2012 USFL Week 7 Recap: Boston to Lose the Cannons

We got the news that everyone has been waiting for.  On Sunday night the USFL revealed that the Destination Dallas investment group has been approved to purchase and relocate the Boston Cannons.  Devastating news for Boston’s USFL fans, a relief for fans in Oakland and Nashville, and great anticipation in Dallas-Fort Worth as plans are under way to have football in the Cotton Bowl in 2013.  While Sunday night’s bombshell got the headlines, there was a full week of play this week, and some great games as well, with several stunning upsets, and even a win for the previously winless LA Express.  We will break down the news about Boston’s sale and relocation from several angles, but let’s start with the action on the field, beginning with our Game of the Week from Tampa Bay.

NASHVILLE KNIGHTS 15   TAMPA BAY BANDITS 17

In football it is rare that you find fans of both teams feeling anxious and stressed out, but one sure way is to have one team build a lead and then watch as the other team gains momentum and starts picking away at it.  The fans of the leading team start to worry that there team is going to let the victory slip away.  The fans of the team trailing is trying to figure out if there is enough time, or if the sudden shift in momentum will shift back, costing their team a chance to finish the comeback.  That is exactly the situation we saw in Tampa Bay this week, where the Bandits built up a 17-0 lead and then spent the entire second half trying to keep Nashville from taking it all away, slowly chipping into the lead while the Bandits could do nothing right.  In the end the game came down to one play, either heading to overtime or locking up a Bandits victory on one single snap.

As so many great comeback games start, this game between the Knights and the Bandits began with one team looking absolutely dominant.  The Bandits opened up the game at home and after shutting down Nashville on their first drive, Tampa Bay used 13 plays to get to Nashville’s 25-yard line.  For a brief moment it looked like they would take it the rest of the way, but Santonio Holmes was not able to reel in a TD toss that was just a little high and a little outside.   The Bandits settled for a field goal, but only 3 minutes later they would get the score they had hoped to hit earlier.  This time it was Joey Galloway from 32-yards out but the Culpepper toss was right on the money and Galloway hauled it in just in time to tap his feet in the endzone before falling out of play. 

Nashville had not managed to accomplish much in the first quarter, and that would not change as the second quarter began.  The Knights again failed on 3rd down, again were forced to go 3-and-out, and again watched as Tampa Bay capitalized with another scoring drive.  Culpepper connected on a 2nd TD toss, this time going back to Santonio Holmes, who was able to grab the out route and spin his way into the endzone to get Tampa Bay a 17-point lead.  It all was going their way. 

And that is when wind changed direction.  Rather than force a 3-and-out, the Bandits failed on a third down stop as Quincy Carter found Robert Meachem on an improbable 3rd and 17 play that yielded 18 yards and a first down.  That play got Nashville going.  They would hold the ball for a full 8 minutes and get their first points just as the first half ended, a 37-yard field goal from Kai Forbath.  It was a small gain for the Knights but it signaled a very important shift in momentum.

Tampa Bay, which had fared so well early on, would not score again.  The Knight defense would give up an occasional big play, a 13 yard McGahee run or a 19-yard Galloway reception, but no death blows and no sustained drives for the Bandits.  And at the same time, Nashville just kept chipping away.  Their 2nd possession in the third got them a 2nd field goal.  Their first possession in the 4th also produced a kick by Kai Forbath, and with that kick the score was 17-9, an 8-point difference that could be matched with a single touchdown drive.

That drive would start with 3:33 left on the clock.  Nashville was now in a no-way-out situation.  They would go for it on 4th down, do whatever it took to get the equalizer.  They would never be tested in that resolve.  On a drive that saw Montario Hardesty bust free for a 17-yard run, and Frank Gore turn a simple screen into a 27-yard gain.  With just under 1:30 left in the game, the ball was on the Tampa Bay 2-yard line, first and goal.  The Bandits went all out on the inside run on first down, and it worked, stuffing Gore at the line of scrimmage.  They repeated the strategy when they thought Carter had handed off to FB Peyton Hillis, but he had not, instead he tossed the ball wide to Gore, and the tailback slid between the linebacker on outside contain and the rushing cornerback to cross the plain and score the touchdown.

