Crunch time. The final weeks of the season, the heat is on (literally) and the races for divisions and playoff spots are getting earnest. No time for a team to lose focus, and as we start to see separation across the league, the battles are at every level, from the elite teams fighting for top seeds and the byes that come with them, to the middle of the pack squads just hoping to find a way into the postseason. Last year’s Seattle run gives everyone hope, but with each week we find 12 teams on the losing end of their games, and this is no time to be losing. Let’s get right to the action with our game of the week, a thrilling overtime clash between two division leaders.
OHIO 23 NEW ORLEANS 20 OVERTIME
A huge game for the New Orleans (Portland) Breakers as they hosted the Ohio Glory. The Breakers have been defying the odds all year, winning 7 of 11 games despite shuttling between host cities as they struggle with the post Katrina fallout. Ohio had been cruising, but a loss last week refocused them on just how tough it can be to win consistently in the USFL. They met in Portland, where the biggest Breaker crowd yet was their for the club’s final regular season game (any home playoff games will be hosted in Portland as well). The Breakers were ready to take on one of the league’s power players, and we got a back and forth game thanks to both clubs bringing their best.
The heroes of the game would be familiar names: Collins ,George, and Galloway for Ohio, Manning, Davis, and Tillman for the Breakers. The approaches very similar, with both clubs trying to get the opposition to focus on the run game and then break out some unanticipated deep balls. Eddie George would finish the game with 25 carries, but New Orleans held him to only 2.8 yards per carry. The Breakers split 35 carries between Troy Davis and Chris Perry, with the two combining for 114 yards. Joey Galloway would snag 4 balls for 133 yards, including a 71 yard strike that came up just short of the endzone. Eli Manning would find 9 different receivers, but McCardell would lead them all with 8 receptions.
Ohio started the game with the ball, and after a 7-play drive, they would be forced to settle for 3 when Collins missed on a 3rd and 7 toss to TE Steven Alexander. New Orleans would answer with a kick of their own 2 drives later, reaching the Ohio 30 before having to settle for a David Green field goal. Ohio would try to go up again on their next drive, but John Carney would miss to the right on a 48-yarder. He would have a shot at redemption later, when it mattered most.
The Glory would be the next to score, with Eddie George taking an off tackle run to the right side and following his big FB 11 yards into the endzone. It would be the first TD of two on the day for George. New Orleans responded with a 2-minute drill, but came up short, settling for a second Green field goal and a 10-6 deficit at the half.
After a scoreless third quarter highlighted by picks of both Collins and Manning, the Glory increased the lead to 11 when George plunged over from the 1 early in the final period. Down by two scores, New Orleans could have panicked and abandoned the run, but with just under 14 minutes left, they maintained balance, and that got them into the endzone, with Manning hitting FB Thomas Tapeh with a 12-yard swing pass at the 5-minute mark.
New Orleans would kick away and trust their defense to hold Ohio. That trust proved prescient as the Breakers shut down Ohio on three straight plays, getting the ball back with just over 2:30 left to play. Eli Manning connected on 4 straight pass plays on this drive, the last one a quick 8-yard slant for a score to go up 20-17 with just over 1 minute left. The fans in Portland, who have been outstanding in support of the Breakers, were on their feet as the “home” team took the lead, but 1:12 is enough time to move the ball into field goal range for John Carney, and that is just what the Glory did.
It took Kerry Collins only 4 plays to get to the outer edge of Carney’s fieldgoal range. But, trying to get a bit closer, a quick out route turned into a big play as Galloway skirted the sideline and got the ball all the way to the 14-yard line before stepping out. Collins took a knee on the next play, centering the ball for a 31-yard field goal. Calling time out with 3 seconds left on the clock, Ohio lined up and Carney put the ball right down the center of the goalposts. This game was headed to overtime.
