We have reached the midway point of the league and we still have 2 unbeatens after 8 games, the Houston Gamblers and the Philadelphia Stars. We also have had strong first halves from Arizona, Michigan, and San Diego, each with 2 losses or fewer. On the other end of the spectrum, while we have no winless teams, we are looking at 4 clubs that have managed only 1 win and are already nearing playoff irrelevance: Portland, Chicago, Washington, and Tampa Bay. In between these two extremes, we have 19 clubs between 5-3 and 3-5, all of them very much in the mix as we set up for the second half of the year. Some are riding very positive streaks, like Seattle’s and Oklahoma’s 3-game runs. Others are headed very much the wrong way, including Baltimore, losers of their last 4 after a 3-1 start; Las Vegas dropping their last 3 games, or Jacksonville, dropping from 3-2 to 3-5 over the past 3 weeks. As we examine the midseason results, we will look at the stories of the year so far, all the results from Week 8, and our midseason Power Rankings. All in an effort to prepare you for the next 8 weeks and the race for the USFL postseason.
The 5 storylines developing in 2017
While we probably should say that our way-off-base preseason picks might be the story of the year, rather than wallow in self-pity over our inability to see into the future, we thought it might make mores sense to review the stories that those outside our offices are talking about. So, here, based on all the social media chatter, sports radio discussions, and on-air back-and-forth, are the five stories that have taken over the first half of the 2017 USFL season.
Colt McCoy Steps In & Steps Up
The Gamblers though they had set the table about as well as they could for Matt Hasselbeck’s replacement, but even they likely never imagined that their new QB would not only have the club at a perfect 8-0 at this point in the year, but that McCoy, who spent 3 years backing up the future Hall of Fame QB, would be leading the league with a 131.9 QB Rating, would be on pace for over 4,000 yards passing, and would have 18 TDs, 2nd only to David Carr, at the midway point. We cannot think of a recent QB transition that has been as well-planned, and as effective as this one. Kudos to Coach Phillips and to McCoy himself for playing the long game and waiting his turn. It certainly seems to be paying off.
Harrington & Garrard on Injured Reserve
Any year in which you lose two solid starting QBs to injury for the season is a rough one, and that is certainly the case this year, with 8 weeks left to go. While Oakland hopes that Ryan Lindley prove capable in subbing for Joey Harrington, the 1-7 Washington Federals are still looking for an answer, well more than one at this point, but one at QB to be sure. What makes these two injuries so significant is not just the ramifications for this year, but the very real possibility that one or both veteran signal callers may have already played their last game as a pro. Both are in an age range where an injury like theirs could well trigger a recalibration of priorities and a move towards retirement.
Bell Frustrated but Michigan Looking Better For It
LeVeon Bell had to know that publicly setting 2,000 yards as his target for the year, a target not only beyond anything a USFL back has ever achieved, but over 200 yards beyond Herschel Walker's 1983 record season, would put a target on his back. Every week teams are scheming to rein in the back, putting extra players at the line, focusing on the run game more than against any other team. Here is the thing though, while Bell is currently only 5th in the league with 589 yards, not even on pace for a 1,200 yard season, much less a 2,000 yarder, the Panthers are sitting at 6-2, with a 2 game lead on the division. Was Bell’s boastfulness just a strategy to pull the focus towards him and allow the Michigan passing game to find easier routes to success? Is this a long con by the back to help Michigan win more games? That does not seem to be the case, as Bell is still as outspoken as ever, but if it is, it seems to be working.
Oklahoma is USFL Country
With 4 consecutive sell outs to start their season in their new home, the Outlaws have to be absolutely over the moon about their return to Oklahoma. While OK City is certainly a smaller market than San Antonio was, the state as a whole is turning out to support the Outlaws. From a Week 2 blowout of Memphis to this week’s squeaker over the Dallas Roughnecks, the fans in Oklahoma City have been amazing. It is as close to a college atmosphere as you can get north of Birmingham, and one of the best motivators the club could ever want. The Outlaws enter the break on a 3-game win streak and are hoping they can pay back their new fanbase with a playoff berth. Meanwhile, San Antonio is hoping for good news from the league about a return of USFL football as soon as the 2020 season.
Chicago’s Collapse
Every year there are teams that enter the season with high hopes but seem to crash and burn. While we picked Washington to be very successful, only to see them flounder, for many more fans, it has been Chicago that has had the biggest let down. Last season the Fitzpatrick-led Machine surprised many, rising from a 3-win 2015 season to challenge Michigan at 9-7 and then to win two playoff games, including a win in Michigan, before falling in the Western Conference Championship. The Machine seemed to be a team on the rise, but 2017 feels very much like a return to the pain of the 2015 season. The Machine defense has been a huge disappointment, and the offense, despite being first in rushing in the league with Matt Forte, is just not putting points on the board, scoring only 14.9 per game, bad enough to be 27th in a 28-team league. Sitting at 1-7, the Machine may already be looking at 2018, wondering what they can do to reawaken last year’s dynamic energy.
NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 21 BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 23
Due or die time for the Stallions. That may seem a bit early in Week 8, but when you are 3-4 and you are already 4 games behind the division leader, you cannot afford to fall 3 games behind second place, not if you want any shot at a Wild Card. That was the situation the Stallions found themselves in, sitting 2 games behind the Breakers with the chance to be 5 games behind division leading Houston with another loss. With Cam Newton back after a 2-week absence due to injury, and with a rowdy home crowd ready to give it up against a division rival, there was no time like the present to make a stand.
New Orleans came in with motivation of their own, after all, they too were chasing Houston, who had yet to lose a game, and another division loss would not bode well if they wanted any chance at catching the Gamblers for the division title. It would be Newton vs. Brees with a lot of mid-season playoff positioning in play. Or so it was planned. The game would find its own path.
New Orleans came out hot. After stuffing Birmingham on a 3rd and 4 just outside of field goal range, they got the ball and proceeded to carve up the Stallion defense on their opening drive, using 12 plays and capping off the 81-yard push with a 1-yard shovel pass from Brees to FB Curtis Nelson that put the big blocking back into the endzone. The Breakers looked ready to dominate after 2 possessions. But, as so often seems to happen with Cam Newton on the field, one bad decision immediately changed the tone of the game. That decision was for New Orleans to double Amari Cooper and Dontrelle Inman, leaving no one spying on Newton. The big and athletic QB spotted a lane and before anyone could get in his way, he had a full head of steam and was past the first down marker, then past the 50, then the 30, then the endline and in for 7, brushing off the tackle attempt of a cornerback along the way. The 72-yard run shifted momentum and energy in the stadium. New Orleans would not score again in the half, while Birmingham would add a field goal to take a 10-7 lead.
Following the lead-shifting field goal, Birmingham got yet another big play, this time from the defense. On a 2nd and 7, Drew Brees tried to use play action to slow down the rush. It did not work, and when DE Jacquies Smith clipped Brees’s elbow just as he released, a floating duck flew into the air for anyone to nab. The fluttering pass was grabbed on the fly by LB Reuben Foster, who got about 8 yards downfield before Breaker players tried to wrap him up, but Foster, turned his back to the defense, spotted Antonio Cromartie behind him, and soft tossed the ball back to the cornerback. While two New Orleans linemen were bringing Foster to the ground, Cromartie was down the sideline, untouched for a score. The Stallions went into the half up 10 and feeling very much like the team that had the juice on this day.
Brees, trying to help on the pick-six, got caught up with a trailing Stallion, his ankle catching a cleat, and he would hobble into the locker room for the half. Down 10 and with their starter out of action, it did not look good for the Breakers. When they came out of the locker room to start the third, Brees was nowhere to be found and former Bandit Pat White was taking some warm up throws.
White struggled in his first possession, completing only 1 of 3 passes, and leading to a quick 3-and-out, but the Breaker defense held and soon New Orleans had the ball back. Now in tune with the game, White looked a lot sharper on his next drive. He completed a nice ball to Kenny Britt, then another to his TE, Coby Fleener. In 7 plays the Breakers were knocking on the door, and on a 3rd and goal form the 5, White found Kenny Britt again, this time for 6, giving us only 3-point Stallion advantage.
After two stalled drives, one for each team, Birmingham got the ball back with 1:27 left in the 3rd quarter. Again it was Newton who sparked the offense, this time shaking off an edge rusher, spinning out of the apparent sack and finding T. J. Yeldon in the flat for what would be a 9-yard gain and a first down. The drive would not reach the endzone, but a Garrett Hartley field goal gave Birmingham a 6-point advantage just as the 4th quarter began.
That lead would grow to 9 points as Newton again moved the Stallions into field goal range, this time using his arm to find Cooper for a 31-yard gain on a 2nd and 2. Again the drive stalled inside New Orleans territory, but Hartley added the valuable 3 points to give Birmingham a 2-score advantage with just 3:21 left to play. New Orleans would need to score fast and then get the ball back to have a shot at upending the Stallions.
