Thirteen weeks in the books, only 3 left to play and we still have no teams clinched in the playoffs yet. That is the sign of a league with significant parity among its clubs. The Stars had a shot, but were upended by a feisty Generals team on Sunday night. Oakland also fell in a shocker, and Denver jumps into the lead to land the top seed in the west. Houston remains white hot with a big win at home and Michigan continues to falter with Brian Griese out, dropping a game in St. Louis that would have been unthinkable earlier this season. A big week of games that seem to have locked up absolutely nothing, but which may well give us a sense of who is peaking at the right time.
BALTIMORE BLITZ 26 ARIZONA WRANGLERS 23 OVERTIME
Perhaps not the most enticing matchup initially, with two teams that do not face each other often, but the game between these two founding franchises turned out to be a real gem this weekend. Arizona, sitting at 5-7 was right on the edge of playoff elimination, playing for their season, while Baltimore also had an air of desperation as they try to adjust to the loss of Ben Roethlisberger and still find a way to make the playoffs. They have done fairly well so far with backup Mike McMahon, and, sitting at 7-5, they are in a position to earn a Wild Card as the standings lie today. They helped that cause with a gutsy performance in Arizona against a very game Wrangler squad.
As is often the case with overtime games, this one was a back-and-forth affair, with momentum changing from drive to drive. The game began slowly, with the two unfamiliar foes testing out strategies to see what was effective. Arizona focused early on crowding the line to limit the effectiveness of Ron Dayne, while the Blitz played with 2 deep safeties to ensure that Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant could not break a deep route open. Both strategies worked very well in the early going. The only score of the first quarter was a Martin Grammatica field goal for the Blitz, a 42-yarder to get on the board.
The 2nd quarter began with Arizona’s first successful drive, one spearheaded by LaDainian Tomlinson and the run game. Tomlinson broke a 17-yard run that put Arizona into field goal range, but they fund success dumping the ball short, with passes to Tomlinson, Gronkowski, and FB LeRon McClain. Once inside the 10, David Carr found Antonio Bryant on a rub route that freed him up over the middle for the score.
Baltimore responded with a long drive of their own, powered by Ron Dayne, despite stacked coverages. The Blitz effectively used shifts and motion to move linebackers and create lanes for their big back, and with several runs over 6 yards, the Blitz moved the ball efficiently into Arizona territory. From their, Mike McMahon used a fake to Dayne and a bootleg to find Tory Holt on a crossing route and connected for the Blitz’s first touchdown.
The two clubs would then exchange field goals, leading to a 13-10 Baltimore lead at the half. Along the way, the Blitz started to demonstrate just how effective their run game could be even against stacked defenses. Dayne would have 61 yards in the first half, mostly in the 2nd quarter, on his way to a total of 141 and 29 carries for the game. Arizona also found its primary weapons, with Tomlinson finishing the game with 89 yards on the ground, Larry Fitzgerald with 105 through the air, and both Bryant (7 catches) and Gronkowski (5), seeing a lot of action.
The second half opened with another long Baltimore drive, this time with McMahon using screens and short routes to Antonio Gates and Darius Heyward-Bey to keep the chains moving. The drive ended with an Antonio Pittman TD run, one of only 6 touches on a day dominated by Ron Dayne in the Blitz offense.
Arizona responded 3 minutes later with a couple of quick completions to the wideouts that got them in range for Nick Folk’s second kick of the day. The quarter left Arizona down 7 after three periods. They would remove that difference on their first drive of the 4th quarter. Following a brilliant one-handed catch by Larry Fitzgerald, that turned a 3rd and 12 into a 38-yard gain, LT scampered into the endzone on a pitch play to level the score at 20 apiece.
At the 9-minute mark Baltimore would once again take the lead, as Grammatica gave them a 3-point advantage. Arizona would falter on its next drive, and Baltimore would try to go into a 4-minute offense, but a holding call turned a 3rd and 4 into a 3rd and 14, and that was too much to ask of McMahon, forcing the Blitz punt and giving Arizona the ball with 1:22 left to play.
The Wranglers have been watching David Carr’s confidence build over the course of the season, and on the game-tying drive, he once again stepped up. He connected with Gronkowski for a 12-yard catch on a 3rd and 8, then Kassim Osgood for 9 on another 3rd down, keeping the drive alive while also managing the clock well. When a 3rd and 5 play turned into a failed shot into the endzone, the Wranglers sent out Nick Folk to send the game to overtime. Folk’s 41-yarder was good and both teams prepared for some extra football.
