And then there were none. Charlotte fell to the Nashville Knights this week, meaning that Ohio’s unbeaten 2002 season survives as the league’s only such accomplishment for one more year. No champagne popping as we see with the 1972 Dolphins, but certainly pride in Columbus as their outstanding season remains untouched. As for Charlotte, it was a tough road game in a tough environment and the Knights stood up, not only getting the W, but reminding everyone that they are a three-time division champion. Sitting at 3-3, they are now tied with the Breakers atop the division as they await the time when their huge offseason signing, QB Peyton Manning can take the field. Just one game in a weekend full of stories, surprises and strong performances, not the least of which was a 4-TD day from Philadelphia’s Steve Slaton as the Stars continue to make hay in the NE Division. But we start with our Game of the Week, an interdivisional clash between the Thunder and Skyhawks that had fans on the edges of their seats in the final minutes.
LAS VEGAS THUNDER 17 ST. LOUIS SKYHAWKS 22
Sure, the Thunder and the Skyhawks do not have much history, and neither has much tradition to count on either, but that does not mean that when they go head to head it won’t be an interesting game. Both clubs came into the game at 3-2 and hoping to stay on pace for a playoff push. And what we got was a game where the winning team was outgained, lost the time of possession battle by 7 minutes, and went 0 for 10 on third down. So how did they do it?
Las Vegas led in this game on several occasions but could not keep St. Louis down when it mattered most. The Thunder, playing without Marshawn Lynch once again, relied on Curtis Benson, and the big back came through with his first 100-yard game in a very long time, rushing for 101 on 18 carries. They also got 285 yards passing from Jake Plummer, but their defense struggled down the stretch, giving up the winning score on a drive in the final 2 minutes that took only 43 seconds.
The Thunder started strong. They held St. Louis to one first down before forcing a punt on the opening drive, then, on their first play from scrimmage they hit on a perfectly executed play action pass. Jake Plummer faked the ball to Benson, pivoted to the left, and there was T. J. Houshmandzadeh all alone and flying down the sideline. Plummer looped a ball out in front of him and Housh caught it in stride on his way to a rousing 72-yard TD. Not the start St. Louis wanted, but certainly welcome for the visiting Thunder.
St. Louis would get an equalizer on their next drive, with Freeman connecting with WR Jordy Nelson at the end of an 11-play drive. The first quarter ended with both teams knotted up at 7 apiece, but Las Vegas was driving again. They would get to the 2 yard line, but failed on 2 consecutive run plays. Coach Jones opted to take the points and the lead as Jeff Reed connected on a chip shot 19-yard field goal.
That decision would come back to haunt the Thunder. On their next drive, St. Louis would not settle for three, going for it on 4th and 1 from the Las Vegas 41, the Skyhawks converted as James Ridley plunged over the right side for 2 yards. That play catapulted the Skyhawks to a scoring drive, going on top for the first time in the game, thanks to a 28 yard connection between Freeman and HB Antowain Smith. It was actually more like a 4-yard connection, but Smith wound his way downfield and refused to go out of bounds before crossing the plane. Rob Bironas would doink the PAT, so St. Louis went into the half with a modest 13-10 lead.
That lead would grow to 16-10 in the 3rd quarter as Rob Bironas’s 25 yard kick was the only scoring added to the game in the third. Down 6, Las Vegas needed most of the final period before they would find an answer, but with 1:55 left to play, Jake Plummer found Chad Johnson for what appeared to be a potential game winner. Jeff Reed added the vital PAT and the Thunder took a 1-point lead with less than 2-minutes of action left in the game.
Down 17-16, St. Louis would have 1:55 to try to get into field goal range, but they would have to do it with only 1 timeout left, having lost one to a bad challenge of an earlier call and a 2nd to avoid a delay of game. But, 1:55 is an eternity in the USFL, especially when a field goal is all you need. It would not take St. Louis that long to get on the board, putting up a touchdown with only 43 seconds gone, at the 1:12 mark. How did they do that? Well it helps when on 1st and 10 from your own 21 you get a broken tackle that lets WR Eric Weems turn and 8-yard hook into a 40-yard catch and run. With the ball now at the 29-yard line of the Thunder, already in range for Bironas, the Skyhawks pressed for the TD. Only 3 plays later they would get it as Freeman found his favorite target, WR Taylor Jacobs, for a 12-yard connection and a TD that put the Skyhawks up by 5 at 17-22. They would go for 2 to try to reach a 7=point difference, but Las Vegas was ready for their call and nearly picked the ball off in the endzone.
