2018 USFL Week 1 Recap: A Soggy Start.

Welcome to the 36th season of USFL football. Week one kicked us off with a soggy, windy, and sloppy set of games, with a lot of weather-related football follies making up the story of the week. But, despite the elements, football is back and that is something to celebrate. We will review all the games this week, including a nice Game of the Week that saw Baltimore go into Philly and pull off a soggy, but well-earned upset. We will also take a look at how our two Summer Bowl 2017 participants seem to be keeping the ball rolling as they enter 2018, and a quick look at two potential breakout performances from players given a shot to shine in the new season. We wrap it all up with a slightly belated report on the USFL Preseason Power Rankings and a look ahead to Week 2. It’s all right here. Football is back with the USFL in action, and we are here for it.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

We have all gotten used to the first week or two of USFL action providing a cavalcade of weather issues. That is the nature of March in much of the country. But even with an expectation of potential foul weather, what we got this weekend in the USFL was a soggy, messy, ugly set of games that not only impacted play for teams that simply have not had much time to get their timing right even in perfect conditions, but also conditions that produced one of the lowest leaguewide attendance numbers in nearly 2 decades.

Significant storms, including cold late winter winds in Chicago, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, also produced lightning delays in both Oklahoma and Memphis, while rain-soaked fields were also a problem in both Birmingham and Philadelphia. Oddly enough, of the 8 games that were clearly affected by the cold, wet weather, Portland, often the site of early season soakers, was perhaps the least affected, though a drizzle fell for much of the Stag’s home opener as well.

Conditions were at their worst for the games in Oklahoma and Chicago. The Outlaws’ opener against Las Vegas saw three separate lighting stoppages, turning the game into a marathon that took over 5 hours to complete. In Chicago the rain was mixed with sleet and brutal winds, dropping the ambient temperature form the mid-40’s easily into the high 20’s at points during the game. Conditions were not much better in most of the other impacted games, making fans in St. Louis, Houston, and Michigan feel mighty lucky that their teams opened the season in climate-controlled domes. But even with the comfort of a domed stadium, flash flooding, lightning, and gusting winds still depressed the opening week numbers.

Overall, the league’s opening week produced an average attendance of just 37,203, well below that of recent years in which, even with some foul weather games, the opening week of the USFL typically drew an average of 45,000 or more to the 14 home games. There were some bright spots, of course, with Denver getting over 47,000 to sit through a pretty chilly game at Invesco Field. Dallas also saw solid attendance for their opener, with over 44,000 on hand, and Charlotte, which was largely unaffected by the line of storms that raged from the Rockies to New England over the course of the weekend, was more than happy to welcome football back, with nearly 51,000 on hand at Bank of America stadium. Compare that to the 29,423 that came out to watch Memphis upset the New Jersey Generals in a day long soaker, and you can see just how much the weather impacted the season’s opening week.

But never fear. The meteorologists are looking at next weekend and seeing very few possibilities of nasty weather. Why it may even be sunny in Seattle when the Dragons host the Stars. Well, not sunny, since it is a 6pm kickoff in Seattle, but the forecast calls for a warm day preceding the game. The league certainly hopes that the weather clears for Week 2, perhaps ready to call a do-over after a pretty miserable opening week both for the players trying to maneuver through puddles and slick turf and for the fans, sitting in the rain and suffering the wind in far too many stadiums this week.

BALTIMORE BLITZ 15  PHILADELPHIA STARS 10

Wind gusting up to 40mph and a steady drizzle welcomed the Philadelphia Stars and the Baltimore Blitz at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday night. Not exactly what we would call true football weather, but not out of the norm of possibility with a March start to the season. But, despite the pretty miserable conditions, more than 35,000 fans made their way to the stadium to watch their team open play for the 2018 season. There was a healthy Baltimore contingent in the house, maybe as many as 10,000 of the announced crowd. And what both sets of fans watch was a pretty decent game, despite the elements, with both defenses clearly having the edge in the dreary conditions.

In a game that saw 9 combined sacks and one in which neither team could muster 100 yards of combined rushing, it was a game that did not set itself up for big numbers across the two offenses. But what we saw was one of the better defensive game plans against Philadelphia’s run game, as the Blitz used run blitzes and tight safeties to devastate the Star running attack, limiting Derrick Henry to a miserable 0.8 yards per carry, and not allowing Zac Stacy to fare much better. In a combined 19 carries, the two backs combined for only 23 yards. Meanwhile, Baltimore, still a bit pass happy, which is tough in the conditions the two clubs faced, managed to see Anthony Dixon and Kerwynn Williams combine for 76 yards rushing, though neither could top 3.5 yards per carry either.

