Philadelphia goes down in an upset no one saw coming. The Jacksonville Bulls, given an F in our midseason report card, must have gotten a bit testy over that, and they came out firing against the Stars. We also saw Nashville knock off Memphis in the Battle of the Volunteer State, Tampa Bay edge Ohio in Columbus, Seattle dismantle the Thunder to move over .500 for the first time all season, and Michigan routed Arizona, leading to the dismissal of Coach Fassel with 7 games left to play this season. A lot to talk about this week, so let’s get right to it with our game of the week, the showdown between the Bandits and Glory at Ohio Stadium.
TAMPA BAY 27 OHIO 21
A clash of the titans as the Bandits head to Columbus to face the Ohio Glory. Tampa Bay has been one of the biggest surprises in the league this season as Coach Spurrier has his team playing nearly flawless football, while Ohio, picked by many as a runaway favorite for Summer Bowl 2008, struggled to a 2-2 start but have won 4 straight since then, boasting one of the most potent offenses in the game.
We expected some fireworks in this game, and we got some, but what we also got was a chess match of offensive and defensive strategies as both teams shifted and modified their game plans throughout the day. It looked early on like Tampa Bay might win this game walking away, but a furious comeback by Ohio made it a much closer affair by the final minutes.
The key for Tampa Bay was the big play, something Ohio had built their reputation on. This started on the very first play from scrimmage when Willis McGahee busted into the secondary and rattled off a 40-yard run to open the action. Three plays later it was Culpepper throwing his first of 3 touchdowns on the day, a short slant to Davone Bess, to put Tampa Bay up 7.
On their next drive, the Bandits would double up the advantage over Ohio when Daunte Culpepper connected with Chris Doering on a 24-yard post route to go up 14-0 just as the 2nd quarter began. Ohio had been thwarted in their first two drives, but they would get on the board with their third as Collins was able to move the ball thanks to 3 consecutive first down catches by TE Jermaine Wiggins, Randy Moss, and Santonio Holmes. A missed throw on 3rd and 7 meant Ohio would have to settle for 3, but at least they were on the board.
Tampa Bay finished out the first half with a short drive as time ran down, capped with a Nate Kaeding field goal to go into the half up 14 at 17-3. The first half had proven a frustrating one for Coach Luginbill and the Glory offense, as they were able to move the ball but third down woes (they would go 1 for 14 on the day) meant that drives kept fizzling before getting into scoring range. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay was mixing up the pass and the run and keeping the Ohio defense off balance. This would continue into the 2nd half, when Tampa Bay would try to shift more to the run to shorten the game, but Ohio would counter with more zone coverage and fewer blitzes.
The strategy was effective, as Tampa Bay did not find the success or the big plays of the first half in the third quarter. They would muster only 3 points on another Kaeding field goal. Unfortunately for Ohio, the Glory would be shut out in the third, again due mostly to struggles on third down, when Tampa Bay brought pressure and Kerry Collins was unable to connect with his primary receivers. So, after three, it was now a 17-point lead for the Bandits. It would get even worse just as the 4th began.
Tampa Bay ended the third quarter with yet another big play as Culpepper connected with Karl Williams on a 31-yard strike to get the ball down to the 18-yard line, the first big connection through the air since early in the 2nd. On the very next play, they would stretch their lead to 24 points as Culpepper again found Chris Doering, the unsung “possession” receiver who has broken out this year in the absence of Moss from the Bandits roster. Doering would score his second and Tampa Bay now held a commanding lead.
When Coach Luginbill settled for a field goal once again on Ohio’s next drive, they found themselves down by 21, and the partisan Glory crowd was visibly displeased. A quick 3-and-out got the Glory the ball back, and for the first time all game they hit on a pair of big plays to move down the field quickly, having already shifted to a hurry-up offense. The first was a 32 yard toss to the former Bandit, Moss, that fans believed to be a score, but replay showed that Moss had stepped out during his run down the sideline, so the ball was placed at the Tampa Bay 27 instead of scoring 6. Eddie George had his best run of the day on the next play, a 20-yard rumble through the defense that got the ball to the 7. Just 2 plays later, Collins threw a screen to George and he would take it in for 6. Now down 27-13, there was life in Ohio Stadium.
