It was a week of unexpected results. Seattle went into Oakland and ran into a buzzsaw of an Invader squad, leading to the Dragons' first setback of the season. Tampa Bay went into Birmingham expecting a low-scoring affair with Koy Detmer facing Jason Campbell, but what we all got was a wild shootout with both offenses putting up points at a blistering pace.
We also saw Las Vegas put the clamps on the Express, Orlando mount a hair-raising comeback on a short-handed Nashville squad, and Houston and Michigan slug it out over 60 minutes in a battle of clubs on the fringe of playoff contention. Memphis locks up a playoff spot, and two 2006 playoff teams suffer the indignity of becoming among the first to be eliminated from postseason contention. All that plus a look back at the 1995 expansion and a forgotten early star of the USFL in this week's "This is the USFL" report.
Tampa Bay 35 Birmingham 49
A true barn burner in Birmingham as the Stallions shock the Bandits with an offensive explosion. Both starters, Koy Detmer and Jason Campbell, would throw for 4 scores each as it seemed neither defense had a lot going right. But what was even more surprising was that Birmingham was able to run the ball as well, with both Shaun Alexander and Marion Barber easily eclipsing the 100-yard mark. Alexander would finish the game with 137 yards and a TD, while Barber rattled off 122 and 2 scores to help power Birmingham to a big win.
It was a wild one from the beginning as the points just kept coming. Birmingham jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first off of TDs from Alexander and James Thrash. Tampa added a Kevin Johnson TD catch to close out the opening period, but there were another 4 TDs to come in the 2nd quarter as neither defense could contain the opposition.
Birmingham got TDs from Thrash (his 2nd) and Marion Barber, while Tampa Bay scored on a Randy Moss TD catch and a Bryan Scott fumble recovery and score from 25 yards out as the 7-point Birmingham lead after 1 quarter remained at 7 with a 28-21 halftime lead.
The 2nd half saw no slowing down as Birmingham boosted their lead to 21 thanks to third quarter TDs from O.J. Santiago and a third TD reception from player of the game James Thrash (6 catches, 3 for scores on the day). Tampa tried to fight back, with two more scores in the passing game (Karl Williams and Moss for a 2nd time) but when Marion Barber scored his second rushing TD, it gave Birmingham a comfortable 14-point margin with time running down.
The win moves Birmingham to 4-6 and very much alive in the Wild Card hunt. Tampa drops to 4-6 and now sits a game behind Jacksonville and Orlando in a very tight Southeast Division.
Philadelphia 24 New Jersey 20
The Generals play Philly tough, but Matt Gutierrez moves to 3-1 as a starter with a late TD toss to Edward Stinnett locking up the Stars’ win. Philadelphia relied heavily on the ground game, with Ahman Green rushing for 2 scores and 109 yards while backup Marcus Robinson added another 77. New Jersey was also happy to focus on the run with Enis and Jackson combining for 167 yards, but in the end New Jersey could not mount a final drive and the Star fans drove back to Philly happy.
Chicago 17 Pittsburgh 6
The Machine stayed very much in the playoff hunt with a defensive master class in Pittsburgh. The Machine limited the Maulers to only 156 total yards, completely shutting down DeShaun Foster (17 yards for the day). Michael Turner led the way for the Machine offense, rushing for 109 and a 4.4 YPC average. Brady Quinn connected with Curtis Conway and D’Juan Woods for scores as the Machine move to 6-4.
Baltimore 24 Boston 31
Drew Bledsoe’s return to action was a modest one (13 of 20 fo r244 and 1 score) but Boston got 3 rushing touchdowns and picked off Ben Roethlisberger twice to earn their 9th win. Baltmore kept it close, thanks to 3 TDs from Big Ben, but a late rally failed to produce a game-tying TD on 4th and goal.