The Thunder would get the ensuing kick and with 1:12 left, would need their own TD drive to take the lead back. A field goal would do them no good. That pressure can be a lot for any team, but the Thunder are really not a fast break kind of squad, and it showed. A dropped pass by Marty Booker, a missed shot at Houshmandzadeh, and a good tackle that kept TE Kevin Everett from reaching the yard to gain, and it meant that Las Vegas had to connect on a 4th and 3 to keep the drive alive. Coach Arians went with an aggressive call, an all-out blitz on Plummer. The call worked, forcing Plummer to put the ball up before his receivers had even made their cuts. The errant pass missed Chad Johnson low and behind the receiver. It fell harmlessly to the ground and St. Louis’s Dome at America’s Center erupted in cheers of joy and relief. The Skyhawks would move to 4-2, and find themselves tied atop the Central thanks to the shocking upset of the Maulers which Ohio pulled off. Not bad for a Week 6 matchup across divisions.
MICHIGAN 37 CHICAGO 10
The weekend kicked off with a rivalry game in the Central Division, and Michigan, one week after picking up their first win of the season, made it a double dip by thoroughly dominating the Machine. Brian Griese threw for 316 and 3 scores as Hines Ward was unstoppable, turning 8 targets into 8 receptions, 121 yards and a score. Michael Turner was the leading rusher with 95 yards, but Hart and Fason combined for 98, so not a bad day on the ground for the Panthers.
TAMPA BAY 13 JACKSONVILLE 23
What is it about playing the Bandits that brings out the best in Jacksonville? The Bulls have 2 wins on the season and both are against their in-state rivals. Only two weeks after the Bulls upset Tampa at Raymond James they met again and the Bulls did it to the Bandits a second time. Jacksonville got the W despite giving up 122 on the ground to Willis McGahee and losing the turnover battle 2-0. The Bandits led 13-6 at the half, but Jacksonville shut out Tampa Bay in the 2nd half and got TDs from Lamar Miller and Johnny Knox to take the 10-point win.
NEW ORLEANS 19 NEW JERSEY 27
Maurice Jones-Drew had himself a day in the Meadowlands, rushing for all three NJ offensive touchdowns, including an 18-yard pinball rush on the game’s opening drive. The Generals also got a pick-6 from safety Scott Shields and held the Breaker run game to only 56 yards on the day. With the win, New Jersey stays even with Philadelphia atop the division, with the two not set to meet again until Week 12.
BIRMINGHAM 12 WASHINGTON 23
The Stallions fall to 2-4 as they struggle on the road against that tough Federal D. Washington picked off Cam Newton 3 times and held the Stallion offense to only 248 total yards. Meanwhile, Deuce McCallister and Rod Smart combined for 119 yards and TE Heath Miller scored a key TD to pull the Feds away from the Stallions in the 3rd quarter.
OHIO 17 PITTSBURGH 9
The first of several surprising upsets, and perhaps the biggest of the year as the winless Ohio Glory shock the Pittsburgh Maulers at Heinz Field. In what has to be seen as a perfect trap game, Pittsburgh came out flat and never found their rhythm. Ohio got touchdowns from Lee Smith and from HB Rashad Jennings, who had his best game as a pro, racking up a stunning 111 yards on only 14 carries. Steve Smith also had a good game, catching 6 passes from Vince Young for 67 yards.
HOUSTON 23 TEXAS 17
Another upset, but one not quite as surprising as these two in-state rivals always play each other close. Houston got a pick-6 from CB Shaun Springs and added TDs from Brandon Marshall and Cedric Cobbs to upend the division-leading Outlaws. The Gambler D blitzed early and often, recording 5 sacks of Joe Flacco and picking off the defending MVP twice as they pulled their record to 3-3 and now within 1 game of the Outlaws.
