This was a season finale that will not soon be forgotten. Preseason favorites ousted, Cinderella stories across the league, amazing performances and shocking results. With 12 teams fighting for 6 playoff spots we knew we were in for something special, and we were not disappointed. There is no way we could pick just one game to focus on this week, so we will go through the weekend in the six timeframes that defined who was in, who was out, and who was left in shock.
Saturday 12pm Starts
BULLS 28 RENEGADES 23
The Southeast starts the week off, both games having playoff ramifications. In the Regional broadcast, the Bulls spring to a 21-0 lead thanks to two Javon Walker TD’s and a 3-yard Antowain Smith run, but Orlando battles back, making the game close by the end. Jeff Blake threw for 301 yards on 32 of 47 passing as the Renegades showed some moxie in what was a meaningless game for them. Antowain Smith rushed for 112 yards and Jake Delhomme threw for 3 scores, all 3 to Javon Walker, as Jacksonville moves their record to 9-5, but would that be enough for them to make the postseason? They would have to wait and see.
CANNONS 14 BANDITS 20
As the Bulls were improving to 9-5, the Bandits and Cannons slugged it out in a surprisingly defensive game. Yes, Chad Ochocinco would finish with 168 yards on 8 receptions, and Willis McGahee would rush for 99 yards and 2 scores for Tampa Bay, but this one was not the explosive shootout we expected. Tampa Bay was able to limit Tiki Barber to only 41 yards on 16 carries, a showing that could cost him the rushing title. They also picked off Bledsoe twice, as the Bandits move to 10-4 and win the Southeastern Division. They would now have to wait to see how other games ended up to see if they would get a bye week with their division title. As for Boston, their fate now depended on the Central and Northeast DIvision games. The right combo and Boston could be the #4 seed, the wrong combination of results and they could be outside looking in.
Saturday 4pm Starts
WRANGLERS 28 OUTLAWS 18
A forgettable season for both the Outlaws and Wranglers comes to a quiet end in San Antonio. Arizona, a year away from the Summer Bowl suffered through a horrific 3-11 season. The star of this game was one of the few bright spots for Arizona this year, wideout Larry Fitzgerald, who caught 5 passes from Andrew Walter, turning them into 131 yards and 2 scores. Trent Dilfer started for Texas as Jeff Lewis is clearly on the way out in San Antonio.
GOLD 32 GAMBLERS 27
In a game that would not alter either team’s playoff position a lot of starters rested, but we still got a good game between these two Southwestern foes. Matt Hasselbeck started for Houston, who apparently thought that the bye week as the top seed was enough rest for the QB. He threw for 262, but also threw 3 picks in an up-and-down performance. Denver started Dereck Anderson to see what the young QB could do. He would complete only 19 of 32 passing, but 3 of those were scoring tosses as he guided the Gold back from a 27-19 deficit in the final quarter to take the win.
Both clubs finish at 9-5, but Houston has the better divisional record, so their seeding was never in question. Denver will host a Wild Card game next week, while Houston rests and gets ready to use home field as they take advantage of their top seed.
Saturday 8pm Starts
STALLIONS 9 BREAKERS 24
Birmingham started Eric Zeier and rested Joe Horn in this one, and while Lawrence Dawsey got a round of applause from the Breaker faithful, it was largely an uneventful final game for the veteran Stallion. New Orleans got the win, thanks in part to 174 yards rushing against the Stallion D. Chris Perry carried the ball 31 times and Troy Davis another 12, as New Orleans ground out the win. They move to 5-8-1, and now wait. If both LA and Seattle lose in their finales tomorrow, New Orleans is in the playoffs despite being 2 ½ games under .500.
SHOWBOATS 7 KNIGHTS 24
The first true Title Tilt of the weekend, with the winner claiming the Southern Division and possibly a bye, this one was not the matchup most wanted as Heath Shuler was out for the game, while Todd Collins was playing hurt. The game was not close from the start, with Nashville scoring the first 24 points before Memphis, led by Bill Musgrave, finally got on the board. Musgrave was picked off twice, while Cadillac Williams was held to only 1.9 yards per carry as Nashville’s D was at their best. Rookie HB Frank Gore rushed for 119 and a TD in the win, winning the league rushing title and securing his spot as the Rookie of the Year by helping Nashville claim the South at 8-6. Memphis still qualifies, despite a 6-7-1 record, having clinched before losing their last 2 without Shuler at the helm.
