TDs from Culpepper to Moss and to Karl Williams. The hole kept Eddie George from taking on his usually large role in the offense. Kerry Collins pressed a bit, and forced 2 interceptions that he normally does not throw, including a late toss taken back to the house by Tampa Bay’s Bryan Scott.
MAULERS 20 BLITZ 16
A bit of a shocker in Baltimore as the Blitz got caught overlooking the Maulers. Charlie Batch was injured in the game, but not before building up a lead for the Maulers. TDs from Kenny Bynum and Terrell Davis were too much for the Blitz to overcome despite Big Ben completing 30 of 41 passing. Vince Jackson of Pittsburgh was the POTG, thanks to 8 receptions for 113 yards, including a crucial 29-yard catch and run on a 3rd and 18.
FEDERALS 10 CANNONS 17
Drew Bledsoe and the Boston line struggled with Washington’s pass rush, giving up 6 sacks, as Greg Spires led an aggressive blitz plan for the Feds. Kordell Stewart returned to action after a couple of weeks on the injury report, but the key to the game was the Boston D, which kept Washington from capitalizing on Stewart's return to action.
Quarterback Injuries the Story of the Week
We saw earlier how backup Craig Whelihan helped lead the Knights to victory after Todd Collins went out with a hip injury which has the potential of costing him the remaining 4 games of the regular season. But Collins was not the only starter to go down this week, and Whelihan not the only backup to be forced into action. Five different starters finished their games in the locker room being attended to by the training staff and the club medical team. In addition to Collins, we saw Quincy Carter, himself a backup to Cade McNown, go down, Jeff Blake in Orlando, Charlie Batch for Pittsburgh, and Trent Dilfer, in his first start as a new member of the Texas Outlaws, all found their games shortened. So, what is the situation for each club? We take a look at all 5 situations, starting with Nashville.
NASHVILLE: We know that Collis is going to miss no less than 2 weeks of action, but the decision on whether or not the hip injury, which appears to involve floating cartilage chips, may require surgery, is still to be decided. If surgery is deemed necessary, it means Craig Whelihan is the starter the rest of the way. Whelihan last started a game in 1999 with Arizona, and has only appeared in 7 games in his 4 seasons in Nashivlle, all in garbage time. With Nashville only ½ game up on the 4-5-1 Memphis Showboats, this will be a major storyline down the stretch.
LOS ANGELES: With Cade McNown believed to be at least 2 weeks away from any attempt to get back into action, the Express now lose their 2nd quarterback as Quincy Carter suffers a neck injury that will likely keep him out at least that long, if not the remaining 3-4 weeks of the season. The Express will call on former Oakland Invader Marques Tuiasosopo to take the reins of the offense. Tuiasosopo, who started 21 games for Oakland between 2000-2004 will get his first start for the Express after coming over in free agency. The Express also added veteran backup Jon Stark to back up Tuiasosopo, but have not added a 3rd QB, listing WR Arnaz Battle as their emergency third option.
ORLANDO: QB Jeff Blake, who has had some very good moments leading Orlando to a 4-5-1 record, will be out at least 2-3 weeks with a sprained knee. The play that caused the injury looked like it had the potential for worse, with the leg bent back at an uncomfortable angle, so it was considered very lucky that Blake did not suffer any tendon or ligament damage in the knee. What was interesting about Orlando’s decision-making was that they went with mid-round rookie Matt Cassel of USC to replace Blake, rather than veteran backup Koy Detmer. Cassel is expected to get the start in Week 11, and Orlando has not yet added a 3rd QB to the roster, though there have been rumors that they have reached out to former New Jersey General Spence Fischer as well as former Panther and Gold backup Elvis Grbac.
PITTSBURGH: For the second time this season, Batch will miss time due to injury. After missing weeks 4-6, Batch is again expected to miss 2-3 weeks in what has been something of a snakebit season for the Maulers. This time it is a hamstring injury, one that was obvious as Batch scrambled only to begin hopping on one leg at the end of the play. Once again he will be replaced by veteran Alex Van Pelt, the former Pitt QB who made a name for himself in Chicago with the Machine, before returning home. Jim Sorgi from Wisconsin will be the backup, and as of today there is no third option on the roster.
TEXAS: The Outlaws did not get the short-term return on the trade that brought Trent Dilfer over from the Breakers as the former Breaker lasted only one half of play in San Antonio before going down with his own hip injury, although in Dilfer’s case, there appears to only be soft tissue damage. Dilfer went 11 of 22 before having to come out of the game against the Gamblers. He could potentially return in Week 12, after missing one game, and, as expected, Jeff Lewis will resume his duties as starter, though certainly not a happy one. Lewis fully expects to go unprotected in the upcoming Expansion Draft, and if not selected by either Atlanta or St. Louis, he will almost certainly demand to be released in free agency. He is backed up now by former Longhorn Chris Simms. Rookie Dan Orlofsky of UConn has been moved from the practice squad into the 53 to act as the 3rd QB for at least this week.
