Amos Alonzo Stag is a staple in Portland. Undefeated is a tough thing to pull off. It has only been done once in the USFL, and that one time holds up again as the Houston Gamblers are shocked at home by a plucky and determined Birmingham Stallions squad. We will go in depth on that game, look at the big road win for the Thunder that punched their playoff ticket, and review all the scores of the week, a week that saw 4 more teams drop out of the playoff race, but a lot of races still very much in fierce competition. We will also preview the 2018 draft class as seniors (and a few juniors) gear up for the upcoming college season and take a look at the newly announced 2018 USFL Hall of Fame Class. A big week, a lot to cover, let’s get right to it. Teams Streaking in Two Very Different Directions While the big story of the week is clearly the loss at home by the Gamblers, since that is our Game of the Week, it will get the depth of coverage it merits. So, we start our report with another important story, the streaking teams that are either rocketing their way into playoff contention or spiraling into disaster. We start with the rockets, Baltimore, New Orleans, and, yes, the Tampa Bay Bandits. Baltimore’s rise has already been discussed, but with their win this week, they have all but erased the 5-game slide that had them fall from 2nd in the NE Division down to 4th. Well, with a win over New Jersey as their 4th in a row, they now find themselves right in the mix, sharing a 7-6 record with the Generals and solidly in the Wild Card hunt behind division winner Philadelphia. Baltimore’s rebound has been a whole-team effort, with the offense averaging over 30 points per game over the streak and the defense keeping their first 3 opponents under 20 points (including their 23-0 shutout win over Pittsburgh). This week, New Jersey cracked 20 but still could not overtake the red-hot Blitz. New Orleans is another team that seemed to be floundering, falling to 5-5 and well behind the Gamblers in the Southern Division, but they have now ripped off 3 consecutive wins, including 2 divisional wins to bolster their playoff chances. Now 8-5, it seems like the Breakers are now in full swing towards the playoffs, with one of the stories of the year, Jordy Nelson’s pursuit of the receiving yard record, serving as motivation for the Breakers now that the Division Title is not going to happen. And yes, the Tampa Bay Bandits have now won 3 in a row and are actually in range of the postseason at 5-8. It is a longshot, but with recent wins over both Atlanta and Orlando (as well as Washington), the Bandits have a chance, and a solid 3-3 division record. That they can still hope to make a move in the division is quite a surprise after their very rough 1-7 start, but this past month they have apparently found their footing. With 2 divisional games on tap (at Jacksonville and home to Charlotte) they can make a run, but that closing game against Houston could be tough, assuming the Gamblers don’t rest their starters. If the Gamblers do, then we could see Tampa go from 1-7 to 8-8, which would be a major accomplishment for Coach June Jones. Things are not so rosy in Atlanta, where the Fire have dropped from 5-5 and playoff contention to 5-8 and a rough road ahead. Losses to the Monarchs and Bandits have hurt their divisional standing. The good news? They have back-to-back 4-win teams on their schedule before a final game in Ohio. They, like Tampa, could be 8-8 when all is said and done, but will that be enough to make the post-season? Oakland’s woes are well-documented. Down to their 3rd option at QB and now with Christian McCaffrey dinged up, Oakland has lost 4 in a row and failed to score more than 10 points in 3 of those games. With a brutal road game in Philadelphia this week, Oakland could be on the outside looking in very quickly. Fans seem to have already checked out, with sales for the two final home games looking pretty bleak, and the team itself could well be looking at 2018 with players hoping to boost their value before free agency or to secure a job for next year. If Oakland’s situation is bleak, Orlando’s is even darker. The Renegades are sitting on a 5-game losing streak, one that has seen them drop from the top of the division practically to the bottom. Their last 3 games have been particularly humiliating, suffering a 23-0 shutout to the Blitz, before suffering a 17-point loss to division rival Charlotte and a close, but ultimately frustrating loss in Tampa Bay. It does not get easier for Orlando as they must travel to Birmingham to face the Stallions just a week after Birmingham knocked off unbeaten Houston, and deal with Michigan in Week 15. Yes, the Russell Wilson injury is a huge reason for the collapse, but the fact that Orlando has not been able to find strategies to work around his absence has been very telling, and not in a good way.  BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 27 HOUSTON GAMBLERS 21 We did not see this coming at all, and that is what is so fun about pro football. Birmingham was a bickering team with their star player demanding a trade and the head coach essentially getting him abused at the end of last week’s game by forcing the star player to take hit after hit at the end of the game. Maybe the message sank in. Maybe the anger the Stallions had been inflicting on each other found a more viable direction, or maybe they just caught Houston being too cocky and too confident. Whatever the reason, Birmingham’s upset win in Houston is one of the biggest surprises of the year.   Houston came into the game undefeated, practically untouched, but as with so many things in the USFL, the margin between victory and defeat can be very thin, and even thinner if one of your star players cannot go. The Gamblers had been rolling because QB Colt McCoy had stepped in after the retirement of Matt Hasselbeck and immediately started putting up MVP numbers. His ease of adjustment to the role of starter and the ability of Coach Phillips to use his talents to their maximum has been one of the stories of the year, so, when McCoy went to the turf with a friendly-fire injury after only 3 plays, it was a huge shockwave to the Gamblers.   McCoy was pivoting to hand the ball off to Carlos Hyde when his own guard stepped back a bit too far and stepped squarely on the QB’s ankle. Hyde got the ball, but McCoy crumpled to the ground and had to be helped off. The verdict, discovered later, was not an ankle injury as assumed, but a hyper-extended knee (visible when we reexamined the footage). McCoy will likely miss the next two Gambler games, and he was done for the remainder of the Stallion game.   Losing their starting QB was certainly a huge blow for the Gamblers, but it should not have immediately impacted the defense, and yet it seems to have done just that. With the score 0-0 when McCoy went down, Coach Phillips tried to engage his defense, letting them know that they would need to step up, and that pressure was apparently too much for them. Birmingham scored on 3 consecutive drives, a Hartley field goal, followed by a 12-play drive where Danny Woodhead added 7 and then another long drive that saw Cam Newton find Amari Cooper for 7. Suddenly, late in the 2nd, it was 17-0 Birmingham, and the Gamblers needed to rally, something they simply had not needed to respond to in their 12-0 run.   To their credit, Houston did put points on the board before the half. Landry Jones, in for McCoy, led the Gamblers on a 9-play 2-minute drill that concluded with him finding McCoy’s favorite target, TE Vernon Davis, for the TE’s 12th touchdown of the season. Jones would play most of the game, with Jeff Driskoll taking only a few snaps midway through the third when Jones took a finger to the eye. He would complete 11 of 24 for 199 yards and 2 scores, but he struggled to convert 3rd downs, with only 2 of 10 successful.   Meanwhile, Cam Newton, who was still fuming all week about his teams and his protection, had reason to fume, as he was sacked 7 times by the Gamblers. And yet, during the game he did not lash out at his coach or his teammates, he simply did his job. Newton went 16 of 27 for 218 and 2 scores, also rushing for 44 yards, though it should be noted that 8 of his 11 rushing attempts were clearly unplanned scrambles, not the sacrificial QB runs that Coach Ellard had called at the tail end of last week’s game.   Birmingham got the ball first to start the 3rd and they quickly bumped the advantage back up to 17, with Newton hitting Dontrelle Inman with a very nice post pattern, producing a 29-yard TD strike. Houston tried to rally, with Carlos Hyde scoring on a goalline plunge, and Jones finding rookie JuJu Smith Schuster for a score to bring the game within 3 at 24-27, but all that 3rd quarter action was followed by Birmingham shutting down Jones and the Gamblers in the 4th. In the final period, Houston managed only 2 first downs and never crossed the 50. Birmingham used the run (110 yards between Woodhead and Newton) and short passes to keep possession and Houston just seemed unable to get them off the field. They would only put up another 3 points, in part due to a TD toss to Cooper being called back for offensive holding and a missed field goal from Hartley, but the game was solidly in Birmingham’s control.   