The Blitz scored first in the rain, putting together a 58-yard drive after a poor punt from Philadelphia. The drive saw Dixon and Williams slogging through the wet turf, but also saw Big Ben connect on two key passes, the first a 3rd and 10 throw to Eli Rogers that went for 13 and a first down. The second was the scoring throw to Brian Hartline, a comeback route that caused the corner to slide out of the play while Hartline hooked back, made the catch and then fell forward into the endzone. That score would put Baltimore up 7-0, a lead they would hold until the 3rd quarter.

With both teams soaked to the bones and both offenses struggling throughout the half, the two clubs happily headed to their locker rooms at the half, hoping to warm up if not dry off a bit. When they came out for the third quarter, the rain had let up a bit, but the wind was still a factor. We saw this on Baltimore’s first drive, when the Blitz got optimistic and sent out Josh Lambo to attempt a 43-yarder. That proved quite a bit too optimistic as the ball got caught in the swirling wind and was drawn far off to the right. Philadelphia would have more luck on their next possession, using nearly 6 minutes to go 61 yards before sending out Mike Nugent to try his own kick, this one from 39 yards out. The ball hooked, to be sure, but instead of hooking out of play, it hooked from outside the goalposts on the left nearly to the right upright but went through to put the homestanding Stars on the board.

With a 7-3 lead after 3 quarters, there was not much expectation that scoring would open up in the final period, but we saw 4 different scoring plays in the quarter, with Baltimore getting 3 of them. The first was a defensive score when, with Philadelphia backed up to their own 2, Matt Gutierrez bobbled the ball as he tried to put it in the belly of Derrick Henry. Henry fell on the ball to avoid the defensive TD, but it still gave Baltimore 2 more points, boosting their lead to 9-3.

After the Philadelphia defense forced Baltimore to punt the ball, the Stars took over on their own 20 and had their best drive of the game. The wind seemed to calm down just enough that Coach Harbaugh was willing to let Matt Gutierrez throw the ball against the stacked Baltimore front. He had completed only 5 of 17 passes on the day, but on this drive, he would complete 3 of 5 to move the Stars into Baltimore territory. Admitedly, the longest pass of the day, a 52-yarder to Zac Stacy was only a 4-yard throw, but Stacy made the first defender miss, then benefitted from the slick ground as he made the safety whiff on an attempted arm tackle. He would be pushed out of bounds at the Baltimore 18 with the biggest gain of the day.

A sack of Matt Gutierrez sent the Stars back to the 22, but on the next play, the Philadelphia QB found Travis Kelce over the middle, and the big tight end rumbled his way between the safety and a corner, splashing his way into the endzone for 6 points. Mike Nugent’s kick gave Philadelphia their first lead of the game with only 4:12 left to play. The Stars were up 10-9, but there was still time for Baltimore to find an answer.

The Blitz did just that, using one-cut routes to give the receivers a chance to gain a step on the rain-soaked defense. Short passes to both Darrius Heyward-Bey and Eli Rogers turned into longer completions thanks to the YAC yards both receivers were able to add to the plays. It took Baltimore 7 plays, but they were on the Philadelphia 2 and it looked like they would go in for the score, but on 1st and goal, the rain finally got to Baltimore. The snap went wonky, fluttering between the legs of Big Ben. He spun to find the ball but inadvertently kicked it. Fortunately for Baltimore, HB Kerwynn Williams was alert to the botched snap and fell on the ball. It cost the Blitz 5 yards, but they held onto possession. After 2 passes into the endzone produced no points, Josh Lambo came out for a chip shot 24-yarder. This time, Lambo found the line and the ball went straight through the uprights to once again give the Blitz the lead, 12-10 with 1:14 left to play.

Philadelphia allowed the ball to slide into the endzone on the kickoff and started from the 20 with 1:14 to get into field goal range. The rain and wind, however, would not allow them to use the passing game to speed up that drive. After the wind blew the ball out of bounds on a sideline throw to Ron Johnson, Philadelphia tried to get Zac Stacy to break open a play on a draw, but instead of busting through the hole, he too struggled with the handoff and had to fall on the ball without any gain. On 3rd and 11 Matt Gutierrez had to dump the ball down to Randall Cobb underneath, a play that gained only 5 yards. But, with 4th and 6 on their own 24, the Stars had no choice but to go for it on 4th down. But, once again the slippery ball proved a huge issue. Matt Gutierrez, back in the shotgun position, watched as the ball flew to his left. He would race the defenders to get to the ball, but even with him gaining possession, the play meant that it would be Baltimore’s ball on the Philly 17. After two dive plays, Baltimore put the game out of reach with another short field goal, with only 4 seconds left to play.

