SCORES
BOS 14 WSH 12 Federals can only muster 4 field goals in loss to Breakers.
PHI 19 NJ 14 Hostetler subs for Fusina and just barely gets past New Jersey.
JAX 24 MEM 3 Memphis offense fails them against mediocre Bulls defense.
CHI 31 HOU 27 Houston gives up 17 in the 4th, losing a must-win game.
MGN 27 PIT 21 Maulers give Michigan all they can handle in close matchup.
ARZ 24 OAK 41 Wranglers drop 2nd in a row against suddenly feisty Invaders.
LA 17 DEN 6 LA defense came to play as Express get a share of 1st place.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Birmingham Stallions 17 Tampa Bay Bandits 24
In the midst of a nightmare season, Rollie Dotsch and the Birmingham Stallions have not quit. They came out strong against their rival, Tampa Bay, dominated the first quarter but then slowly gave ground to the better Bandits team. The win moved Tampa above .500 for the first time all season, the loss guaranteed Birmingham a 10-loss season, something unthinkable the past two years.
The Stallions came out strong, scoring on their first two drives as they fed Joe Cribbs the ball early and often. Cribbs had a dynamic 15 yard scoring play on the Stallions’ first drive, using a spin move to clear the hole over left guard and then stiffarming a Stallion safety before diving over the goal line. On the Stallions’ second drive, Cribbs found the endzone again, this time on an off tackle run, uncontested, from 3 yards out.
But, as has been the case all season, the good times did not last for Birmingham. Tampa Bay would roar back, scoring on three drives to close out the second half, a Reaves to Truvillion score, an Andrusyshyn field goal and another strike from Reaves, this time a 46 yard seam route to TE Lewis Gilbert. Tampa would have the lead at the half, 17-14.
In the third, Birmingham evened the score with a 49 yard Norwood field goal, but that would be the highlight of the half for them, as their offense simply could not move into scoring range. Tampa fared little better for most of the half, but, midway through the 4th quarter, they caught a break on a Cliff Stoudt interception, setting them up only 34 yards from the endzone and already in long distance FG range. The Bandits would not need to call on Andrusyshyn, as they effectively moved the ball to the 1 yard line, and then faked out the entire Birmingham D with a play action pass to Gilbert. With the defenders collapsing on Cribbs, Gilbert was all alone in the back of the endzone, an easy target for Reaves and another heartbreaker for this year’s hard luck Stallions.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
While we gave the Offensive Player of the Week Award to Houston’s Ricky Sanders for his 2 TD, 112 yard day, we are going to give our Performance of the Week to a group that has been undervalued all season, the Boston Breaker defense. With offensive troubles burdening the Breakers all season, it has been the defense which has allowed them to remain in marginal playoff contention at 5-8, and this week it was the defense which gave Boston the win once again.
The Boston D, led by league leader in tackles, Marcus Marek, held Craig James to only 75 yards, limited Reggie Collier to only 200 yards passing, snagged 2 interceptions, and kept Washington out of the endzone for the entire game. All this as the offense sputtered once again, with Matt Robinson throwing for an unimpressive 144 yards. The Breaker D made life miserable for Reggie Collier, sacking him twice, knocking him down 9 times, and keeping him from breaking out of the pocket to scramble. They also held Washington’s top receiver, Joey Walters to only 4 catches. In a game where Boston only mustered 2 scores, holding the Federals to 4 field goals, instead of letting them score even one TD was the difference in the 14-12 victory. Now, if Boston could only muster some offense to help out, this team could actually get to .500 by season’s end.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
A lot of changes this week, as several teams clinched playoff spots. Philadelphia remains the only team to clinch their division as the other 3 divisions have close battles at the top. Both Tampa Bay and Jacksonville clinched playoff berths with wins this week, as did Michigan and Chicago, but in both cases, the difference between a wild card berth and a division title may well come down to the season’s final week. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Division, Oakland’s 3 game winstreak, paired with a 2nd straight loss by Arizona tightens up the entire division. Oakland is 2 games back of both LA and Arizona, but, by having swept the Wranglers, they hold a tie breaker. If they can win out, they have a shot of leapfrogging both the Express and the Wranglers, but with a game against Michigan next week, that may be a lot to ask. The 4th playoff spot in the East is still Boston’s to lose and at 5-8 they are the only contender still able to reach .500 if they win out, but with a 2 game lead on Washington, Memphis or Birmingham, really all they need is to win one more game and they are very likely in the playoffs, and then, of course, it is a tough trip to Philadelphia for them.
NEWS & NOTES
No news is good news for Boston fans. With a win this week against the Federals and a winnable game next week in Boston v. Memphis, the Breakers have the inside track on the final playoff slot, but all the talk in town has been about ownership. There was early rumblings from an ownership group connected to the Boston Bruins hockey club, but that never materialized and now Boston Breakers fans are simply waiting for the shoe to drop as the USFL looks at offers that may include relocation of the franchise. The major issue making Boston-based football an issue is stadium availability. Even with the NFL losing the anti-trust lawsuit there is nothing in place that would encourage the New England Patriots to share the use of Foxboro Stadium, so the Boston franchise, struggled to find a suitable home. They played in tiny Nickerson Field (Boston U.) in 1983, and slightly larger Harvard Stadium this year. Neither stadium is a solid option if the Breakers ever hope to be profitable for their ownership. Unless a deal would include use of either Foxboro or Boston College’s Alumni Stadium, the Breakers may have no option but to relocate.
INJURIES
As we look at the final playoff push, injuries, and the ability of players to come back in time for a clinching win, will be a factor. Looking at the teams that are still battling for position or a playoff spot, here is what we see:
Arizona: Both Eddie Weaver (DT) and Virgil Livers (CB) should be back for Week 15.
Boston: N. Franz-WR-OUT, R. Byrd-DE-OUT, some depth issues at guard with 2 backups questionable.
Chicago: All players are probable or better.
LA: No reported injuries.
Oakland: F. Manumaleuga-LB-OUT, D. Martin-CB-OUT, A. McMillian-CB-questionable
Tampa: J. Martel-G-Out
Washington: D. Wedon-G-OUT, D. Hickman-DT-OUT, J. Neal-T-Questionable
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 15 is the final week of inter-division play, as weeks 16 and 17 will feature only divisional games. While a lot of attention is being paid to the season’s final weeks, teams should not ignore the potential for a careloss loss this week to derail their playoff hopes. Philadelphia normally would be feeling rested this week, but they host Tampa Bay, a very possible playoff opponent. They may play vanilla football vs. the Bandits, or they may try to send a message. Michigan hosts Oakland and Chicago has what may be a very antagonistic crowd as they host Denver. A slip by either could determine the Central Division before the divisional games begin. Other matchups include LA @ Houston, Arizona @ Pittsburgh, Jacksonville @ Washington, Birmingham @ New Jersey and Memphis @ Boston.