OAKLAND 38 SEATTLE 31
A shootout in Seattle as neither defense could find an answer and both offenses did plenty of damage, but in the end Seattle was one score up when the clock struck zeroes. Back to back kickoff return touchdowns set a record in the USFL, with Oakland’s Leodis McKelvin returning the ball 107 yards only to watch as Jerious Norwood returned the favor on the very next play, going 102 in a wild back and forth. The winning score came at the 4 minute mark in the 4th when Leftwich hit former Panther Bennie Joppru for what would be the game winner.
MEMPHIS 7 BOSTON 27
The Cannons get their 2nd win on the year, easily dispatching a frazzled and unfocused Memphis squad. Matt Cassel in his first start for Memphis went 21 of 37 for 220 yards but also threw 2 picks. Jake Locker had a solid 21 of 33 day, throwing for 271, but getting a lot of help from rookie Justin Blackmon, who won a couple of dicey 50/50 balls, ending the day with 172 yards and a TD on 8 receptions. Rashard Mendenhall also came up big against a struggling Showboat D, rushing for 117 and a score on the day.
ORLANDO 6 ATLANTA 17
Renegade fans are getting antsy as their club drops to 2-4. Despite 172 yards rushing from Knowshon Moreno, the Renegades were outclassed by the Fire and held to only 2 field goals on the day. Atlanta’s Kyle Orton survived 7 sacks to get the win, thanks in part to a Ricky Manning 94-yard kickoff return on a day that saw quite a few special teams highlights across the league.
CHARLOTTE 21 NASHVILLE 23
Nashville reminds the world that they have won the South three years in a row for a reason, sacking Jake Delhomme 5 times and holding Fred Jackson to only 60 yards on 19 carries. On offense they leaned heavily on Frank Gore, and the big guy came through with 90 yards on 17 carries, 4 receptions for 82 yards, and 2 touchdowns. The win pulls Nashville into a tie for first place with the Breakers.
ARIZONA 31 DENVER 34
Denver evened their record at 3-3 and pushed the disappointing Wranglers to 2-4 after 6 weeks. Newly acquired HB DeMarco Murray struggled to find holes, rushing for only 21 yards on 12 carreis, but Maurice Hicks picked up the slack, rushing for 83 and a TD. Matt Leinart threw for 3 scores, as did David Carr, but in the end Denver just had a little more left in the tank and took the home victory.
PORTLAND 26 LOS ANGELES 15
Portland sends LA to 0-6, despite a solid 106 yards and 2 TD from Ray Rice. It was hardly an offensive explosion for the Stags, with only 233 total yards, actually outgained by LA’s 343, but the Express just could not get the ball into the endzone and that sent them down once again. Newly arrived WR Jerrel Jerrigan looked solid however, catching 3 passes for 44 yards, but little solace to a small and shrinking LA crowd.
PHILADELPHIA 37 BALTIMORE 30
Does it seem that the league new Philly would be a story this year, putting them in prime time again, and again it paid off as we got a great game between the Stars and the Blitz. Steve Slaton went TD crazy, scoring four in the game, all 4 in the first half. Baltimore fought back with TD passes from Big Ben to Tory Holt and Donte Do as they started to figure out the Philly coverages in the 2nd half. The Blitz tied the game at 30 with 13 minutes left to play, but Philly had one more drive in them and when FB Francis Sosa plunged in from the 1, that was the score that gave the visiting stars their 5th win on the season.
Slaton Rushes for 4 TDs in Stars’ Win
Philadelphia has been a huge story all year, and each week it seems a different aspect of the team steps up. This week it was Steve Slaton. Slaton had 22 carries and amassed 112 yards thanks to a 5.1 YPC average, but it was the nose of the endzone that had everyone cheering for the former Mountaineer. Slaton had TDs of 1, 1, 16, and 5 yards all by the half. At one point the Stars led 27-3 (Nugent shanked one PAT) and folks were hoping that the Stars would keep pushing Slaton towards 5 or more scores, but in the second half the team played a bit more conservatively, giving carries to Leon Washington and using short passes as well. For Slaton, this was his highest scoring game as a pro, and one of his best halves of football ever. For the Stars it was just one more example of how this team has rallied after the Kurt Warner injury and how they have talent all across the roster, able to step up when needed.
