[ Hi all, a quick note that the Hall of Fame page and the Teams page have been updated with current info. I will be working on the history page this weekend, so expect an update there as well, along with a new poll where you get to be the owners at the league meeting, voting to choose a 28th franchise. Those last 2 updates should be going live in the next week. ]
Week three brought us some interesting dynamics across the league. Atlanta got their first win of the year, on the road, against a Summer Bowl favorite at that. Las Vegas and Birmingham moved into first place in their divisions, and both Seattle and Washington were upset at home. Once again the early season is showing us why preseason prognostication is such a dicey business. The USFL appears to be as unpredictable as ever.
LAS VEGAS 27 OAKLAND 26
A big road win for the reimagined Las Vegas Thunder as they win their 2nd in a row, scoring the final 9 points of the game to shock the Invaders’ faithful at the Coliseum. Las Vegas trailed most of the game, but came on in the 4th to upend the Invaders and help create a 4-way tie atop the Pacific Division. They did it with Henry Burris at QB, still waiting for Air McNair to make his debut, but they also did it with a defense highlighted by a huge game for rookie LB A.J. Hawk, who got the ball rolling with a safety late in the fourth.
In a game that showcased Oakland HB Ricky Williams (111 yards on 21 carries) and rookie WR Greg Jennings (5 catches for 112), it was the rookie LB for the Thunder who made the biggest play of the game and helped rally the Thunder to a win. The game started very much as many expected, with Oakland taking an early lead. They capped off a 9-play 73-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge by Williams and it looked like Oakland was ready to roll.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the victory celebration, Las Vegas fought back. Burris, the CFL signing from last March, got his third start after guiding the Thunder to a win last week. He would go on to throw for three scores this week, his first a 44-yard TD toss to a wide open Matthew Hatchette just 1:30 after Oakland had opened scoring. Oakland would have a game on their hands after all. The Invaders would go up again, first with a Joe Nedney field goal, but followed early in the 2nd quarter with Ricky Williams again crashing the party, catching a swing pass from Green and taking it the short distance to the house. The Invaders had a 17-7 lead, but Las Vegas would not go away.
On their next possession, Burris again struck gold, finding Hatchette for his second score of the day, a quick slant on the goal line. When Oakland responded with a late field goal, the score was locked at 20-16 Oakland going into the half. The two traded field goals in the third, with Hawk, Will Allen and Hugh Douglas coming up big with stops of the Oakland offense, while Oakland’s D was led by LBs Dan Morgan and Roosevelt Colvin. As the 4th quarter started to wind down, the Invaders added another three and held a 23-19 lead with the clock ticking down to 5 minutes left.
After failing to convert on a 3rd and 3, Las Vegas punted to the Invaders, and when the ball trickled out at the 3, the home team was backed up against their own end zone. Coach Glanville, ever the gambler with his defense, called for an inside blitz from both Hawk and Joey Porter. The move worked, and Hawk snagged Trent Green before the largely-immobile QB could get rid of the ball. Las Vegas was within 5 points and would get the ball back on the post-safety free kick.
The Thunder would not waste this chance. They got the ball at their own 47, and they needed only 5 plays to get into the end zone. Jason Dunn was the recipient of Burress’s TD with 29 seconds to play, and Las Vegas, was up by 1. They went for 2 to make it a 3-point game, but failed on the PAT. But, the lead had changed and all the Thunder needed to do was hold Oakland out of field goal range. They did just that thanks to a good defensive play from CB Will Allen, breaking up a pass intended for Plaxico Burress. The Thunder were now 2-1, and had a bit of a conundrum to face, stick with Burris after two consecutive wins, or go with the NFL vet, McNair if he was ready to roll in Week 4.
LOS ANGELES 24 SEATTLE 19
Rookie HB Maurice Jones-Drew comes up big to help the Express upset the Dragons in Seattle. The diminutive back rushed for only 49 yards on 9 carries but had 2 TDs and had the biggest play of the game, a 32 yard screen pass that helped LA get in range for the winning score. With Cade McNown again having accuracy issues (8 of 22), Jones-Drew and DeShaun Foster helped keep LA in this one. The defense also helped, limiting Corey Dillon to only 46 yards rushing.
TAMPA BAY 17 JACKSONVILLE 41
In the big Sunday Night game, Jacksonville picked off Daunte Culpepper 3 times and got 5 sacks on the Tampa QB on their way to a blowout win. After going down 7-0, Jacksonville scored 41 of the next 44 points in the game, with Antowain Smith rushing for 2 scores and FS Eric Brown adding a pick-six to blow out the Bandits in front of nearly 60,000 in Alltell Stadium.