Arizona moves Plummer to IR as season is lost cause.
In other QB news, the Wranglers have, after several weeks, opted to move Jake Plummer to the IR with the stress fracture in his foot. Sitting at 2-8, with only the most miniscule playoff potential in the Western Conference, the Wranglers decided that they would not go back to Plummer this season, despite the fact that he is expected to be cleared to play within the next 2 weeks. Rather than trot him onto the field to potentially get injured again, it seems Arizona is recognizing that 2005 is a lost season for them. They will continue to go with Andrew Walter, the rookie, and let Plummer heal and return for 2006. Walter is backed up by Damon Huard, but we expect he will continue to get the starts throughout the remaining 4 games of the season.
Urlacher Takes Over Tackle Lead
Switching to defense to wrap up our roundup of league news this week, we focus on Chicago MLB Brian Urlacher. The former New Mexico Lobo moved ahead of Kevin Mitchell this week as the league leader in tackles. Urlacher, the undisputed leader of the Machine defense, has been on a pace to set personal bests in several categories of defensive stats. He already has 4 sacks and 3 interceptions on the year, both being career bests. What is more he has added 2 defensive touchdowns to his season stats. His 85 tackles puts him on a pace to shatter his prior season best of 102 in 2004, and he is a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year as the leader and captain of the Machine’s 4th ranked scoring defense.
With Urlacher prowling the middle of the field, it has been nearly impossible to run on the Machine, who allow fewer than 80 yards per game on the ground, and Urlacher, who is slight for a MLB, and a former safety, has proven incredibly effective in pass coverage, particularly when occupying the deep middle on 2-deep zone coverages. His top competitors for the Defensive POTY are Birmingham DE Mike Rucker (15 sacks), New Jersey CB Deion Sanders (4 picks, 2 for TDs), and his own teammate, DE Anthony Weaver (13 sacks and 3 forced fumbles), but even Weaver has said that the Machine D starts and ends with Urlacher’s leadership, motor, and aggressive style.
Four weeks to go and we are no closer to knowing for sure who will be playing ball in July. Next week could be a biggie at least for a few teams as another loss will eliminate both Las Vegas and Birmingham, which comes as no surprise for fans of either team. Orlando and Pittsburgh, currently in the bottom two slots in the East cannot be eliminated next week, but only because each has a tie on their records, which mean that even with losses they would fall only 2.5 games behind any teams that reach 7 wins.
So, what do we think right now? We know that Ohio still has a 1-game lead on the top spot for the East, but their loss to Tampa Bay is a big deal if the Bandits can pull even, giving the tiebreaker to them and not the Glory. We know that Denver and Houston will likely lock up the first 2 playoff spots out west, but that we likely won’t know who will win the division until the two meet on the season’s final weekend. We also know that with a cluster of 6-4 teams, it is basically impossible for anyone to clinch a playoff spot in the East, and could take until Week 13 or 14 to sort out.
Two very different playoff hunts in the two conferences, but on the upside, it means that teams still have something to play for, and that parity will produce some great games down the stretch.
In addition to the QB injuries highlighted above, it was a bad week as three more players, each on teams with significant playoff hopes, get sent to the IR. Another Achilles rupture this week as Na’il Diggs of Nashville goes down. Nashville takes a hit on both offense and defense after this week’s game. In Houston, big DTRockey Bernard suffered an ACL injury after getting rolled up on by a pancaked guard. He will require surgery and a pretty lengthy recovery period. And finally, center Jeremy Newberry of the Generals, will be done for the year after his knee pain was diagnosed as a significant MCL injury.
Beyond these significant injuries and the QB woes across the league, the only multiple-week injury of note is that of Houston WR Roy Williams, who could be out at least 2 weeks after suffering a turf toe injury at home agains the Outlaws. We expect Koren Robinson will step into the #2 position, with either Drew Bennett or Bethel Johnson occupying the slot.
Big Trouble in Big D
Major issues for the DFW Group that is seeking a 2008 expansion club for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex are. It all stems from the disparity in image and cache between the two cities, as USFL owners responded to the DFW bid with several initial positives, but took the position that the team would have to be based in Dallas itself and would be required to use the name Dallas. With the DFW bid headed by Robert Bass, whose ties are firmly with Ft. Worth, and with a stadium agreement in place to use Amon G. Carter Stadium (TCU) in Ft. Worth, the news that the USFL would insist on both a Dallas moniker and Dallas location, split the bidding group into two factions.