Pat White did well to get the Breakers back on the board, using only 2:17 on an 8-play drive, all passes, that finished with White hitting his HB, Leonard Fournette, on a swing pass to the left. The problem was, that 2:17 being used meant that he would have barely one minute to get the ball back and get 3 points on the board to eke out the win. That meant an onside kick, which has only an 11% success rate. The kick from Sturgis was a good one, taking the much-desired high 3rd bounce off the natural grass, but the Breakers had their hands team in and the high bounce quickly found the hands of Donny Avery, who dropped to the ground with the ball before a Stallion player could get a good hit on him.
Three plays later, Newton’s kneel down ended all hope for the Breakers and got a throaty ovation from the home crowd in Birmingham. The Stallions would finish the season’s first half at 4-4, only 1 game behind New Orleans and right in the thick of the upcoming playoff race.
OKLAHOMA 19 DALLAS 13
The Outlaws win their third in a row, and first on the road as they level their record at 4-4. Marques Colston came up big with a 72-yard TD to tie the game before two late field goals wrapped up the W for the visitors. Joe Flacco threw for 305 on the day and the Oklahoma defense kept Dallas out of the endzone for the entire 2nd half as they move to .500.
POTG: Oklahoma WR Marques Colston: 4 Rec, 143 Yds, 1 TD
ARIZONA 17 DENVER 28
Denver gets the big home win to knock Arizona from the unbeatens. They did it with defense and a ground game that helped them earn a nearly 40-20 time of possession advantage. Demarco Murray and Jamaal Charles (back from injury this week) combined for 121 yards and a score, while the Denver D picked off David Carr twice, ran one back for a score, and stuffed Frank Gore all day long.
POTG: Denver CB Aqib Talib: 3 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD
TAMPA BAY 6 MEMPHIS 27
Paxton Lynch had his best game of the year, completing 29 of 42 throws for 290 yards and 2 TDs as Memphis blew past the offensively-challenged Bandits. Anthony Allen contributed 81 yards rushing, Robert Woods had 2 TD catches and 119 yards, and the Memphis D held Tampa back Rex Burkhead to only 14 yards on 15 carries.
POTG: Memphis WR Robert Woods: 9 Rec, 119 Yds, 2 TD
CHARLOTTE 28 JACKSONVILLE 24
The Monarchs get a late Trubisky to Pettigrew TD to lift them over the Bulls in Jacksonville. Trubisky struggled with 3 more league-leading interceptions, but came up big with the late game winner. Adrian Peterson rushed for 89 yards and D. J. Hackett added 9 catches for 93 yards and a score as Charlotte moves to 5-3 and keeps the Bulls from hitting .500 at the midway point of the season.
POTG: Charlotte SS Shane Welton: 2 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD
PORTLAND 17 SEATTLE 24
The second Cascade Clash goes much as the first did, with Seattle getting a narrow victory, their third straight win after an 0-5 start. Seattle QB Jacoby Brissett looked solid, completing 21 of 35 throws and tossing 3 touchdown passes. Doug Martin was again the main weapon for Portland, rushing for 92 yards, though it was Felix Jones who scored both rushing TDs for the Stags. Three Portland fumbles helped decide this game as Stag receivers just could not turn catches into possessions.
POTG: Seattle FS Deshon Goldson: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR
PITTSBURGH 6 PHILADELPHIA 33
The Stars put away their in-state rival easily as Matt Gutierrez throws for 305 with 2 TDs. The Star defense sacked Andy Dalton 6 times and forced 2 picks in a rough day for the Red Rifle. Add in 2 Travis Kelce TDs and 148 yards from Stevie Johnson and you have a pretty easy win for the unbeaten Philadelphia Stars.
POTG: Star QB Matt Gutierrez: 13/26, 305 Yds, 2 TD
LAS VEGAS 21 HOUSTON 27
Houston also stays unblemished, though Las Vegas kept it close with a late rally. Mike Evans caught 5 McCoy passes for 118 yards and a TD while Carlos Hyde added 111 and a score rushing the ball. Jeff Tuel played well for the injured Eli Manning, but a 27-7 Houston lead proved too much for him to overcome in the second half.
POTG: Houston HB Carlos Hyde: 27 Att, 111 Yds, 1 TD, 2 Rec, 53 Yds
ST. LOUIS 13 ATLANTA 20
Atlanta reached .500 at the midway point with a 7-point home win over the now 2-6 Skyhawks. Aaron Murray went 24 of 33 and connected with Matt Jones for a score. Drake and Ivory combined for 92 yards and a TD and the Fire defense picked off the final Hail Mary from St. Louis to preserve the win.