Ohio got the ball first in the extra period, and while they had some momentum from their final drive, they were unable to get the ball deep enough in New Orleans territory to try the kick. They opted to punt from the Breakers’ 44 yard line. New Orleans earned a quick first down on a Troy Davis 9 yard run and a quick crossing pattern by Az-Zahir Hakeem. But they could not do much more, and 3 plays later they were punting away to Ohio, and time was getting a bit thin. Ohio took the ball over with 3:38 left to play and once again tried to maneuver into field goal range. Collins connected with Stephen Alexander twice in 3 plays, then got a nice 17 yard run on a draw by Musa Smith. Once again they found themselves with a makeable kick, and rather than push the issue by trying to get closer for Carney, they brought the veteran out for a 39 yarder. Again the kick was right down the center, but this time it was a game winner and Ohio escaped Portland with a win over the Breakers. A good game that showed just how much New Orleans had improved over last year, and just how united the team was. For Ohio the win locked up a playoff berth, something the Breakers cannot yet say, but both teams showed they were playoff ready in this game.
OAKLAND 18 LAS VEGAS 13
A game the Thunder could not afford to lose, and while the defense played well, the offense struggled, falling behind 16-6 after Ricky Williams made the Thunder pay for a careless fumble. His 13-yard TD run would be the only foray into the red zone for Joey Harrington and the Invaders, but it was enough to snag the win for Oakland.
HOUSTON 13 NEW JERSEY 26
An impressive home win for the Generals as Tom Brady completed 87% of his passes and the duo of Enis and Jackson combined for 133 yards and a score each as New Jersey doubled up the Gamblers. Matt Hasselbeck, with no run game against the Generals’ front 7, threw the ball 44 times, connecting on 24 of those, but it was not enough to put points on the board, not enough points to knock off the homestanding Generals, who move to 9-3 and lock up a playoff berth.
PHILADELPHIA 28 BOSTON 31
The Stars, playing for their postseason lives, gave Boston a solid run for their money, but in the end the Cannons pulled off their 9th straight win and moved closer to a possible top seed in the East. Ahman Green and Cedric Cobbs combined for 116 yards and 3 TDs on the ground for the Stars, but Tiki Barber beat that total with 26 carries for 130 and 2 scores of his own. Add in 2 Chad Ochocinco scores and the game was Boston’s.
ORLANDO 17 TAMPA BAY 13
The biggest upset of the week as Orlando came into Raymond James Stadium and stunned a mixed crowd of Bandit and ‘Gade fans 55,000 strong. The key play for the Renegades was a pick-six of Culpepper as Kevin Williams returned a pick 40 yards to put Orlando up 10-7 early in the 2nd quarter. Jeff Blake threw two picks, but his TD toss to Rickey Dudley put Orlando up for good as these Florida rivals played down to the wire.
DENVER 27 ARIZONA 30
It looked like the Gold had this one won in Glendale, leading 27-17 at the start of the 4th, but Arizona came on with 3 straight scoring drive and you could just feel the air come out of the Gold players. A Stanley Pritchett TD was followed by two Owen Pochman kicks as Arizona first tied the game, and then won it on a final second game winner. Matt Leinart had put together his best game of the year, throwing for 360 yards, but somehow Jake Plummer found a way to will his team to victory, relying heavily on Larry Fitzgerald’s 155 yards receiving to steal the win and take command of the Southwest Division.
ATLANTA 23 JACKSONVILLE 20
Another big upset in the South as Atlanta continues to impress, knocking off the 1st place Bulls by limiting Jacksonville to only 299 yards. Rod Smart had his best game of the year for Atlanta, rushing for 135 yards and a 7.9 YPC average. TDs from Josh Reed and David Tyree helped Atlanta stay step for step with the Bulls, and a 51-yarder from Josh Scobee got the Fire their 6th win and a spot as the 6th seed in the East, able to control their own destiny the season’s final 2 weeks.