Dallas certainly has venues available, whether the venerable Cotton Bowl, with its capacity of nearly 92,000, or SMU’s 5-year old Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which has a capacity of 32.000, but neither is ideal for a USFL squad. The Cotton Bowl is an older facility and its capacity will make even a good crowd look like a half-empty stadium, while the stadium at SMU is clearly not large enough for a viable USFL franchise, just ask Portland (and now Las Vegas) about the impact of a 30,000 seat capacity. So, why the ruling? We knew going in that Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones was not open to hosting a USFL squad in Texas Stadium (Arlington) or in his planned “Jerry’s World” stadium, but the insistence that a club focused on Fort Worth is a non-starter for the league all but pulls the rug out from under the DFW Group.
Robert Bass has stated that he will make the case for Fort Worth, and use of Amon G. Carter Stadium, whose capacity of 47,000 is right-sized for the spring league. However, several of the minority owners, perhaps not fully on board with Bass’s insistence on Fort Worth as a franchise home, seem to want to appease the USFL and make a deal with the Cotton Bowl. The rift between the two factions is troubling for what felt early on like a slam-dunk option to bring the USFL to one of the largest cities in the country not to host the 23-year old league.
Rumors have been swirling that DFW Group may actually split into two very different bids. This would entail Mr. Bass either applying as a sole owner, something which is rare in today’s high value market for pro sports, or for the defecting minority owners to locate significant financial resources to bolster their bid for a Dallas-centric team.
There appear to be no winners in this situation, except one. Robert Bass could lose out on his hopes to elevate Ft. Worth to the status of a major league city. The Dallas-based splinter group could easily fail to locate the financing to cobble together a viable bid. And, the league itself could have essentially cost itself a chance to move a franchise into the 5th largest market in the nation. The only potential benefactors from this issue and the schism it has produced is the bid from Portland, Oregon. The bid in Portland is solid, with a new stadium already under construction in the city, and with a pretty solid financial backing, led by Columbia Sportswear founder Tim Boyle, but the bid was considered a longshot with Dallas-Fort Worth on the table. If the DFW Group splinters, as appears to be happening, this could be the chance that Portland was hoping for to make its case, both as a bidding group and as a market that was wronged by former Thunder owner Phil Ruffin.
So, what brought about the issue of Dallas v. Fort Worth anyway? While we do not have insight into the league conversations around the issue, it seems clear that one of the big movers and shakers behind the scenes was Texas Outlaw lead owner Red McCombs. There is no doubt that the Outlaws, as well as the Houston Gamblers, feel somewhat ambivalent, if not outright hostile, to a third Texas franchise being brought into the league. McCombs has been quite vocal that he believes that the Outlaws belong to all of Texas, even though they play all but one home game per year in San Antonio. Both Dallas and Fort Worth have been host to the annual “Texas Roadshow” game, with the Cotton Bowl having hosted the Outlaws 6 times and Carter Stadium 4 times. Only El Paso, with 5 hosting gigs, even comes close to the DFW in exposure. Add to the two voices from Texas a couple of owners who seem very much interested in the cache of Dallas over Ft. Worth, as well as several more who are simply hoping to bring Portland back into the fold. We know that both Seattle and Oakland ownership groups have been strongly in favor of the Portland bid, hoping to return a USFL team to Oregon and a natural rival back to their fold.
Adding a Portland team would create instant rivalries with the Dragons, and likely the Invaders as well, and Portland would immediately have a natural rivalry with the Las Vegas Thunder, just as the Ravens and Browns began with bad blood in the NFL.
Does this news of internal rifts in the DFW Group mean inevitable doom for the DFW bid? It all depends on if either faction can reinforce their coffers and their bid in time to impress the USFL owners in the next few weeks, before a decision is expected on the 2008 bids. The drama is certainly there, and while the East is seen as more competitive, with three pretty equal bids (Charlotte, Norfolk/Va Beach, and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill), it now seems that the Western expansion bidding has just become a much closer race.
Chicago Machine Gets an Overhaul
Changing gears, literally, is what we will do now. The Chicago Machine this week unveiled their new look, and it is quite literally a changing of the gears. Chicago began its existence as a 1987 expansion club with a logo designed as the letter M with gear-like protrusions on each side. Ten seasons later the Machine overhauled their look in 1996 with the introduction of the “Gear C” logo, a set of “stacked” gears that formed a C similar to the famous Chicago Theater C. That logo has had it’s 10 year run, and now, for the team’s 20th season, the Machine will have yet another new look, one that calls back to the current and prior logos, while also adding features to even further link the club’s identity to that of the city of Chicago.