Sunday 12pm Starts
MACHINE 27 MAULERS 7
A win and the Machine would clinch the #1 seed in the Eastern playoffs. That fact did not elude Chicago as they turned a 7-7 game into a 27-7 route thanks to their dominant defense. Pittsburgh could muster only 8 first downs in the game, and was limited to 201 total yards. Brian Urlacher snagged his 4th pick of the season and the combo of Michael Turner and Brian Westbrook combined for 130 yards as Chicago rolled to the top seed, homefield advantage, and a bye next week.
PANTHERS 30 GLORY 24
If anyone still doubted if Michigan’s 2005 record was a fluke, this game dispelled the doubters. The Panthers went toe to toe with the Glory in Columbus and came out on top in perhaps the best game of the day. Kerry Collins threw for 290 yards and 3 scores, but was sacked 7 times as the Ohio offensive line continues to struggle. Drew Brees threw for 280 yards and 4 scores as he had one of the most complete games of his season. Hines Ward caught 2 scores and Michigan won on the scoreboard despite losing the time of possession battle 24:30 to 35:30. The play of the game was a 69-yard TD pass on a third and 3 that silenced the Ohio crowd and got Michigan rocking. The Panthers and Glory finish tied at 9-5 but Michigan leaps over Ohio for 2nd in the Central thanks to a 4-2 division record. Ohio is still in playoff position, but they could get knocked out depending on the night's games in the Northeastern Division, a nervous situation for the Glory to be sure.
Sunday 4pm Starts
THUNDER 16 DRAGONS 21
Seattle needed the win to lock up the #6 seed in the West, but with a banged up Corey Dillon playing with a sore shoulder, it was not a gimme at home against Las Vegas. To throw Seattle a curve ball, Coach Glanville opted to start former CFL star Henry Burris at QB, giving Seattle something unexpected to deal with. The strategy paid early dividends as Las Vegas took a 13-7 lead into the half, but Seattle rallied behind Byron Leftwich, who connected twice with David Boston to earn the home win, scoring the game winner in the final 1:26 much to the delight of the Seattle crowd. With the win, LA and New Orleans were eliminated and Seattle pulls off the rare feat of making the playoffs after an 0-4 start.
EXPRESS 21 INVADERS 38
With their game simultaneous with the LV-SEA game, the Express could scoreboard watch and see that Las Vegas led most of the way against the Dragons, but Oakland needed a win to secure a bye and that is powerful motivation in any league. While LA was scoreboard watching, Oakland turned an early 7-0 deficit into a 17-7 lead thanks to TD catches from Taylor Jacobs and Plaxico Burress. LA fought back with a long bomb from Quincey Carter to Keyshawn Johnson, but just before the half, Carter threw an ill-advised pass and Oakland’s Will Allen snatched it away from the receiver and returned it for a 37-yard TD, putting Oakland up for good. The Invaders would add two 4th quarter TDs, again one each for Jacobs and Burress, and they pull away to both crush LA’s hopes and to secure that much-desired Wild Card Week bye, forcing Nashville to gear up to host a game next week.
Sunday 8pm Starts
BLITZ 16 FEDERALS 24
The Blitz could win the Northeast, but to do so they would have to take down the Federals at RFK, not an easy task at any point, but with their playoff hopes on the line, the Feds would make this a war of attrition between two of the league’s best defenses. Washington QB Kordell Stewart would play, despite a bruised hip, and that would help Washington keep Baltimore’s defense guessing. Stewart would complete 18 of 27 passes and would run the ball 8 times, including a pivotal late scramble that helped Washington take the lead at halftime. Baltimore struggled against Washington’s pass rush, with Ben Roethlisberger throwing two picks under duress.
The game was close throughout, with Washington soring 10 in the third to pull away. Baltimore got a field goal in the 4th, but needed one more score, a score that just would not come. It was a devastating win for the Federals, because it not only lept them over Baltimore in the standings, but knocked Baltimore from the Top 6, and out of the playoffs. A truly amazing season for the Blitz ends in heartache as the Federals drive a stake into the hearts of their rivals.
