It may not be the matchup we predicted in February, or even the one we expected in June, but we have our Summer Bowl 2008 contenders lined up and ready to battle for the USFL title in Jacksonville. The #3 seed in the East will face the #4 seed from the West when the Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers take over Alltel Stadium on Saturday Night. Memphis got here on the arm of who else, Brett Favre, as he shredded the #1 defense in the league for 362 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Michigan came back from a 13-3 halftime deficit with three touchdown drives in the second half, putting away the Oakland Invaders to claim the Western Conference title, and now these two clubs, one the defending champion, the other a club with a proud history making their way back to the title game for the first time in over 20 years, square off for the USFL title. Let’s see how they got here, preview the game and run through all the other news from across the league in this week’s USFL report.
MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 34 TAMPA BAY BANDITS 21
To say that the battle between one of the league’s best offenses and one of the best defenses was decided early and went heavily in one direction seems almost an understatement. The Memphis Showboats scored 28 points in the first half, scoring on 4 of their 5 possessions in the half and doing it with big plays across the board, with 4 Brett Favre TDs of 32, 18, 24, and 24 yards. And while Tampa Bay tried to find a way to keep pace, with Daunte Culpepper hitting Chris Doering with two TD strikes in the half, they simply could not stay with Memphis.
Brett Favre would finish this game with 362 yards aon 17 of 25, most of it in the first half. In the second half of the game the Showboats pushed the run, giving Cadillac Williams 14 of his 19 carries for the day, and mixing in runs from Maurice Smith and Lionel Gates. The shift in style, up 14 at the break, shortened the game, giving Tampa Bay fewer opportunities to come back, and helped Memphis build a 34-14 lead that would not be challenged until the final minutes of play.
The scoring began almost immediately, with Favre hitting Robert Ferguson with the first of his two TDs only 3 minutes into the game, a 52-yard strike that sent shockwaves through Raymond James Stadium, Favre was only warming up. On their next possession, following a missed field goal from Kaeding on Tampa’s end, was a 6-play drive that featured catches from David Martin and Maurice Smith before Favre found Lee Evans open on an 12-yard out that turned into an 18-yard TD.
Tampa got on the board with Culpepper hitting Doering from 15 yards out just as the quarter was closing, but Memphis would go on in the 2nd to put two more quick strike scores on the board, dual 24-yard TDs to Ferguson and HB Cadillac Williams. Tampa, down 28-7 would have to scrap their plans for a balanced attack and rely on Daunte Culpepper to get the job done. He would hit Doering again just as the half ended, but that is as close as Tampa Bay would get.
In the second half, Memphis slowed the game down, using shorter routes and the run game to maintain possession, adding two Jeff Hall field goals to extend their lead to 20. The defense would pin their ears back and go after Culpepper, sacking him 4 times in the 2nd half and limiting Tampa Bay to 2 conversions on 11 third down attempts. In short, the game was played on Memphis’s terms as the defending champions showed off their firepower and ability to dictate tempo.
Memphis now finds themselves back in the Summer Bowl for the 2nd year in a row, and again it is Brett Favre, the one-time rival in Birmingham, who used a somewhat insincere retirement ploy to jump to the NFL only to return 18 months later, who was the story and the driving force in the game. Tampa Bay, which had surprised many by winning 12 in a row on their way to a league’s best 14-2 regular season record, was out, and Coach Spurrier was the first to admit that as much as they got outplayed, they also got outcoached, saying “Coach Haslett put together a great plan, saw our weaknesses and exploited them, and just had his team ready to roll this week.”
MICHIGAN PANTHERS 24 OAKLAND INVADERS 19
The Michigan Panthers will return to the Summer Bowl for the first time since 1986 after edging the Oakland Invaders in Oakland on Saturday Evening. A 21-0 run in the third and fourth quarters helped Michigan erase a 13-3 halftime deficit and take over the game in the second half. The halfback duo of Justin Fargas and Leon Washington proved to be pivotal, while QB Brian Griese went 12 of 14 in the 2nd half to spark the Panthers after only a 6 of 14 performance in the first half.
