From a game that saw both teams using their 3rd string QBs, to an absolute swamp game in Portland, this was a week for some weird action across the league. Baltimore drops their 5th straight, New Jersey their third in a row, and New Orleans their second straight, while Houston and Philadelphia remain perfect. We are also watching as Seattle, Denver, and Ohio continue to surprise us. It was a week that also saw an unexpected QB switch as New Jersey Head Coach Norv Turner went with Nick Foles over Brett Hundley in a move no one saw coming. A weird week across the league, to be sure. We will cover all the games, look into Baltimore’s contentious locker room, and give you our thoughts on the breakout players of the season, all right here, right now.
Infighting in Baltimore as Blitz Lose 5th in a Row
Things are getting ugly for Coach Caldwell and the Blitz. A lot was expected of this team, but as they lose their 5th game in a row, tensions are turning into conflicts within the locker room. The Blitz were picked by many to win the NE Division this year, following a run of 3 consecutive playoff seasons (and a league title in 2014), but after dropping their game, at home, to the Seattle Dragons, the wheels appear to be coming off the bus in Baltimore.
The post-game scene in the Blitz locker room was not good. We saw pushing and shoving, a lot of yelling between teammates, and a head coach who did his best to calm down his squad, but who did not appear to be in full control of the team. It is offense v. defense, offense v. itself, and, apparently, former St. Louis DE Olivier Vernon vs. just about everyone. Vernon could be seen ripping into his teammates, both on the D-line and on the offense, for their lack of intensity in the loss to Seattle. That beef, particularly against HB Anthony Dixon and the offense, turned into a shoving match between Vernon and OT Ryan Ramczyk that was, in all honestly, more heated than either had been against their Seattle opposition.
This is a situation that has not gone over well with Jim Caldwell or with team ownership. It is one thing to lose a few games, but to lose the sense of team is one of the most catastrophic things that can happen to a team. It will now be up to Caldwell and team captains like QB Ben Roethlisberger, OG Connor McGovern, and CB Jabari Greer to change the dynamics of this team ahead of their game this week in Washington. Facing the last place Federals should be a boost to Baltimore, but a loss to their fiercest rival would be their 6th in a row, and a huge letdown to the team and their fans, which could well mark the end of the season for the Blitz. And, as if this team needed any more pressure, the Federals have already been hyping up the game in the local media market as a battle for respect. That is sure to bring the tensions up yet another notch as the two clubs prepare to face off on Sunday.
CHARLOTTE MONARCHS 27 TAMPA BAY BANDITS 33 OVERTIME
Saturday’s Monarchs-Bandits matchup was not expected to be one of the week’s highlights, but turned out to be one of the more entertaining games of the season. With Tampa Bay coming in at only 1-7 and Charlotte at 5-3, there was general agreement that the Monarchs should be able to pull away in this one against a Bandit offense that simply has not been able to find its stride. And while we are not sure that all has started to sort itself out in Tampa Bay, they certainly found offense this week, racking up 408 yards and exceeding their best scoring output of the season by 9 points (33 to a previous best of 24). After scoring only 13 points over the past two weeks, this was certainly an unexpected development, one Tampa fans in attendance were happy to see.
The scoring started early for the Bandits as they turned their first possession into 7 points. The Bandits put together an 11-play scripted drive that led to 2nd year back Devontae Booker plunging into the endzone from the 3. Booker and Rex Burkhead combined for 109 yards rushing on the day, with rookie Dalvin Cook out for several weeks with a fracture in the radius bone of his left arm.
Charlotte responded with Mitch Trubisky hitting Hakeem Nicks for the Monarch’s first score of the game, and the race was on. The two teams would score on 5 consecutive drives in the 2nd quarter, all field goals except for a Dak Prescott TD pass to Santonio Holmes. Prescott would have his best game of the season in this one, completing 27 of 42 passes for 299 yards and 3 TDs. Mitch Trubisky would do something he had not done all season, go a game without throwing a pick. The combination of good QB play and some shaky defense brought us to 17-16 at the half.
In the second half, the run games of both teams started to find more success. Burkhead would finish the game with 81 yards rushing, while Charlotte’s Adrian Peterson would have his first 100-yard game of the season, rushing for102 on 18 carries and adding a 3rd quarter TD to give Charlotte a 24-17 lead. Early in the 4th, the Bandits would equalize the score when Prescott hit his tight end, Greg Olsen for a short TD, the end of another long, sustained drive.