Ohio set up for an onside kick with just over 6 minutes left to play, and despite everyone in the stadium knowing it was coming, the ploy worked, with FS Mike Doss falling on the ball at midfield to give Ohio another possession. It would take them 5 plays to get 18 yards, down to the Tampa Bay 32, but only 1 play to get from there to the end zone, as Collins again looked to Randy Moss. A deep throw to the end zone asked Moss to go up high and pluck the ball out of the air in a spot neither Tampa Bay defender could reach, and Moss did exactly that, scoring on a play that was vintage Moss, something the Bandits had seen 100 times, but never with Moss as an opposing player.
Now down only 7, again Ohio would line up for an onside kick, but this time the Bandits would fall on the ball. Their goal now was to kill as much time as they could to reduce any chance of another Ohio possession. They had seen the Glory score 14 points in rapid succession, and did not want to take a risk at overtime with another Glory quick strike. Tampa Bay turned to the run game, alternating carries between McGahee and Toefield. After 3 plays it got them only 9 yards and, sitting at the Ohio 40, they had a choice, punt the ball deep or go for the 4th and 1 and a chance to extend their drive. They opted for the latter. Lining up in a pro formation, with both of their top halfbacks in the backfield. Tampa Bay ran down the clock until there were only 2 seconds left in the play clock, then snapped the ball, with McGahee plunging toward the line. The defense converged, but Culpepper had not put the ball into McGahee’s gut, he had pivoted and tossed the ball wide to Toefield. The ruse worked, Toefield only gained 2 yards on the play, but it was enough.
Tampa Bay would run 3 more plays, then line up for a punt to give Ohio the ball with only 27 seconds left. Matt Turk hit a perfect coffin corner kick and Ohio watched helplessly as the officials marked the ball on the 7-yard line to start a final drive with 24 seconds on the clock. Collins connected with Stephen Alexander on first down, but that forced them to use their final time out and got them only to the 15 yard line. On 2nd down Joey Galloway went for an out route but the ball was just outside forcing him to cross the sideline to make a catch. Third and 2 on the 15, and Collins was forced to scramble. He made the first down but was unable to get out of bounds. The clock ticked down as the Glory reset, and on 1st and 10 from the 18, the game ended when the clock clicked down to zero as Ohio scrambled to get into formation.
Tampa Bay had won a decisive game against one of the league’s elite clubs, proving that their unexpected season of success was no fluke. For Ohio, the loss was a tough one, dropping them a game behind both Chicago and Michigan in a a very competitive Central Division. For Randy Moss, a bittersweet reunion with many of his former teammates, and for us, a pretty good contest that looked like it might be a blowout, but ended up with quite a bit of drama.
NASHVILLE 21 MEMPHIS 16
Down three in the final quarter, Nashville got two field goals to take a 16-13 lead, and then, with time waning, a muffed kickoff return forces Memphis to take the ball on their own 1 yard line, and a holding call in the end zone gives Nashville a 5-point lead and the ball with one minute to play, essentially ending the game. A weird game all around, where Jay Cutler (20 of 31) had a better day than Brett Favre (13/28).
CHICAGO 17 CHARLOTTE 12
Not an easy road win for the Machine, but they get the job done thanks to 110 yards and a TD from HB Michael Turner. Chris Weinke was knocked out of the game with what appears to be a broken index finger on his throwing hand, bringing in former Thunder QB Henry Burris. It was a good day for LBs as Charlotte’s Andra Davis recorded 13 tackles and Brian Urlacher of Chicago equaled that total.
BOSTON 14 BALTIMORE 22
Not at all how Drew Bledsoe wanted his farewell tour to end. Bledsoe was knocked out of the game on the second snap of the first drive when Jared Allen essentially body slammed the immobile QB to the turf. The sack produced a shoulder injury that will require surgery, ending Bledsoe’s season and career on a very sour note. For Baltimore, Ron Dayne has another big day, with 147 yards and a score as the Blitz improve to 5-4 and send Boston to yet another division loss.