Oakland started the game well, using the running of Ricky Williams to get into scoring range three times. They put up the first 6 points of the game with field goals midway through both the 1st and 2nd period, playing a conservative strategy that had Joey Harrington only attempt 12 passes in the first half. After a Michigan field goal, Oakland closed out the half with the only touchdown of the first 30 minutes, a 9-yard edge run from Jerious Norwood that gave the home team a 10-point lead going into the break.
That lead would quickly dissolve in the second half. After forcing Oakland to punt on their first possession, Michigan took 6 minutes and 11 plays to march down the field and get on the board with a Washington TD run. The defense again shut down Oakland on the next drive, allowing Michigan to get the ball right back, and again, this time after only 7 plays, they were back on the scoreboard with a 7-yard Fargas run. Despite getting no turnovers and only sacking Joey Harrington 3 times, the Panther defense was finding ways to get Oakland’s offense off the field. A big part of that was the play of linebackers Andy Katzenmoyer, Odell Thurman, and Keith Ellison (in for the injured Shawne Merriman), who limited Oakland’s main weapon, Ricky Williams, to 3.4 yards per carry.
Shutting down Oakland’s offense for the better part of the 2nd half, Michigan had taken the lead at 17-13, and would add to it with a Griese to Hines Ward TD touchdown 1 minute into the final period. Now up 11 points at 24-11, the Panthers clamped down even more. For the game they held both Greg Jennings and Plaxico Burress to only 2 catches. Jennings was targeted 10 times in the game but had one lone catch, a truly amazing statistic. It was Alex Bannister who would finish as Oakland’s top receiver, a sign that things did not go as planned for Coach Green and the Invaders.
Michigan will now have to set their eyes on the Memphis Showboats, seeking to become only the 2nd team in league history to win back to back titles. Can the Panther defense which held Burress and Jennings in check do the same with the very deep Memphis receiving corps? Can Jevon Kearse put pressure on Favre? Can Michigan avoid the quick strikes that doomed Tampa Bay? Those are the questions Panther faithful are asking, but even as they ask these tough questions, they are also reveling in their return to championship football as Michigan’s Panthers are heading to Jacksonville and Summer Bowl 2008.
Memphis Opens in Vegas as a 5-point Favorite.
The books in Las Vegas are placing their faith in Brett Favre and the offense that just decimated Tampa Bay to do it again in the Summer Bowl, setting Memphis as a 5-point favorite for Summer Bowl 2008. The Over/Under also anticipates high scoring game, with the current tally set at 48 points. All this despite the fact that Michigan has a better overall record (11-5 vs. 10-6), though it must be said that their 1-3 finish to the regular season had many folks expecting them to go out in the Wild Card round. But, the Panthers have rallied, knocking off a somewhat weakened Denver squad, then winning on the road in Chicago and in Oakland, defeating both the #1 and #2 seeds in the West.
However, when your opposition is the defending champion, even as a #3 seed, you have to respect that club’s experience and prior success. Memphis finished the year on their own rough patch, losing 3 of 5 down the stretch, but avenged a late season loss to New Orleans in the Wild Card round before upsetting the Philadelphia Stars in Philadelphia, and this past week blowing past the #1 seeded Tampa Bay Bandits. And, of course, when your QB is a 2-time MVP, a bit of a living legend, and just threw 4 TDs against the top defense in the league, you have to expect to get the Las Vegas line on your side.
Arizona signs Stars DC Jim Tomsula as new head coach, still seeking an OC
Two stories out of Phoenix this weekend as the Arizona Wranglers have settled on their new head coach and started taking bids from clubs interested in the services of QB Jake Plummer. We start with the new lead man in Wrangler’s camp, former Stars DC Jim Tomsula. Tomsula, who helped build up the Stars defense from a low point in 2006 to one of the more formidable squads in 2009, has been Jim Harbaugh’s right hand man since the duo came to the USFL in 2005. Tomsula, prior to signing on with Harbaugh’s Stars, was briefly in the CFL with Hamilton, then short stints with Carolina and San Francisco in the NFL. It was in San Francisco that he met Harbaugh, and joined him in coming to the USFL. A former defensive end from Catawba College in North Carolina, Tomsula began as a strength coach at his alma mater.