GENERALS 17 STARS 24
As Baltimore and Washington battled in one of the league’s hardest-hitting rivalries, the Generals and Stars battled in the league’s most famous rivalry game, both knowing that a loss ended their season. Would it be the defending champs, rising from the division basement with an amazing 2nd half, or would the Stars pull off the Cinderella story with their new NFL import QB in his first spring season?
The slugfest we all expected is the game we got at the Linc. Philadelphia’s two offseason acquisitions came through big, helping the Stars build a 17-3 halftime lead. . Ahman Green rushed 22 times for 82 yards and a score, the game’s opener. Another TD, this one from backup Cedrick Cobb would help Philly take a 14-point lead into the half. Kurt Warner would finish wtith202 yards and a TD on a 23/41 day, but a pick-six thrown to LB James Harrison nearly cost the Stars the game. The defensive TD brought life to the Generals, who would score on their next possession to even the score at 17. In the 4th quarter, both teams traded defensive stops, but with 5:36 left in the game, Kurt Warner redeemed himself, tossing a TD pass to speedy wideout Steve Smith to give Philadelphia the lead.
New Jersey would have one shot to get back in the game and send it to overtime. As the fans in Philadelphia nervously cheered on their defense, Tom Brady led the Generals down the field, just as he had done several times already this season. But this game would not be another Brady late comeback. With the ball at the stars 34 and time running out, Brady took an ill-advised shot at the end zone, throwing the ball to a double-covered Terry Glenn. Philadelphia FS Anthony Dorsett was in position and hauled in his second pick of Brady on the day. Philadelphia would hold the ball for the final 41 seconds and the fans in Lincoln Financial Field would celebrate not only one of the most memorable victories in the Stars-Generals rivalry, but a playoff berth for their hometown team. New Jersey, like Arizona, would go from a Summer Bowl season to being out of the playoffs before they begin.
But New Jersey would not be alone. Boston, Baltimore, and Ohio would join them on the outside looking in. The upstart Panthers, surprising Bulls, and Cinderella Stars would all be in the dance, occupying the three Wild Card spots, while Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Washington would take the divisional titles. In the West, there was less to decide, but Houston and Oakland get the byes, Nashville wins the South, and Denver, Memphis and Seattle all qualify as Wild Cards.
Joy & Despair the Story of Week 14
This year had perhaps the most dramatic final week of any in recent memory. Twelve clubs remained alive for only 6 playoff spots, meaning that both joy and pain were going to be felt by the end of the weekend, and that is exactly the drama we got.
JOY IN WASHINGTON: The Feds were in last place in the division a week ago, but their win, paired with Philly’s win over New Jersey caused Washington to leap all the way up the division to claim the crown. It is one of the most dramatic final week shifts we have ever seen, all made possible by the razor thin differences between first and fourth place in the division this year.
PAIN IN BOSTON: A four-game winning streak down the stretch seemed to be lining up the Cannons for a return to the post-season, but the perfect storms of wins and their loss to Tampa Bay doomed the Cannons to third place in the Southeast, a position that did not grant them a Wild Card berth. Had the Cannons won the game, they could have been named Division Champ, so to fall from that to out of the playoffs completely was a huge blow, and to make matters worse, their star HB, Tiki Barber, led the league in rushing for the past month only to lose his lead to rookie Frank Gore on the final week of the year.
JOY IN NASHVILLE; The Knights and Showboats were both clinched for the playoffs, but had Nashville lost at home this week to Memphis they would have dropped from the division champion to a Wild Card, and their record of 7-7 would be a major disappointment. The win at home against their arch rival means they finish a respectable 8-6, and more importantly it means they win the division by 1.5 games and get to host a Wild Card game next week.
PAIN IN NEW JERSEY: The Generals knew that repeating as champion would not be easy, but they did not expect that all 3 division rivals would improve their game to the degree that they were all able to finish ahead of the Generals in the division. Yes, an 8-6 record is hardly a disaster, but for New Jersey, finishing last in the division, even at 8-6, is not getting the job done.
JOY IN OAKLAND: Their first winning season since 1998 and a division crown to boot. That was the result of the Invaders’ win over LA this week. For a club that made the playoffs in 10 of the first 13 seasons of the USFL, the long drought (1 appearance since 1994) was a painful reality for over a decade. The 2005 Invaders may not be world-beaters but Coach Green has at least brought a modicum of pride back to the East Bay.