While some in Philadelphia questioned the decision for Baltimore to add more points with only 1 snap left in the game, Coach Caldwell made it pretty clear that he believed a 5-point lead was a better safeguard against any final shenanigans than their previous 2-point advantage. As both teams left the field, the fans slogged to their cars, a bit stunned by the result, and certainly hoping that the next Stars home game (Week 3 vs. Portland) would be a dryer and warmer affair.

Arizona 10  Denver 17

No rain in the Mile High City, but a cold, blustery March day welcomed both teams. Denver used the run game to their advantage, racking up 127 yards on the ground and helping Matt Leinart use play action to throw for 2 scores. Arizona’s pasing attack struggled, with FB Leron McClain finishing as the Wrangler’s top receiver with 4 catches.

POTG: Gold HB DeMarco Murray: 16 Att, 84 Yds

New Jersey 13  Memphis 26

The Showboats and Generals played through the rain in Memphis, where the homestanding ‘Boats forced 2 turnovers and held New Jersey to only 50 yards rushing. Todd Gurley outpaced that total, rushing for 54 yards and a TD in the mud. Nick Foles quickly gave up on the run game, throwing the ball 55 times, but was only able to complete 21 of those throws.

POTG: Memphis HB Todd Gurley: 18 Att, 55 Yds, 1 TD

Orlando 14  Charlotte 26

One of the better weather games welcomed the Renegades and Monarchs. Mitch Trubisky struggled with Orlando’s pass rush, sacked 3 times and picked off 3 more, but he got the W thanks in large part to 163 yards rushing, shared by Adrian Peterson (65), Taiwan Jones (58) and rookie Nyheim Hines (45) as the Monarchs ground out the divisional win.

POTG: Monarch CB Derech Cox: 6 Tck, 1 PD, 1 Int

Los Angeles 14  Portland 19

Of all the rainy games, this one was the most expected, after all it was Portland in March. The Express and Stags played a pretty entertaining game, all things considered. A TD from Bradford to rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling gave them a 1-point lead early in the 4th, but Portland added 2 field goals in the quarter to take the W. Mariota went 15 of 22 for 165, and with Doug Martin dinged up early in the game, it was big Ben Tate who got the most carries.

POTG: Stag HB Ben Tate: 28 Att, 83 Yds

Seattle 9  Dallas 22

Seattle might have liked to see some rain in Dallas, but no luck there. Instead, they saw Dallas bring out a spread offense that allowed WR Tim Wright to rack up 102 yards on 6 catches before suffering an injury that could cost him the season. Manziel went 24 of 35 in Kliff Kingsbury’s new offense. Seattle struggled, with Knowshon Moreno gaining only 27 yards in his first game as a Dragon. Jacoby Brissett threw 2 picks, and the Roughnecks got 6 points off those turnovers.

POTG: Dallas WR Tim Wright: 6 Rec, 102 Yds

New Orleans 16  Birmingham 6

An all-day soaker made conditions at Protective Stadium in Birmingham look like playing the game on a slip & slide. Neither team could run the ball effectively, with Leonard Fournette gaining only 10 yards on the day while T. J. Yeldon was held to 18. Cam Newton had the most official carries for Birmingham, but most were scrambles, not planned runs. The Breakers got the W on one key play, a 21-yard Brees to Nelson TD toss that was the game’s only TD.

POTG: Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 7 Rec, 138 Yds, 1 TD

Las Vegas 14  Oklahoma 17

Officially the game in Oklahoma City was a sell-out, but there were plenty of empty seats as the game was delayed twice by lightning and rain pelted the field for the full 3 hours. Apparently, Marshawn Lynch is a mudder, because he had no issues, rushing for 71 yards on 16 carries. Las Vegas had some good runs too, but they also blew a 14-3 lead as Oklahoma ground out 3 second half scores to take the W.

POTG: Oklahoma WR DeDe Westbrook: 7 Rec, 130 Yds

San Diego 15  St. Louis 26

No rain inside The Dome at America’s Center, except of course the passes raining down on the San Diego defense. Josh Freeman threw for 270 yards and 2 scores despite being sacked 5 times by the Thunder. His game included a nice 32-yard TD to TE Rob Gronkowski and a 38-yarder to Erik Decker.