Texas 17 Atlanta 24
Terrell Davis and Rod Smart combined for 132 yards on the ground, with each scoring once as the Fire stayed alive in the playoff hunt. Texas was led by WR Tim Dwight, who caught 4 balls for 121 yards, but a late Rod Smart TD run, with only 43 seconds to play, broke the tie game and gave Atlanta the win at home.
Arizona 7 Denver 24
Jake Plummer was again sidelined by injury, this time in the 1st quarter, as Denver’s defense ran roughshod over the Wrangler offensive line. They would sack Plummer 4 times and then add 5 more for backup Jim Sorgi. Add in 144 yards rushing for the Gold and this one was never competitive.
Seattle 33 Oakland 38
The Dragons go down to defeat for the first time this year as Oakland pulls out the win at home. Joey Harrington threw for 3 TDs and Ricky Williams rushed for 145 and a score to help propel the Invaders to the W despite a combined 268 yards from David Boston and Jeramy Stevens. An 88-yard TD from Harrington to Greg Jennings gave Oakland a 38-17 lead in the 3rd, and then they just slow-played the game as Seattle scrambled to come back.
Los Angeles 13 Las Vegas 24
The Thunder defense held LA to only 3 points in the first 3 quarters, helping Las Vegas build up a 21 point lead. Steve McNair connected with Matthew Hatchette for 2 scoring throws and Marshawn Lynch rushed for 87 yards in this one-sided game. The win by the Thunder levels both teams at 6-4 with 4 weeks left in the season.
St. Louis 3 Ohio 31
A blowout win as Ohio dominates all three phases in this mismatch. Eddie George rushed for 117 and 2 scores while Kerry Collins added 2 more scores as Ohio toyed with the Skyhawks all game long. The visitors could only muster 40 total rushing yards and Luke McCown completed only 16 of 36 pass attempts in a game that showed that Ohio has defense to go along with their high-flying offense.
Nashville 21 Orlando 28
The Knights built up a 21-7 lead, but Orlando stormed back in the final 25 minutes of play to take the win and move their record to .500. Drew Brees connected with Michael Jenkins and Justin McCaerins for two 4th quarter scores to propel Orlando to victory. Nashville was hindered by an injury to Jay Cutler, with Craig Whelihan unable to sustain offense in the second half.
Washington 17 Memphis 29
The Showboats score 20 of their 29 points in the final period to upend the Federals and move to 8-2. Brett Favre connected with Maurice Smith and Alvis Whitted to give the Showboats a 22-17 lead, and then, in late action, SS Coy Wire picked off Henry Burris and ran it back for the game-sealing score.
Jacksonville 31 New Orleans 13
The Bulls return to .500 with a convincing win against the spiraling Breakers. Jake Delhomme threw for 2 scores and both Antowain Smith and Travis Minor scored on the ground as the Bulls took a 21-7 halftime lead and built on it in the second half.
Houston 21 Michigan 13
A good finale to the week as the Gamblers and Panthers played hard nosed football for 60 minutes. Brian Griese suffered two safeties as the pressure from Houston produced 8 sacks, but the Panthers were still right there until a Kevin Faulk TD in the 4th put Houston up by 8. Kavika Pittman was Man of the Game with 3 sacks and a safety.
Cutler to miss 2-3 weeks for Nashville
A double dip of trouble for the Knights this week as they both lost a key game to the Renegades and they also lose their young starter for at least 2 weeks, perhaps for the rest of the regular season. Cutler had started the game against Orlando well, completing 5 of 5 in the two opening drives, both scoring drives with Frank Gore running in the game’s first 14 points. But, as the second quarter began, Cutler got caught up in a crowd on a 3rd and 6. He managed to get the ball off, but he was escorted to the ground by a pair of Renegade defenders, one of whom fell on top of his throwing arm, bending back his wrist in an awkward way. Cutler came out of the game in obvious pain and was quickly escorted to the locker room.