The score left Tampa Bay with a 17-15 advantage, and no doubt that Nashville would go for two.  But would they trust Frank Gore to plow through the line or put the ball in the hands of Quincy Carter.  The Bandits bet on the former, but had both safeties on the outside in case of the latter.  When Carter faked to Gore, the linebackers crashed the line.  Carter rolled out to his right, with the option to run the ball in or pass it to his tight end.  Safety Idrees Basheer bet on Carter running for the endzone, cutting off his path and forcing the QB to make the toss to the corner of the endzone.  Justin Peele was there, but the ball was rushed and ended up at the receiver’s knees.  Peele could not contort his body to reach the ball that low, and Nashville failed in the 2-point play, leaving them 2 points short with 1:33 to play.

Nashville would try the onside kick, but the ball landed in the waiting hands of WR David Tyree. Tampa Bay could run out the clock without gaining another first down.  They gave the ball to Shane Vereen on first down for a gain of 2, but then took a knee on the next two plays, Nashville unable to stop the clock.

The Bandits escaped the comeback, held on to win and moved their record to 4-3, two games behind Charlotte but still in range.  Nashville would fall to 3-4, but in the quagmire that is the Southern Division that meant that they were still only a game behind New Orleans and tied with Birmingham for 2nd place.

LOS ANGELES 17   SEATTLE 10

One week after the last unbeaten fell, it make sense that the last winless club would get their first W.  A disappointing loss for the homestanding Dragons, who now fall to 2-5 and have their own questions to answer.  Keyshawn Johnson was the star on the day, catching 5 passes for 113 yards, including a brilliant 59-yard toss that initially looked like a TD but set up a 1-yard LeRon McLain run to secure the win for the Express.

HOUSTON 31   MICHIGAN 21

A good game that pushes the Gamblers to 4-3 and a share of first place in the SW Division.  Shaun Alexander topped 100 yards with a 17 carry, 117 yard day, and backup HB Cedrick Cobbs scored twice, both on goalline runs to help boost the Gamblers. Michigan again struggled to run the ball, gaining only 27  yards on 21 carries.

CHICAGO 26   MEMPHIS 18

Chicago takes a share of first place with their win in Memphis.  After a lackluster first half, Matt Cassel was pulled in favor of Bobby Volek, as Memphis is trying anything to generate offense.  Donald Driver was on his game for the Machine, catching 6 of 11 targets for 116 yards and 2 scores as the Machine move to 4-3.

ORLANDO 7   ATLANTA 24

Two teams headed in distinctly different directions as Atlanta moves to 5-2 with a convincing win over an Orlando team that just cannot get out of their own way.  Eight penalties and no points after the first quarter doom the Renegades, while Atlanta gets TDs from both Josh Reed and Matt Jones to secure the win and keep pace with Charlotte in the SE Division.

TEXAS 14  LAS VEGAS 17

The Outlaws drop their 3rd game in the last 4 as Jake Plummer connects with both Chad Johnson and T. J. Houshmandzadeh to pull out the win at home.  The Thunder focused on HB Arian Foster and limited him to only 4 yards on 9 carries, not at all what the Outlaws hoped for.  The Thunder also sacked Joe Flacco 6 times as high pressure seems to be the formula teams are using against Texas.

PHILADELPHIA 30   DENVER 14

The Stars continue to roll, this time rampaging past the Gold in Denver.  Stevie Johnson had 124 yards and a TD as Philly ran up a 13-0 lead and then matched Denver score for score. Steve Slaton and Reche Caldwell also scored for the Stars, who move to 6-1 as Denver drops to 3-4 on the year.

JACKSONVILLE 14   CHARLOTTE 34

The Bulls cannot face Tampa Bay every week, and when they don’t they lose.  Charlotte gets 120 yards and 2 TDs from Fred Jackson and adds a John Keith pick-six and a D. J. Hackett TD reception to pull past the Bulls and move to an impressive 6-1 record.