Houston drops their first game, understandable when you realize their star QB missed all but 3 plays, and Birmingham wins their 2nd in a row to get into the Wild Card conversation at 6-7. So once again the Ohio Glory can rest easy, their 2002 record run to an undefeated season sitting alone (with the NFL Dolphins of 1973) as the pinnacle of perfection in the sport. Houston, already locked into a top 2 seed (with the bye that entails) drops below Philadelphia on tie-breakers but is certainly in the mix for the top seed. They stay home next week for another divisional game, this time Memphis, who are also 6-7) while Birmingham will try to keep their issues under wraps and their anger focused on the opposition when they host the slumping Orlando Renegades in Protective Stadium next week. OHIO 16 CHICAGO 10 Chicago took a 10-6 lead into the half, but the second half was all Ohio as Rashad Jennings and Robbie Gould helped the Glory pull out the 16-10 win and improve to 7-6. Christian Hackenberg went 24 of 35 for 232 and the Ohio defense held Matt Forte to 52 yards as Ohio improved their playoff positioning with the win. POTG: Ohio LB Daniel Ellerbe: 6 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR   OAKLAND 6 LOS ANGELES 10 No weather issues, just two teams unable to do much on offense. Yes, Reggie Bush rushed for 100 yards on only 13 carries, but LA could only get one TD on the day and Oakland could not even do that with Bob Volek at QB. A real snoozer, but LA gets the W they need to move about .500 and stay in the Wild Card hunt as Oakland loses their 4th in a row. POTG: LA cornerback Stephon Gilmore: 5 Tck, 6 PDef, 1 Int   PITTSBURGH 0 MEMPHIS 23 The few fans still hanging on to Kevin Hogan as the Mauler QB could not be happy after watching this game. Memphis just dominated the game, limiting Pittsburgh to 158 total yards. Anthony Allen again came up big on the ground, rushing for 122 and a score as Memphis dominated time of possession: 36 minutes to 23. POTG: Showboat HB Anthony Allen: 34 Att, 122 Yds, 1 TD   PHILADELPHIA 33 WASHINGTON 17 The Stars again handle Washington with ease, with Matt Gutierrez throwing for 338 and the defense holding Washington to a sad 19 total yards rushing. A pick six, and a Derrick Henry TD run helped the Stars pull away for the 16-point win. POTG:  Philadelphia WR Randall Cobb: 3 Rec, 136 Yds, 1 TD   MICHIGAN 27 ST. LOUIS 21 Michigan moves to 10-3 thanks to a solid defensive game and a good day from Kirk Cousins. LeVeon bell only mustered 38 yards against the Skyhawk defense, but Cousins threw for 265. Kyle Boller got the start for the Skyhawks and looked better than expected as he shook the rust off, going 23 of 33 for 211. POTG:  Michigan QB Kirk Cousins: 24/30, 265 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int   DALLAS 24 OKLAHOMA 31 A solid game from Johnny Manziel, throwing for 3 scores, but once again the new Smashmouth Outlaws proved they can dominate the game on the ground. Marshawn Lynch rushed the ball 28 times for 179 yards and a score. Jahvid Best added another 13 carries for 54 yards, which meant that Joe Flacco was again protected, going 16 of 23 for 162 and 2 scores. Dallas made it close late, but Oklahoma held on to move to 6-7 and keep their once-faint playoff hopes alive. POTG: Outlaw HB Marshawn Lynch: 28 Att, 179 Yds, 1 TD   SAN DIEGO 20 DENVER 17 OVERTIME Denver sent the game to overtime with a late Greg Zeurlein kick, but in the extra period the Thunder got the win with their own kicker, Jeff Reed, as he ended the game with a walk off 47-yarder. Ryan Williams had a big game with 115 yards and a score, while for Denver DeMarco Murray scored twice in this entertaining game. POTG: Thunder HB Ryan Williams: 15 Att, 115 Yds, 1 TD   NEW JERSEY 23 BALTIMORE 30 The Generals stumble again as Baltimore makes it 4 wins in a row. Big Ben throws for 3 scores and the Baltimore D holds Maurice Jones-Drew to only 1.9 yards per carry as they dominate the line of scrimmage. Baltimore now ties New Jersey at 7-6 but is clearly the hotter of the two teams in the NE Division. POTG:  Blitz QB Ben Roethlisberger: 9/23, 189 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   ORLANDO 13 TAMPA BAY 16 The Bandits win their third in a row as they down the spiraling Renegades. No Tebow sighting for Orlando, as Brandon