What did Week 7 showcase? How about two unbeaten teams looking very unbeatable? Or the debut of a highly anticipated rookie QB, getting his first W in his first start? Or maybe it is the surprising Portland Stags, looking far better than most anticipated? And, for the second week in a row, how about a team calling it quits on their head coach? Another week, another head coach fired mid-season. We will break down all the big games, including Tampa Bay’s absolute demolition of the New Jersey Generals, our Big Story this week, and we will take a look at Dallas’s big win over the Denver Gold. We will also preview the return of afternoon games as the league prepares to unveil a more viewer friendly schedule in Week 8. Stay right there, we will bring it all to you.   Prescott Impresses as Bandits Hit 7-0 with General Collapse When this game was circled on the schedule it was believed to be a clash of two potential contenders, the Generals, expected to challenge for the NE Division, and the Bandits, defending SE Division champs, but what we got instead were two teams headed in very different directions and one quarterback putting his name solidly in the running to win back-to-back MVP awards.   Dak Prescott was center stage when the Bandits took on the Generals in the week’s opening game. He took charge of that stage and left everyone begging for more. Prescott only attempted 25 passes, completing a mere 12 throws, but in those 12 completions he amassed 337 yards, a 28.1 average per completion. That is ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as six, count them, six touchdowns. Bryant opened up almost humbly, connecting with Dak Prescott on a goalline 1-yard throw in the 1 st  quarter. In the second he opened things up, finding HB Dalvin Cook unguarded on the sideline for a 47-yard score. But things really heated up in the 2 nd  half, when, on back-to-back possessions, Prescott blew the roof off the place (figuratively, as Camping World Stadium has no roof) with a 75-yard bomb to Ryan Grant and then followed that with a second TD to Dez Bryant. With 4 TDs and a 38-24 lead, was Prescott done? Nope, he added a pair of TDs, one 56 yards and one of 40, both to TE Jordan Cameron, who just kept getting open as the Generals frantically tried to stop the bleeding from Bryant and Grant.   Cameron would actually end up as the lead receiver on the night, catching 4 balls for 135 yards (a nasty 33.8 YPC), while Bryant and Grant both were held under 100 yards. But there was little solace in that for New Jersey as they watched Tampa Bay pull away to finish with a 31-point victory, a humiliation for New Jersey. The Bandits now sit at 7-0, looking very much like the dominant team in the Eastern Conference, particularly with New Orleans now losing 2 in a row, Houston dropping to 4-3, and no one stepping up in the Northeast. They still have Atlanta nipping at their heels at 6-1, and those two will meet in Week 15 in what could be a monster of a game, but right now, no one seems ready to handle Tampa Bay’s newfound combination of offensive explosiveness and defensive fortitude. The Bandits have the 2 nd  rated scoring offense and the 2 nd  rated scoring defense, creating a margin of victory of over 15 points per game (30.4-15.3). They lead the league in pass defense while also putting up nearly 290 yards passing each outing.   What may be worse for anyone trying to catch them is that the Bandits have 9 games left and will face 6 opponents that currently reside below .500, including two games against 2-5 Charlotte and matches against the 1-6 Stars and 2-5 expansion Steamrollers. Good luck catching the Bandits for the top seed with that schedule ahead of them. As the fans in all the online watch parties are fond of saying “Bandit Ball is Back!!!”.   DENVER GOLD 21 DALLAS ROUGHNECKS 24 While it is not a good idea to judge any rookie by their first pro game, we tend to do that, and especially with quarterbacks. It isn’t fair, and so often it does not show us what the player is capable of, or how he will turn out 1, 2, or 3 years later. But when a rookie signal caller looks mature, feels pressure well, and seems ready to take on the pace of the pro game in their first outing, we cannot help but think it is a good sign of things to come.   That is exactly the feeling that Justin Herbert gave us in his first start for the Dallas Roughnecks. It was not always pretty, evident in Denver building up a 21-5 lead early in the 3 rd  quarter, but Herbert remained unrattled, rallied his club to a 17-point run, and got the W. It was a gutsy performance that certainly played well for the Roughneck Nation but also impressed us. The final numbers were very solid, with Herbert going 21 of 30 for 192 yards. He did not throw a touchdown or a pick, but his arm put Dallas in position to score on a pair of short yardage runs by Samaje Perine and Charles Sims. And with the game tied at 21, it was Herbert’s arm, more specifically a perfect looping ball over the defender and into the arms of Courtland Sutton, that put the Roughnecks in position to win the game in the final minutes.   In a game that may well feature two of the future stars of the 2020’s in the USFL, Herbert watched as Denver’s Josh Allen put two scores on the board on the final drive of the first half and the opening drive of the second half, a classic “double dip”. Allen first found Michael Crabtree for a TD that put them up 14-5 as the first half wound down, then took the second half kickoff, going 4 for 4 on the drive, and finding TE T. J. Hockenson to boost the lead to 21-5 as the third quarter began. But from there, Denver would be held scoreless. Herbert would shake off his first half nerves, almost as if he turned to Allen and said “hold my beer” while he amped up the volume on his performance. After a modest 5 of 12 in the first half, Herbert would go 16 of 18 in the second half, helping Dallas bounce back from a slow start and providing the spark for them to take the win and move to 3-4 at the 7-week mark.   Herbert and the Roughnecks face San Diego next week, and with the Thunder spiraling the drain on this season, it could be a perfect situation for the young Roughneck QB to settle into the league, get his legs under him, and take command of the offense. Dallas and Denver both now sit at 3-4, a pretty distant 4 games behind unbeaten Arizona, but within range to fight for a Wild Card. They will face each other again in Week 14, and we could again see a very nice matchup of two young QBs who could be the face of their franchises for the next decade, facing each other twice a year for the foreseeable future.   TAMPA BAY 55 NEW JERSEY 24 It was a bad day to be a defensive coach for the Generals as the Bandits ran through the New Jersey D like a combine through wheat. Dak Prescott had himself a day, throwing for 337 yards on only 12 completions. That included TDs of 17, 40, 47, 56, and 75 yards. It was as if the Generals had never heard of keeping safeties back. Prescott finished with 6 scoring tosses, including 2 each to Dez Bryant and TE Cameron Jordan and one apiece to Ryan Grant and HB Dalvin Cook. The 7-0 Bandits are playing like a team on a mission, while the Generals fall under .500 in a division that is looking wide open right now. POTG:  Bandit QB Dak Prescott: 12/25, 337 Yds, 6 TD, 1 Int   NEW ORLEANS 6   CHICAGO 33 Is there trouble in New Orleans after the Breakers drop their 2 nd  in a row after a 5-0 start? While their loss to Pittsburgh was a squeaker, the Machine left no doubt in this one, limiting the Breakers to only 2 field goals and 193 total yards. Check this stat out. New Orleans ran the ball only 12 times and gained negative 4 total yards, yup, that’s right a game total of -4 rushing yards. And, yes, that is a league record for futility. POTG:  Chicago DE Jason Pierre-Paul: 4 Tck, 3 TFL, 1 Sck   SEATTLE 16 LOS ANGELES 27 The Express get a halfway decent offense game and score a division win. Kyler Murray threw for 2 scores, the run game added a third, and the defense did the rest as they sacked Seattle QB Brett Hundley 5 times, picked him off once, and held the Dragons to 1 TD on the day. Newly acquired WR Eric Weems continues to grow into the Express offense, leading the team with 10 targets, 6 catches, and 87 yards. POTG : Express DT Chris Jones: 9 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   ORLANDO 31 BALTIMORE 21 Russell Wilson returns to action and helps the ‘Gades land a much-needed win. Wilson went 19 of 30 for 256 and found both Brashad Perriman and David Njoku for scores as Orlando upset Baltimore, tightening up the NE Division just a bit more. Wilson also ran for 58 yards and a TD as he pulled off his best Cam Newton impression. Jake Locker struggled quite a bit more, throwing 2 picks and suffering 4 sacks, including 2 from Orlando’s newest sack specialist, Montez Sweat. POTG : Orlando QB Russell Wilson: 19/30, 256 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int, 11 Att, 58 Yds, 1 TD   ATLANTA 21 NEW ENGLAND 10 The Steamroller D did about as good a job against Atlanta’s high-powered offense as anyone, but it was not good enough as the New England offense could muster only 1 TD on the day. Aaron Murray found both Gabe Davis and A. J. Green, both new teammates this year, for scores and the combo of Nick Chubb and Kenyan Drake combined for 104 yards and a TD as the Fire move to an impressive 6-1, chasing the unbeaten Bandits in the SE Division. POTG:  Fire WR A. J. Green: 6 Rec, 121 Yds, 1 TD   BIRMINGHAM 13 OHIO 15 If we asked you before this week which team had the capacity to totally shut down the Cam Newton Show, we don’t think you would have picked the Ohio Glory. And yet, here we are. Now it was not an entire shutdown. Ohio did allow the Birmingham QB to throw for 330 yards, but he had 14 rush attempts (5 scrambles and 9 planned runs) and gained… -5 yards. Yup, they spied him, double spied him, did everything to keep him in the pocket, and the strategy worked. A missed 2-point conversion helped hold the Stallions to 13 points, but it was Ohio’s defense that proved it could be done. POTG:  Glory DE Robert Quinn: 5 Tck, 4 TFL, 1 Sck   MEMPHIS 24 ST. LOUIS 9 Another bad day for the Skyhawk offense turned into a very bad day for head coach Frank Reich, as no touchdowns and a drop to 0-7 sends us a second coach firing already this season. St. Louis moved the ball, gaining 303 total yards, but settled for only 3 field goals as Coach Ryan’s defense shut them down every time they sniffed the red zone. On offense, Memphis got 100 yards from both Robert Woods and Devin Funchess, Todd Gurley ran for 94 and a TD, and the Showboats moved to 5-2 with the win. POTG:  Memphis WR Devin Funchess: 5 Rec, 128 Yds   OKLAHOMA 13 ARIZONA 38 The Wranglers remind us that they too are unbeaten, lest we get too excited about Tampa Bay. They ran through, around, and over the Oklahoma Outlaws to the tune of 356 yards of offense, and they did it with balance. Isaiah Crowell topped the century mark, rushing for 102 on 12 carries, while David Carr threw for 144 with 3 TDs as the Wranglers made short work of their SW Division foe. Oh, and guess who is back to full strength, our POTG, with a strip-sack-TD. POTG:  Wrangler DE Calais Campbell: 3 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Def TD, 1 FR   JACKSONVILLE 31 WASHINGTON 34   OVERTIME A really fun game that saw Washington come back from a 14-point 4 th quarter deficit to tie the game, take it to overtime, and win it. A rough way for a good day to end for QB Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 334 yards and 4 TDs only to watch the defense falter late. Ryan Nassib threw both his TD passes in the 4 th , finding both Tyreek Hill and Jarvis Landry to send the game to overtime. The Bulls had a shot to avoid overtime, but an Alec Ogletree sack of Bridgewater with 7 seconds to go forced the Bulls to attempt a 61-yard field goal, which was just too far for Rodrigo Blankenship. POTG:  Feds’ LB Alec Ogletree: 8 Tck, 3 TFL, 1 Sck   CHARLOTTE 21 PHILADELPHIA 24 OVERTIME The Stars responded in Don Smith’s first game as interim head coach. Smith focused on the run game and Derrick Henry produced for him, rushing for 124 yards. Despite 3 picks of Matt Gutierrez, the Stars hung in throughout the game, taking it to overtime on a late Travis Kelce TD and then winning it with an Eddie Pineiro field goal to earn their first W of the season. Mitch Trubisky threw 2 TDs to Justin Blackmon but also threw a costly pick late in the game that killed any chance of ending the affair in regulation. POTG:  Stars’ HB Derrick Henry: 26 Att, 124 Yds   HOUSTON 17 PITTSBURGH 23 The Maulers come up with another solid upset as they move to 5-2 and send the defending Conference Champions down to 4-3. Again, it was a tight game and again the Maulers stuck around and pulled it out in the end. The big play in this one was a Rasul Douglas pick-six of Colt McCoy, a rarity over the past few years for the Houston QB. Andy Dalton added a 6-yard TD pass to Albert Wilson and the defense did the rest, sacking Colt McCoy 7 times as Pittsburgh brought pressure from every angle. POTG:  Mauler CB Rasul Douglas: 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   SAN ANTONIO 9 MICHIGAN 34 The Gunslingers have struggled to put up points all season and that got no easier as they faced Michigan’s defense. Despite Marshawn Lynch’s first 100-yard game for the club, San Antonio could only muster 3 field goals, and that was not going to be enough against LeVeon bell and the Panthers. Bell finished with 123 yards and 2 scores while Kirk Cousins connected with both Cody Latimer and Martellus Bennett in a comfortable win for the Central Division leaders. POTG:  Michigan HB LeVeon Bell: 24 Att, 123 Yds, 2 TD   PORTLAND 44 OAKLAND 17 The Portland Stags are stamping their name on this season with another strong offensive performance as they dominated the Oakland Invaders. The Stags built up a 27-3 lead at the half thanks to two Brandin Cooks TDs and a pick-six from Rudy Ford. After that it was all about pressuring Tom Brady, who was picked off 2 more times. A. J. McCarron finished up the game for Mariota and Portland cruised their way to 5-2. POTG: Portland WR Brandin Cooks: 5 Rec, 188 Yds, 2 TD   SAN DIEGO 17 LAS VEGAS 27 On the opposite end of the ledger, San Diego, who many picked to repeat as division champs, slumped their way to 1-6 with Case Keenum, again in as Christian Ponder recovers from the Covid virus, threw three picks. Ryan Williams could muster only 10 yards on the ground, and the Thunder defense struggled to contain the combo of Matt Jones and Kareem Hunt, who combined for 22 carries and 129 yards, with Jones scoring for the Vipers. POTG:  Viper LB Blake Martinez: 10 Tck, 1 FF Reich Second Coach to Go in 2 Weeks Two weeks ago, we wrote about 3 coaches whose positions were very much in danger and who could potentially be gone before the season was tidied up. Even we did not think the reaction would be as swift as it was, with two of the three now on the unemployment line. Last week it was Philadelphia’s Jim Harbaugh, let go after a blow out loss to expansion New England. This week it is St. Louis’s Frank Reich, let go after the Skyhawks again failed to reach 20 points in a game, the 7 th  game in 7 tries where they have been held below that baseline target.   The Skyhawks scored only 9 points on three field goals this week in a bad 24-9 loss to Memphis. They currently rank 29 th  in scoring at 11.9 points per game, 26 th  in yards per game at 287 per outing, and are in the bottom five in both passing and rushing. All this despite the obvious talents of QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson himself has been expressing frustration with the team’s offensive production. Fans have been putting the blame solidly on Reich, who seemed to be trying to mold Jackson more after the immobile Joe Flacco than the more appropriate Jake Plummer or Cam Newton. Jackson is his own player, but the style of play Reich instituted for the Skyhawks clearly did not mesh well with his talents.   Add to this a sense that the team just was not motivated by Reich, coming out flat in several games, and barely competing in some bad losses, including this week’s matchup against the Showboats. And so, after 7 weeks, and a pair of 10-loss seasons prior, Reich was shown the door. St. Louis has named defensive coordinator Dave Borgonzi as the interim head coach, but with a defense that has been equally shaky, we don’t see much chance that Borgonzi can turn things around and hold onto the job. St. Louis is now the only winless team after a Week 7 win by the Stars. Maybe they will get a first week victory for their new coach as the Stars did, but we don’t expect much more from them. There is every chance that the Skyhawks will finish below both expansion teams in the rankings and could get them the 1 st  overall pick. That sad legacy may be what Frank Reich takes with him as he leaves the franchise. After so many heroics as a player, the former Buffalo Bill and St. Louis Knight was unable to bring any miracles to the Skyhawks and now leaves a team in an 0-7 hole.   How are the Stags Doing it? With possible competition from the Atlanta Fire, the Portland Stags are perhaps the surprise story of the 2020 USFL season. Portland came from a 4-12 season in 2019, did very little in the offseason, apart from signing NFL receiver Josh Gordon (who has only 7 receptions in 7 weeks), and somehow have put the pieces together, surprising many with their 5-2 start. After earning some early wins against struggling clubs in Oklahoma and Seattle, they made a splash with a 38-point deconstruction of the LA Express defense, producing a 21-point victory. They followed that up with an 11-point victory over Denver and this week’s 44-17 demolition of the Oakland Invaders. But how are they doing it?   The first thing we have to acknowledge is that the 2020 Stags are finally embracing the USFL as a passing league. After years of trying to ride their run game to victories, often with only spotty success, the Stags have shifted the focus of their offense. Balance is out, run-first is out, and they are letting Marcus Mariota be the focal point of their offense. The Stags average only 66 yards per game rushing, even with a solid back in Doug Martin leading the charge. Compare that to their 292.6 YPG average in the passing game. It is a major philosophical change for Head Coach Matt LaFleur and is largely the influence of his new OC, Luke Getsy, who has apparently found something in Mariota that LaFleur just did not believe was there.   We should recognize that Mariota has responded amazingly to the confidence shown in him this year, completing 63.8% of his passes, looking to deeper routes more often, and making good decisions with the ball. But we also need to acknowledge that former Stallion A. J. McCarron has also played well, starting 2 games for Mariota and performing with equal confidence. The Portland receiver group has also stepped up, with Brandin Cooks having a career season, already over 600 yards (646) and with 6 TDs, he is on pace for a 1,300-yard season. Alshon Jeffery is not far behind, with 540 yards and 5 scores. We could be looking at a duo with over 2,500 yards and 20 TDs between them by season’s end. If you want to know how Portland is doing it, look no further than the newly focused, newly inspired, and newly empowered passing game of LaFleur and Getsy.   Are the Breakers Broken? There was no panic when the Breakers lost a tough matchup against a very feisty Pittsburgh Mauler team. After all, a 24-17 game and a let down after a 5-0 start is nothing to panic about. But what we saw from the Breakers this week in a very rough 33-6 beatdown by the Chicago Machine was enough to worry Breaker fans. The passing game which had carried the Breakers to their 5-0 domination was held to only 197 yards and no touchdowns. The outside combo of Nelson and Jefferson held to only 3 catches on 9 targets. And, as rough as that sounds, when your run game produces a league record for futility with a grand total of -4 yards on the day, you might need to panic a bit.   The Breakers still share first place in the division, even with Memphis and a game up on Houston, but these last two weeks have proven that their offense can be contained, even shut down, if we go by what Chicago did. With a huge game against the Showboats this week, you know Memphis Head Coach Rex Ryan is scouring over the Chicago footage as he game plans against the Breakers. What was it that the Machine did to throw the Breakers off their game? Is it repeatable? The answer seems to be pressure from the D-Line, with Jason Pierre-Paul (the game’s POTG), Victor Abiami, and Ifeadi Odenigbo largely taking responsibility for the pass rush, with only occasional early down blitzes from Manti Te’o or Courtney Upshaw. Chicago dropped 7, occasionally 8, into coverage, and that seemed to frustrate Geno Smith. That is not exactly the style that Rex Ryan likes for his defense, but he may well learn from Chicago and rely on DE’s Chase Winovich and Sam Acho, along with DT Dan Williams to put pressure on. If it works, then we will see that formula used by every team the Breakers face over the season’s second half.   Campbell “Not Done Yet”, but is Streak Over? No one is saying that Calais Campbell has hit the wall, at least not in his presence. But while Campbell had himself a very nice game this week with 3 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery for a TD, he has yet to secure more than 1 sack in any game this year. That fact, combined with his missing 2 weeks to injury, put him well behind the pace on the sack leaderboard. Yes, he has 1 sack in every start, which would easily put him over 10 for the year, but after 7 weeks he not only trails Orlando’s Montez Sweat by 7 sacks, but is currently 2 nd  on his own team, with Bud Dupree taking over as Calais was injured and holding on with 6 sacks in 7 games. With 9 weeks left to play, do we think Campbell will finish outside of the Top 5 or 6 in sacks? No. We think he can still reach 15 or 16 sacks, which typically would put him near the top of the standings. But could he fail to win the Sack Title for the first time since 2008, an amazing run but one that could end with 11 seasons. Still perhaps the greatest record in pro football history, but a sign that Campbell is no spring chicken anymore and that all good things eventually come to an end.   Sobering Injury Sends Calvin Ridley to IR It was a valiant attempt at a highlight reel catch, but the consequences of the daring attempt were severe, and now a rising star in the league could be facing a lost season and a very long and difficult recovery. On a third down play midway through Michigan’s 34-9 demolition of San Antonio, receiver Calvin Ridley went all out to make a tough catch, soaring up in the air in an attempt to bring down a high throw from Kirk Cousins, hoping to make the spectacular catch and convert a 3 rd  and 13. Ridley went up, tipped the ball at its apex and attempted to bring it in with his other hand. But at the same time, Gunslinger’s safety David Bruton came in for the tackle, crashing into Ridley’s legs, which were chest-high on the San Antonio defender. The momentum of Bruton’s hit spun Ridley in the air, sending him feet over head. When Ridley hit the ground, it was head first, right on the crown of his helmet. And just like the illegal hit that will cause a targeting penalty in college ball, the blow to the crown, caused Ridley’s head and neck to bend back. With the full weight of his body above him, that torque was intense, and Ridley’s body crumpled to the ground awkwardly.   Both teams sent their medical crews out onto the field immediately. Bruton, the man who undercut Ridley, was sickened, dropping to the ground in tears after seeing that Ridley was not moving. The Michigan receiver was put on a backboard, his helmet still on but his neck in a firm brace. The cart wheeled him off, with no signs from the moment he hit the ground until he left down the tunnel that he could move his hands or feet. The chilling moment in the game left both teams shaken. The silence in the stadium, already quiet due to the Covid restrictions that left only a handful of grounds crew, television personnel, and the two teams as the lone witnesses, was palpable. FOX went to commercial 4 times over the course of nearly 15 minutes as the game suffered a long pause, the announcers also audibly shaken by the incident.   It would not be until 2pm on Monday that we heard from the physicians at the Texas Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems and an ideal location for Ridley to get emergency care. Ridley had suffered a significant neck injury, with two cracked vertebrae, a nick to the spinal cord, and significant inflammation that was cutting off the brain’s signals to the muscles. Doctors believed that with stabilization, including 2 rods inserted into the neck to secure the spine, that a recovery would be possible, that Ridley, who regained feeling in his extremities overnight, would also regain motion. They were not as certain about his ability to ever return to the game. His vertebrae would be reinforced for now, but their eventual healing could require fusing the bones and would forever be more fragile. For now, the good news was that feeling had returned and the medical team had high hopes that movement would also be restored, but for a young player who was just beginning to get noticed as a key part of the Michigan offense, his future as a football player is very much in doubt, and his teammates, friends, and family are now more concerned about his health than his career.   A horrible week across the USFL for injuries. We already outlined the horrible injury suffered by Calvin Ridley of the Panthers, but he was hardly alone in suffering major injury this week. Seattle CB Desmond Truffant will miss the rest of the season after what appears to be a complete hamstring tear with roll up of the muscle. LA will lose RG Logan Stenberg after receiving word that surgery would be needed to repair his hip socket. Baltimore will miss their lead receiver, Brian Hartline, for at least a month as he suffered major ligament damage at the joint of his thigh and hip. Philadelphia’s Randall Cobb will also miss at least a month after a partial tear of his oblique muscle in the abdomen. A bad week all around, even with reduced COVID-19 numbers this week.   OUT CB          Desmond Truffant    SEA        Torn Hamstring         IR WR         Calvin Ridley            MGN     Spine Injury                      IR G            Logan Stenberg     LA          Hip                                 IR WR         Brian Hartline          BAL        Leg                                 4-6 Weeks DE          Kareem Martin        ORL       Groin                             4-6 Weeks FS           Nate Allen               ARZ       Biceps                         4-6 Weeks WR         Randall Cobb          PHI        Abdomen                        4-6 Weeks DE          Neal Beasley           HOU     Turf Toe                     1-2 Weeks LB           Jamie Collins          NEN      Pinched Nerve            1-2 Weeks OT          Jonah Williams       BIR         ACL Strain                    1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL DT          Tim Settle              WSH     Thigh Bruise LB           Jelani Jenkins          HOU     Elbow DE          Tyrone Crawford      POR      Knee   QUESTIONABLE LB           Aldon Smith            NJ           Knee OT          Marcus Gilbert       NOR      Foot OG         Chance Warmack    DAL       Hip HB         Paul Perkins              LA       Knee   COVID-19 INACTIVES CHI        C             Harlan Couch HOU     HB         Carlos Hyde OAK      SS           Marquestan Huff OKL       LB           Greg Lloyd Jr.         2 nd Week PHI        OT          Matt Kalil SAN       DE          Da’Shawn Hand   2 nd  Week STL         LB           Cody Glenn            2 nd Week WSH     DE          Bradley Chubb First Week of Weekend Afternoon Games on Tap As we approach Week 8 of the USFL season, we are preparing for the return of weekend afternoon football. Both Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium and Tucson’s University of Arizona stadiums are now offline, and we will have no more 11pm starts on the East Coast. What we will have are games at both 1pm (from Houston’s NRG Stadium), at 4pm, and at 8pm on Fridays, with all Pacific and Southwest Division games now rescheduled to either State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ or the Wynn Arena in Las Vegas. The new schedule (listed below in our preview of the week) will allow for two 8pm starts and a 9pm kickoff on Friday Nights and a 1pm start, two 4pm games, and a mix of 8pm and 9pm starts on Saturday and Sunday. The hope, of course, is that the removal of the late-night games for most of the country will greatly impact viewership, producing happier TV networks and happier fans. The next step, according to league sources, is to seek approval for partial capacity stadium use. After 7 weeks of games being played in the eerie silence of an empty stadium, that approval will be forthcoming for teams to start allowing lower-capacity attendance at games. This is not a unique request from the USFL, with both college and NFL football scheduled to begin in late August and early September, there is a definite push to allow stadiums to set partial capacity limits and sell seats that still allow for social distancing between parties. The hope for the USFL is that Florida, Texas, Arizona, and now Nevada, will allow somewhere between 20% and 30% capacity. With support of other professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the NFL, the hope is that safety guidelines can be developed to allow some fan presence at games, as even a modest 10,000 in a football stadium will help alter the feel of the game, removing the uncomfortable feel of teams playing in empty facilities.   Denver Gold Unveil 2021 Update & Alternate Look Stuck in a 3-game losing streak, the Denver Gold needed to do something to build a bit of enthusiasm for the club. No better time to reveal their new looks for 2021, a chance to highlight future prospects in a season that started strong but has taken a negative turn. The Gold held a virtual press conference and fan event to reveal their new Under Armour looks for 2021, a look they hope to bring to the field in the 2020 playoffs if they can turn around their losing streak.   The primary looks for the Gold stick to the tried-and-true formulas from the club’s history, featuring their standard black helmet with gold stripe, a black home jersey with gold shoulder striping, and a white road jersey with gold shoulders and black sleeves. The jerseys will now feature gold numbers with a bevel effect, evoking the look of a gold bar. Both jerseys also feature two-tone gold as part of their collar and the team’s 1983 logo as a chest patch. The primaries offer Denver either a white pant set with three stripes in black-gold-black or a black set with a single gold stripe.   The throwback look features the 1983 founding franchise look, including the original gold star logo, a brighter athletic gold (yellow) color, and twin stripes on the jerseys. This set includes the team’s inaugural yellow pant set. Finally, the team revealed what it is calling its “Golden Boys” alternate, which, for the first time in team history, will feature a gold helmet. The look starts with a metallic gold helmet with white facemask. The helmet will sport one of the team’s alternate logos, depicting 3 mountains with a gold heart and the wordmark beneath it. The helmet will be paired with a gold jersey featuring black numbers. The jersey has black sleeve caps and a triangle pattern on the sleeves in the club’s lighter gold, creating something of a shimmer effect. The triangle motif, tied to altitude measures used in cartography, is also present on the white pant set, with the triangles growing lighter as they move from the knee to the hip. The alternate look also includes two-tone gold socks with a thin black top stripe.   Saturday and Sunday afternoon games return as the USFL updates their schedule, adds Las Vegas’s Wynn Arena as a venue, and closes up the domes at NRG and State Farm Stadium. That means football from 1pm Eastern through midnight on both Saturday and Sunday. We get our first games from Sin City on Friday night when the Wranglers take on the Portland Stags from Las Vegas. That is a really interesting matchup with the juggernaut Wranglers facing a surprising 5-2 Stags team. The other two Friday games are nice divisional battles, with New Jersey hoping to get back to .500 as they face the 4-3 Federals. The new late game, starting at only 9pm, features a key Southern Division battle as the Breakers, who have lost 2 in a row, take on the Memphis Showboats.   Saturday features 3 afternoon games and 4 divisional matchups. We are back to afternoon football with the Gamblers and Stallions kicking off at 1pm ET from NRG Stadium. At 4pm we have two interdivisional matchups from the Arizona-Las Vegas bubble, with Dallas facing San Diego and Denver battling Seattle. Then back to night games with Atlanta and Orlando facing off in Gainesville, the Bandits hoping to finish the first half of the season unbeaten as they take on Charlotte, and the Maulers renewing their longstanding rivalry with Ohio in the 9pm start from Rice Stadium.   Sunday has 3 more day games, with St. Louis and San Antonio meeting at NRG Stadium, Las Vegas and LA squaring off at State Farm Stadium at 4pm and the Outlaws meeting Oakland at Wynn Arena. The night games include a beauty as the Michigan Panthers take on the Chicago Machine in a vital Central Division clash at TDECU Stadium in Houston.   FRIDAY 8pm ET      New Jersey (3-4) @ Washington (4-3)         Orlando          ESPN/EFN 8 pm ET         Arizona (7-0) @ Portland (5-2)                       Las Vegas        NBC 9pm ET            New Orleans (5-2) @ Memphis (5-2)              TDECU             ABC   SATURDAY 1pm ET         Houston (4-3) @ Birmingham (2-5)                   NRG                ABC 4pm ET         Dallas (3-4) @ San Diego (1-6)                           Las Vegas        ABC 4pm ET          Denver (3-4) @ Seattle (2-5)                              Glendale         FOX 8pm ET          Atlanta (6-1) @ Orlando (4-3)                            Gainesville     NBC 8pm ET            Charlotte (2-5) @ Tampa Bay (7-0)                     Tampa             ABC 9pm ET           Pittsburgh (5-2) @ Ohio (2-5)                            Rice                FOX   SUNDAY 1pm ET          St. Louis (0-7) @ San Antonio (1-6)                 NRG               FOX 4pm ET            Las Vegas (2-5) @ Los Angeles (5-2)                Glendale         ABC 4pm ET           Oklahoma (3-4) @ Oakland (4-3)                      Las Vegas       FOX 8pm ET           New England (2-5) @ Jacksonville (2-5)           Tampa             ABC 8pm ET           Baltimore (4-3) @ Philadelphia (1-6)                Orlando           FOX 9pm ET          Michigan (6-1) @ Chicago (5-2)                       TDECU            ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As great as LeVeon Bell's 160 yards from scrimmage with 3 TDs was this week, we have to give the POTW to Birmingham's Cam Newton. Newton single-handedly accounted for 461 yards of offense in the Stallions' win over San Antonio. He threw for 351 and rushed for another 110 on only 10 carries. When Newton is hot, he is absolutely unstoppable. The problem for the 2-4 Stallions is that he does tend to run hot & cold.

