Another big week of divisional matchups from coast to coast. We had the Blitz and Stars in a dogfight in the Northeast, Jacksonville and Tampa fighting for first in the Southeast, Chicago on the road in Michigan in a Central Division clash, Seattle taking on Las Vegas in a battle of 1st place teams in the Pacific, Denver headed to Houston in the Southwest, and the Battle of Tennessee between the Showboats and Knights in the South. No division without drama, and few games without some as well. Hard to pick a game of the week, but the sheer ferocity of the game between the Blitz and the Stars made it our winner for the GOTW honors.
BALTIMORE 24 PHILADELPHIA 19
A game neither team could afford to lose as the Blitz and Stars are watching their early season hopes of a playoff run beginning to fade. Baltimore came into this one a disappointing 2-5, while Philadelphia was not much better at 3-3-1. The Stars were hoping the win would solidify them above .500, while the Blitz needed a W just to keep any slim hopes of a late run alive. In other words, two junkyard dogs fighting over the same bone.
Both teams would try to establish the run early, and both would have some success. With Ron Dayne getting some relief as Correll Buckhalter had his highest carry count of the season, while Ahman Green carried the ball 23 times of Philly’s 30 total carries. The early success of both attacks would allow Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner to find success with play action, a game plan both teams like to employ.
After a scoreless first quarter, Philadelphia opened the scoring in the second with a 40-yard Mike Nugent field goal. After a timely 3-and-out by the Stars’ defense, they would double their advantage with a second Nugent kick. But Baltimore was beginning to find their way, and on their next drive Kurt Warner connected with TE Daniel Graham on a nice 20-yard play, followed by a 13-yarder to their other TE, Antonio Gates, and very soon Buckhalter was diving over the pile to score the first points for the Blitz. Just over three minutes to play in the half and the Blitz held a narrow 1-point lead.
Philadelphia would respond in their 2-minute drill, moving the ball well and with good use of their timeouts, allowing them 3 shots at the end zone before they would have to kick a field goal. It took all three, but on 3rd and goal, Warner hit Steve Smith and the Stars went into the break up 13-7.
Baltimore would close the gap on their first drive of the 3rd quarter, adding a field goal to make it a 3-point deficit. But by the end of the third, Philly had added two more Nugent kicks and had what appeared to be a solid 19-10 lead. “Appeared” being the operative word here. Getting the ball back with just over 5 minutes to play, Baltimore again found a bit of offensive rhythm, and in 8 plays they had moved the ball from their own 20 down to the Philadelphia 1-yard line. One more over-the-top plunge from Buckhalter and it was a 2-point game at 19-17.
Baltimore would opt to kick the ball away with 3:04 left to play and all 3 timeouts. They would need a stop to get the ball back. They were helped on first down when Coach Harbaugh tried to outsmart the Blitz D. Calling a play-action pass, Harbaugh hoped to catch Coach Coughlin’s team napping, but the defense came up with solid coverage and the ball fell to the ground, stopping the clock with only 3 seconds gone. Baltimore would stuff Green on the 2nd down run, forcing Philadelphia to throw again on 3rd and 10. Once again the ball did not find its target and Baltimore had their 3-and-out with only 29 seconds off the clock.
The Blitz got the ball on their own 32 after the punt, and went to work. Big Ben connected with Darnerian McCants on first down for 11, then found Gates for 9 more, followed by a draw to Dayne for 5 and a time out. They would follow that first set of plays with 4 more passes and with just over 30 seconds to play, they were at the 3 yard line and it was Philadelphia panicking to use timeouts to preserve any time.
Now, we may never know for certain, but Philly’s defense on 1st and goal from the three seemed very nonchalant. Did they let Ron Dayne score so that they could get the ball back with some time left, or was it just a well-blocked play. Coach Harbaugh insisted he did not tell the defenders to let Dayne into the end zone, but on the field it looked a bit suspicious. If it was Harbaugh’s plan, it was not a good one. Baltimore went up by 5 with only 30 seconds left, and the Stars would need to go 75 yards downfield with only 1 time out left. Short story, they couldn’t, Baltimore took the W, and the fans in Philly would spend the evening questioning everything on local sports radio.