Charlotte would take the lead right back on their next drive, putting a 21-yard field goal on the board after a nice goalline stand by the Bandit defense kept them out of the endzone. With 2:57 left, the Monarchs held the slim 27-24 lead, but there was time for Tampa Bay to either win or send the game to overtime. Once again, Dak Prescott found success in the passing game, connecting with Hank Baskett for a nice 27-yard connection, then finding Ryan Grant for 19 as the Monarch pressure seemed to backfire late in the game.
Like Charlotte, Tampa Bay had three shots at a touchdown from inside the 10, but just as they had done to Charlotte, the Monarchs stymied the Bandits in their attempts to get 7 points on the board. After Prescott was forced to throw the ball out of the endzone on 3rd and goal, they settled for 3 and sent the game to overtime.
In the extra period Charlotte would not see the ball. Tampa Bay won the toss, took the ball, and repeated a very similar drive to the one that got the game to extra time. Dak Prescott completed 3 of 5 passes, and the last one, a 24-yard dagger to Santonio Holmes, put a pin in the game and gave Tampa Bay their second win of the year. The loss hurts Charlotte, who had hoped to take over sole possession of first place in the division. Now sitting at 5-4, Charlotte is tied with Orlando, and has both Atlanta and Jacksonville within 2 games of first. While all 4 of these clubs lost this week, not a good look for the division, it seems clear that the Southeast will be hotly contested for the rest of the season.
PHILADELPHIA 24 NEW JERSEY 7
The Generals threw us a surprise, starting Nick Foles, but that did not phase Philadelphia, who picked off the New Jersey QB three times. Derrick Henry showed he could be a receiver, catching 3 balls for 68 yards, including a 45-yard TD on a perfect outside screen. With 73 yards rushing and a rushing score as well, he combined for 141 yards from scrimmage. Matt Gutierrez would throw for 309 on the day, with 2 TDs, surviving 6 sacks from the New Jersey defense to boost the Stars’ lead in the division to 4 games.
POTG: Stars HB Derrick Henry: 16 Att, 73 Yds, 1 TD, 3 Rec, 68 Yds, 1 TD
DENVER 23 OKLAHOMA 3
A big win for the Gold as they move to 6-3 on the season, thanks in large part to a defense that sacked Joe Flacco 9 times and picked off the Outlaw QB twice. It was a rough home game for the Outlaws as their offensive line struggled to protect Flacco from Von Miller (4 sacks) and could not open holes for Marshawn Lynch (31 yards on 12 carries). Meanwhile DeMarco Murray rushed for 102, his first 100-yard game of the season.
POTG: Gold DE Von Miller: 4 Tck, 4 Sck
LOS ANGELES 24 OHIO 26
The Glory nip the Express in Columbus, thanks to a late Robbie Gould field goal. Los Angeles had gone on top by 1 with a Bradford to Agholor TD but the defense could not keep the Glory out of range for Gould. Pead and Jennings combined for 88 yards rushing and Justin Blackmon had a big game with 7 receptions for 127 and a score as the Glory move to 5-4 and drop the Express to the same record.
POTG: Ohio LB Daniel Ellerbe: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 FF
OAKLAND 20 ST. LOUIS 13
Ryan Lindley relied on the run game with McCaffrey and Davis combining for 136 yards. The defense also put in a good game, sacking Josh Freeman twice, including a hit that forced him out of the game. Ricky Stanzi could not bring St. Louis back in the 2nd half as the Oakland defense continued to pressure the Skyhawks. Lindley found 10 different receivers on the day, throwing a TD to Taylor Gabriel, and using both of his backs in the passing game.
POTG: Oakland HB Knile Davis: 8 Att, 73 Yds, 7 Rec, 46 Yds
ATLANTA 19 MICHIGAN 26
LeVeon Bell once again went off, this time rushing for 164 yards and averaging nearly 8 yards per carry. His success helped Kirk Cousins as well, with play action helping Cousins hit 20 of 26 passes, including 3 touchdowns. The Michigan D struggled a bit against the Fire run game, with Ivory and Drake combining for 123 yards, but held Atlanta in check as the Panthers built up a comfortable 26-12 lead.