PHILADELPHIA 17 JACKSONVILLE 27
The shocker of the day, if not the year, as the seemingly inept Bulls muster up their best game of the year to send the Stars to their first loss of the season. Antowain Smith managed to do what few have, gain 100 yards rushing against the Stars, rushing for 108 and 2 scores, while the Jacksonville D made life difficult for Kurt Warner, picking him off, sacking him twice, and keeping him to only a 51% completion rate.
PORTLAND 17 LOS ANGELES 10
The Stags move above .500 with a solid win in LA despite another great game from LA linebacker Keith Rivers (10 tackles, 1 sack). LA had a 10-3 lead going into the 4th, but a Chris Perry TD run evened the score and with time running out A. J. Feeley found Andre Davis for the game winning score. Portland held on as LA tried a last second drive, but the Hail Mary went unanswered.
NEW JERSEY 7 DENVER 20
In something of a sleepy game, Denver gave up an early TD to Anthony Becht but then shut down the Generals and slowly built up their 13-point cushion. New Jersey held Mewelde Moore to only 30 yards rushing but a combined 192 yards from Peerless Price and Anquan Boldin was enough to propel the Denver Gold to victory and a key matchup with Houston next week.
LAS VEGAS 12 SEATTLE 28
Seattle earned their fifth consecutive win as Tony Banks was unable to generate a passing game for Las Vegas. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 132 but it was not enough to help Las Vegas keep pace with Byron Leftwich and the Seattle offense. Touchdowns by David Boston, Corey Dillon, Darren Sproles and Tony Jackson were more than enough for the Dragons to get the W.
ORLANDO 7 NEW ORLEANS 38
If not for the Philly-Jacksonville score, this would have been the shocker of the week as Orlando came out flat against a Breakers team that was fired up and playing its best game of the season. Matt Forte rushed for 93 yards and Eli Manning went 21 of 25 against the vaunted pass rush of the Renegades. Meanwhile the Breaker D limited Jacob Hester to only 35 yards rushing and held the Orlando passing game in check as they score a major win in blowout fashion.
BIRMINGHAM 17 WASHINGTON 37
Washington had no trouble with the Stallions this week, with Kordell Stewart throwing for 3 scores and Deuce McCallister rushing for 117 and a TD of his own. Dave Dickenson struggled to 16 of 39 passing against the Federal defense, and on Monday it was announced that Jason Campbell would get the week 10 start as pressure from ownership seems to have forced Coach Austin to reconsider his benching of the highly-paid Campbell.
ARIZONA 7 MICHIGAN 27
We have been reporting for a while now that Jim Fassel may not make it to the season finale, and this week that came to pass, as another embarrassing loss by the Wranglers led to ownership making the move this week, dropping Fassel and promoting DC Tom Olivadotti to the interim position. In the game Drew Brees threw for 2 scores and HB Justin Fargas had himself a 100-yard game on only 17 carries. Leon Washington, with only 10 carries, rushed for 72 yards and 2 scores against Arizona’s ineffective D.
ATLANTA 21 ST. LOUIS 24
A good game between two evenly matched teams at the bottom of the standings, as Jeff Blake, despite two more picks, rallied the Skyhawks to ten 4th quarter points and a win at home. Touchdowns to Bryant Johnson and rookie Jordy Nelson helped St. Louis pick up their 2nd win, while Tyler Thigpen again struggled for Atlanta.
TEXAS 6 HOUSTON 13
The Gamblers opted to keep the roof open against their in-state rivals and the effect seemed to be that the muggy and hot Houston afternoon drained both teams of any energy. We saw nothing but field goals until a late Sean Smith FB Dive gave Houston the win in the 4th. Joe Flacco was knocked out of the game for Texas, but should be fine to go next week.
OAKLAND 21 PITTSBURGH 11
Oakland sacked Cody Pickett 6 times, including a safety from LB Dan Morgan as the Invaders racked up win #8. The highlight of the game was a 73-yard TD from rookie DeShaun Jackson on a play where he made a tackler miss and then just outran the entire Mauler secondary. Alge Crumpler had a rare 100-yard day for Pittsburgh, but the Maulers simply could not find their way into the endzone, failing on a late 4th down play to try to draw closer. They drop to 3-6 with the home loss.