It’s the end of an era in the City of Brotherly Love as a bad loss by the Stars to expansion New England spells the end of the Jim Harbaugh Stars, with Philly sacking the 15-year coach. That is our big story, but we will also bring you up to speed on all this week’s games, including a thriller in the South between the Showboats and Gamblers, and the upset that knocks the Breakers from the ranks of the unbeatens, leaving only Arizona and Tampa Bay unblemished. All this, plus news from the USFL owners’ virtual meeting and a look at what may be the best rookie class for receivers in league history. We start it off in Philadelphia, with the news of the firing of Coach Harbaugh as Philadelphia drops to 0-6 with a bad loss to the Steamrollers.   Harbaugh Axed After 0-6 Start Fifteen years, 146 wins, a .591 winning percentage, 11 playoff appearances, and two trips to the Summer Bowl. That is what Philadelphia parted ways with when they announced that Jim Harbaugh had been relieved of his duties. But that is what can happen when you start the season 0-5 for the second consecutive year and then proceed to put forward a low-energy, low-effort performance and get beaten by 18 points by an expansion team. The Stars were simply not going to continue down this road, a change needed to be made and that change was at the top, letting Jim Harbaugh go six weeks into his 16 th  season.   Now, had Harbaugh brought the Stars a title, perhaps he would have gotten yet another chance to turn things around, but years of playoff frustration paired with yet another rough start to the year and a truly bad loss this week was more than ownership could tolerate. So, they let Harbaugh go, promoted his DC, Don Smith, to the interim position, and promised a lot more changes to come. That could mean that we see recently obtained QB Ryan Lindley under center. It could mean more coaches are let go when the season ends, or that the club will undergo what may be a very much needed roster overhaul this offseason.   As we look over the 2020 Stars, we see sloppy play, a lack of focus and intensity, and, yes, a need to upgrade all across the roster. That Philadelphia was able to pull 9 wins and a division title out of this club in 2019 may actually mean that Jim Harbaugh was not the problem. The team has needs that are just not being addressed, which to us feels more like a GM issue. That said, the coach is the man responsible for getting the most out of his players, and that was just not happening this year. So, where do we see the Stars needing to improve most. Here are 5 areas of immediate concern.   QUARTERBACK You would not expect any QB with 804 yards and only 4 TDs in 4 starts to be locked into the starting job, and even with a solid track record behind him, it is clear that Matt Gutierrez is not the same player as he was in past seasons. The last 2 years in particular have seen a precipitous decline in production. Gutierrez’s arm lacks the zip it once had, and his decision making has not improved enough to help him compensate. But, P. J. Walker was not showing us any ability to take over in the 2 starts he got this year, throwing for 5 picks and racking up a pretty miserable 65.5 QB Rating. So, while we expect to see Ryan Lindley get some starts this year, it seems clear that Philadelphia needs to upgrade the position this offseason. Expect them to be among several teams in the rookie QB hunt, and it is a good class. If the Stars finish with the worst record in the league (which feels viable), they would have a clean shot at one possible prospect North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, but they could also work some deals to pursue several others who look like T-Draft protectees to us, like Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, or Alabama’s Mac Jones.   WIDE RECEIVER Rookie K. J. Hamler leads the Stars with 46 targets and 29 receptions. That tells us that Randall Cobb, in addition to injury issues, is just not a clear number one receiver. It might make sense for him to return to the slot and have the Stars sign a proven veteran to line up opposite Hamler. Depth should also be addressed this offseason. If not for Travis Kelce, we don’t think the Stars would be able to put together any passing game at all, and that is not all on the QB.   DEFENSIVE LINE Yes, injury to Jonathan Babineaux hurt, as has losing Malik Jackson to Covid restrictions for 2 weeks, but even beyond that this is just not a front four that can get the job done without requiring blitz assistance. Both the DT and edge positions need upgrades if the Stars want to stifle the run and put pressure on the QB. They are currently giving up too much in the run and allowing QBs far too much time in the passing game, and that all has to do with a lack of playmakers on the D-line.   CORNERBACK The Stars’ linebackers are passable (an upgrade would not hurt), but their corners are clearly sub-par. Jaire Alexander is still learning the USFL game and needs time, so thrusting him into the 1 slot was clearly a mistake, and behind him there just is not much there. We think safeties Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Nick Scott are workable, but again, an upgrade would not hurt, but corner is the clear need, as was evident by the strong performance New England’s Doug Baldwin put up this week.   GENERAL MANAGER Let’s face it, this is likely the cause of many of Philadelphia’s troubles. Other than landing Derrick Henry in the 2016 draft, the Stars have found little of value in the draft. They seemingly ignored needs, including at QB, and played it safe. This is a team that needs to be aggressive if they want to compete for a title, and with so many needs, they cannot build slowly through the draft, they need to land some key free agents, make a trade or two, and also draft well. We think there will be a new GM in the organization by August, perhaps sooner, and that may well be the biggest move of any. For now we just have to see what Don Smith can do with the players he has on the roster, but that has to change, and quickly, for 2021.   MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 24  HOUSTON GAMBLERS 30  OVERTIME The Gamblers and the Showboats, two division rivals, one used to commanding the division after claiming 3 division titles, the other always the outside, the up and comer who never arrives. That is the story of this renewed rivalry. When Houston returned to the South in 2015, they brought with them the swagger of a 4-time league champion, and they added their 5 th  only 2 years ago. Memphis has not had that kind of track record, having won two titles, but not having won a playoff game since 2016.   The two would face off in Houston’s home field, NRG Stadium, and while the stands were empty, the home cooking was still very much in effect for the Gamblers. Memphis had been camping out at a hotel in a student residence on the campus of Texas A&M since early May, far from home, but the Showboats came into this one with a 1-game advantage, sitting at 4-1 to Houston’s 3-2 mark. They had won their last 4, including divisional games against San Antonio and Birmingham, and Rex Ryan’s defense was looking solid, but what was even better, they had gotten Todd Gurley on track and their feature back was helping the Showboats stay balanced on offense.   That balance would be tested against Houston’s D, and Rex Ryan’s pressure defense would also get tested in a game that showcased both teams. Memphis would get a huge game from their star halfback, with Todd Gurley rushing for 145 yards on only 19 carries, and while Gurley would not find the endzone, his runs made it easier for Paxton Lynch and the former Memphis Tiger came through with 3 TD tosses. For Houston, Colt McCoy would have an up and down day, but would end the game with a strong 4 th  quarter and an even stronger overtime performance, finishing the day with 386 yards passing, 3 TDs and 2 picks. In a game that looked like it was Memphis’s through 3 quarters, Houston did not give up and by the final whistle, a walk-off TD to end the game, it was the Gamblers once again on top.   Memphis started the game with some swagger, and with a very strong 13-play drive that ended when Paxton Lynch hit Robert Woods from 5 yards out with the game’s opening score. The Memphis defense also played well in the first, limiting Carlos Hyde to only 12 yards on 7 carries in the opening period. Houston would put up two field goals but Memphis held the edge as the teams flipped the field and started the 2 nd . In that quarter, Houston finally found the endzone, with Colt McCoy finding Denzel Mims on a crossing route from the 3 to give Houston its first lead of the game at 13-7. But that lead was short-lived. Memphis roared back, putting together a drive that again ended with Robert Woods bringing down the ball in the endzone. Up 14-13 with 1:52 left in the half, Memphis braced for the Gamblers to try to double up by scoring at the end of the half and then getting the 2 nd  half kickoff.   Rather than stay back and focus on coverage, Rex Ryan, as he so often does, went for pressure, and this time it paid off. Colt McCoy made a bad throw while fading backwards away from the rushers. The ball fluttered and was snagged by Memphis CB Josh Johnson, giving the Showboats the ball at midfield with time to set up a half-ending kick for Lewis Ward. Ward connected from 50 yards out and the Showboats went into the half feeling good and up 17-13.   The visitors would feel even better as the third quarter provided a 2 nd McCoy pick and two stalled Houston drives. Memphis would have only one solid drive in the period, a 10-play, 58-yard affair that ended when Lynch hit slot receiver Jamison Crowder for another short TD toss, giving the Showboats a nice cushion at 24-13 after 3 quarters.   But if there is one thing we know about the Gamblers, it is that their offense can go from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat. They found their swagger in the 4 th quarter, first putting together a nice drive from their own 13, going 87 yards in 15 plays with Anthony Sherman getting a rare reception and forcing his way into the endzone from 4 yards out. Houston went for 2 and McCoy found Mims for a score that put them within 3.   Memphis needed a drive to kill time and to potentially build up their lead again. What they go was a near disaster as Paxton Lynch threw a pick on an attempted screen play, tossing the ball where Gurley should be but where Houston safety Budda Baker had disrupted the play. Baker reacted quickly, keeping the ball from hitting the ground and giving Houston the ball back with 2:02 on the clock.   The Gamblers knew what they needed to do, but hoped to do more, trying to get in the endzone to finish the game in the final minutes. They moved the ball to the red zone, and then within the 10, where Memphis was faced with the Gamblers, first and goal from the 8. On first down, the defense did its job, holding Carlos Hyde to only 1 yard on an outside run. Second down saw McCoy miss Mike Evans in the endzone, creating 3 rd  and goal from the 7. McCoy tried a swing pass to Edwards-Helaire, who appeared to give the Gamblers the lead, only to see the yellow flag on the field. A lineman had gotten out in front of the play and was declared illegally downfield. Houston would now be at the 12, and on 3 rd  and goal from there, the Memphis secondary did not give McCoy any options.   Colt McCoy was forced to throw the ball out of the endzone on 3 rd  down, settled for a short Younghoe Koo field goal to tie the game with 6 seconds left to play, and everyone prepared for overtime. Despite a solid goal-line stand by Memphis, the momentum was still clearly on Houston’s side, having put up the only 10 points of the final period. Memphis had the ball first in overtime, but all that produced was a 3-and-out as Lynch missed on a deep ball to Devin Funchess. Houston would get a shot, and they would take it. After a series of short runs and underneath routes, Houston was on the fringes of Koo’s range at the 34. It would be a 51-yard kick from here. The Gamblers opted not to try to garner 3-5 yards on a 3 rd  and 11 from the 34, instead they faked the ball to Hyde and McCoy took a shot at the endzone. It was a jump ball between Houston’s JuJu Smith-Schuster and Memphis’s Marcus Williams, one of the league’s best corners against one of the best 50/50 receivers.   The two went up for the ball, but despite solid coverage from Williams, Smith-Schuster got both hands on the ball and spun it away from the defender’s reach, crashing to the turf with the game winning score. Houston had taken on the challenge from Memphis and again come out victorious. The Gamblers would now improve to 4-2, sharing the same record with the Showboats, and proving that their off and on start was not a sign that the Gamblers were ready to abdicate their leadership in the South, even if both they and Memphis were still a game behind the Breakers.   NEW JERSEY 7  BALTIMORE 24 It was all Baltimore as the Blitz outgained the Generals 374-169 and limited New Jersey to only 7 first downs. The Blitz defense was all over Maurie Jones-Drew, limiting him to only 1.2 yards per carry, and Nick Foles did not fare much better, throwing for only 143 yards. On offense, the star was Jake Locker, who threw for 318 in the game, including TD tosses to rookie Michael Pittmann Jr., TE C. j. Uzomah, and TE Dion Simms. POTG:  Blitz QB Jake Locker: 26/42, 318 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   LOS ANGELES 12  SAN DIEGO 6 The Express D rebounds from their shocking let down against Portland by simply shutting down any scoring chances from the spiraling San Diego Thunder. In a game that saw all the points come off the toes of the kickers, LA simply got into range for Dan Bailey more often than San Diego did for Jeff Reed. Eric Weems showed he can be a weapon for QB Kyler Murray, catching 4 of 9 targets for 77 yards, while Reggie Bush averaged 4.1 per carry on his way to a 16-carry, 65-yard outing. But this one was all about defense, with LA getting 6 sacks of Thunder backup Case Keenum (Ponder was in Covid protocols). POTG:  LA Linebacker Uchena Nwosu: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   CHARLOTTE 21  ATLANTA 34 A 24-21 Atlanta lead at the half grew as the Fire put up 14 in the second half while holding Charlotte scoreless. Aaron Murray again had a strong game, throwing for 347 and 3 scores, but it was the emergence of Nick Chubb from hibernation in the 2 nd  half, with 73 of his 111 yards coming after the halftime break, that really opened up the game for the Fire. Mitch Trubisky went 20 of 25 without throwing any picks, but he just could not get Charlotte into scoring territory in the second half and that was the difference. POTG:  Fire WR A. J. Green: 10 Rec, 130 Yds, 2 TD   PHILADELPHIA 13   NEW ENGLAND 31 A result so shocking it led to the dismissal of the Stars’ longstanding head coach. No other way to describe it, the Steamrollers rolled in a game that surprised everyone but Coach Fox. Ryan Tannehill threw for 3 scores, Kerwynn Williams and Matt Forte combined for 136 yards, and the New England defense held Derrick Henry to only 43 yards rushing in a game that had all the hallmarks of a team wanting to win facing a team that was running on empty. POTG:  Steamroller QB Ryan Tannehill: 16/24, 177 Yds, 3TD, 1 Int   SAN ANTONIO 12   BIRMINGHAM 33 The league’s other expansion club did not fare as well this week, succumbing to another huge game from who else, Cam Newton. The Stallions’ one-man offense did it again, throwing for 351 (and 2 TDs) while also leading the team in rushing with 110 yards on only 10 carries. Newton was just too much for the Gunslingers as every time they bit on the run fake, he would hit them over the top, with rookie Henry Ruggs often the target. Ruggs finished with 4 receptions for 150 yards, a fabulous 37.5 YPC average. POTG:  Stallion QB Cam Newton: 16/30, 351 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int, 10 Att, 110 Yds   ST. LOUIS 17   CHICAGO 30 Chicago wins the Battle of I-55 as they build up a 23-0 lead at the half and then coast their way to a 13-point victory. The game started with Chicago SS Lano Hill blitzing Lamar Jackson and recording a safety on the opening drive of the game, then Chicago added TDs from Chase Claypool, Marion Mack, and Jeremy Hill to build up their halftime lead before St. Louis ever got on the board. With no run game whatsoever after Eddie Lacy’s injury, the Skyhawks had only 24 rushing yards to Chicago’s 111. POTG:  Chicago WR Michael Floyd: 6 Rec, 122 Yds   ARIZONA 27  LAS VEGAS 26 The Vipers gave Arizona a serious scare, with new HB Matt Jones combining with Kareem Hunt to rack up 138 combined rushing yards and allowing Matt McGloin to use the play action game for 254 yards and 2 scores. But Arizona hung in all game, with David Carr throwing 3 TD passes and Ka’Deem Carey adding 81 on the ground. Down 23-20 after three, Arizona added a long TD toss to Victor Cruz to take the lead and held Las Vegas to a lone field goal in the final 15 minutes to squeak by their SW Division rivals. POTG:  Wrangler WR Victor Cruz: 3 Rec, 112 Yds, 1 TD   DENVER 27   PORTLAND 38 Portland is staking a claim as the breakout team of the season, putting up 38 on the Denver defense. It was a shootout throughout the game as Josh Allen threw for 338 and 3 TDs but also threw a pair of costly picks. Marcus Mariota had far more modest numbers but completed 12 of 16 and had 3 TDs of his own, all three to Marcus Mariota. At one point Portland led 31-3, but Denver put up 24 points in the 2 nd  half, almost coming back before a Doug Martin TD run slammed the door shut on the comeback. POTG:  Portland WR Alshon Jeffery: 4 Rec, 141 Yds, 3 TD   ORLANDO 3   JACKSONVILLE 10 With Russell Wilson sidelined by an infection, Kyle Lauletta got the start for the Renegades and Jacksonville took advantage. While only recording 3 sacks, the pressure from the Bulls was still very present and Lauletta completed only 47% of his pass attempts. Teddy Bridgewater’s 11 of 19 was just good enough to get the Bulls their 2 nd  win of the year, secured with a TD to QB-turned-TE Taysom Hill. The defense did the rest as Orlando drops to 3-3 after 6 weeks. POTG:  Bulls’ CB Dominique Rogers-Cromartie: 7 Tck, 5 PDef   TAMPA BAY 27  WASHINGTON 3 A rough day for Feds’ QB Ryan Nassib, who was sacked 6 times and threw 2 picks on only 112 yards passing. Dack Prescott had much stronger numbers, throwing for 307 with 2 TDs, including an amazing corner-of-the-endzone diving catch by Dez Bryant as Tampa Bay moved to 6-0 on the season. Bryant, TE Jordan Cameron and slot man Deebo Samuel helped Tampa Bay weather the absence of Ryan Grant (Covid protocols) and the Bandit defense came up big, allowing Washington to convert only 2 third downs all night. POTG:  Bandit QB Dak Prescott: 16/24, 307 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int   PITTSBURGH 24   NEW ORLEANS 17 A late Dalton to Albert Wilson TD knocks the Breakers from the ranks of the unbeatens. It was a brilliant game all around for the Maulers, who stymied the Breakers TD machine despite giving up 370 yards to Geno Smith and the duo of Nelson and Jefferson. Between the 20’s the Breakers moved the ball well, but they had 2 red zone turnovers and missed on 2 field goals, and that was enough for the Maulers to get the upset. POTG:  Mauler LB Brian Orakpo: 5 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR   OHIO 7   MICHIGAN 35 Not exactly the Wolverines and Buckeyes as the Panthers simply manhandled Tom Coughlin’s Ohio Glory. This one got ugly early with the Panthers scoring on their first three possessions. Ohio had some highlights, but far too few as it was LeVeon Bell’s 160-yard, 3-TD rushing and receiving performance that dominated the day. Cody Latimer also had a good day, catching 8 for 113 and a TD, while the Panther defense held Ohio to only 2 successful third down conversions, forced 2 turnovers, and helped the Panthers stay atop the Central at 5-1. POTG:  Panther HB LeVeon Bell: 23 Att, 145 Yds, 2 TD, 3 Rec, 15 Yds, 1 TD   DALLAS 14   OKLAHOMA 36 Mason Rudolph came out the clear victor in the “QB Bowl” as he faced off against Josh Freeman with both having high-priced rookies nipping at their heels. Rudolph finished the game 22 of 29 for 217 yards, throwing 3 TDs while Josh Freeman threw 3 picks in what could be his final start before Justin Herbert gets a shot. TE Mark Andrews was Rudolph’s favorite target, catching 9 of 9 targets for 70 yards and 2 scores as the Outlaws improve to 3-3. POTG:  Outlaw QB Mason Rudolph: 22/29, 217 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   OAKLAND 13  SEATTLE 3 Brett Hundley got clocked early on an illegal hit, but that forced Brad Gradkowski into the game for Seattle, and, well, that did not go great. Gradkowski threw 2 picks and was sacked 3 times, while Seattle stumbled to only 1 field goal in the game. Oakland did not look great on offense either, but Tom brady did connect with Jerrel Jernigan for the game’s lone TD and that was enough to help the Invaders move to 4-2 on the season. POTG:  Oakland DE Vinny Curry: 8 Tck, 1 Sck 1 FF, 1 FR   Maulers Get Statement Win at Breakers’ Expense Sometimes a team can have success but not gain respect until they put up a big game against a top opponent to earn the attention of the nation. After a 3-2 start, Pittsburgh felt they were not getting the respect they felt their club deserved. That may not be a problem any longer after a huge win over the unbeaten New Orleans Breakers. In this week’s game, the Maulers played complementary football and proved they could pull out the tough one with a late score to claim victory.   On defense they did what few have proven able to to, declaw the Breaker attack. Yes, they allowed plenty of yards, with Geno Smith throwing for 370 yards, yet another 300-yard effort, but they held the run game under 60 total yards and they avoided giving up the big scoring play, holding Smith to only one big play. They limited the Breakers to only 17 points, a season low, and well below their 30+ point average. On offense, they showed excellent balance, with Cam Akers and Sony Michel combining for 106 yards while Andy Dalton went 18 of 28 for 190 yards. They even caught New Orleans with a trick play, freeing up Brian Quick for a rare rushing TD on a nicely executed reverse.   The Maulers are still a game behind 5-1 Michigan, but they are right there with Chicago as the most likely challengers to the Panthers’ supremacy in the division. They don’t have a lot of big-name playmakers, but they are a tough nut to crack, playing with few penalties, few self-inflicted wounds, and few big defensive blunders. That may not make them the most exciting team to watch, but it does make them a tough out every week. They will get a chance to jump up to 5-2, a very nice position to be in, if they can get yet another upset win over a Southern Division favorite as they take on the Houston Gamblers this weekend.   Newton Sizzles Against San Antonio It may not be entirely fair to tout a players stats run up against an expansion team, but we saw one expansion club earn their 2 nd  win this week, and San Antonio, while still stuck at 1 win, has been in nearly every game they have played, so the outing put together by Cam Newton is still impressive, even if it was against a first year club. Todd Haley is getting the dual-threat machine cranked up again, giving Newton 9 designed runs in the game, which along with one well-timed scramble, helped Newton rack up 110 yards rushing. What helps those run plays is Newton’s comfort in the pocket and throwing on the run. He did a bit of both this week, completing 16 of 30, including a few key 3 rd down plays, on his way to a 351-yard, 2-TD performance that included a 40-yard TD toss to Henry Ruggs as well as another long completion to his new rookie target, a 49-yarder that set up a Ben Tate TD run.   With Newton it is all about his focus, with the QB often following up a strong game like this one with a dud. Todd Haley’s job is to keep his QB mentally in the game, to get the best out of him each week, and that is what could help Birmingham improve on their current 2-3 record and make a real run at the playoffs, something Stallion fans have been waiting to see from their club for some time.   Atlanta’s Offense Continues to Impress You cannot average over 35 points per game, score 40 in 3 of the season’s first 5 weeks, and not expect to turn some heads. The fact that no one saw this coming is just more proof that what is happening in Atlanta under rookie head coach Jaime Elizondo is something special. Elizondo, who helped build last season’s breakaway offense in Tampa Bay, seems to have taken the formula with him to rival Atlanta. The Bandits, now without Elizondo’s play calling, have slipped a bit, averaging 26.3 points per game, still among the league’s best, but Atlanta has jumped from near the bottom of the production numbers last year to become the top scoring offense in the league after 6 weeks.   Aaron Murray is having himself a season, making all the UGA Bulldog fans happy with 14 touchdowns and over 1.500 yards in the first 6 games, well on pace to set personal bests in nearly every passing stat. He is clearly benefitting from one of the best offseason moves of any team, the signing of temperamental but talented NFL import A. J. Green. Green has 415 yards and 7 touchdowns in his first 6 USFL games, numbers that impress, but even moreso when you realize that his number 2, Kelvin Benjamin, actually has more catches and yards, meaning that the Fire passing game has options. TE O. J. Howard is also contributing with 24 receptions over 6 games, while rookie Gabe Davis has had some nice plays in limited action as well.   The run game is also benefitting from Atlanta’s more aggressive stance, with Nick Chubb rebounding from a slow 2019. He has 463 yards and 5 TDs in his first 6 games of the year, a pace that could easily put him over 1,000 for the year and could see him rack up double digit scores. The Fire are playing for chunk plays, making defenses second guess what is coming next, and keeping themselves from the difficult third-and-long situations that plagued them so much last year. Coach Elizondo’s creative design and play calling is turning Atlanta into a team worth watching and one that fans of high-flying football can get behind.   Without Wilson, Renegades Stumble It was a surprise on gameday, Russell Wilson standing on the sidelines in training gear, with a wrap on his throwing hand. Apparently what had begun as a laceration on his palm became infected over the week and on gameday the doctors told Coach Rivera that they advised against having Wilson play, and that if he did he would need to wear heavy gauze and a glove on his throwing hand. In pre-game warmups, Wilson simply could not grasp the ball, and that led Coach Rivera to have to bench his starter and go with former Portland Stag Kyle Lauletta. Without more than a handful of snaps over the week’s practices, Lauletta was clearly not prepared for game action, and it showed. The backup faltered, missing on 7 of 8 third down throws, leading to a total of only 2 conversions on 17 third down attempts. The run game could not compensate, with neither Knile Davis nor Ty Montgomery able to find much room against Jacksonville’s front 7, and the Renegades were held to only a lone field goal in a tough Florida Derby loss.   Wilson should be back in action this week, after a run of antibiotics and some TLC to his throwing hand. With the Renegades sitting at 3-3 in a division that has unbeaten Tampa Bay and 5-1 Atlanta looking very tough, there is no room for error. The ‘Gades need a healthy Wilson to lead their offense and they need to avoid more surprises on their roster as they prepare for a stretch of games that starts this week with a tough Baltimore Blitz squad before back-to-back divisional backbreakers against the Fire and Bandits. If the Renegades falter in this 3-game run, their season could be over very early, but if they can pull off some upsets, they could be right back in the mix.   Roughnecks Make Expected Move at QB It did not take long after Dallas’s 36-14 defeat at the hands of rival Oklahoma before Coach Kingsbury made the move that fans had been hoping to see, announcing on Monday that Justin Herbert would be the Week 7 starter. The T-Draft selection from Oregon who Dallas traded to obtain will start his first USFL game against the Denver Gold in a vital divisional game for the 2-4 Roughnecks. The hope, of course, is that Herbert has learned quite a bit from the sideline over the season’s first month and a half and is ready to hit the ground running. The former Oregon Duck has a ton of talent, can clearly make all the throws, but now we will see if he is seeing the game as comfortably fast or uncomfortably too fast.   The goal, of course, will be for Dallas to make Herbert’s first start as easy as possible. Expect a somewhat limited playbook, a focus on getting Samaje Perine and the run game going, and to provide lots of safety valve options between the backs, and tight ends. The hope is that Herbert will start strong, stay under center, and flourish over the course of the season. What Dallas wants to avoid is a flip-flopping between their rookie star and their veteran former MVP.   Houston will be in the market for a QB after backup Landry Jones tore his ACL and was placed on IR. The injury occurred after a blocked field goal, with Jones serving as holder and then racing to get to the ball. Houston will have Bryce Petty behind Colt McCoy this weekend but expect them to look to find a more experienced backup in the market. For Atlanta, following Jeremiah Poutasi’s leg injury, the plan is to stick with 4 guards on the roster, replacing Poutasi on the active roster with OT Colton McKivitz from the practice squad. Beyond these two injuries, it was a light week on the injury front, with fewer new Covid Protocol cases as well.  OUT QB         Landry Jones               HOU     Torn ACL             IR G            Jeremiah Poutasi           ATL         Broken Leg         IR DE          Dante Fowler                   HOU     Eye                            1-2 Weeks LB           Jamie Collins                   NEN      Pinched Nerve       1-2 Weeks DE          Tyrone Crawford             POR      Torn Miniscus          1-2 Weeks    DOUBTFUL SS           Chuck Clark                STL         Wrist OT          Marcus Gilbert                NOR      Foot    QUESTIONABLE WR         Steve Breaston                PHI        Toe WR         Justin Blackmon             CHA      Hamstring WR         Courtland Sutton           DAL       Concussion    COVID-19 INACTIVES ATL         CB          Darius Slay DEN      SS           Sammie Moore      2nd Week LA          CB          Isaiah Oliver     NEN      DE          Mario Addison                  OKL       LB           Greg Lloyd Jr.                     SAN       DE          Da’Shawn Hand              SD          QB         Christian Ponder    2nd Week STL         LB           Cody Glenn   Rookie Roundup: Best WR Class Ever? One of the stories emerging out of the early weeks of the 2020 USFL season is that we may be looking at one of the best draft classes in years, at least at one position, the wide receiver spot. While the USFL might have had mixed results in its draft competition with the NFL across the entire spectrum of talent available, in the case of the wide receiver group it appears the spring league has struck gold. Early results have shown that this is a talented and driven group of young receivers, and across the league they are adding excitement and helping their clubs even as they learn the pro game. In a good year you may get 3-4 breakout players across all the offensive positions, but a quick look at the 2020 receiver class and we are seeing some major stars in the making all over the place.   WR Henry Ruggs (BIR) At the head of the pack, at least for now, is Birmingham wideout Henry Ruggs. The former Alabama star, chosen along with his NFL-bound teammate Jerry Jeudy in the Stallion’s territorial draft, leads the team with 27 receptions, 590 yards, and 6 TDs. Expand that out over a full season and we are easily looking at a 1300-1400-yard season with double digit touchdowns. Ruggs’s presence is a big reason we are seeing Cam Newton hitting the 300-yard mark consistently.   WR Justin Jefferson (NOR) No one made a bigger initial splash in the league than the Breakers’ newest threat. Paired with Jordy Nelson, Justin Jefferson is putting up big numbers and making big plays. With 21 receptions for 538 yards, the former LSU Bayou Bengal and another T-Draft success is averaging nearly 26 yards per catch. If you want to know why failed NY Jet QB Geno Smith is a candidate for a possible USFL MVP award this year, it is the addition of Jefferson to a receiver group that already included one of the league’s best deep threats in Nelson and its best receiving tight end in Coby Fleener.   WR Tee Higgins (JAX) Not a lot has gone right for the Bulls this year, but rookie Tee Higgins is certainly one bright spot. And if you are beginning to see a theme, yes, Higgins too is a T-Draft selection. The Clemson product leads the Bulls with 29 receptions for 403 yards and 2 TDs. While Mike Williams works the underneath routes, it is Higgins’s deep ball ability that has fans excited in Jacksonville.   WR Michael Pittman Jr (BAL) With the retirement of Darius Heyward-Bey, the Blitz were very much in need of a player who could challenge defenses and take pressure off of Brian Hartline. In Pittman they may have found what they need. The former USC Trojan, and our first WR catch from the Open Draft, has shown burst and a knack for creating space against single coverage. He has 23 catches, 265 yards and 2 scores for the Blitz. His development is helping to force defenses to avoid over-compensating for Hartline and also making C. J. Uzomah a bigger threat inside.   WR Chase Claypool (CHI) We are back to the T-Draft, where Notre Damer Chase Claypool was chosen by the Chicago Machine. The rookie started the year behind Kenny Golloday on the depth chart, but with mentoring from veteran Michael Floyd, we are seeing him take on more and more snaps, earning the start in Week 5. He is currently 3 rd  on the team with 21 catches, behind only Floyd and TE Tyler Eifert. His 14 YPC average is best among Machine receivers, and he has also added 3 TDs.   WR Brandon Aiyuk (ARZ) The Arizona Wranglers already had a dynamic WR duo in Victor Cruz and DeMarcus Robinson, but what the ASU grad (and T-Draft pick) Aiyuk has done is give them an inside target, Pair him opposite TE Maxx Williams and the safeties of opposing defenses are in for a long day. While Aiyuk only has 10 receptions over the season’s first 6 weeks, 3 of those have been red zone touchdowns. Expect to see Aiyuk used often on slants, crossing patterns and some in-and-out routes, especially on 3 rd  down and in scoring range.   WR Gabe Davis (ATL) While NFL import A. J. Green has rightfully been getting most of the attention as part of the Fire’s offensive upgrade, UCF product and 2 nd  round draft selection Gabe Davis has also been a pleasant surprise. The former Golden Knight has 14 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 209 yards largely playing in the slot or as a 3 rd  receiver in spread formations (Coach Elizondo’s preference even on early downs.) Davis has 3 touchdowns in his 14 receptions and is on pace for 600 yards this year, pretty good for a third option behind Green and Kelvin Benjamin.   WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (MGN) The former Wolverine was Michigan’s final T-Draft pick and considered a developmental option, but despite largely getting on the field as either Cody Latimer or Calvin Ridley take breathers, Peoples-Jones has proven he has some skills to contribute, catching 17 passes from Kirk Cousins, including 2 touchdowns.   WR K. J. Hamler (PHI) The last in a long line of T-Draft picks to step up this season, the Penn State product has been a bright spot in a very dark season so far for the Stars. K. J. leads the team with 29 receptions, due in part to nagging injuries to Week 1 starter Randall Cobb. Hamler’s 368 yards also leads the team. And while QB play has been a huge question for the Stars, they feel they have made the right call in landing the former Nittany Lion.   Owners Move to Add Day Games & Las Vegas Hub The owners have met, the decision has been made, and the return of daytime football is now eminent. Owners of the league’s 30 franchises met this week to discuss television ratings, late night games out of Arizona and the need for options to play day games even in the heat of summer in Florida, Texas, and the Grand Canyon State. With the support of the governors, and subsequently the Public Health offices of all three states, and with additional states and stadium authorities trying to get a piece of the action as well, the league had some options and has come up with an initial plan to amend the 2020 schedule to produce far fewer 11pm ET starts and bring summer football back to Saturday and Sunday afternoons.   The plan is twofold. In addition to clearing Houston’s NRG Stadium and Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium for daytime games with the dome closed, the league reviewed the proposals that were made from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the New Orleans Super Dome, and Las Vegas’s Wynn Arena. The decision was made that the cancellation clauses for contracts made for games to be played in 9 stadiums in their hub states were too prohibitive to cancel deals across all three locations, but that by ending two contracts and swapping out both open-air stadiums in Arizona for the domed and air conditioned comfort of Wynn Arena, the league could reduce their biggest headache, the miserable ratings for the 11pm starts out of Arizona. So, the choice was made. Tucson’s University of Arizona Stadium and Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium are out, Las Vegas and Wynn Arena are in. The teams based in Tucson (Dallas, Oklahoma, Oakland) will relocate to Henderson, Nevada, and the weekly schedule will switch to all 5 Pacific & Southwest Division games per week split between Las Vegas and Glendale (State Farm Stadium). This removes the dreaded 11pm starts from the schedule each week. Expect to see an 8pm ET (5pm PT) start on Fridays from Las Vegas, with afternoon starts from both Las Vegas and Glendale on Saturdays and Sundays.    With clearance for domed stadium use in 2 of the 3 “bubble” locations, the new schedule will be far more attractive to viewers and to the 4 league networks that broadcast games. The plan, without an East Coast dome in play, will mean that the teams from the Northeast and Southeast Divisions will remain fully nocturnal, but the 8pm starts have not been an issue for ratings, so that seems a fair situation, at least from a revenue standpoint. The new schedule will begin in Week 8, giving the teams 10 days to plan for any adjustments in their training and for the 3 teams from Tucscon to relocate. On Week 8 expect to see 8pm ET starts on Friday Night from both Florida and Las Vegas. Saturday will have 3 day games, a mix of 1pm ET starts and 4pm ET starts, from Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix, with Sunday offering the same. NBC and ESPN/EFN will retain evening games, while ABC and FOX will split the 1pm and 4pm ET starts between Saturdays and Sundays. With no more 11pm ET kickoffs, the league anticipates as much as a 20% increase in overall viewership, though there is hope that a return to weekend afternoon football will provide even higher returns, at least until the return of NCAA football and competition with the NFL begins in late August and early September. The weekend football viewing schedule will get very crowded just in time for the USFL playoffs.   So, what is on tap in Week 7? Well, after a week that saw 12 of 15 games fought between division rivals, we have the opposite this week, with only 4 division games the entire weekend. That does not mean there are not good matchups however. How about the Bandits taking on a struggling New Jersey club, or the Breakers hoping to bounce back after their first loss of the year but facing a very tough Chicago team. Both of those are on the slate for Friday. On Saturday we have 5-1 Atlanta facing the Steamrollers, who stunned Philadelphia this week. We also have Orlando, who hope to have Russell Wilson back, facing the 4-2 Baltimore Blitz. Saturday also gives us two interesting SW Divisional games with Oklahoma facing Arizona in Tempe while the Denver Gold head to Tucson to face the Dallas Roughnecks, who are likely to offer Justin Herbert his first USFL start.   Sunday has only 1 divisional game, but it is a good one as the surprising Portland Stags (4-2) try to take over sole possession of first place by knocking off the Oakland Invaders (also 4-2). In other action we have Jacksonville at Washington, Charlotte hoping to give interim Stars head coach Don Brown his first career loss, and Houston facing a tenacious Pittsburgh Maulers’ squad.   FRIDAY 8pm ET       Tampa Bay (6-0) @ New Jersey (3-3)      Orlando            ESPN/EFN 9pm ET         New Orleans (5-1) @ Chicago (4-2)        NRG                      NBC 11pm ET         Seattle (2-4) @ Los Angeles (4-2)           Glendale            ABC   SATURDAY 8pm ET        Orlando (3-3) @ Baltimore (4-2)              Tampa                  NBC 8pm ET          Atlanta (5-1) @ New England (2-4)          Gainesville        FOX 9pm ET           Birmingham (2-4) @ Ohio (1-5)                Rice                      ABC 9pm ET           Memphis (4-2) @ St. Louis (0-6)              TDECU                 FOX 11pm ET         Oklahoma (3-3) @ Arizona (6-0)             Tempe                  ABC 11pm ET        Denver (3-3) @ Dallas (2-4)                       Tucson                 FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET          Jacksonville (2-4) @ Washington (3-3)  Orlando               ABC 8pm ET          Charlotte (2-4) @ Philadelphia (0-6)      Tampa                  FOX 9pm ET         Houston (4-2) @ Pittsburgh (4-2)             NRG                      ESPN/EFN 9pm ET           San Antonio (1-5) @ Michigan (5-1)        TDECU                 FOX 11pm ET         Portland (4-2) @ Oakland (4-2)              Glendale            ABC 11pm ET         San Diego (1-5) @ Las Vegas (1-5)          Tempe                  FOX

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: If we went purely on stats we would have to give the POTW to either Geno Smith or Cam Newton because of their huge numbers. But sometimes the timing and the impact of a player's highlight play(s) can be the difference and that feels very much like what happened with D. J. Swearinger this week. With Orlando leading New Jersey 10-0, the Generals were driving and looked like they had a play that would get them right back into the game, but Swearinger came out of nowhere, tipped the ball away from OBJ, snatched it out of the air, and proceeded to race 101 yards down the field for a play that simply broke the Generals' spirit. Orlando would go on to win by 17, but it was this one play that changed the tenor of the game and got Orlando a much needed win against a tough foe.