Chris Claiborne Does it All for Cannons
Boston manhandled the Memphis Showboats to earn their 2nd win of the day, and while many folks are praising the 172 yard game that WR Justin Blackmon had, winning him his second Rookie of the Week award in the season, we wanted to recognize another standout performance, that of LB Chris Claiborne, who did it all this week. Claiborne had 5 tackles, which is not unusual for the MLB, and is actually well below his usual 8, but he also came up big on several occasions, landing a sack of Matt Cassel on a key early 3rd down. He forced a fumble by HB Anthony Allen, which allowed Boston to get a short field and led to a Haushka field goal, and he had his first pick of the season, and not just a pick, a pick-six in the 4th quarter to seal the win for the Cannons. Not a bad day at all for the former USC Trojan.
Dayne Cleared to Practice
Good news on the injury front as Baltimore HB Ron Dayne has been cleared to begin full practices. He may still be about 2 weeks away from possible action, but the recovery from his broken wrist has come along very well and the team is anxiously hoping that he can be ready to go and in football form for a big Week 8 showdown against the Federals in Washington. Baltimore has done pretty well on the ground without Dayne, with Anthony Dixon doing yeoman’s work to rush for 431 yards in his 5 starts. Those are solid numbers, and ones which could convince Coach Coughlin to keep Dixon in heavy rotation even after Dayne is back. But, of course, Ron Dayne adds a power element that Dixon is not well suited for, and that could be the piece needed if the Blitz are going to keep pace in a very tough NE Division race. Expect Baltimore to ease Dayne back into action, perhaps as early as next week’s matchup with the Breakers, but just the threat that Dayne could be playing will force Washington to plan for him in Week 8.
Manning On Pace for Week 10 Activation
One more bit of injury news as Nashville has set Week 10, and their game against Baltimore, as a possible return to the lineup for Peyton Manning. That is a bit more conservative than the Week 8 best case scenario, but still would provide 7 weeks of play for the former 3-time Super Bowl Champion. Manning is expected to start as soon as he is physically cleared to take the field. According to all reports he has already fully absorbed the Knights’ playbook and has been seen in practice coaching up Quincy Carter.
We should say something about Carter before the Manning hype hits overdrive. 12 year veteran, who has never started more than 6 games in any season (2006 with St. Louis) has been about as good as Nashville fans could have hoped in keeping them competitive. He finishes Week 6 with over 1,400 yards passing, a 65% completion rate, and a 10:3 TD:INT ratio. There are plenty of clubs around the USFL who wish their QB had those numbers. He has also been very open and very clear that he fully understands that this club will be Peyton Manning’s team as soon as he is able to take the field. Carter has expressed time and again his admiration for Manning as well as for Head Coach Jim Johnson, who confided in him to be the caretaker for the better part of this season. It has been a gutsy performance this year from Carter and a classy public face that he has provided for the club. We hope that as the team transitions to Peyton, Quincy will get his fair share of accolades and recognition as well.
Philadelphia’s Sunday Night win did not come without a cost as RT Jaimie Thomas could be lost for the year after suffering a serious injury to his back. No paralysis, but potential cracks in the vertebrae in his mid-back could keep him on ice for the rest of the season. Expect Philadelphia to add Thomas to IR. Other than that injury, it was a pretty light week once again.
INJURED RESERVE
Jaimie Thomas OT PHI Back
OUT
J. D. Walton C ORL Shoulder 2-4 Weeks
Jason Williams LB MEM Arm 2-4 Weeks
Chauncey Davis DE OHI Neck 1-2 Weeks
Osi Umenyiura DE HOU Hand 1-2 Weeks
C. J. Mosley DE ATL Hernia 1-2 Weeks
DOUBTFUL
Ryan Whalen WR BOS Concussion
Jason Babin DE BOS MCL
Miles Austin WR NJ Shoulder
QUESTIONABLE
Keith Rivers LB LA Illness
John Moffitt OG ARZ Knee
Tim Tebow QB JAX Pinched nerve
Brady Quinn QB CHI Scratched cornea
Dallas Sale Is Approved, but Which Club Was Sold?