Drew Bledsoe’s Final Season Ends Early and on IR
We start our recap of Week 9’s big stories with a disappointing ending to what has been an outstanding career for QB Drew Bledsoe in Boston. The shoulder injury suffered in this week’s loss to Baltimore means that Bledsoe’s final season is ended after only 9 weeks, and not with a drive for a title as the team had hoped. The season had been a huge disappointment already, with Boston seemingly losing their focus and their ability to keep pace with division rivals. This week’s loss drops them to 3-6, and while it is too early for them to be mathematically eliminated, the odds do not look good for a comeback, especially now, with Bledsoe shuttered for the remaining 7 games. The Boston QB will undergo surgery in the next 2 weeks but is still expected to formalize the retirement he announced in the offseason.
For the Cannons, it is a sad end to what had been a very good run of success for Bledsoe and the team. They will now go with Adrian McPherson as the starter for the rest of the year, and start to focus on the future. If McPherson plays well, he may simply inherit the starting position for the Cannons, but if he struggles, then Boston will have to do something they have not done in many years, focus on the QB position in the offseason.
Orlando loses Calais Campbell for at least 2-4 Weeks.
The Renegade’s bad loss to New Orleans was double troubling, not just because they were unable to rattle Eli Manning, but because they lost their potential Rookie of the Year candidate, Calais Campbell for 4-6 weeks. Campbell’s broken wrist will need at least 4 weeks before he can play in a soft cast, but it is possible that he will be out for the remainder of the regular season, not something a team on the fringe of playoff contention wants to see. Sitting at 4-5, Orlando is now truly out of contention for the Division and will have to fight for a Wild Card, but they will likely do so without their superstar rookie defensive end, and that could spell trouble for a team whose offense has not been on pace with their defense all year.
Charlotte to Start Burris After Weinke Injured
Chris Weinke was the third significant injury this week. Charlotte reported on Monday that x-rays confirmed that he has indeed broken the index finger on his throwing hand after it glanced off the helmet of an oncoming rusher. Team doctors note that it is not a displaced bone, so it is possible that Weinke could return in as few as 2 weeks, depending on his adherence to their recovery plan. Henry Burris will start in place of the NFL transfer, and if he does well, the team is likely not to rush Weinke back. Unlike some other teams, the expansion Monarchs have the benefit of low expectations for the year, so there is little risk to delaying Weinke’s return if needed.
Arizona Gives the Pink Slip to Jim Fassel, Promotes Olivadotti to Interim
For a while now it has been a question of when, not if, Arizona fired head coach Jim Fassel. We now have the answer to that question. The embattled coach of the 1-8 Wranglers was relieved of his duties on Monday, a day after another game in which the team failed to prove competitive against their opponent. The 20-point loss at home, a home game in which a sea of paper-bags covered the heads of many fans in the stadium, proved too much for ownership. Fassel was let go and it was announced via press release that Tom Olivadotti, the defensive coordinator (for the 27th ranked defense in the league) would serve as interim head coach.
Fassel started his stint in Arizona very well, going 10-4 and taking the Wranglers to the Summer Bowl in 2004, but since then it has been a comedy of errors. After a 3-11 season in 2005, the Wranglers rebounded in 2006, but then fell to 2-12 last year, and seem to be on pace for another 10-loss season this year. Fassel’s handling of the Wrangler offense has been so problematic that star QB Jake Plummer has openly called for a trade. Whether or not the ownership will work to rebuild trust with their superstar or if they will work to trade him and start fresh with a new generation of players remains to be seen, but promoting the DC to the interim position is certainly not a move that is likely to make Plummer eager to stay in the desert.
As for Fassel, he leaves Arizona with a combined record of 26-39 after four and a half seasons.