JACKSONVILLE 26 TAMPA BAY 10
The Bulls improve to 5-3 and take over 1st place by knocking Tampa Bay off in their own stadium. The Bulls’ D limited the Bandits to only 208 total yards and 1 TD, while Jake Delhomme connected with Jeb Putzier and Rashaun Woods to turn a 10-9 halftime deficit into a 16-point win. Both Woods and Boldin went over 125 yards receiving in a big day for the Bulls as they seek to unseat Tampa Bay as the division’s and the state’s best team.
CHICAGO 28 MICHIGAN 36
A bad season for Chicago got even worse as not only did their defense again give up over 30 points, but star DE Anthony Weaver is out for the year after injuring his hip and being taken off the field on the cart. With Weaver out, the Machine gave up 380 yards of offense, including 100 yards on the ground to Ladell Betts. Michigan got 4 TD passes from Drew Brees as well as the rebuilt Chicago secondary simply melted under the Panther onslaught. Chicago drops to 2-6, below St. Louis in the standings.
SEATTLE 19 LAS VEGAS 13
The Dragons knocked Steve McNair out of the game and picked off backup Henry Burris to take over 1st place in the Pacific. Byron Leftwich also left early with a concussion, but the Dragons held on and used a late defensive stand to secure the road win and move to 6-2.
DENVER 21 HOUSTON 24
A good game between two teams that know each other well. Matt Leinart connected on 2 TD passes, but Matt Hasselbeck did him one better, hitting Roy Williams for a 3rd TD pass late in the 4th to build up a 24-14 lead. Houston would give up a late TD, but it was too little for Denver to come back. Antonio Freeman had a huge game, catching 7 balls for 142 and a score as Houston secured a share of 1st place with the Wranglers.
ARIZONA 21 TEXAS 19
Arizona joins Houston at 5-3 after a tough road win against a plucky Texas defense. Jake Plummer was sacked 4 times, but the Wrangler run game had a good day, with the combo of Pritchett and Staley combining for 154 yards. For Texas, both Ike Hilliard and rookie Marques Colston gained over 100 yards receiving, but two Dilfer picks hurt the Outlaws’ upset bid.
NASHVILLE 33 MEMPHIS 27
Jon Kitna’s first start as a Showboat was pretty solid: 18 of 24 for 249 and a TD, but it was not enough as Frank Gore just ate up the Memphis defense, rushing for 146 and a score. Backup Leon Johnson added another score, and Bert Emmanuel scored twice as Nashville moved up to 4-4 after a rough start to the year. Memphis drops to 2-6 in what is appearing to be a lost season.
PITTSBURGH 13 ST. LOUIS 17
Speaking of lost seasons, Pittsburgh falls to expansion St. Louis for a second time as both teams, surprised us by swapping their QB’s at gametime. Coach Shell gave Luke McCown a chance to impress him, and he may have done that with 263 yards and 2 TD tosses, though he was sacked 9 times in a rude welcome to the game. Meanwhile, Coach Rivera benched Charlie Batch and started raw rookie Bruce Gradkowski. He looked like a rookie, completing only 15 of 35 throws for 114 yards. Kyle Vanden Bosch was the lone bright spot for Pittsburgh, landing 3 sacks of McNown as St. Louis’s O-line struggled to contain him.
OHIO 33 WASHINGTON 11
Washington continues to struggle as they give up 434 yards of offense against the 7-1 Glory, including 115 yards receiving for Eddie George and another 103 to Joey Galloway. Kordell Stewart also struggled, throwing 2 picks as the play action game was simply not an option once Ohio went up 26-8 by halftime.