POTG: Panther HB LeVeon Bell: 21 Att, 164 Yds
CHICAGO 16 JACKSONVILLE 13 OVERTIME
A hard fought game that very easily could have ended in a tie as the Machine and Bulls battled in Jacksonville. The Machine outgained the Bulls 388-262, thanks to a 146-yard day from Aaron Dobson and solid running from the two backs subbing for the dinged up Matt Forte. Brandon Boldin had 61 yards on 24 carries, while James Wilder Jr. added 28 on 14 carries. Bad per-carry averages for both, but enough run focus to free up Fitzpatrick to throw for 298 yards. Robert Griffin was back under center and guided the Bulls to a 4th quarter game-tying fieldgoal, but in overtime, with just 23 seconds left in the extra period, Chicago got the winning score on a 48-yarder from William Hopper.
POTG: Chicago WR Aaron Dobson: 10 Rec, 146 Yds
DALLAS 14 LAS VEGAS 17
In a battle of backups, Jeff Tuel outperformed Brandon Wheedon, throwing for 2 scores early to help Las Vegas go up 14-0. Dallas played from a hole the entire game. A Samaje Perine 11-yard TD run with 5:14 left to play got them within 3, but in two late game possessions, they ended with a turnover on downs and an fumble, cementing Las Vegas’s 4th win on the year.
POTG: Las Vegas DE Mario Addison: 2 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF
WASHINGTON 20 PITTSBURGH 17
The Feds make it 2 in a row by building a 20-7 lead on the Maulers and holding on during a late Pittsburgh rally. Mike Flynn threw an early TD to Keenan Allen, before getting knocked out of the game in the 3rd quarter. Bradley Fletcher picked off Andy Dalton for another score and after 3 quarters the Feds had a 13-point lead. The Maulers added 10 in the 4th to make it close but could not stop a key 3rd down conversion by HB Wendell Smallwood, allowing Washington to finish out the game with the ball in their hands.
POTG: Federals’ DE Chris Long: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF
SEATTLE 20 BALTIMORE 10
Who is gonna stop these Dragons? Seattle wins their 4th in a row as Baltimore’s offense fizzles. Big Ben completes only 14 of 32 passing and the run game produces a grand total of 33 yards as the Dragon defense has come alive. On offense, C. J. Anderson and Joseph Addai combine for 115 yards, with Anderson getting 29 carries on a big day for the big man.
POTG: Dragon LB Calvin Pace: 5 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR
HOUSTON 28 NEW ORLEANS 17
With Pat White in for Drew Brees, New Orleans struggled to keep pace with the Gamblers. White was sacked 9 times but still threw for 302 yards. The problem was that those yards did not turn in to nearly enough points. The Breakers led 17-14 after 3, but Houston got TDs from Carlos Hyde and Vernon Davis to pull ahead and take over the game in the 4th. Colt McCoy finished with 287 yards and 3 TDs (two to Mike Evans), while rookie Juju Smith-Schuster caught 5 balls for 117 yards.
POTG: Houston safety Kenny Vaccaro: 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR
SAN DIEGO 6 PORTLAND 3
An absolute deluge in Portland made this game, and the field, a sloppy mess. Puddles pooled up in several areas as heavy rain pelted the field for nearly the entire game. Without lightning involved, the game was not paused, but perhaps it should have been as neither team could do anything. It came down to field goals, with San Diego getting the game winner in the 4th, a surprising conversion on a last gasp 53-yarder from Jeff Reed.
POTG: San Diego kicker Jeff Reed: 2 for 2 on field goals.
BIRMINGHAM 16 ARIZONA 20
The Wranglers went up 14-0 in the first, thanks to long TD passes from Carr to Bryant and Carey, but then momentum shifted, and the Stallions dominated the rest of the game, nearly pulling off the upset. Cam Newton threw the ball 54 times, completing 33 for 322 yards. It looked like he had the game won late in the 4th, but a ball that looked like an easy touchdown for TE Bo Scaife, ended up as a tip, recovered in the air by Arizona LB Scooby Wright for a heartbreaking endzone interception.