Birmingham to Go Back to Campbell
We mentioned it in the game recap, but it was announced this week that Birmingham will once again start Jason Campbell at QB in Week 10. There appears to have been some pressure on Head Coach Kent Austin to make the switch back to Campbell after his experiment with CFL transfer Dave Dickenson has produced 3 straight losses. Campbell is a free agent after this season and it seems very unlikely that the Stallion organization will put much effort into resigning the Auburn product between now and the end of the regular season, so this is not a situation where ownership is trying to improve Campbell’s trade value. We are honestly not sure why there would be pressure to start the 4th year QB, except perhaps a sense that they are paying him far too much in his rookie deal to have him simply holding a clipboard.
We realize that in a 16-week season, starting the playoff scenario tracking in Week 9 seems a bit premature, but we got really used to a Week 9 launch during the 14-game seasons of recent years that we just felt it was time. Way too early for teams to be clinching, or eliminated, but it is still fun to see where the standings are right now.
No surprises at the top, where Philly, Tampa Bay, and Oakland all sit on 8-1 records, trailed by Michigan and Washington with 7-2 marks. The fun is at the bottom of the playoff pool, where .500 is still an option, at least in the East. Nashville currently occupies the 6th and final slot at 4-5, but they lead New Orleans and Orlando only by tiebreakers and those can shift easily week to week. In the West, 6-3 is the minimum mark to make the Top 6 right now, so teams at 5-4, which includes Las Vegas, Portland, and Seattle right now, are on the outside looking in.
Don’t expect any eliminations or berths to be won next week, but the mosh pits at 5-4 and 4-5 should continue to evolve as we move forward.
We don’t have to tell you what the big injury news of the week was, the Drew Bledsoe story has been all over sports media since it happened. But in the coverage of that story, there are a lot of other injuries that have gone largely unreported. Here is our list of the injuries most likely to impact this upcoming week and the weeks to come.
Charlotte HB Travis Prentice was placed on IR with a torn MCL.
Boston also lost guard Chuck Johnson for the year with an ACL injury.
Orlando safety Kevin Williams was also placed on IR with a shoulder injury.
Seattle will go the rest of the year without LB Godfrey Miles after he broke his wrist.
Baltimore placed safety David Trujillo on IR with a neck injury
Memphis tackle Anthony Clement is also on IR with an MCL tear.
Las Vegas has made it official, Steve McNair was added to IR after reevaluation of his abdomen.
Calais Campbell will not be placed on IR, and could return in 2-4 weeks.
Portland strong safety Terreal Bierria will miss at least 1 game after a high grade concussion.
Memphis safety Coy Wire has a lingering hamstring injury and will be out 1-2 weeks.
Arizona WR Dominic Hixon was diagnosed with a fracture in his Jaw, 1-2 weeks out of action.
NJ linebacker Bobby Howard broke his thumb and is doubtful for this week.
Michigan LB Shawne Merriman is also doubtful after an elbow injury last week.
Joe Horn could return this week, but is listed as questionable.
Joe Flacco is listed as probable after dealing with a hamstring injury.
Chris Weinke will miss this week and possibly one more after his broken finger.
NFL-USFL Agree to Modified Transfer Window
An announcement this week that the NFL and USFL have come to basic terms about a shift in their agreement regarding player and staff transfer. There are still some details to work out, but the most obvious adjustment is in the timing of both transfer windows, a shift that provides both leagues with a greater possibility of resigning their own players, at the expense of potential transfers and games played by transfers.
At present, the two transfer windows run from mid-August until mid-September and again from mid-January to mid-February. This falls during training camp for each league, bumping up against the start of the regular season for the NFL in September, but 2-3 weeks before the start of the USFL season in February. The new windows would likely be the month of September and the month of March, which means that both windows will occur during the opening weeks of each league’s regular season. Moving the windows means that each league will have between 6-8 weeks of open free agency at the end of their regular seasons to resign their own players, essentially limiting competition for talent to teams within the league whose season has just ended. It also means that any player signed from the rival league during the transfer window that matches the start of that league’s season will not be available for the first two to five games of the year.