San Diego moved the ball well but struggled in the red zone. Kicker Jeff Reed also had a rough opener for the Thunder, missing on 2 long field goals.

POTG: St. Louis LT Brian Bulaga: 15 Pancakes

Jacksonville 12  Ohio 20

The rain in Columbus was not as bad as some other venues, but it came with swirling wind which affected both passing games. With a stronger run game and some short passing, Ohio pulled out to a 17-6 lead in the 3rd and salted away the win with a late field goal by Robbie Gould. Former NFL QB Teddy Bridgewater actually came into the game for one series, completing his first USFL pass, but it was Robert Griffin III at the helm for most of the game.

POTG: Ohio QB Christian Hackenberg: 18/25, 127 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int

Washington 9  Pittsburgh 22

The Mauler game had only an occasional sprinkle, so Washington cannot blame their issue on the weather. Rookie Sony Michel had a much better debut than Washington FA back Anthony Allen, rushing for 77 yards on 15 carries while Allen could only muster 15 yards against the Mauler front 4.

The Feds also cost themselves with 7 penalties, including 2 that wiped out first downs by the offense.

POTG: Pittsburgh CB Dunta Robinson: 9 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR

Tampa Bay 16  Houston 30

Colt McCoy started strong with 403 yards passing, including 159 to Mike Evans and another 101 to Juju Smith-Schuster as the Gamblers rolled. It was 30-9 until a garbage time TD from the Bandits. Tampa did not have Dez Bryant suited up, but with 6 sacks suffered, Dak Prescott likely could not have gotten the ball to him too often had he played.

POTG: Gambler QB Colt McCoy: 15/25, 403 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int

Oakland 12  Chicago 7

Soldier Field was a swimming pool as the Invaders and Machine slipped, slid, and splashed their way through a game that saw at least 20,000 fans stay home due to the weather. They missed a messy game that did not showcase either team very well. QB Ryan Lindley stayed within himself, completing 20 of 29 passes, mostly short underneath throws, and Oakland kicker Roberto Aguayo managed to keep his footing pretty well, connecting on all 4 attempts, including a 52-yarder.

POTG: Oakland LB Bobby Wagner: 9 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF

Atlanta 14  Michigan 28

The Panthers began their title defense with a nice home win under the roof at Ford Field. There were a few no-shows due to the rain, but those who made it out to the stadium got to see classic Panther football, with LeVeon Bell rushing for 115 (the only 100-yard day of the weekend) and with Kirk Cousins connecting with Cody Latimer for 119 and a score. Atlanta rookie Nick Chubb had some good runs, including a nice 17-yarder on a scoring drive in the 3rd, but it was not enough as Michigan held the Fire at arm’s length all game.

POTG: Michigan CB Dre Kirkpatrick: 6 Tck, 1 Int, 1 FF, 1 FR

Panthers & Gamblers Still Look Like Champs

Maybe it was the fact that they were fortunate to open the season in their comfortably domed home stadiums, or maybe it was just that the two competitors in the 2017 Summer Bowl were still very much in postseason form, but when you look at the results from this weekend, it seemed clear that Michigan and Houston were again at the top of the class.

Houston’s Colt McCoy put up 403 yards passing and the Gamblers rolled over an overmatched Tampa Bay defense, winning 30-16 in a game that was not as close as that score would make it seem. Michigan built up a 21-7 lead at the half and held off the Atlanta Fire in their opener, with LeVeon Bell becoming the only 100-yard back of the opening week. Yes, the conditions were certainly more amendable to the offenses in these two dome games, but it was also clear that both teams retained the rhythm and momentum that had taken them to the league title game last July.

Fans had hoped that the two would meet this season in a redux of the title games, but the divisions did not align for that to be possible. Houston plays its 4 inter-conference games against teams from the SW (all but Arizona), while Michigan’s inter-conference games have the Panthers facing the Fire, Monarchs, Bulls, and Renegades from the Southeastern Division. So, if fans want to see a rematch of the Summer Bowl, they will have to hope that our “This Week in the USFL” preseason prognosticators were correct, and we will have the first rematch in Summer Bowl history.

Westbrook Not Missing His Shot

With the Oklahoma Outlaws trading away Marques Colston (to San Diego), the big question is what Coach Landry and the Outlaws would do to fill those pretty huge shoes. There was talk that Oklahoma would go after one of the big NFL free agent receivers, either Cowboy Dez Bryant or former Dolphin Jarvis Landry. Some speculated that a trade had to be in the works, with names like Darrius Heyward-Bey, Amari Cooper, and Kenny Britt thrown around, but those proved to be more armchair quarterbacking than legitimate conversations. When camp closed and the Outlaws prepped for their preseason matchup against Pittsburgh, it was DeDe Westbrook on the depth chart opposite Marquise Goodwin.