Week 5 was not the week for nail biters. For whatever reason this was a week dominated by double-digit wins from the Gulf Coast to the Valley of the Sun. Among the lopsided results was a 33-7 Machine mauling of the Maulers, Seattle handing the Thunder even more pain with a 37-10 win, Oakland beating Dallas by 22, and Portland making a statement by scoring a 21-point win over the LA Express and their previously solid defense. The only game this week that did not have a double-digit margin was a surprisingly close game between the expansion Gunslingers and the defending Eastern Conference champion Gamblers. We will break down all the week’s action, preview a potential season-defining game between two teams with rookie QBs on the bench, and take a look at 5 breakout players who could help your USFL fantasy team. All that, plus our thoughts on three coaches who could be on the verge of a mid-season ouster. It’s all right here, right now, so let’s get to it.   Week 6 Roughneck-Outlaw Game Could Be QB Bowl 2020 We don’t normally see our big story looking forward instead of looking at the week that just passed, but we have a unique situation brewing for Week 6 as the Roughnecks face off against the Outlaws. Both teams spent some serious draft capital to draft and then sign two of the top QBs in this past January’s draft, and with both clubs sitting at 2-3, the loser of this weeks’ divisional matchup could well be ready to pull the trigger and start their high-profile rookie in Week 7.  Dallas has had mixed results with Josh Freeman at the helm this season. They had solid wins over Seattle and Portland in back-to-back games, and in those two games Freeman threw for over 500 yards. But in their three losses, he has struggled, completing only 18 of 41 against Las Vegas and barely hitting .500 by completing 21 of 42 this past week against Oakland. His season totals are not exactly the stuff of legends, a 50.5% completion rate, 4 TDs to 3 picks, and an average of 240 yards per game. So, if Dallas struggles in Week 6 against Oklahoma, is that enough to see Justin Herbert take the field? Herbert already cost the Roughnecks some draft picks in a deal with the Stags, and his contract has him earning nearly $1.5M per year more than Freeman, so how long does he watch and learn and when does he learn by doing? This week’s game could determine that. Meanwhile, in OKC, fans are already foaming at the mouth to see former Alabama and OU quarterback Jalen Hurts take over for a largely ineffective Mason Rudolph. Rudolph, himself a product of the Sooner State (OK State to be exact), had a strong opening week, throwing for 318 yards and 2 scores in a Week One win over the Dragons, but has been sliding since then, throwing 5 picks in 3 weeks and earning weekly evaluations of C and C+ each of the past 4 weeks. And while fans of the Outlaws are not witnessing the team’s struggles firsthand, what they have seen is enough for them to be clamoring for Hurts to get a shot. If Oklahoma comes out of Week 6 at 2-4 it seems almost inevitable that Coach Stoops turns to the former Sooner as a way to spark the offense.   Will either move happen in Week 7? We don’t know. It may well depend as much on how each current starter plays, even more than the final score. If the two end up in a 41-38 shootout, we could see both teams stick with their current starters, but if there is a 14-10 offensive stinker the opposite could happen, and we could see two new starters the next week. Fans of both clubs are antsy, but fans often have an unrealistic idea of what a rookie QB can accomplish in their first season. Our best guess is that the winner of this week’s game is likely to hold his job, the loser may well be replaced ahead of the midway point of the season.   BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 28  NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 41 In a week that had only 1 game end with a winning margin of 7 or fewer points (Houston v. San Antonio), it was hard to find a GOTW because there simply were not many close finishes or dramatic comebacks. So, in a week of wide margins we opted to go with the game that had the most entertainment value, some huge performances, and which highlighted a key divisional rivalry, and that game was the shootout between the Stallions and the Breakers, held at the University of Houston’s TDECU Stadium on Friday Night.   USFL fans who tuned into the 9pm start on NBC got their money worth as the two Southern teams combined for nearly 900 yards on the day. For the Breakers, as we have seen all year, it was the passing game that did most of the damage, with Geno Smith completing 18 of 27 throws for 396 yards and 5 touchdowns. Coby Fleener and Jordy Nelson both topped 100 yards receiving while rookie Justin Jefferson had a 2-TD performance. For Birmingham, again as many anticipated, it was all about Cam Newton. Newton threw for 364 yards, with 3 TDs and no picks, but it was his legs again that almost stole the show, with Newton rushing for 113 yards on only 6 carries. That included a typical Newton scramble-turned-long-TD, a 78-yard master class in how to use size to defeat speed in the open field.   There were 21 combined points scored in the first quarter of this one, 24 in the 2 nd , only 7 in the third, but then 17 more in the 4 th  as the Breakers built up a nice buffer in the 2 nd  half to take the win by 13 points. Smith in particular started fast, connecting on two 1 st  quarter TD passes, hitting HB Myles Gaskin for a 24-yard strike on their opening drive, and then answering Birmingham’s equalizer (a Henry Ruggs TD catch) with a quick strike drive that saw Smith connect with TE Coby Fleener to go back on top with a 21-yard strike.   The second quarter kept up the furious pace, first with Smith finding Jordy Nelson to push their advantage to 21-7, but Birmingham got the play of the night as Newton rolled right, quickly gave up on the routes, and started a 78-yard odyssey down the field. Juking away from one tackle, straight arming the cornerback, and then muscling past the safety, Newton was a runaway train heading down the field for the score. The problem, of course, is that you cannot count on this kind of play, and Birmingham was unable to hit that groove again.   The Stallions did get an equalizer, however, when the threat of the run forced New Orleans’s linebacker to creep to the line, which allowed Newton to lob a pass over them and into the waiting arms of TE Hunter Henry, who took the ball the rest of the way for a 29-yard TD to create a 21-21 tie with 1:40 left in the half. New Orleans used that time to regain the lead with a Caleb Sturgis field goal, but at the half, they knew they were in for a dogfight against these Stallions.   The third quarter saw both defenses focus on shutting down the top weapons of their opponents, and largely that strategy worked. But, a Rex Burkhead fumble gave New Orleans a shot to take the lead back, gaining possession of the ball at the Birmingham 29. It would take 7 plays, but when Geno Smith found rookie Justin Jefferson for a 3-yard TD, the Breakers were back on top. They would retain that advantage into the 4 th  and would build on it. A 24-21 advantage at the half was 10 points at the end of the 3 rd , thanks to the Jefferson TD, and by the 4-minute mark of the 4 th  they had added another Sturgis field goal and a 2 nd  TD to Jefferson, this one from 24 yards out. Up 41-21, they had pulled away, contained Newton, and held a solid 20-point lead. Even a late TD toss from Newton did not really alter the result. New Orleans still led by 13 and was able to end the game with a successful 3 rd  and 3 run by Leonard Fournette, allowing the Breakers to pull out the Victory Formation for 3 plays and salt the game away. Birmingham dropped to 1-4 despite the big numbers put up by their star QB, while the Breakers moved to 5-0 thanks to their passing game and some good defensive stops along the way.   NEW JERSEY 10   ORLANDO 27 Amazing how one play can change the tenor of a game. Down 10-0 in the 2 nd quarter, New Jersey was driving and appeared to have a TD in the making when Nick Foles saw Odell Beckham Jr. in the endzone, but Orlando safety D. J. Swearinger saw it too. He broke on the ball, tipped it away from OBJ, hauled it in, and then raced 101 yards down the sideline for a score to break the will of the Generals. Orlando’s 17-0 lead led to a 17-point win with New Jersey never getting closer than 10 points. POTG:  Orlando FS D. J. Swearinger: 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   ARIZONA 27  DENVER 19 David Carr had himself a pretty nice day, completing 14 of 21 for 263 yards and 4 TDs. Three of those went to TE Max Williams, as the Gold blanketed Vincent Cruz to keep him to only 46 yards on the day. But with Williams in man coverage against a linebacker, Carr found him 4 times for 115 yards and 3 of those were TDs of 38, 24, and 21 yards in his best day as a pro. POTG:  Wrangler TE Maxx Williams: 4 Rec, 115 Yds, 3 TD   WASHINGTON 6   CHARLOTTE 23 Charlotte focused on shutting down the Federal run game, and man, did they. The Feds had 24 carries for 23 yards and that just made them one dimensional and too easy to defend. Meanwhile, Latavious Murray and Nyheim Hines combined for 101 on the ground, with Hines scoring on a 6-yard run, and, oh, by the way, a 108-yard kickoff return, a new league record.  Hines took the ball from about as far back as you could in the endzone, but saw a crease and took it out, racing all the way for the score. POTG:  HB Nyheim Hines: 12 Att, 47 Yds, 1 TD, 2KR, 125 Yds, 1 TD   NEW ENGLAND 17   TAMPA BAY 38 The Steamrollers looked good for about 25 minutes, taking a 14-7 lead early in the 2 nd , but a 17-0 scoring run by the Bandits in the 2 nd gave them a 10-point lead at 24-14 and that was all she wrote for New England. In a big day for tight ends, Jordan Cameron had 147 yards on 5 receptions. Dez Bryant also came up big against the Steamrollers, catching 4 for 110 and 2 touchdowns on the day. POTG: Tampa QB Dak Prescott: 17/22, 332 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   HOUSTON 27  SAN ANTONIO 20 Another solid game from expansion San Antonio, but the Gamblers were just a touch too good, with scores from JuJu Smith-Schuster, Gerald Everett, and an unfortunate pick-six thrown by Joe Flacco. San Antonio put ups some yards, with Flacco connecting on a TD with Marquise Goodwin and Marshawn Lynch scored on a 1-yard plunge as well. POTG:  Houston HB Carlos Hyde: 20 Att, 123 Yds.   CHICAGO 33  PITTSBURGH 7 The Machine showed they were not ready to accept Pittsburgh as the top contender to the Panthers in the division, putting a beat down on the Maulers, including 5 sacks of Andy Dalton and a pick that set up a key TD to make it a 24-7 lead after 3 quarters. The Chicago offense also found its feet, with Sam Bradford Connecting with rookie Chase Claypool and veteran Michael Floyd for a pair of touchdowns. POTG:  Chicago rookie WR Chase Claypool: 4 Rec, 101 Yds, 1 TD   LAS VEGAS 6   OKLAHOMA 23 With fans calling for rookie Jalen Hurts to get his shot, Oklahoma QB Mason Rudolph tried to quiet them with a nice game, 21 of 33 for 211 yards, 2 TDs and no picks, as Oklahoma built up a 17-0 lead on the struggling Vipers. In a game that saw one 44-yard run by Outlaw fullback Tom Bohanan make him the unlikely lead rusher for the game, the Vipers simply had nothing. Matt Jones, acquired from the Bulls this week, played only 14 snaps, taking 6 carries for 24 yards, but it was not enough for the Vipers. POTG:  Oklahoma LB Vontez Burfict: 3 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 FF, 1 FR   LOS ANGELES 17   PORTLAND 38 Are the Stags for real? They sure looked like a team to be worried about in this one, with A. J. McCarron stepping in for an ill Marcus Mariota (flu, not Covid) and throwing for 3 scores with no picks despite being sacked 5 times by the Express. LA’s offense continued to struggle, though new acquisition, WR Eric Weems led all Express players with 6 receptions. Portland’s defense limited Reggie Bush to only 28 yards on the day, while backup Tavares Cadet, in for the Covid-restricted Doug Martin, did his friend proud, scoring twice for the upstart Stags. POTG:  Portland QB A. J. McCarron: 13/23, 211 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   BALTIMORE 24  JACKSONVILLE 10 Josh Jacobs finally found his mojo, averaging 7.2 YPC on his way to 129 yards and a TD as the Blitz outpaced the Bulls. Jake Locker also threw TDs, hitting TE C. J. Uzomah and backup WR Quez Watkins for another as the Blitz join Washington and New Jersey atop the NE Division. New HB Montario Hardesty was dressed but all 16 carries in the game went to Devin Singletary, who finished with a solid 90-day outing. POTG:  Baltimore HB Josh Jacobs: 18 Att, 129 Yds, 1 TD   PHILADELPHIA 28   ATLANTA 45 Derrick Henry put the Stars on his shoulders, but even his 132-yard, 2-TD game was not enough as the Philadelphia defense melted like a block of Philly cream cheese on a hot summer day. Atlanta scored touchdowns on 6 of 9 offensive possessions in the game as the Stars simply had no answers. A. J. Green is loving his return to Georgia, catching 2 TD passes for the Fire as Atlanta moves to 4-1 and sends the sad sack Stars to 0-5 for the 2 nd  year in a row. POTG:  Atlanta QB Aaron Murray: 23/34, 313 Yds, 4 TD, 1 Int   MICHIGAN 14   ST. LOUIS 3 The Skyhawks tried something new, using run blitz after run blitz, with both safeties playing close to the line. The tactic worked in one sense, holding 4-time USFL rushing leader LeVeon Bell to only 19 yards on 21 carries, but Kirk Cousins still managed to find Cody Latimer and Donavan Peoples-Jones for scores. Had the Skyhawks been able to mount any offense at all, they could have made this interesting, but they managed only a single field goal on the day. POTG:  Michigan WR Cody Latimer: 10 Rec, 154 Yds, 1 TD   MEMPHIS 26   OHIO 14 Two second half scores for Ohio made this one look closer than it was. Memphis jumped on the Glory early, creating a 23-0 halftime score with TD catches by Jacob Hester and 2020 breakout player Devin Funchess. The Glory showed some backbone, fighting back late, but it was not enough as they drop to 1-4 on the year, while Memphis sits now at 4-1, only 1 game behind the unbeaten Breakers. POTG:  Memphis WR Devin Funchess: 8 Rec, 123 Yds, 1 TD   SAN DIEGO 10  SEATTLE 37 Now at 2-3, the Dragons are off to their best start in the past 5 years, and they send San Diego spiraling even deeper as the Thunder just don’t seem to have any answers. It does not help that Christian Ponder was knocked out of the game, with Case Keenum unable to put any points on the board as Seattle went on a 20-0 second half scoring run to pull away. Knowshon Moreno had a huge day for the Dragons, averaging 8.4 YPC on his way to 160 yards for the game. He, Gus Edwards, and Wendell Smallwood all scored rushing touchdowns as the Dragon ground game was dominant, putting up a combined 268 yards on the Thunder. POTG:  Dragon HB Knowshon Moreno: 19 Att, 160 Yds, 1 TD   DALLAS 7   OAKLAND 29 The Invaders’ D dominated the Roughnecks, limiting Dallas to only 3 first half first downs, and helping Oakland build up a 29-0 lead that was not challenged until the final 2 minutes of action, with backups in. The Roughnecks could not run the ball (Perine with 58 yards), and three turnovers killed early Dallas drives as Oakland put up 5 field goals in their first 6 possessions before Tom Brady hit Jerrell Jernigan for the team’s first touchdown. On a trick play that saw both Brady and Garoppolo on the field at the same time, the former Oakland starter threw another touchdown to Jernigan, an embarrassing end to a long day for the Roughnecks. POTG:  Oakland LB Shaq Barrett: 3 Tck, 2 FF, 1 FR   Five Breakout Players Making Fantasy Players Look Like Geniuses It happens every year, players who have not shown much in the past suddenly get their shot, turn up the volume and show us something special. These breakout players either find themselves in a new role, benefit from a new coaching philosophy, or just mature to become more than anticipated, and for those fantasy owners who saw it coming, they end up with a gold mine when most players are adding kickers or defenses. 2020 has already provided more than a fair share of surprising player break outs, and these five are at the top of our list of players making the most of a new season and a chance to become more. HB Kerwynn Williams (NEN) Expansion clubs often produce new stars because they add players who did not get a shot with their former teams, were left unprotected, and now have a shot to prove themselves. That was certainly the case for HB Kerwynn Williams. The former Baltimore Blitz back has had some solid years, rushing for 500 or more yards for 4 consecutive seasons, but in New England he has become the lead back, ahead of former Machine star Matt Forte. Already, after 5 games, he has over 350 yards, on pace a possible 1,000-yard season. He has only 1 rushing touchdown to date, which is a bit of a concern, but as the Steamrollers gel over the season, he should see more chances to score.   HB Nyheim Hines (CHA) No shocker that the 3 rd  year back for the Monarchs is one of our breakout stars. He is on pace to double his 2019 carries, is 1 rushing TD away from his entire 2019 total and is getting more touches and more targets than veteran HB Latavius Murray. Oh, and did we mention he also returns kicks? He already returned 1 for a TD this year, and is averaging an impressive 33.1 yards per return. Keep an eye on Hines, he could be a 10-12 TD guy this season.   WR Devin Funchess (MEM) Robert Woods may still be at the top of the Showboat depth chart, but in his 5 th year it appears that Devin Funchess is finally getting a chance to shine. Despite having 17 fewer targets than Woods, Funchess has only 6 fewer catches and has more yards and 5 TDs to Woods’s 3. He has become a favorite target for Paxton Lynch and his ability to find gaps in zones is impressing Coach Ryan. With Funchess now a viable target, the Showboat passing game is more versatile, a pivotal reason they now rank in the Top 10 in passing yards and are sitting at 4-1.   WR Taylor Gabriel (OAK) Ask most football fans who the top receiver for the Invaders is and the knee-jerk reaction will be Davante Adams. If we say no, he is not, many might say it is HB Christian McCaffrey, but that too would be wrong. With 1 more target, 6 more catches, and 31 more yards than Adams, it is Taylor Gabriel. The 6 th  year receiver is having a very strong start to the year with 237 yards and 2 touchdowns. With teams doubling Adams, Tom Brady is looking Gabriel’s way, and it seems that getting a new QB was just the boost this receiver needed.   TE Julius Thomas (SAN) Another expansion team boost is in place for Thomas, who is already more than halfway to his 2019 season totals for receptions and yards and already has 2 more touchdowns than last year. Now, this would not be the first time Thomas has had a hot year. In 2018 he caught 11 touchdowns, but this year he is seeing more targets, making more catches and doing a lot more than being a red-zone target. His 12.9 YPC average is also best of any receiver on the Gunslingers, which means that Joe Flacco sees him as a viable mid-range target, not just a safety valve.   Ryans Breaks Arm, Could Miss a Month The first of three injury updates, Tampa Bay LB DeMeco Ryans is likely to miss a month, perhaps more, as he recovers from a fracture to his Humerus after a nasty collision with a sideline bench after racing out of bounds awkwardly. Ryans, the defensive captain and radio-contact for the Bandit D, is expected to be in a soft cast for at least 3 weeks, and with his absence, Tampa Bay will be without their defensive signal caller and main motivator. For the 5-0 Bandits, losing this defensive stalwart could have a huge impact on the league’s 6 th rated scoring defense.   Lacy Could Miss 4-6 Weeks for Struggling Skyhawks As nasty as DeMeco Ryan’s absence will be for Tampa Bay, we cannot imagine a player whose absence will hurt their team more than Eddie Lacy from the St. Louis Skyhawks. It is not bad enough that the Skyhawks are staring 0-5 in the face, are struggling on both sides of the ball (29 th  in scoring, 29 th in yards allowed, and not above 26 th  in any major category), but now they lose a player who accounts for nearly 35% of their offensive production. Lacy came off the field doubled over after a twisting fall to the turf. The diagnosis was a torn abdominal wall, which is both a very painful injury to suffer and a hard one to recover from. The estimate has Lacy missing as much as 6-8 weeks with the injury. That means that it will be untested 2 nd year back David Montgomery who will have to take up the slack, and for a team that has yet to find a way to win, a loss like Lacy’s is an even bigger team morale deflation.   Denver Hit Again, Rookie Hall Tears MCL Just a week after losing LB Shaq Thompson, Denver gets hit with another starting defender going down for an extended period. Rookie CB Bryce Hall, who won a starting job with an outstanding camp, could miss the remainder of the regular season with an MCL injury suffered as a non-contact injury. Hall was having a strong rookie campaign, with 24 tackles, 7 passes defended and a pick in his first 4 ½ weeks. Denver will have to decide if they can afford to keep 2 players on the active roster despite both being expected to miss 2 months or more, or if they have to move one to IR even if it means that they won’t be available should the Gold return to the playoffs. It is either that or play with a 51-man roster for the next 8-12 weeks.   We have already mentioned three of the bigger stories of the week from the injury list. The other big story comes from the COVID-19 protocols, where we are now seeing some key starters missing action. This week’s list is highlighted by San Diego QB Christian Ponder, a big loss for the Thunder. We should also note that WR Ryan Grant of the Bandits will be out for a second week, as will Birmingham LB Reggie Ragland and Philadelphia DE Malik Jackson.     OUT CB      Bryce Hall             DEN      MCL                      8-12 Weeks HB         Eddie Lacy             STL         Abdominal         4-6 Weeks CB          Sean Smith             PIT         Neck                     4-6 Weeks LB           DeMeco Ryans       TBY        Arm                       2-4 Weeks LB           Jelani Jenkins         HOU     Arm                       2-4 Weeks OT          Jonah Williams       BIR         ACL                       1-2 Weeks LB           Greg Lloyd Jr.         OKL       Concussion       1-2 Weeks FB          John Cabinda       LA          Wrist                     1-2 Weeks SS           Chuck Clark             STL         Wrist                     1-2 Weeks     DOUBTFUL OT          Rees Odhiambo     LA          Hamstring G            Brandon Brooks     NE          Ankle TE           Julius Thomas       SAN       Finger QB         Russell Wilson         ORL       Hamstring DT          Tyson Alualu          OAK      Turf Toe     QUESTIONABLE CB          Darnay Holmes     SEA        Hernia LB           Sean Spence         ORL       Hand CB          Tye Smith               SD          Finger     COVID-19 INACTIVES BIR         LB           Reggie Ragland     2 nd  Week DEN      SS           Sammie Moore                MGN     CB          KeiVarae Russell NEN      C             Erik McCoy                        NJ           DE          Yetur Gross-Matos OAK      OT          D. J. Fluker           2 nd Week OHI       C             Cameron Erving PHI        DE          Malik Jackson        2 nd Week SD          QB         Christian Ponder TBY        WR         Ryan Grant              2 nd Week TBY        CB          Ken Webster   Three Coaches at Risk of Mid-Season Pink Slips Yes, we are only 5 weeks into the 2020 season, but already there are three coaches who are looking shaky enough to imagine a quick hook midway through the year unless things turn around quickly. St. Louis is 0-6 and after three consecutive 10-loss seasons, time could be running out on Frank Reich. Tom Coughlin has a pedigree as a hard-nosed coach, but the have followed up a 4-12 season with a 1-5 start, which does not point towards Coughlin getting a new deal this winter, if he can hang on until then. And then there is Jim Harbaugh. One of the longest tenured coaches in the league, Harbaugh is in his 16 th  season with the club, but after turning an 0-5 start last year into a 9-7 finish and a surprising division title, the Stars again have started at 0-5, and Harbaugh may need to pull off another miracle comeback if he wants to be at the helm in 2021. Let’s take a closer look at the issues for each of these well-known USFL coaches.   Frank Reich (STL): 14-40 in 3 full USFL seasons and a 1-4 start to 2021. The former NFL and USFL quarterback has simply not found success in St. Louis. A slow steady improvement from 3 wins in 2017 to 5 in 2018 and 6 in 2019 does not impress most fans, who don’t want to wait another 4-5 years before the club hits 10 wins. What is worse, everyone from scouts to GMs to TV pundits are questioning what exactly Reich is doing with Lamar Jackson. After a stellar intro to the league in the latter stages of 2018, Jackson’s prodigious talents as a runner and as a deep ball passer have just not found an avenue to shine in Reich’s controlled offense. Everyone wants him to cut Jackson loose, but he seems adamant about turning the Louisville product into a pocket passer, despite all indications that Jackson could succeed if given an offense that allows him to use his talents. Unless Reich’s offense finds some rhythm quickly, we think it is Reich, and not Jackson, who could be on the way out.   Tom Coughlin (OHI): 31-38 in 4 seasons plus 5 games in 2020 After a surprising division title in 2018 a lot was expected of Coughlin’s Ohio Glory, but the team dropped all the way from 1 st to last in the Central last year, and a 1-4 start this year are not giving fans much hope that Coughlin has what it takes to get the club back to the top of the division. Rumors of dissent within the clubhouse, largely due to the high-discipline, low-rapport nature of Coughlin’s coaching style, are pretty widespread. Add to this a defense which is mired among the bottom 10 in the league in most categories, despite Coughlin’s defensive pedigree, shows signs that the plan is not getting buy in. is that enough for the usually conservative Ohio owners to make a risky mid-year change?   Jim Harbaugh (PHI): 146-91 in 15 full seasons and 5 weeks in Philly Harbaugh pulled off an amazing feat last year, turning an 0-5 start into a 9-2 finish and earning a division title in 2019. But with another 0-5 start already on the books this year, and with fans questioning whether Harbaugh is blind to the serious issues with his preferred QB, there is a growing feeling that a change may be needed. The Stars have expansion San Antonio and then 1-4 Charlotte on the schedule. Going 2-0 in that short stretch could help Harbaugh’s case, but if the Stars get to the midway point with only 1 win, that could be all she wrote for both the Stars’ head coach and their QB.   League Owners to Meet (Online) for Schedule Discussion With news coming in from both the CDC and the state Departments of Public Health in Florida, Texas, and Arizona coming in, the USFL has called for an all-league virtual meeting for next Monday. The hope, of course, is that both Texas and Arizona will allow indoor football, allowing the USFL to add some afternoon games to their Saturday and Sunday schedules. The league also is likely wanting to get an early sense of where teams stand on the idea of allowing limited-capacity attendance at games and potentially adding additional sites to their bubble system. We know that Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Atlanta ownership are all pushing for the league to either add new hub sites to their cities or to expand game sites to allow greater flexibility in the schedule, and the possibility of controlled capacity games not only in Florida, Texas and Arizona, but in the three adjoining states represented by the Breaker, Viper, and Fire ownership groups.   The meeting, as expected, will be conducted entirely via online video conferencing, with most owners not only not traveling to New York, but many not even retaining their residences in their franchise’s home cities. We know several owners are based now at their summer homes, some in the Rockies, others up north in Maine and Michigan, but few in the dense urban spaces where their teams call home. From wherever they are, the owners will log in, get in on the call, and share their take on how the USFL can move ahead with this very unique, financially troubling, and certainly compromised season. When we get a report out of the meeting, we will be sure to fill you in on all the developments.   Portland Reveals New Look for 2021 After a big win over the LA Express, the Stags and their fans are feeling a bit optimistic about their chances, even as the team spends the season far from the rainy northern woods of Oregon, based in Flagstaff, AZ (at least it is wooded, unlike Tucson or Phoenix). With hopes that this year’s Stag team can make a run at a playoff spot, the franchise, along with Under Armour, has become the second to unveil their new look for 2021, possibly to be seen on the field in 2020 if the Stags do snag a coveted postseason invite.   The look unveiled through a series of online videos is one that absolutely looks and feels like the Stags. Yes, the number font is new and there is a new wordmark, but we will still get the deep brown shoulders split by a pair of antlers on both primary jerseys. We still get a healthy dose of blaze orange with the home jersey and away pants, and we still have the wraparound antler helmet decals. If you want novelty, you need to hold out until the Stags go to their alternates. As a club that has only been in the league for 12 seasons, it is not surprising that their retro look does not really look all that different from their current look, though it is nice that they brought back the brown helmet from their early years for the look. The alternate that has us more excited is not a true throwback, but more of a fauxback, a retro look that gives us a peak at what the Stags might have looked like had they been there from the start in 1983 when the USFL first kicked off.   The ”Pacific Gold” look removes all orange from the uniform (as many teams have done with one of their primary colors) and gives us an old-school uniform with Northwester stripes, a freestanding logo on the side of the helmet and a very traditional look all around. The look features the same brown lid as the official throwback, but instead of wraparound antlers, this helmet features the “White Stag” alternate logo on either side of a helmet that has a 3-color center stripe (white, brown, gold) and a gold facemask. The same striping pattern is found on the gold pants and on both the brown home jersey and white away jersey. It is a look that feels very much at home in classic pre-high-def footage of the early seasons of the USFL. Our hope, of course, is that they pull out these beauties when playing actual 1983 clubs like Oakland, LA, and Denver, creating a throwback vs. fauxback matchup that will have the look and feel of mid-eighties USFL action.   Week Six is the heaviest divisional week we have seen so far this season, with 12 of 15 games featuring divisional and rival matchups. It kicks off with a triple header of divisional games on Friday, with New Jersey and Baltimore, both sharing 1 st  place in the NE Conference, kicking off at 8pm, with Memphis and Houston in a key Southern matchup at 9pm and the SoCal Derby with LA facing off against San Diego at 11pm ET.   Saturday features 5 divisional games, with Charlotte v. Atlanta and Philadelphia v. New England at 8pm, San Antonio facing Birmingham and St. Louis looking for their first win against rival Chicago at 9pm, and finishing off with Arizona taking on Las Vegas, while the lone non-divisional game features two 3-2 teams as Denver meets Portland from U. of Arizona Stadium in Tucson.   Sunday is the lightest day for divisional games with 4 of 6 games staying in division. At 8pm it is Orlando v. Jacksonville from the U. of Florida campus. At 9pm Ohio battles Michigan at Rice Stadium, and at 11pm we have a Red River game with Dallas taking on Oklahoma, while Oakland battles Seattle at State Farm Stadium. Squeezed in between we have the Feds and Bandits meeting in Orlando and Pittsburgh with a tough matchup against the unbeaten New Orleans Breakers.   FRIDAY 8pm ET        New Jersey (3-2) @ Baltimore (3-2)       Orlando          ESPN/EFN 9pm ET         Memphis (4-1) @ Houston (3-2)                NRG                 NBC 11pm ET       Los Angeles (3-2) @ San Diego (1-4)        Glendale        FOX   SATURDAY 8pm ET      Charlotte (2-3) @ Atlanta (4-1)                  Tampa             NBC 8pm ET         Philadelphia (0-5) @ New England (1-4)   Gainesville     ABC 9pm ET           San Antonio (1-4) @ Birmingham (1-4)    Rice                ABC 9pm ET          St. Louis (0-5) @ Chicago (3-2)                 TDECU             FOX 11pm ET         Arizona (5-0) @ Las Vegas (1-4)                  Tempe             ABC 11pm ET          Denver (3-2) @ Portland (3-2)                  Tucson            FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET      Orlando (3-2) @ Jacksonville (1-4)            Gainesville      ABC 8pm ET        Tampa Bay (5-0) @ Washington (3-2)       Orlando          FOX 9pm ET         Pittsburgh (3-2) @ New Orleans (5-0)     NRG                 ESPN/EFN 9pm ET         Ohio (1-4) @ Michigan (4-1)                       Rice                ABC 11pm ET       Dallas (2-3) @ Oklahoma (2-3)                 Tucson             ABC 11pm ET        Oakland (3-2) @ Seattle (2-3)                   Glendale         FOX