This is a modification that is likely to have two significant impacts, the first being that teams in both leagues will essentially be limited in their cross-league free agent signings to players who have either gone unsigned by the rival league or who are holding out during the free agency period closest to the start of each league’s end of season. For example, by September, the only NFL players a USFL team could sign away from the fall league would be players who no NFL team signed during their offseason, cuts from NFL camps, and players holding out past training camp and into the regular season. The same would be true for the NFL in the March window. The second impact is that we are likely to continue to see transfers continue, perhaps intensifying, in two very different “flows of traffic”, with most USFL signings of NFL talent happening in March, and most NFL signings of USFL talent happening in September.
The impact of this second anticipated trend is that we will see USFL and NFL teams using their respective pre-seasons and the first few weeks of the regular season to assess gaps and talent deficiencies in their squads (which must be at 53 players by late August [NFL] or late February [USFL]. Teams would then be able to address deficiencies by signing talent from the other leagues during the opening weeks of their regular season, which, in turn, leads to either expansion of practice squad rosters or players who were on squads in weeks 1-4 of the regular season suddenly cast away by Week 5.
Not since the early years of the USFL, when, for example, Steve Young signed with the LA Express and joined the team mid-season, have we seen the type of mid-year signings that the new agreement is likely to produce. And while there are some who see this as an interesting twist which could lead teams with slow starts to significantly improve their rosters mid-season, for many this goes against the whole idea of building a roster in the offseason, going to camp to build cohesion, and then selecting a team before Week 1 to compete with. There have always been midseason signings and trades, but most often these are marginal signings, whereas now a team could bring in a bona fide superstar after 4 weeks of play and radically alter their fortunes.
How the NFLPA and USFLPA will react to the announced change is still to be determined. Neither players’ union has released a statement yet. We can expect that the new calendar will likely not be received well by either union for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the shift is expected to reduce the number of transfers between leagues, with many teams not wishing to disrupt their rosters once the regular season begins unless there is a dire need. That means less competition for players, and that very well could suppress salaries as well as options for players. Secondly, for players on the margins of each team’s roster (60 teams in total between the two leagues), any early-season signings also mean early-season cuts or reassignments, expanding the period when roster slots are in flux and players are unsure about their status. Players who may have survived training camp cuts can no longer feel secure in their roster positions, with the very real possibility of being reassigned to the practice squad (at a fraction of their active roster salaries) or cut altogether.
For now, we will have to await the details of the agreement, and the reaction of the two players’ unions. The new plan will not go into effect until August of 2010, so the upcoming offseason is not expected to be impacted, but just how the shift in transfer policy indirectly impacts 2009’s offseason remains to be seen. Will we see a flurry of activity ahead of the change or will it be a quieter than usual period? At this point, and with so few details fully fleshed out, it is hard to assess.
Week 10 Trade Deadline Moves
We have had a flurry of activity today, right at the trade deadline before the Week 10 schedule begins, far more than we see in most years. Some moves are due to the spate of IR-level injuries we have seen this month, but others simply appear to be teams on the margins of the playoff hunt hoping to add a key piece just in time to make a late run. In nearly every case we are seeing draft picks sent to teams at the bottom of the standings in order to bring a player to a contender, almost more of a baseball-style “buyers and sellers” strategy than what we usually see in either the NFL or USFL. Let’s quickly run down the moves that have happened today, as the window for trades closes.
Boston sends a 4th round pick this year to Memphis for backup Damon Huard.
This is a clear indication that the free agent pool of QB’s is viewed as largely depleted. Las Vegas had recently signed veteran Jeff George when Steve McNair went down, and Boston simply felt that there was no viable player in the free agent pool who could help back up Adrian McPherson for the rest of the season.
Orlando Boosts backfield
Orlando sends two picks, both 3rd rounders (theirs and one they had acquired from New Jersey) to Birmingham to obtain HB Marion Barber. Barber had been demoted from rotation with Felix Jones to a clear 2nd team position, while Orlando has struggled to get a solid run game going with rookie Jacob Hester and veteran Najeh Davenport. Expect Barber to again be part of a rotation as the Renegades try to balance their offense a bit more as they hope to make a run from 5-5 to a Wild Card berth.