The former Sooner was certainly a known name among fans in Oklahoma City, having caught 80 balls for over 1,500 yards in his senior season in Norman, but in his first season with the USFL Outlaws, Westbrook had been very much a forgotten man. He had caught only 13 passes in his rookie career, stuffed deep in the receiver depth chart behind not only Colston, Goodwin and slot man Percy Harvin, but also beneath little-used Roger Lewis. Coach Landry was asked about this last year and he simply said that Westbrook had some adjustments to make, some development needed, and that he would have his moment.

That moment came this week, when Westbrook was on the field for 47 of Oklahoma’s 56 offensive plays. Conditions were certainly not favorable for a big day from any receiver, and yet Westbrook showed up, looking every bit the weapon that we saw in Norman with the Sooners. He had 15 targets (a league high for the opening week), bringing in 7 of those throws even in the rough conditions. And with those 7 catches, he amassed 130 yards, putting him third in the league. His longest play was a 37-yarder, which was about 12 yards in the air and 25 breaking a tackle and racking up some additional yards. He also had a beauty of a catch in which he tipped the ball to himself and held onto it despite a big hit from Las Vegas safety Eric Berry. For fans of the Outlaws, the performance calmed the concerns about Coach Landry’s lack of effort to bring in a big name. It seems that Landry had seen the work put in by Westbrook not only last season, but in the offseason, to be the kind of receiver who the Outlaws could count on, and in Week 1, Westbrook put his name out there as a potential breakout performer in 2018.

Who is Anthony Hitchens?

Speaking of breakout performances, this week’s Blitz-Stars game had a lot of viewers, including Blitz fans themselves, wondering, who is Anthony Hitchens and where have the Blitz been hiding him? Hitchens, a 5th year USFL veteran got his first career start this week, having moved over from the Outlaws to the Blitz in free agency. The former Iowa Hawkeye had been a 2nd round draft pick of the then Texas Outlaws in 2014 but had seen action primarily on special teams in his 4 seasons in the Southwest. He did not appear in a game in his rookie season, and while he had snaps in all 16 games the next two years, he did not earn a single start and amassed only a handful of tackles. In 2017, a combination of injuries and depth in the Oklahoma LB group kept Hitchens to appearances on defense in only 2 games.

Baltimore signed Hitchens to a league minimum 1-year deal this offseason, almost certainly thinking of the former Hawkeye as a body for camp. But when Hitchens arrived in Baltimore, he started to impress folks right away. Fully recovered from an ankle injury that had cost him the latter half of the 2017 season, Hitchens had added nearly 20 lbs of upper body mass thanks to a rigorous strength program while his leg healed. He came into camp hungry, and he made plays. By the time of Baltimore’s lone preseason game, he had earned a spot as the backup to Clint Sintim at strongside linebacker. When Coach Caldwell decided to move Sintim inside to bolster the Baltimore 3-4 against interior runs, it gave Hitchens his first start in his 5-year pro career.

How did Hitchens respond? How about 9 tackles, leading all Blitz defenders, oh, and 2 sacks as well. Now, admittedly, one of those was Matt Gutierrez slipping during a scramble and Hitchens patting him down, but the unknown and unheralded free agent signing was everywhere on the wet field in Philadelphia. He earned Defensive Player of the Game and was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Week. Not bad for a player with fewer tackles in 4 seasons than in this one game. Looks like we should be adding Mr. Hitchens to our list of potential players to watch this year.

Several NFL Signees Held Out of Week 1

While the USFL had a better-than-average transfer window for signing big name NFL talent, many of those players are still learning new systems or simply recovering from a long fall season and were held out of this week’s action. While we did see many NFL additions on the field this weekend, some of the bigger names were confined to the sidelines and wearing track suits instead of shoulder pads.

Players like WR Dez Bryant, HB Kareem Hunt, and QB Jimmy Garoppolo have only been in USFL camps for 2 weeks or less, while others, like TE Eric Ebron or LB Junior Galette are still nursing late NFL season injuries. The expectation is that we will see several more NFL players make their USFL debuts in Week 2, with Bryant, Ebron, Hunt, and Dallas WR Sammy Watkins among them. As for Oakland’s new QB, Jimmy Garoppolo, there is speculation that Coach Kubiak is not yet ready to turn the reins over to the NFL import just yet. We may see Ryan Lindley again in Week 2’s big matchup against San Diego if only because his knowledge of the offense is considerably deeper than that of the new NFL import.