Known for pressure defenses built around a strong and athletic linebacking corps, Tomsula hopes to rebuild an Arizona defense that has some talent in DT Jason Peter, DE Gary Walker, LB Karlos Dansby and the CB duo of Jimmy Williams and Asante Samuel, but which has underperformed the past two years. His first big task, however, is to find an offensive coordinator who can rebuild with a new quarterback and a run game that has been nothing less than catastrophic for what feels like a decade. Who he brings in will almost certainly determine the style of play, though there almost certainly will be growing pains regardless of who the new starter at quarterback will be.
Wranglers Hear Offers from 5 Clubs in Early Trade Bids
Speaking of Arizona’s QB position, the club officially opened their “inbox” to trade offers from clubs around the league. According to a source within the Wrangler organization, they have already received 5 substantial offers for Plummer’s services, though none meet the original expectation of 3 consecutive #1 Open Draft picks. It is unlikely that 3 number ones will be a final deal, as it is a very high price to pay for a 33-year old QB, even for one with 2 MVP awards.
While Arizona officials would not reveal which clubs had reached out, they did say that none of the clubs were involved in this year’s postseason, which to some degree was the expectation. There is significant evidence that at least two of the clubs are the New Jersey Generals and the Birmingham Stallions. Beyond that is pure speculation, but many expect that another is likely Pittsburgh, who have not seen the growth in Cody Pickett’s game that they had hoped for. Other potential bidders include the Las Vegas Thunder (depending on Steve McNair’s status), the Los Angeles Express, the St. Louis Skyhawks, and quite possibly the Boston Cannons, despite the relative success of Adrian McPherson and the efforts to bring back Drew Bledsoe for one more season. We expect some leaks will start to emerge and some clubs will step into the light as serious contenders. And, of course, once the negotiations between Arizona and the other clubs start to heat up, there will be clubs who step away and start to work on an alternative plan. Whoever is left standing at the end, and that end could take several weeks, will likely be giving up significant draft capital, but could be landing a big piece of the puzzle as they seek on-field success.
Memphis will be without guard Dan Santucci, still dealing with back spasms. Reggie Torbor, is questionable at DE, but Anthony Clement should be back at Left Tackle to protect Favre’s blind side. For Michigan, we all know that CB Donnovan Greer is still out, and while he is listed as Doubtful with an abdominal injury, he is still lobbying for Coach LeBeau to at least let him play on the kick coverage team, not wanting to miss his chance to contribute on a Championship Saturday.
USFL Presents 2008 Awards and All-USFL Team in Jacksonville
As has come to be tradition, the USFL held a gala event in Jacksonville, site for the 2008 Summer Bowl, this Tuesday, presenting the 2008 Season Award Winners and the 2008 All-USFL Team, and if the recognition of the night means anything, Michigan may have a long night ahead of them on Saturday. The Memphis Showboats had 4 All-USFL players named, including QB Brett Favre, who also won for Offensive Player of the Year. Michigan had only DT Leonard Renfro recognized on the All-USFL team.
Favre was joined on the All-USFL squad by receiver Robert Ferguson, whose 1,226 yards was a career best, Left Tackle Mike Gandy, and kicker Jeff Hall, who not only led the league in scoring, but also set a new league record with a 63-yard field goal this year. Ironically, it was the team that Memphis defeated this week, and the coach that admitted he was simply outcoached, Steve Spurrier who walked away with one of the night’s biggest honors as Spurrier was honored as the Coach of the Year for his turnaround of a 5-9 Bandit squad into a 14-2 division champion.
And while most of the awards on the night were not controversial, with Rashard Mendenhall running away with Rookie of the Year honors and Brian Urlacher earning a much deserved second Defensive Player of the Year Award, the selection of Kordell Stewart as League MVP was not without some controversy. Stewart, who finished 11th in passing yards, 5th in passing touchdowns, and 19th in QB Rating, was given the award over Favre, Kerry Collins, or Byron Leftwich, all of whom had better statistical years. However, this is an MVP award, and it was clear that Stewart’s performance, which included 10 rushing touchdowns and nearly 400 yards on the ground, was largely responsible for Washington’s rise to playoff contention this season after nearly a full year spent on injured reserve. One stat seems to sum up why so many voters pushed for Stewart as the MVP. Last year, without their starter, Washington scored a total of 14 touchdowns, this year, with Stewart back and playing his best football, they scored 45, with Stewart personally responsible for 34 of them (10 rushing and 24 passing TDs). That is pretty good evidence about how valuable Stewart is to the club. That won’t make Memphis or Seattle fans feel any better about their man not getting recognized (though Favre did win OPOTY for his 4,300 yard, 29 TD season), but it seems like a fair assessment to most others.