POTG: Arizona QB David Carr: 13/19, 269 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int
ORLANDO 12 MEMPHIS 13
We saw 5 different QBs in this game as Paxton Lynch and Kyle Orton got sidelined for Memphis, while backup Connor Shaw, in for Russell Wilson, also got knocked out late. By the 4th it was Memphis 3rd stringer, rookie Joshua Dobbs against former Orlando 3rd stringer Bryan Kohler. Dobbs got Memphis into position for the late fieldgoal and that was enough to knock off the hobbled Renegades.
POTG: Memphis CB Marcus Williams: 4 Tck, 5 PDef
Foles Gets Surprise Start vs. Stars
The fans, the Philadelphia Stars, and even the announcers on the FOX Friday Night USFL broadcast were surprised when Nick Foles trotted out onto the field to open the week of USFL action. There had been no announcement, no commentary, and no sign from the team that Coach Turner was going to make a QB switch this week. And yet, there was Nick Foles in the huddle and Brett Hundley wearing a baseball cap on the sideline. The game opened with speculation of an unreported injury, but there was soon confirmation, when Pam Oliver caught up with Coach Turner right before the half.
‘This was a decision, not a necessity. Brett if fine, we just wanted to give Nick a chance.” Was the quote. And let us tell you, it is a quote that has caught a lot of heat in New York and on NY Sports Radio as Nick Foles and the Generals did not look ready to take on the unbeaten Stars, falling for the third week in a row by a score of 24-7. Nick Foles, to his credit, had some moments, but he was also picked off 3 times by the Star defense. Coach Turner has since said that sending Foles in against the unbeaten Stars was a tough first assignment, but holds by his decision, stating that he expects to start Foles against Memphis this week and Portland the week after. The goal, it would appear, is to spark a Generals passing game that averaged under 200 yards per game over the season’s first 8 weeks, with Brett Hundley under center. Foles will apparently get at least 3 weeks to show something, and after that, Coach Turner will again have a decision on his hand. But, with New Jersey now at 5-4, 4 full games behind the Stars and in the thick of a cluster of Wild Card hopefuls, they are playing a dangerous game of wait and see.
Von Miller Has Huge Game as Gold Thump Outlaws
While Von Miller has not revolutionized edge pass rushing since coming over from the NFL Broncos to the USFL Gold, he has certainly been both extremely effective and extremely entertaining. Calais Campbell may well remain as the gold standard of the edge rusher in the league, once again leading all defenders in sacks, but Von Miller certainly has had his moments, and this week was one of his biggest yet.
Against an Oklahoma O-line that simply has not been adequate all season, and vs. a QB notorious for standing in the pocket like a statue, Miller had 4 sacks on Joe Flacco, and beyond that another 9 pressures, including 1 that directly led to an interceptions. Flacco was sacked 9 times on the day, a painful reminder that his O-line and his style of play are not condusive to good health. Of those 9, Miller got the credit on 4, but easily could have been given partial credit on 3 more. His matchups, first against LT Rodger Saffold, and then against a combination of Saffold, TE Chris Cooley, and FB Roosevelt Nix was a carnival of inadequacy, with Miller frequently and quickly defeating the blocks and double teams to harass Flacco mercilessly.
Miller is a big reason for Denver’s current place atop the defensive stats as the top team in Points Against, at only 15.1 per game, and the defense is the biggest reason the Gold are sitting at 6-3 in a year that was expected to be a bit of a setback. Coach Hufnagel is leaning heavily on his defense to keep offenses under control, and to provide his somewhat erratic offense with plenty of short fields to produce points. The Gold offense is 27th in yards, and yet 17th in points thanks to those short field scenarios. Miller is currently tied for 4th in the league with 11 sacks, only 4 behind Campbell’s 15, and this week he put a clinic on that rivals anything we have seen from Orlando’s future Hall of Famer.
Bell Racks Up Yards Again
After a nice 12-yard run on the opening Michigan drive of the game, HB LeVeon Bell could be seen doing the “Feed me” gesture to the jumbotron at Ford Field. It was a message to his coach, and Coach McDermott got the message loud and clear. Bell was feeling it against Atlanta, and his coach was more than happy to have Bell saunter up to the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. Bell would finish with 21 carries, not a gorging at the trough, but a solid dose of work. With that meal plan he finished with 164 carries, his best total of the year and his 3rd 100-yard game.