POTG: Atlanta CB Darius Slay: 7 Tck, 2 FF, 1 FR
OAKLAND 20 WASHINGTON 11
The Invaders take advantage of the flailing Federals to even their record at 4-4 with backup Ryan Lindley getting his second win as the starter. Lindley went 18 of 27 for 147, but got a huge boost from rookie HB Christian McCaffrey, whose 126 yards included a rushing TD as well. The defense got 7 sacks on Federal starter Michael Flynn, picking Flynn off twice as well on a rough day for Federals fans.
POTG: Invader HB Christian McCaffrey: 21 Att, 126 Yds, 1 TD
LOS ANGELES 19 BALTIMORE 7
The LA defense had Big Ben’s number in this one, sacking the Blitz QB six times and limiting Baltimore to a single score. Reggie Bush rushed for 64 yards and, with Sam Bradford temporarily out of the game, backup Brodie Croyle hit Willie Snead IV for an Express TD. Ad in 4 Dan Bailey field goals and you have the Express at 5-3.
POTG: Express DE Tim Jameson, 3 Tck, 3 Sck
MICHIGAN 27 CHICAGO 12
Chicago succeeded in stifling LeVeon Bell, holding the defending rushing champion to only 20 yards, but in doing so they left their secondary exposed and Kirk Cousins took advantage, throwing for 255, including 2 touchdowns to WR Jerrel Jernigan. Throw in a Kenny Phillips pick-six and you end up with a comfortable win for the Panthers.
POTG: Panther WR Jerrel Jernigan: 6 Rec, 129 Yds, 2 TD
OHIO 20 SAN DIEGO 30
Joe Webb pulled out a couple of long TD runs and threw for a third as the Thunder held off a game Ohio squad to move to 6-2 at the midway point. Ohio got a strong game from Christian Hackenberg, throwing for 311 yards and a score, but it was not enough after a Webb 67-yard TD run was folled by another from 28 yards out. Add in 85 more rushing yards from HB Ryan Williams and you get the Thunder by 10.
POTG: Thunder QB Joe Webb: 18/27, 240 Yds, 1 TD, 9 Att, 96 Yds, 2 TD
NEW JERSEY 10 ORLANDO 16 OVERTIME
Extra time was needed in Orlando, but even with Russell Wilson injured and out for the final 3 quarters, the Renegades still hold on to win on an overtime TD from Connor Shaw to Michael Jenkins. In a game that saw Orlando sack Brett Hundley 6 times, it was one lone hit from Aaron Kampman on Wilson that could put the Orlando QB on the IR and produce some major concerns for the Renegades.
POTG: Orlando QB Connor Shaw: 22/44, 193 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int
ROTY Race Heats Up
Rookie of the year has often been a bit of a frontrunner’s award, with a player emerging early and building momentum through the year. This year, however, we may have a real race on our hands. There are several players who have impressed early, so now it is about maintaining momentum, getting more high-impact plays under their belt, and having their teams use them more and more.
At the front of the pack right now we have two offensive players who are getting a lot of looks, HB Christian McCaffrey in Oakland and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster with the unbeaten Houston Gamblers. McCaffrey has racked up 555 rushing yards, on pace for a possible 1,200 yard rookie season. In addition to that, he has been a big part of the Oakland passing game, with 27 receptions at the midway point. Smith-Schuster has emerged as a favorite target for Colt McCoy, helping Gambler fans recover from the free agent departure of Roy Williams with 528 yards and 5 TDs in his fist 8 games as a pro.
Just behind these two, but certainly in striking range is Charlotte QB Mitch Trubisky and St. Louis LB Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson is seeing a mix of snaps at both OLB and DE, and has picked up 4 sacks and a safety so far, to go with 32 tackles. He faces two potential challenges, however, as his St. Louis club is not looking like a very good team overall, and that as a defensive player he simply does not get the attention, press, or highlight plays that some of the offensive “skills” players get. For Trubisky, the wins have been a very positive feature of his season to date, helping Charlotte finish the first half atop the SE Division with a 5-3 record. The problem? Well, 14 interceptions in 8 games is not what anyone wants to see. There is no way a QB even on a winning team gets the ROTY award if he throws for over 20 interceptions, much less his current astounding pace of 28 over a season.
Webb Shakes & Bakes the Glory
San Diego QB Joe Webb once again used his legs to great effect, helping the Thunder upend the Glory. Webb had a 67-yard TD run and added another from 28 yards out as San Diego held off the Glory by 10 points. He missed earning his second 100-yard game by only 4 yards, rushing for 96 in the game. Webb’s strong run game has made him the league’s top rusher among all QBs, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and on pace for over 500 yards this season. He leads both Cam Newton and Robert Griffin by considerable amounts. And, what may make Webb the best dual threat QB in the league is that he is also finding success in the air, with over 2,200 yards and 10 passing touchdowns. He is completing over 63% of his passes even as he uses his mobility to turn good coverage into a successful rushing play. Webb has San Diego at 6-2 despite a middle-of-the-pack defense, scoring 23 points per game.