ATLANTA 13 BIRMINGHAM 10
In one of the weirdest games we have seen in a long time, neither offense scored a TD in this one, but Atlanta got a safety and a blocked punt, returned for a score by LB Na’il Diggs, while Birmingham’s lone 7-pointer came from a Mike Rucker Sack-fumble-TD. Both offenses were horrendous, but Atlanta managed to do enough to edge the Stallions and send both teams to 4-4 on the season, a great feat for the Fire, but disappointing for the 1st place Stallions.
OAKLAND 27 BOSTON 38
Oakland was game or 3 quarters, down only 21-20, but in the 4th Drew Bledsoe connected with both Jerricho Cotchery and Chad Ochocinco (a 90 yarder) to build up a 15-point lead that the Invaders could not match. Tiki Barber’s 101 yards just barely edged Ricky Williams’s 91, in a good game for both backs, but Bledsoe’s 4 TDs helped the homestanding Cannons move to 6-2 and keep even with division-leading New Jersey.
NEW JERSEY 29 LOS ANGELES 16
The Generals flew to the West Coast and methodically outplayed the homestanding Express to earn their 6th win. Curtis Enis rushed for 113 yards, and James Jackson added another 93 as the Generals were happy to dominate the clock and the game on the ground. They finished with a 38-22 advantage in time of possession and a 13-point win.
ORLANDO 7 NEW ORLEANS 22
The Breakers continue to be the feel-good story of the season, moving to 5-3 and sitting atop the Central Division by winning their first “home” game in Portland. More than 41,000 showed up to root for the Breakers, though there was a noticeable mix of Thunder and new Stag swag in the stands. Eli Manning went 17 of 25 and connected with Cedric Tillman for a score, while David Green added 5 field goals as New Orleans had trouble against Orlando’s red zone D, but not as much as Orlando had trying to get any points on the board.
Both the Skyhawks and Maulers Bench QB’s Ahead of Divisional Clash
A weird situation in St. Louis as both teams were expected to start their regular starters, Charlie Batch for Pittsburgh, and Quincy Carter for St. Louis, but when the offenses took the field there were new players under center. The Maulers started untested rookie Brad Gradkowski, who started off missing his first 3 passes in a quick opening drive. When St. Louis came out onto the field, it was Luke McCown who started rather than Carter. As rough as Gradkowski’s start was, it was better than McCown’s, as the young QB threw a pick-six on his 2nd throw of the game, giving Pittsburgh an early 7-0 lead.
McCown would settle down and finished the game with better numbers than Gradkowski (20 of 32 for263 and 2 scores). Gradkowski certainly struggled, completing only 15 of 35 on the day, and thowing a pick himself, though not a pick six. When asked after the game why we did not see Carter or Batch, both coaches basically said the same cliches about the teams needing a spark and making a change at QB was the way to see if they could get one.
Based on the performance of both Gradkowski and McCown, we are not sure if the spark was there, or if both will return to the starting lineup next week. Starting out the year a horrendous 0-8, Pittsburgh may be on the cusp of a fire sale to rebuild their entire roster, and that could include seeking a new QB. St. Louis is still in the process of building a roster, and while 2 wins, both against the hapless Maulers, is a nice start, they will need to do more to secure better QB play in the future.
Chicago Woes Continue, Weaver Done For the Season
To say that 2006 has not panned out the way Chicago and their fans had hoped would be an understatement. The defense appears to be a shadow of the dominant squad that propelled the Machine to Summer Bowl 2005. The retirements and free agent defections from the secondary have been very apparent, and the dominant LB corps has simply been unable to compensate. Mired at 2-6 and now sitting in 4th place, behind expansion St. Louis due to a tiebreaker, Chicago had to be wondering if this was a lost season. Now, with one of their best defenders, DE Anthony Weaver diagnosed with a broken hip, and lost for the entire season, the calls for Chicago to focus on the future will be even stronger. So, what should they be looking to do over the next 6 weeks?