Tests would seem to indicate that there is no ligament damage to the wrist, but the muscular strain, along with swelling, could require time to heal. Were it Cutler’s non-throwing hand, he might be able to play next week, but as it was his throwing hand, two weeks seems the most optimistic Nashville can be about the injury. The Knights are tenuously holding onto a Wild Card spot at the moment, 2.5 games behind Memphis, and 1.5 games ahead of 4 teams all tied at 4-6. They have back to back division games in the next two weeks (New Orleans and Birmingham) before finishing the year with two very tough matchups, home against Philadelphia and away to Jacksonville. With Craig Whelihan at the helm, and veteran Rick Mirer backing him up, Nashville has two veteran backups, but they may need to win 3 of 4 to ensure a playoff spot, so Cutler’s situation is significant.
Last of the Unbeatens Falls
With Seattle’s loss in Oakland this past weekend we lose the last of the unbeatens. Unlike the Miami Dolphins, who celebrate this moment each year in the NFL, there is no such tradition for the Ohio Glory, whose 2002 season is the one and only example of a perfect season in the USFL. Seattle still holds a strong command of the Pacific Division, sitting 2 games ahead of Oakland even with the loss, and 3 games above both Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Coach Lewis, speaking after the game, seemed to take the loss in stride. “Our goals for this year were to win our division, and then fight for a shot at a title, and both of those goals are still in view” said the 5th year coach. Lewis has one of the weirder records in sports. He has coached the Dragons for 5 seasons, and, with 9 wins already this year, is guaranteed to have his 4th winning season in five years. That is not so unusual, but what is odd is that the one losing season, a 6-8 campaign in 2005, is the season that the Dragons got hot just in time to run through the playoffs as a 6th seed and win the league title, the only team in the modern age of pro football to ever win a title despite a regular season losing record.
Seattle is relatively healthy, with only 3 players on their injury list (two questionable), and they control their own path to a #1 seed, with two key matchups in the next two weeks, hosting Las Vegas this week and then wrapping up their divisional games with a road match in LA the week after. The hope may well be that the Dragons clinch the top seed ahead of a week 14 clash against 8-2 Memphis, allowing Seattle to rest some starters and provide Memphis with a very incomplete and vanilla look at the team ahead of a possible playoff matchup. It is a strategy that fans are already discussing, the theory being that you show Memphis nothing in Week 14, and then bring the house if the two meet in the playoffs. We shall see if that comes to pass. For now Coach Lewis and the Dragons are focused on that division title and the top seed.
Lynch Running Away with ROTY
Staying in the Pacific division, where Oakland and Seattle have been big stories, we should recognize that the Las Vegas Thunder are also making news. Yes, the defense has been the story all year long, with Coach Glanville’s aggressive defense not only allowing a league best 10.8 points per game, but also in the top two in both passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed, but there is another story in town. Glanville went out on a limb to draft Cal HB Marshawn Lynch, and with 4 weeks to go in the regular season, that pick is paying dividends. Lynch is running away with the Rookie of the Year competition, thanks largely to his 919 yards, good enough for 6th place in the league. Las Vegas’s offense has not exactly been explosive this year, and, admittedly, his 2 touchdowns are a bit disappointing, but Lynch is well on his way to a 1,000 yard season with 4 games to play, and could reach 1,200 with 4 solid weeks.
The past 4 weeks have been particularly strong for the Thunder halfback, rushing for 437 yards in the past month, including 100 yard games against Nashville, Seattle and Houston, all very solid defensive squads. If Las Vegas is going to make a late run at a playoff spot, they will need Lynch to continue that form. They face Seattle, Oakland, Ohio, and Tampa Bay, not exactly an easy final month of action.
Manning Losing Breaker Trust
Only one year after all of New Orleans was celebrating the unexpected success of the “Portland” Breakers traveling road show, things are very different in the Big Easy, and none of it is easy for QB Eli Manning. Manning is catching a lot of the negativity being felt by Breaker fans these days. More and more we are hearing boo birds for Manning, once a hero as a much-touted draft pick of the Breakers out of Ole Miss. After two straight 3,000 yard seasons, Manning is struggling this year. His 75.7 QB Rating is one of the worst in the league for a regular starter, and his 9 touchdowns are not what you want from a player who has started all 10 Breaker games, especially when paired with 7 picks over that same span.