Yes, it is deeply sad that fans cannot be in the stands this season, but it is still great to have football, and this was a weekend that showed us why. From a nailbiter between two unbeatens as New Orleans and Michigan clashed, to a franchise first victory for San Antonio. There was plenty of action this week. Jacksonville earned their first win and needed overtime to do it. Baltimore and Washington had a classic defensive war of attrition. We had unbeatens also clash in the Southeast, with Tampa Bay and Atlanta going at it, and two more 3-0 clubs duked it out in Arizona as the Wranglers outlasted the Express in a game that saw both defenses dominate, including a safety scored by each. We will break down all the games, take a look at two Shaquiles on opposite sides of the fortune's coin, and run down the first big trades of the season, including a HB swap from two teams hoping to spark their offenses. All that is coming right up, but we start with our look at the 3 unbeatens and the 2 winless clubs as we cross the ¼ mark of the season.   Bandits, Breakers & Wranglers Unbowed, Stars & Skyhawks Underwhelming At the one month, one quarter mark of this most unique USFL season we are down to three unbeatens and only two winless teams remain. A cluster of matchups featuring 3-0 squads took the total of unbeatens from six to three, with the Breakers knocking Michigan from the ranks of the unblemished, Tampa Bay defeating fellow 3-0 Southeaster Atlanta, and the Wranglers giving the LA Express their first defeat of the season. Meanwhile, on the other end of the success spectrum, it is not the two expansion clubs bringing up the rear in the league standings but the Philadelphia Stars and St. Louis Skyhawks sitting in their respective conference basements at 0-4. Here is a look at how each club got to where they are right now, whether that is flying high or circling the drain.   TAMPA BAY BANDITS Defeated PHI, JAX, ORL, ATL. (Combined Record: 6-10) While wins over the Stars and Bulls in the season’s first two weeks are looking very much like the early season for an SEC school playing an FCS foe and a MAC team, the “conference schedule” began in Week 3 with a solid win over Orlando, and intensified this week with the Bandits victory over Atlanta. Surprisingly, while Tampa Bay has offensive firepower, they are largely sitting at 4-0 because of the surprising quality of their defense. DeMarco Murray is on a tear, Pernell McPhee is starting off his 2 nd  USFL season strong, and the Bandits are looking very much like a team that can play complementary football, holding their 4 opponents to only 15.8 PPG. Next Game Against a Contender: Week 7 vs. New Jersey   NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS Defeated STL, HOU, SAN, MGN (Combined Record: 6-10) The Breakers also have a split between “cupcakes” in their wins over the expansion Gunslingers and defensively inept St. Louis Skyhawks, but they have knocked off two of the league’s anticipated powerhouses, taking down Houston in Week 2 and Michigan in this week’s battle of unbeatens. Geno Smith is making everyone in the Crescent City forget all about their failed pursuit of LSU QB Joe Burrow, throwing for over 1,400 yards in the season’s first month, an eye-popping average of 366.5 yards per game. The Breakers may have actually landed an even better LSU prospect than Burrow in wideout Justin Jefferson. The rookie wideout is making huge catches look easy, and may be one of the best true deep ball receivers we have seen come out of the draft in years. We still want to see if the Breakers can build up their run game a bit more, but for now they just have not needed it. Next Game Against a Contender: Week 8 v. Memphis   ARIZONA WRANGLERS Defeated DAL, SD, OAK, LA (Combined Record: 8-8) Without the only 1-3 team on Arizona’s early schedule the surprisingly slow-starting San Diego Thunder, the Wranglers have shown they are a legitimate threat to go back-to-back. Other than a close shave against a game Oakland squad (27-24), the Wranglers have been largely shutting the door on opposing offenses, allowing only 26 points combined in their three other victories, an average under 9 points per game. Throw in an offense that is as balanced as any in the league and you have a defending champion looking very much like there will be no post-title hangover. Next Game Against a Contender: Week 5 v. Denver   PHILADELPHIA STARS Lost to TBY, NJ, WSH, ORL  (Combined Record 12-4) Now, we do have to admit that the Stars’ first month schedule has been a tough one, and they lost their first 3 games by a combined 7 points, so they have been close, so there is still hope they can turn this around. They did it last year after an 0-5 start, and they may have to do so again with 3-1 Atlanta on the schedule this week. What has us worried is that teams can load up against the run, holding Derrick Henry to under 80 yards per game over the season’s first month, because they just don’t fear the pass. Will this week’s trade impact that (see below) or will Philadelphia get stuck in a situation where they are just too dependent on King Henry to be effective on offense all season long? Next Best Chance to Win: Week 6 v. New England (1-3)   ST. LOUIS SKYHAWKS Lost to NOR, OHI, PIT, HOU (Combined Record: 10-6) The Skyhawks have faced some tough foes, and it has shown. Averaging only 13.5 points per game while giving up 26.2 is not a good path towards earning victories. Neither is having one of the league’s worst pass defenses in a pass-happy USFL. Of course, allowing 114.2 yards per carry on the ground is not exactly stalwart either, so the Skyhawks don’t have answers on defense, that is clear. What is even more disturbing is that they don’t have an offense that matches their personnel. Coach Reich seems to be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole by having Lamar Jackson play as if he is Joe Flacco. The Skyhawks don’t face a team with a losing record again until Week 8, so the season could be all but over before they even sniff a chance for a victory. Next Best Chance to Win: Week 8 vs. expansion San Antonio.   MICHIGAN PANTHERS 27   NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 28 Another huge matchup for the Panthers as they faced the unbeaten Breakers on Sunday night. The two unbeatens clashed in Houston in what would be a back-and-forth affair. We saw Michigan with a slight lead after 1 quarter, New Orleans take the lead at the half, Michigan build up a 10 point advantage after 3 quarters, and New Orleans roar back to win by 1 at the wire.   Kirk Cousins played well in this marquee game, completing 20 of 28 for 224 yards, 2 TDs and no picks, but the night would belong to Geno Smith and the Breaker passing game. Smith finished 23 of 38, throwing for 372 yards (189 in the final period) and throwing for 4 TDs (2 in the 4 th ) to garner the win. Both of his wideouts were huge in this one, with Jordy Nelson scoring 3 times and catching 7 for 148. Rookie Justin Jefferson was also impressive with 5 catches for 112 yards, with TE Dawson Knox adding Smith’s 4 th  TD toss.   The game was nip and tuck early, with the only 1 st  quarter points being a Chase McLaughlin field goal for the Panthers. It started to heat up in the 2 nd quarter when Smith found Nelson for the first time, a 17-yard post-corner that gave the Breakers the lead. That lead was quickly countered by the Panthers when Kirk Cousins found his rookie wideout, Donovan Peoples-Jones on a short TD toss to go up 10-7. Only 74 seconds later New Orleans was back on top again as Smith found Nelson in single coverage down the right sideline and hit him with a perfect arcing throw that allowed him to catch the ball in stride for a 32-yard TD.   Down 14-10 at the half, Michigan came out fired up for the second half of play. Following a pick of Smith, the only real error the Breaker QB had all game, Michigan capitalized, putting together a 47-yard drive in only 6 plays, with LeVeon Bell scoring from the 4 to again put the Panthers on top. They would add to that lead in their next possession when it was Calvin Ridley who was engaged in single coverage. Kirk Cousins also found the in-stride pass for Ridley, who took it the rest of the way for a quick-strike 65-yard TD.  The Panthers felt in control at the end of 3, having turned a 14-10 deficit into a 24-14 advantage.   That confidence quickly eroded as New Orleans went 77 yards in only 9 plays, with Smith hitting Justin Jefferson with a 33-yard pass and then finishing the drive with Jordy Nelson’s 3 rd  TD of the day, a 21-yard strike that brought the Breakers to within 3 of Michigan. On the Panther’s next possession, they held the ball for 15 plays and nearly punched it in from the 5, but a holding call moved them back and then a 3 rd  down sack of Cousins by Breaker DE Cameron Jordan forced a 36-yard field goal after nearly 9 minutes of possession.   That missed opportunity proved deadly for the Panthers as the Breakers received the ball with 2:48 left, down only 6. Once again New Orleans went to the air (Leonard Fournette had a paltry 23 yards rushing on the day), with Smith hitting Coby Fleener, Jefferson, and Nelson on consecutive plays to get into scoring range. As the clock ticked down, Smith found a surprising receiver, fullback Curtis Nelson, on a perfectly timed swing pass that took the ball to the 7. From there it was a short TD toss to TE Dawson Knox that gave the Breakers the 1-point lead with just 31 seconds remaining.   Michigan mounted an urgent drive to try to get in range for McLaughlin, but were stymied by an offensive PI call against Calvin Ridley on what first appeared to be a completion down to the Breaker 20. Replay confirmed the call with Ridley clearly pushing off the cornerback, and that call pushed Michigan out of field goal range, forcing a Hail Mary on the final play of the game. The play was ineffective and the Breakers escaped a clash of titans with a 1-point win and an unblemished record at 4-0.   WASHINGTON 16  BALTIMORE 14 The Federals again depend on the leg of kicker Adam Vinatieri, with the veteran securing a win with a 53-yard field goal in the final minute of action. In a game dominated by both defenses, the Federals got the late drive they needed to secure their 3 rd  win of the season and take a share of first place in the very contentious NE Division. POTG:  Federals’ DE Bradley Chubb: 8 Tck, 2 TFL, 1 Sck   CHICAGO 13   MEMPHIS 17 The Showboats rise to 3-1 thanks to a 4 th  quarter comeback that saw Memphis add two TDs to flip a 13-3 deficit into a 17-13 victory. Sparked by a Dee Alford pick of Sam Bradford, Memphis pulled to within 3 on a TD pass from Lynch to Devin Funchess with 3:32 left in the game. They followed that up with a successful onside kick and then proceeded to march down field before Lynch found his other primary target, Robert Woods, for the game winner with 31 seconds left. An epic comeback and a massive choke for the Machine. POTG:  Showboats’ QB Paxton Lynch: 29/48, 288 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int   SAN DIEGO 7   OAKLAND 21 The Thunder offense continues to struggle, reaching the Oakland red zone only 2 times in the game and coming away with a lone TD. Oakland got 3 scores from QB Tom Brady, who connected with another new Invader, WR Jerrel Jernigan, along with a J.J. Arcega-Whitehead and a nice screen pass turned TD to Christian McCaffrey. POTG:  Oakland QB Tom Brady: 18/30, 191 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   NEW ENGLAND 6   NEW JERSEY 20 The Generals D showed the Steamrollers no quarter as they held New England to only 2 field goals on the day. Backup QB Ricky Stanzi was not dynamic, but kept the ball moving, getting a TD from HB Tony Pollard and connecting with OBJ for 91 yards and a score on the day. The Generals forced 3 fumbles and a pick on the day and did not allow New England into the red zone all game. POTG:  New Jersey CB Aqib Talib: 5 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 PDef   TAMPA BAY 19  ATLANTA 14 We expected a shootout in this one, but both the Bandit and Fire defenses came to play and produced a much lower scoring game than anyone anticipated. With Aaron Murray confounded by Tampa Bay pressure, it was HB Nick Chubb, rushing for 109 yards and a TD, that led the Fire offense. For Tampa Bay it was a Matt Breida TD run and a 4 th  quarter pick-six of Murray that helped secure the Bandits a 4-0 start to the year. POTG:  Bandit CB Ken Webster; 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   ST. LOUIS 15   HOUSTON 37 Carlos Hyde returned to action and helped Houston roll past the struggling Skyhawks. Hyde finished the game with 90 yards rushing and another 86 through the air, including 2 receiving touchdowns. McCoy threw only 17 passes on the day, relying on the run game for much of the second half, but had 3 passing TDs. Landry Jones, who subbed in for one series threw a 4 th  as the Gamblers handled the Skyhawks easily. POTG:  Gambler HB Carlos Hyde: 23 Att, 90 Yds, 3 Rec, 86 Yds, 2 TD   PITTBURGH 28  BIRMINGHAM 21 The Battle of the Steel Cities goes to the Maulers as Pittsburgh went on a 17-0 run in the second half, thanks in part to a Shaquile Riddick 7-yard fumble return for TD and a beautiful 34-yard run by rookie Cam Akers. Cam Newton, who completed 11 of 13 passing in the first half, with 2 scores, was held to 2 of 13 in the second, a disastrous half for the Birmingham offense. POTG:  Mauler DE Shaquile Riddick: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 Def TD   LAS VEGAS 24  DALLAS 12 A stunner as 0-3 Las Vegas doubled up the Dallas Roughnecks. It was 12-10 Dallas at the half, but the Vipers put up the only points of the 2 nd  half with McGloin hitting both Arrelious Benn and Dustin Keller for 2 nd half scores to earn the Vipers’ first win of the season. Despite leading the Vipers with 35 yards rushing, Montario Hardesty was traded to Jacksonville for their lead back, Matt Jones on Tuesday in an early season shakeup among two 1-3 clubs. POTG:  Viper QB Matt McGloin: 25/33, 308 Yds, 2 TDs, 1 Int   OKLAHOMA 22   DENVER 29 The Outlaws fought in this one, even taking a 22-21 lead with 4:32 left in the game, but they could not hold down a resilient Gold team. Josh Allen led the Gold on a game winning drive at the end of regulation, connecting with Golden Tate for the winning TD with 1:11 left to play. Allen finished with 3 TDs on the day, all three to his favorite veteran target, Tate. Mason Rudolph’s 3 picks helped keep Denver close all game long, and led to widespread calls for Jalen Hurts to play on local sports radio. POTG:  Gold WR Golden Tate: 8 Rec, 113 Yds, 3 TD   ORLANDO 23  PHILADELPHIA 6 P. J. Walker was sacked 4 times, picked off twice, and hurried on every drop back as Orlando brought the pressure and rattled the backup QB. The Orlando offense struggled as well, but a pair of good drives, including TDs from Brashad Perriman and Ty Montgomery, were enough to earn the win for the Renegades. POTG:  Orlando DE Arthur Moats: 4 Tck, 1 TFL, 2 Sck   JACKSONVILLE 34  CHARLOTTE 31 The Bulls finally found some offense and earned their first win of the year. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 306 yards and 2 scores while HB Devin Singletary rushed for 86 yards for the Bulls. They were also helped out by a Sean Lee pick-six, one of two Trubisky picks on the day. Rookie Tee Higgins had a strong game as well, catching 5 throws for 94 yards and a score. POTG:  Bulls QB Teddy Bridgewater: 19/32, 306 Yds, 2 TD, 2 Int   OHIO 7   SAN ANTONIO 17 The Gunslingers’ first win as a newly reborn franchise comes in Week 4 as they hold off the Ohio Glory. C. J. Prosise got the ball rolling with a first quarter TD, followed by Flacco to TE Julius Thomas for a 2 nd  and the Gunslinger D held Joe Flacco to 207 yards and only 1 late TD to earn the win. Ohio drops to 1-3 while San Antonio celebrates their first franchise win since 1987. POTG:  San Antonio LB Gabe Miller: 7 Tck, 3 TFL, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 PDef   SEATTLE 27  PORTLAND 30  OVERTIME The Stags win an exciting Cascade Clash in extra time in a game few saw live but one we recommend folks catch on replay. Both Marcus Mariota and Brett Hundley had strong games, with Seattle’s QB throwing for 379 yards while the Stag QB went 23 of 40 for 339 and 3 TDs. Seattle got a late Knowshon Moreno TD to tie the score at 27 but in overtime they could not put points up and Portland was able to win the game on a short field goal from Cody Parkey, moving Portland to 2-2 after 4 weeks. POTG:  Stags’ WR Alshon Jeffery: 5 Rec, 130 Yds, 1 TD   LOS ANGELES 12  ARIZONA 19 Two of the league’s best defenses lived up to their reputations with Arizona holding the Express to a lone Hollywood Brown TD, while LA forced 3 Arizona field goals and allowed a lone TD to Victor Cruz. In a game where both teams secured a safety, it was the ability of the Wranglers to get in range for kicker Elliott Parson that made the difference. POTG:  Arizona DE Bud DuPree: 1 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty, 1 FF   Trading Block Ablaze After Week Four Hitting the one-quarter mark of the season means teams have a sense of where they are, what their rosters strengths are, and where they may need help. That often comes with some adjustments, either to gameplans, personnel packages, or to the roster itself. We certainly are seeing that this year as several teams have already begun working the trading block to try to get help. We had 3 significant trades this week as teams either try to address major issues or improve their offensive firepower with 12 weeks still on the schedule. We will break down each of these trades, as well as a late signing that essentially has the same dynamic.   Stars Make the Call, Trade for Lindley Ever since Tom Brady arrived in Oakland Invader camp, the Pacific Division squad has been openly shopping both of their 2019 starters to anyone who might have interest. This week, after dropping to 0-4 with backup P. J. Walker under center, the Philadelphia Stars took Oakland up on their offer. Choosing 28-year-old former Bandit Ryan Lindley over NFL import Jimmy Garoppolo, the Stars sent Oakland a 4 th  round pick in the 2021 draft as well as a contingent 5 th  rounder in 2022 to land themselves another option at quarterback.   Lindley, whose contract clearly made him a more affordable option than Jimmy Garoppolo, appeared in 2 games for Oakland last year, throwing for 205 yards with no picks or touchdowns. In 2017 he threw for 1,265 yards for the Invaders in 7 appearances. With Matt Gutierrez expected back in action after a 2-week absence due to a toe injury (self-inflicted, you know the story), Lindley is seen perhaps as a motivator, to help Gutierrez find his early career form, or as a potential replacement. With the addition, Philadelphia sent Penn State product Trace McSorley to the practice squad, and has already placed Lindley on the 2 nd team in the week’s depth chart, a clear sign that they are unsatisfied with P. J. Walker’s 2 game outing as the starter.   Vipers Address Anemic Run Game, Trade for Matt Jones It is rare that we see starters, or even rotational starters, traded mid-season, but that is what we got in a deal between the Las Vegas Vipers and the Jacksonville Bulls. Jacksonville, who seem to be clearly moving towards Devin Singletary as their starting back, opted to part ways with 5-year veteran Matt Jones. Jones, who was the team’s lead back since 2017, was coming off an injury-plagued 2019 campaign that saw him gain only 397 yards. Healthy this season, he already has 144 yards in 4 games, but was clearly viewed as expendable, thanks to the development of 2019 draft pick Devin Singletary, currently leading the Bulls with 214 yards and an impressive 4.8 YPC average. Enter the Las Vegas Vipers, surprisingly mired at 1-3 after 4 weeks and home to the league’s worst rated run game, averaging only 49.8 yards per game. The duo of Montario Hardesty and Kareem Hunt had accounted for a total of only 230 yards in the season’s first month and had proven ineffective particularly in short yardage situations. The Vipers needed and wanted a bigger back to take on that role, allowing Hunt to focus on plays in space, screens, swing passes, and outside runs. So, a deal was made that sent Hardesty, a 10-year veteran (now 30 years old) to head to Jacksonville to back up Singletary, while bringing Jones to Las Vegas to serve as the inside and short yardage runner to Hunt’s more mercurial style. The deal also included a swap of draft picks with the two swapping 5 th  round picks in the 2021 draft (a gamble based on each team hoping their final record is better than that of their trading partner). Expect to see both backs in action this week, assuming both clear their initial COVID testing protocols, with Matt Jones sharing caries with Kareem Hunt when Las Vegas takes on 1-3 Oklahoma, while Hardesty will back up Singletary when the Bulls face Baltimore.   Express & Glory Swap Receivers & Picks The only trade featuring a team above .500 was a swap of wide receivers between the 1-3 Ohio Glory and the 3-1 Los Angeles Express. LA having reached 3-0 before a loss to Arizona this week, is still trying to build a more productive offense around 2 nd  year QB Kyler Murray. Ohio, on the other hand, might be hinting that a major Fire Sale is eminent. The Glory were willing to part with 8-year veteran and 2019 leading receiver Eric Weems. Weems, who put up 1,000-yard seasons in both 2018 and 2019 for the Glory since coming over from St. Louis, was the Glory’s leading receiver this season as well, but was seeing more and more targets heading towards 2 nd  year up-and-comer Terry McLaurin. That, along with Weems’s occasional vocal critiques of the team and costly contract apparently made the veteran receiver a trade option. Los Angeles, which sits at 3-1 largely due to its defense, is ranked 30 th in yards per game on offense, and many have been decrying the state of the Express receiver group for a while now. Second year receiver “Hollywood”Brown leads the team with only 144 yards. Weems immediately becomes the leading receiver on the team with his current 259 yards. In trade for Weems, Los Angeles parted with backup receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and a 3 rd  round pick in 2021, which got them Ohio’s lead receiver and a 5 th  rounder in return. Expect to see Weems lined up opposite Brown, with Nelson Agholor and Marqise Lee splitting time as well. For Ohio, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is not expected to crack the starting lineup, with McLaurin now as Receiver 1, with Curtis Samuel likely in the 2 spot and Cordarelle Patterson occupying the slot. MVS could be a backup for any of the three as the Glory try to figure out what they have gotten in trade for Weems.                 Dallas signs SS Duke Williams for Southward One last move as the Dallas Roughnecks bring in unsigned safety Duke Williams. The former Thunder safety went into free agency looking for a big deal after a solid 2019 but asked far too much and ended up without a team when camps opened. He finally agrees to a deal to come into Dallas and could start as soon as this week as the Roughnecks look to replace injured SS Dezmen Southward. Southward could miss 2-3 months with neck and skull injury last week. While he is recovering well back in Dallas after being transferred from Houston by helicopter, we could see the Roughnecks add him to IR now that they have an option in Williams.   Riddick Propels Maulers to 3-1 Shaquile Riddick is picking up where he left off last year, but this time it is directly impacting game results and helping Pittsburgh get off to a strong 3-1 start. The 6 th  year DE had a breakout season in 2019, jumping from only 4 sacks the year before to 18, finishing second only to Calais Campbell as the league’s 2 nd  best sack master. This year, with 5 sacks in his first 4 games he is already on pace to break his personal best and could be a contender for the title in a year where Calais Campbell has already missed 2 games and is well behind with only 2 sacks in the first month.   What is more important is that Riddick’s prowess chasing down the QB is being used as a tool to help the club win games. That was certainly the case this week when Riddick’s lone sack of the elusive Cam Newton produced not only a loss on the play, but the dreaded strip-sack, recovery, and touchdown for Riddick. Down 21-10 in the 3 rd  quarter, Riddick caught Newton in his windup, knocking the ball from his hand, then recovering it 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, in the endzone, and falling on the ball for 7 points. In a game where Newton had already run for a 67-yard TD, it was a decisive, momentum-changing play that turned the tide of the game. With a 2-point conversion putting Pittsburgh down by only 3, they rallied, adding 10 points in the final quarter and winning 28-21. While Riddick currently trails Orlando’s Montez Sweat by 3 sacks, sitting in a cluster of players with 5 sacks that also includes Oakland’s Michael Bennett, Charlotte’s Chandler Jones, and LA’s Chris Jones, Riddick may well be the most likely to challenge Sweat for the title, and if he can keep on his current pace, he could cross 20 sacks this season, while also helping Pittsburgh surprise many by competing for the Central Division title.   Gold Loses Thompson for 2-3 Months A rough diagnosis for a team hoping to compete for a title this year as Denver Gold linebacker Shaq Thompson had to be carted off the field with a back injury. The diagnosis is that there was a contusion to his spinal cord as well as some compression to the vertebrae, meaning that the 7 th  year veteran will miss no less than 2 months of action and could be done for the year. Thompson, who typically handles the weak side of the offensive formation in Denver’s 4-3, was doing just that when he got caught awkwardly in a scrum with a pair of Oklahoma linemen only to have HB DeeJay Dallas essential run right into his back. Thompson went down, teammates called for immediate help, and TV cut away as the medical team removed his helmet, fit him into a backboard and brought out the cart. Thompson was able to give a thumbs up to his teammates, but reported numbness in his legs.   The good news is that within 24 hours, doctors in Tucson’s Northwest Medical Center were able to report that full feeling in Thompson's legs had returned. There had been pressure on his spinal column from the injury and the vertebrae compression will require some traction as the doctors address the swelling. Thompson is expected to make a full recovery, but time is needed for the process, anywhere from 2-3 months before he could return to practice and to game action. Denver is not expected to place Thompson on IR, hoping he is able to return for a possible late season playoff run, and for any playoff games. With 7 linebackers already on their active roster, no practice squad or free agent moves are expected, the Gold will essentially keep Thompson as inactive each week and go into games with 52 active players. On the field, expect veteran backup K. J. Wright to take over for Thompson on the weak side, with Justin Houston staying on the strong side and Patrick Onwuasor in the middle.   A good and bad week for COVID cases ahead of Week 5 action. Good in that only 2 of the players from last week’s list have not been cleared to play this week, but bad in that we have had our highest number of new cases of any week this year. We also have our first case where one team is likely to be going pretty deep into their practice squad to fill spots, as Oakland will be down two offensive tackles as roommates Andre Smith and D. J. Fluker both tested positive this week. The list also includes a couple of major contributors whose absence certainly will be missed this week, players like Portland HB Doug Martin, Orlando’s top corner Dee Milliner, and Tampa Bay wideout Ryan Grant.   As for football injuries, the big one this week is obviously the loss of DT Jonathan Babineaux for the year to the Stars. Denver also will feel the pain as LB Shaquile Barrett could miss the rest of the regular season, though the Gold are unlikely to add Barrett to the IR in hopes that he will be back in 8 weeks and could be available for a playoff run.   OUT DT          Jonathan Babineaux   PHI        Achilles    IR LB           Shaquile Barrett             DEN      Back                        8-12 Weeks OG         Jonathan Cooper            CHA      Neck                         6-8 Weeks OG         Chadwick Hodges          JAX         Shoulder                4-6 Weeks CB          Sean Smith                     PIT         Shoulder                  4-6 Weeks OT          Jonah Williams                BIR         ACL                           2-4 Weeks LB           Greg Lloyd Jr.                OKL       Neck                         1-2 Weeks LB           Josh Allen                        SEA        Ankle                       1-2 Weeks DE          Mario Addison               NEN      Jaw                            1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL OG         Chris Lindstrom              NJ           Knee CB          Tye Smith                       SD          Hand CB          Marcus Williams            MEM     Foot   QUESTIONABLE WR         Randall Cobb                PHI        Knee   COVID-19 INACTIVES BIR         LB           Reggie Ragland CHA      OT          Oli Udoh                              HOU     DE          Tim Crowder        2 nd Week LA          FS           Jalen Mills              2 nd Week OAK      CB          William Jackson OAK      OT          Andre Smith      OAK      OT          D. J. Fluker ORL       CB          Dee Milliner PHI        DE          Malik Jackson POR      HB         Doug Martin STL         HB         Bobby Rainey TBY        WR         Ryan Grant   New Orleans, Atlanta, and Las Vegas Looking to Get In on Daytime Action The league has not even gotten clearance to play daytime games inside the enclosed domes at NRG Stadium in Houston and State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, and there are already teams and stadiums pushing for the bubble plan to be expanded. Las Vegas and Wynn Arena, the SuperDome in New Orleans, and Atlanta’s Mercedez Benz Stadium are all pitching to allow for USFL teams to move some games to their facilities. The hope, of course, is that just having games in the facilities, even without a fan presence, helps the stadia recover some income from what has been a disastrous spring and what looks to be a very rough summer and fall. If the states of Louisiana, Nevada, and Georgia do as many hope Texas, Arizona, and Florida will do in time for the fall College & NFL seasons, and allow some occupancy on gamedays (current models are floating 20% to 25% capacity), then the benefits could be increasingly higher. The problem? Even if approved by the states, the USFL has already invested tens of millions to secure the 9 hub stadiums already in use. And while the USFL might be interested in more day games added to the schedule, a rating boon for them and the networks, it seems unlikely that they would look to cancel their contracts with any of the stadiums already under contract to make it happen. So, what options do these additional facilities have? They could make a push for playoff football, since any playoff games would be contingent and not part of the league’s initial contracts with facilities like Rice Stadium in Houston or Ben Hill Griffith Stadium in Gainesville. We could potentially see the league, if partial attendance is possible, relocate some playoff games to improve the television broadcast schedule and to expand on fan interest in markets like New Orleans (currently watching the 4-0 Breakers remotely) or Atlanta (where fans of the surprising 3-1 Fire might turn out to see their team in the postseason). Of course, if this becomes a trend, there would be nothing to stop the USFL from simply moving all teams back to their home stadiums for a postseason in September and October, assuming all states allow for some stadium capacity to be filled.   We are a long way from any decisions on the USFL playoffs, and potentially at least a month away from final decisions within various states regarding the fall sports calendar, and with the virus still growing in reported cases, it seems unwise to talk about reopening any markets beyond the current bubble system unless conditions change. But, with television money a huge concern, if there is a chance for the USFL to potentially expand its list of venues for the postseason, it could become a reality.   First Quarter Power Rankings Here we go, our first power rankings of the season. With 1/4 of the season down it is pretty clear who has started fast and who has struggled. Will the list remain static over the next 12 weeks? Very unlikely if past history tells us anything. You can almost bet that at least one team from the top 10 will end up in the bottom 3rd of the league by Week 16 and some team currently at 1-3 or even 0-4 will end up fighting for a Wild Card and a Top 12 spot. 1—Arizona Wranglers (4-0) Big Story: The defending champs are averaging 28.8 PPG and allowing 12.5 PPG to create a nasty 16.3 points per game margin of victory. Hard to argue that they are the top team. 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Victor Cruz: 21 Rec, 458 Yds, 3 TD   2—New Orleans Breakers (4-0) Big Story: With an average of 366.5 passing yards per game, this Breaker squad could finally overtake Houston in the division. 1 st Quarter MVP: QB Geno Smith: 1,427 Yds, 11:2 TD:Int, 131.7 QBR   3—Tampa Bay Bandits (4-0) Big Story : Can you believe that the Bandits defense (5 th  in Points Allowed) is actually better than their offense (9 th  in points scored)? That is a good sign that they are ready to take their game to the next level. 1 st Quarter MVP: LB DeMeco Ryans: 31 Tck, 3 TFL, 4 PDef   4—Michigan Panthers (3-1) Big Story: The Panthers boast not only the best run game in the league (129.2 YPG) but the best run defense as well (40.2 YPG). 1 st Quarter MVP: LB Sean Porter: 20 Tck, 5 TFL, 2 FF   5—Atlanta Fire (3-1) Big Story: The Fire are surprising many with the top scoring offense in the league, having topped 40 points twice in their first 3 games. 1 st Quarter MVP: WR A. J. Green: 17 Rec, 198 Yds, 3 TD   6—Memphis Showboats (3-1) Big Story: The run game is strong, Paxton Lynch is minimizing turnovers and that has been enough to help the Showboats start strong. 1 st Quarter MVP: DE Chase Winovich: 16 Tck, 7 TFL, 1 Sck, 2 FF   7—New Jersey Generals (3-1) Big Story: Stingy is the word for New Jersey’s defense. They may be giving up 313 yards per game, but when it comes to scoring on them, that is a lot tougher, at 15.8 PPG (4 th  in the league). 1 st Quarter MVP: LB Matt Milano: 24 Tck, 2 TFL, 1 Int, 1 Sck, 1 FF   8—Denver Gold (3-1) Big Story: The top defense in the league for yards allowed, mostly due to a pass defense that is allowing only 189.8 YPG even without Von Miller in the fold. 1 st Quarter MVP: HB DeMarco Murray: 314 Yds, 1 TD, 4.5 YPC   9—Los Angeles Express (3-1) Big Story: Scoring only 15 points a game is normally pretty bad, but when your defense is 1 st  in the league, allowing only 12 points a game, you can still win games.   1 st Quarter MVP: LB Uchena Nwosu: 35 Tck, 10 TFL, 3 Sck, 1 FF   10—Pittsburgh Maulers (3-1) Big S tory: The move from the NE Division to the Central has started well for Pittsburgh, thanks in large part to a solid defense and resurgent run game. 1 st Quarter MVP: CB Tre Herndon: 20 Tck, 9 PDef, 3 Int, 2 FF, 1 DefTD   11—Washington Federals (3-1) Big Story: A pretty big surprise at 3-1, the Feds offense is still a work in progress (22 nd  in the league in scoring) but the defense is keeping them in games. 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Tyreek Hill: 18 Rec, 273 Yds, 2 TD   12—Houston Gamblers (2-2) Big Story: A rough early schedule with tough losses to the Breakers and Panthers, but this is a team that can both put up points (7 th  in the league) and keep you from doing the same (3 rd  in points against). 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Mike Evans: 16 Rec, 477 Yds, 1 TD, 29.8 YPC   13—Oakland Invaders (2-2) Big Story: Tom Brady is not going to be a 400-yard passer, but his leadership is showing as the Invaders are looking like a team that can do some damage. 