1. They should try to enhance their offensive production. Defense cannot do it all, so perhaps the rest of this year should be used to improve the 17th ranked scoring offense. What exactly that means is up for debate, but one idea may be to give young QB Kyle Orton some game time to see if he is ready to perhaps replace Jeff George next year.
2. Make deals to bring in some secondary help. Assuming Weaver can be back at 100% for the 2007 season, the impetus has to be on improving the secondary. CB’s Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden are just not getting the job done, and finding an impact safety should also be a top goal for the Machine.
3. Build on youth. Chicago has some good talent under 30 (TE Fasano, HB Turner, WR Lloyd, WR Driver, LB Polley, and LB Urlacher) but they also have some younger talent who just are not seeing time on the field. In addition to Kyle Orton, it would be beneficial to see just what players like Maurice Clarett, Andre Gurode, John Henderson, and Jimmy Williams can do.
New Orleans Wins Big in Portland
Yes, the win over the Renegades was important for the Breaker’s season, but the bigger win may have been off the field, where the reception by Portland has proven two things: That the nation is behind the Breakers and the city of New Orleans, and that Portland is more than ready to have USFL football back in the Rose City. More than 41,000 attended the game, and, as we reported earlier, we saw a wide range of Thunder, Stag, and yes, some Breaker gear sported by fans. The crowd was decidedly pro-Breaker, which is exactly what the club needs in their home for the rest of the season.
The atmosphere was great, with a buy in from Portland fans that far exceeded expectations. All of this is good news for the Breakers and the league, as, after 1 game, it seems that the right decision was made to uproot the Breakers from the Gulf Coast and transplant them to the Pacific Northwest for the majority of the season. Portland will have the Breakers in town the next two weeks, to face the Showboats and Bulls, and then one last huge game against Ohio in Week 12. Then will come the long gap between this season and the first Portland Stags game in 2008, let’s hope that time does not water down the enthusiasm of this city and their football-loving fans.
Is Rivera Headed for One and Done?
That is the question in Pittsburgh. Ron Rivera was brought in from Chicago to build a top tier defense. And while it is clear that his absence from the Machine has been part of the reason for their precipitous decline, his presence in the Steel City has not led to an equally rapid rise. The Maulers have yet to win a game, and times are getting desperate. Rivera’s defense has been respectable in some senses, 5th in the league in yards allowed, including a pass defense allowing fewer than 200 yards per game and a run defense in the top 12, but they are 20th in scoring defense, in part due to a lot of short fields caused by an inept offensive production.
Rivera has started making deals, trading away 2nd year WR Mike Williams to bring in another pass rusher, and benching Charlie Batch this week to see what Brad Gradkowski could offer. Neither seem like moves that will improve the situation this year, so the question is whether or not Rivera could survive a 0-win, or even a 1- or 2-win season to get a second year to build something. Pittsburgh ownership has been patient in the past, but it would be a major embarrassment to go winless this year. Having already fallen to the expansion Skyhawks twice has been bad enough for the Maulers, but to go 0-14 would be downright ugly. Pittsburgh has potentially winnable games in Week 10 (against Rivera’s old team, Chicago), and Week 14 (Washington, also on a steep decline), but is not likely to be favored in either home game, and every other game is against a likely playoff team. A winless year could be on the horizon, so what can Rivera do to ensure he gets a year 2 and a chance to build the roster he wants? We just don’t know.
Is Atlanta Really a Contender in Year One?
Fans in the Capital of the South are beginning to believe the answer is yes. Those around the league are not quite so fast to buy into the hype just yet. Yes, a 4-4 record at this point is quite an accomplishment for Coach Gruden and the Fire front office, and wins over Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Boston show that the Fire are not just getting lucky with a weak schedule. But here is the thing. They still have the 25th rated scoring offense, averaging only 15.8 points per game. They have not had a consistent passing game (172 yards per game), and their defense, while very good in yards allowed (2nd in the league) is not enough to assume they will be in the mix at season’s end. Four wins in eight tries is an amazing feat for an expansion club, and even an 8-8 record by July would be a major coup for an organization that replaces the earlier Fire club which almost always ended the year with 10 or more losses, but contender may just be a step too far.