MEMPHIS 10 NASHVILLE 31
The Knights get their first win of the year as they used a 134-yard, 2-TD day from Frank Gore to blow past the Memphis Showboats. QB Mike McMahon, making his first start after the Heath Shuler accident, played fairly well (22 of 34 for 211, 1 pick, 1 TD) but the offense as a whole was not enough to keep pace with the Knights,
BALTIMORE 13 NEW JERSEY 16
This NE Division clash was all about ball control, and New Jersey got the better of it with Curtin Enis and James Jackson combining for 29 carries and 100 yards. It was 13-9 Baltimore until the final minutes, when Tom Brady hit TE Anthony Becht for a 12-yard go ahead touchdown. The D then shut down Ben Roethlisberger’s 2-minute drive to keep New Jersey unbeaten.
ARIZONA 16 HOUSTON 28
Houston’s D sacked Jake Plummer 8 times on the day as Kavika Pittman had his first multiple-sack game of the year. TDs from both Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson helped Houston build a 28-0 lead before Arizona tried to rally late.
NEW ORLEANS 18 BIRMINGHAM 24
The Stallions move to 2-1 atop the Southern Division thanks to 2 Joe Horn TDs. On a day when Jason Campbell attempted only 16 passes, and completed only 5, two of them went to Horn for 6 points. The Birmingham D picked off Eli Manning 3 times to help preserve the win despite 119 yards from Troy Davis on the ground for the Breakers. New Orleans outgained Birmingham 424 to 133 but 4 turnovers did them in.
PITTSBURGH 10 MICHIGAN 16
The Maulers played Michigan tough, but still fell to 0-3 as two Charlie Batch picks and a fumble by Brandon Jacobs killed a late drive. Michigan was only 2 of 14 on third down, with Drew Brees completing only 8 of 15 passes on the day. Both defenses were dominant in this one with the Maulers sacking Brees 5 times and allowing only a ludicrous 82 total yards of offense to a Panther team that seemed completely out of synch.
PHILADELPHIA 3 DENVER 13
Another defensive slugfest, though this one was understandable, with a light snow falling most of the game in Denver and a slick field the result. Ahman Green rushed for 99 yards in the snow, but the Stars were unable to get into the red zone all game against the Gold defense. Matt Leinart connected on one TD pass to Peerless Price, and that was largely the difference in this snowy slugfest.
CHICAGO 17 WASHINGTON 3
Chicago finally got their first win as their defense showed up big in Washington. The Machine sacked Kordell Stewart 6 times and limited league leader Deuce McCallister to only 43 yards rushing. While Chicago’s offense was not much better, they did get TDs from Derrick Blaylock and rookie TE Anthony Fasano, and that was enough to move the Machine to 1-2.
TEXAS 13 OHIO 20
While hardly an offensive explosion, at least both teams had more than 250 yards of offense in this one. Kerry Collins connected twice with Joey Galloway, who now leads all receives with 5 TDs in 3 weeks. Trent Dilfer was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the 3rd and backup Chris Simms went 9 of 23 in relief as Texas could not mount a comeback in the final period.
ATLANTA 20 BOSTON 14
The Fire pull off a major road upset to earn their first win as a new expansion club. Boston fans watched as their 14-7 halftime lead was followed by a scoreless Boston offense in the second half. Atlanta got a Kevin Faulk TD to even the score and then two Josh Scobee field goals were all they needed to pull out their first win. Kevin Faulk finished with 102 yards rushing and the Fire D picked off Drew Bledsoe twice, including a pick on the final Hail Mary play that sealed the win for the Fire.
ORLANDO 32 ST. LOUIS 13
The Skyhawks did not fare as well as their expansion partners, falling to 0-3 as Orlando built up a 22-0 halftime lead in The Dome. Sedrick Irvin rushed for 97 yards and Jeff Blake went 22 of 29 against the St. Louis defense to lead Orlando to their first win of the season. Quincy Carter struggled for St. Louis, going 10 of 25, but the run game was worse, with a game total of only 27 yards rushing as a team.
Atlanta Wins “Yankee-Dixie Bowl”
In what local sports radio in Atlanta have dubbed the Yankee-Dixie Bowl, the Fire got some revenge against Boston for the “theft” of their franchise several years back. The former Fire fell to the current Fire, and fans in the Peach City could not be happier that it was the Cannons who gave their new Fire franchise their first win. It seems odd that the move of the Fire to Boston helped to create a culture of fandom in Atlanta that the Fire themselves were never able to foster in their years of pretty poor play in the city. But, if the departure of the Fire for Boston was what awakened passion for USFL football in the Georgia city, it certainly is in full bloom this year, and particularly in this game.