Arizona won the toss, but on their opening drive, a missed block on 3rd and 4 led David Carr taking his 3rd sack of the day and forcing the Wranglers to punt. Mike McMahon had also had to deal with pressure, enduring 5 sacks over the course of the day, but none in overtime as the Blitz returned to a methodical gameplan based on Ron Dayne runs and short, quick release routes. The strategy was effective against a tired Wrangler defense, and helped set up a 41-yard kick for Grammatica. After using 3rd down to set the ball on the left hashmark, Grammatica came out and secured the win for the visiting Blitz.
The final score of 23-20 Baltimore meant that Arizona was now clinging to only the slimmest playoff hopes, with one more loss meaning they would be out of the playoff hunt, but that the Blitz were very much alive, not only in the thick of a Wild Card race, but still in range for a late run at the NE Division.
SEATTLE 17 PORTLAND 41
The fifth ever Cascade Clash between the Stags and Dragons goes decidedly Portland’s way as they pour it on against a Seattle team that does not at all look ready for a late run. Portland outgains Seattle 437-254, thanks in large part to POTW Jonathan Stewart’s 124 yards and 2 TDs. Add in 258 and 2 scores from oft-criticized QB A. J. Feeley and Portland gets an easy win, staying in the Wild Card hunt at 6-7 and removing Seattle from any playoff consideration at 4-9.
TAMPA BAY 9 NASHVILLE 16
Defense and Frank Gore led the Nashville Knights to a key home win as they limited Rhett Bomar and the hobbled Bandit offense to three field goals and only 182 total yards. Gore rushed for the game’s only touchdown, and added 114 yards as Nashville was more than happy to grind out a win and move back over .500, still with their eyes on the Southern Division title.
CHARLOTTE 17 JACKSONVILLE 24
Did we write Jacksonville off too early. Since Tim Tebow took over the offense, the Bulls have been clawing their way back into contention, now sitting at 6-7 after a home win over the Monarchs. Tebow only threw for 168, but he had 3 touchdown tosses on the day, and, paired with a solid defensive outing against Chris Weinke and the fading Monarchs, that was enough to get the Bulls the win.
NEW ORLEANS 24 BOSTON 25
Boston throws a wrench into New Orleans’s division title hopes, pulling out a 1-point win at Alumni Stadium. It came down to a final drive, and Boston got the plays it needed to set up Stephen Haushka for the winning kick with 23 seconds to play. Eli Manning threw 3 TDs in the game, but it was his 2 picks that were the biggest issue, while Adrian McPherson kept looking to Chad Johnson and the Boston star came through with 5 catches for 143 yards, an whopping 28.6 YPC average.
CHICAGO 23 DENVER 31
Denver just keeps impressing as Matt Leinart throws for 335 yards and 4 scores against a Chicago secondary that just is not holding up. Chicago’s Michael Turner rushed for 110, but that was not enough as Denver got 102 yards each from both Peerless Price and Dez White to simply overwhelm the Machine. Chicago drops to 8-5, while Denver retains its lead for the #1 seed in the West, a seed that would force all comers to visit the Mile High City to reach the Summer Bowl.
WASHINGTON 14 TEXAS 34
Perhaps Texas’s most impressive win of the season as the Outlaws are creating more and more believers with good play down the stretch. Joe Flacco completed 20 of 26 with 3 touchdowns while T. J. Duckett added 129 and a score on the ground for an impressive offensive outing. The D also did their part, holding Washington’s Deuce McCallister to only 42 yards rushing.
PITTSBURGH 24 OHIO 24 OVERTIME
A wild finish to regulation leaves both teams exhausted and unable to secure the win in overtime. Ohio got a TD from Anderson to rookie Aurelious Benn to take a 24-21 lead with just 44 seconds left, but Pittsburgh gets down the field in 3 plays and sets up kicker Ryan Succop for a game tying kick as the clock wound down to zeroes. But, in overtime neither team could muster a drive, with both Succop and Ohio’s Brown missing on long field goal attempts to end this game as a tie, one which hurts Pittsburgh more than Ohio, to be sure.
OAKLAND 20 MEMPHIS 27
Memphis knocks Bob Volek out of the game and edges the visiting Invaders on a solid day for both offense and defense. Three sacks and two picks were the highlights for the Showboat defense, while the offense got scores from Robert Ferguson and Cadillac Williams to edge the Invaders and make some fans in Denver. Memphis is still quite a way outside the playoff hunt, but this was a good sign that they are not giving up hope just yet.