In addition to Favre, Stewart, and Ohio’s Kerry Collins, the All-USFL Team included the following standout players:
HB: Deuce McCallister (WSH), T. J. Duckett (TEX), and Ricky Williams (OAK)
FB: Alan Ricard (CHI)
TE: Bubba Franks (POR), Dan Campbell (CHA)
WR: Chad Ochocinco (BOS), David Boston (SEA), Robert Ferguson (MEM)
Peerless Price (DEN), and Tory Holt (BAL)
OT: Stockar McDougle (BOS), Mike Gandy (MEM), and Tra Thomas (OHI)
OG: Jaime Nails (BOS), Vince Manuwai (SEA), and Cam Stephenson (OAK)
C: Jeff Saturday (OAK) and Trey Teague (TBY)
DE: Anthony Weaver (CHI), Mike Rucker (BIR), and Kavika Pittman (HOU)
DT: Leonard Renfro (MGN), Luther Ellis (OHI), and Steve Rogers (NSH)
LB: Brian Urlacher (CHI), Wali Rainier (STL), Kevin Mitchell (TBY)
DeMeco Ryans (BIR), A. J. Hawk (LV), and Mike Vrabel (JAX)
CB: Patrick Surtain (PIT), Jamar Fletcher (DEN), Samari Rolle (TBY),
and Quentin Jammer (PHI)
SS: Shaud Williams (HOU) and Lance Schulters (PHI)
FS: Ed Reed (WSH) and Tarvaris Tillman (TEX)
ST: Kicker Jeff Hall (MEM) and Punter Matt Turk (TBY)
USFL Open Draft 2008: Top Unprotected Players
Last week we looked at our choices for the Top 10 players that should be protected in the T-Draft, and hopefully signed by their respective USFL club, of course. This week we look at the only players we know will not be protected, players from schools not included in the 3 per team, in other words, not among the 84 protected schools among all 28 USFL clubs. While many may say that the schools not included in the T-Draft are unlikely to produce a lot of quality, every year we see several very good players coming out of smaller schools, and this year is no different. And while we do need to also remember that with each USFL club only protecting 3 players in the T-Draft, there will still be plenty of talent from the usual suspects, the Miami’s, USC’s, and Oklahoma’s even after the T-Draft has claimed 3 players for each USFL club. But, since we cannot know who those players left for the Open Draft will be, this list is exclusively players from unclaimed schools.
QB Rhett Bomar (Sam Houston St): We felt we had to have at least 1 QB on this list, and while Bomar does not exactly project into a future Hall of Famer, he is a solid option for a team looking for a #3 QB who could move up with some time and coaching.
WR Johnny Knox (Abilene Christian): Speed cannot be taught, so finding a player at a smaller school, like Knox at Abilene Christian, is always a good option. You can teach up a lot of skills, but when you start with speed, you are starting from a good place.
CB Ladarius Webb (Nicholls State): Webb has looked very polished against some mid-to-low-level competition. He does not make a lot of misreads and can time his jumps well to get between a receiver and the ball, and that is a pretty good combo for a cornerback.
DT Alex Magee (Purdue): Yes, there are some big conference teams that are not claimed and Purdue is one of them, so when a talent like DT Alex Magee comes around, coaches hope he will be there in the 2nd round, so they can grab a higher value position in round one and still get a steal.
DE David Veikune (Hawaii): It is so hard to gauge players from Hawai’i. They play in a mid-level conference, but every game is a question about energy because teams coming to Honolulu are often out of synch on their body clocks, and when Hawaii goes on the road, the same happens in reverse. Makes it hard to tell if players are truly dominant or just facing tired opposition. Veikune seems to do well regardless of the game’s location, so we trust that he has real talent.
S Michael Mitchell (Ohio): A big time hitter in a mid-sized team. Ohio’s Mitchell is a legitimate thumper, as we have seen in those early season games against some top opponents. He still has some things to learn about coverage, but when it comes to laying the lumber, he is ready to go.