Coach Jay Gruden was quick to dismiss the idea of a budding rivalry with the Cannons, saying “I know the fans see this as a revenge game, at least here in Atlanta, but for us it is a chance to get our first win, and a chance to improve as a team.”. The Fire’s first win was not received well by Bostonians, who took to local sports radio to complain about everything from the receiving corps to the lack of pass rush. They seemed particularly concerned about what was often called a “lack of urgency”, although our favorite comment was from one Boston caller who simply stated that the entire franchise was “Wicked lazy” when it came to preparing for the Fire game. So maybe this is not a division rivalry, but perhaps the Yankee-Dixie Bowl is something that could turn into a new inter-divisional showdown.
Birmingham and Las Vegas Surprise Early
A quick look at the league standings shows quite a few unexpected results, but none more so than the fast starts that the Las Vegas Thunder and Birmingham Stallions have gotten. Both sit at 2-1 and both are atop or tied for the division lead. And yet, both are doing it in very different ways.
While many expected Las Vegas to improve this year, particularly once Steve McNair was adept at the offensive scheme a 2-1 start even before took over as the starter was not anticipated. When the Thunder defeated Atlanta on the second week of the season, that was understandable, but this week's victory over Oakland, in Oakland, has raised some eyebrows. In his 3 starts, Burress has thrown for 6 TDs to only 2 picks and has shown that he can make all the the throws. The Thunder run game remains anemic, with Dominic Rhodes leading all rushers with only 93 yards rushing, a 31-yard per game average. The defense has been a big part of the early success for Las Vegas. While their 320 yards per game allowed is nothing special, putting them in the middle third of the league, their 17 points per game allowed has been essential to their success.
Birmingham has also depended on their defense to win their last two games, knocking off Pittsburgh and New Orleans at home. The Stallions, over their first three games, have allowed only 14 points per game on defense. This has been absolutely essential as their offense still lags quite a bit, averaging only 13.7 PPG. Jason Campbell continues to struggle, but whereas Las Vegas has not had an alternative on the ground, Birmingham has found success, with Shaun Alexander rushing for 287 yards in 3 games, a 96 YPG average. It has not always been even, with Alexander gaining 205 of those yards Week 2 against Pittsburgh, but somehow the Stallions have come away with two W's and sit atop what appears to be a wide open (and somewhat weak) Southern Division.
Coach Glanville has said that Steve McNair will start this week for the Thunder, while Coach Franchione is sticking with Jason Campbell for now. Both clubs face tough Week 4 tests, with the Stallions traveling to Nashville and the Thunder on the road to face the Outlaws in San Antonio. If either can reach 3-1 this week, that may be an indication that this is more than a quirk of scheduling early in the season.
East v. West
Last year was a bit of an odd, and somewhat unsettling year when we look at parity within the USFL. While nearly every Eastern Conference club was well above .500 by season end, the West struggled to get teams to the break-even mark. Even with Seattle’s run from 6-8 to a league title, the look was a bad one. This year, at least after 3 weeks, we are seeing a very different pattern. In part this is due to the expansion and swap of the Central Division and the Southern Division. While many had feared that the Central would dominate the entire Western Conference, this has not happened. It appears that we have a bit more parity than perhaps 2005 might have indicated.
One place to see this is in the QB ratings across the league after three weeks. The top 4 QBs are all current Western Conference signal callers, although one, Kerry Collins is part of the Central Division’s shift. But with Byron Leftwich and Jake Plummer also starting strong, the West is making a case that it is not the weaker sister to the East. Success in the Summer Bowl will be the ultimate test. We are all aware that Seattle’s win last year was only the second for a Western Division team since 1996 and the 3rd since 1992. That alone has created a perception that the East has more dominance, and when paired by the offensive firepower of teams like Ohio, Boston, and Tampa Bay compared to the more balanced approach, or even defensive-minded style of many Western teams has fueled the perception that the East had more talent and more capacity to win the big games.
Whether it is the shift of divisions, the expansion by 2 clubs, or simply a natural leveling over time, it appears, at least in the early going, that the West is going to stand up this year and make the case for their own brand of football as being equally viable as that seen in the East.
Memphis Seeks Trade for a QB
We knew that it would not be long before we started seeing the Memphis Showboats looking for options. And while there have been no official announcements from Memphis, the process of seeking an alternative at QB, following Heath Shuler’s tragic car accident, have clearly begun in earnest. We are hearing reports from several USFL clubs about Memphis trade inquiries. We have even heard from a few USFL retirees that they have been contacted by the club.