Orlando Gets W in Overtime but Loses Wilson
Orlando may have won their second in a row to finish the first half of the season at 5-3 and share 1st place with Charlotte, but it came at a cost. Starting QB Russell Wilson is expected to miss the rest of the season with a hip injury that requires traction for at least the next 3-5 weeks. Wilson’s injury makes him the third starter to be added to IR this season, and in Orlando’s case, could seriously hamper an offense that was built around his mobility and ability to hit the deep ball while outside the pocket. Backup Connor Shaw came in for Wilson and did earn the W for the Renegades, but the 3rd year QB has only started 3 games in his 3 year career and has some big shoes to fill. Coach Fox has expressed confidence in Shaw, expecting him to serve as the starter for the rest of the year. In reserve, Orlando has 2nd year player Brandon Allen, and is expected to activate undrafted rookie Bryan Kohler (New Hampshire) from the practice squad this week, but we expect Orlando to try to land a veteran just to have some stability and experience in the QB room. Could they be looking at Kyle Boller, Brady Quinn, or even former UF Star Tim Tebow?
Brees Likely Out for Week 9
Breakers’ QB Drew Brees hobbled off the field with an ankle injury this week. While x-rays were negative and the injury has been ruled a lower ankle sprain, it is unlikely that Brees will be able to suit up this week as the Breakers host the Houston Gamblers. That is a big loss for a very big game in the Southern Division. Houston is sitting pretty at 8-0, and w in in New Orleans this week would give them a nearly insurmountable 4-game lead in the division, a near guarantee of a division title. New Orleans will roll with former Tampa Bay and Oakland QB Pat White, with Keith Null and rookie Chad Kelly also on the active roster. Brees could be back for Week 10’s game in Dallas, but missing perhaps the biggest game of the season for New Orleans has to be a real struggle for the very competitive Brees.
A bad week, with 4 new IR additions, including Wilson from Orlando and LB Paul Posluszny, a defensive captain for the Maulers. Add in a lot of dings, bumps and bruises and you have one of the longer injury lists of the season so far.
OUT
LB Paul Posluszny PIT Hamstring IR
QB Russell Wilson ORL Hip IR
FB Ross Woodbridge MEM Neck IR
OT Stacy Andrews CHI ACL IR
C Blake Schlueter ARZ Hamstring 2-4 Weeks
CB Ken Crawley DEN Jaw 1-2 Weeks
G Mike McGlynn POR Concussion 1-2 Weeks
WR Muhammed Sanu NJ Wrist 1-2 Weeks
DOUBTFUL
WR Curtis Samuel OHI Thigh
QB Drew Brees NOR Ankle
DE Quentin Groves ARZ Concussion
FB Kyle Juszczyk MGN Shoulder
WR Courtney Taylor BIR Concussion
DT Dontari Poe MEM Toe
QUESTIONABLE
C Jamey Richard POR Toe
TE Cameron Brate PHI Hamstring
G Parker Ehinger PIT Groin
DE Anthony Zettel CHA Wrist
WR Tiquan Underwood DAL Concussion
HB Knowshon Moreno ORL Concussion
DE Matthew Judon LV Personal
League Meetings Provide Plenty of News
It was one of the more eventful league meetings in recent years, when all 28 USFL franchises were represented in the New York league headquarters this past week. There was a lot on the docket and a lot to report on after an intense week. From negotiations with the USFL Players Association to the debate of the 2018 schedule, expansion on the table, and a mysterious call for financial audits of all 28 clubs.
Let’s start with the league’s work on getting an agreement in place with the USFLPA. The issue is revenue sharing. The players are asking for 55% of the league’s revenue to be directed to salaries, the league is hoping to keep the total at the current 51%. They are hoping that by adding more heft to the league’s post-career medical support and pension funding they can demonstrate that the league is already committing more than 55% of their revenue to the players, though not directly through compensation. A select subcommittee was set up in this week’s meetings to engage with the union over the next 6 months to see if an agreement can be reached before the holidays and the USFL draft in January.
Second on the agenda was the schedule, which was set to include a bye week, another USFLPA demand. While most league owners were on board with just how to structure the bye week, with several different proposals coming to the floor, it eventually came down to two models, one, very similar to the NFL’s current bye system, with teams spreading their byes out over 10 of the season’s 17 weeks. The other was a more compressed schedule, one which would see all 28 teams have their bye over a 3-week span, with variation between 6-12 teams having a bye each week. In the end, the compressed bye schedule won out in large part because while the 3 bye weeks in the mid-season window will produce some issues with the league’s television broadcast partners, the input of ABC, FOX, NBC, and ESPN was strongly in favor of a model that produced 14 unaffected weeks, with 14 games each, even at the expense of 3 weeks which might have only 8-12 games played.