The Anthony Weaver injury was certainly the headliner this week, another bad break for a team on the ropes, but his hip fracture was hardly the only major concern for the week. In Denver, another DE is out for the year as Ryan Denney’s issues have been revealed as a neck injury, including a bone chip that will have to be surgically removed. Denver will also be without backup HB Ahmaad Galloway, though the recent trade for Mewelde Moore helps soften that blow. Birmingham DT Ryan Sims’s groin issue is worse than originally thought and could require some ligament reattachment, keeping him out at least 6 weeks, while Boston’s promising young DE, Jason Babin, could miss as much as a month with a fracture in his jaw.
Others who will miss this week, and possibly at least one more, include Seattle WR David Boston and DE John Abraham. Jacksonville WR Javon Walker, Michigan safety Jim Leonhard, Philly guard Ruben Brown, Thunder DE Hugh Douglas, and Seattle QB Byron Leftwich, suffering from a pulled hamstring.
10 Greatest Season Performances in USFL History
We have been spending some time in our bullpen looking back and trying to decide which teams, which players, had seasons that stand the test of time. It is not hard to put together a pretty good list of outstanding performances, but ranking them is just fodder for unending debates. We did our best, and in the end we came up with our Top 10 for the best single seasons for either an individual or a team in the 24 years of USFL football (Yes, 2007 will mark the 25th season of the league, hard to imagine.) Here is our ranking. Feel free to debate this as well.
10) 2005: Frank Gore Wins Rushing Title as a Rookie
Other than the first season of the USFL, when technically everyone was a rookie, it is hard to find a season where a rookie took one of the main statistical categories by storm. It was not easy, as Gore jumped around the top 5 rushers all season long, but in the end, the newest Nashville Knight pulled it out, leading the league with 1,286 yards when all was said and done. The team that had made Ahman Green a 3-time rushing leader found an instant replacement when Green left for Philadelphia, and the combination of a strong run-based gameplan and an O-line that loves to run block helped the U. of Miami rookie have himself a very memorable Rookie of the Year season.
9) 1990: Tim Mazzetti Sets Scoring Mark for the Ages
Yes, a kicker makes this list. And of course it is the first (and only) kicker to be selected as a USFL Hall of Famer, the kicking bartender himself, Tim Mazzetti. In 1990 Mazzetti would set a record for total points that is the kicking equivalent of Bob Beaman setting the world record in the long jump by more than 2 feet. Mazzetti would connect on 38 of 38 extra points and 48 of 53 field goal attempts to finish the year with 182 total points. That is a nice number, but it really stands out when you realize that the 2nd highest total ever was only 159 (Norwood, 1989). Mazzetti, who would be the leading scorer in the USFL a whopping 5 times in 10 years had his best year in 1990, and one of the most prolific scoring years in pro football history.
8) 1991: Phil Hansen’s Ridiculous Rookie Year
We said earlier that it is very rare for a rookie to make a huge statistical (or game impact) splash in his first year. In part this is due to typical rookie growing pains, but in the USFL it is also due to the physical toll most players have when they transfer directly from a fall NCAA or NFL season to the spring USFL season, often with fewer than 2 months of rest between the two. That did not seem to affect North Dakota grad and New Jersey General rookie DE Phil Hansen as he declared his presence in the spring league with authority. We all know Hansen now as one of the great sack masters in pro football history, but in the spring of 1991 he was a modest kid from the Midwest just happy to be a pro football player. He earned the start in Week 1 of the season, and never looked back, terrorizing shocked opponents with his power and swim move, earning 23 sacks as a rookie, a league record at the time, and what we now know was just a first act in a long and now legendary career.