Among the NFL players who did make their USFL debuts this week, we should highlight Atlanta WR Leonard Hankerson, who left the USFL after the 2016 season, played one year in the NFL, and is now back. The new Fire wideout had 5 catches for 47 yards and a TD against the Panthers. Another solid debut came from Arizona’s new cornerback, Ross Cockrell, who played 37 snaps against Denver, coming up with 3 tackles. Other than that, the main contributors from the more than 30 NFL players signed to USFL teams this offseason were the kickers, with former Steeler Chris Boswell connecting on 2 of 4 field goals in rain-soaked Birmingham, and former Brown Zane Gonzalez doing even better in the comfort of the Dome in St. Louis, hitting on 4 of 4 kicks and both PATs as the Skyhawks upset San Diego to win their home opener.

Wright Has Big Day with Bad Ending

It started about as well as a player could hope and ended about as badly as they would fear. Dallas wideout Tim Wright had high hopes for the season, and with 6 catches and 102 yards in the opener, it looked like he was starting the year off right, with a goal of topping his career high 1,130 yards from 2017 this season. But midway through the fourth quarter of Dallas win over the visiting Seattle Dragons, Wright, and his high hopes for the season came crashing down.

It was a high throw from Manziel, but one that it looked like Wright was going to bring down, but when his left leg landed, it did so awkwardly, with his foot glancing off the leg of the defender. The result was a twisted leg that clearly meant something had gone very wrong. Wright pounded his fist into the turf at the Cotton Bowl, needed help getting to the sideline, and was carted off to the locker room for evaluation. After such a strong opening game, Wright, and the entire Roughneck squad, would later learn that it would be his last game of the year. It was a full tear of the PCL ligament, with damage as well to the ACL and a dislocation of the patella. In other words, a knee injury that would cost the speedy receiver the year. Wright would be placed on IR on Tuesday, a season of hope and potential wiped out by something as simple as an unfortunate landing.

Wright and Atlanta center Marcus Martin would be the worst of the Week 1 injuries, with both starters now relegated to the IR for the year. Michigan learned that they would be without newly-acquired DE Dee Ford for up to 4 weeks with a hernia suffered late in their win against the Fire, and several other players are now listed as out for Week 2, including Panther TE Rob Housler and Philadelphia’s top corner, Courtland Finnegan. Concerns for Oakland HB Christian McCaffrey’s knee were alleviated when an MRI revealed only minor muscle bruising and inflammation, not the feared ligament damage that had so concerned Panther fans. McCaffrey may be held out of this week’s game out of caution, but that will likely be a game-time decision from Coach Kubiak.

OUT

C          Marcus Martin            ATL         Torn Quad           IR

WR         Tim Wright                     DAL       Torn PCL             IR

DE          Dee Ford                       MGN     Hernia                     2-4 Weeks

CB          Cortland Finnegan         PHI        Wrist                        1-2 Weeks

TE           Rob Housler                    MGN     Finger                      1-2 Weeks

LB           Brandon Spikes               DAL       Hand                        1-2 Weeks

DOUBTFUL

FB          Jalston Fowler                BIR         Turf Toe               

QUESTIONABLE

OT          Andre Smith                  JAX         Turf Toe               

LB           James Laurinaitis           OHI       Ribs

C             Mason Cole                   BIR         Neck

HB         Christian McCaffrey     OAK      Knee

WR         Marques Colston            SD          Shoulder

DE          Olivier Vernon                BAL        Hip

C             Sean Harlow                   POR      Back

First Look at Off-Season Additions

It was a very mixed week for some of the big-name players that found new teams this offseason. We had a few strong opening performances, but we also saw several players struggle to live up to expectations with their new team. Of course, one game is not an indication of how these players will fare over the course of the year, but you only get one first impression, so who impressed and who has some work to do to win over fans in their new home?

Among the top performers of the season’s first week we have to recognize CB Patrick Peterson in Dallas, finishing the day with 7 tackles, a sack and 2 pass defenses. Another corner who had a big first game was New Jersey’s Aqib Talib who had 6 tackles but also broke up 6 passes, a league best after 1 week. DE Michael Bennett had a good first game in Oakland, though he did not record a sack on the day. He finished with 3 tackles, and a tackle-for-loss. In Denver, former General Amobi Okoye racked up his first sack of the season.