The strategy of feeding Bell early and often worked out well for the entire Michigan offense as the threat of the run made life that much easier for Kirk Cousins, who used play action to complete 20 of 26 passes on his way to a 3-TD day. Teams have been packing the line to hinder Bell, and have had some success doing so, but when he is on, as he was this week, even that does not slow down the back. With 1-8 Portland on the menu this week, we should probably expect Bell to eat heartily this week as he pushes his way towards the top of the rushing leaderboard.
Seattle Wins 4th in a Row with Road Upset of Blitz
In our preseason power ranking we had the Seattle Dragons as the worst team in the league. At the ¼ mark of the season we had maintained them there as they sat at 0-4 and looked somewhat lost with 4 straight losses. But now, with their impressive win over Baltimore, the Dragons have won 4 in a row and are one of the hottest teams in the league. They are traveling to Oakland this week to face an Invader teams struggling to find an identity without Joey Harrington available. A win against their Pacific Division rival and the Dragons are sitting at 5-5, something few would have predicted and fewer still would have believed when the team hit 0-5 earlier this year.
So, how have they done it? The stats seem to indicate that it has been a full team effort, with the offense and defense playing complementary ball. The Dragons have found an offense with Jacoby Brissett at QB and a split-carry backfield of C. J. Anderson and Joseph Addai. They are averaging 22.9 points per game, good enough for 7th in the league. Meanwhile, the defense has been keeping them in games, holding the opposition to only 201 yards passing per game. When we look back at their initial 5 games, all losses, we did see some signs that Coach Riley’s team was not as weak as their record indicated. When you look at those early games, you see that Seattle lost by 3, 3, 6, and 2 points in 4 of the 5 games, with only a 27-12 defeat in San Diego standing out. They were in games, and as they gained in experience with Riley’s system and emphasis on ball control, they started to break through.
Against Portland, the team’s first win, it was Brissett, with 310 yards and 3 TDs who proved the hero. The next week, a stunning 39-6 demolition of the Generals in New Jersey was the result of a high pressure defense that simply rattled Brett Hundley and the General offense. After another win over Portland, one where Brissett again threw for 3 scores, the Dragons traveled to Baltimore and once again the defense proved very effective, holding the Blitz to only 33 yards rushing and holding Roethlisberger to only 260 yards and 1 TD. This is complementary football, and with Seattle now at 4-5, fans in Seattle are beginning to have faith in their team and have hopes that a Wild Card berth is a very real possibility for a team we all thought needed a lot of work to even finish 4th in the division.
Summer Squal Creates Sloppy Field as Thunder Return to Portland
We all talk about football weather, often used to describe brisque fall days or somewhat sloppy conditions. What we saw in Portland this week was not football weather. To use another cliché, it was weather only a duck could love, and while Oregon is famous for its ducks, they were not on the field when the Stags took on the San Diego Thunder this week. What was on the field was water, a lot of water. Overwhelmed by the constant deluge, the field’s natural wicking could not keep pace and puddles formed all over the field. Players crashed to the ground, producing splashes worthy of a pool party cannonball dive. Even the refs had issues, with several slips and blooper reel falls as they tried to keep pace with the action.
The result of this swamp game? Horrible offense, sloppy defense, a lot of frustration, only 9 points scored, and a very wet, uncomfortable and unhappy fanbase. The game only drew about 18,000 fans to the 52,000 seat Columbia Sportswear Stadium, a mixture of weather weariness and a 1-7 team in the Stags. But those who started the game under ponchos and rain gear, most finished the game either underneath the protective cover of the mezzanine concession walkways or in their cars, unwilling to sit out what was a truly bizarre, and not very entertaining game. Welcome to football in the Pacific Northwest, where even the summer can occasionally look like mid-March in other parts of the country.
Yet Another QB Lost as Freeman Goes to IR
This is proving to be a bad year for QB injuries as a 4th USFL starter is lost for the season. St. Louis’s Josh Freeman this week joined Joey Harrington, David Garrard and Russell Wilson on the league’s season-ending IR list. Freeman suffered a full bicep tear this week as he tried to support his weight and that of a defender as he was tackled. The injury to his throwing arm means that he will need surgery, already planned for next week, and a long recovery time before he can begin throwing again.