NEW ORLEANS 21   BALTIMORE 19

A good game between two pretty evenly matched teams as both 3-3 clubs battled by the Bay. Turnovers doomed the Blitz as they gave up 4 and collected none.  All four were Ben Roethlisberger picks as he tried to force the ball in to his receivers.  Torrance Marshall returned one for a score, and Patrick Peterson came away with 3 on the day in a truly stellar showing for the Breaker cornerback.

BOSTON 13   WASHINGTON 38

The Feds had no difficulty dispatching the Cannons as they ran up a 21-0 lead after only 1 quarter, thanks in part to a Gibril Wilson pick-six.  From there it was a smooth ride as McCallister and Smart combined for 97 yards and David Garrard hit both Kellen Davis and Chase Coffman for scores.

PORTLAND 3   OAKLAND 24

The Invaders were fired up for this one and it showed as Oakland built up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and held Portland out of the red zone the entire game.  Joey Harrington finished the game with 3 touchdowns as Norwood and Ryan Williams combined for 114 yards rushing.  Portland was hampered throughout, with Fitzpatrick knocked out of the game early in the 3rd and Mike McMahon ineffective in relief.

NEW JERSEY 20  ARIZONA 28

A much needed win for the Wranglers as they get 2nd half TDs from Rob Gronkowski and LaDainian Tomlinson to pull out to a 28-17 lead that New Jersey could not overcome.  The Wranglers sacked Sam Bradford 6 times and picked him off once as Arizona moves to 3-4 and within a game of .500.  New Jersey, with the loss, falls a game behind the Stars in the Northeast.

ST. LOUIS 21   OHIO 23

The Glory continue to improve as they win their second in a row by shocking the Skyhawks.  Steve Smith took the game on his shoulders, calling for the ball often and finishing with 146 yards and 2 scores.  Rookie Isaiah Pead had a strong game with 14 carries leading to 62 yards and the Ohio defense did not allow St. Louis to make a final drive for a game winning field goal, shutting the Skyhawks down in their own end of the field as time ran down.

PITTSBURGH 13   BIRMINGHAM 28

The Maulers did not look ready for this one as Birmingham rode their loud fan support to a 14-0 lead and never looked back. Cam Newton did it with his legs, rushing for 85 yards and 2 TDs while only completing 6 passes for 55 yards on the day.  Joseph Addai added another score and newly arrived WR Randy Moss took one of his only 2 catches to the house for another TD as the Stallions win big over the Maulers.

Southwest Division Logjam

If you are the kind of fan that loves parity, where any team has a shot to win on any week, then the Southwest Division must be for you.  The division has 4 teams and every one of them is either 4-3 or 3-4 after 7 weeks.  We could realistically see every single team at 4-4 by the end of Week 8.  How is that for parity?   So why is that?  Most of us expected Texas to win this division going away, and while there was some debate about who would finish second, what we did not expect is for all 4 teams to have a realistic shot at being at .500 at midseason.

The obvious answer is that all 3 of the other teams, Arizona, Houston, and Denver, are right where we expected them to be, decent, but inconsistent.  Good enough for .500 but not setting the league on fire.  The surprise is that Texas, after starting the year 3-0, has dropped 3 of the past 4 games.  If they lose in Pittsburgh Week 8, they will be at .500, which we simply did not expect.  Whoy is this?  After all, the Outlaws still have the #1 offense in the league in total yards, with the top passing attack in the USFL.  They are still in the Top 10 in scoring defense.  So, what is not going right? 

Well, two things.  The first is that they just don’t have the same continuity in the run game.  Arian Foster has had some good numbers since coming in from the NFL, but the trust and the consistency is just not there.  Second, the protection needs to improve.  Teams have figured out that there are ways to attack the Outlaw passblocking scheme, and with Joe Flacco not exactly being Doug Flutie when it comes to mobility, teams are blitzing and having success disrupting the Texas passing attack.  Add to this a defense that has given up a few big plays and a few long drives, and you have a formula for a possible .500 team instead of a top seed. 