SEATTLE 17 LOS ANGELES 20
The Express leapt over Seattle for first place in the Pacific thanks to their red zone defense. Despite being outgained by the Dragons, 121 yards from Foster and Jones-Drew kept LA on top in this game, never by much, but always up just enough. Corey Dillon had a huge game for the Dragons, rushing for 172 yards and a score, but it was the score that came back that cost Seattle the game. With 7:17 left to play, Dillon busted free on a 37-yard touchdown run, only to spot the yellow flag after the play. Holding on the right tackle meant the play was voided and Seattle had to settle for a field goal that, in the end, did them no good.
BIRMINGHAM 9 NASHVILLE 24
The Knights kept their playoff hopes alive and dealt a major blow to division rival Birmingham at the same time. The Knight D had one of its best games of the season, holding Birmingham to only 66 yards rushing, and sacking Jason Campbell 4 times. Todd Collins may have saved his job with the win, as there have been rumors that if Nashville was eliminated Jay Cutler would get the final 2 starts of the season. Collins went 20 of 24 and connected with Bert Emmanuel to help Nashville stay alive, and win himself at least one more week as the starter.
MICHIGAN 20 PITTSBURGH 10
Another needed win for the Panthers as they move to 7-5 and sit in pretty good playoff position in the West. Shawne Merriman had a big day for the Panthers, scoring ona pick-six of Brad Gradkowski, one of two picks of the rookie QB. The Panther offense was not exactly a fireworks show, but against the Maulers, they did enough to double up the 1-11 squad.
CHICAGO 24 ST. LOUIS 17
Not exactly a Cubs-Cardinals game, but still any time these two cities square off, the fans seem to get into the game. More than 41,600 showed up to watch two teams with losing records go at it, and they played an entertaining game. Both Michael Turner and Maurice Clarett went over 80 yards for Chicago, while break out star Skyhawk Taylor Jacobs had 145 yards receiving, including a beauty of a bomb for 73 yards against the shaky Chicago secondary. Chicago had a 24-10 lead late in the 4th, and while St. Louis made it close with Luke McCown’s 2nd TD toss of the day, there just was not time left for the Skyhawks to come all the way back.
BALTIMORE 16 WASHINGTON 22
The Federals make it back to back win with a home W against their rivals from Baltimore. Five Doug Pelfrey field goals and a defensive TD on a fumble return by DE Erasmus James were enough to upend the Blitz, who struggled to move the ball with Ron Dayne averaging only 2.4 yards per carry on the day. The win levels the records of both teams at 4-8, but not good enough to avoid playoff elimination.
MEMPHIS 14 TEXAS 31
Trent Dilfer threw for 4 scores as Memphis just had nothing going right. In a game that could point to the end for head coach Jim Mora in Memphis, the Showboats looked tired and flat all game long. Dilfer went 17 of 20 for 250 and TDs to Hilliard (2), Dwight, and T.J. Duckett in his best game of the season. Neither team is going anywhere fast this year, but the win moves Texas to 4-8, a game better than Memphis’s 3-9 record.
BOSTON WINS 9TH IN A ROW
No team is hotter or more intimidating right now than the Boston Cannons. This week they won their 9th in a row, and while not every game has been a blowout, they have all seemed very comfortable for Boston, who now have a confidence that seems contagious across their roster. It helps that their Trifecta of offensive stars are playing at their best right now. Tiki Barber leads the league in rushing and is hoping that this is the year he finishes the job and takes home the title. Drew Bledsoe is an MVP candidate and leads all passers with 3,276 yards and a 128.1 QB Rating. And what can we say about the man called 85? Chad Ochocinco leads all receivers with over 1,300 yards and his 12 TDs are second only to Joey Galloway’s 15. Add int the fac that Boston’s 2nd receiver, Joe Jurevicius, has over 900 yards himself, and this offense is looking as close to perfect as can be expected.
The defense has some vulnerabilities, allowing nearly 255 yards per game passing, but that is often the result of playing with a lead for most of their games. They are allowing just over 20 points a game, which is fairly good, but certainly good enough when your offense is the only one in the league averaging more than 30 per game.