Among the relocated offensive players, the best day was that of Charlotte’s new wideout, Justin Blackmon, who finished the game with 6 catches for 51 yards. His replacement in Ohio, former Skyhawk Eric Weems, also looked comfortable, bringing in 4 receptions for 56 yards. It did not go quite so well for former Outlaw Marques Colston, who had only 3 catches for 34 yards in his San Diego debut, while Stevie Johnson only saw 4 targets, but brought in 3 of them for 34 yards for the Skyhawks.

It was the tailbacks that had the biggest hill to climb, as both Knowshon Moreno (ORL to SEA) and Anthony Allen (MEM to WSH) had rough days in their first appearance with their new clubs. Moreno had 15 carries but gained only 27 yards, while Allen had 16 carries, but averaged less than 1 yard per attempt, finishing with only 15 yards. Tough starts for two players who were expected to be major factors in their new offenses. There is certainly still time for any of the Week 1 performers to improve and show their worth to their new teams, while some impressed right away. Week 2 will offer another shot to impress, so keep your eyes on these players to see if more familiarity will produce positive results.

League Power Rankings

Yes, we do have power rankings, perhaps a week late, but still a good starting point as we enter into the new year. As expected, the two Summer Bowl participants are at the top of the ratings, but after that the offseason has produced some big movement up and down the list. Here is our preseason look at who we think is elite, solid, shaky, and possibly sinking.

WHO IS ELITE?

1—MICHIGAN

No doubt that we would put the defending champs at number one. They earned it.

2—HOUSTON

Houston won the West in 2017, and who knows what would have happened had McCoy been healthy for the Championship. A deserving 2-slot for the Gamblers.

3—PHILADELPHIA

The Stars look solid top to bottom and may again have a division title if not more ahead in 2018.

4—SAN DIEGO

San Diego replaced Chad Johnson with Marques Colston, which means that while the entertainment value of their WR group might be a bit lessened, the quality of play is as good as ever.

5—CHARLOTTE

The Monarchs are building around 2nd year QB Mitch Trubisky and hoping they can move from a division champ to something much bigger.

6—ARIZONA

Arizona was 15-1 last year, but they have a completely rebuilt defense and there are a lot of questions about whether they can keep the rest of the Soutwest down.

7—NEW ORLEANS

The Breakers round out our elite squad top quartile, but are they ready to do more? They need Leonard Fournette and the defense to show us they are ready to challenge the big boys.

WHO IS LOOKING SOLID?

8—DENVER

Denver is going to win with defense and ball control. Nothing new there. But, if Matt Leinart cannot get more out of the offense, would Coach Hufnagel put in the rookie out of Wyoming?

9—NEW JERSEY

The Generals are looking like the primary contender in the NE, but do they have enough firepower with Nick Foles at the helm to take on the Stars?

10—LAS VEGAS

We like a lot of what we see happening in Vegas, and, if they can avoid losing Kareem Hunt to a lengthy suspension, they could be a surprise challenger in the West.

11—BALTIMORE

The Blitz have a somewhat unknown quantity on defense, but we know what to expect from this offense, big plays, deep throws, and a lot of opportunities to pull away from their opponents.

12—OHIO

Ohio seems to be modeling themselves as Denver East, focusing on a solid defense, a ho-hum but effective offense, and a strategy of controlling the pace of the game each week.

13—ATLANTA

We like Atlanta’s defense, and we think the addition of rookie Nick Chubb could give the O a boost, we are just not sure who will finish the season under center.

14—SEATTLE

We probably should have ranked Seattle higher after the second half of a season they put together last year. I guess we are still not 100% convinced that it was not all smoke and mirrors.

WHO MIGHT BE A BIT SHAKY?

15—OKLAHOMA

The biggest question mark is the passing game, but if Oklahoma can stick to their smashmouth success from last year, they could make a run at the division.

16—BIRMINGHAM

Every year we seem to think that the Stallions are due for a breakout year, and every year they seem to muddle around .500. Can they finally get more consistency out of this squad?

17—DALLAS

A new coaching staff, a lot of new faces on defense, is that enough for Dallas to get ahead in a very tight and pretty solid division?

18—OAKLAND

The defense has some clout to it, the run game could be solid, so it all comes down to how quickly and effectively Jimmy Garoppolo can be brought along.

19—CHICAGO

The move for Sam Darnold shows that this club is not happy where they are, at least not at QB, so what does that mean now that they lost out on their star QB to the NFL?

