A good week of games, with a few surprises and a lot of defense as the USFL playoffs kicked off with the divisional round.
PHILADELPHIA 27 BOSTON 10
Philadelphia Head Coach Jim Mora was heavily criticized for his strategy of resting starters over the final 3 weeks of the season, which led to 3 defeats, but it may have just been a stroke of genius. The Stars, having clinched the division title and #1 seed in the conference spent the final month of the USFL regular season almost sleepwalking, losing games as ALL-USFL players such as Kelvin Bryant, William Fuller, Sam Mills and Chuck Fusina had at least 1 week off each, in a weird rotation, but the playoff Stars looked focused, rested, healthy and hungry as they dominated the Breakers. The scoreboard shows a 17 point win, but it could have easily been far greater.
The Stars jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the half and looked totally dominant doing it. The defense intercepted Boston’s Tony Eason twice while the offense rolled up over 200 yards in the half, including 87 yards on the ground for Kelvin Bryant and 2 scores from Chuck Fusina. In the second half the Stars were clearly in clock management mode but still put up another 10 points, including a painfully long 12 minute drive that ate up most of the 4th quarter, leading to a Johnnie Hector 1 yard plunge to put the game away. It was domination from a team that had looked anything but dominant down the stretch. Maybe Coach Mora was actually on to something after all.
TAMPA BAY 19 JACKSONVILLE 13
Speaking of coaches perhaps having a psychological edge, Steve Spurrier proved again that he is no slouch. The Bandits played a vanilla game against the Bulls in the regular season’s final week, a game that Jacksonville won, giving them the division title and home field for this week’s rematch, but in doing so, Tampa may have simply set the table for this week’s win. While we certainly cannot condone giving up home field, at least in this case, it worked out for Tampa.
Unlike the Phlly-Boston game, this one was a nail biter as the Bulls and Bandits are two evenly matched teams. The difference in the game seems to have been on the line of scrimmage, where, unlike last week, the Tampa D spent most of the game stunting and confusing the Bulls offensive line. The usually unheralded Bandits defense held the Bulls to only 45 yards rushing, scored a safety on an ill-advised play action pass call by Jacksonville from their 1 yard line, and pressured Doug Williams into 2 poor throws that were picked off by awaiting Bandit defenders. In a game where both offenses struggled, that difference gave Tampa what they needed to win the day.
CHICAGO 13 ARIZONA 10
The Wranglers had spent the entire season living off of their offensive production, Chicago had mixed offensive firepower with defensive might, and on this day it was Chicago’s versatility which won out. In a game that many predicted would be a high-scoring shootout, the defenses came to play. Neither team gained more than 210 yards total in the game (CHI 209, ARZ 206) and neither team was able to get much out of the run game, with Arizona HB Owen Gill leading all rushers with only 59 yards. It was a smash mouth slugfest for 60 minutes, one which likely put many of the 19,000 fans in attendance to sleep, but which pleased those who love solid defensive football.
The stars of the game on defense for both teams were the linebackers. For Arizona it was Defensive Rookie of the Year Brian Noble who led the team with 10 tackles, including 3 for loss. And for Chicago it was veterans Ed Brady and Ben Apuna who kept the Wranglers in check. Not a pretty game, with a 7-3 scoreline at the half and Arizona’s only TD coming with les than 2 minutes left, but it was a win, and Chicago will take that win and move on to the Conference Championship.
LOS ANGELES 38 MICHIGAN 17
We had suspected that Michigan’s late season swoon might have indicated that the team had lost its edge, and LA clearly proved that to be the case. With the loss of John Corker to injury the Panthers D had struggled down the stretch, and the Express proved that the struggles were real. Michigan can also look to the injury to Anthony Carter to explain why the offense had cooled down. LA was able to hold the remaining star wideout, Derek Holloway to only 3 catches for 30 yards, largely due to the ability to keep him in double coverage without concerns about Carter opposite him.