The team will retain its primary colors of UC Maroon and Ironworks Grey, but we will see an increased use of sky blue, always a tertiary color for the club, as well as the addition of a bold red, in the form of one of the new visual markers for the club, the 6-pointed star found on the Chicago flag.
The flag is clearly a point of emphasis in the Machine’s new look, with the sky blue stripes and red stars morphing into an element of both primary and secondary logo. The Primary is a reworked “Gear C”, with a large primary gear forming the C while the inner space is occupied by a grey circle containing the bright red star. Sky blue outlines and a blue stripe emerging from the open space of the C help to evoke the city flag and complete the round logo.
The secondary logo is a reworked version of the ironwork M that was the club’s original brand. The new “M” comes complete with girder effects and rivets to reinforce the iron and steel, almost “steampunk” look of the logo. A red star sits above the bold letter, with sky blue shadows falling below it.
The look that will take the field retains many of the well-known elements of Chicago’s past looks. The helmet remains maroon with a maroon facemask, but sky blue becomes the dominant stripe, with pencil-thin grey stripes on either side of the wider central stripe. The 6-pointed star makes another appearance eat the rear of the stripe, separating the player number and the league’s flags sticker. The primary logo, outlined in white, appears on both sides of this new helmet.
The jerseys remain white and maroon, with grey and sky blue elements. The shoulder yoke is gone, replaced by maroon sleeves on the white uniform, while the dark jersey is fully maroon except for ironwork grey sleeve cuffs. The primary logo again appears on each sleeve. The most intriguing element of the new jersey are the numbers, which contain very wide outlines in maroon (white jersey) or grey (dark jersey) with two contrasting inner color sections. On the dark jersey the upper section of the number is sky blue, while the bottom half is white. For the white jersey the bottom uses grey instead of white.
There are two pant sets, one grey and one maroon. Both include the secondary logo on each hip and a diagonal/horizontal stripe pattern meant to evoke the Chicago flag once again. The design on the maroon jersey definitely has that vibe as white and sky stripes contain a single star logo. The grey jersey swaps out the thick sky blue lines for maroon, which evokes less of the city flag theme, but still retains the basic elements of the look.
The new uniform could take the field as early as this Spring if the Machine make the postseason, which seems very possible with 4 weeks left to play. It will be fully rolled out in March next year, and replica jerseys, along with many Machine apparel options, will be available to the public in the Windy City and across the nation starting in just a couple of weeks.
A rarity in the USFL schedule, a week where all 24 clubs are playing inter-divisional games within their conference. We tend to see interdivisional games in one conference in weeks when the other conference is in divisional play, but this week every club is facing another conference foe. This allows for some great matchups between teams battling for conference playoff spots. A lot of good ones to focus on in Week 11, including:
OHIO @ JACKSONVILLE: The Bulls can prove a lot to themselves and the league if they can knock off the current #1 seed in the East.
BALTIMORE @ MICHIGAN: Two of our surprise contenders battle it out to see who can take a step closer to a playoff berth.
BOSTON @ NEW JERSEY: The Generals have fought their way back into the playoff mix with three straight wins, but Boston cannot afford a loss in a tight Southern Division.
CHICAGO @ TAMPA BAY: The Bandits are a game up in the South, Chicago only 1 game back in the Central, so this is a must-win for both clubs.
ORLANDO @ WASHINGTON: The Renegades seem to be fading and must go into this tough matchup without Jeff Blake at QB, while Washington expects to have Kordell Stewart back under center.
PHILADELPHIA @ PITTSBURGH: The Keystone Clash could help propel the Stars towards the playoffs. The Maulers will start Alex Van Pelt again and hope for some home town magic.
OAKLAND @ DENVER: A rare clash of teams with winning records out West as the Invaders head to Denver, who will be playing without Mark Brunell.
ARIZONA @ MEMPHIS: A win and the Showboats are back at .500 and solidly in playoff contention.
HOUSTON @ NEW ORLEANS: The Gamblers need a win to stay atop the Southwest, New Orleans needs one to have any chance at remaining a viable Wild Card contender.
NASHVILLE @ SEATTLE: With Todd Collins out, it will be up to Craig Whelihan to lead the Knights against the Dragons, who are still alive for a Wild Card despite a 3-7 record.
BIRMINGHAM @ LA: After finally getting their first win of the season, the Stallions head out to LA, where third string QB Marques Tuiasosopo will be the starter.
LAS VEGAS @ TEXAS: With nothing but pride to play for, these two teams will clash in a matchup that impacts draft order more than anything else.