The rash of injuries to league starters, mostly savvy veterans, has been somewhat unprecedented, and what makes it that much harder to gauge is that the injuries are all so different. For Wilson it is the bicep, for Harrington the MCL, Wilson’s hip, and Garrard’s ACL. This is not a situation where there is a ready explanation. We cannot point to a league rule that needs tweaking, or the turf condition. It is simply bad luck, if you believe in that kind of thing. No clear answers, but if I were one of the league’s 24 other team managers, especially those whose clubs depend on a star QB, I would be lighting up some sage bundles and trying to purify the stadium from evil spirits. It can’t hurt. Right?
Aside from the Freeman injury noted above, the story of this week’s Injury Report is concussions. As many as 5 players could miss action this week due to the brain injury. Concussions are always a concern, but what has been somewhat troubling of late is the frequency of this injury among offensive linemen, not usually a group that engages in high speed helmet-to-helmet contact. What we are seeing is cases of blurred vision, loss of balance, and headaches being produced by what seem like routine plays or contact with elbows and knees in dogpiles. The league will have difficulty regulating what happens in these post-fumble skirmishes, so the answer may be to look into further protective advances in helmet design.
OUT
QB Josh Freeman STL Torn Biceps IR
OT Ryan Considine WSH Hip IR
G Rokevious Watkins PHI Back/Neck IR
OT Stacy Andrews CHI ACL IR
OT Demar Dotson MGN Wrist 6-8 Weeks
HB Dalvin Cook TBY Arm 1-2 Weeks
SS Daimion Stafford DEN Concussion 1-2 Weeks
QUESTIONABLE
SS Baccari Rambo BIR Concussion
G Mike McGlynn POR Concussion
G Mike Iupati ORL Hamstring
C Stefan Wisniewski DEN Concussion
LB Jarvis Jones MEM Concussion
Breakout Stars of 2017
We are past the midway point of the USFL season and time to take a look at players who have impressed us, often surprised us, as they broke out of obscurity and have garnered some much-deserved attention this season. We have chosen five this year who are outperforming expectations and showing us that they have the stuff to make an impact for their clubs. Here are our five breakout players for 2017.
QB Colt McCoy (HOU)
We all knew that the handoff from Matt Hasselbeck to McCoy was planned for years. What we did not know before the season started was how ready McCoy would be to take the reins of Coach Phillips’s Gambler team. With McCoy currently leading the league in both QB Rating and yards, it seems clear that he was more than ready to take over the Gamblers. McCoy has Houston at 9-0 and very close to locking up a playoff spot. He trails only David Carr in touchdown passes, and he is quickly becoming a celebrity around Houston. Just this week there were 3 new adds featuring McCoy on the air in the Houston area. Welcome to stardom, Mr. McCoy.
QB Aaron Murray (ATL)
If the USFL had a Comeback Player of the Year award, Aaron Murray would likely be earning the title this year. Two years after being benched as they starter in LA, a job he held for barely 1 full season between his rookie and sophomore years, Murray returned to Georgia in a trade and has rebuilt his reputation. In a move that was largely viewed as LA giving up on the former UGA quarterback, the Express sent Murray back home to the Atlanta Fire for only a 6th round pick in the 2017 draft and 3rd string HB Raymond Williams. Murray was supposed to be a “local star” the Fire could talk up even if he could not beat out Brad Gradkowski or Notre Dame rookie Deshone Kizer for the starting job. But Murray won the job in camp, and after a couple of rough weeks to start the year, has started to show the leadership and the QB skills we saw in college. Murray has been a big reason Atlanta has won 4 of their last 6 games, and could well help the Fire stay in the mix in the very competitive SE Division this season.
HB Doug Martin (POR)
It was a trade that many questioned, breaking up a solid 2-back system in Chicago. And while both Portland, with Martin as the lead back, and Chicago, despite the success of Matt Forte, have struggled to put wins on the scoreboard, there is no doubt that Martin’s arrival in Portland has given him a chance to show his worth. Despite playing on a team that struggles to pass the ball, Martin is leading the league with 778 yards after 9 weeks, on pace for a 1,500 yard season. He is averaging just under 4 yards per carry, but has put up 100 yard games 3 times, with another 2 games over 90 yards. It has not produced wins yet for the Stags, but it has shown that Martin can be a true bell cow, not part of a tandem. While he has had three 1,000-yard seasons in his time with Chicago, this year feels different because he is the clear number one, and the focal point of every defense that faces the Stags.