Memphis has reached out in earnest trying to find a potential replacement, and while that is certainly not unexpected, it cannot be a positive feeling for currently rostered QB’s Mick McMahon and Ken Dorsey. It appears that Memphis brass have spoken with Oakland about Joey Harrington, but with Trent Green on the last year of his contract and a potential retirement risk, the Invaders seem dead set against a trade of Harrington. A very different situation exists in Las Vegas, where the success of Henry Burris in his first 3 starts this year has made Las Vegas hesitant to trade the CFL vet, even with former NFL All-Pro Steve McNair waiting in the wings. It may be that the Thunder are simply waiting for McNair to be ready, and hoping Burris can continue to play well, thus upping the price Memphis would have to pay to acquire him. Or it could be that the Thunder realize that having two solid QB’s, at least through this season, is a plus.
Memphis has apparently also sent initial feelers out to Chicago, Nashville, and Seattle about possible trades for a quarterback. Whether it is Seattle’s young Cody Pickett or Nashville starter Todd Collins, the Showboats seem to be testing every possible option. We even heard from a reliable source that someone from the Showboat organization reached out to former General and Panther Doug Flutie, who came out of retirement once, to see if he was still interested in getting on the field. That ship has apparently sailed, but there may still be options with other recent retirees.
With very few options on the Free Agent market, either a trade, or, in desperation, a signing of a CFL free agent are really the only options during the season this year. Looking to our north, the only real prospect out of Canada would be longstanding Montreal Alouettes QB Anthony Calvillo, who is currently unsigned, but expected to renew with the Alouettes. Could Memphis step into those negotiations and outbid the CFL club? And if not, is there a USFL team willing to risk sending a QB to the Showboats, and at what price?
The injuries just keep piling up across the league. This week Boston was forced to put their defensive team captain and MLB London Fletcher on IR with a fully torn quad. In Ohio, two players are likely out a month or longer, DT La’Roi Glover with a severe ACL Sprain and G Carlisle Cooper with ribs. St. Louis lost one of their starting safeties to a back injury, as Chidi Iwoma could miss up to 2 months, while Oakland safety Pierson Prioleau is out at least 3 weeks with a fracture in his wrist.
Less severe, but still impacting their teams for the next week or two are the injuries Houston center Brad Meester (Collarbone), Express DE Keneche Udeze (arm), Seattle DT Brandon Noble (knee) and Jacksonville LB Lavar Arrington (hamstring). T.J. Houshmanzadeh of New Jersey is listed as doubtful for this week with a hamstring injury, and Texas may have to turn to Chris Simms at QB this week, as Trent Dilfer is also doubtful with a dislocated finger on his throwing hand.
Stadium News for Several USFL Clubs
Stadium development, refurbishment, or replacement seems like a constant topic in the USFL, in some cases providing teams with new revenue and greater stability, in others an issue of great concern and potential trouble down the road. We have updates from several teams this week as we look around the league.
NEW JERSEY: A deal has finally been approved by all three tenants of Giants Stadium to build a new facility just yards away in one of the current parking lots. The new stadium will be home to the Generals in Spring, and the Giants and Jets in the Fall. The planned stadium would be designed as a multiple level bowl, allowing the Giants and Jets to use all 4 levels to seat over 80,000, while giving the Generals the ability to lock down the top level and have a maximum capacity of just under 60,000, which is just about perfect for the franchise based on attendance at Giants Stadium. The teams have an agreement with 360 Architecture, the Rockwell Group and the Meadowlands Development Agency to finalize plans for the new facility, which should break ground in 2007 with a completion date of March 2010, just in time for the Generals to begin play in the 2010 season.
OHIO: Not as advanced as the New Jersey talks, but the Ohio Glory are in discussions with the Columbus Crew MLS soccer club and the city of Columbus to expand Crew Stadium. Currently, the soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of only 22,555, but the proposed plans by the Glory would see a major reworking of the facility in the near north of downtown. The redesign would add seating at the lower level and install a second tier on both sidelines as well as both endzones, with open corners connected by walkways. Roofing would be added to both sidelines but would not extend around the entire stadium. The reimagined facility could hold somewhere between 48,000-52,000 seats, a far better option than the current 100,000+ seat Ohio Stadium or the much smaller current Crew Stadium.