PAIN IN NEW ORLEANS: Should a team expect to be in the playoffs with only 5 wins? No, but when they won their game against Birmingham on Saturday that is exactly where they were. But the problem was that both Seattle and LA still had to play their games the next day, and a win by either one would spell disaster. Oakland helped the Breakers out, taking a quick lead on the Express and building on it throughout the day, but Seattle was at home against Las Vegas. And yet, the Thunder were holding their own with Henry Burress at QB. The Thunder took the lead with only 6:20 left to play, but it was not to be, all the hopes of the Breakers’ players were crushed when David Boston scored in the final two minutes, giving the win, and the playoff spot to the Dragons.
JOY IN MICHIGAN: Theirs was considered the hardest task of the weekend, to go into Ohio and beat the Glory, a win that could provide the Panthers with a playoff berth, but could also remove Ohio from contention, something the Glory were acutely aware of. When the Panthers built up a lead in the game, the energy on the sideline was palpable, and when the game ended with Michigan on top, that joy erupted from the Michigan sideline. It was a game that had all the energy of a Michigan-Ohio State game in the Big Ten, two states that compete over everything, and in this case the underdogs from the Wolverine State came out on top, punching their postseason ticket and sending Ohio into a deep funk.
PAIN IN BALTIMORE: The Blitz took over the top spot in the East last week as they overtook the Stars, but their hold of first place would last only 7 days. Washington’s win sent Baltimore back down the standings, finishing third and out of playoff contention. From the pinnacle to an also-ran in only 60 minutes. Perhaps it was too much to hope for too soon, after all the Blitz had not had a winning record since 2001, and had finished in the basement of the Northeast each of the past three years, so maybe 3rd place and an 8-6 final record was nothing to moan about, but when you come so close and then lose it the way Baltimore did, that is a tough pill to swallow.
Barber Loses Rushing Title to Rookie
Tiki Barber was ready to both prepare for playoff football and to hoist the Herschel Walker Trophy as the league’s best back, when Boston ran into a buzz saw in Tampa Bay. Not only did the Cannons’ loss cost them a playoff position, but the Bandits’ scheme to limit Barber worked, limiting the league’s leading rusher to only 41 yards on 15 carries, a 2.6 average. For a player who toyed with 5.0 yards per carry all season, this one slow game cost Barber the title. Frank Gore, who admittedly finished the year with 58 more carries than Barber, edged the veteran back by 40 yards thanks to another 100-yard performance.
Tiki Barber has been among the elite halfbacks in the USFL since he arrived with the expansion Atlanta Fire in 1997. He rushed for 986 yards as a rookie, and backed that up with 1,206 in his sophomore season. He has had 6 thousand-yard seasons since then, but in each season he has been thwarted in his quest to lead the league in rushing. Barber rushed for 1,300 yards in 2001, only to finish third behind Ron Dayne and Terrell Davis. The next year his 1,146 yards were good enough for second behind Ahman Green. Green would repeat twice more as rushing champion, with Barber finishing 3rd in 2003 and 5th in 2004. But this year looked like his to win. He led the league for most of the final 2 months of the season, and seemed unmatchable after a Week 12 game in which he rushed for 131 yards, but he was held to only 80 yards by the Stallions, and finished up the year with 41 this week against Tampa bay. It appears that the universe simply does not want Barber to get that one accolade, the one that is always within his reach, but always slips away.
First Free Agents In the Market
This will be a weird year for free agency, to be sure. All expansion years are. Players whose contracts expire after their team’s final games become free agents, but there is a twist this year, a twist that could cause teams to delay signing high cost free agents. That twist is the expansion draft. Any player chosen before the protected players lists come out would need to be protected or a team could sign them only to lose them to either the Skyhawks or Fire. That is a huge issue for a lot of teams who already are struggling to decide which 12 players to protect. So, what are we likely to see? Very possibly a very slow early free agency period, at least until the draft in November, at which point teams could start signing players like crazy. Of course the two exceptions to this are Atlanta and St. Louis, who do not need to protect players from each other. Those two teams could clean up early in free agency, if they are willing to spend the money to sign some of the bigger names. And who are those name? Well, we won’t know all of them until after the Summer Bowl, but the 12 non-playoff teams have already shut down for the season, which means 12 teams have new free agents in the market. Here is our look at the top players from each squad who could be headed somewhere new for 2006.