WR Justin Blackmon (OHI)
Another veteran player who has found new life this season, Blackmon did not change teams this year, now in his 4th year in Ohio after coming over from Dallas in 2014, but this year is proving to be his best yet. Maybe it is the improved QB play with Christian Hackenberg under center. Perhaps it is the new offense brought in by OC Nathaniel Hackett, or perhaps it is just Blackmon’s maturation in the years since coming out of Oklahoma State. The early years of Blackmon’s pro career did not go as planned, with a DUI and a marijuana possession charge in Dallas pushing the Roughnecks to move the player to Ohio. But under the watchful eyes of the Glory, and particularly well-noted disciplinarian Tom Coughlin, Blackmon has grown and developed, both as a player and as a man. After a 1,000 yards season in 2015, he had 990 last year, and now is on pace for over 1,500 yards, but what is more, he has kept his nose clean and has become a reliable teammate and team leader. A good story of second chances, to be sure.
DE Robert Ayers (JAX)
The story of this year seems to be 2nd chances. That is what Robert Ayers got when he left the Outlaws and joined the Jacksonville Bulls. After 5 seasons in Texas, where Ayers started only 4 games, he came to Jacksonville, where he earned the starting job, first at RE and, after 9 sacks last season, now on the left side. The shift to the coveted LE spot has been seen as a sign of faith in Ayers from Coach Del Rio, a confidence that has led Ayers to reach 10 sacks for the first time in his pro career. He now sits at 12 for the year and could well hit 20 by season’s end. That is a great story for a player who simply did not show what he was capable of until he found a situation where his talent was properly groomed and his confidence boosted.
Portland’s Conflicted Fanbase On Display Sunday
It is always a bit of an odd display when the Thunder come back to Portland. Ever since the club left for Las Vegas in 2004 the fans in Portland have held something of a love-hate relationship with the Thunder. Much like the Colts with Baltimore or the Raiders and Oakland, there remains so much history and so many good memories that many fans still have a soft spot for the Thunder, even as they feel betrayed by the club for leaving the city. When Portland got a USFL club back in 2008, there were many who pushed for the Thunder identity to return to the city and for Las Vegas to get a new identity. That effort went nowhere, and the Thunder remained in Las Vegas while the Stags became the new team for the Rose City.
However, every time we see the Thunder return to Portland, which is once per year ever since 2008, the calls for the league to force the team to return their identity to Portland is revived. We saw it again this year, with fans both booing the Thunder when they took the field and chanting “Port-Land-Thun-Der” throughout the game. With the Stags struggling to fulfill their initial promise, and especially after their lone division title in 2015 collapsed into a 6-10 season last year, the call for the Thunder to return to their “real home” has been more vocal than ever. For every Stags jersey you will see in the stadium, there is a retro Portland Thunder jersey. These fans are not rooting for San Diego to defeat the Stags, they clearly support their city, but they are clamoring still for the team that they grew to love as children once again represent their city. It is something we see every year, and while it certainly speaks to the hearts and minds of old Portland Thunder fans, it cannot feel good for San Diegans who have embraced the club since their 2nd relocation just 2 years ago.
Jacksonville’s 2018 Look Revealed
Under Armour and the Jacksonville Bulls revealed 4 uniforms this week, with both their standard home and away (dark and light) looks as well as a retro look from their 1984 inaugural season and a brand new alternative look that is a huge departure from tradition.
The primary designs, while new, do include a lot of elements familiar to Bulls fans. We have no changes to the metallic grey helmets, still featuring the full-body charging bull with the trailing lines of black, garnet, and orange. The jerseys also have a familiar look, but with some modifications. The garnet jerseys have numbers outlined in black and orange, a return to an earlier look after the black outlined white numbers of their Adidas set. They retain the grey shoulder yoke, but the new uniforms replace the orange color swatches under the shoulders to a thin black line that extends into the collar. The sleeves retain the bull logo, with thin stripes that parallel the helmet striping. The white jerseys have removed the garnet shoulder yoke and now are fully white, with only the thin stripe from the collar to the sleeve, now in orange. They feature double-piped numbers, garnet with orange and black.