The third “big ticket” item was the anticipated vote on an expansion timeline and format. With a guarantee already in place to return a team to San Antonio upon completion of the new Alamodome, expected to be ready in time for the 2020 season, it is not so much a question of if expansion happens, but when and in what format. While this week did not produce an answer on the “how?” question, the league did charge the Competition Committee to develop a plan for both an Expansion Draft draft and a College Draft strategy. What was decided was the timeline, and as expected the league will be expanding to 30 franchises with the addition of two new teams for the 2020 season. San Antonio is a lock for one of the two, with ownership already in place in Red McCombs and Trevor Rees-Jones. The other franchise will be the result of a competitive proposal structure, though there seems to be some inclination to returning a team to New England if a qualified bid comes in from the region. That is not great news for fan groups in the Twin Cities, Kansas City, and Miami, that had hoped their cities would get a fair shake. We may well get bids from investor groups in all three, but it appears that as long as there is an investment group representing either Boston or the larger New England region, it would likely get preferential positioning in the bidding process.
That brings us to the final issue on the docket, the call for financial audits of all 28 USFL clubs. At first there was concern that this was the result of improprieties or potential malfeasance, but that was quickly dispelled by league officials. It appears that what is on the table is a desire to prepare several teams for sales to new owners, and to do so the league is looking to accurately assess the value of each franchise. What league officials are trying to avoid is a bidding war in which one city artificially inflates their value to land a big fish investor, only to force other franchises to try to keep pace and potentially fail to locate investors, leaving the current ownership in limbo. We suspect that the audit is very much a reaction to what many viewed as significantly overvalued sales when the Cannons moved from Boston to become the Dallas Roughnecks and when the Outlaws were sold to a group of Oklahoma City investors. The league fears that the high prices paid for those two franchises, while potentially beneficial for the league in one sense, its public perception, is actually a detriment for other owners who may now not have the ready investor pool that they would like. There was no word out of the meetings as to which clubs are in the potential market for sale, but there are still several franchises who have largely 1-man or 1-family ownership, some dating back to the 1980’s and may be looking at options ahead of the potential departure of the family or ownership figurehead.
So, no crisis, at least not that anyone let on, and within the next year we should get an assessment of each franchise’s value, as well as a plan for league expansion, and a new-look schedule. Hopefully a new CBA with the union is also in the mix, because the last thing the league wants do see just before altering their schedule to add bye weeks and with expansion on the horizon is a labor disruption.
Mid-Season Power Rankings
Halfway through the season and our rankings have changed quite a bit. As teams rise and fall throughout the year, some continue to impress us, some have us worried, and some are just happy not to be dead last right now.
1-HOUSTON GAMBLERS (8-0) Up 1
The Houston Gamblers can thank Denver for their rise to number one. The Gold’s home win over the Wranglers allowed Houston to move up the one spot to take over as king of the mountain.
2-PHILADELPHIA STARS (8-0) Up 1
The Stars are still fighting for respect and are not able to leapfrog the Gamblers, though they two move up one with their unbeaten streak now at 8 games. Matt Gutierrez is silencing the critics with a very solid season that has him sitting at 18 passing TDs in his first 8 weeks.
3-MICHIGAN PANTHERS (6-2) Up 9
A huge leap up the charts for the Panthers, despite a second consecutive 3-1 quarter. Seems folks are believing that the Panthers are not only a solid club, but one playing in a division they can dominate, potentially the first to claim a playoff spot.
4-ARIZONA WRANGLERS (7-1) Down 3
One loss. That is all it took to knock Arizona down from the top of the mountain. Not surprising that they fall 3 spots, but to have 2-loss Michigan ahead of them seems a bit of a statement that perhaps folks are seeing this Arizona club as somehow flawed in ways most are not seeing.
5-SAN DIEGO THUNDER (6-2) Up 4
The Thunder got a great game from Joe Webb this week, and that seems to be building confidence in their ability to hold off the Express and potentially take the division. They are not a flawless team, and they need to improve their run game (outside of Webb) if they want to stay this high up the rankings all season.
6-ORLANDO RENEGADES (5-3)
With Russell Wilson possibly out for the year, we may well see Orlando start to slide down this list. They are a very balanced team, with the league’s YPC leader in Knownshon Moreno, but there are few that feel that Connor Shaw is ready to lead this club to another 5-6 wins this year.