ARZ: CB Tyrone Drakeford is the biggest name on their list, but DT Kenard Lang and HB Larry Johnson could also get some looks. The Wranglers’ experiment with Kevin Hardy has not worked out, so the LB could retire again or seek a new home. And don’t sleep on two younger players, guard Tre Johnson and DE Gary Stills could be attractive signings.
BAL: The Blitz had hoped to sign DE Andre Wadsworth before this week, but it did not happen, so the 28-year old is now a free agent. Others who should garner a lot of attention include center Matt Elliott, DE Dexter Nottage, and QB Seneca Wallace, who has not really had a chance to see much action behind Ben Roethlisberger.
BIR: Lawrence Dawsey is technically a free agent, but has already announced his intent to retire, so that makes SS Lawyer Milloy the biggest prize off the Stallion roster. HB Ahmaad Galloway, SS Hank Milligan, and WR Eugene Baker are also now available.
BOS: The Cannons are likely to lose several free agents this year, including WR Joe Jurevicious, who had a big year with over 1,000 yards receiving. DE Tom Burke, SS Terreal Bierria, and QB Brian St. Pierre could also see some interest around the league.
LV: There is clearly a change in the air in Las Vegas as the Thunder did not scramble to sign QB Aaron Brooks. They will move ahead with Henry Burris at QB. CB Steve Israel is expected to retire at age 34, and HB Reuben Droughns is now free to find a new club after being Las Vegas’s leading rusher this year.
LA: Third string QB Marques Tuiasosopo will be free to find a team this offseason, as will HB Winslow Oliver, and DE John Millem.
NJ: The Generals could not come to terms with DT John Parella, who now will test the waters. LB Rocky Calmus, DT Kris Jenkins, and LB Jeff Posey will join him from the defensive side. QB-turned-safety Eric Crouch has also been allowed to try his way through free agency after some uneventful years in East Rutherford.
NOR: Several skills players are free to seek employment with a new team, including receivers Bobby Engram and Kevin Dyson. Halfback Olandis Gary is also now available after being benched by Coach Nolan this year. Guard Tim Kohn, tackle Jerry Wisne, and FS Paris Lenon are the other current Breakers who haveoptions elsewhere this offseason.
OHI: The Glory’s shocking removal from postseason play leaves them unprepared to deal with free agency. Center Jim Pyne has not resigned with the team, as we can also say about CB Mike Riley and DT Marcus Stroud, all important parts of the Glory roster. Others who are looking for a home include WR JuJuan Dawson, TE Itula Mili, and CB Mike McKenzie.
ORL: WR Keenan McCardell has been unhappy in Orlando for some time, and now with his contract expiring he is free to seek another option. That will be a big hit for the Renegades, who could also lose FB Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, C Mike Devlin, G Ben Hamilton, DE Derrrick Alexander, and kicker Owen Pochman.
PIT: The Maulers did not resign LB DeMetrius DuBose, but there is a lot of talk that the former All-USFL linebacker is planning to retire, not find a new team. The same cannot be said for guard Rod Milstead, DE Darren Howard, or DT Josh Shaw. Alex Van Pelt is also now a free agent, despite his popularity among the Mauler fanbase, who hope Pittsburgh resigns the former Pitt Panther.
TEX: Mike Minter and Kirby Dar Dar are the two biggest names among the Outlaw free agents, but the player many may look at is WR Cliff Russell, who, at 25 years old, is still developing into a pro. Popular DE Igor Olshansky is also now on the market.
Here is our seeding for the 2005 playoffs, an amazing, and odd year in which neither Summer Bowl team from the year before is present, and where neither Boston or Ohio, preseason favorites make the field either.
In the East, Chicago and Tampa Bay get byes and await the winners of the Wild Card games. Washington, as the lowest-ranked Division Winner, gets to host the #6 seed Michigan Panthers, who used a 3-game season ending win streak to leap over Ohio and claim a spot. The #4 seed falls to the Jacksonville Bulls, another club who lept over a favored team (Boston) to claim a spot. The Bulls will host the Philadelphia Stars in the other Eastern Wild Card game.