1 st Quarter MVP: DE Michael Bennett: 14 Tck, 6 TFL, 5 Sck, 1 FF   14—Orlando Renegades (2-2) Big Story: We are getting flashbacks of the Calais Campbell years. Montez Sweat is leading the league in sacks but the defense is still 27 th  in yards allowed. 1 st Quarter MVP: DE Montez Sweat: 14 Tck, 3 TFL, 8 Sck   15—Chicago Machine (2-2) Big Story: The Machine have one of the league’s best run defenses, and they too can run the ball. Basically they are Michigan Jr. 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Michael Floyd: 26 Rec, 345 Yds, 3 TD   16—Baltimore Blitz (2-2) Big Story: Jake Locker is struggling, but the 2 nd  best defense in yards allowed is keeping the Blitz in games. They just need to get more out of Josh Jacobs to help the O catch up. 1 st Quarter MVP: LB Jarvis Jones: 31 Tck, 6 TFL, 1 Sck   17—Dallas Roughnecks (2-2) Big Story: The D is still the issue, giving up nearly 27 points per game. The run game is much improved and Josh Freeman’s play is keeping rookie Justin Herbert on the bench. 1 st Quarter MVP: HB Samaje Perine: 290 Yds, 4 TD, 4.2 YPC   18—Portland Stags (2-2) Big Story: A big win over Seattle this week, but with the 26 th  best scoring defense, they need to tighten up to support their surprisingly solid offensive production. 1 st Quarter MVP: HB Doug Martin: 254 Yds, 3 TD, 3.9 YPC   19—Charlotte Monarchs (1-3) Big Story: Nyheim Hines has been a revelation for an otherwise pedestrian offense, but giving up over 104 yards per game against the run has the defense unable to get teams off the field. 1 st Quarter MVP: HB Nyheim Hines: 236 Yds, 2 TD, 4.4 YPC   20—San Diego Thunder (1-3) Big Story: Dead last in scoring at 10.8 PPG, the Thunder attack has just not looked at all like their 2019 squad. The defense is on the field far too long and they are wearing down already. 1 st Quarter MVP: CB Tye Smith: 13 Tck, 5 PDef, 3 Int   21—Las Vegas Vipers (1-3) Big Story: Averaging only 49.8 yards per game on the ground, the Vipers made a move to fix that with a trade this week, and good for them for being proactive before it is too late. 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Arrelious Benn: 20 Rec, 180 Yds, 3 TD   22—Seattle Dragons (1-3) Big Story: Brett Hundley has the passing game doing well, but little else is working for the Dragons, with no pass rush, little run game, and too many turnovers. 1 st Quarter MVP: QB Brett Hundley: 1,023 Yds, 3:3 TD:Int, 90.8 QBR   23—Birmingham Stallions (1-3) Big Story: Even with a dynamic QB like Newton, you are not going to win a lot of games when you allow 30 points per game on defense. 1 st Quarter MVP: QB Cam Newton: 1,045 Yds, 9:1 TD:Int, 112.4 QBR, 120 Yds Rushing, 4 TD   24—Oklahoma Outlaws (1-3) Big Story: The Outlaws are shooting themselves in the foot far too often. They give up big plays and they simply don’t seem to make any of their own. 1 st Quarter MVP: DT Luis Castillo: 16 Tck, 4 TFL, 1 Sck, 1 FF   25—Jacksonville Bulls (1-3) Big Story: The offense has finally woken up after scoring only 9 points in their first 2 games. How will trading away Matt Jones impact that progress? 1 st Quarter MVP: WR Tee Higgins: 20 Rec, 260 Yds, 1 TD   26—New England Steamrollers (1-3) Big Story: The Steamrollers surprised us all with an opening weekend win, but since then the offense has scored 10, 7, and 6 points, not a good trend. 1 st Quarter MVP: LB Cameron Smith: 24 Tck, 4 TFL, 1 Int, 1 Sck   27—San Antonio Gunslingers (1-3) Big Story: After an 0-3 start, the Gunslingers got their first W this week, and can now focus on week-to-week improvement. 1 st Quarter MVP: TE Julius Thomas: 14 Rec, 199 Yds, 3 TD   28—Ohio Glory (1-3) Big Story: Averaging only 13.2 points per game and giving up 21.8 is not a way to win games. The Glory may be on the verge of a major reshuffling in 2021 if they cannot turn this around. 1 st Quarter MVP: LB Ryan Shazier: 28 Tck, 4 TFL, 2 Sck, 1 Int   29—Philadelphia Stars (0-4) Big Story: Last year the Stars were 0-5 before a 9-2 run gave them the NE Division crown. This year we think they are just not making enough plays, and it does not help that they have had to deal with Matt Gutierrez’s injury (an injury apparently due to a temper tantrum in the locker room, not an on-field injury.) 1 st Quarter MVP: DE Malik Jackson: 14 Tck, 3 TFL, 4 Sck, 1 FF   30—St. Louis Skyhawks (0-4) Big Story: We are mystified as to why Frank Reich is not letting Lamar be Lamar. The St. Louis offense should be dynamic and fast, instead it is plodding and predictable. 1 st Quarter MVP: DE Adrian Clayborn: 23 Tck, 10 TFL, 4 Sck We kick off the 2 nd  quarter of the season with Friday night division games in the Southern and Southwestern divisions, with Birmingham facing a very tough matchup against the unbeaten New Orleans Breakers while the top 2 teams in the Southwest, the Wranglers and Gold, will face off on ASU’s campus in Tempe.   Saturday we have 4 division games, again all in Houston and Arizona, with Houston renewing a rivalry with San Antonio at Rice Stadium, Chicago facing newly-reassigned Central Division rival Pittsburgh at NRG Stadium, and then, in the late games it is Las Vegas vs. Oklahoma in a battle of 1-3 teams hoping to get on track and a Pacific Clash between the 3-1 LA Express and the 2-2 Portland Stags.   Sunday offers only 2 divisional games, with Michigan taking on St. Louis at 9pm and San Diego facing Seattle (in Tucson) at 11pm. But, outside of divisional games, there is plenty of good inter-divisional action, such as New Jersey facing Orlando on Friday and a battle of 2-2 clubs hoping to make a move as Dallas faces Oakland in a Sunday night game from State Farm Stadium.   FRIDAY 8pm ET          New Jersey (3-1) @ Orlando (2-2)                 Orlando      ESPN/EFN 9pm ET            Birmingham (1-3) @ New Orleans (4-0)         TDECU            NBC 11pm ET        Arizona (4-0) @ Denver (3-1)                          Tempe             ABC   SATURDAY 8pm ET        Washington (3-1) @ Charlotte (1-3)                Tampa          NBC 8pm ET       New England (1-3) @ Tampa Bay (4-0)      Gainesville      FOX 9pm ET           Houston (2-2) @ San Antonio (1-3)               Rice                ABC 9pm ET        Chicago (2-2) @ Pittsburgh (3-1)                NRG               FOX 11pm ET        Las Vegas (1-3) @ Oklahoma (1-3)               Tucson          ABC 11pm ET         Los Angeles (3-1) @ Portland (2-2)               Glendale    FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET       Baltimore (2-2) @ Jacksonville (1-3)         Tampa            ABC 8pm ET            Philadelphia (0-4) @ Atlanta (3-1)                 Orlando         FOX 9pm ET          Michigan (3-1) @ St. Louis (0-4)                  NRG          ESPN/EFN 9pm ET           Memphis (3-1) @ Ohio (1-3)                           Rice              FOX 11pm ET       San Diego (1-3) @ Seattle (1-3)                       Tucson            ABC 11pm ET        Dallas (2-2) @ Oakland (2-2)                          Glendale         FOX

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: No suprise that we recognize a Breaker WR this week. The combo of Jordy & Justin, as much as that sounds like a show on Disney+, is the hottest wideout pairing in the league. This week it was all about Jordy Nelson as he brought in 7 passes for 148 yards (20.1 per reception) and 3 touchdowns for the unbeaten Breakers.

Week three has come and gone and while the league is still working out all the kinks to their bubble system and night-game schedule, the teams are beginning to take shape, with better cohesion and better play in this season without a preseason. We got a thriller this week in our GOTW between the Gamblers and Panthers, we also got some exciting finishes as Washington edged Philadelphia, Chicago nipped Ohio by a single point, and Arizona held off Oakland. We also saw our share of mismatches, with the two expansion clubs getting beaten handily, but also with Atlanta putting up 41 on Jacksonville and Charlotte surprising New Jersey with a 20-point margin of victory. We will run down all the scores, talk about how the USFL is hoping to adjust their plans on the fly, and take a look ahead at Week 4, but we start with an interesting story surrounding this year’s two big rookie QB signings and the prospect for more of the same in the future. The High Priced Rookie QB Conundrum What to do when you sign a high-priced, high-pick QB in the draft but you still have a pretty solid veteran on the roster? Both economic and fan pressure pushes teams towards wanting to put their new “investment” on the field, but prudence also calls for you to use the vet as long as you can because we all know that rookies tend to struggle and, as always, every game and every win is important. That is the conundrum that the Dallas Roughnecks and Oklahoma Outlaws are facing this season. Dallas made a deal with Portland to get a shot at Oregon QB Justin Herbert, but opted to start the year with 11-year veteran Josh Freeman under center in Week 1. Oklahoma wanted to give Mason Rudolph a shot to earn the starting job after several seasons backing up Joe Flacco, but could not pass on the talented Jalen Hurts in the territorial draft, signing the OU product to a 4-year deal for approximately $700K more per season than their intended starter.  For the Roughnecks, the strategy has always been to gauge how Josh Freeman was doing, having had a couple of down seasons since coming over from St. Louis, but most expected Justin Herbert to start seeing action pretty early. Well, now at 2-1, and with Freeman looking solid, the question is whether or not this would delay the transition to Herbert. If Freeman can keep winning, do you swap him out, or do you wait and see?  For Oklahoma, a 1-2 start is not ideal, but when you look at the stats, Rudolph is not the main issue. He is putting up solid numbers, completing 65.8% of his passes, with 3 touchdowns. The Outlaws are only averaging 11 points per game, but that may largely be due to their last-ranked run game, averaging only 45 yards per outing. So, do you throw Jalen Hurts to the wolves without a run game to rely on, or do you delay his starting debut?   For both clubs, the answers they seek will likely come directly from their win-loss record. If Dallas stays above .500 well into midseason, we may see Herbert with a ball cap and a clip-board for most of the season, much like we saw with Josh Allen his first year in Denver. If, however, 2-1 turns to 2-4, for example, well, that could hasten the switchover. The same is true for the Outlaws as a 1-2 start could turn into a 1-4 hole, and that could be enough for Coach Stoops to try to inspire some change by swapping out a young QB for a rookie QB.   This is hardly the first season where we have seen these conversations. It is pretty much a given for most teams who spent big on a rookie QB prospect. There are times when there simply is not another option at the position, but more often than not, as in the cases of Josh Freeman when Lamar Jackson arrived in St. Louis, Matt Leinart when Josh Allen arrived in Denver, or Ryan Fitzpatrick when Portland drafted Marcus Mariota.  And the reality is that we may well see the same occurring next year, where there is a deep pool of potential QB prospects. Teams are already looking ahead to 2021 and a draft that is expected to include Clemson’s dynamic QB Trevor Lawrence, BYU’s Zach Wilson, NDSU’s Trey Lance, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Florida’s Kyle Trask, and Alabama’s Mac Jones. We could well be seeing a 2-year span that defines a generation of QB play in the USFL, but each signing will come with the same conundrum. When to switch from the veteran to the rookie? How to best develop a rookie’s talent without shattering their confidence? And what works best to turn rookie energy into early career wins?   HOUSTON GAMBLERS 16   MICHIGAN PANTHERS 21 When you saw this game on the schedule, you knew it was “must see TV”. The Eastern Conference champions from last year against the team that led the league with a 14-2 record in 2019. Offensive talent across the board, from LeVeon Bell and Cody Latimer to Colt McCoy, Evans and Smith-Schuster. But also, two very good defensive teams, capable of disrupting even the best offensive schemes. In other words, a clash of titans in the USFL.   There were a few pieces missing for this game, with Michigan having both WR Cody Latimer and CB Dre Kirkpatrick on Covid protocols, and Houston with Carlos Hyde still nursing an injury and LB Ramik Wilson also held out due to positive Covid tests.  But even with these absences, this was a game with more than enough stars in the lineup to provide great entertainment.   Neither a shootout nor a purely defensive battle, the Gamblers and Panthers provided a little of everything. LeVeon Bell was held under 100 yards but still put up 86 and a touchdown. Houston’s combo of Evans and Smith-Schuster combined for 201 yards receiving, but both were held out of the endzone as Michigan denied QB Colt McCoy a passing TD on the day. Houston also struggled to run the ball without Carlos Hyde. Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire took over the rushing duty but averaged only 2.5 yards on the day, carrying 16 times for 40 yards. Houston’s lone touchdown would not come from the offense at all as the Panthers held the Gamblers out all day.   The game began with both teams feeling each other out, trying to establish their run games and protect their quarterbacks. The Panthers would put together the best drive of the quarter on their second possession, moving 65 yards in 11 plays before LeVeon Bell dove over the pile on 2 nd  and goal from the 1. It was Bell’s 2 nd  TD of the season and gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead. The second quarter belonged to Houston, thanks largely to a single misunderstanding between QB Kirk Cousins and rookie receiver Donavan Peoples-Jones. DPJ was in the game for Cody Latimer, and generally played well, but with Michigan leading 7-3 after a Houston field goal, he had a clear miscommunication with QB Kirk Cousins, cutting short a route that Cousins expected him to take deeper. The result was a pick from Houston safety Budda Baker. The safety caught the ball in open space and got a convoy of Gamblers to escort him 48 yards to the endzone for a lead-changing defensive touchdown.   Houston would find success one more time in the quarter, driving into field goal range in the final minutes to increase their lead at the break to 13-7. But it was a sign of things to come that on both scoring drives the Gamblers could not punch the ball into the endzone. When the game resumed in the 3 rd  quarter, they again struggled to get the ball into scoring range, and when Colt McCoy suffered a rare sack on a 3 rd  and 9, Michigan avoided falling behind by more than 1 score. The Panthers rallied around that stop, putting together a 13-play drive that included key 3 rd  down completions to both Calvin Ridley and Martellus Bennett before Cousins found K. J. Hill for the go-ahead score. The quarter ended with Michigan up 14-13.   In the 4 th , Houston continued to struggle to move the ball deep into Michigan territory. Whether it was runs stuffed at the line or passing opportunities missed, the Gamblers simply could not get too deep into Michigan’s side of the field before bogging down. With 4:48 left in the game they got close enough to take the lead once again thanks to a 51-yard kick from Younghoe Koo. With a slim 16-14 lead, they would now rely on their defense to squelch any late game heroics from the Panthers.   Michigan got the ball at the 20 to start what would be their final drive. Knowing that they wanted to both score (at least getting into field goal range for Chase McLaughlin) and eat as much time as possible, the Panthers relied on LeVeon Bell and some underneath routes to Bennett and Ladarius Green, their 2 tight ends. It helped that Houston’s defense continued to play the pass, expecting a bit more urgency, which freed up Bell for a pair of nice runs of 7 and 9 yards on the drive. The key play, however, was a penalty on Houston DE Dante Fowler, who got a bit too aggressive trying to get to Kirk Cousins and landed a blow to his head to draw a Roughing the Passer call that gave Michigan 15 yards. That penalty put Michigan at the Houston 28 yard-line, easily within McLaughlin’s range, but with 1:37 still on the clock, the Panthers did not kick right away, they kept plugging the ball down the field.   On a 1 st  and 10 from the 11, Bell broke a tackle and got as far as the 3 before being stopped. On 2 nd  and 2, Cousins faked the ball to Bell, drawing in the linebackers and freeing up Calvin Ridley on a crossing route. A short toss and Michigan had the lead back at 21-16 with only 23 seconds left. Houston would be unable to mount a miracle comeback in that short span of time, and the Panthers would leave the game at 3-0, giving Houston its 2 nd  loss of the season and giving all of us a fun Sunday night game that thankfully was over by midnight on the East Coast.   ORLANDO 27  TAMPA BAY 37 The Bandits move to 3-0 thanks to a 3-TD game from Dalvin Cook and a solid run defense. The Bandits gave up 333 yards to QB Russell Wilson, but it was a one-sided attack as Week 2 revelation Ty Montgomery was held to only 39 yards in his second game starting for Latavius Murray. Meanwhile, the Bandits’ lead back, Dalvin Cook rattled off 98 yards rushing, another 29 through the air, and 3 total touchdowns to help the Bandits take care of their in-state rival. POTG:  Bandits’ HB Dalvin Cook: 13 Att, 98 Yds, 2 TD, 3 Rec, 29 Yds, 1 TD   BIRMINGHAM 21   MEMPHIS 40 The Showboats offense found its groove as Paxton Lynch threw for 3 scores and the run game cranked out 101 yards against rival Birmingham. The star for the Stallions was rookie WR Henry Ruggs, who hauled in 6 passes for 129 yards and TD, but it was not enough as Memphis never trailed, taking a 14-7 lead after 1 quarter, 23-7 at the half, 33-7 after 3, and a final 40-21 score at the final whistle. POTG:  Showboat QB Paxton Lynch: 29/35, 260 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   SAN DIEGO 20   DENVER 37 The Thunder continue to struggle on both sides of the ball as Denver outgains them 392-263, on their way to a comfortable 17-point win. Josh Allen rebounded from a pair of weak outings, going 18 of 23 for 192 and a TD, but it was the Gold’s 1-2 punch at HB that did the real damage. DeMarco Murray rushed for 122 on 19 carries and Phillip Lindsay became the goal line specialist with 4 rushing touchdowns, none longer than 9 yards. POTG:  DeMarco Murray: 19 Att, 122 Yds   NEW JERSEY 14   CHARLOTTE 34 With Nick Foles held out after an injury in Friday’s practice, Charlotte was able to lock down the New Jersey offense led by Ricky Stanzi, and cruise to a 31-0 lead after 3 quarters. Touchdowns from Latavius Murray, Nyheim Hines, and Brandon Pettigrew were more than enough to win Charlotte the game, but they also added a Ronald Darby pick-six along the way to earn their first win of the season. POTG:  Monarch CB Ronald Darby: 5 Tck, 2 PDef, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   PHILADELPHIA 17   WASHINGTON 20 The Federals send rival Philadelphia to 0-3 as Stars’ backup QB P. J. Walker struggled to sustain drives despite 294 yards passing. Washington opened scoring with a 45-yard strike from Nassib to Tyreek Hill, then added a TD from rookie Darrynton Evans and two Vinatieri field goalsto take a 20-10 lead. Philadelphia rallied with a late Derrick Henry TD, but it was not enough as Washington held the ball for the final 3:37 to secure the win. POTG:  Washington WR Keenan Allen: 8 Rec, 107 Yds   NEW ORLEANS 31  SAN ANTONIO 7 The Breakers did not break a sweat in downing the expansion Gunslingers. New Orleans put up the first 31 points of the game before a garbage time TD finally got San Antonio on the board. Geno Smith topped 340 yards for the 3 rd  game in a row to start the year, with Coby Fleener (138) and Jordy Nelson (126) both topping 100 yards and each scoring a TD. Rookie Justin Jeffferson failed to hit 100 yards for a third straight game but did score his first pro touchdown. POTG:  Breaker QB Geno Smith: 12/21, 344 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   CHICAGO 28  OHIO 27 A fun-to-watch back-and-forth game between these two Central rivals ended with Chicago getting a late Michael Floyd TD to secure the win. Both QBs threw for 3 scores, but with 1 extra pick (2:1), Hackenberg came out on the losing end of the score. Floyd finished with 2 scores, with Marion Mack adding another for the Machine, while Ohio got scores from Eric Weems, Isaiah Pead and Curtis Samuel in this classic Central Division duel. POTG:  Chicago LB Kevin Minter: 7 Tck, 1 Int   OAKLAND 24   ARIZONA 27 Arizona could not break Oakland’s spirit, but pulled out a 4 th  quarter win thanks to a Carr TD to rookie Brandon Aiyuk. Both Brady and Carr threw for 2 scores apiece, with Oakland getting a good outing from Christian McCaffrey (11 for 75 yards and a TD). Arizona again played without Calais Campbell and their pass rush only got to 43-year-old Tom Brady once. Meanwhile Derick Carr was running for his life, with Oakland recording 9 sacks on the day, including 2 each for Michael Bennett and LB Tavares Gooden. If not for 2 Jeremy Lane picks of Brady, this game could have easily gone to the Invaders. POTG:  Arizona CB Jeremy Lane: 3 Tck, 4 PDef, 2 Int   PORTLAND 31 DALLAS 38 An unexpected shootout as Portland backup A. J. McCarron survived 6 sacks to throw for 372 yards and HB Doug Martin put up 2 scores and 90 yards rushing. Dallas countered with Samaje Perine’s best games as a pro (25 Att, 123 Yds, 2 TD) and a game-clinching 59-yard pick six from veteran LB Clay Matthews, who looked like he needed about a month on the oxygen tank after running the ball back for the Roughneck’s 2 nd  defensive score on the day. POTG:  Dallas FS Jamal Adams: 6 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   BALTIMORE 24  NEW ENGLAND 7 Baltimore fell behind 7-0 to the expansion Steamrollers before rattling off 24 unanswered points to take this NE Division matchup. Jake Locker was picked twice, but the Steamrollers were unable to convert turnovers into points, while Baltimore slowly built up their lead, thanks to a Troymaine Pope 96-yard kickoff return to open the 3 rd , and then a second score from Pope on an 11-yard run in the 4 th , his 3 rd  TD of the day. POTG:  Blitz HB Troymaine Pope: 5 Att, 36 Yds, 2 TD, 2 KR, 109 Yds, 1 TD   ATLANTA 41  JACKSONVILLE 23 That Fire offense remains as hot as their name implies. Aaron Murray threw for 295 and 3 scores, Nick Chubb added 2 on the ground, and the Fire easily dispatched the Bulls, who drop to 0-3. The Fire now sit at 3-0 and are beginning to feel like this season’s upstart contender. Rookie Gabe Davis had himself a great 3 rd game, catching 3 passes for 96 yards, with 2 going for scores. The defense gave up 368 yards to the Bulls, but the Bulls just could not keep pace with Atlanta’s scoring. POTG:  Fire QB Aaron Murray: 19/30, 295 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int   PITTSBURGH 16  ST. LOUIS 10 The Maulers improve to 2-1 and send St. Louis down to 0-3 thanks to a solid defensive effort that included holding the Skyhawks to 75 yards rushing and only 3 of 15 on third down. Pittsburgh’s Tre Herndon did not get a pick in his 3 rd  straight game, but did produce 4 pass defenses, while Shaquile Riddick added 2 sacks for the Maulers. The Skyhawks did not cross midfield until midway through the 3 rd  period as Lamar Jackson seemed handcuffed within the pocket. POTG:  Pittsburgh DE Shaquile Riddick: 4 Tck, 2 Sck   SEATTLE 24  LAS VEGAS 23 The Dragons secured their win over the now 0-3 Vipers, thanks to 127 yards from WR Amari Cooper and a defense that held Las Vegas to only 59 yards rushing. Seattle QB Brent Hundley likely locked up his starting job for at least the next week with a 21 of 28, 262 yard performance, connecting early and often with Cooper. POTG:  Dragon WR Amari Cooper: 7 Rec, 127 Yds   LOS ANGELES 9  OKLAHOMA 3 A defensive slugfest paired with some sloppy offense produced this sleepy score. LA actually put up a TD and a safety to get to 9 points, but Oklahoma was simply unable to get anything going, held to only one Kai Forbath kick on the day. Reggie Bush’s 85 yards rushing and a lone TD pass to backup HB Paul Perkins were all LA needed as they shut down Oklahoma, limiting Jeremy Hill to only 18 yards rushing (DeeJay Dallas did 1 better at 19 yards) and holding WR DeDe Westbrook ton only 39 yards receiving. POTG:  Express LB Uchena Nwosu: 8 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty, 1 FF, 1 FR   Atlanta and LA Surprise Many at 3-0 The Fire and the Express enter Week 4 with unblemished records, but they are certainly not using the same formula to get there. The Fire are leading the league by scoring 37.7 points per game despite not being in the Top 10 in passing, rushing, or overall yards. Los Angeles is doing it with defense, the league’s best scoring defense to be precise, allowing only 9.7 points per game. Two very different formulas and some new names to learn as we start to look more seriously at these two unbeaten teams.   For Atlanta, the players to watch include QB Aaron Murray and HB Nick Chubb, of course, but it is NFL import A. J. Green who seems to have sparked a more open offense, leading the team with 3 receiving TDs despite having 7 fewer receptions than team leader Kelvin Benjamin. For the Express, get used to hearing more about 3 rd  year linebacker Uchena Nwosu. Nwosu leads the club with 24 tackls, but also has 2 sacks and a forced fumble in this season’s first three games. Lining up next to Keith Rivers, Nwosu is proving to be a dynamic sideline-to-sideline pursuer of the ball. Another player to keep an eye on is DT Chris Jones. With more teams working to slow down edge rusher Nick Bosa, Jones is finding himself in more single-blocker setups and he is making teams pay for their lack of respect, tied with Bosa with 3 sacks in 3 games.   LA and Atlanta are not the only unbeatens after 3 weeks, but there is really no surprise in seeing Arizona and Michigan here, and even New Orleans and Tampa Bay are not huge surprises. But for the Fire and Express, the goal now has to be to build on their good starts, to maintain momentum and to try to shore up the side of the ball that has not yet proven itself, Atlanta’s defense and the Express offense.   Breaking Down the Issues for the 0-3 Teams In addition to 6 unbeatens, week three brings us 5 teams that have yet to crack the win columns. Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and St. Louis join expansion San Antonio in that dubious honor, but, as with our unbeatens, each team is getting to this low point in their own way. So, just what are the issues with these 5 teams and how can they overcome them? Here is our breakdown as we prepare for Week 4.   Jacksonville While not really a surprise to see last year’s weakest club sitting at 0-3, but certainly not the start that new head coach Winston Moss wanted for his team. So what is Jacksonville’s issue? Pretty much the same as last year, a complete lack of big plays. The Bulls are 30 th  in the league, scoring only 10.7 points per game, a total that actually looks better after their 41-23 thrashing by Atlanta, because up until then they had yet to score a touchdown. The Bulls have the fewest 20+ yard plays of any team in the league, don’t have a rusher over 4.0 per carry (Devin Singletary is close at 3.9), and don’t have a receiver over 15 yards per catch. If not for a 53-yard catch and run by TE Gavin Escobar, they would not have a single reception over 25 yards in their first 3 games. Rookie Tee Higgins is the club’s leading receiver, and while he is talented, the Bulls clearly need more out of him, the rest of the receiver group, the backs, and the offense in general.   San Antonio Another club that does not surprise us with an 0-3 start. Being an expansion team is just not easy. The players are still getting to know each other, learn a new system, and they have a first-time head coach in Chuck Long who is also learning the ropes. The Gunslingers are currently 27 th  in the league in scoring and also 26 th  in points allowed. But, they are a first-year club, so their real goal is to see progress as the season progresses. We should not be so harsh on them as “newborns” in the league.   St. Louis Now we are getting to the teams that need to be concerned. The Lamar Jackson era was supposed to be one defined by the dual threat nature of the young QB, but it seems that Coach Reich is trying to force Jackson to be something he is not, a pocket passer. Jackson, in three games, has exactly 0 scripted runs. That seems like a huge missed opportunity, and for a team that is averaging only 168 yards per game passing and 13 points per game, maybe the time is now for Reich to let Jackson be Jackson. It, of course, does not help that the Skyhawks are also 29 th  in pass defense, meaning that they are so often playng from behind. They have yet to score more than 19 points and we think that while it makes sense to keep Eddie Lacy in the game, they need to be much more open to using all of Jackson’s skills.   Philadelphia Before you get all excited that we are going to pile on Matt Gutierrez (who has only played in 2 of their 3 losses), we should point out that the Stars have the 4 th best passing game at 271 yards per game. Shockingly it is the run game that has failed them. Even with Derrick “King” Henry in the backfield they are averaging only 86 yards per game. That seems absolutely criminal considering his talent. Now, before we get too despondent, we should also note that all 3 of Philly’s games have been razor thin: a 21-19 loss to the Bandits, 20-17 to the Generals, and the same 20-17 score against Washington. If they can get just a bit more out of the run game, and get Gutierrez back after his weird toe injury, they could turn this around, as they did last year, going from 0-5 to 9-7 and the division title.  Las Vegas This, even more than the Skyhawks and Stars, is the team we did not see starting off this slowly. The Vipers were so close in so many games last year that we had them pegged as a possible Wild Card, but so much seems to not be working for them. How about a run game producing only 50 yards per game? Or an inability to pull out single score games. They lost to Denver by 3, to Oakland by 2, and to Seattle by 1, in that order. That seems to indicate that this week they should tie their opponent. But Las Vegas just needs to find a way to do more with less. They are not going to be a high-flying offense, so they need to not miss on opportunities when they get them.   Murray & Lindsay Spark Gold Rush The San Diego Thunder came into their Friday night clash with Denver hoping to keep QB Josh Allen in the pocket and force him to make a few bad throws. But for that strategy to work, you also need to contain Denver’s run game, and by the looks of the game this week, that is easier said than done. The Denver Gold, perhaps anticipating San Diego’s containment strategy, did not ask Josh Allen to do much. He had some good throws, and overall his numbers were strong (18 of 23 for 192, 1 TD, 1 Int) but the focus of the Denver offense was clearly on the run game. While Allen had 23 pass attempts, the combination of DeMarco Murray, Phillip Lindsay, and Jonathan Ward produced 39 rushing attempts, and with that an even 200 yards rushing.   Murray did most of the damage between the 20’s, rushing for 122 yards on 19 carries, a 6.4 YPC average that just shredded the Thunder defense and kept drives going. Lindsay was most effective within the 20, where 11 of his 19 carries occurred, including touchdowns of 5, 5, 9, and 3 yards to give him 4 on the day. Denver’s ability to run the ball at will disrupted any attempt by San Diego to hold down the Gold offense, allowing Denver to build up a 20-6 lead at the half, and when San Diego got close at 20-23 in the 4 th , to add on 2 late Lindsay TDs to take the game by a comfortable 17 points. The game not only knocked the Thunder to 1-2, already 2 games behind division leader LA, but also demonstrated that the Gold are a team that could cause some problems, especially for teams that want them to be one-dimensional.   Sweat Secures 4 Sacks to Take League Lead While fans in Orlando certainly revere their former 10-Time USFL Sack Leader and future Hall of Famer, Calais Campbell, they are not lingering in nostalgia for the former Renegade, now Wrangler. Second year DE Montez Sweat is helping them move on. He certainly made his case this week against the arch-rival Bandits, securing 4 sacks of Dak Prescott, a bright spot in a tough 37-27 loss for the Renegades. Sweat now leads all USFL pass rushers with 6 sacks on the year, 2 ahead of a pack of players that includes Michael Bennett (OAK), Mario Edwards (ATL), Chandler Jones (CHA), and Shaquile Riddick (PIT). Just like Campbell before him, and Chris Doleman before that, Sweat is looking like another standout in a long line of Orlando pass rushers. He finished his rookie year with 17 sacks, good enough for 4 th  place in the league and only 6 behind you know who out in Arizona. This year he seems ready to take on the mantle of Orlando’s long history of outstanding edge rushing defensive ends, and that is sure to make the Renegade faithful happy rather than feeling nostalgic.   We are beginning to recognize a COVID infection pattern as it seems that many teams that have a player with a more severe symptomatic case of the virus (those lasting 2 weeks on the COVID list) are also frequently seeing a 2 nd player added. This is the case this week in Houston, LA, and Michigan. Fortunately, what we have not yet seen is a situation where a team has a massive outbreak or even an outbreak within one position group. From the surface it would appear that the team precautions and rooming assignments have been effective in avoiding a situation where all 3 QBs, TE’s or HBs are all at risk together.   As for on-field injuries, the game of football continues to produce significant injury concerns, with Dalas suffering a big blow this week, losing their starting strong safety for at least two months. The Roughnecks are not placing Dezmen Southward on IR, at least not until they get a better sense of his recovery time. Another safety, Baltimore’s James Sample, will miss at least 6 weeks with an abdominal tear, while New England will be without their veteran TE Dennis Pitta for at least 2 weeks. Here is the full report, including our weekly Covid testing results.   