CB Darius Butler (UConn): Tiny Connecticut has some quality talent this year. We seriously considered adding more Huskies to this list, but decided to stick to only two. Butler is a traditional man-up corner who can play bump and run and has good make up speed if he cannot connect at the line.
HB Donald Brown (UConn): Running back is considered one of the easier positions to scout, because regardless of the level, you can see speed, you can judge elusivity, and you can witness whether a player avoids or relishes hits with defenders. Brown looks like a very solid prospect on all counts.
TE Brandon Pettigrew (OK State): Again, a pretty big program that just was not claimed by anyone. So, the school that produced Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas now has more of a pass-happy offense, and the star of that offense could well be at TE, where Pettigrew looks like a legitimate dual-roll TE, able to block on the outside rushers and also able to get open over the middle.
DE Larry English (Northern Illinois): Our favorite of the open draftees, English looks like a younger, more raw version of John Abraham from Seattle. He is not the biggest, and not the fastest, but he has a good repertoire of moves using balance, quickness, and leverage to get through blocks and get to the QB. A solid prospect who could be a true 1st rounder in this year’s draft.
PREVIEW OF SUMMER BOWL 2008
Summer Bowl 2008 is upon us, and it is a match with lots of storylines. Can the Showboats repeat as champions? Can the Panthers win their first title since the glory days of the mid 1980’s? Will it be the star power of Brett Favre or the underrated abilities of Griese, Fargas and Ward that win the day? Michigan fortified their defense by bringing in both Leonard Renfro and Javon Kearse this offseason. Will those signings be enough to shut down the Offensive Player of the Year and one of the league’s most potent passing attacks? A lot of questions, a lot of intrigue, and a lot of money being bet both ways as two of the league’s most fervent fanbases descend on north Florida. Burgundy, Sky and Champagne mixes with Scarlet and Silve Sky in Jacksonville this week, proud Michiganders from the embattled auto industry towns of the north vs. jubilant southern BBQ and Blues from the city along Ol’ Man River. It’s a clash of cultures, a clash of regions, and a clash of two very good football teams on Saturday Night in Duval County.
So, what do we think of the actual game? Honestly, we think it comes down to one thing. Can Michigan contain the Memphis passing game? If Favre can get hot early, as he did against the #1 defense of Tampa Bay, and if the deep Memphis receiving corps is too much for Michigan’s secondary, this game could be decided early. But, if, as we have seen before, Memphis’s line struggles with blitz pickup, the talented Panther linebacking corps can make a huge difference in this game, putting pressure on Memphis’s All-USFL QB and disrupting their main means of attack. Both scenarios are possible, but only one will play out on Saturday.
Expect the Panthers to try to bring pressure, likely blitzing either Odell Thurman or DeMarcus Ware, their two fastest linebackers, and relying on the secondary of (a now healthy) Deltha O’Neal, Chris Canty, Leon Hall, Mike Brown, and Kenny Phillips to hold up long enough for either the blitzing LB or defensive ends Javon Kearse and Leonard Little to get to Favre.
For Memphis’s defense, task is a bit more unclear. Do they focus on shutting down Justin Fargas, or double covering Hines Ward. Michigan’s balance on offense does present a challenge, but if Reggie Torbor and Marcellus Wiley can force Brian Griese to move around in the pocket or even leave the pocket entirely, his accuracy wains and the potential for takeaways is there. Expect the key for the Memphis defense to be the outside linebacker Patrick Willis and Hannibal Navies. If they can maintain their lanes and keep both Fargas and Leon Washington from exploiting the edges of the defense, they can contain the Panther offense.
Finally, if it comes down to the kicking game, you have All-USFL kicker Jeff Hall, who now holds the league record with a 63-yarder kicked back in Week 7 against Seattle, lined up against Matt Prater, who made only 22 of 30 attempts, with a long of 49, so edge to Memphis there.
With all these factors under consideration, we are going to side with the Las Vegas books and pick Memphis to win back to back titles by doing very much what they did to Tampa Bay, striking quickly and early in this game to force Michigan to play from behind and abandon their balance for a heavy dose of passing. If Memphis can do that, they can again control the tempo of the game and Brett Favre can pick up yet another John Bassett Cup. We pick Memphis to win 31-21.
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