Allen got the start, going 23 of 40 for 185 in his first outing. Rex Burkhead again was the catalyst for the Bandits, rushing for 112 and a score. POTG:  Tampa Bay DE Tank Carradine: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   JACKSONVILLE 3 NEW ORLEANS 26 Jacksonville started C. J. Beathard against the Breakers, but it did not rattle the Breaker D, who held the Bull QB to only 113 yards passing. Drew Brees did a touch better, throwing for 304 and 2 scores, including another strong day for Jordy Nelson with 139 yards and a score as he closes in on Truvillion’s mark. POTG: Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 6 Rec, 139 Yds, 1 TD   SEATTLE 20 LAS VEGAS 23        OVERTIME Another good overtime game as the Dragons and Vipers both battle for that 7th win. The Vipers come out on top as Brett Maher connects on the game winner in overtime. Las Vegas trailed 20-7 after a Joseph Addai TD run in the early part of the 4th but got a late TD from Doug Baldwin and two Maher field goals to force overtime. By then all the momentum was with the Vipers as Seattle now has dropped 2 in a row. Manning gets POTG despite 4 picks, thanks to his 4th quarter heroics. POTG: Viper QB Eli Manning: 29/47, 238 Yds, 2 TD, 4 Int   PORTLAND 0 ARIZONA 35 We thought this one could get ugly and it sure did. Portland could do nothing against the Wrangler D, with Mariota sacked 4 times, while David Carr went wild for 4 scores and 309 yards before Ryan Nassib came in late in the game. It was all Arizona all day as KaDeem Carey, slowly taking on the lead back role, rushed 17 times for 75 yards and a score as well. POTG: Wrangler QB David Carr: 15/20, 309 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   ATLANTA 21 CHARLOTTE 27 It might have been the Fire’s last shot at a playoff spot, but Charlotte got the win as Aaron Murray was knocked out of the game early and Brad Gradkowski was rusty, throwing 2 picks. Mitchell Trubisky looked very much in command, completing 23 of 30 passes for 190 yards and 3 scores. Hakeem Nicks was again his favorite target with 6 receptions and 2 scores. POTG:  Charlotte QB Mitch Trubisky: 23/30, 190 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int Two Shutouts in One Week as Team Disparity on Display Shutouts have been about as rare in the USFL as snow games in July, but for some reason 2017 appears to be the Year of the Shutout. With two shutout wins this week, Memphis’s 23-0 win over the Maulers and Arizona’s 35-0 demolition of Portland we have the first week in league history with 2 shutouts in the same week. Add to that the Fire’s 20-0 shut out of Tampa Bay in Week 5 and Baltimore’s 23-0 win over the Renegades in Week 11 and you have 4 shutouts in the season’s first 13 weeks, which is already double the highest total in any past season.   So, what is the issue? Is there an issue? Or is it just a quirk of fate. Well, the obvious common denominator is bad QB play. Whether it is teams working with backups, like Kevin Hogan in Pittsburgh, E. J. Manuel in Tampa Bay, or Brandon Allen in Orlando, or just poor offensive game planning, we are seeing a lot of games where the losing team does not even muster 10 points, often only getting a minimal TD or even a lone field goal on the board. In that situation it is no doubt that we would see more shutouts. No one wants to see it, well, except if it is your rival and you just blow them away, but between QB injuries and what clearly seems like a disparity among the “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to star power, this cannot be seen as an abnormality, it is going to happen.   Lynch Has Another Big Week for Outlaws As if last week’s 181-yard performance in Seattle was not proof enough that Oklahoma has found something in their new smashmouth offensive gameplan, Lynch following that with a 179-yard obliteration of Dallas seems to drive home the message that the Outlaws have figured out their best option when it comes to attacking opposing defenses. Lynch averaged an impressive 6.4 yards per carry against the Renegades, following his 6.7 yards per carry in Seattle. Not many teams are going to lose games when their lead back is getting 25 or more carries and averaging over 6 yards per touch. In only 2 weeks Lynch has risen from 14th to 7th on the league’s rushing list, and at 922 he is now almost certainly going to get that 1,000-yard season he aims for. He may even top his 2016 total of 1,260 with three games to gain 328 yards to equal that career best. Seems clear that Oklahoma is going to use their big back as much and to as great an effect as they can. If they can run the table these last 3 weeks, they will finish at 9-7 and could well be looking at a Wild Card berth, something that seemed to be eluding them and their sack-prone QB Joe Flacco just a few weeks ago.   