Believe I tor not, Boston’s last loss was the wake up call game against Atlanta back in Week 3. Since then they have rattled off 9 straight, including impressive wins over Michigan, Jacksonville, Oakland, and Birmingham. They have had some close calls, like this week’s 3-point win against Philly. They have 2 games left, both in division, as they are at Washington and then finish at New Jersey. That last one is likely to be the game that determines who takes the #1 seed, home field for the playoffs, and a bye week. That could well be the game of the year when these two face off in East Rutherford.
JOHNSON CONTEMPLATES FUTURE FOR TODD COLLINS
As we mentioned, the press in St. Louis have been asking about Collins and rookie Jay Cutler, and Coach Johnson’s answers have moved from definitive to obtuse. It makes sense. Cutler, out of Vanderbilt, is a local hero and, along with Matt Leinart, one of the top rookies signed by the USFL. He has yet to get a start, despite Nashville’s disappointing season. But while fans seem to have turned on Todd Collins, the club’s QB for the past 12 years, Coach Jim Johnson has not, at least not yet.
Collins is still unsigned for next year, and there is some belief that Johnson may use that as his opportunity to make the switch to the younger, more popular QB. But if that is the case, why continue to start Collins now? The answer seems to be that at 5-7, the Knights are still only 1 game behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot and Coach Johnson is not going to give up on a shot to make the playoffs for a 4th straight year to test out a rookie in the final month of the season. Now, if Nashville loses next week against the Stars, we may well see Cutler in action in Week 14’s meaningless matchup against the Bulls, but if Nashville wins in Philadelphia, don’t expect Cutler to take the field. Does that mean Collins will be signed in time to avoid free agency and the anticipated NFL poaching festival come August? We are not sure. The pressure is certainly there to go with the young, and very expensive, Cutler sooner rather than later, but Coach Johnson still has the respect of both ownership and the fanbase in Nashville, so if he wants to stick with Collins, we may see a deal done.
COACHES IN TROUBLE
The good news for Coach Johnson is that despite a losing record guaranteed this year, he is in no danger of being let go. Many others cannot say that. We count the number of coaches on the hotseat at a minimum of 5, which could make this year’s Black Friday a very busy day. As we look at the five coaches we see playing for their jobs these last few weeks, we rate the odds that they will be a the helm next year.
Ron Rivera, Pittsburgh: We place Rivera’s chances at 70/30. Yes, the Maulers are clearly the worst team in the league, but Rivera is in his first year as the head coach, and the focus seems to be on major roster upheaval after this year to give him the kind of team he wants. We fully expect Rivera, who came to Pittsburgh as the defensive guru of the Machine’s league leading D, to get a shot to build a team in his image, at least a 2nd or 3rd year, before the pressure really starts to mount.
Jim Mora, Memphis: It seems like every time Jim Mora starts feeling the heat, something happens to provide him with another year with the ‘Boats. It helps that his status within the USFL, and the respect many hold for him, is tough to question. But after a solid 2005 that saw the Showboats in the postseason, this year has been a disaster. Even so, the fact that the club lost Heath Shuler for the year feels like the perfect out for Memphis ownership to retain Mora. But we have to ask, is one player truly that irreplaceable that the team should go from a playoff berth to a 3-win season just because their QB went down? We think right now this is a 50/50 proposition for Mora.
Kurt Schottenheimer, Washington. Another 1st year coach, but the Feds went from a division title in 2005 to a potential 10-loss season this year. That is not the kind of first impression you want to give. The offense has been a disaster under Schottenheimer, but what is worse is that this former DC has a defense that pales in comparison to past Federal squads. They are still Top 10 in scoring D, but the yardage totals have been way out of whack compared with recent years. With a team that is struggling to pass the ball all, and rarely tops 20 points, having a mediocre defense will not produce results. We think that there is a better than 50/50 chance, perhaps 60/40 that Schottenheimer becomes a 1-and-done coach.