The USFL meetings this week were short, sweet, and single-minded. The league owners gathered to discuss one topic and one topic alone, the proposed sale of a USFL franchise to the Destination Dallas investment group. The proposal was kept under lock and key, the owners mum from the moment it arrived, and still, even after the vote, we have not been able to discern from interviews with various league owners and officials which club has been sold.
This is, of course, by design. The league wants to delay the notification of sale as long as they can. They will have to reveal it relatively soon as government filings related to the sale will, by law, be publicly available and that means the franchise will be know, likely within the next 2 weeks. But for now, the league is hoping to move ahead with plans for a Dallas franchise in 2013 without saying which city will lose their team until it is absolutely necessary. One thing we do know is that the team is not the Chicago Machine. Chicago this week announced a renewal of their contract with Soldier Field and the city of Chicago for another 5 years, so it seems clear that the Machine are staying put, and Chicago fans can rest easy. That means the pressure is on in Boston, Oakland, and Nashville, the three remaining franchises who are linked to the Destination Dallas group and their efforts to secure a club.
League officials would not go into detail on the discussion or the vote. We know that at least 2 clubs did vote against the sale, both Houston and the Texas Outlaws have been pretty vocal about their opposition to a third team in the state of Texas. Beyond that we do not know if the vote was largely unanimous or split. We do know that with Chicago out of the running, whichever franchise relocates to Dallas will represent a growth in market size, with the Texas city a significantly larger market than any of the three potential sale franchises, though how you determine market size for the Bay Area is always a bit of a discussion since some like to include all of Sacramento and half of northern California in the calculus.
Destination Dallas came out this week to announce that they would be revealing the team name and logo in the next few weeks, but that they were going to have several design options for the color scheme and uniforms during the summer, with hopes of having a final winner by the time of the Summer Bowl. We are assuming that Dallas will steer clear of Black or Kelly Green as the dominant colors, since those are the focal colors for Houston and the Outlaws respectively, but just what they will offer fans is not yet known. Will it be an old West theme like both of the other Texas clubs, or will Dallas lean into the oil industry for its identity? What about an animal since neither of the other Texas clubs use animal mascots? We shall find out soon, but in the meantime the main mystery is not what Dallas will look like, it is what city is about to lose their USFL club and what impact that will have to the rest of the 2012 season in that city?
USFL’s Best Receiving Seasons Up for Little Debate
Last week, as part of the USFL’s 30th Season Celebration, we looked at five of the best HB seasons of all time and opened up possible debate for which was the best. That debate is going to be tough to have for the best WR seasons of all time. One name from the early years of the league is so dominant that it is hard to not just limit ourselves to the one or two best seasons of all time and forget the rest. But, we decided to do our Top 5, so here are all 5 contenders, including the dominance of a certain Tampa Bay Bandit.
1985—Eric Truvillion (TBY
We are picking the 1985 season from ET as our first highlighted season. Why? How about 25 touchdowns, 7 more than the best HB season the USFL has ever produced. That is nearly 2 per game, and, oh, by the way, that was also the season in which Truvillion hit 1,944 yards receiving, the second highest total in league history. And here is the crazy part. With all those yards and TDs, you would think Truvillion would be among the all time season reception leaders, but he did this through the deep ball, not the intermediate route, so ET does not even appear among the top 10 in receptions for a season. Not once.
1986 - Eric Truvillion (TBY)
A second season for the same player? Yes. When that season set a league yardage record with 1,959 yards, while also producing 15 TDs and 108 receptions, you bet we are going to recognize that year. No player other than Truvillion has ever reached 1,900 yards in a USFL season, and Truvillion did it THREE TIMES!!! With this season being his all-time highest total, only 41 yards away from 2,000.
1987 – Mel Grey (MEM)
Now it gets tough, trying to figure out who we should recognize outside of Truvillion. Mel Grey was not a deep ball receiver, not by the time he reached the USFL in 1984. But what he was is perhaps the best 3rd down receiver we have ever seen. In 1987, his most prolific of 6 prolific USFL seasons (he played 7, but lost most of 1986 to injury) he had 143 catches, averaging 11.9 yard per catch. The first number was a league record that held for over a decade, the second a somewhat pedestrian mid-range receiver, but, what is stunning about Mel Grey’s 1987 campaign is that he was simply unstoppable on 3rd down. Of his 143 catches, a full 51, more than 1 in 3 were successful third down convesions. That number led to drives being completed and points being put on the board.