MICHIGAN 24 ST. LOUIS 31
The Panthers had held an 8-1 all-time record against St. Louis, but this is a Panther squad that is reeling and struggling to find offense. They did better than in recent weeks, putting up 24 points but only 191 total yards. Meanwhile, Josh Freeman and Antowain Smith both had solid games and the Skyhawks get the win on a late Smith run to equal their highest win total of any season (4), with 3 more games to try to reach 5 wins for the first time in franchise history.
ORLANDO 19 ATLANTA 24
The Fire are getting hot at the right time (pun intended), as they again knock off a division rival and secure their spot as the top team in the Southeast Division. The Fire were outgained by Orlando, but got a late TD catch from star receiver Josh Reed (125 yards on the day) and held off a late Orlando rally to earn the win. Darren McFadden was also instrumental with 192 yards rushing as Atlanta moves to 8-5.
BIRMINGHAM 15 LOS ANGELES 25
With Kyle Boller back under center for an injured Anthony Wright, Birmingham continued to struggle on offense. The defense held for a half, but in the second half Mark Sanchez connected on 3 TD passes, including 2 to TE L. J. Smith as LA prevails and moves to 4-9, still eliminated from postseason play, but a win that they hope to build on.
LAS VEGAS 20 HOUSTON 23
A better performance from a Las Vegas offense still struggling without Marshawn Lynch, but not enough as Houston uses a pick-six from Patrick Chung and TDs from Keviin Faulk and Roy Williams to eke out a home win and stay in the Wild Card hunt. Las Vegas has now dropped 4 of 5 after a 6-2 start and could find themselves outside looking in unless they find some answers.
PHILADELPHIA 20 NEW JERSEY 23 OVERTIME
An impressive win for New Jersey as all phases of the game help each other out against a Star squad that now drops its 2nd in a row. New Jersey got 3 TDs and 297 yards from QB Sam Bradford, but also got 4 sacks and a pick against Kurt Warner as the defense came up big on several occasions. New Jersey also held Steve Slaton to only 36 yards rushing as they stifled the Philadelphia offense all game long. The win moves New Jersey to 7-6, and well within range for an unexpected Wild Card run.
CHUTES & LADDERS
That is the way to describe the rising and falling fortunes of teams across the USFL. As the league moves into its final weeks, there are teams ascending and challenging at all levels and others who are losing steam and opportunities as they head down the stretch. Here is our look at teams that are dropping (chutes) and those climbing (ladders) as the season heads towards its conclusion.
CHUTE—LAS VEGAS
Injuries to Marshawn Lynch, and now Jake Plummer, have made life tough for the Thunder over the past few weeks. The Thunder have dropped 3 in a row and 4 of 5, which is not how you want to end the year. There is hope that with Faulk possibly back in action this week the Thunder can get back to their early season form, but if Plummer is out, that will be a major setback.
LADDER—HOUSTON
No doubt about this one Win seven games in a row and you are going to be considered a hot team. The offense has really come along, and now sits as the 3rd best (#1 in yards per game), thanks in large part to balance between the run and the past. The defense has not been top grade, but that pass rush is still a threat and if Houston can play with a lead, that is all they need.
CHUTE—TAMPA BAY
The injury to Daunte Culpepper has been a killer. After a 5-game win streak put them atop the South, two straight losses have dropped them back behind Atlanta. Tampa has tough games against Chicago and Michigan before finishing up with Charlotte. They really need to win 2 of 3, maybe all 3 if they want to win the division.
LADDER—ATLANTA
Where Tampa has stumbled, Atlanta has caught fire. Winners of 5 of their last 6, the Fire now control their own destiny at 8-5. They do not face a team with a winning record the rest of the way, and 3 more wins guarantees them their first ever division title, and a likely bye week to rest.
CHUTE—WASHINGTON
After a 6-2 first half, Washington has lost 4 of the last 5, including 2 division losses. They are still in it at 7-6, but need to focus in their final 3 games. They have 2 divisional games left and both Baltimore and New Jersey will give them a fight, because both are also aiming for a playoff spot.
LADDER—BALTIMORE
We mentioned the Blitz being a key game for the Feds, well it is true in reverse as well. Even with the recent injury to Ben Roethlisberger, the Blitz have won 5 of the last 6 games. They have New Jersey next week, then the Feds and finish up at Denver, a tough game to end the year on, so they will want to max out their effort for the two divisional games and hope that Week 16 is not the difference maker for them.