Dennis Franchione, Birmingham. The Stallions and the entire state of Alabama love former Crimson Tide coaches, but Franchione is looking his third consecutive losing season in the face, and losing is not something the fans in Birmingham are fond of. Fans see the issues with Jason Campbell and immediately wonder what Franchione is doing to try to improve their young QB. After a 4-10 season in Campbell’s rookie year, he won only 2 games in 2005, and after a promising start this year, Birmingham has lost 5 of their last 6 and is barely hanging on to any playoff hopes. If they finish the year 6-8 or 5-9, we could easily see the Stallions go in a new direction. We give Franchione only a 35% chance of sticking around.
John Mackovic, Texas. Another college coach struggling to make it work in the USFL, Mackovic is following a 3-11 season with another last place finish in the Southwestern Division. Yes, they have already won 4 games this year, but no one is impressed with that kind of incremental improvement. The Outlaws have the 20th ranked offense(scoring) and while their pass defense has been solid, they give up way too many big run plays and long drives to be a truly impactful D. Mackovic’s saving grace this year could be the fact that he has won his last 2 games, but Texas finishes up with Denver and Houston, both on the road. Lose both and the Outlaws finish the year at 1-5 in division, which will not make ownership happy at all. We think Mack may have run out his clock in only 2 years. Bring someone new in, then find a solution at QB and build a sense of newness for a team that has not won 8 or more games since 1999.
Six of eight spots are not booked for the 2006 postseason, though no division winners have been set. Joining Boston in the playoffs will be Ohio, Arizona, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and New Jersey. All six are guaranteed no worse than a Wild Card slot. But there is still a lot to be determined with 2 games left to play. Here is our rundown:
NE: Boston has a 1 game lead on New Jersey, so this could come down to the wire, though both are guaranteed spots and appear to be the only teams from the division likely to earn a spot.
SE: Jacksonville and Tampa Bay are tied at 8-4, so again, down to the wire we go. Atlanta right now sits in 6th position, and controls their own destiny, a game up on both Nashville and Birmingham. Could the expansion club actually make the postseason in their first year?
SOU: New Orleans has a 2-game lead on the Stallions and Knights, so a win either week and the title is theirs. Both the Knights and Stallions need a little help to leap over Atlanta for the only remaining Wild Card spot.
CEN: Ohio is the clear favorite, with a 2-game lead on Michigan. The Panthers control their own destiny and sit in the 6th position but are only ½ game up on Las Vegas. Chicago is mathematically alive but need a lot of help to have any chance.
SW: Arizona has opened up a 2-game lead on Houston, and both the Gamblers and Gold seem to be fading. Houston also has only a ½ game lead on the Thunder, with Denver another ½ game behind that.
PAC: LA has the upper hand by a half-game over Seattle and 1 ½ games on Las Vegas. Oakland seems to be fading out of the picture entirely.
This week the list of eliminated squads grew to include Baltimore, Washington, Memphis, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Texas. Oakland, Chicago, Orlando, and Philadelphia are on life support.
Some big names on the injury list this week, where Philadelphia has shut down Ahman Green’s season due to fracture in his right foot. The team’s leading rusher, and 3-time league rushing champ, will not be on the field again this year. The Stars also opted to put DE Robert Mathis, who was having a strong season, on IR due to a PCL injury. This seems a clear sign that Coach Harbaugh does not harbor many hopes that his squad can capture that last playoff spot in the East.
Others sidelined this week include Atlanta guard Gennaro DiNapoli (leg), Blitz LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson (abdomen), Arizona LB Lance Briggs (wrist), New Orleans WR Jerome Pathon (MCL), Pittsburtgh LB Dwayne Rudd (knee) and Boston wideout Joe Jurevicius (nerve). Tory Holt is listed as questionable for LA as is TE Stephen Alexander for Ohio and LB Donterrius Thomas for New Jersey. Expected back in action are Texas SS Lawyer Milloy, LA tackle Kenyatta Jones, Seattle WR Corey Bradford, Nashville FS Bhawoh Jue, and Arizona DT Kyle Williams.