OUT SS        Dezmen Southward    DAL       Neck/Skull            8-12 Weeks FS           James Sample                 BAL        Abdomen              6-8 Weeks TE           Dennis Pitta                  NEN      Hamstring              2-4 Weeks LB           Josh Allen                       SEA        Ankle                     2-4 Weeks C             Joey Hunt                      NEN      Ankle                       2-4 Weeks FB          Andy Janovich             ARZ       Wrist                       1-2 Weeks WR         Randall Cobb               PHI        Knee                        1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL QB         Nick Foles                      NJ           Jammed Toe                      G            Patrick Omaneh              JAX         Ankle   QUESTIONABLE DT          Rashard Lawrence        MGN     Hip C             J. D. Walton                      ORL       Patella Tendinitis OT          Jawan Taylor                JAX         Hamstring DE          Jordan Willis                 OKL       Knee TE           Tyler Eifert                   CHI        Turf Toe   COVID-19 INACTIVE HOU     LB        Ramik Wilson     2 nd Week HOU     DE          Tim Crowder                     LA          CB          Isaiah Oliver        2 nd Week LA          FS           Jalen Mills MGN     WR         Cody Latimer         2 nd Week MGN    LB        Devin Bush        NJ           LB           Akeem Ayers    PIT         DT          Gabe Wright         2 nd Week POR      CB          A. J. Bouye                           Texas & Arizona Governors Open to Day Games in Domes The USFL came a step closer to adjusting their schedule to include afternoons as the governors of both Texas and Arizona seem to be helping pave the way for a reconsideration of using closed (and air conditioned) domed stadiums in both Houston and Phoenix to host afternoon USFL games this season. Both Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona have stated that they are in favor of exploring the use of indoor stadiums for USFL games. Currently both NRG Stadium in Houston and State Farm Stadium in Glendale are being used for USFL games, but only with their retractable roofs opened.   The USFL is in talks with the Public Health offices in both states, hoping to diversify their schedule and reduce the number of late night games for fans on the East Coast. In addition to the potential for use of closed domes for day games, there are also ongoing talks in each state about the possibility of re-examining capacity limits, with the hope of allowing some fan support by the USFL playoffs, scheduled for September and October. With hospitalization and death numbers continuing to rise across the U.S. it seems unlikely that we will see any USFL games with filled stadiums this year, but the hope is to have some capacity approved, allowing for smaller crowds in the playoff games. In the meantime, if the USFL can get approval in both Arizona and Texas, it could allow for up to 4 games per week to be held in the afternoon rather than at night, which almost certainly would help league ratings.   League & Network Meetings Produce Temporary Truce As expected, the USFL talks with ABC/ESPN, FOX, and NBC produced some changes, with schedule adjustments expected to kick in for Week 5 of the season. The talks were initiated by NBC, who had seen significantly reduced numbers for their 11pm kickoff games. With both NBC and ESPN/EFN broadcasting only 2 games per week, the question of assigning games had become a major issue, with each insisting that it should be exempted from the Arizona games which kick off at 11pm ET.   The goal for all 4 networks was to produce a schedule that would allow for regular scheduling, not variation from 8pm, 9pm, and 11pm games, while also ensuring that no network was taking a large hit on viewership by absorbing a lot of the later Arizona-based games. The proposal, which likely would require a 2 nd round of adjustments should the USFL begin to schedule afternoon games, has NBC locked into a 9pm Houston-based game each Friday and an 8pm Florida-based game on Saturday. ESPN/EFN has a similar schedule, but with their guaranteed 8pm start on Friday, with a 9pm game on Sunday. That leaves only the 11pm slot on Friday to be split between ABC and FOX, with each network also splitting the remaining 8 Saturday and Sunday games. There will be one 8pm start available on Saturday and two on Sunday, two 9pm starts on Saturday with 1 on Sunday, and all four 11pm starts between the two nights. So, as fans, what should we expect. Well, it gets just a bit simpler each week. Friday will be ESPN/EFN Friday Night Football at 8pm, NBC Friday Night Lights at 9pm, and either Fox USFL Friday or ABC Friday Football at 11pm in alternating weeks. Saturday will be NBC Saturday Night Lights at 8pm, along with either FOX or ABC also at 8pm. Both Fox and ABC will also host an 11pm game. Then, on Sunday, we will see 8pm games, one each, on ABC and FOX, then at 9pm it will be ESPN Sunday Night Football along with either ABC or FOX (whoever did not have a Friday game) and again both FOX and ABC will host 11pm games. This schedule will be in place starting in Week 5, with news on afternoon games still pending.   2020 USFL Hall of Fame Semifinalists Announced The 2020 roster of Hall of Fame semifinalists has been chosen and it is one sure to cause some heated debates. With 4 wide receivers among the 10 nominees, the list immediately will cause fans to argue for their favorite choice. Throw in a pair of linebackers, both of whom spent time together on the same squad, and a 2019 snub in safety Ed Reed, and you have a pretty deep pool. Knowing that only 5 of these 10 nominees will be chosen produces a lot of tension and a lot of room for fans and voters to go back and forth on their top choices. Let’s list the nominees and then we will give you our thoughts, more as a conversation starter than a prediction.   QB Duante Culpepper (TBY 2004-14) The former Bandit QB who led Tampa Bay to the 2011 league title returns in his 2 nd  year of eligibility. Culpepper, a 4-time All-USFL selection and the 2011 Playoff MVP has no other QBs in the pool this year, unlike last year when Jake Plummer garnered near unanimous support for the Hall.   WR Steve Smith (PHI 2001-10, OHIO 2011-15) The first of four wideouts on this year’s list, Smith was a stalwart for the Stars for a decade before being traded to Ohio. He retired with over 1,100 receptions, 15,000 yards and 94 touchdowns, but the diminutive receiver who played with a chip on his shoulder will have a lot of competition in his first year of eligibility WR Hines Ward (ARZ 1998-2001, MGN 2002-15) Perhaps the frontrunner from the WR group, Hines Ward played 18 seasons, amassing nearly 1,300 receptions for 18,972 yards and added 121 touchdowns. The 8-time All-USFL wideout for the Wranglers and Panthers seems a pretty sure bet to make the Class of 2020.  WR Deion Branch (WSH 2002-15) Underappreciated in his time, Branch was only nominated to an All-USFL team twice in his 13-season career despite amassing over 1,000 receptions, 13,500 yards, and 79 touchdowns. He may again suffer from underappreciation in this strong group of wide receiver candidates for the Hall.   WR Peerless Price (DEN 1999-2013) In his 3 rd  year of eligibility, things don’t get any easier for Peerless Price’s HOF prospects. The lifelong member of the Gold did help Denver win a title in 2000 and was nominated to the All-USFL team. His 1,246 receptions, 14,495 yards and 80 TDs are all competitive numbers, but does he have the swagger that others bring with them?   DE Justin Smith (LA 2001-04, TEX 2005, OAK 2006-15) The only edge rusher in this year’s pool, Smith played for 3 different teams, making his name mostly in his time with Oakland. A 3-time All-USFL nominee, Smith retired with 200 sacks to his name, good enough for 6 th All-Time in the USFL. He also had 128 tackles for loss among his 6-9 career tackles and forced 34 fumbles, all impressive totals.   LB Joey Porter (POR/LV 1999-2015) The Thunder’s all-time greatest linebacker, and current LB Coach of the NFL Steelers, Porter played 17 seasons in both Portland and Las Vegas. When he retired he had amassed 1,443 tackles (277 for a loss), 57 sacks, 20 forced fumbles, 15 recoveries, and 13 picks. A fierce hitter and one of the best run stuffers at the position, Porter was awarded with All-USFL honors 5 times in his illustrious career.  LB Mark Simoneau (POR/LV 2000-06, WSH 2007-10, POR 2011-14, ORL 2015) Another former Thunder LB, Mark Simoneau moved on to Washington, returned to Portland with the Stags, and retired after 1 season in Orlando. Over his 16 seasons, Simoneau was nominated to the All-USFL team twice, retiring with 1,261 tackles (134 for loss). He also had 37 forced fumbles, recovering 17, and added 36 sacks and 16 career interceptions.  CB Quentin Jammer (TEX 2002-03, PHI 2004-13, BIR 2014) In his 2 nd  year of eligibility, Jammer played most of his career in Philadelphia, where he was named All-USFL five times. He retired with over 1,000 tackles, with 343 pass defenses and 32 career picks to his name.   FS Ed Reed (WSH 2002-14) Another 2 nd  year nominee, many felt his being passed over last year was a true crime. Reed was an intimidating presence for the Federals over his 13-season career, but without a league title to his name, he missed out on last year’s strong group. Reed retired with 562 tackles, 27 sacks, 35 interceptions, and 4 All-USFL nominations.   From these 10 candidates, who do we see as the most likely choices to join the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well, we are going to start off with the player most were upset was left off the 2019 list, former Federals’ safety Ed Reed. He is not a numbers guy, which may have hurt him last year, but if you ask anyone who went up against him during his time with the Federals, they will tell you he was a nightmare to face and certainly one of the league’s best at the position. So, after Ed Reed, who do we see making the hall. We like Hines Ward from among the 4 wideout choices, though we are also somewhat sympathetic to Peerless Price in his 3 rd  year of eligibility. We just see Ward as the most impactful of the four, but we could see votes also going to Price and to Steve Smith. We like Joey Porter as a first-year nominee, with stronger numbers than former teammate Matt Simoneau. And don’t be surprised if Justin Smith gets in as well. In an era dominated by Calais Campbell, Smith’s numbers, reaching 200 sacks, is certainly nothing to sneeze at. The hottest debate among our pool was on QB Daunte Culpepper. Yes, he led a prolific offense, especially in that 2011 title year, but his Bandits were very much an up and down team during his 11 years in the league, which might hold him back among voters.   Feel free to debate your choices. The HOF voters will convene in August and we should get our list of finalists for what we hope is an in-person induction ceremony in October.   Week 4, the one-quarter mark of the year, kicks off with a Beltway Brawl as Washington and Baltimore, both sitting at 2-1, battle at Raymond James Stadium. We then head to Houston where the Chicago Machine take on the Memphis Showboats in another battle of 2-1 clubs. The nightcap could be a nasty one as the Thunder face the Invaders in a California Clash (live from Arizona).   Saturday gives us two East Coast rivalry games as the NY-Boston rivalry kicks off with the first matchup of the Steamrollers and Generals. Later on, in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium it is a SE Division clash, and a battle of unbeatens as Tampa Bay and Atlanta meet, both sitting at 3-0. Later that night it is desperation time for the Las Vegas Vipers as they face the 2-1 Roughnecks at ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium while, across the state in Tucson we have Oklahoma facing Denver in another SW Division clash.   Sunday brings us 0-3 Philadelphia hoping to catch a break against Orlando. Another 0-3 club, the Jacksonville Bulls, will be in Tampa Bay to face the Charlotte Monarchs. At 9pm it is another great battle of unbeatens as the Michigan Panther defense will try to cool off the red-hot New Orleans Breaker passing game. We end the weekend with two late-night games for our East Coast fans as we get a Cascade Clash between Seattle and Portland from a very different climate as the two face off in the desert climate of Tucson. LA and Arizona give us our final battle of 3-0 clubs when the two battle in Glendale, a comfortable home for the Wranglers even if fans won’t be present inside State Farm Stadium.   FRIDAY 8pm ET        Washington (2-1) @ Baltimore (2-1)           Tampa             NBC 9pm ET          Chicago (2-1) @ Memphis (2-1)                   NRG                 ABC 11pm ET         San Diego (1-2) @ Oakland (1-2)                  Glendale         ESPN/EFN   SATURDAY 8pm ET        New England (1-2) @ New Jersey (2-1)        Gainesville     ABC 8pm ET          Tampa Bay (3-0) @ Atlanta (3-0)                       Orlando         FOX 9pm ET         St. Louis (0-3) @ Houston (1-2)                      TDECU            ABC 9pm ET         Pittsburgh (2-1) @ Birmingham (1-2)               Rice                 FOX 11pm ET         Las Vegas (0-3) @ Dallas (2-1)                          Tempe            NBC 11pm ET         Oklahoma (1-2) @ Denver (2-1)                       Tucson             FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET       Orlando (1-2) @ Philadelphia (0-3)                 Orlando        ESPN/EFN 8pm ET          Jacksonville (0-3) @ Charlotte (1-2)                  Tampa             FOX 9pm ET           Michigan (3-0) @ New Orleans (3-0)                NRG               ABC 9pm ET           Ohio (1-2) @ San Antonio (0-3)                         Rice                  FOX 11pm ET         Seattle (1-2) @ Portland (1-2)                           Tucson            ABC 11pm ET          Los Angeles (3-0) @ Arizona (3-0)                    Glendale         FOX

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hard to believe that Phillip Lindsay's 4-TD day did not even get him listed as an option for POTW, but with fewer than 80 yards rushing perhaps the voters were not keen on rewarding "vulturing" of short TDs. The award this week will go instead to Dallas HB Samaje Perine, who turned in his best day as a pro with 123 yards and 2 touchdowns to help the Roughnecks improve to 2-1 in the SW Division.

Week Two is in the books and while we cannot say that things are returning to a sense of normalcy, what we can say is that games are being played, teams are defining themselves, and the sights and sounds of spring football are back. Week Two gave us some big rivalry games, some last-second swings, and some surprises as well. We also are beginning to see teams trying to figure out how to balance team cohesion, player support, and strict pandemic guidelines. Our feature article will look at the first cracks in the system as teams are having to devote time and energy to policing their own players, particularly when it comes to team facilities and down time. We will break down that story, look at all 15 games from an action-packed week, discuss a couple of interesting QB situations, and give you the latest as the league and the networks try to find ways to improve what has been a rough start to the year with the all night-game schedule. It’s all right here, so don’t wander off. Teams Find Policing Players a New Reality When the league proposed a season schedule in which all 30 USFL franchises would be holed up in hotels, practicing and playing games in empty stadiums, and spending the better part of 4 months largely isolated, there were many concerns about how this would impact the game. Health issues and how to handle potential COVID-19 infections were of course considered, but one aspect of the unique hub-city-bubble-game format which may not have received enough attention was how teams would address player behavior and conduct violations.   Perhaps they should have anticipated that there could be problems. After all, we are talking about a lot of restless young men in their early 20’s and even some restless older men in their 30’s. This was a group that was not accustomed to being sequestered, kept largely away from their friends and family, forced to spend nearly 24 hours per day with only their teammates. Something was bound to give. Well, it took only 2 weeks for teams to start discovering that keeping 53 men cloistered in their hotels was not going to happen without a few hitches, but without leaguewide guidance on how to handle discipline and mandated seclusion, teams seem to be finding their own ways, some far more restrictive than others.   The Baltimore Blitz became the first team this week to suspend a player specifically for violating COVID and semi-quarantine guidelines. Rookie WR Michael Pittman Jr. will not play in the Blitz’s Week 3 game against the expansion New England Steamrollers after getting busted outside the team hotel on Tuesday night. It appears that Pittman was at a local watering hole in Orlando on Tuesday night. While many venues are temporarily closed, there are some bars, particularly in Florida, where the governor has resisted calls to shutter restaurants, bars and clubs for fear of killing the state’s tourism business, which remain open. Pittmann apparently found one and was apparently ratted out by a hotel employee who recognized the Blitz player, calling back to the hotel to notify the Blitz staff. When Pittman returned to the hotel, Coach Caldwell was waiting for him. The frustrated coach decided that a 1-game suspension for violating team policy was in order and Pittman will be sidelined when the Blitz kick off this weekend.   A similar situation in Galveston, Texas, when DE Charles Harris was found to have violated the Skyhawks’ hotel protocol. Apparently unsatisfied with the hotel dinner on Monday, Harris left the hotel to walk through the drive through at a local fast-food establishment and was found sitting outside the undisclosed restaurant eating a second dinner. Perhaps it was the nature of the infraction, or the sheer luck that the restaurant in question had no indoor seating, but Coach Reich rather than suspending Harris opted to demote him. Harris will be suited up against Pittsburgh this week but will not get the start and will apparently have his snap count reduced.   The one coach we expected would be coming down hard on player transgressions has apparently done just that as Ohio’s Tom Coughlin implemented 11pm bed checks for all players. In a move we usually hear only for college players, the Glory players are expected to be in their rooms for the night when bed check is run by the coaching staff. To date there are no reports of violations, but there have certainly been plenty of grumbles coming out of College Station as Glory players seem none to pleased to be getting a treatment more typical for a high school field trip than a pro football team.   A story with a very different spin occurred in Flagstaff, where the Vipers allowed LB Blake Martinez to leave the team facility and drive the 250 miles back to Las Vegas to be present as his wife gave birth. Martinez was subjected to multiple COVID tests before departure, upon arrival in Las Vegas, and then again upon his return to the club’s hotel in Flagstaff 2 days later, but the short trip allowed Martinez to be present for the birth of a son. No word on whether Martinez, an avid collector and seller of rare Pokemon cards, picked up any new merch while he was away.    ORLANDO RENEGADES 20  CHARLOTTE MONARCHS 19 For the second week in a row the Orlando Renegades feature in our Game of the Week. Last week it was an overtime loss to expansion New England, this week it is a fantastic finish against division rival Charlotte that is highlighted. In a game that saw two surprising 100-yard performances from unheralded tailbacks, the game was not decided until 59:35 had been expended, with Orlando garnering a 1-point win.   Both the Renegades and the Monarchs came into the game at 0-1, and both came in with questions after Week 1 losses. For Orlando, defensive struggles against the expansion Steamrollers had fans wondering if the much-hyped Ron Rivera defense was not all it was cracked up to be. For Monarch fans, and their rookie head coach Vance Joseph, the concern was a lack of offensive production against Baltimore. Their Week Two divisional clash would not necessarily remove those two concerns, but what it did is show that both of these teams would be willing to fight for 60 minutes to earn a win.   The game started slowly, as many do, with both teams serving up 3-and-outs to open the first. Both would find more success on their second drives, with Charlotte taking the ball all the way to the Orlando 6 before a false start on 3 rd and goal put them at 3 rd  and goal from the 11. When Mitch Trubisky threw the ball out of the endzone to avoid pressure, it gave Orlando a moral victory, holding Charlotte to a field goal after coming so close. The Renegades responded with a 14-play drive that took up almost 8 minutes of game time and finished with TE Crocket Gilmore catching a 3-yard TD toss from Russell Wilson for the first TD of the game. The Orlando drive featured a player that few thought would be pivotal to the game, but who ended the day with 113 yards on only 11 carries. Ty Montgomery, a part-time back, part-time receiver in the NFL, clearly had a better day than Orlando’s starting HB, Knile Davis, who managed only 10 yards on the day. He would play an even larger role later on in the game.   Following the Orlando score, Charlotte too put up a long drive, going 77 yards in 12 plays before the Monarchs’ own surprise star for the day, HB Nyheim Hines, took the ball in from 20 yards out, juking past the initial tackle attempt and then racing down the sideline. Hines, who would see significant action due to lingering tendonitis for starter Latavius Murray, made the most of his shot, rushing for 119 yards on 22 carries and putting Charlotte up 10-7 just 3 minutes into the second quarter. That lead, however, would not hold. On their next drive, Orlando came right back down the field, again using Montgomery to surprising success. Following a nice pass from Wilson to TE David Njoku placed the ball on the Charlotte 9, Montgomery took it in on a well-designed pitch play that had two pulling guards out in front of the slight back.   The Montgomery score put Orlando on top 14-10, and that is the score that held into halftime as Charlotte’s Stephen Earl would have a chance at a chip shot field goal as time ran down, but a poor hold forced punter Jeff Locke to give up on the kick and try to throw the ball to the endzone. Locke’s impromptu pass did not find a receiver and the two teams went into the half with Orlando holding a tenuous 14-10 lead.   Coming out of the halftime break, Charlotte seemed to have made the better adjustments, finding room for Hines on the ground and getting connections from Trubisky to both Justin Blackmon and Hakeem Nicks on their first drive, producing a field goal that pulled the Monarchs to within 1. It would prove to be the only score of the 3 rd  quarter as both teams lost their offensive momentum after second half adjustments were made. The stalemate held into the 4 th , with 5 consecutive drives producing punts. Charlotte got the ball with 5:02 left in the half, and something had to give. What gave was the interior coverage of the Orlando safeties. On 2nd and 4, Charlotte’s Trubisky faked the ball to Hines. Safety D. J. Swearinger blitzed on the play, leaving only Justin Simmons in deep coverage. That proved fatal as the blitz did not get to Trubisky and the Charlotte QB found TE Brandon Pettigrew on a seam route. The big TE used a nice straight-arm to avoid the tackle from Simmons and 62-yards later he was in the endzone, and Charlotte was going for 2. The conversion failed, a play that would haunt the Monarchs.   The Renegades, who had been held scoreless since the midway point of the 2 nd quarter, had one drive left in them. The offense came onto the field with 1:54 left to play and 2 time outs available. Russell Wilson needed to get to work, or at least that is what the Monarchs believed. With a brilliant coaching call, the Renegades lined up with 3 WRs on 1 st  and 10 from their own 20, and with the defense clearly lining up to defend the pass, a perfectly executed delay draw caught Charlotte napping. Montgomery took advantage of the deep shell the Monarchs had set up, breaking through the line and racing 32 yards before an ankle tackle from Charlotte CB Ronald Darby brought him down. That one play, taking barely 6 seconds, vaulted the Renegades from their own 20 to the Charlotte 48 with nearly 1:50 still on the clock. Orlando knew they had time, so there was no need to pass on every play. They mixed in 2 more runs along with 3 passes before calling time out on the Charlotte 9-yard line with 31 seconds left to play.   Orlando failed on first down as Wilson picked out WR Brashad Perriman for an endzone corner catch, but the ball was just a bit too high and just out of bounds. On 2 nd down he went for a more secure option, finding his TE over the middle. David Njoku caught the ball at the 1, but with his defender trailing, even a good tackle from LB A. J. Johnson allowed Njoku to fall into the endzone and give Orlando a 20-19 lead. The Renegades also went for two, hoping to go up a field goal, but they too failed to convert and with 25 seconds left, the Renegades held a slim 1-point lead.   Charlotte took the kickoff with a fair catch to save time, placing themselves at their own 17-yard line. With only 1 time out left, Mitch Trubisky would need to go for large chunks to get the Monarchs into range for kicker Stephen Earl. That urgency did not work well for the Monarchs, with Trubisky missing on both 1 st and 2 nd  down. He hit HB Darwin Thompson for a short gain on 3 rd down but then failed again to find a receiver on 4 th  and 6. Orlando took a knee, and the clock ran out with the Renegades on top. The two teams had both played far better than in Week 1, but only one could claim victory and on this day it was Orlando moving up to 1-1, while Charlotte dropped to 0-2.   PHILADELPHIA 17   NEW JERSEY 20 The Generals take the first of this year’s Turnpike Tussles, thanks to a huge 2 nd quarter that provided all their scoring on the day. After a scoreless 1 st quarter, the Generals exploded for 20 points in the 2 nd , powered by a 40-yard TD toss to Muhamed Sanu and Maurice Jones-Drew’s rushing prowess. MJD finished the day with 147 on the day, averaging 7.7 YPC along the way. Shut out in the first half, Coach Harbaugh swapped in P. J. Walker for the ineffective Matt Gutierrez. Walker rallied the Stars with 2 second half TDs from Derrick Henry, a 6-yard run and a 6-yard catch, but it was not enough as New Jersey hung on to move to 2-0 and send the Stars to 0-2. POTG:  New Jersey HB Maurice Jones-Drew: 19 Att, 147 Yds, 1 TD   NEW ORLEANS 24  HOUSTON 17 The Breakers, on a huge game from Geno Smith, put 24 points on the board in the 2 nd half to wie out a 10-0 deficit and claim a huge divisional win. Smith threw for 369 on the day, with both Justin Jefferson (107) and Jordy Nelson (109) going over 100 yards. The Breakers’ third receiver, slot man Tyler Lockett, brought in both of Smith’s 2 TD tosses. Houston was in the game in large part due to a strong first half from Carlos Hyde, who would finish the day with 134 yards and a TD, but with 1:13 left to play when the Breakers took the lead 24-17, Houston needed a quick drive and instead found Colt McCoy’s 2 nd  pick of the night, both to CB Tra’Davious White. POTG:  Breaker QB Geno Smith: 14/22, 369 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int   SAN DIEGO 0   ARIZONA 34 After suffering a 41-10 blowout loss in the 2019 playoffs, San Diego was hoping to flip the script on the Wranglers, but Arizona again proved to be more than a match for the Thunder, humiliating them again with a 34-point shut out victory over the Pacific Division champions. This one was ugly from the beginning as Arizona outgained San Diego 432-266 and held the Thunder to only 50 yards rushing. David Carr threw for 3 scores and 307 yards while the combo of Carey and Crowell combined for 125 on the ground as the Wranglers left no doubt who was the best in the West this week. POTG:  Wrangler WR Victor Cruz: 6 Rec, 121 Yds, 1 TD   WASHINGTON 20  NEW ENGLAND 10 A hard crash into reality for the Steamrollers as they struggled to overcome division rival Washington. The game was close through 3 quarters and it seemed the expansion Steamrollers might again pull out a close game, but the 4 th quarter belonged to Washington as Ryan Nassib connected with Tyreek Hill for a stunning 73-yard pitch, catch, and run. Nassib added the 2-point conversion on a bootleg, giving the Feds a 7-point advantage. They added a late field goal to lock it up as both teams now move to 1-1 on the year. POTG:  Federals WR Tyreek Hill: 6 Rec, 112 Yds, 1 TD   SAN ANTONIO 21   MEMPHIS 27 Memphis rebounded from their Week One loss and made it 0-2 for the expansion clubs in Week Two by setting Todd Gurley free for 142 yards rushing in Week 2. After a week when no team had a 100-yard rusher, Memphis contributed to a Week 2 that saw 7 teams put a back over the century mark. With TD tosses from Lynch to Robert Woods and Dallas Goedert in the first half, the Showboats took a 17-0 lead into the half and held on as San Antonio rallied in the 2 nd half with Marshawn Lynch, Julius Thomas, and rookie Jaelen Reagor helping the Gunslingers pull to within 21-24 before a Lewis Ward field goal capped the win for the ‘Boats. POTG:  Memphis LB NaVorro Bowman: 8 Tck, 2 Int   PITTSBURGH 7   MICHIGAN 28 The Panthers used a dominant 1 st  half to establish a 26-0 lead on Pittsburgh, with LeVeon Bell looking much more like his 4-time rushing leader self as he averaged 7.7 YPC on his way to 170 on the day. Add in another 71 yards from Alexander Mattison (most of it in the latter stages of the game) and the Panthers easilyhold off an error-prone Maulers squad. Michigan also had some issues with self inflicted wounds, with Kirk Cousins throwing 2 picks, Martellus Bennett fumbling early in the 3 rd , and backup Tyler Thigpen (who came in late) also getting a ball tipped for a pick, but the game was always in Michigan’s hands despite the 4 turnovers. POTG:  Michigan HB LeVeon Bell: 22 Att, 170 Yds, 1 TD   SEATTLE 17   DALLAS 29 Dallas dropped Seattle to 0-2 thanks to a balanced attack that saw Perine & Sims rush for 108 and Josh Freeman looking solid with a 22 of 44 game and 307 yards passing. The defense also looked much improved as they held Knowshon Moreno to only 65 yards. Brent Hundley struggled, particularly on 3 rd  down, when Dallas’s pressure had the Dragons go 0 for 11. The Roughnecks could have run up the score, but settled for field goals on 5 drives, 3 of them in the redzone. POTG:  Roughneck QB Josh Freeman: 22/44, 307 Yds, 1TD, 1 Int   LOS ANGELES 17  DENVER 6 The Express bent but did not break as Denver outgained them 369-195 but could not turn yards into points. A Jalen Mills pick-six of Josh Allen early in the 4 th turned a slim 7-6 halftime lead into a 14-6 advantage and LA simply did not allow the Gold to get back into it with a drive late in the game. Reggie Bush rushed for 89 yards and Jason Whitten had a TD for the Express, but the key to the game was LA’s ability to end promising Denver drives before the Gold could get in scoring range. POTG:  Express FS Jalen Mills: 1 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   TAMPA BAY 16  JACKSONVILLE 3 The Bulls have scored a grand total of 9 points in their first 2 games, once again looking largely impotent on offense as they gained only 203 yards against the Bandits. Tampa Bay, for their part, got 114 yards from Dez Bryant, a combined 114 yards from Dalvin Cook and Matt Breida and 2 Teddy Bridgewater picks to help hold down the Bulls. Not the explosive Bandit offense we saw last year, but enough to move to 2-0 on the year as they down their in-state rivals. POTG:  Bandit LB Dont’a Hightower: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   ATLANTA 27  BALTIMORE 23 The Fire again looked much improved over 2019 as they edged out the Blitz, using a 17-point 4 th  quarter to overtake Baltimore and send them packing. The final quarter saw Aaron murray go 12 of 14 as NFL import Jordan Howard and rookie FB Reggie Gilliam both scored on goalline runs to end well-orchestrated drives in the final quarter. Baltimore before that had looked solid, getting a pick-six from Jabari Greer and 87 yards from Josh Jacobs, but their 4 th quarter was ugly, with both a fumble and a pick on two of their 4 possessions. POTG:  Fire DE Mario Edwards: 5 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   ST. LOUIS 13  OHIO 19 A tale of two halves as St. Louis dominated the first half, adding a field goal early in the 3 rd  to take a 13-0 lead, but something clicked for Ohio in the 2 nd  half as their defense stymied St. Louis on their remaining 6 possessoins, while the Glory got 2 Delone Carter TD runs, part of a game that saw the Ohio backs combine for 166 yards, most of it in the final 20 minutes of game action. Those two scores, combined with two Robbie Gould field goals created a 19-point swing that gave Ohio the win. POTG:  Ohio WR Terry McLaurin: 7 Rec, 129 Yds   CHICAGO 24   BIRMINGHAM 35 Chicago gave up two Cam Newton TD runs (from 20 and 2 yards out) and 2 passing TDs as the Stallions looked more balanced and more dangerous in Week 2. Hunter Henry came up big with 2 scores and the HB combo of Tate and Burkhead put up a respectable 76 yards as Birmingham took a 21-10 lead into the half and matched Chicago score for score in the 2 nd  half to take the win. Two picks from Sam Bradford and a fumble by Jeremy Hill helped Birmingham upend the Machine. POTG:  Stallion QB Cam Newton: 14/28, 209 Yds, 2TD, 0 Int, 12 Att, 24 Yds, 2 TD   OAKLAND 16  LAS VEGAS 14 Tom Brady earns his first win in Invader gold & sky, completing 16 of 29 for 131 and a TD to Taylor Gabriel, but it was the Oakland defense that put up the big numbers, sacking Matt McGloin three times, picking him off twice, forcing a fumble in the red zone, and holding Las Vegas’s lead rusher, Montario Hardesty, to only 6 yards on the day. POTG:  Invader DE Michael Bennett: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR   PORTLAND 21  OKLAHOMA 16 The Stags get a 63-yard pick-six from CB Taron Johnson on the game’s opening drive, and it did not get much better for Mason Rudolph after that. The Oklahoma QB was sacked 3 times, picked off again, and held to only 4 of 13 on third down. Meanwhile, the Stags got their run game going, with Doug Martin racking up 113 yards and a TD on 17 carries. Brandon Cooks also had a good game, catching 4 for 100 yards and a TD of his own as Portland evens their record at 1-1. POTG:  Stags HB Doug Martin: 17 Att, 113 Yds, 1 TD   Geno Smith’s Big Easy Big Numbers 2020 has been good to Geno Smith. He is leading the league in passing with over 700 yards in only 2 games (342 in the opener and 369 this week against Houston). He has got one of the most exciting rookies in WR Justin Jefferson lined up opposite a regular All-USFL wideout in Jordy Nelson, oh, and if both somehow are covered, he can dump the ball to either TE Coby Fleener or slot receiver Tyler Lockett, who scored twice this week. After being cut loose by the NY Jets after a rough 4-year career, and after lasting only 1 year with both the Giants and Chargers, Smith found himself in the USFL as a bit of an afterthought signing by the Breakers. He earned the starting job over veteran backup Pat White after Drew Brees’s retirement. His first year was a bit up and down statistically, but he managed to get the Breakers to 10-6 and a Wild Card berth. This year things are looking even brighter as Smith is this week’s POTW and is looking like a man who knows just how many weapons he has around him.   