2004: Tampa Bay’s 8-Game Swing (from 4-10 to 12-2 in 1 season)
We are used to teams making significant improvements year to year, and, of course, others collapsing from one season to the next, but we have never seen a jump like the one the Tampa Bay Bandits pulled off between their 2003 season and the 2004 campaign. 2003’s squad was utterly forgettable. Finishing the year at 4-10, the Bandits struggled on both sides of the ball, a season of miscues and mismatches that led to the dismissal of former 49er George Seifert. What followed was a stunning offseason, one that not only saw the return of “The Ole’ Ball Coach”, Steve Spurrier, but the late signing of former NFL All-Pro QB Daunte Culpepper. The revitalized and reimagined Bandits would go on to mount a 12-2 campaign in 2004, blowing away all preseason predictions and returning the spirit of Bandit Ball that Spurrier had brought to Tampa Bay way back in 1983. It was a magical season, that ended one game short for Bandit fans, as the Bandits fell to New Jersey in the Eastern Conference Championship, but an 8-game swing, from 4-10 to 12-2 is a feat absolutely worth celebrating.
1992: Brett Favre’s Dynamite Debut
While not a rookie, Brett Favre in his second season in the league had a coming out party like few others. After a rookie season in which he sat behind Cliff Stoudt and threw only 5 pass attempts in mop up duty, Favre was handed the starting position for the 1992 season, and exploded onto the consciousness of the pro football world. In his first season starting in Birmingham Favre would throw for 5,169 yards and 47 touchdowns. Averaging over 320 yards per game, and helping the Stallions to a 10-6 season, Favre was electric. Birmingham would fall to Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round, but Favre-mania was in full effect in the deep south, a craze that would come to its height the next season when Favre and the Stallions ran up a 14-2 record and took home the franchise’s first (and only) league title. Favre would go on to throw for 58,663 yards and 498 TDs in the USFL before signing with the NFL Jets, and while he had many amazing seasons, that first year will always be remembered as the moment he took the world by storm.
1999: Chris Dishman’s Sack Record
After years being considered the 2nd or 3rd best end in the league, behind Reggie White and Phil Hansen, Chris Doleman won the sack title in 1998, just edging Hansen with a league record 25 sacks. The next year, in 1999 he would blow his own record away, landing 29 sacks in 16 games, a mark yet to be broken. Doleman would retire in 2002, but not before winning a title with Orlando in 2001 and not before racking up 198 career sacks. But, despite reaching 20 sacks 4 times in his long and illustrious career, his 29 sacks in 1999 remain the high water mark that every defensive end and blitzing linebacker sees as the unachievable goal.
1998: Troy Aikman’s Monster Year
The USFL has always been a QB-driven league, from the early days of Reaves, Fusina and Kelly, to today’s game of Collins, Bledsoe, and Culpepper, but no quarterback has ever had a more profoundly awe-inspiring season than Troy Aikman in 1998. Not only did Aikman lead the Bandits to their first league title since 1983, but he did it with numbers that simply defied explanation. In the 1998 seaosn, Aikman threw for 5,675 yards and 54 touchdowns, shattering the previous records of 5,417 (Kelly 1996) and Favre (48, 1997). In what was an incredible year for passers, with Brett Favre and Ryan Leaf both going over 5,000 yards, Aikman was at the top of his game and at the top of league recordbooks, where he still remains.
1983: Herschel Walker’s Debut Season
The 1983 season was an experiment, and the mad scientists of the USFL found their magic elixir in Herschel Walker. Not only was the signing of the nation’s best college footballer a headline grabber and a seat-filler, it was a sign that the USFL would not be content to serve as a feeder league to the NFL, but would go after top talent wherever it could find it. Walker came to the Generals after only 2 seasons at Georgia, in what was a very controversial signing. His contract blew the original league plan of 1.3 million per team for salaries out of the water, but what it also did was provide instant attention to the league, eyeballs on screens and butts in seats. The unparalleled star of the 1983 season, before other teams started to add big name rookies and NFL signings, Walker had the weight of the entire league on his shoulders. What did he do with that? Nothing less than set a rushing standard that has stood to this day. Walker rushed for 1,767 in his first season, a mark neither he nor any other USFL back has been able to match in nearly 25 years. In doing so, he helped put the USFL on the map as a serious league with serious talent. It is safe to say that without Walker’s huge rookie year, the league may not be anything like we see today.