CHUTE—MICHIGAN
After losing Brian Griese for the season, the Panthers have struggled to put together a complete game. They managed to upset Chicago and looked good against Ohio, but back to back losses to Pittsburgh and St. Louis have fans worried, and with good reason. Michigan has three inter-divisional games to end the year, so they cannot really help their own cause by knocking others down, only by winning as many of the games as they can.
LADDER—JACKSONVILLE
At 3-6 we had pretty much written off the Bulls, but they have won 3 of 4 and now sit at 6-7, which is in range if they can keep the momentum going. It won’t be easy with a final 3 of the Breakers, Knights, and Fire. They will need to sweep those three to really have any chance, but it is at least a chance, something we did not see as possible not long ago.
CHUTE—PHILADELPHIA
At 9-2 the Stars looked well on their way to an easy #1 seed, but back-to-back losses at New Jersey and at Texas means they are pulled back to the pack. We still think they are a force to reckon with, but they need to find their winning ways as they face Boston and New Jersey again before finishing the year with a tough game at the Orlando Renegades.
LADDER—TEXAS
Winners of three in a row, including impressive wins over both Philly and Washington, the Outlaws look like a team that has found their path. They have three divisional games to end the year, starting with a huge road game in Houston before facing Denver at the Alamodome and ending the year with the Wranglers in Glendale. If Texas can win all three, they could lock up a Wild Card and possibly the first home playoff game in San Antonio in over a decade.
Three weeks left to play, and all 12 playoff spots remain open. The difference between 1st and 7th in the East is 2 games, with Philadelphia’s 9-4 still within range for 7th and 8th seeds NJ and Boston. In the west, It is at 3 games, with Denver at 10-3 and Las Vegas at 7th with a 7-6 record. We did see some more teams added to the “eliminated category however, as it would take no worse than a 4-9 record and some tiebreaker advantages for a team to have any shot at all in the east (5-8 in the West). That meant that after crunching tiebreaker numbers LA, St. Louis, Seattle, and Charlotte joined Ohio and Birmingham on the outside looking in. Arizona is barely alive at 5-8 as is Memphis.
Looking at the week ahead, there are several games that could either lock up a playoff berth or end an outside hope. Philadelphia and Boston is one of these games, with a Stars win locking up at least a Wild Card and eliminating Boston, but a Cannon win could create some turmoil. Nashville can knock off Memphis and also put themselves in a great position, or, again, chaos. Baltimore-New Jersey and Washington-Arizona could also be huge this week as some of teams on the fringe just cannot afford to lose any more games down the stretch.
With only 3 weeks left in the regular season (7 with playoffs) a lot of injuries that would not put a player on IR earlier in the spring are now capable of ending a season. That is the case for LA cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, whose ACL sprain means his season is finished. The same for Birmingham WR Julian Edelman, whose quad injury means at least a month lost.
On the flip side, there are still several players who hope to be a week away from returning to action, just in time for a furious finish. Still out this week, but close tor returning we have Oakland QB Joey Harrington, Boston WR Joe Jurevicious, Tampa guard Steve Hutchinson, Arizona LB Lance Briggs, and Baltimore QB Ben Roethlisberger. One step closer, now listed as Doubtful or Questionable but able to practice at least in some team activities we have New Orleans WR Santana Moss, Memphis DE Marcellus Wiley, Jacksonville LB Lavar Arrington, Tampa QB Daunte Culpepper, and Texas CB Michael Boulware.
Las Vegas QB Jake Plummer is still in the league’s concussion program, so he is listed as questionable this week, though many in the Thunder camp expect he will play. Others who could see action this week include Memphis CB Tyrone Bell, Orlando TE Ben Watson, Nashville guard Max Jean-Gilles, and, very likely, Las Vegas HB Marshawn Lynch.
Could Marvin Lewis be in trouble in Seattle.
This season has not gone the way the Dragons had hoped. Dropping to 4-9 and out of playoff contention means that Seattle had dropped each year since a 2007 season that saw them at 13-1, a nearly perfect season. Since that season, one in which the Dragons had the best record in the league only to lose their opening playoff game, Seattle has seen their win total drop to 10 in 2008, 7 in 2009, and now only 4 with 3 games left, meaning 7-9 is the best possible outcome. So, with this kind of record, how secure can Marvin Lewis’s situation be?