Trubisky Taking the Throne in Charlotte His game is not always as polished as you would like, and his 16 picks this season are certainly something to improve upon, but it seems clear that with the Monarchs sitting at 8-5 and the offense averaging nearly 23 points per game that the club feels they have found their franchise QB. Trubisky has improved throughout the year, is garnering praise from the coaches for his learning curve, and from his peers for his leadership on the field and in the locker room.   With a legitimate shot at the Rookie of the Year trophy, likely in competition with two Houston Gamblers, WR JuJu Smith-Shuster and SS Budda Baker, Trubisky seems to have turned uncertainty into confidence and helped Monarch fans take the offseason departure of Brandon Wheedon as a positive, not a crisis of leadership. Both Wheedon and Trubisky have had a propensity for throwing picks, which has some questioning the play calling and possible “tells” built into Coach Mora’s offense, but the flashes of real potential, and the developing team trust in Trubisky has been showing in recent weeks.   It was on full display this week as the Monarchs knocked off Atlanta 27-21. Trubisky on a key third down was forced to call a time-out after two players went into motion without time to set. That was a veteran save of what would have been an illegal procedure penalty, but what was more telling was watching Trubisky highlight the mistake to both Adrian Peterson and D. J. Hacket, two veterans who would not normally take much critique from a rookie, but who accepted their role in the screw up and showed no hesitation in agreeing with Trubisky’s on-field correction. That alone is a good sign that Trubisky is on the right path with the Monarchs, a good sign for the future since Charlotte has the QB on a pretty cap-friendly 5-year deal, so room to grow as he led the Monarchs towards a possible division title in his rookie year.   Boller, Beathard, and Brandon Allen Get Starts Not every team has a QB situation as promising as Charlotte. Three teams this week opted to start using the final month of the season to test out just what they have. St. Louis gave the start to veteran journeyman Kyle Boller, apparently unhappy with the lack of production they received from Blaine Gabbert over the past few weeks. In Jacksonville Robert Griffin III was again dinged up, in what is becoming a bad trend for him, and C. J. Beathard was back under center. And in Orlando, in what seems a desperation move, the Renegades gave untested Brandon Allen the start over the ineffective Connor Shaw. Having recently signed former Heisman winner Tim Tebow, Allen’s tenure as the starter may also be very short. Tebow would represent the 4th different starter in 2018 for the Renegades if he got the nod in any of the team’s final 3 games.   While Orlando came into the season with a solid QB situation with Russell Wilson the clear starting candidate and rising star, their season epitomizes how fragile a team can be and how vital a quality backup can be for a team that otherwise looked like a possible playoff contender. Without Wilson, Orlando has floundered, losing 5 in a row, and the turnstile at QB is certainly not what anyone in the organization wanted to see. For St. Louis a similar situation existed after the injury to Josh Freeman, though they may have started the year in a worse situation, since there were already concerns that 2018 Josh Freeman was not the same as 2012 Josh Freeman. In Jacksonville, questions about Robert Griffin’s effectiveness and his health have never really been silenced. He came to the Bulls after a pretty serious injury while playing in the NFL, and he has yet to show that with his freestyle scrambling he can stay off the injury list. Having a quality backup would seem essential for the Bulls and yet they went into the season not only with a rookie as their number two, but a rookie whose classic drop back pocket-passer style is the exact opposite of Griffin’s, forcing the team to jerk back and forth between two very different styles of play depending on Griffin’s health. All in all, of the three teams, Jacksonville may be in the toughest spot, with St. Louis also asking some tough questions and Orlando likely happy to have Wilson back next