Certainly, all of the blame does not lie with Manning. While the Breakers are 15th in passing in the league, they are 25th in rushing, with only Arizona producing less than New Orleans’s 683 total rush yards. The defense has also struggled this year, ranked near the bottom in both rush defense (allowing 118 yards a game) and pass defense (allowing 240 yards per game), but as so often is the case, the QB and the Head Coach get the credit when a team is winning and get the blame when they are losing. That is clearly what we are seeing this year in New Orleans.
Mind you, it is not as if fans are crying to see Todd Boumann or Tim Rattay take the field, they just want to see Eli do more, and show more passion, each week. The infamously low-key Manning brother is being criticized as a leader on and off the field because fans are not seeing passion from him. That is fine again when a club is winning games, but when they are struggling and have only 1 win all year, that kind of dispassionate style is going to get criticized, and certainly Manning is hearing those critiques this year. Manning faces a contract year in 2008, so he has a chance to turn things around, but neither fans nor the front office can be feeling a lot of love towards the idea of shelling out “elite QB” money for Manning over the next year. If he cannot find another gear, we could easily see the Breakers head a different direction as Manning heads into his final contract year, not what any player wants to hear about themselves at this key juncture.
Ten weeks in and we have only 2 teams who have locked up spots in the 2007 playoffs. Memphis joined Boston this week, clinching a playoff spot and now holding a 2.5 game lead in the South. Seattle could have clinched with a win, but their first loss of the year means they have to wait at least 1 more week to make it official.
In each conference we have 1 division that has a .500 team at the head, with Jacksonville tied with Orlando at 5-5 in the Southeast, while Denver and Houston are also tied at 5-5 in the Southwest. Both New Orleans and Arizona, two 2006 playoff clubs, were eliminated from contention this year as both have seen early season optimism turn into profound death spirals in 2007.
Were the playoffs to start today, byes would go to Boston, Memphis, Seattle, and Ohio, with Wild Card spots going to Philly, Nashville, and Orlando (the only other clubs at or over .500 in the East), and to Oakland, Las Vegas and Michigan in the West. Chicago and LA, both at 6-4 would be out.
The Jay Cutler injury is, as one would expect, garnering a lot of attention, but at this phase of a season, where even a moderate injury can lead to a player missing the rest of the regular season, what we see are that injuries across the league lead to greater use of the injured reserve and greater scrambling to find replacements. Among injuries that may require shuttering a player’s season, we find these potential IR placements this week:
Nashville LB Lenny Walls joins Cutler in potentially missing the final 4 weeks of the season. Nashville is also hit again as FS Curtis Fuller was placed on IR with an MCL injury.
New Jersey guard Chad Ward could miss 2-4 weeks after an elbow injury.
Oakland has a similar report on tackle Kwame Harris, expected to miss up to a month. The Invaders have also put CB Billy Austin on IR with a fractured leg.
Orlando’s Sedrick Clark will not be terrorizing QB’s as the DE is on IR after suffering fractures to both bones in his lower right arm.
Seattle SS John Keith may miss up to 4 weeks, but will not be placed on IR as he is expected to return for a playoff run.
Charlotte Tabs Mora Jr as First Head Coach
Four years after being let go by the Philadelphia Stars, Jim Mora Jr. is going to be back on the sidelines for a USFL franchise. The Charlotte Monarchs named the former Stars’ head man and son of legendary USFL coach Jim Mora Sr. as their first head coach. Mora, who coached the Stars to a 32-40 record from 2000-2004, returns to the spring league after two seasons away, where he served as an analyst for college football on CBS. He will bring with him a lot of the schemes and strategies of his father, including an offense focused on play action passing and a defense defined by linebacker play.