In the West, the Nashville Knights will host the Seattle Dragons in a classic St. George matchup. Denver, who tied Houston at 9-5 but lost the divisional tiebreaker, are relegated to being the #4 seed, which means they will host the 6-7-1 Memphis Showboats. Houston and Oakland get the byes and will await the winners of these two games.
And, while we are here, we probably should highlight the Draft Order, which is also set (the first 12 teams). We should point out that the #1 pick will be one of the two expansion clubs, with the other getting the #3 pick, so finishing last this year does not help Las Vegas as much as it would in a normal year. But, that said, the draft order in the first round will be:
1—ATL or STL (to be decided by coin flip)
2—Las Vegas
3—ATL or STL (loser of the coin flip)
4—Birmingham
5—Texas
6—Arizona
7—Pittsburgh
8—Orlando
9—Los Angeles
10—New Orleans
11—New Jersey
12—Ohio
13—Boston
14—Baltimore
The remaining 12 picks will be determined by the playoff results. In the 2nd round, the two expansion clubs will swap picks, and so forth throughout the draft. And remember, this year, the Territorial Draft has new limitations which do not allow teams to trade away their picks, so it will not be possible for a team to use Open Draft capital to snag the right to a protected player from that players’ T-Draft holder. Teams will have to hope that other clubs do not snatch up key players that they covet, leaving them exposed in the Open Draft.
MGN @ WSH
Panthers: TE L. Pinkney (Out), LB A. Katzenmoyer (Out), FS E. Brown (D)
Federals: DT R. Smith (Q), LB M. Barrow (P), QB K. Stewart (P), HB A. Womack (P)
A pretty healthy game for the 15th week of the year. We expect all of Washington’s injured players to suit up, and Michigan has been without Katzenmoyer for the better part of the season with no clear downside as the rookie LB’s have outperformed expectations.
PHI @ JAX
Stars: WR E. Stinnett (Out), SS R. Tongue (Q)
Bulls: G J. Berger (Out), WR R. Woods (D), QB J. Delhomme (P)
The Bulls certainly miss Rashaun Woods, but the bigger concern this week was Delhomme. However, he was cleared on Thursday to play and we expect to see him under center.
SEA @ NSH
Dragons: LB T. Spikes (Q), LB P. Tinoisamoa (P), FB C. Massey (P), SS J. Keith (P)
Knights: LB N. Diggs (Out), C J. Grove (Out), WR D. Mason (P), SS R. Harrison (P), QB T. Collins (P)
The loss of Diggs will certainly hurt Nashville, especially going up against Corey Dillon and Seattle’s run game. Of course, the same could be said for the potential loss of Takeo Spikes for the Dragons as they face the league rushing champ, rookie Frank Gore.
MEM @ DEN
Showboats: QB H. Shuler (D), LB H. Navies (P), T A. Clement (P)
Gold: T J. Odom (D), LB D. Nguyen (Q), CB R. Crockett (Q), DT T. Harris (P)
Memphis had hoped to get Heath Shuler back in time for the Wild Card round, but it does not look promising. That is a huge game-changer in this one. Denver is dealing with three significant potential absences on defense, but late reports seem to indicate that Tommy Harris will play, and we may even see Ray Crockett on the field as well.
Black Monday Strikes Again
Another season and another reckoning on the first Monday after the final week of games. Two coaches were notified on Monday that their services will not be required for the 2005 offseason and the 2006 season. Neither were big surprises as we saw both suffer through difficult seasons and a sense that neither had produced the results expected.
Galen Hall ends his run with the LA Express after a disappointing 5-9 season and a season-ending blowout loss to arch rival Oakland. Hall has had an up and down run with the Express since coming on board prior to the 1999 season. After a rocky start to LA’s expansion return to the league under Rick Neuheisel and one season with former Detroit Lions’ head man Wayne Fontes, Hall had immediate success with the Express, winning the 6 team Pacific Division with an 11-5 record right out of the gate. But what proceeded from this auspicious start was a trend of 10+ win seasons alternating with losing seasons. The lack of consistency followed his squad from season to season. Based on the trend, 2005 should have been a good year, as ’99, ’01, and ’03 were, but LA never got out of the blocks and with a major injury costing QB Cade McNown the better portion of the seaons, LA found itself cycling in quarterbacks down the stretch. So now the Express will go back into the market and see if they can find a coach who can build a consistent winner as the club tries to win the first USFL for the city of angels in 20 seasons of USFL play.