LA’s offense proved too much for Michigan as Steve Young threw for 307 yards and 3 scores with both rookie wideout Eric Martin and star TE Ricky Ellis going over 100 yards each. On the ground Kevin Mack pounded the ball into the heart of the Michigan D for 96 yards on 17 carries, and scored twice as the Express built up a 38-10 lead early in the 4th. They outgained the Panthers 412-298, and for the 2nd time in three years the Panthers can look at injuries as the reason for their early demise. In 1983 they played without QB Bobby Hebert and were ousted by Denver in their first playoff game. This year it was the combo of Corker and Carter that may have cost them the game, and in 1984, when they were healthy, they cruised through the playoffs and won the title. Something for Panther fans to consider as they head home after this defeat.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE CONFERENCE FINALS
The conference finals will pit Tampa Bay at Philadelphia and Los Angeles at Chicago. These are both really intriguing games with a lot of star power and a lot on the line. Only Tampa has been here before, so we have 3 teams who are not used to the pressure that these games will bring. That said, we like Philadelphia to win out at home. They have great balance with a power running attack complemented by Chuck Fusina’s cautious but effective passing game. The Philly D is also stout, making Tampa’s Banditball offense have to rely on big plays rather than sustained drives. With home field advantage, that may be enough for Philadelphia to muscle out a win.
Home field advantage is not a factor in Chicago, where again we expect a smaller crowd to take in the action. This will be the final game in Chicago before they head off to Baltimore with their new owners. Without that home team support, and facing a red-hot LA offense, we think this one will play out in LA’s favor. Vince Evans has played well all year, but we like the dual threat of Steve Young, including a solid 1-2 punch at wideout (Martin and Townsell) to take advantage of the Chicago DB’s. And after mustering only 13 points against Arizona this week, Chicago will need a lot more if they are going to keep pace with the Express.
COACHING NEWS
In a week when coaching changes are traditional, we saw 2 firings and 1 hire in the USFL. After a dismal 4-12 season, and with a 2 year record of only 9-23, Memphis’s flamboyant Pepper Rodgers was asked to step down. The outspoken coach simply could not muster enough in 2 years with the Showboats, and with a truly horrible defense this season, despite the presence of Reggie White on the D-line, the Showboats were more often than not blown out in games. That never bodes well for a coach. It is likely the Showboats will look to address their defense as they look for a new leader.
The firing of Craig Morton in Denver may actually have more to do with a couple of wins than the 9 losses this season. Morton, known for a grind-it-out strategy, worked well for the Gold’s original owners, who wanted to emphasize defense (in part because a low budget did not give them much firepower on offense) but the new owners seemed infatuated with QB Bob Gagliano, and late in the year, when the season was already lost, Gagliano was able to open things up and impress with some high-scoring, high-flying games. This may have actually doomed Morton as the ownership believed that this type of offensive flair was just the ticket for selling tickets at Mile High. Despite pulling Denver up to a middle-of-the-pack 7-9 by season’s end, the offensive mindset of Morton vs. the possibilities shown by Gagliano may have been too much. Expect Denver to seek an offensive-minded coach to replace Morton.
And in New Jersey, the short stint of interim head coach Joe Mazur has come to an end. The Generals finished last in the USFL at 3-13, and perhaps even worse, their biggest star, HB Herschel Walker, had his worst season, just barely topping 1,000 yards and finishing outside the top 5 rushers in the league, and after 2 seasons as the league rushing champion, that is seen as a waste. Well, that is likely to change with the hiring of former NY Giants and Alabama Head Coach Ray Perkins. The Generals lured Perkins back to pro football with a 5-year contract and the ability to mold and shape the team’s persona. This past season we saw Walker carry the ball fewer than 300 times while rookie QB Doug Flutie attempted more than 500 passes, and the team went nowhere. Expect Perkins to institute a power run game with play action passing, and to emphasize defense. This may go against the grain of the high-flying USFL, but it matches well with the talent of the Generals, where positions like TE, DL, and FB are strongest, along with Walker’s abilities. Perkins feels like a good fit for the Generals, and we know he can handle the pressure of coaching in NY as his time with the Giants showed.
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