Coach Lathon has had nothing but good things to say about Smith and the Breaker offense this year. In two games they have proven they can find open receivers against even solid defenses like Houston’s, and now a game up on Houston, New Orleans can dream of reclaiming the Southern Division title. There is a long way to go, and there will certainly be tests ahead, but Geno Smith is feeling very comfortable in the Big Easy, and that may be bad news for the rest of the division.   Bell Welcomes Maulers Back with Big Day The Maulers find themselves back in the Central Division after a 6-year hiatus in the Northeast. After a solid Week 1 Outing, the Maulers were also feeling quite good about their team this year, bu they ran into a buzzsaw in the Michigan Panthers this week. The key player in Michigan’s decisive 28-7 victory was exactly who you would expect it to be, their perennial All-USFL halfback LeVeon Bell. After a solid but uninspiring 64 yards in the opener against Birmingham, Bell proved that even with defenses stacked against him, there will still be games when he just cannot be stopped.   Against the Maulers, who very much tried the same box-stacking tactics as Birmingham, Bell showed that when he is on, it just does not matter what defense you throw at him. The Michigan back averaged over 7 yards per carry despite the 8- and 9-man fronts. He scored on a 12-yard run, but also had a pair of highlight reel runs, including a 52-yarder that included no fewer than 7 Mauler players laying a hand on him before he finally went down. So, for those who posted concerns about Bell after his Week One outing, we think we can say without doubt that he is not yet beyond his prime. He is just getting warmed up.   Tre Herndon Makes it 2 in a Row The Maulers may have been a bit manhandled this week, but one player who stood out against Michigan was cornerback Tre Herndon. The unassuming and largely unknown Pittsburgh corner is having himself one heck of a start to the year. He has been named as a POTW candidate both weeks this season, first for his 9-tackle, 2 interception game against Memphis, and again this week, even in defeat, thanks to a 4-tackle, 1 forced fumble (with recovery), and 1 interception/pick six game. Herndon, who had only 2 career picks in his first two years with the Washington Federals, came over to the Maulers in free agency and already has 3 picks in just his first two games wearing the purple and orange. He is still listed as the number two corner behind Rasul Douglas, but if he keeps playing like this, teams may well decide to avoid throwing his way and take their chances with Douglas instead.   Gutierrez to Miss Action for Dumbest Reason Ever When Philadelphia came out for the 2 nd  half and we saw Matt Gutierrez sitting on the bench while P. J. Walker took over the Stars’ offense, the assumption was that Harbaugh had benched his starter in an effort to get a spark for a Stars team that was down 20-0 to the Generals. And that may be partially true, but what has come out since then, particularly in follow up to Gutierrez being cited on this week’s injury list, is that Gutierrez apparently also suffered an injury to his big toe. Now, what is fascinating is that even combing through all the Philadelphia offensive plays from the game against New Jersey, there is no indication that Gutierrez suffered an injury in game play. That means he either injured his toe during halftime or at some point post-game.   We have no definitive evidence, but the rumor running around (and this is one we have heard whispered within the Stars’ organization, not just fan speculation) is that Gutierrez was notified of his benching at the half and may have tried to take his anger out on a piece of locker room furniture. It is nearly impossible to determine if the story is true, but what we do know is that the longstanding starter for the Stars did not take another snap in the game, and is now listed as out at least 1 week with an undisclosed “toe injury”. What exactly happened may never be known, but what we are seeing in Philadelphia could well be the beginning of a QB controversy, one fans have said should have been addressed this offseason.   Seattle Swings Deal for QB Speaking of QB controversies, the injury to starter Jacoby Brissett, who was added to the season-ending IR this week, along with an 0-2 start have made the Dragons a bit desperate. They will likely continue to start former General Brent Hundley, but this week they made a deal with the Chicago Machine to bring in another option. Chicago, happy with Sam Bradford as their starter and feeling pretty good with former Northwestern star Mike Kafka as their number two, agreed to send former draft pick Trevor Siemian to the Dragons.   Siemian at one point was seen as the future starter for the Machine, but he simply never developed as Chicago had hoped. He got a few starts in his first few years in the league, including 7 games as a rookie, but he just never put together enough strong games to take over as the starter. With the arrival of Sam Bradford, Siemian was confined to backup duty, and Chicago was even wavering between him and Kafka for the 2 nd  position. He now heads to the Dragons, who likely will test him out to see if he will supplant Brad Gradkowski as the 2 nd  stringer. Should something happen to Hundley, or if Hundley continues to struggle to move the Dragon offense, we may see Siemian get another shot. As for Chicago, they pick up a 3 rd  round pick for their former QB, a pick Seattle had received in an earlier trade with the Oklahoma Outlaws. A better week on the COVID list, though perhaps not for Portland, where Marcus Mariota is not going to be reinstated for Week 3, or for Michigan, where two key players, CB Dre Kirkpatrick and lead receiver Cody Latimer are out this week. Overall we did see fewer players added to the list and fewer still who did not clear protocols in time to come back after 1 week away. Both of those are good signs that the league’s testing program and bubble protocols are largely working (look at our “Big Story” for a few other issues tied to player conduct related to these rules.   As for football injuries, we have two more players whose injuries could spark an IR placement, though neither Arizona nor Charlotte have yet to make that decision after the broken wrist suffered by Wrangler CB Blessaun Austin or Monarch Jonathan Cooper’s neck injury. We also have a pretty sizable list of injuries that will require time off as well as a few names on our Doubtful and Questionable list, including the mystery injury to Philadelphia QB Matt Gutierrez and a possible issue for Houston HB Carlos Hyde as he dislocated his index finger late in the game against New Orleans.   OUT CB          Blessuan Austin        ARZ       Wrist               8-12 Weeks OG         Jonathan Cooper            CHA      Neck               8-12 Weeks FS           James Sample                 BAL        Abdomen        6-8 Weeks CB          Sean Smith                       PIT         Neck                 6-8 Weeks OG         Chris Lindstrom              NJ           Knee                4-6 Weeks C             Joey Hunt                        NEN      Ankle               2-4 Weeks WR         Reuben Randle                NOR      Hand                1-2 Weeks QB         Matt Gutierrez                 PHI        Toe                   1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL WR         Jaelen Hurd                   JAX         Knee DE          Jordan Willis                OKL       Patella   QUESTIONABLE HB         Carlos Hyde                    HOU     Dislocated Finger TE           Tyler Eifert                        CHI        Turf Toe OG         Dakota Dozier                 JAX         Foot WR         Kendrick Bourne             NOR      Ankle HB         Latavius Murray              CHA      Knee inflammation   COVID-19 INACTIVE HOU     LB           Ramik Wilson   LA          CB          Isaiah Oliver NJ           G            Danny Isidora   MGN     CB          Dre Kirkpatrick MGN     WR         Cody Latimer PIT         DT          Gabe Wright                      POR      QB         Marcus Mariota               2 nd  Week SDG      WR         Marques Colston            2 nd  Week WSH     DT          Quinnen Williams     2 nd  Week   USFL to Meet with Network Executives as NBC Cries Foul Two weeks into the experimental Covid-induced hub city model for the 2020 USFL season and already we are seeing friction between the league and its television broadcast partners. NBC in particular is expressing concern about its two night games each week, and the fact that with only 2 games per week it is the network being shifted around the schedule each week, with 8pm starts one night, 9pm or 11pm another night and no regularity to the schedule. NBC has asked to sit down with the other broadcast companies, FOX and ABC/ESPN/EFN to try to make adjustments on the fly.   While it seems no one is blaming the USFL for the disappointing television numbers after 2 weeks, since all are glad to sports programming at all, but the somewhat slapdash scheduling has proven problematic, as you would expect, as have the 11pm starts from Arizona, when most of the Eastern and Central time zones are headed to bed, even on Friday and Saturday nights.   We expect NBC to ask for 2 set timeslots, perhaps a Friday game from the Eastern hub at 8pm and a Saturday Central game from the Texas hub. That, of course puts ESPN at a disadvantage, since they would be locked out of those two timeslots, but they could, in theory, switch up and take 9pm on Friday and 8pm on Sunday, a timeslot that has gotten solid numbers compared to the later starts on Sunday. Then, of course, we have ABC and FOX who are not going to be pleased at all about rotating the 11pm game on Saturday, but who may be satisfied if it means guaranteed 8pm games on Saturday and a rotating 8pm game on Sunday.   The three groups are expected to meet with the USFL this week, and all three are saying that they are not demanding a change to the excusively 8pm (local) game schedule, but that they are certainly open to other options if the league prefers to mix up the schedule a bit. What is primarily on the line is the idea of creating a more stable week-to-week schedule so that, for example, NBC and ESPN can advertise their programming at the same time week to week.   League to Explore Afternoon Games in Phoenix & Houston In a follow up to the story above, word inside the USFL is that the league is already looking for ways to break out of the current schedule in which all 15 games are played at night. Both the Houston and Phoenix hubs have the option of one retractable dome stadium apiece (Houston’s NRG Stadium and Glendale’s State Farm Stadium). It appears that the league is already speaking with state officials in both Texas and Arizona to allow for games played with the roofs closed in those two stadiums. That, along with ample air conditioning, would allow for games to be played in the afternoon on both Saturdays and Sundays. If approved, we could see as many as 4 games per week shifted from 9pm and 11pm eastern time to a much more palatable time such as 4pm ET.   Of course the issue everyone is hesitant to downplay is the issue of recycled air in the domed stadiums and the possibility of spread of the virus in that setting. With a lot of the science still out, any plan to use indoor facilities, even with fans absent, will likely require approval not only from each state’s public health offices, but from the USFLPA as well.  But, if approved, it could create a 4 th timeslot, which would go a long way to making all 4 broadcast partners happier than they are at present.   Players Union Concerned About Team Restrictions Our Big Story this week was about player conduct, team rules, and the issues teams are having with trying to police up to 63 players at a time. From the position of the USFLPA, the infantilization of USFL players, with curfews, bed checks, contact restrictions, and constant testing, is not a sustainable model. Representatives of the union on each team have been reporting dissatisfaction with the limits on player movement, the “nanny state” of coaches and team officials restricting their ability to experience anything other than practice, training, physical therapy, team meals and down time in the restrictive team bubbles. While all parties recognize that for most of us, leaving home is also a very limited opportunity and reserved for necessity, but it seems that the union is hearing from a lot of players that the restrictions are too pervasive and that some degree of self-control should be expected from players, rather than constant monitoring and checks from team officials.   So much seems to depend on changes in public health advising, and it is possible that as the season progresses, more public engagement, less restrictive closures and gathering limits will start to take shape across the country and the 3 states where the USFL hubs are located, but for now, the union has a lot of input coming in, but not a lot of solutions for how to balance safety and player freedom.   Week 3 kicks off on Friday with two great rivalry games from the South (region, not division) with Orlando and Tampa Bay playing a neutral site game in Gainsville (FOX), while an hour later fans can tune in on NBC to see the “Great Southern Tailgate” matchup of Birmingham and Memphis, though fans this year will have to smoke their own ribs and pulled pork at home since tailgating is not permitted in either city (and the teams are playing in Houston). In the late slot we will see 2019 playoff teams battle as the Thunder face the Gold.   On Saturday it is back to regional coverage with ABC and FOX sharing 5 games while NBC has the early slot with New Jersey facing Charlotte. Divisional games on Saturday include Stars-Federals, Breakers-Gunslingers, and Machine-Glory. Out West, in the 11pm ET slot we have the Invaders facing the Wranglers in Tucscon and the Stags battling the Roughnecks from ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium.   Sunday includes divisional battles between the Blitz and Steamrollers, and the Atlanta fire taking on Jacksonville in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. We could have a very nice game between two of the league’s big teams as the Gamblers face the Panthers at Rice Stadium in the 9pm slot. We end the weekend with Seattle v. Las Vegas (at Sun Devil Stadium) and the Express facing the Oklahoma Outlaws in Glendale’s convertible State Farm Stadium.   FRIDAY 8pm ET        Orlando (1-1) @ Tampa Bay (2-0)              Gainesville        FOX 9pm ET          Birmingham (1-1) @ Memphis (1-1)        NRG                      NBC 11pm ET        San Diego (1-1) @ Denver (1-1)          Glendale            ESPN/EFN   SATURDAY 8pm ET      New Jersey (2-0) @ Charlotte (0-2)         Orlando               NBC 8pm ET       Philadelphia (0-2) @ Washington (1-1)    Tampa                  FOX 9pm ET         New Orleans (2-0) @ San Antonio (2-0)    Rice                      ABC 9pm ET         Chicago (1-1) @ Ohio (1-1)                       TDECU                 FOX 11pm ET      Oakland (1-1) @ Arizona (2-0)                 Tucson                 ABC 11pm ET       Portland (1-1) @ Dallas (1-1)                   Tempe                  FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET       Baltimore (1-1) @ New England (1-1)        Gainesville        ABC 8pm ET          Atlanta (2-0) @ Jacksonville (0-2)            Orlando               FOX 9pm ET        Houston (1-1) @ Michigan (2-0)          Rice                      ESPN/EFN 9pm ET        Pittsburgh (1-1) @ St. Louis (0-2)            NRG                      ABC 11pm ET      Seattle (0-2) @ Las Vegas (0-2)                 Tempe                  ABC 11pm ET        Los Angeles (2-0) @ Oklahoma (1-1)       Glendale            FOX

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Geno Smith is living large and loving life in the USFL. After leading the Breakers to the playoffs in 2020, and with the real chance he would be demoted in favor of rookie Joe Burrow (who signed with the NFL), Smith is having himself a year and loving the presence of his dynamic receiving corps. Smith only completed 14 passes this week (in 22 attempts) but that was enough to finish with over 300 yards passing, hitting 369, and throwing two touchdowns. The fact that the win was over division rival Houston only made the big game that much more enjoyable for the former NY Jets castoff.

Yes, it was weird. Games with empty stands, some eerily quiet, others enhanced by FOX and ESPN computer generated crowd noise. All night games and all from three bubble-site locations, but at the end of the day it was football, and it was great to have it back. Week 1 produced some surprises, like an opening game victory for expansion New England, a blowout win by the Atlanta Fire, and snoozer of a game between the Bulls and Generals, but we also saw some anticipated outcomes. Arizona, Houston, Tampa Bay and Michigan all came out on top, with the Gamblers and Wranglers looking impressive again. We also saw some new faces contributing to their teams on opening weekend. We will run through all the Week 1 scores, discuss a season-ending injury to one of the league’s 30 starting QBs, and take a look at the QB Battle in Oklahoma, but we begin with the oddity that was COVID-impacted football in Arizona, Florida, and Texas.   2020 Season Kicks Off & So Do Covid Protocols We have football back in America, but certainly a very different experience to what we are used to. For fans of the gridiron this was a bit of a surreal week as season-ticket holders were forced to catch their favorite teams on television or through livestreamed games on their Wi-Fi devices. What they saw were their teams, who usually would be surrounded by tens of thousands of adoring fans, playing in empty stadiums, a surreal look that made even rivalry games look like offseason scrimmages. We also got our first look at the difference between NBC and ABC broadcasts in which the silence of empty stadiums was at times deafening, versus the ESPN and FOX broadcasts where the two networks used tape of prior games to create computer amplified background crowd noise. Finally, it was the first week of a season where the COVID-19 virus, and the protocols to protect both players and public, impacted team rosters. As we look at the odd nature of this week’s opening games, let’s explore three features of the week that will just be something we need to adapt to.   Television Broadcast Reactions As we mentioned, the 2020 season was one where the experience of watching games was definitely impacted by both the new USFL schedule and the decision of the 4 networks to either enhance the game with artificial crowd noise or to forego that artificial addition and produce games with only the ambient noise of empty stadia. Here is what we thought of the broadcasts. See if you agree.   Night games work on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday was rough. We absolutely get this. While even members of our own staff on the East Coast were unable to stay up for all the action from Arizona, it was clear that the league, more than ever is going to have regional appeal, with West Coasters able to absorb more USFL action than the hard working folks along the Atlantic seaboard who cannot stay up until 2am to catch a Phoenix-Tucson bubble game on Sunday night. And while we certainly agree with the league that having teams play in any of the 3 states selected (Florida, Texas, and Arizona) in the middle of the day in July or August is unworkable, adjusting to having games and game results going well into the wee hours of the morning three nights a week is going to be very tough for viewership, and no piece of cake for fantasy leagues around the nation as well. Expect a lot of early morning lineup checking and a lot of traffic on the various sports websites as fans catch up to late night scores and highlights.   As for the debate over pumped-in crowd noise (pumped in on television, not in stadiums), the jury is still out. Our bullpen was split. Some really enjoyed the access to the cadence and audibles of the quarterbacks that were far more accessible in the nearly silent stadiums. We certainly heard more pops during big hits, more grunts and groans, more taunts and reactions, even a fair share of words the networks might not want being broadcast. I would say that both ABC and NBC may need to delay game broadcasts just long enough to bleep out some of the language heard during Week One’s broadcasts. There was an “insider perspective” element to the quieter games, but there was also an eeriness to the quiet pop of the pads and sounds of lone whistles and coaching calls.   On the other hand, the ESPN and FOX games had a bit of an artificial quality to them. While we got to hear a low murmur of past USFL games throughout most of the broadcasts on both networks, the two broadcasters were unable to effectively imitate the highs and lows of a true crowd. There was not the swell of sound when the “home” team had a big play or captured momentum. There was even a comical moment in the Tampa Bay-Philadelphia game where the crowd sound used when the Stars missed a key field goal sounded celebratory only for the sound tech to try to add in a sad groan far too late after the call was made. So, some fine-tuning to the audio is certainly still needed.   Surprising Success of USFL Nationwide Package and its Use One feature of the Week One broadcast plan that certainly is not up for debate is the success of the USFL Nationwide Plan. The plan had more than 20 million subscribers by gameday on Friday and initial numbers seem to indicate a very interesting use pattern. There was, as expected, a good tune-in for out-of-market games across the league during the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts when both FOX and ABC had regional games in all markets, but what was perhaps an unexpected boon of the streaming and recording service was the amount of replay used.   It seems safe to say that for many fans, the idea of catching out-of-market games, particularly the late-night games from Arizona, the next day was extremely common. Initial viewership numbers seem to indicate that for many fans, the idea of a Saturday or Sunday afternoon without football was too much to ask, as fans caught parts of games on Friday and then replayed the action, often tuning to a different “unwatched” game the following afternoon. There even seems to be evidence that fans even started their “taped” games at familiar times, with replay viewership peaking at both 1pm and 4pm ET. So, it seems the routine of catching USFL action at certain times over the weekend stood up even when the games themselves were played the night before. Finally, a nice advantage we are seeing people hyping online is that they can use the replay to watch games in about 2/3 the time, skimming over everything from halftime to commercials, and even kickoffs and punts to shorten game time. We may well be seeing the birth of a new viewing model for USFL action as fans decide between the thrill of live broadcast at night and the convenience of shorter, “at will” viewing the next day. The only question the numbers don’t tell us is how many fans spent Saturday or Sunday morning demanding that their friends and family don’t talk about the game because they have not watched it yet.   Covid Positive Players The other huge adjustment for Week One was the reality that even without preseason games to produce early injuries, there were players missing from action as the league’s COVID testing policy kicked in and several players were forced to miss the opener due to the infection, even some who have yet to evince any symptoms. The good news for the league is that we saw only 9 players from the more than 1,500 on league rosters who tested positive and were unable to retest with a negative result before the weekend’s games. The full list is below, but certainly some of the absent players were clearly missed as Arizona lost their starting tight end, Robert Tonyan, Birmingham was without their slot receiver Julian Edelman, and the San Antonio Gunslingers were unable to suit up their anticipated sack leader in DE DeMarcus Lawrence. As we will report in our Injury Update for Week 2, the other factor to consider is that while many players may clear the protocols in only 1 week, it seems as if we will see many more who have to miss a 2 nd  week due to delays in symptom improvement and the ability to test “clean” (essentially non-contagious) ahead of the 2 nd  game’s deadline. For Week One, here are the 9 players who missed action, with an update on Week 2 coming later in our report:   ARZ       TE           Robert Tonyan ATL         DE          Tyquann Lewis BIR         WR         Julian Edelman DEN      DT          Sharrif Floyd LA          DE          Duwayne Smoot MEM     QB         Ryan Fitzpatrick MGN     QB         Tyler Thigpen POR      TE           Chris Gragg SAN       DE          DeMarcus Lawrence   ORLANDO RENEGADES 24  NEW ENGLAND STEAMROLLERS 27  OVERTIME We had a feeling that the unique nature of the 2020 season might produce some unexpected results, but we don’t think too many people had “expansion team wins debut game” on their 2020 bingo cards, especially not with the Steamrollers facing off against a pretty solid Renegades team in Florida. But we also said that the two 2020 expansion teams may have had the best pool of talent of any expansion clubs since the league’s 1984 second season additions. Between a large free agent pool, a significant NFL pool this February, the expansion draft, and more time for players to absorb the playbook due to the season delay, the stars had seemingly aligned for both the Steamrollers and the Gunslingers to be able to outperform most prior expansion clubs. Yet, despite that, the overtime win by the newest Boston-based USFL team was still a shocker.   When we look at the stats, this is a fair win, not a bit of luck, from the Steamrollers. New England outgained Orlando 435-288, largely on the strong outing from former NFL quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a surprisingly effective run game led by former Blitz back Kerwynn Williams. It also did not hurt that the Renegades’ starting QB, Russell Wilson, had to leave the game late in the first quarter after suffering an ankle injury. But, with Wilson sidelined, the Renegades still put up 21 points in the 2 nd  quarter to hold the halftime lead, but would add only 3 more in the second half. New England steadily put points on the board, leading to a 24-24 tie at the end of regulation and a shot for an ovetime win.   The game began very slowly, with both clubs just getting adjusted to real action and the odd setting of an empty Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Aside from a few league staff, some security personnel and the two teams on each sideline, the stadium was empty, the silence deafening, and the atmosphere a bit unnerving, as it was at all the games across the league. While fans at home had computer-generated crowd noise pumped in to add a bit of ambience to the game, those in the stadium essentially played with only the shouts of their own teams heard on the field. Both teams were tentative at first, each mounting a short drive to open the game. On Orlando’s second round, a misstep by Orlando’s center caused Russell Wilson to get his foot caught beneath the big lineman’s back-step, and after falling to the ground, Wilson had to be helped to the sideline. After starting the game 0 for 5 throwing, his day would be done. Kyle Lauletta, the former Portland Stag, would have to go the rest of the way.   The injury led to a quick 3-and-out and the ball returned to the Steamrollers. New England responded with a solid drive, with Ryan Tannehill finding HB Matt Forte for a 15-yard screen play before hitting TE Dennis Pitta for the first score of the game and the first in franchise history. Orlando, with Lauletta under center, replied with a 62-yard drive that produced the equalizer on a Braxton Berrios 10-yard scoring play. Only 3 plays later a Ryan Tannehill gift gave Orlando the lead. The former Miami Dolphin misread the coverage and threw a pass intended for Doug Baldwin, but happily accepted by Orlando corner Michael Jackson, who high-stepped his way into the endzone for a 27-yard pick-six.   Now down 7, New England and Tannehill replied with a solid drive once again, this time taking advantage of the run game with both Matt Forte and Kerwynn Williams both breaking off a big run (13 and 16 yards respectively) before Tannehill hit Zay Jones on a short slant route to produce their 2 nd  TD and again even up the score with 2:36 left in the half. Orlando responded with a 2-minute drill that proved very effective as New England could not produce pressure on Lauletta. The former Stag QB completed 3 of 6 passes on the drive, finding Orlando wideout Brashad Perriman for the late TD to help Orlando take a hard-earned 7-point lead into the half, the score 21-14.   The second half would see both defenses step up, with New England finally finding some pressure in their pass rush, including the first sack in team history, a big 7-yard takedown by Mario Addison on 2 nd  and 7 that produced a 3 rd and long. Orlando also had their moments on defense, with 2 nd  year DE Montez Sweat producing his 1 st  sack of the season. New England would get the only points of the quarter, a mid-range field goal from Brett Maher, but after three they still trailed 21-17.   Orlando increased their lead to 7 on their opening drive of the 4 th  quarter, getting deep into New England territory before settling for a Billy Cundiff field goal to take the 24-17 lead. That drive turned out to be pivotal, and, in particular, the 3 rd  and goal pass from Lauletta to Jeremy Maclin, broken up by New England’s Sam Shields. That stop in the red zone kept the Orlando lead from increasing beyond 1 score. Down 7, New England needed only 1 touchdown drive to equalize the score.   The Steamrollers would get that drive late in the quarter, marching 74 yards in 10 plays, including Kerwynn William’s longest run of the game, a 23-yard backbreaker of a play on 3 rd  and 3 from the Steamroller 31. The drive also included Tannehill connecting with 4 different receivers on the drive, including both former Dragon Dennis Pitta and former Gold TE Jack Doyle. They would get the equalizer on a 12-yard fade route to former Machine wideout Will Fuller.  Fuller tapped his 2 nd  foot down just before falling out of the endzone, a play that required 3 minutes of video review before the score was confirmed. But, tied at 24, the Steamrollers were poised to have their first game become their first overtime game.   New England almost gave up the game on Orlando’s final possession when it appeared that Kyle Lauletta had connected with Brashad Perriman on a 37-yard pass that would put them in field goal range, but a yellow flag behind the play signaled a hold on Renegade right tackle Cameron Fleming, and the play came back. Orlando would not get that shot at a late game winning kick, and the two teams prepared for overtime. New England won the toss and would start the extra time with the ball. They moved the ball well, but came up short when Brett Maher’s 46-yard field goal attempt veered to the right. Had they scored it would have forced Orlando to equalize or score a TD to win on their next possession. Good thing that was not the situation, because Orlando went 3-and-out on their first drive. That was followed by a short 5-play drive by New England that ended with a failed 3 rd and 7 throw from Tannehill to Zay Jones. Orlando got a second chance to end the game, and after a nice connection from Lauletta to Jeremy Maclin, it looked like they might claim the win, but another sack of Lauletta, this time from Steamroller Tashan Bower, pushed Orlando out of field goal range and the Renegades were forced to punt. With 3:13 left to play, the Steamrollers would have one last chance to claim a win in their opening game, or finish with the rare USFL tie.   The Steamrollers moved to a 2-minute offense, playing without huddles and without changing personnel, a strategy designed to take advantage of a tired Orlando defense. The gambit paid off as Ryan Tannehill was able to connect with Zay Jones and Will Fuller on back-to-back first down plays to move the ball across the 50. After a nice draw play by Williams and a short completion to Dennis Pitta, the Steamrollers were within range for kicker Brett Maher. They moved just a few yards closer on a pair of run plays, and on 3 rd  and 6 from the Orlando 24 they sent out Brett Maher to earn them a win in their first game as a franchise. Maher’s kick was dead center and plenty long enough and the Steamrollers celebrated a very nice opening win for the franchise.   