Charlotte ownership opted to delay their hiring process, particularly in comparison to Portland, who signed former Oregon head coach Rich Brooks months ago to head up their 2008 expansion club. Both clubs have their man in place long before the Expansion Draft, Free Agency and the Collegiate Draft put players on the club rosters, so the choice of those players will be heavily influenced by each.
Mora had immediate success in Philadelphia, something unlikely with an expansion club. His 2000 Stars finished the year 13-3 and were favored to win Summer Bowl 2000 before falling to the Denver Gold. But over the ensuing 4 seasons the Stars were never able to repeat that success, winning 9 games the following year, but then slipping below .500 in his third through fifth seasons. Charlotte is certainly anticipating that Mora will have the opposite trajectory with the Monarchs. The club has to anticipate a difficult first year, but the goal, as with all expansion clubs, is to build over the “honeymoon period” and have a contender within 5 seasons.
Unlike Rich Brooks in Portland, Mora will come to the Monarchs with USFL head coaching experience, as well as a long history as a position coach and coordinator. He also has the ability to call on one of the league’s most successful head coaches as an advisor, his father. Whether or not Jim Sr. will take an official role with the club is not known, but it should come as a surprise to no one if he is seen around Charlotte facilities when the team gets up and running in February 2008.
The 1995 Expansion: Early Struggles and Eventual Success
Early in the 1990’s, with financial security well in place and a thriving 20 team league having established itself as a legitimate 5th major league in the United States, the USFL started to receive a lot of attention from ownership groups which sought opportunities to join the new venture. The league had already expanded twice, from 12 founding franchises to 16 in its 2nd year, and then, 3 years later, adding 4 more teams to reach 20 franchises in 1987. That 2nd expansion had been partially motivated by the relocation of the Chicago Blitz franchise to Baltimore and the desire of the major television networks to see the league return to Chicago. The league obliged, and in 1987 added a new Chicago franchise (the Machine), as well as new clubs originally targeting San Antonio, San Diego, and Miami. It was a rough process, and in the end the league ended up adding Chicago, San Antonio (Texas Outlaws), Orlando and Portland instead of their 4 original targets.
The chaos and compromise brought about by the 1987 expansion made USFL owners leary of another significant addition, and yet, in 1992, when the struggling LA Express franchise was sold to investors from St. Louis, to become the St. Louis Knights, it became clear to many that with such strong interest among well-funded proposing groups, failing to expand the league could actually cause more disruption, with greater potential for franchise relocation and greater instability within the league. This, added once again to the importance of a large market like Los Angeles to the league’s television contracts, motivated owners to once again seek expansion.
It was quickly agreed that Los Angeles would recover the Express franchise, a restart under new ownership. All other bids would be for new franchises in new cities, with an eye towards several larger markets. It would again be a 4-team expansion, and one of the goals would be to fill in some gaps in the league’s national profile. A greater emphasis on both in-hand stadium deals as well as deeper financial investigations of any proposing ownership group would be essential to avoid some of the issues that became problematic in 1987.
By the spring of 1993 the decisions had been made. In addition to a rebirth of the LA Express, the league would welcome three more franchises, adding a second Pacific Northwest club in Seattle, Washington, a Midwestern club in Columbus, Ohio, and another franchise in the league’s strongest region, the South, with an Atlanta franchise. Within a few months the Seattle Dragons, Atlanta Fire, and Ohio Glory would be finalized as franchises to begin play in the Spring of 1995.
It would take time for these new clubs to establish themselves. Working with rosters often cobbled together from NFL and USFL free agents, rookies, and a limited pool of Expansion Draft signings, the four expansion clubs would struggle at first. This was not to say that these teams did not start play with some established players. Atlanta, for example, had longtime Birmingham Stallion QB Cliff Stoudt as their opening day QB and also signed quality players like Mo Lewis, Chester McGlockton, TE Frank Wycheck, and HB Bernie Parmalee. Seattle signed HB Roosevelt Potts, DE Jim Reynosa, LB Eddie Robinson. In Ohio the early signings included TE Chris Kelley, CB Vince Buck, LB John Offerdahl, and QB Dave Brown. LA would start their first season with the splashiest move, signing NFL halfback Marcus Allen, also adding LB Bryce Paup, WR Mike Pritchard, and QB Brent Pease.