Seattle sends DT Paul Grasmanis to Texas for LB Jamie Winborn.
This is a direct result of the Godfrey Miles injury. In Winborn the Dragons get a plug and play option to fill Miles’s spot, and in Grasmanis Texas finally has a 3rd DT to rotate in with Chris Hovan and Luis Castillo.
Knights Support Their Secondary
Nashville needs help in the secondary and they think they have gotten it by sending a 2nd round pick to the St. Louis Skyhawks to obtain CB Chidi Iwoma. Iwoma started all 9 games for St. Louis, has a pick and two forced fumbles on the year and will likely start off as the nickel back for the Knight’s 17th ranked pass defense.
Denver Builds on Strength
Denver hopes they have found a difference maker in the LB corps as they make a deal with the Maulers to bring LB Joe Odom to the Mile High city. Odom cost the Gold a 2nd and a 4th round pick in this year’s draft, but the hope is that he can both line up inside on run downs when Denver often adds a 4th LB, and play swing behind all three starters, used as needed to spell Barrett Rudd, Dat Nguyen, or Kendrell Bell. The Gold already have the 2nd rated scoring defense and the 4th rated overall defense, so adding strength to strength seems to be the goal here.
We continue our Mt. Rushmore Project with the two remaining 1984 expansion teams, the Maulers and the Bulls. Both clubs have had some success, with Pittsburgh garnering a league title in 1995 and Jacksonville often playing the bridesmaid role, good but never good enough to make the Summer Bowl. We start with the Maulers and one of the most prolific halfbacks ever to suit up in the spring.
PITTSBURGH MAULERS
No debate at all about who the GOAT for the Mauler franchise is. Mike Rozier came to the Maulers in their inaugural season, a huge signing for a new club in a new league, to land a Heisman Winner, the league’s 2nd in 2 years. The Nebraska star would remain an elite player at the pro level, named to 10 All-USFL teams and winning both the 1984 Rookie of the Year and a league MVP award in 1992. He retired in 1997 after 14 seasons with the Maulers and more than 19,000 yards rushing, a staggering number in any league.
The second name to emerge from the Mauler fan vote is also no surprise, the QB who led them to their lone league title, Alan Risher. Risher came to Pittsburgh after 2 solid seasons in Arizona. The unorthodox style of the former LSU star, combining the run with the pass while never really looking fluid with either, was always a topic of discussion in the Steel City, but it got Pittsburgh wins. Statistically up and down, Risher had his best season (3,339 yards and a 25-7 TD-INT ratio) in the championship year of 1985.
In third place for Mauler fans is another offensive weapon, though one would come to the Maulers after their pinnacle, arriving in 1998 and staying with the team for only 7 seasons before jumping to the NFL. Wideout Andre Rison made a huge impression, as often with his mouth as with his on field deeds. That is not to say that he was not outstanding on the field, leaving Pittsburgh with six 1,000 yard seasons in seven years. But, it was often the off-field antics and stunning soundbites that both kept him in the papers and helped endear him to Mauler fans.
Finally, the Maulers, long known for defense, do end up with a defender on their Mount Rushmore. The vote was close, since the Maulers always played something of a no-name defense, but in the end 14-year veteran LB Erik Kumerow got the votes needed to round out the mountain. Still holding the Mauler record with 141 tackles in 1989, Kumerow was a mainstay in the middle for Pittsburgh from 1988 through his retirement after the 2001 season. A 3-time All-USFL selection, Kumerow retired with 1,186 tackles, 35 sacks and 11 picks in his career.
JACKSONVILLE BULLS
The Bulls have been a competitive team, if something of a snake bit team, since coming into the league in 1984. With 12 winning seasons in 24 years, there certainly were a lot of high water marks for the Jacksonville squad, and within those years there have also been a lot of fan favorite players.
The top vote getter was one of those favorites, a player that Jacksonville fans lobbied into the Hall of Fame after several years falling short. Linebacker Vaughan Johnson finally got his yellow jacket in in 2005 on his 4th year of eligibility. It did not take him 4 votes to get into the Bulls’ version of Mount Rushmore as the 14-year Bull was the top vote getter by a pretty wide margin.