2000 – Joey Galloway
Yes, 2000 was not Galloway’s best year for receptions or scores. He had only 65 receptions, compared to 112 the year before, and only 10 TDs, 8 fewer than his career best in 2003, so why do we pick 2000? Well, this was the year that he showed he could be a deep-ball genius. Look at his career between 1005 and 1999 and you see a very good mid-range receiver, averaging between 15-17 yards per catch. Get to 2000 and suddenly he is averaging 28.2 yards per catch, on his way to 1,854 yards. He would never look back. The next year he would hit 30 yards per catch while playing only 8 games due to injury. In the 2 year run of championships for Ohio he averaged nearly 23 yards per catch, but in 2000, the first year when Ohio started to show what it was building, Galloway was simply open over the top several times per game. He produced a highlight reel that could compare favorably with anyone’s from any year.
1985 Derek Holloway (MGN)
We wanted to select someone we thought we don’t talk about enough for our 5th great season. Derek Holloway, despite being a huge numbers guy and a burner on the outside, never got the love that teammate Anthony Carter saw in Michigan, despite the fact that his final career numbers were better, and the fact tha the stuck around far longer than Carter, playing 11 years with the Panthers. In 1985, he had his only 20-TD season, and he did it while catching 71 balls for 1,877 yards, his highest total in yardage of his entire career. The Panthers slipped in the playoffs that year, but it was a fantastic year for Holloway, who deserves more talk than he gets from USFL Fans.
Not as many marquee matchups this week as in the past few, but still some good games. NBC must be kicking themselves over their choice of the LA-Seattle game as their hightlight and only game of the week, but who could have seen an 0-6 start for the Express after last year’s division title?
On Saturday, there are several intriguing middle-of-the-pack games, including Houston at Michigan, Orlando at Atlanta, and Texas at Las Vegas. The Saturday nightcap is also a good middle-ground battle, as both Nashviille and Tampa Bay sit at 3-3 and neither wants to dip below .500.
Our favorite game in the Sunday slate is another inter-divisional matchup of teams who are hoping to start a solid run. Baltimore comes off a tough loss to the Stars and now hosts the New Orleans Breakers, who need a rebound win themselves to stay over .500. We also like the prospects of the New Jersey Arizona clash as the Wranglers have to be feeling pressure to get their season kick started. Finally, on Sunday Night, the battle of Steel Cities, as Pitsburgh heads to Birmingham to face the Stallions. After a huge upset loss to Ohio this week, the Maulers have to right the ship, while Birmingham certainly hopes they look past the Stallions as well.
FRIDAY @ 8PM ET LOS ANGELES (0-6) @ SEATTLE (2-4) NBC
SAT @ 12PM ET HOUSTON (3-3) @ MICHIGAN (2-4) ABC
SAT @ 12PM ET CHICAGO (3-3) @ MEMPHIS (1-5) ABC
SAT @ 12PM ET ORLANDO (2-4) @ ATLANTA (4-2) FOX
SAT @ 4PM ET TEXAS (4-2) @ LAS VEGAS (3-3) ABC
SAT @ 4PM ET PHILADELPHIA (5-1) @ DENVER (3-3) FOX
SAT @ 8PM ET NASHVILLE (3-3) @ TAMPA BAY (3-3) ESPN/EFN
SUN @ 12PM ET JACKSONVILLE (2-4) @ CHARLOTTE (5-1) ABC
SUN @ 12PM ET NEW ORLEANS (3-3) @ BALTIMORE (4-2) FOX
SUN @ 12PM ET BOSTON (2-4) @ WASHINGTON (4-2) FOX
SUN @ 4PM ET PORTLAND (5-1) @ OAKLAND 3-3) ABC
SUN @ 4PM ET NEW JERSEY (5-1) @ ARIZONA (2-4) ABC
SUN @ 4PM ET ST. LOUIS (4-2) @ OHIO (1-5) FOX
SUN @ 8PM ET PITTSBURGH (4-2) @ BIRMINGHAM (2-4) ESPN/EFN