CHARLOTTE 17   BALTIMORE 23 OVERTIME The other overtime game saw Charlotte erase a 17-7 deficit in the 4 th quarter only to fall in overtime as Baltimore put together a 13-play scoring drive to open the extra period, ending the game on a Locker to Uzomah TD pass without giving the Monarchs a chance to touch the ball. The game winner was Jake Locker’s 3 rd  TD toss on the day as the former backup took the helm and proved the Blitz right in trusting in him. Locker finished as the POTG for his 2020 debut. POTG:  Blitz QB Jake Locker: 24/34, 225 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   OHIO 0   HOUSTON 29 An ugly start to the year for the Ohio Glory as they are shut out by the defending Eastern Conference champions. The glory mustered only 209 total yards, with Isaiah Pead held to 39 yards rushing and Christian Hackenburg held to 17 of 34 with 4 sacks and a pick. Houston relied heavily on the run, with Carlos Hyde carrying the ball 21 times for 71 yards and a score while rookie Clyde Edwards Helaire added 23 yards on 10 touches. Mike Evans had the big plays, catching 5 for 191 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown catch as Houston shut out and put away the Glory. POTG:  Houston WR Mike Evans: 5 Rec, 191 Yds, 1 TD   DALLAS 14   ARIZONA 35 The League Champion Wranglers came out of the gate in midseason form, with David Carr throwing for 291 and 2 scores, the combo of Carey and Crowell accounting for 128 yards on the ground, and the defense sacking Dallas QB Josh Freeman 6 times. The Wranglers balance on offense (291 passing, 128 rushing) and defensive pressure (holding Dallas to 2 of 11 on 3 rd  down) was just too much for the Roughnecks, who kept to their word by playing Freeman all game instead of giving him the hook in favor of rookie Justin Herbert. POTG:  Wrangler FS Nate Allen: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR   JACKSONVILLE 6   NEW JERSEY 9 Someone might want to tell the Generals and Bulls that the season has begun. Both offensescame out pretty listless in a game that produced few fireworks. The two teams combined for only 118 yards rushing, with Maurice Jones-Drew getting 69 of those. New Jersey got to the red zone 3 times but had to settle for Ka’imi Fairbairn kicks all three times. Jacksonville got the game’s lone TD on a short Matt Jones run, but missed on the PAT, keeping them 3 points down, with the game ending at 9-6. POTG:  New Jersey LB Aldon Smith: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   MICHIGAN 28  BIRMINGHAM 25 We got a good one at TDECU Stadium as the Stallions erased a 21-10 deficit in the 4 th  quarter to take a 4-point lead only to watch Kirk Cousins connect with TE Martellus Bennett for the game winner late in the final period. Bennett was a major weapon for Cousins, catching 4 for 124 as the Stallions locked down LeVeon Bell (20 carries for 64 yards). Meanwhile, Cam Newton largely stayed in the pocket, shadowed by Panther LB Sean Porter. From there he threw for 340 yards and 3 scores, but with Kirk Cousins connecting on 4 TD passes, including 2 to Bennett, it proved too much for the Stallions. POTG:  Michigan TE Martellus Bennett: 5 Rec, 124 Yds, 2 TD   PITTSBURGH 28   MEMPHIS 9 The Maulers were outgained 365-218 but produced 3 key takeaways to hold down the Showboats and claim a big opening week win. Three rushing touchdowns, including a game opener from rookie Cam Akers helped power the Maulers to the win while Paxton Lynch struggled to find his receivers, throwing 3 picks on the day, including 2 to Mauler CB Tre Herndon, who also recorded a forced fumble (recovered by Memphis) on a punt return. POTG:  Mauler CB Tre Herndon: 9 Tck, 2 Int, 1 FF   LAS VEGAS 12   DENVER 15 A low scoring game, with no touchdowns through 3 quarters, the divisional matchup was 8-3 after 3, thanks in part to Terrell Troupe forcing a hold in the endzone that gave Denver 2 points. But, in the 4 th  Las Vegas started to find some offensive success, scoring on a McGloin to Benn TD toss. The play, with a failed 2-point PAT to follow, gave the Vipers a 9-8 lead. After a Matt Gay field goal made it 12-8 with only 2:49 left to play, Vegas was looking good, but backup Kyle Orton, who came in after Allen appeared to suffer a shoulder injury, hit on a huge play to give Denver the win. Orton found WR Kevin White completely uncovered in a blown Viper coverage and the two connected on a 62-yard TD in the game’s final minute to stun the Vipers and give Denver a fantastic finish. POTG : Gold WR Golden Tate: 7 Rec, 122 Yds   OAKLAND 20   LOS ANGELES 22 Tom Brady’s return to the USFL was a fun one as the Invaders and Express renewed the California Derby, though they did so from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona. Brady went 27 of 41 with 2 TDs and 2 picks as he tried to rally the Invaders from a 15-10 and 22-13 deficit in the 4 th  quarter. LA’s offense struggled in the red zone, but the defense gave the Express 9 of their 22 points, combining a Chris Jones safety with a pick-six from LB Keith Rivers, just enough to hold off the Invader comeback. POTG:  Express DT Chris Jones: 8 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty   TAMPA BAY 21  PHILADELPHIA 19 Another good game as Philadelphia came back from 21-10 down, but just could not connect on a final second field goal attempt from 54 yards out. Eddie Pineiro went 4 of 6 kicking, but the buzzer-beater kick sailed wide to the left, giving the Bandits a 2-point win and a sigh of relief. Dak Prescott accounted for all 3 Bandit scores, connecting with Ryan Grant twice and Deebo Samuel for his third TD of the game. Neither team had much success on the ground as the defenses won the day in the run game, but the Bandits found the big play with Grant catching a 39-yard and a 72-yard score on his only two receptions on the day. POTG:  Bandit WR Ryan Grant: 2 Rec, 111 Yds, 2 TD   ATLANTA 45  WASHINGTON 6 An unexpected scoring explosion as Aaron Murray threw for 3 scores, both Nick Chubb and Kenyon Drake scored on the ground, and Luke Kuechley put an exclamation point on his POTW game with a pick-six. It was utter domination by a Fire team that may have found something with the import of former Bengal A. J. Green. The NFL import had 5 receptions and 2 TDs in his USFL debut as Atlanta won this one in a rout. POTG:  Fire LB Luke Kuechley: 8 Tck, 2 Int, 1 Def TD   ST. LOUIS 16   NEW ORLEANS 33 Speaking of debuts, the Breakers cannot be more over the moon about their rookie WR Justin Jefferson. The LSU product had only 2 catches, but they accounted for 124 yards as Jefferson proved he was a major deep ball threat. Combined with Jordy Nelson’s 141 yards on 3 receptions, the Breakers had more than enough big plays to hold off the Skyhawks. Geno Smith looked smooth, connecting on 10 of 19 passes, but averaging 18 yards per completion as he found Nelson, Fleener, and Jefferson for big plays. POTG:  Breakers LB Jerome Baker: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty   CHICAGO 21  SAN ANTONIO 10 The Gunslingers could not replicate the opening day success of New England, falling to a Machine club that showed some serious defensive might. Chicago outgained San Antonio 380-193 on the day, with Sam Bradford throwing for 250 yards and the new combo of Jeremy Hill and Marion Mack combining for 111 yards and 2 scores on the ground. The Gunslingers struggled to run the ball and that made it easier for Chicago to focus on pressuring Joe Flacco. Marshawn Lynch had only 7 carries as he split time with former Gambler C. J. Prosise. POTG:  Chicago HB Jeremy Hill: 20 Att, 61 Yds, 2 TD   SAN DIEGO 16  PORTLAND 10   OVERTIME A mistake-filled opening game for the two Pacific Division clubs as they combined for 12 penalties and 3 turnovers. The game was sloppy but close throughout, with San Diego needing a 4 th  quarter TD from Luke Wilson to even the score at 10 and send the game to overtime. Portland could not score on their opening possession of the extra period, but San Diego found their way to the endzone, with a Taiwan Jones run sealing the win for the 2019 division champs. POTG:  Stags LB David Hawthorne: 14 Tck, 1 FF   SEATTLE 13   OKLAHOMA 14 The Outlaws garnered the 1-point win thanks to a last-minute TD toss from Rudolph to DeDe Westbrook. Despite losing QB Jacoby Brissett, perhaps for the season, in the first quarter, Seattle hung tough, with Brett Hundley going 15 of 22 for 188 yards and a TD toss to the Dragons’ big free agent signing, Amari Cooper. Rudolph also had a nice debut in his first game as the new starter for Oklahoma, going 30 of 38 for 318 yards and 2 scores. POTG:  Outlaw QB Mason Rudolph: 30/38, 318 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int.   Week 1 Overreactions We are one week into a long 16-week campaign unlike any in USFL history, so it is wrong for us to make any proclamations after watching each team play their first game (without a preseason game as warmup) in the league’s hub & bubble system? Of course it is, but we are going to do it anyway. Here are some fun overreactions we are hearing across the nation, mostly from fans just excited to have games to discuss and to overanalyze. Here are some of our favorites from across the massive USFL mediasphere.   Ryan Nassib is not a USFL starter. This is largely a hangover from a poor first season in Washington, but after a devastating 45-6 opening week destruction by the Atlanta Fire, one in which Nasib threw 4 picks, we can understand the frustration. The high-priced free agent had such a brilliant year with Arizona in 2018 and has just not lived up to the hype in his time with the Feds, but as bad as the opener was, it is far too soon to write off their QB quite yet.   Cam Newton is ready to be MVP. We are not saying he cannot be, and his opening game performance (17 of 30, 340 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int) was certainly a solid game, even if Coach Haley was not able to unleash Newton’s running ability against a Michigan defense that spied him on almost every down, we are not quite ready to say he is a frontrunner. We do love how well tuned-in he seems to be with rookie WR Henry Ruggs, and we love the use of 2 tight ends as a regular formation (especially when those two are Hunter Henry and Eric Ebron), but Birmingham is now 0-1, and they will need to be well over .500 if their QB is going to get MVP votes, just the nature of the position.   The USFL ROTY will be a wide receiver. This one we are on board with. It was not a particularly strong HB class, with Pittsburgh’s Cam Akers the most likely candidate to even come close to 1,000 yards this year, but it was a very good WR group and we have already been impressed with the opening games put up by the 3 most likely contenders. Ruggs had 124 yards and a TD in Week One. Justin Jefferson in New Orleans proved to be a huge deep ball threat, gaining 124 yards as well, but on only 2 receptions, and Philadelphia’s K. J. Hamler was the top target for Matt Gutierrez, catching 5 balls for 62 yards. All strong starts from a very good WR group.  But, if Justin Herbert gets called on in Dallas early enough this season, he too could be in the hunt, after all a QB always gets a bit more attention than his receivers.   The Maulers will win the USFL Central Division. We love the enthusiasm Mauler fans had after their solid opening win over Memphis (28-9), and we do think they will be strong on defense this year. They also may have a better rushing attack with rookies Cam Akers and Rico Dowdle backing up Sony Michel, but are we ready to say they win the division? No, that seems very premature. Sorry, Mauler Nation, but the Panthers won 14 games last year and still have all their major pieces in place. Chicago is also a very solid club, with some nice upgrades, including a pretty good rookie WR in Chase Claypool. The Maulers looked good in Week 1, but let’s see what happens when they open divisional play with the Panthers this week before we get too excited.   Josh Allen is regressing in his 2 nd  year as the starter. What is going on with Denver fans?  Josh Allen opens the year with a win over Las Vegas, and while he did not play MVP football (15 of 24 for 169 with no TD or INT) it is not as if he stunk the place up. Yes, he had a bad fumble because he carried the ball like a loaf of bread on a scramble, and yes, he missed a couple of open receivers downfield, but this is opening week, and Allen is still learning. He had ups and downs last year, he will have them this year. Let’s not write him off, especially not after an opening week win.   LeVeon Bell has peaked. Another very overstated reaction to a slow first week. Bell only rushed for 64 yards on 20 carries in the opener, but that was against frequent 8- and 9-man fronts put up by the Stallions. Birmingham played well and they stacked the line against the run, something many teams are likely to do unless Kirk Cousins can make them pay for it. Bell will be fine. He is only 28, so it is too early to talk about him hitting the wall. Now, we will say that Michigan may want to use Alexander Mattison a bit more, because Bell should not be getting 90% of the carries, it is just not good long term. If they can get Mattison in the game, they can keep Bell fresh, and that means that they can get the kind of production from the 4-Time USFL rushing champion that they and their fans want to see.   Calais Campbell is passing the torch. This may actually be the case. In Bud Dupree, Arizona has a great protégé for Campbell to mentor. He is 34-years-old, and he might just be slowing down a bit. He had only 1 tackle and 1 sack in the opener, and while it is clear that the Roughnecks were shifting their line to double-team him, that is likely to be the case in every game. If Campbell wants to take DuPree under his wing and pass on his vast skillset to the younger DE, we could easily envision a situation where DuPree and not Campbell leads the team (and the league?) in sacks, if not this year, by 2021.   New England will go undefeated. We love having Boston fans engaged in the USFL again. They have such a unique delusion about them. We love that they have fully bought into the Steamrollers, that they are excited even if they won’t see their new team playing at Foxboro until 2021, and that they are behind their team’s Week 1 win with full-throated support, but this is just silly. It was a great win, and the Steamrollers could be more competitive than most expansion clubs, but let’s not live in a fantasy world. Only 1 team in league history has ever gone undefeated, and it was not an expansion team. One game at a time, Boston. Live in reality.       Brissett Lost for Season with Broken Hip It was an ugly injury, with Oklahoma LB Greg Lloyd Jr taking hold of a scrambling Jacoby Brissett’s ankle and Brissett’s body twisting as he fell to the ground. There was an audible pop and the look of pain on Brissett’s face was not a pretty thing. Brissett was taken out of the stadium on the cart only 7 minutes into the opener, and 5 hours later we would get the diagnosis, a dislocation of the femur with damage done to the hip joint. This would be a season-ending injury on opening day for the Seattle starting QB.   Brett Hundley came in and played well in relief, but now Seattle has some decisions to make. Do they reach out to another USFL club to find another option at quarterback, or do they ride the former New Jersey General for the rest of the season. At present only Hundley and veteran backup Brad Gradkowski are on the roster. Seattle has over $7M in cap space, so they could afford to go after a potential contributor instead of pulling in a young 3 rd  stringer. Of course, the one team that has a QB on the trading block is Oakland, a division rival unlikely to send either Jimmy G or Ryan Findley to their rivals from the north. That may mean that Seattle has few options to find someone other than Hundley to lead the team. In a season when many teams are carrying 4 QBs thanks to the expanded practice squads, there just are not a lot of options out there.   Kuechley Helps Power Atlanta to Huge Opening Win It was perhaps the most surprising score of the week, with Atlanta demolishing the Federals 45-6, and while a lot of kudos have to go to the revamped Fire offense, the video shows the story of a linebacker on a seek and destroy mission. Luke Kuechley, coming off a disappointing 75 tackle, 1 sack season in 2019, started off 2020 with a clear plan to do more and be more for the Fire. That drive led to a dominant performance in the opener. Kuechley finished the game with 8 tackles, 2 picks, and his pick-six interception return, but that only tells half the story. Used frequently in both run blitzes and straight up QB pressures, the Fire essentially used the presence of Albert Haynesworth in the middle to provide cover for Kuechley, who came into the backfield on either side of the big man and made a mockery of Washington’s blocking schemes. It was a brilliant tactical move to use the two in combination, but what was clear was that the plan worked primarily because of the ferocity and speed of Kuechley’s blitzes. This week the Fire will face off against Baltimore, who have a bit more cohesion up front, so we will see if the plan changes, but if Kuechley can keep up the passion and power of his gameplay from this week, it could be a long tough game for Jake Locker and the Blitz.   Rudolph Gets His Shot & Makes the Most of It When the San Antonio Gunslingers pulled the trigger on signing Joe Flacco away from the Outlaws, many in OKC expected their club to go after a QB to compete with backup Mason Rudolph. They did just that in the Territorial Draft, signing former Crimson Tide and Sooner QB Jason Hurts to be start a competition with Rudolph. The OK State product entered camp back in February as the starter, but a full QB competition was expected. The season delay and split camp pushed Coach Stoops to stick with the player who knew his system from 2019 and this week that decision seemed to pay off.   Rudolph had a very solid debut as the Week One starter for Oklahoma, throwing for 318 yards on 30 of 38 passing and finding DeDe Westbrook for the game winning score in the 4 th . Rudolph looked poised in the pocket, demonstrated a strong arm and a good rapport with Westbrook, Nick Toon, and TE Mark Andrews. He connected on 22 of 25 targets to those three receivers and seemed very comfortable in the pocket despite constant pressure from Seattle’s front 7, including multiple blitz packages incorporating LBs Josh Allen and Khalil Mack into the rush scheme. With Hurts behind him, the Cowpoke-Sooner rivalry of the two QBs seems to have evolved into an early friendship between the two QBs who Outlaw fans expected to battle for snaps all camp long and all season as well.   Rookie First Impressions Week One action welcomed over 200 first-time pros to the league, and while many did not see action this week, there certainly were some early contributors as the rookie class of 2020 took to the field. Here are 7 players who got the start in Week One and showed us a hint of what is to come.   Cam Akers (HB-PIT) The Maulers had two rookie backs in uniform for Week One, but it was former Seminole Cam Akers who got the longer look, splitting carries equally with veteran Sony Michel. With 10 carries, Akers rushed for 29 yards and earned his first USFL touchdown in the Mauler victory over Memphis.   Clyde Edwards-Helaire (HB-HOU) Houston’s first-round pick was expected to spell Carlos Hyde as the Gamblers took on Ohio but ended up playing most of the 4 th  quarter as Houston shut down and shut out the Glory. The LSU rookie had 8 of his 10 carries in the final period, gaining 23 yards and earning his first pro touchdown as well.   DeeJay Dallas (HB-OKL) In a tough game against a very stalwart Seattle defense, Dallas ended up leading all Seattle rushers with only 20 yards on the ground. His 3.3 YPC average was the best of all 3 Oklahoma backs, with starter Justice Hill gaining only 4 yards on 12 carries as Seattle sold out to stop the run and force QB Mason Rudolph to beat them.   Justin Jefferson (WR-NOR) One of two USFL rookie wideouts to start their careers with over 100 yards receiving, what makes Justin Jefferson’s debut so fascinating is that he accomplished it with only 2 receptions. Jefferson was targeted by Geno Smith only twice, catching both targets and combining them for a 62-yard average. He had a 74-yard catch that at first glance appeared to be a touchdown before video review showed him stepping out at the 2, and added a second catch for 52 yards, proving that he could be a very dangerous deep ball receiver.   Henry Ruggs (WR-BIR) Alabama rookie Henry Ruggs led the Stallions in receiving in their tight game with Michigan, catching 6 of 9 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown in his pro debut. With his Crimson Tide teammate Jerry Jeudy not getting on the field until the NFL season kicks off this fall, Ruggs launched the first salvo in the battle of former Nick Saban products to prove who would develop into the better pro.   K. J. Hamler (WR-PHI) Philadelphia had the third of the early round receivers coming to the USFL with Penn State’s K. J. Hamler joining the Stars after a career at nearby Penn State. The Nittany Lion was the most targeted of the three, having 10 balls headed his way in the opener. Hamler came down with 5 of those, gaining 62 yards and helping Philadelphia stay right in the game with Tampa Bay.   Bryce Hall (CB-DEN) While there were defensive rookies all across the league who made their debut on opening weekend, Denver corner Bryce Hall clearly had the best day of any of them. Hall finished the Denver-Las Vegas matchup with 7 tackles and his first USFL interception, a drive-killer that helped Denver hold off the Vipers and claim their first win of the year.    Here we go, our first COVID-impacted injury list. As you saw in the opening article of our report, there were nine players who were required to miss the season opener due to positive tests and/or symptomatic COVID infections. What we see now is that the ability for many of the infected players to return to action after only 1 week may not be as many as the league had hoped. Of the 9 who sat out in Week 1, 6 will also be required to sit out a 2 nd  week after their symptoms persisted into the testing period for Week 2. We add several more players to the Week 2 COVID inactive list, including the first starting QB to be required to sit out at least a week as Portland’s Marcus Mariota tested positive this week. And while this is certainly not as problematic as the long-duration injuries suffered by both Seattle QB Jacoby Brissett and San Diego guard Antonio Garcia, the reality of regular player sit-outs due to the COVID-19 virus is a reality that will test team rosters and put a lot on the GMs who have to try to anticipate short-term roster depletion on a regular basis. All this with the usual issues of injury within the game of football will be a test all season long.   OUT QB      Jacoby Brissett      SEA        Broken Hip           IR OT          Antonio Garcia        SD          Achilles                 8-12 Weeks C             Tyler Biadasz            OAK      ACL Strain               2-4 Weeks SS          Jaiquawn Jarrett      NEN      Neck                        1-2 Weeks DE          Tim Crowder            HOU     Eye                           1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL LB           Vontez Burfict        OKL       Hand                                    OT          Jawaan taylor          JAX         Hamstring   QUESTIONABLE DE          Calais Campbell      ARZ       Neck HB         Latavius Murray       CHA      Patella Tendonitis G             Vlad Ducasse          CHI        Hyperextended Knee QB         Tyler Thigpen           MGN     Broken Finger   COVID-19 INACTIVE ATL         HB         Kenyan Drake ATL         DE          Tyquann Lewis              2 nd  Week BIR         WR         Julian Edelman             2 nd  Week DEN      DT          Sharrif Floyd                    2 nd Week JAX         DT          Beau Allen                         LA          DE          Duwayne Smoot             2 nd  Week MGN     QB         Tyler Thigpen               2 nd Week OHI       FB          Mike Boone POR      QB         Marcus Mariota               POR      TE           Chris Gragg               2 nd Week STL         LB           Trey Hendrickson SDG      WR         Marques Colston WSH     DT          Quinnen Williams   TV Ratings Take Huge Hit but Streaming a Success This had to be a known and expected reality for the league. Moving all their games to 8pm local starts in the three hub locations meant that the USFL would have more regional games than ever, more late starts than ever, and fewer viewers, and that is what we are seeing. The USFL drew well with their 8pm ET starts, and the 9pm games were adequate (with a significant mid-game drop in viewership, particularly on Sunday), but the 11pm ET starts from Arizona were well below the norm for the league, particularly compared to the league’s typical viewership on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This had to be known, but the numbers released after Week 1 clearly show that this will be a tough year for the league’s viewership as well as for the four broadcasters who are engaged in the all-nocturnal schedule for 2020.   However, at least two networks, FOX and ABC, may be significantly more willing to tolerate the lower broadcast ratings than ESPN and NBC. Why? The livestreaming and replay features of their USFL Nationwide package, arranged between the two networks as a way to address the abundance of games forced into regional coverage due to the all-night-game format, has proven a huge moneymaker and a huge boon for viewership. Over 20 million subscribers joined in the weeks and days leading up to the USFL openers, and viewership on the streaming service has been better than expected, nearly 50% higher than original estimates. The two networks involved in the package are seeing viewers tuning in live, but more fascinating is that they are seeing huge numbers on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons as fans catch up on the prior night’s games during more traditional hours.   It seems that USFL fans want to catch a lot of action, they are just not excited about staying up until Midnight, 1am or later to do so. That means that while NBC and ESPN are going to struggle for viewers when their weekly offering starts at 9 or 11 pm, ABC and FOX are going to make up for their late games by having the replay option the next day. Expect ESPN/EFN (owned by the same conglomerate as ABC) to try to horn in on the streaming platform, and we would not be surprised if NBC tried to get in on the action as well. Either that or you can expect them to push the other networks for more 8pm games to offset the losses encountered with the later games.   Invaders, Bandits, and Vipers Find Audience with Hosted Watch Parties A side story on TV viewership is the niche that it seems a few teams have found with large-scale online “watch parties” organized by the franchises themselves. The Invaders, Bandits, and Vipers were the first teams to set up such groups ahead of this weekend’s games, using online platforms like Twitch, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams to create large “fan rooms” that could hold up to 50 fans at a time. The fan groups could watch the games online through links with the network broadcast or streaming and connect with each other through chat spaces and break-out rooms within the larger group events. Yes, there was some moderation needed as the occasional chat-stream got salty, but overall, the experience was praised by fans, able to watch the games and still interact across the platforms. Expect more teams to add these fanbase outreach viewings as a way to keep fans engaged through this all-remote schedule of games. Building electronic communities may be a trend we see across businesses and entertainment media across many industries as more and more people have been instructed to work from home, to avoid mass gatherings, and to minimize public exposure to the COVID-19 virus. If the USFL can be out front on electronic “meet ups”, it can be a tool that will help the league weather the storm of a season without fans in the stands.   Monarchs Lobby NC Legislature to Allow Summer Bowl We are only at Opening Week for the 2020 season, but one franchise, and one city, are already deeply concerned about the USFL’s planned virtual season. Charlotte and the Charlotte Monarchs had been preparing to host Summer Bowl 2020 ever since they were chosen as the host back in 2018. Now they are frantically lobbying the league and the state to allow for the Summer Bowl to retain its home in the Queen City, and to push for some form of fan attendance at the game. The Monarchs are working with local government to try to convince the USFL not to relocate the title game to one of the three hub regions, to delay a decision and give time for the CDC and the nation to adjust to the current pandemic and find solutions that would allow for public events once again, as well as a location outside of Florida, Texas, or Arizona for the league’s title game.   Many within North Carolina’s statehouse are in favor of the league retaining Charlotte as the host for the showcase event, but there are concerns and serious misgivings about trying to develop a plan for a filled Bank of America Stadium on October 4 th . There is still so much in doubt about how to combat the pandemic, much less how to avoid further infections, illness, and potential fatalities, if a state or city wanted to host an event that would likely draw 60,000 or more to the same venue. Even with an outdoor stadium, that concentration of people seems to pose a potential “mega-spread” situation that no government wants to get behind at this point.   For now, the case being made is for a delay, for retention of Charlotte as the host through July, possibly August, before a final decision is made. The hope, of course, is that more will be known about COVID-19, information that could make the event viable for state and city officials, as well as for the league, even if it means a reduced capacity in the 74,000-seat arena. The campaign is one of delay, hoping that a delayed decision to relocate the USFL’s championship game will provide the time needed to determine a safe and successful plan to have a live event, with spectators in the Monarchs’ back yard.   Chicago’s Rhapsody in Blue The fans have spoken, and their message was unambiguous; they want their Chicago Machine to switch things up. The Chicago Machine & Under Armour “Design the Machine” voting is done and by a huge margin the look chosen by Chicago fans is a very different, very city-friendly “City Blue” option. The final vote had the City Blue look receiving more than both of the other two options, a red-dominant look and a classic maroon look, combined. With nearly 250,000 votes coming in over the extended online voting poll, City Blue racked up over 170,000 votes while the second-place maroon and third place red look combined garnered just under 68,000 votes, a pretty clear message from the fans to the team. And, as promised, the Machine, and their Chicago-based ownership, J.B. and Thomas Pritzker, sided with fans, announcing the new look for the Machine at a press conference in front of Soldier Field this week. The Machine will wear a look that many say reminds them of the NFL Houston Oilers, but which also clearly pays homage to the easily recognizable Chicago city flag, complete with its white and blue stripes and six-pointed red stars. The new look was revealed for the first time this week, and while the team itself is camped out in Houston for the season as part of the league’s hub city “bubble” plan to combat COVID spread, team owners and a limited number of the media were on hand out the outdoor unveiling.   Announcing the new look, with the designs on display on a series of mannequins outside Soldier Field, the Pritzkers revealed the four looks that will take the field in 2021. They also revealed that regardless of the results of this year’s season, the look will not be seen until the Machine return home to play the 2021 season (something we all anticipate, and hope will be the case), with J. B. Pritzker announcing that the club will not wear the new uniforms if they qualify for the 2020 playoffs because, in his words, “This look deserves a Chicago welcome, in front of our great Chicago fans.”   The full look entails 4 different designs, as we have come to expect from Under Armour. The primary uniforms feature a white helmet with the new minimalistic “Clockwork C” logo in sky blue with a red star at the center and center striping meant to evoke the city flag, with thin maroon stripes outside thicker red, white, and blue striping. The ubiquitous Chicago star appears at the base. The road jersey is white with a sky-blue collar, sleeve stripes that parallel those on the helmet and sky-blue numbers outlined in white and red with a subtle maroon drop shadow. The sky-blue home jerseys follow the same pattern, with white numbers outlined in red with the maroon drop shadow. The team will alternate a white and a blue pant set, with an all-white look available for hot summer games, while an all-sky kit is also an option. Both pant sets again repeat the flag-inspired striping from the helmet and jersey sleeves, and each once again feature the six-pointed star on the hip. The look is capped off with red socks that have thin white, sky, and maroon striping.   With USFL teams able to utilize a 2 nd  helmet shell, and with all teams receiving a throwback look, it is no surprise that the 2 nd  helmet will be the team’s traditional maroon color with a maroon facemask. The throwback goes all the way back to the team’s origin, the 1987 look, complete with maroon pants, and the cog-inspired “M” monogram in dark metallic grey on the helmet. The “Maroonificent Mile” alternate blends the two eras, replicating the features of the new Under Armour design but emphasizing maroon as the dominant color. In this alternate look the “flag” striping combines sky blue and white, the jersey numbers are sky blue with maroon and white outlines, and the set offers a maroon pant set to be worn both with the white jersey and the dark maroon top.   So, a very different Chicago Machine begins in 2021. No more complaints from Michigan fans of the Machine riding their design coattails, and a unique design in a league that also has light blue in the designs of Las Vegas, Oakland, Dallas and San Diego. This is a look that screams “Chicago” so loudly, you almost expect Roxy Hart or Al Capone to show up.   Week Two and we prepare for another week of silent games, fake crowd noises, delayed viewing, and late nights as the unique COVID-impacted schedule of games is back. We kick the week off with a major NE Division rivalry as the Generals and Stars battle in Orlando. An hour later another rivalry kicks off as New Orleans and Houston battle at Rice University’s vast but empty stadium. And a good nightcap starting at 11pm Eastern when the Thunder get a rematch with Arizona after last year’s playoff disaster.   Saturday has 3 divisional games with Washington and New England meeting at Raymond James, Orlando on the road to Gainesville to face the Monarchs, and expansion San Antonio hoping for their first win as a franchise as the face Memphis. Sunday’s big games include a SE Division showdown as the Bandits and Bulls stay in state, playing in Gainesville. Atlanta takes on Baltimore in a battle of Week 1 victors, and Tom Brady and the Invaders take on Las Vegas from steamy Sun Devil Stadium.   FRIDAY 8pm ET      Philadelphia @ New Jersey      Camping World Stadium     NBC 9pm ET      New Orleans @ Houston         Rice Stadium                 ABC 11pm ET      San Diego @ Arizona               U. of Arizona Stadium     ESPN/EFN   SATURDAY 8pm ET        Washington @ New England    Raymond James Stadium       ABC 8pm ET       Orlando @ Charlotte               Ben Hill Griffin Stadium           FOX 9pm ET       San Antonio @ Memphis      TDECU Stadium                       NBC 9pm ET        Pittsburgh @ Michigan        NRG Stadium                           FOX 11pm ET      Seattle @ Dallas                  State Farm Stadium                ABC 11pm ET     Los Angeles @ Denver        Sun Devil Stadium                  FOX   SUNDAY 8pm ET        Tampa Bay @ Jacksonville     Ben Hill Griffin Stadium       FOX 8pm ET        Atlanta @ Baltimore       Camping World Stadium     ABC 9pm ET           St. Louis @ Ohio               Rice Stadium                           FOX 9pm ET        Chicago @ Birmingham      NRG Stadium                       ABC 11pm ET       Oakland @ Las Vegas       Sun Devil Stadium      ESPN/EFN 11pm ET      Portland @ Oklahoma    U. of Arizona Stadium             ABC