Orlando On a Chute, Atlanta a Ladder

Ask us who is hot right now and who is cold and we don’t even have to confer.  The answers are pretty obvious, and both teams are in the same division.  Atlanta is very hot right now, winners of 4 in a row and 5 of the last 6, the Fire are looking good and just came off a sweep of their season series with Orlando, a weird quirk of scheduling that had the two teams play each other back to back weeks.  Atlanta held Orlando to only 13 combined points in the series, and has held 3 of their last 4 opponents under 10 points. Now, we do have to say that in their 5 wins, they have beaten no teams with wining records, having knocked off LA, Boston, and Birmingham along with the 2 Orlando games.  But, hey, you play who you play, and if you win those games, more power to you.

A team that needs more power are those Orlando Renegades.  Picked by many to compete with Tampa Bay in the South, Orlando currently sits at 2-5, tied for last with Jacksonville and losers of 4 in a row.  They got shellacked by Charlotte 4 weeks ago, fell to Baltimore at home, and then got swept by the Fire.  Their offense is currently ranked 27th in scoring among 28 teams, and their defense has fallen out o the Top 10, despite Calais Campbell leading the league in sacks. 

Orlando was expected to have a more diverse, more explosive offense this year, but so far that just has not materialized.  Eli Manning has looked pedestrian, throwing only 4 TDs in the season’s first 7 games (with 5 picks).  Knowshon Moreno is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, but has only carried the ball 95 times.  Why is that?  Newly arrived HB Tim Hightower has only 41 attempts but is averaging a horrific 1.8 yards per carry, so no help there.  The receiving corps is leadin the league in drops and neither Justin McCaerins nor Greg Olsen has scored a TD yet.  If Orlando wants any shot at reaching .500 much less competing for a Wild Card, they need to figure out that offense quickly, because what we have seen to date does not look at all promising.

Stars Lose Another Starter to IR

The challenges just keep coming for the Philadelphia Stars.  Coach Harbaugh’s team may be sitting at 6-1, but they just added their third starter to the IR list after DE Robert Mathis tore his quad, separated from the bone, and will miss the rest of the season.  He joins QB Kurt Warner and OT Jaimie Thomas on the season-ending injury list.  Mathis will be replaced by a rotation of Connor Barwin and Muhammad Wilkerson, and Philadelphia has already started hitting the free agent line, with inquiries in to 37-year-old Marcellus Wiley and former Breaker and Express DE Corey Sears.   The fear is that Philadelphia is winning the short term battle as they work around the Kurt Warner injury, but losing the war of attrition that is the long 2012 season.  That said, with the club sitting at 6-1 there are a lot of healthier teams that would be more than happy to trade places with the Stars right  now.

Steve Smith Playing Angry as Ohio Wins 2nd in a Row

It looks like Steve Smith did it the right way.  Frustrated and upset about the Glory’s horrible 0-5 start, wideout Steve Smith did not go full Randy Moss and have a tirade in the press about his team.  He called a players only meeting and behind closed doors he asked every player if they were committed to this team and to each other.  The frank call to mutual responsibility seems to have worked.  Ohio has won their last two games, upsetting two of the better teams in their division by stunning Pittsburgh at Heinz Field and returning this week with a home victory over St. Louis.

Smith talked the talk but also walked the walk, asking QB Vince Young to trust in him and to get him the ball. The results?  How about two strong back-to-back games, with 6 receptions in Week 6 and a 5 catch, 146 yard, 2 TD game this week against St. Louis.  Now, Smith has never been shy about tooting his own horn with the press, that is to be sure, but what he has never done is use the media to air dirty laundry or to call out teammates.  Smith stayed within the team, and that seems to have been the way to both get results and build better culture in Columbus.  Good for him, and good for the Glory and their fans.

Robert Mathis was not the only player sent to the IR this week, with Seattle guard Amini Silatulo sidelined by a back injury and Orlando LB Darryl Sharpton also placed on the reserve list after suffering a broken wrist in Orlando’s latest loss.  It was a rough week for several teams as the injuries continue to be a factor across the league.  Here is our rundown of the newly-cited injuries across the league.