7-DENVER GOLD (5-3) Up 4
After knocking off the Wranglers, and with Orlando possibly struggling in the next month or more, it seems Denver is poised to rise even higher. They are not a flashy team (they rarely are) but they play solid ball and have shown they can beat the best when they are on their game.
8-NEW OREANS BREAKERS (5-3) Down 2
A win this week against Houston can help folks forget the 2-2 month the Breakers just put in. That game could be the focus of their entire campaign. If they get it right, they are in the mix for the division, if they lose, they fall 4 games back, which is too far for any realistic chance at catching Houston.
9-LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (5-3) Down 4
The Express also went 2-2 this month, and that inconsistency is what has folks nervous about this club, including their own coaches. Andy Reid preaches consistency and preparation, but you never seem to know which Express squad you are going to get.
10-NEW JERSEY GENERALS (5-3) Down 2
New Jersey struggled with Philadelphia, which is not a surprise, but they also got hammered by Seattle, and it is that game that has us worried. Is Brett Hundley hitting a wall? Is the O-line unable to protect him? Bad questions to be asking at this phase of a season.
11-CHARLOTTE MONARCHS (5-3) Up 2
Mitch Trubisky has a winning record after 8 weeks, but he is also leading the league in picks, with a painful14 in only 8 games. The Monarchs need to do more to support him if they want him to cut down on those mistakes. Far too many of those picks are due to the young QB trying to do it all.
12-OKLAHOMA OUTLAWS (4-4) Up 8
With three straight wins, Oklahoma gets the honor of leading the cluster of 4-4 teams into the rankings. We like what we are seeing from the offense over the past month, with Joe Flacco and Marshawn Lynch having more success as the season wears on. The D still has a few too many question marks, but overall the team seems to be headed in the right direction.
13-BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (4-4) Down 3
We are honestly surprised Birmingham did not drop farther after a 1-3 quarter, but perhaps our voters are taking into account that they did not have Cam Newton available for 2.5 of those 4 games.
14-ATLANTA FIRE (4-4) Up 3
Again, a bit surprised, as we thought Atlanta’s 3-1 quarter might push them into the Top 10, but even with the offense looking a lot better, there are still a lot of questions about this club, and particularly about their ability to beat some of the league’s better teams.
15-OHIO GLORY (4-4) Up 7
The Glory got a lot of credit for their 3-1 second quarter. It seems that folks are seeing what they want to from the defense and with Christian Hackenberg finding some success, Ohio could be a team on the rise.
16-OAKLAND INVADERS (4-4) Down 1
A very modest shift for the Invaders after a second 2-2 quarter. Middle of the pack seems to fit them well this year, and, honestly, after losing Joey Harrington, we expected a huge drop off, but so far the team has rallied behind Ryan Lindley.
17-MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (3-5) Up 7
Paxton Lynch seems to be seeing the game better and has had some solid outings of late. Going 2-2 in the 2nd quarter is a slight improvement, but the Showboats also showed us they could compete when they hung tough with Arizona on a nationally televised night game.
18-BALTIMORE BLITZ (3-5) Down 14
Wow, what a violent drop! Seems that the voters are very much worried about this Blitz squad. They started the year strong at 3-1, but have been out of synch for a while, not putting up points and not forcing turnovers.
19-DALLAS ROUGHNECKS (3-5) No Change
Dallas, and QB Brandon Wheedon, are getting no respect. They went from 1-3, to a slightly better 2-2 this quarter, despite their starting QB being suspended for 6 games. Former Monarch Brandon Wheedon has come in and played well, but voters are still very suspicious of this defense.
20-SEATTLE DRAGONS (3-5) Up 8
A 3-game win streak, with 2 of those against Portland, helped catapult Seattle out of the basement and near the top of the bottom quarter. That is a big jump, and we suspect a lot of this comes from the way they dominated New Jersey in one of the year’s biggest upsets.
21-PITTSBURGH MAULERS (3-5) Down 3
The Maulers may have improved in the 2nd quarter (from 1-3 to 2-2) but no one is willing to give them credit for it. It does not help to have lost some very ugly games and to have a possible QB controversy brewing after Andy Dalton returned from injury looking less effective than Kevin Hogan did in his absence.
22-LAS VEGAS VIPERS (3-5) Down 6
The 2-2 start turned into a 1-3 second quarter, and with the offense looking a bit anemic, even when Eli manning is back in action, it is looking very much like the Vipers are not in the running in a very tough SW Division.
23-JACKSONVILLE BULLS (3-5) Down 7
The honeymoon seems to be over for C. J. Beathard, and we expect to see more RGIII in the second half of the season. That said, is there really a QB issue here? Or is it possible to say that neither option is particularly compelling?