OWNERS PLAN PRESSER TOMORROW TO ANNOUNCE 28th USFL TEAM
A press conference at league headquarters in New York has been scheduled for tomorrow at 5pm, at which time the league will be announcing its 28th franchise. The contenders are Charlotte (NC), Norfolk/Virginia Beach (VA), and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (NC). The winning team will join Portland, Oregon in the 2008 expansion that takes the league from 26 teams to 28. The new team will join Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division. Early straw polls showed the frontrunner to be the Charlotte Monarchs bid, but that there were enough undecided or wavering votes to give the team to any one of the three bids.
The good news for the USFL is that, unlike in some earlier expansions, all three ownership groups have deep pockets and the know-how to pull off a quick start and successful integration into the league. There are questions, of course, such as the Triangle area’s final stadium decision (between NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium and UNC’s Kenan Stadium), or potential concerns about the corporate and overall economic viability of the Tidewater region, but at the very least we see three bidding groups where financial wherewithal is not an area of concern.
As we await the decision on team 28, the question has to be asked about whether and when the USFL will expand to 30 teams. With 30 franchises, the league would avoid the unbalanced schedules which we started to see this year, with some teams in 4-franchise divisions and others in 5-franchise groupings. Creating six divisions of 5 teams each would once again balance the league and allow for a more regularized schedule of divisional and inter-divisional matchups.
There has been no word from the league on plans beyond the current wave of expansion which began with Atlanta and St. Louis returning to the league after their franchises left for Boston and Nashville respectively. Portland and the soon-to-be-announced franchise will join in 2008, but how long after will the league wait before they consider another expansion? There are certainly cities out there that would make sense, and wealthy ownership groups that could form at any point. The concern, of course, is that a lack of future expansion increases the temptation for teams to use untapped markets as leverage with their current locations, which worked, for example, in Memphis, but can also lead to sudden and unwanted relocations, as we saw with St. Louis and Atlanta.
With major markets still yearning for more sports franchises, cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, San Diego, Miami, and Cleveland, and with emerging markets like Salt Lake City, Louisville, Sacramento, and Austin beginning to consider expansion of their sports markets, the bids will be there if the league decides to expand, but after dealing with two expansion drafts in a 3-year span, it seems very doubtful that the USFL will entertain the idea of another round within the next few years. The mid 2010’s seems the most likely period, when the pain of this round will have faded and the newer teams will be well-integrated into the league. That is when the push may come again.
HOF CLASS OF 2006 NAMED
On Monday the league made public the five finalists for Hall of Fame induction who will join the ranks of other USFL players in Canton, Ohio. Not surprising we have another group of first year nominees, all of whom are entering the Hall in their first year of eligibility. We expected nothing less with such a strong group of retirees after the 2000 season. The nominees are all household names, and very familiar to USFL fans nationwide. Quarterbacks Bobby Hebert and Troy Aikman remain popular figures, with Aikman joining FOX for their USFL coverage and Hebert still a regular at Panther games. Linebacker Kurt Gouveia remains a folk hero in Denver, where he played his entire career. Wideout Eric Metcalf and halfback Reggie Cobb, while not as automatic as the other three nominees, also had standout seasons, hold many club records, and are certainly worthy members of the class.
If stories coming out of the Hall voting group can be believed, Cobb was the closest to not making the cut in his first year, battling it out with DB Vencie Glenn for the fifth and final slot in the Class of 2006. All five members of the Class will enter the hall this October during the USFL Hall of Fame Weekend. For those who attend the weekend in Canton, expect to see a lot of returning USFL legends, from Jim Kelly to Reggie White and Chuck Fusina. The annual October enshrinement has become something of a pilgrimage for USFL alums, both those enshrined and those who simply want to reconnect with old friends.
LA’S NEW LOOK
It seems only fitting that a club in Los Angeles would be constantly changing its look. Whether you consider this a face lift or just a change of fashion trends, the LA Express have again adjusted their look for 2007. They are significantly reducing the use of the Hermes imagery, and have once again modified their monogram logo, this time adding a specific type of speed to their somewhat ambiguous “Express” moniker.