year but hoping that someone can prove that they deserve the backup spot. The San Diego Thunder locked up their 2nd consecutive playoff appearance this week as the 10-2 Thunder are closing in on the division title, leading LA by 3 games with 3 to play, a win or an Express loss locks it up for the Thunder, who last won a division back in 2012 in Las Vegas. They join the Wranglers, Stars, and Gamblers, all of whom have their division titles in hand. Michigan can join them this week with a win and a loss by the Ohio Glory. Charlotte may need a bit more time. Charlotte can also lock up a 6th straight playoff appearance with a win over the Thunder this week, giving them the SE Division Title for the 3rd time in 5 years (always in odd years.) On the downside, four more teams saw their slim playoff hopes slide away as Chicago, St. Louis, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh now join the Portland Stags and Washington Federals on the wrong side of the playoff standings. Week 14 could add several teams to that list, with a pool of 5-8 teams hanging on for dear life while hoping that 7-6 Ohio, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and New Jersey all have major downturns over the final 3 weeks. A drop to 5-9 pretty much ends any hopes for the 5-8 clubs still on the fringe of consideration.   OUT DE          Mallicah Goodman       OKL       Broken Leg         IR CB          Dre Kirkpatrick                MGN     Back                     4-6 Weeks G            Dan Santucci                   MEM     Arm                       2-4 Weeks LB           Devon Kennard               TBY        Quad                    2-4 Weeks WR         Marquise Goodwin        OKL       Arm                       1-2 Weeks TE           Ben Watson                 DAL       Hamstring         1-2 Weeks SS           Joseph Beall                 ARZ       Thigh                     1-2 Weeks QB         Colt McCoy                     HOU     Knee                     1-2 Weeks WR         Denarius Moore            LV           Hamstring         1-2 Weeks DT          Aaron Donald                PIT         ACL                       1-2 Weeks TE           Kellen Davis                   WSH     Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL OT          Reid Fragel                 OHI       Concussion CB          Cedric Griffin                POR      Concussion OT          David Sharpe                  ORL       Pinched Nerve                                 QUESTIONABLE LB           Travis Goethel                 ARZ       Migraines WR         Justin Blackmon             OHI       Jaw WR         Donnie Avery               NOR      Arm DE          Victor Abiami                CHI        Groin CB          Richard Sherman           SEA        Thigh   Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Named The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017 has been announced and it is a group with a unique distinction. For the first time in the history of the Hall a player will be inducted by two different leagues in a joint enshrinement. As we announced back in March, former NFL and USFL quarterback Kurt Warner will be inducted representing both leagues and officially honored by both leagues. Warner spent the first half of his career in the NFL, where his rise from obscurity to Super Bowl Champion and league MVP was the stuff of legends. After an amazing 7-year run with the NFL Rams, Warner jumped leagues, coming to the USFL in 2005, signing with the Philadelphia Stars. Warner would spend the next 7 years as the starter in Philadelphia. With the Stars, Warner finished with a QBR over 90 in every season, including 4 consecutive years with a rating over 100. He would throw for over 22,000 yards and 155 touchdowns, and he would lead the Stars to the playoffs in 6 of 7 years, including a Summer Bowl appearance in 2010. Warner’s pair of distinct 7-year careers, one in each league, likely would not have been able to garner him a HOF nod individually, but with the two leagues agreeing to the joint nomination, Warner was a a shoe in and a quick first ballot winner for ensrhrinement.   Warner will be joined by 4 additional Open Nominees and a fifth nominee from the Legacy Commission, which selects players overlooked during their 5 standard years of eligibility. Joining Warner in the Class of 2017 are some names that we know all USFL fans know well.   