24-ST. LOUIS SKYHAWKS (2-6) Up 1
Not much change in our perception or our assessment of how the year is going for Coach Reich. The Skyhawks battle but they rarely come out on top. This is a team in need of a rebuild.
25-PORTLAND STAGS (1-7) Up 1
Well, the Stags did get their first win, a shocking upset of the Express in LA, but that was sandwiched between two losses to rival Seattle. Aside from Doug Martin, it is hard to point to anything that is going well for this Stags team.
26-TAMPA BAY BANDITS (1-7) Down 1
We want to give the Bandits credit for earning a win, but that win was over Chicago, who are clearly the most disappointing team of the year right now (well, one of two). Contrast that one win with the Bandits’ humiliating 55-7 loss to Michigan, 20-0 loss to Atlanta, and this week’s 27-6 loss to Memphis, and this has been a very bad month by the bay.
27-CHICAGO MACHINE (1-7)
The Machine have now lost 6 in a row, and have looked every bit the part of a team that has no identity and no true leadership. That is not good for Coach Smith, who showed such promise last year, as he struggles to get anything to work as scripted each week.
28-WASHINGTON FEDERALS (1-7)
The Federals are looking every bit the train wreck, and the loss of David Garrard pretty much locks in that sentiment, despite Michael Flynn pulling out the game in Atlanta. The Feds are just miserable on defense, and with no run game to speak of, they simply cannot control the clock, shorten games or keep from falling behind and playing catch up every single week.
Birmingham Going “Sweet Home, Alabama” with Alt Uniforms
The Birmingham Stallions celebrate their home state with the release of their alternate uniform, a design that removes all the old gold from their look and uses crimson and white to celebrate the state of Alabama (and the university that shares those same colors). The new alts feature a red helmet, jersey and pants, all featuring angled striping in white, intersected by the diagonal stripes seen on the state flag.
The helmet features the team’s new logo, now without any gold elements, portrayed in white, along with a stripe that tapers from front to back. The Jersey has a white shoulder yoke, again with the state’s two diagonal stripes breaking up the look. Finally, the pants also feature a tapered stripe, with the crossed stripes just below a small version of the “B” monogram secondary logo on each hip. We expect to see this look primarily for night games as the all-red look might be considerably warmer and less comfortable for a good part of the season during day games in Alabama’s hot, humid summer.
We should also note that, as expected, the new alts were revealed along with the team’s throwback alternates, a call back to the 1983 inaugural season, featuring traditional shoulder and pant stripes along with the original 1983 full-body Stallion logo.
A 50/50 week with half of the league in divisional play and the other half playing across divisions or conferences. We kick the weekend off with a double header of divisional games, starting in New Jersey, where the 5-3 Generals try to serve up the first loss of the season to their arch rivals, Philadelphia. The late game has two contenders in the Southwest Division squaring off as Denver heads to OK City for the first time since 1987 to face the Outlaws.
On Saturday we have some interesting matchups on tap, including LA @ Ohio, Atlanta @ Michigan, and Dallas at Las Vegas, both sitting at 3-5 and hoping a win gets them back in the mix in the Western Conference. Sunday has a huge game in the Southern Division as the Gamblers take their perfect 8-0 record into New Orleans. If the Breakers stand any chance of catching Houston for the division crown, they absolutely need to win this head-to-head clash at the Super Dome.
FRI 7PM ET Philadelphia (8-0) @ New Jersey (5-3) FOX
FRI 9PM ET Denver (5-3) @ Oklahoma (4-4) ESPN/EFN
SAT 12PM ET Los Angeles (5-3) @ Ohio (4-4) ABC
SAT 12PM ET Charlotte (5-3) @ Tampa Bay (1-7) FOX
SAT 4PM ET Oakland (4-4) @ St. Louis (2-6) ABC
SAT 4PM ET Atlanta (4-4) @ Michigan (6-2) FOX
SAT 7PM ET Chicago (1-7) @ Jacksonville (3-5) NBC
SAT 9PM ET Dallas (3-5) @ Las Vegas (3-5) ESPN/EFN
SUN 12PM ET Washington (1-7) @ Pittsburgh (3-5) ABC Regional
SUN 12PM ET Seattle (3-5) @ Baltimore (3-5) ABC Regional
SUN 12PM ET Houston (8-0) @ New Orleans (5-3) FOX
SUN 4PM ET San Diego (6-2) @ Portland (1-7) ABC
SUN 4PM ET Birmingham (4-4) @ Arizona (7-1) FOX
SUN 8PM ET Orlando (5-3) @ Memphis (3-5) ESPN/EFN
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