The sticking point in the talks seems to be the amount of cost shifted to the Glory franchise as opposed to the Crew and to public funding by the city and state. Ohio is in a bit of a unique position in that they have a year-to-year lease with Ohio State University and could, at their choosing, opt to relocate with little to no notice. There has been talk in the past of a possible relocation to Cleveland, and there has also been interest in the greater Canton-Akron area, but the Glory have remained in Columbus since 2005 and would prefer to retain that connection to the state capital if a deal can be made for the dramatic expansion of the Crew Stadium.
The Texas Outlaws are hoping to convince the City of San Antonio to make major renovations to the Alamodome. Their goal is not to expand seating (the current capacity of 64,000 is more than ample for the Outlaws), but to expand the corporate support by increasing the number of suites and box seats. The goal is to add an additional 20 luxury suites. So far, the city has been reluctant to endorse the plan or to seek funding through a bond issue. The Dome is only 13 years old, but the Outlaws point to recently completed stadia in other USFL cities as a reason why greater attention to luxury seating is needed. We will continue to track this story as the Outlaws go through the needed steps to seek municipal support.
Leaked image Hints at Looks for Portland USFL
While the Portland Name the Team contest is only about one week from completion, a recent leak of what appears to be a set of image files from Reebok has sparked new interest in the process. The image, showing three different (partially obscured) images of the designs for the Stags, Pumas, and Grizzlies, cannot be verified by either the USFL club or Reebok, but does appear to be legitimate, based on the watermarks and formatting.
The image shows the Portland Pumas design in full, but offers only hints at the Grizzlies and Stags design. What we can say, if these images are legitimate is the following:
All three name options will revolve around a Deep Forest Brown helmet and jersey, with blaze orange and Woodland Buff as secondary colors. Pants could be white, brown, or buff, likely with two variants for each club. The Pumas’ design shows a brown jersey with brown yoke outlined by a buff striping, with four claw marks splitting the outline. This motif of the claw mark appears to be repeated on both the pant and shoulder striping, where it differentiates the striping below and above the “claws”.
What we can see of the Grizzlies design shows the pants with traditional 5-stripe patterns, which seems to also be the case for the helmet design. The Stags design seems to have the most radical element, a full-helmet decal of antlers that begin at the front bumper and extend to the back of the helmet. The antlers are in white and buff, with brown and orange outlines and a slight 3-d shadowing effect. This would be a daring look for the club, more akin to the Atlanta Fire flames than the primary logo, though clearly the Elk or Stag head logo hints at the importance of antlers to the look.
The Stag jerseys also appear to make use of an antler motif. Like the Puma jerseys, they have a brown yoke (brown on brown on the home jersey) and a buff outline, but instead of claw marks the Stag version has the outline also as a set of antlers emerging from the collar and wrapping around both sleeves.
The image also seems to indicate that both the Stag and Puma designs come with a secondary logo, and while we cannot see the design, the text of the Grizzly design also indicates a secondary logo. The Stag secondary is a football silhouette formed by two antlers, the Puma design is the cat's head without the chest and back, and the Grizzlies' text describes a paw print design.
We are only about 2-3 weeks away from the announcement of the winner of Portland’s Name the Team contest, but this new revelation has fueled a new wave of interest in the contest, with entries jumping over the past 2 days to numbers not seen since the first week of the online contest. We shall see soon enough whether the Stags can maintain the early lead that was announced, or if the Grizzlies or Pumas have overtaken them. Regardless of the results, the Portland USFL Club is anticipating a big rush on team gear as soon as it is released as all three designs have been getting a lot of positive buzz in the Rose City.
VOTING IS STILL OPEN ON THE PORTLAND POLL PAGE, BUT WILL CLOSE UPON PUBLICATION OF THE WEEK 4 RECAP.
Week 4 brings us fewer divisional games, but there are a few worth highlighting. Birmingham tries to extend their surprising lead in the South as they host the Nashville Knights. Chicago and Pittsburgh clash at Soldier Field, Ohio visits St. Louis, and Washington renews its rivalry with the Baltimore Blitz in the Charm City.
In other action, we see Texas visit surprising Las Vegas, Atlanta is in Tampa Bay, Boston travels out to Denver, and the Arizona Wranglers head to Seattle to face the Dragons. Memphis has another tough matchup as they travel to Jacksonville to face the Bulls. Philadelphia hosts the Orlando Renegades, while New Jersey is in Memphis to face the New Orleans Breakers. Reports there are that Memphians have rallied around the Breakers, with more than 38,000 seats sold already. Michigan is in Oakland in the “Bobby Hebert Bowl” and the Houston Gamblers cap it off on Sunday Night as they visit the LA Express.