1986: Eric Truvillion’s Brush with 2,000 Yards
No shock that Eric Truvillion is on our list. The Bandit speedster has the top 3 passing yardage totals in league history, and still holds the record for receiving TDs with 25 in a single season. It is debatable whether his best year was his 25-TD 1985 season or a year later when he set the yardage record. In 1985 he had 1944 yards, a stunning total in a 16-game season, but a year later he would top it, coming as close as anyone ever has to a 2,000-yard receiving season, gaining 1,959 yards with the Bandits. The fact that Truvillion retired with three 1,900-yard seasons, when no other player has ever reached that number, is truly astonishing. We probably should not highlight only one year, but 1986 was the record-setter, so we pick that one as the high water mark.
2002: Ohio’s Undefeated Season
Football is a team sport, so it should be no shock that the top honor goes to a team achievement, and what achievement could be more worthy of the top spot than the league’s only perfect season. The 2002 Ohio Glory obliterated their opposition on their way to a 14-0 regular season, then knocked off Chicago and New Jersey before blowing out the Memphis showboats in Summer Bowl 2002. The 38-14 score still the record for the largest margin of victory ever in a USFL title game. Ohio was simply dominant in 2002. In that magical season Kerry Collins won the QB trifecta (in addition to MVP and League Champ), leading the league in passing yards (4,361), touchdowns (39) and QB Rating (136.6). Eddie George finished third in the league with 1,155 yards, but also caught 34 balls for 878 yards, giving him a stunning 2,033 all purpose yards. Joey Galloway led all receivers with 1,393 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. The Glory would score 455 points as a team that year, but give up only 297, a difference of 158 points, one of the biggest margins for a season in USFL history. But, of course, more importantly, they went through the entire season without a single defeat or tie. Sixteen games, sixteen wins. Only the 1972 Dolphins can equal that with their own unbeaten season.
We look ahead to Week 9 and the matchups that could kick off the playoff push over the final weeks of the season. As we have seen each week this year, the new offset schedule that combines divisional games with interdivisional and interconference play each week has assured us that each and every week we have some rivalry games and some games with immediate impact on the standings. That is certainly the case in Week 9 as well.
We start with a clash in the Northeast, where the Philadelphia Stars hope to regain .500 with a win, but host a tough Boston Cannons squad in a divisional matchup. Just up the turnpike in East Rutherford, the Generals, sitting at 6-2, hope that the Federals (2-6) continue to struggle as a divisional win certainly helps New Jersey’s case. In the Southeast we have an intriguing matchup, and a real test for the Atlanta Fire, as they host first place Tampa Bay. Some of the other divisional games this week appear to be a bit more lopsided as 7-1 Ohio is expected to simply demolish 0-8 Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. In what may be a more even matchup than Machine fans would like to admit, the 2-6 Skyhawks come up from St. Louis to face the Machine, who are also 2-6. In the South, Memphis will start Jon Kitna against the Breakers in the 2nd week of Portland football this year. And back in the Southeast, Jacksonville is at home, a game behind Tampa Bay, and facing rival Orlando.
Some fun matchups across divisions as well, with Oakland headed to Glendale to face the Wranglers in what could be the first Wrangler game this year with the roof closed on their newfangled retractable roof stadium. Houston has an intriguing matchup against Las Vegas in the desert, and Birmingham is up in Michigan, hoping they can pull out a win and regain the Southern Division lead. Another 4-4 team, Nashville, is in LA to face the 5-3 Express, while Denver, also sitting at 4-4, is at 6-2 Seattle, a tough matchup if they want to get over the hump.
Finally we have Texas at Baltimore, a game between two teams still trying to find the winning formula in tough divisions.