INJURED RESERVE           

Amini Silatulo                     G         SEA        Back

Darryl Sharpton                LB           ORL       Wrist

OUT

Chris Abner                         SS           PIT          Abdomen    2-4 Weeks

Pearson Prioleau               SS        OAK       Arm                  1-2 Weeks

Michael Egnew                  TE           STL         Knee                 1-2 Weeks

DOUBTFUL

Michael Boulware            CB           TEX         Abdomen

Lee Smith                            TE           OHI        Hand

Peerless Price                     WR         DEN       Toe

QUESTIONABLE

Ryan Fitzpatrick                 QB          POR       Concussion

Glen Smith                          FB           MGN     Finger

James Ridley                       HB          STL         Neck

Boston Blues!  Cannons Identified as the Team to Relocate to Dallas.

It became official this week, as the USFL announced that the sale of the Boston Cannons to the Destination Dallas investment group had been finalized.  The Cannons will relocate to Dallas for the 2013 season, and will be renamed.  Boston had been considered one of three teams, along with Oakland and Nashville, who might have been the club to sell their squad and leave the city.  The news was met with outrage and disappointment in Boston, as you would expect.  The league made the announcement on Sunday, during the ESPN broadcast of the Sunday Night game and after Boston had already suffered a bad loss in Washington. 

The team will finish the season in Boston, as expected, but operations are already beginning to set up shop in Arlington, Texas.  Fans of the USFL in Big D can already put down deposits for tickets at Cotton Bowl Stadium for next year and while the team name has been revealed (see below), the “pick the look” contest will begin next week, allowing fans to decide which color scheme and logo combination will be used by the club.  One of the three anticipated color options will be to retain the navy, athletic gold, and grey colors of the Cannons. 

League Makes No Promises About 3rd Team in BeanTown

With the relocation and sale of the Cannons, Boston loses a second USFL franchise, having seen the Breakers leave for New Orleans in 1986.  While fans of the Cannons are justifiably upset, the truth of the matter is that lack of support from the NFL owners of the Patriots, the Kraft family, and open hostility about sharing Gillette Stadium with a USFL franchise was one on the primary factors that led the Boston ownership group to sell to the Dallas investors.  Forced to play at Alumni Stadium on the campus of BC, which means not only limited capacity, inconvenient parking, and alcohol sale prohibitions, all of which impacted attendance and revenue, the Cannons simply were not able to provide consistent revenue outside of the league’s revenue-sharing system.

While there was no statement about the future of Boston USFL football made during the announcement of the sale and relocation, the following day we were able to speak with the Vice-Commissioner of the USFL and get confirmation that Boston would not receive special consideration for replacement of a franchise, and that if an investment group wanted to return spring football to New England, they would have to put together a bid as would any other market the next time expansion was announced.

That was bad news indeed for Boston fans, who had hoped that were a team to depart the league would prioritize a return to the city as it has done in the past with special expansion conditions created to return football to LA, Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta.  It appears that the impasse with Gillette Stadium and the Kraft family is directly responsible for the USFL regarding Boston as a non-essential market.  So now, it will be contingent upon an investment group in Boston to develop a viable stadium plan that would allow football to return to the country’s 12th largest market.

Dallas Reveals Name, will Open Team Branding Vote

Sunday’s announcement of the Dallas purchase of the Cannons was followed on Monday by a press event at the Cotton Bowl, where the Destination Dallas ownership group, represented on stage by “front man” Mark Cuban, revealed that the cities newest pro franchise would be called the Dallas Roughnecks.  The name, a clear reference to the Texas Oil Industry, and the hard-working men and women who work the rigs, did not reveal a logo or team colors, stating that a Pick the Look contest would begin within 1 week on the team’s new website, www.dallasroughnecks.com.  The team is expected to reveal its set of logos for this contest and to offer fans three different looks, possibly with three different color combinations, for the team identity. 

With over 10,000 deposits already in place for the 2013 season at Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas is expected to reach their target of 25,000 season tickets, and possibly expand the season ticket pool to 30,000 if demand warrants added season ticket capacity.  The stadium’s 23 luxury suites & boxes are also going like hotcakes, with corporate and high income interest in the team very high. 

And so, while there is despondency and frustration in New England, there is jubilation and anticipation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as 2013 will mark the first official season of USFL football in the region (after a year hosting the displaced Outlaws).  Dallas will be the newest city to host USFL football next spring.