Pittsburgh also had high hopes for this season. After finishing 9-5 in 2003, 10-4 in 2004, and qualifying for the playoffs both seasons, this year’s collapse to 4th place and a 4-9-1 season. That alone would not have been reason to dismiss 4th year coach Jack Bicknell, but concerns around the lack of development for Charlie Batch, and a general lack of connection between Bicknell and the ownership seem to have soured the relationship. Bicknell is widely respected around pro football circles, and may not have difficulty finding a new position, while Pittsburgh will once again go to the drawing board on a head coaching position. Rumors have the Maulers interested in Chicago DC Ron Rivera, which makes sense. They have always been a run-first, defensive-minded franchise, and Rivera certainly would fit that mold.
No other moves this week, which may mean that Birmingham was honest in providing Coach Franchione with a vote of confidence. Mike Nolan in New Orleans also survived Black Monday with his job intact despite a pretty rough first year with Eli Manning as the starter in the Crescent City. We are also still watiting to hear who Atlanta will hire as their first head coach since being reinstated as a 2006 expansion club, so as of right now there are 3 open positions across the league.
League Updates Scheduling Plan
A surprise announcement from league offices ahead of the 2005 playoffs as the league has rescinded the earlier news that they were planning a 16-game schedule for 2006. It appears that issues with both the networks and with scheduling stadium occupancy has pushed that back to 2008. The league announced this week that it will retain its current 14-game schedule until it expands to 28 teams in 2008. This means that each USFL club will play 6 divisional games, 4 inter-divisional games, and 4 inter-conference games in 2005. A schedule is expected to be released after the Summer Bowl in Houston.
The 2006 season will be the first with an unbalanced schedule, as the league will have 6 divisions, four of them with 4 teams each and two with 5 teams. This is a precursor to the 28-team formation which will add 2 more teams to create 4 divisions of five teams each and only 2 remaining divisions, one in each conference, with 4 clubs in it. This, of course, begs the question of whether the USFL has plans for yet another expansion to reach 30 teams, allowing all 6 divisions to have equal distribution of clubs. That would make sense, but with a complex 2-phase expansion from 24 clubs to 28 clubs, it seems unlikely that the USFL wants to undergo a third round to reach 30 clubs any time soon.
Four games on tap this week. Four very interesting matchups as we have several Cinderella stories to follow in this bunch. If you want to root for a true underdog, the 6-8 Seattle Dragons, who started the year 0-4, seem a good option as they head to Nashville. Memphis at 6-7-1 is only slightly ahead of the Dragons, and they may have an even tougher road ahead as they must visit Mile High with Heath Shuler sidelined.
In the East, where every team has at least 8 wins, Cinderellas have to be defined differently. Most would consider both Michigan and Philadelphia to be in that category. Neither was picked to be here, though many were impressed with the Stars’ aggressive offseason, one that brought former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner and 3-time rushing champion Ahman Green to the City of Brotherly Love.
Washington was in 4th place in the Northeast last week, but now come in as a division winner. That too is a form of Cinderella story, eventhough the Feds are 4-point favorites and will play at home this weekend. And what about Jacksonville. Picked by some to finish last in the Southeast, they used Tampa Bay’s win over Boston to leapfrog the Cannons and snag the top Wild Card. Now they get to host a Wild Card game.
So who do we like? In this most unpredictable year, we are going to say that home field likely means very little, at least in 3 of 4 games. We are going to pick Denver. They have been a much more consistent team than Memphis, they have one of the best home field crowds in the league, and they have their starting QB, playing in what could be his final game. That seems a game the Gold have to win.
We also like Washington, simply because they are a very scrappy team, play a very good brand of playoff football, combining a strong run game with an aggressive defense, and they face a Michigan squad that has to be overjoyed just to make an appearance.
We are going to pick the Stars to upend the Bulls in Jacksonville. We just like the combo of Green and Warner more than that of Delhomme and Antowain Smith. Finally, we are going to give the nod to Nashville at home. Seattle can be dangerous, and they had a good playoff run last year, but Todd Collins is back and should be healthy, and Frank Gore is on fire. Nashville is a tough out whenever they can run the ball and Seattle’s run defense is not elite, so that could be a real issue for them in Nashville.