Despite some name players, the rosters were not up to par with other USFL clubs overall, and, unsurprisingly, 1995 saw all 4 clubs finish with 10 losses or more. Ohio and Atlanta topped the expansion results with 5-11 records, while LA finished at 4-12 and Seattle a dismal 1-15 mark. It would not be until the 1999 season, the clubs’ 5th, when we would see the first .500 or better records from the four clubs. LA would finish the 1999 seaosn a surprising 11-5 and win the Pacific Division, while Ohio would find moderate success at 8-8 in that same year.
Of course we know what happened at the change of the millennium, as Ohio had slowly built its roster up to become one of the strongest teams in the league. They would go on to post a perfect 14-0 regular season record in 2002 and win the league title both that year and the following season, becoming the league’s first ever back-to-back title winners. Seattle would join Ohio as league champions from the class of 1995 when they surprised everyone by winning the Summer Bowl in 2005 despite having barely qualified for the playoffs at 6-8. Los Angeles would have an up and down first decade, reaching 10+ wins three times between 1999 and 2003, but never reaching the Summer Bowl, a drought which trailed back to the original Express’s 1983 season.
That bad streak was finally broken last year, when the Express represente the West in Summer Bowl 2006. As for Atlanta, their history was even shakier. After posting 10+ losses every year from 1995 until 2002, the franchise was sold to investors from Boston, relocated to Boston College’s Alumni Stadium and began play in 2003 as the Boston Cannons. The Fire would return last season as a 2006 expansion club, which is a story for another day, but in Boston, unlike in their time in Atlanta, the 1995 expansion club would finally find success, reaching .500 for the first time in their first season as the Boston Cannons, and then posting a winning record every season since.
Far less chaotic than the 1987 expansion, the 1995 growth of the league was one that may have taken more time to develop, but its four franchises were stable, and have now become stalwart members of the USFL family, something to remember as we watch the ups and downs of the latest expansion clubs from 2006 and next year’s addition of Portland and Charlotte to the league. The lesson of 1995 is that success is not always immediate, but slow, steady development can build a ragtag expansion club into a league champion.
Arthur Whittington: Oakland’s Forgotten Hero
If I asked you to name a USFL player who rushed for over 1,300 yards in 3 of the USFL’s first five seasons, including two years over 1,500 yards, you almost certainly would throw out names like Walker, Cribbs, or Rozier. But would you ever mention Arthur Whittington? Likely not. Whittington, who came to the Oakland Invaders as one of their first signings ahead of the 1983 inaugural season. After 4 seasons with the NFL Raiders and 1 with the Bills, not much was expected of the former SMU back. He had amassed only 1,592 yards in his 5 year NFL career, and was certainly not the biggest name HB to enter the league. Heck, he wasn’t even the biggest name SMU back to join the league, that was Craig James in Washington. And yet, in the USFL, and with the Invaders, Whittington found a home, emerging as one of the league’s early stars, though never one who garnered the attention he deserved.
Whittington would earn the starting job for an Invader squad that lacked a lot of star power in 1983. Oakland would only win 5 games in their inaugural season, but, along with Fred Besana, Whittington would quickly become a household name in the Bay area, rushing for nearly 1,400 yards (1,398 to be exact). He entered the 1984 season as a focal point for the Invaders’ offense, but after only 4 games, a season-ending injury stopped a promising sophomore campaign in which he had been averaging 4.5 yards per game.