Cannon Players Get the News As They Start a 3 Game Road Swing

We finish our coverage of the breaking news that the Boston Cannons will be sold and relocated to Dallas for 2013 with the players.  While the press conference happened Sunday Night, we have learned from sources within the Cannon organization that the players were notified on Friday, before boarding the buses for the trip to Washington.  Reactions were, of course, mixed, and some might point to the lackluster performance in DC as being a partial result, there is some logic to the timing.

Boston began a 3-game road trip this week, starting off in DC, before driving back as far as Keane State U. where they will prepare for their game in New Jersey in Week 8, and then a flight to Phoenix for their game in Arizona in Week 9. Essentially, the players will not be in Boston for these 3 weeks, training in New Jersey.  Time away from the Boston media and the fans which seems well timed.  It will not be a pleasant few weeks for Cannon fans as Dallas begins their build up of their new team.  Perhaps best that there are not any home games until Week 10, when the team faces Philadelphia at Alumni Stadium.  Just what the reaction will be when that game hits is hard to guess. We could see a half-empty stadium, or a packed but very angry stadium.

While no one blames the players for what has happened, you can bet that the boo birds will be out if ownership is seen anywhere near the game.  And while fans may not boo any particular player, you can bet there will be some chanting, some disruptiveness, who knows.  It is what the USFL feared when the Dallas investor group turned its focus from expansion to relocation, and while the league may have helped the Cannon ownership strategize just how and when to announce the move, they must be prepared for anger in Boston as the city loses its second USFL franchise.

So what is in store for us in Week 8?  The end of the season’s first half and for many teams a chance to get to .500 at the midway point.  That is the situation for both the Stallions and Knights when they meet in Legion Field.  Only one can finish the first half at .500.  The opposite situation will be the case when Tampa Bay takes on Las Vegas on Saturday.  Both clubs sit at 4-3, but the difference between ending the first half at 5-3 vs. 4-4 is palpable.  Denver sits at 3-4 and will face 4-3 Houston in a game that could go a long way to determining if we talk about the Gold in any playoff context moving forward.  If Houston gets the win, they are up 2 games on the Gold, and the Outlaws could be as well, but if Denver wins, then the SW Division stays very tight.

On Sunday, there is only 1 game that has teams within 1 game of .500 going head to head.  It’s the Sunday night matchup where both Texas and Pittsburgh are both surprised to be only 4-3 and neither one wants to get through Week 8 at 4-4.  These are teams that expected to be in the 7-1 or 6-2 range, but one of them is going to be seen as underperforming by the end of this week. 

FRIDAY @ 8PM ET             NASHVILLE (3-4) @ BIRMINGHAM (3-4)                 NBC

SAT @ 12PM ET                ORLANDO (2-5) @ CHARLOTTE (6-1)                  ABC

SAT @ 12PM ET                ARIZONA (3-4) @ PHILADELPHIA (6-1)               FOX

SAT @ 12PM ET                MEMPHIS (1-6) @ JACKSONVILLE (2-5)                   FOX

SAT @ 4PM ET                  TAMPA BAY (4-3) @ LAS VEGAS (4-3)                ABC

SAT @ 4PM ET                  DENVER (3-4) @ HOUSTON (4-3)                          FOX

SAT @ 8PM ET                  BALTIMORE (4-3) @ WASHINGTON (5-2)  ESPN/EFN

SUN @ 12PM ET               OHIO (2-5) @ CHICAGO (4-3)          ABC

SUN @ 12PM ET               BOSTON (2-5) @ NEW JERSEY (5-2)            ABC

SUN @ 12PM ET               ATLANTA (5-2) @ NEW ORLEANS (4-3)             FOX

SUN @ 4PM ET                 OAKLAND (4-3) @ LOS ANGELES (1-6)                 ABC

SUN @ 4PM ET                 SEATTLE (2-5) @ ST. LOUIS (4-3)                            FOX

SUN @ 4PM ET                 MICHIGAN (2-5) @ PORTLAND (5-2)                        FOX

SUN @ 8PM ET                 TEXAS (4-3) @ PITTSBURGH (4-3)                            ESPN/EFN