Sporting News, February 26, 1984
We are just one week away from the start of the USFL’s second spring football league. In their first season the upstart spring football league surpassed all expectations, and over the courses of the offseason since the Tampa Bay Bandits won the first USFL Championship Trophy, the league has continued to astonish fans and shock the football establishment. The league will be bigger this year, with 4 expansion franchises joining the original 12, but also because the USFL has been aggressively recruiting and signing top talent, predominantly from the graduating college classes of 1983 and 1984, to take a chance on a new football league.
The league that first broke news by signing the 1982 Heisman Winner, Hershel Walker, has now proven that it can attract top level talent to its high-flying, more exuberant, and less constrictive form of football. Much as the American Football League proved in the 1960’s the USFL has shown the world a dynamic and fun-loving version of pro-football and players seem eager to take part. The challenge for the league in its second year will be to harness this excitement and turn water cooler buzz into even greater attendance and television viewership, in hopes of renegotiating contracts and setting up more lucrative alliances and sponsorships after this season.
As we look at the 16 teams that will be competing in the USFL’s sophomore season, we will focus on their successes and failures in 1983, the players lost and gained, and the prospects for a new season. We will complete this season preview in four parts, starting with the Atlantic Division and moving across the nation through the 4 divisions that make up the 1983 USFL.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
PHILADELPHIA STARS (12-4, Division Champions)
The Stars were a revelation in 1983, led by a balanced offense and a hard-hitting defense, Philly came on at the end of the season to pull away from their divisional foes and win the Atlantic by a 2 game margin. The Stars have not lost much in the offseason, and have grown deeper in several key positions. The only question is whether other teams, with a more aggressive draft and free agent signings, have leapfrogged the ’83 division champs.
Returning Stars: RB Kelvin Bryant, QB Chuck Fusina, WR Scott Fitzkee, MLB Sam Mills, K David Trout
Departures: Backup QB Danny Hale, RB Brian Basil.
New Additions: QB Jeff Hostetler (WVU), LB Scott Radecic (Penn St), RB Johnny Hector (Texas A&M) and DE William Fuller (UNC).
Projection: We see Philly repeating as division champions, though 12 wins in a more competitive division may not be possible in 1984.
BOSTON BREAKERS (10-6, 2nd in Division)
Boston was a team that outplayed their pedigree in 1983. With a largely unknown roster, the Breakers were competitive through the season until a late spring slump moved them out of playoff contention in the season’s final weeks. In the offseason they added a couple of known commodities in former Bengal TE Dan Ross and promising rookie rusher Buford Jordan. They worked a trade with Chicago that also brought highly scouted Illinois QB Tony Eason to Boston (and not with the Patriots). Eason will likely back up veteran Johnnie Walton, but for how long? The other big move for Boston was a switch from tiny Nickerson Field on the campus of BU to slightly larger Harvard Stadium. The move ups the potential attendance from 22,000 up to 34,000, but even that may not be enough for the Breakers to turn a profit in their second year.
Returning Stars: QB Johnnie Walton, WR Nolan Franz, LBs Marcus Marek & Ben Needham, and K Tim Mazzetti.
Departures: No significant contributors.
New Additions: QB Tony Eason (Illinois), TE Dan Ross (NFL) , RB Buford Jordan (McNeese St), CB Alex Clark (LSU)
Projection: Boston added some talent on offense, but that was their strength last year anyway. The need to upgrade on defense did not appear to be met, and that may just be enough to cause Boston to slide a bit in 1984. We are picking them to be 3rd in the division this year.
NEW JERSEY GENERALS (7-9, 3rd in Division)
The Generals, now under new ownership, are hoping to turn a new page after a disappointing 1983 campaign. Hershel Walker was all that was promised and more, leading the league in rushing, but an aging Bobby Scott, and a porous defense, meant that New Jersey fell from the playoff chase too soon. With new ownership comes a new coach, former NY Jet HC Walt Michaels, and a new attitude. New Jersey was aggressive in pursuing NFL talent, landing leaders on both sides of the ball in former Browns QB Brian Sipe and All-NFL Safety Gary Barbaro. In the draft they went after wideouts, snagging two in the first two rounds, but their biggest draft coup may have been signing Boston College’s Steve DeOssie in the 5th round.
Returning Stars: RB Hershel Wallker, RB Maurice Carthon, TE Sam Bowers, CB Terry Daniels, and LB Mike McKibben.
Departures: Starting QB Bobby Scott (Retirement), WR Tom McConnaughey (NFL), K Dave Jacobs
New Additions: QB Brian Sipe (NFL), S Gary Barbaro (NFL), WR Danny Knight (Miss St), WR Clarence Collins (IL State), LB Steve DeOssie (BC), and DE Blaise Winter (Syracuse)
Projection: The addition of Sipe, Barbaro and some talented collegiate wideouts helps the Generals, but we still expect this to be the Hershel Show, and why not, he was the offensive player of the year last season on a losing team. If Walt Michaels can get more of a defensive performance from this squad, they could compete with Philly for the Division.
WASHINGTON FEDERALS (3-13, 4th in Division)
Last year the Federals were outgunned, undermanned, and outclassed week in and week out on their way to the worst record in the league. And yet, despite that, they had some talent on this team. The RB combo of Craig James and Curtis Bledsoe is talented and wideout Joey Walters showed some flashes. The defense was atrocious, despite the individual performance of SS Mike Guess, who finished the year with 116 tackles. But Guess has retired and Washington is counting on some new blood to revitalize the team under new coach Lee Corso. The Feds traded to get Birmingham backup QB Reggie Collier, a dual threat QB who may be a little raw but can add excitement to the team. In the collegiate draft we think they hit with the signing of J.D. Fuller, the thumping LB from South Carolina, but it just doesn’t look like enough was done to move beyond mediocrity this year.
Returning Stars: RB Craig James, RB Curtis Bledsoe, WR Joey Walters, DT Bennie Smith
Departures: QB Kim McQuilken (Retired), QB Joe Gilliam (Retired), SS Mike Guess (Retired)
New Additions: QB Reggie Collier (BIR), QB Babe Laufenberg (IU), LB J.D. Fuller (So Car), K Nick Mike-Mayer (NFL), C Joel Hilgenberg (Iowa)
Projection: Washington is again likely to find itself looking up at the rest of the Atlantic Division. They are better than a 3-win team, but we still cannot see them getting to .500 on the season.
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