The set comes with three pant sets, a grey set to pair with the garnet jersey, a garnet set to pair with the white jersey, and a white set for very hot summer days, also paired with the white jersey. The combo is very familiar, and aligns well with the 1984 throwback designs, featuring the original helmet decal on the metallic grey helmet, wide sleeve stripes, and single piped numbers on both the white and garnet variations. It appears that this retro set only includes one pant option, the original 1984 grey pants.
The look that has everyone talking, however, is the alternate, dubbed the “Toro Bravo” set. It radically departs from the tradition of the Bulls by removing the full body bull logo from the helmet and by going with orange as the dominant color. The USFL’s new allowance of 2 distinct helmet shells make this possible, and the Bulls go all out with an innovative design featuring an orange shell with stylized bull horns on each side. Unlike the NFL Vikings, which feature the horns thinning from front to back. These horns are angled as a charging bull’s horns would be, back to front, with the points headed towards the opposition. The helmet features a black facemask as garnet is missing from the entire look. The Jersey also has no garnet at all, an orange shirt with white numbers piped in black and metallic grey, a black collar with grey front piece, black highlight lines at the yoke seam, and the same thin striping and bull logo on the sleeves as the new primary kits.
The jersey is matched with white pants with black, grey, and orange angled horizontal striping, and orange socks with a black stripe. It is a very new look for the Bulls, something no one expected as they go for the horns-on-helmet style, and a lot of orange, perhaps a tribute to the state’s most famous product. Expect to see this kit next year, particularly against in-state opposition like Orlando or Tampa Bay.
Astute fans of alternative football leagues will recognize the Toro Bravo helmet design (front-facing horn) from the European Football League's Madrid Bravos. Hence the alt look's nickname.
It is all about divisional matchups in Week 10, with 10 of the league’s 14 games seeing teams facing rivals in their division. It kicks off on Friday when the 4-5 Fire take on the 5-4 Renegades in the up-for-grabs SE Division. Orlando is struggling to replace Russell Wilson, and Atlanta has a shot to hit .500 with a win. In the later game, the 8-1 Wranglers head into Oklahoma to face Joe Flacco and the Outlaws.
On Saturday it is back to the SE Division with Jacksonville headed into Charlotte. Then out West as San Diego hopes a win in Los Angeles will boost their division lead to an impressive 3 games. Las Vegas is in Denver, hoping to get the road upset and move to .500, but Denver is chasing the Wranglers and wants that 7th win. The late game is in Oakland where the 5-4 Oakland Invaders host the rising Seattle Dragons, winners of 4 in a row.
On Sunday, we are in Washington, where the Feds are winners of 2 in a row and face a slumping Baltimore team that has lost 5 straight. Then at 4pm we have Chicago @ St. Louis and Houston @ Birmingham. The Gamblers will take their unbeaten record up against Cam Newton and a Stallion squad that wants that .500 mark with a win. The whole weekend wraps up in Pittsburgh, where the 3-6 Maulers have the brutal task of trying to give Philadelphia their first loss of the season.
FRI 7PM ET Atlanta (4-5) @ Orlando (5-4) ABC
FRI 9PM ET Arizona (8-1) @ Oklahoma (4-5) ESPN/EFN
SAT 12PM ET Jacksonville (3-6) @ Charlotte (5-4) ABC
SAT 12PM ET Memphis (4-5) @ New Jersey (5-4) FOX
SAT 4PM ET San Diego (7-2) @ Los Angeles (5-4) ABC
SAT 4PM ET Las Vegas (4-5) @ Denver (6-3) FOX
SAT 7PM ET Ohio (5-4) @ Tampa Bay (2-7) NBC
SAT 9PM ET Seattle (4-5) @ Oakland (5-4) ESPN/EFN
SUN 12PM ET Baltimore (3-6) @ Washington (2-7) ABC
SUN 12PM ET Dallas (3-6) @ New Orleans (5-4) FOX Regional
SUN 12PM ET Portland (1-8) @ Michigan (7-2) FOX Regional
SUN 4PM ET Chicago (2-7) @ St. Louis (2-7) ABC
SUN 4PM ET Houston (9-0) @ Birmingham (4-5) FOX
SUN 8PM ET Philadelphia (9-0) @ Pittsburgh (3-6) ESPN/EFN
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