20—PITTSBURGH

That amazing 2015 season is feeling more and more distant. How can the Maulers recapture that magic? Is moving to a spread attack the key?

21—MEMPHIS

There is a lot we like about Rex Ryan’s Showboats, but there are still huge question marks too, especially as they pertain to the development of Paxton Lynch.

WHO COULD BE IN IN FOR A LONG YEAR?

22—LOS ANGELES

Of all the teams in our list, the Express were the ones with the widest gap between their possible ceiling and their possible basement. Most seem to think they may need to find a new path, because Coach Reid has just not found the answer with what he has tried to date.

23—ORLANDO

Losing Knowshon is a huge hit, but with Wilson back the Renegades are still hoping they can ride his arm and the best front 3 in football to a playoff spot.

24—TAMPA BAY

Is Dez Bryant the answer? Bandit fans hope so, but since Bryant cannot play defense, the odds his presence turns things around seems pretty slim.

25—JACKSONVILLE

Can either Griffith or Bridgewater finally provide some offense so that the Bulls’ D does not have to go it alone? We are not seeing the surrounding cast needed for either QB to really make a huge impact.

26—WASHINGTON

The Feds were pretty awful last year, and while not all their attempts to improve the roster panned out (See Baker Mayfield in the NFL), they did make some good moves.

27—ST. LOUIS

With a truly horrible defense in 2017, the place to spend huge effort and money did not seem to be the QB position, but the Skyhawks seem very excited about Lamar Jackson.

28—PORTLAND

The Stags are stagnating. We are not seeing this team making the kind of moves needed to add some energy and some quality at so many places on the roster. This just feels like a very tough job for Coach LaFleur unless he can get some help from the GM.

Week two offers us some interesting matchups, starting on Friday night, when we have the Stallions at New Jersey and the Thunder visiting Oakland for the Invaders’ home opener. Fans had hoped that they would get to see Jimmy G under center for the Invaders, but all indications are that Coach Kubiak will start Ryan Lindley. On Saturday we have a nice battle of 1-0 clubs as Charlotte is in Baltimore for the Blitz’s home opener. After upsetting Philadelphia in the rain this week, the Blitz are hoping to make it 2-0 against 2017 division winners with a win over the visiting Monarchs.

Saturday also brings us a Central Division clash as Ohio heads up to Michigan with both teams sitting at 1-0. We also have a Florida Derby on Saturday night as the Bandits take the short trip to Orlando to take on the Renegades. With both teams at 0-1, it is a chance to get that first W against an in-state rival.

When we move to Sunday we get three more early season divisional matchups, starting with Memphis at Houston in the noon timeslot. Both are 1-0 after Memphis’s surprising opening week win against New Jersey, while Houston wil be at home for a second week. Later in the day, the 4pm slot has Denver again in division after knocking off Arizona. This week they hit the road as they take on Las Vegas at the Wynn Arena. Then, in the final game of the weekend, we have Dallas visiting Oklahoma in what the league hopes is a budding “Red River Rivalry” much like Texas v. Oklahoma in the Big 12. Both sit at 1-0 and both are hoping they can challenge in the SW Division.

Friday @ 6pm ET          Birmingham (0-1) @ New Jersey (0-1)           NBC

Friday @ 8pm ET             San Diego (0-1) @ Oakland (1-0)                      FOX

Saturday @ 12pm ET     Charlotte (1-0) @ Baltimore (1-0)                      ABC

Saturday @ 12pm ET     New Orleans (1-0) @ Jacksonville (0-1)         FOX

Saturday @ 4pm ET       St. Louis (1-0) @ Los Angeles (0-1)                 ABC

Saturday @ 4pm ET       Ohio (1-0) @ Michigan (1-0)                           FOX

Saturday @ 7pm ET       Tampa Bay (0-1) @ Orlando (0-1)                      NBC     

Saturday @ 9pm ET       Philadelphia (0-1) @ Seattle (0-1)                   ESPN/EFN

Sunday @ 12pm ET        Washington (0-1) @ Portland (1-0)        ABC Regional

Sunday @ 12pm ET        Atlanta (0-1) @ Pittsburgh (1-0)          ABC Regional

Sunday @ 12pm ET        Memphis (1-0) @ Houston (1-0)                        FOX

Sunday @ 4pm ET          Chicago (0-1) @ Arizona (0-1)                          ABC

Sunday @ 4pm ET          Denver (1-0) @ Las Vegas (0-1)                       FOX

Sunday @ 8pm ET          Dallas (1-0) @ Oklahoma (1-0)                        ESPN/EFN