The new look LA Express will prominently feature a monogram that includes a racing jet, ascending through the letters and forming a sort of con trail through them. The new logo still utilizes the dual blue feature from other recent LA designs, but now focuses on the speed of the jet as the depiction of the “Express” identity. The team also introduced a secondary logo that seems to play off the idea of LA Express and LAX (the airport). It is a stylized X, or perhaps hands of a compass that form an X with LA on either side of it. We are not sure exactly how this fits in with the aviation focus, but it is a solid secondary mark on its own, and will appear on the jersey as the chest “name” common on many jerseys across the league.
The new logos are paired with a new uniform, including a helmet that returns to a traditional helmet striping pattern and features the “LA” monogram on both sides. In our opinion it is a bit odd, since on the left side of the helmet the jet is racing backwards, but that is always the case with letter or monogram-based logos.
The new uniform relies heavily on gradient sublimation in the jerseys, with the dark jersey moving from speed blue to a dark navy as it transitions from the chest up to the shoulders and sleeves. The light jersey does the same thing with white shifting to a light silvery grey on the shoulders. Both jersey’s feature a stripe pattern on the sleeves similar to both the helmet stripe and the initial striping of the franchise back in its early 1980’s iteration. The number font is rounded, with dual outlines on both jerseys. The pants are available in either silver or speed blue, and both feature the same 5-stripe pattern.
As looks go, it is still very identifiable as an LA Express design. While we are not sold on the helmet design, we do like the new visualization of speed as portrayed by a jet. The Hermes icons are not lost, they will still be used by the club, but they are no longer among the primary images the team will use. Now, the question remains, can any look help propel the Express to a title? It is something the City of Angels has not seen in the entire history of the USFL, which is not what you generally want for the nation’s 2nd largest market.
Week 13, one of only 2 chances for teams to make a move as the season draws closer to playoff time. In past years Week 13 has often been one week of respite from constant division games, usually reserved for inter-conference play, but with the unbalanced divisions the new schedule has a mix of division and inter-divisional games every week, and Week 13 is no exception. Among the divisional games we will be focused on this week we have a big one when Houston travels to Arizona, hoping to claw their way back into the division race. A win by the Wranglers locks up the title for Coach Fassel’s resurgent squad. Oakland will host LA in the other Pacific game, a game that has lost a lot of luster with Oakland’s downward spiral the past month, but still an important rivalry game.
In the South, Memphis will host Birmingham, who sit 1 game out of the final playoff spot in the East. Can Coach Franchione get a final 2-week push to make a playoff berth possible or will Coach Mora, likely facing a firing at season’s end, motivate his squad to a home win? In the Southeast it is Orlando at Atlanta, with the expansion Fire on the cusp of a most unlikely playoff berth. Kudos to Coach Gruden and the front office of the Fire for putting together what may be the best expansion club since the first years of the league in 1984.
The Northeast has a battle of opposites as the 10-2 Cannons hope to lock up the division title, while host Washington is looking at a drop from First to Worst as they sit at 4-8. Finally, back in the Southwest we have Denver, sitting at 6-6 and needing help to get to the playoffs, hosting Texas, who sit at 4-8 and are already thinking about the offseason.
In inter-divisional games, we also have some interesting matchups as Seattle visits Michigan, both sitting at 7 wins and hoping to lock up a winning season with a win this week. New Orleans can lock up the Southern Division title on the road if they can get past a 5-7 Chicago squad that still has faint playoff hopes, but needs to win both of their final games to have a shot. Las Vegas and Ohio face off in a game of opposites, as the Thunder defense will try to take on the Glory offense. Baltimore is in Tampa Bay, where the Bandits are already a playoff lock. Pittsburgh has the same road situation as they visit 8-5 Jacksonville, hoping to steal a win like they did against Ohio. Philadelphia is in Nashville and New Jersey visits St. Louis in our final games on the slate.