Lewis took Seattle to a miraculous title in 2005, when they finished the regular season at 6-8, snuck into the #6 seed and then proceeded to win 3 straight road games before an upset victory in Summer Bowl 2005 over Chicago. But that was 5 years ago, and the dominant narrative since then has been one of slow starts and panicked runs late. Last year their late run was 1 game short, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002. This year no rally appears likely, and the Dragons were eliminated from playoff consideration this week. So, what is the verdict? Well, this is a coach who helped the Dragons reach the playoffs for 6 straight years, so do you jettison a coach because he cannot do it every year?
He has a title for the Dragons, and the club still has some big-name talent. But that talent is getting a little long in the tooth. Is it time for a reboot before the Dragons hit rock bottom? Sometimes that can be achieved as a team starts to slip, other times it takes hitting a lowpoint, a bottom 5 finish, to get the ball rolling on a complete roster overhaul. When that happens, we almost always see a coaching change. So, for Lewis, the question is whether the Dragons still see hope for the future, and will rebuild with Lewis, or if this year is showing that the magic is gone and a fresh start is needed.
Baltimore Gets the Blues
We had a feeling that Adidas would not get through the first round of uniform revisions without trying to have at least one statement look. So far, the revisions to Birmingham, Nashville, and Philadelphia have had some new features but have been generally quite conservative in their revisions. Not the case for the Baltimore Blitz, as Adidas convinces the Blitz to remove a major component of their look, an entire color.
The new Blitz looks were revealed this week and it is all about the blues. Adidas has removed red entirely from the Blitz look, apparently a move designed to both call back to the old Baltimore Colts, but also to distinguish Baltimore from several other Red-White-and-Blue teams, like New Jersey or Ohio. The new look includes a royal blue helmet for the first time in team history, moving away from nearly 30 years of silver helmets for the club. The logos remain the same, but are now depicted entirely in blue, silver, and white.
The uniforms are also much simplified, You have a royal blue helmet with a single metallic silver stripe, blue jerseys with white sleeves and silver shoulder stripes, white jerseys with blue shoulder stripes over grey/silver sleeves. There is a new blockier number font, and three pant sets with simply striping. The silver set has a single blue stripe, the blue set has a silver stripe, and the white set has a silver stripe with blue outline stripes. It is a very traditional look, almost reminiscent of the 1960s, but at the same time it is a radical departure for a club that began their existence with red as the dominant color.
With only 3 weeks left to the season, there are so many matchups which can mean so much as teams push for those postseason berths. The weekend opens with a good one in Tampa Bay, where the Bandits find themselves a game behind Atlanta and facing a very tough Chicago Machine club. On Saturday we have New Orleans and Jacksonville facing off, with both hovering right around .500. Washington heads out to Arizona, where the 5-8 Wranglers need a win to stay alive.
Oakland faces off with the Gold in Denver on Saturday night in a game that could well decide home field advantage in the West. On Sunday the Stars hope to clinch a playoff spot, and a win in Boston would go a long way to make that happen. Surprising New Jersey has a chance to make some noise as they visit 8-5 Baltimore, while Texas and Houston clash at NRG Stadium with the SW Division still in play. The weekend wraps up with a battle for Tennessee as the Knights hope to stay atop the Southern Division but will have to get past Memphis to do it.
FRIDAY @ 8pm ET CHICAGO (8-5) @ TAMPA BAY (7-6) NBC
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET ORLANDO (7-6) @ CHARLOTTE (4-9) ABC
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET PITTSBURGH (8-4-1) @ ST. LOUIS (4-9) FOX
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET NEW ORLEANS (7-6) @ JACKSONVILLE (6-7) FOX
SATURDAY @ 4pm ET LOS ANGELES (4-9) @ SEATTLE (4-9) ABC
SATURDAY @ 4pm ET WASHINGTON (7-6) @ ARIZONA (5-8) FOX
SATURDAY @ 8pm ET OAKLAND (9-4) @ DENVER (10-3) ESPN
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET PHILADELPHIA (9-4) @ BOSTON (6-7) ABC
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET ATLANTA (8-5) @ BIRMINGHAM (2-11) ABC
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET NEW JERSEY (7-6) @ BALTIMORE (8-5) FOX
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET TEXAS (8-5) @ HOUSTON (9-4) ABC
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET PORTLAND (6-7) @ MICHIGAN (7-6) FOX
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET OHIO (2-10-1) @ LAS VEGAS (7-6) FOX
SUNDAY @ 8pm ET NASHVILLE (7-6) @ MEMPHIS (5-8) ESPN & EFN