Whittington would return to action midway through the 1985 season, but would only garner 4 starts as he continued to struggle with his knee injury. He would enter the 1986 season very much a question mark for the Invaders. After spending the offseason of 1985-1986 working with NFL superstar Walter Payton, Whittington returned to the USFL intent on rebuilding his role as a lead back for Oakland. He won the job in training camp, despite the presence of 1985 leading rusher and NFL signee Albert Bentley. Bentley had been brought in when it was clear that Whittington was not back to full speed in 1985, and had rushed for 1095 yards in the 1985 season, putting Whittington’s status as the team’s lead back very much in question.
Whittington had an impressive camp and was set to split carries with Bentley in the season opener. The season opener saw Oakland hosting New Orleans, and Whittington put any talk of a halfback by committee to rest with 127 yards on only 17 carries. He would remain the starter all season, limiting Bentley to short yardage situations, and rushing for 1,600 yards to finish third behind only Rozier and Cribbs and making his first All-USFL team.
In 1987 he would practically repeat the same exact season. Oakland would go 10-6 and make the playoffs for a second season, and Whittington would lead the club with 1,587 yards. The only real difference in 1987 was that both Rozier and Cribbs would struggle more and it would be Whittington who would walk away with the league rushing title, beating out Kelvin Bryant by over 70 yards.
Whittington had become a favorite in Oakland, but he had also caught the eyes of the NFL. With the new NFL-USFL transfer window operating in the 87-88 offseason, Whittington was one of the hottest commodities around, and the bidding between the Invaders and the NFL proved to be one of the most aggressive in the league’s short history. Whittington would take offers from the Raiders, the 49ers and the Miami Dolphins, along with the Invaders. In the end he would take a deal with Miami, where he would finish out his career with Dan Marino. But Whittington would never see the success with Miami that he had in Oakland with the USFL. He rushed for only 873 yards in the fall of 1987, falling victim to the demands of two back-to-back seasons. In 1988 he would find himself benched behind Lorenzo Hampton, and by 1989 he would only see 83 carries on the season.
Whittington’s departure left a bitter taste in the mouths of Invader fans, which may help explain why the former league rushing champion is simply not revered the way other early Invader players are. And yet, this former Raider turned Invader was very much a big part of Oakland’s early story. His accomplishments in the USFL were a highlight of a career that very much may not have amounted to much had the spring league not come along, and his strong 1986 and 1987 seasons helped put Oakland into a winning mindset, one which would see them make the playoffs in 8 of 9 seasons between 1986 and 1994, including an eventual title in 1991. Yes, it is clear that Whittington was not there to see the best of those seasons, but without his 1986 and 1987 seasons helping Oakland turn from also-ran to contender, could the Invaders have found that success? As painful as his departure was for Invader faithful, after 20 years perhaps it is time the Invader Army gave Arthur Whittington some credit and some love.
Week 11 means we are down to only one month of action left, and there is so much to play for as the playoff push becomes earnest. No time to take it easy as every game impacts both teams’ outlook for the postseason. As always, national broadcasts are in bold font, and all divisional matchups are in blue.
FRI @ 8pm Washington (4-6) @ Atlanta (4-6) NBC
SAT @ 12pm St. Louis (1-9) @ Philadelphia (7-3) ABC
SAT @ 12pm Denver (5-5) @ Orlando (5-5) ABC
SAT @ 12pm Arizona (2-8) @ Pittsburgh (4-6) FOX
SAT @ 4pm Oakland (7-3) @ Texas (3-7) ABC
SAT @ 4pm Memphis (8-2) @ Los Angeles (6-4) FOX
SAT @ 8pm Michigan (6-4) @ Chicago (6-4) ESPN
SUN @ 12pm New Jersey (3-7) @ Baltimore (3-6-1) ABC
SUN @ 12pm Boston (9-1) @ Birmingham (4-6) FOX
SUN @ 12pm Jacksonville (5-5) @ Ohio (7-3) FOX
SUN @ 4pm Tampa Bay (4-6) @ Houston (5-5) ABC
SUN @ 4pm Las Vegas (6-4) @ Seattle (9-1) FOX
SUN @ 8pm New Orleans (1-9) @ Nashville (5-4-1) ESPN