Jacksonville fans split their votes for the team’s best wide receiver, but both got enough votes that we have two wideouts joining the mountain for the Bulls. The first, by a narrow margin, is Gary Clark. Clark only played 6 seasons with the Bulls before cashing in with a lucrative NFL contract, but what a run it was. He burst onto the scene with the 1984 expansion Bulls and made an immediate impact, catching a stunning 137 passes for 1,711 yards and 10 touchdowns. Clark’s numbers were astounding, and he kept it up year after year. With 120 catches in ’85, 126 in ’86, and 114 in ’87, Clark helped rewrite the expectations for a #1 receiver, and his place on the Bulls Mount Rushmore is a fitting tribute to his success.
With Clark leaving for the NFL in 1990, the Bulls needed to find a new go-to target. The good news is they had already been grooming one since the 1988 draft, when they signed Brian Blades out of the U.. Blades Had two modest years (by his standards, averaging 60 catches in 1988 and 1989, but with Clark gone to the NFL, he seamlessly moved into the #1 spot and in 1990 he saw 151 targets and converted them into 76 receptions for 1,517 yards. He would do even better in future years. He may have never reached the reception numbers of Clark, but his yardage and TD production were on a par with any receiver in the league. He retired in 1999 with over 15,000 yards on 981 receptions and 96 touchdowns.
So, we have a bone-crushing linebacker and two elite receivers, what else does a team need? We know you want to say QB, but that is a bit of a sticky issue for Bulls fans. They love Doug Williams, but he only stayed in Jacksonville for 3 seasons before heading to the Outlaws. They have very mixed feelings about Chris Miller and Chris Chandler, because both had moments but both are also widely blamed for playoff defeats that kept the Bulls from finding Summer Bowl glory. So, what happened? No one QB could muster enough votes, allowing a bit of a darkhorse to slip in ahead of them all. That dark horse is kicker Pete Stoyanovich. Yup, another kicker. Admittedly, as kickers go, you won’t do much better than Stoyo’s 10-year run in Jacksonville. The Indiana product retired with every Bulls kicking record, all of which he still holds, and with over 250 career field goals and a 98.2% PAT conversion rate. Sure, some purists cringe at the thought of kickers on a team’s Mt. Rushmore, but in this case, we get what the fans were thinking.
Week 10 brings us a lot of divisional action, kicking off with the Bulls at Orlando on Friday Night. On Saturday we have a huge game on ESPN with the Gold and Gamblers facing off, but we also have LA at Las Vegas in what could be a make or break game for the Express. On Sunday, how about Baltimore at Philly at noon, Portland heading to Oakland at 4, and then cap it all off with a huge game in the Central Division as Chicago faces Ohio in Columbus.
FRIDAY @ 8pm Jacksonville (3-6) @ Orlando (4-5) NBC
SATURDAY @ 12pm Charlotte (3-6) @ Tampa Bay (8-1) ABC
SATURDAY @ 12pm Memphis (6-3) @ New Jersey (2-7) FOX
SATURDAY @ 12pm Atlanta (2-7) @ Birmingham (1-8) FOX
SATURDAY @ 4pm St. Louis (2-7) @ Seattle (5-4) ABC
SATURDAY @ 4pm Los Angeles (3-6) @ Las Vegas (5-4) FOX
SATURDAY @ 8pm Houston (6-3) @ Denver (6-3) ESPN
SUNDAY @ 12pm Baltimore (5-4) @ Philadelphia (8-1) ABC
SUNDAY @ 12pm Nashville (4-5) @ Washington (7-2) FOX
SUNDAY @ 12pm New Orleans (4-5) @ Boston (3-6) FOX
SUNDAY @ 4pm Arizona (1-8) @ Texas (2-7) ABC
SUNDAY @ 4pm Michigan (7-2) @ Pittsburgh (3-6) ABC
SUNDAY @ 4pm Portland (5-4) @ Oakland (8-1) FOX
SUNDAY @ 8pm Chicago (7-2) @ Ohio (6-3) ESPN