Joey Galloway, WR (Ohio 1995-2010, Tampa Bay 2011-2012) Perhaps the greatest USFL receiver of his generation, Galloway was the main weapon for fellow Hall of Famer Kerry Collins, helping the Glory to become the first (and still only) team to win back to back league titles, and to be the only USFL squad to go a complete season undefeated (2002). The former Buckeye then went on to win a 3rd title in Tampa Bay. He retired with over 24,000 yards and 197 career touchdowns.   Charles Woodson, CB (Washington 1992-2007, Atlanta 2008-2012) In his incredible 21-season career, Woodson was not just an icon of longevity, but of quality DB play. He retired in 2012 with over 1,200 tackles, 53 picks, and an amazing 15 defensive touchdowns. A six-time All-USFL nominee, Woodson was a dynamic player who could turn any missed throw into a major disaster for an offense.   Tory Holt, WR (Los Angeles 1999-2007, Baltimore 2008-2012) A speedy and dangerous receiver, Tory Holt was the lead target for the Express from the minute he joined the league, and in Baltimore became one of the most feared deep ball receivers in the game. He retired in 2012 with over 15,000 yards and 125 career touchdowns. Mike Gandy, OT (Orlando 2001-2003, Memphis 2004-2011) Gandy was the consummate bodyguard for his QBs, allowing only 33 sacks his entire career. He was a 4-time All-USFL selection and helped his clubs win 2 titles, Orlando winning in his rookie season and Memphis in 2007. This year was Gandy’s 2nd year of eligibility.   Alan Risher, QB (Arizona 1983-1984, Pittsburgh 1986-1996) The Legacy Nominee for 2018 is a familiar face to USFL fans, particularly in the Steel City, where he was the starter for 11 seasons, leading the Maulers to the playoffs 7 times, including two Summer Bowls and the league title in 1995. Risher came to the USFL as a rookie out of LSU in the first year of the league’s existence, starting 14 games for the Arizona Wranglers in that inaugural year. Injuries cost him the 1984 season and he spent 1985 out of football. He returned to the league, healthy and ready to play in 1986, signing with Pittsburgh. He would start the final 8 games that season and would be the starter through 1995. He amassed 239 touchdowns and 34,524 yards in the league over his career and was named All-USFL twice, including during the Maulers’ 1995 title season.   So, there you have it, the Class of 2017, an historic class, and one that is certain to bring a lot of Mauler and Glory fans to Canton to celebrate their two heroes as they are enshrined this October.   2018 College Draft Class is QB Rich With players reporting to campuses across the country, the nation is already gearing up for the 2017 NCAA football season, which means that USFL fans, especially in those cities whose clubs are already looking to the future, are thinking about the draft. January’s USFL Collegiate Drafts may be more than 6 months away, and a full college season will be played between now and then, but the 2018 Draft Class is already looking like one that could be historic. By most accounts, including those of our in-house draft experts, there are no fewer than 7 quarterbacks who could find themselves with first-round grades if they have productive seasons this fall. That means a feeding frenzy akin to a piranha attack is likely to occur in January and February as the USFL and NFL battles to sign as many potential franchise QBs as possible. So, just who may be the “meat” at the center of this feeding frenzy? Here are the 7 names being discussed, along with their USFL territorial rights.   Sam Darnold (USC): Los Angeles Express The Trojan’s starter in 2016, Darnold threw for over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns. That got our attention. He is viewed as the most pro-ready QB to come out in recent years and demonstrates a fluid motion, quick analysis of plays, and ability to make all the throws. The Express are pretty settled at QB with Sam Bradford, but could opt to go younger with Darnold if they feel he can step in immediately.   Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma): Oklahoma Outlaws Do the Outlaws jump on the Mayfield bandwagon, potentially parting ways with former MVP Joe Flacco? We don’t see it happening, especially as Mayfield’s style is more gunslinger than game manager. The talent is there, the ability to make big plays, but also a degree of erratic output. We cannot picture the Outlaws giving up on Flacco to take that risk, so almost certainly they are looking to find a taker who is willing to give up big draft capital to obtain the Outlaws’ first T-Draft pick and take their shot at signing the exciting, if somewhat inconsistent Mayfield.   Josh Allen (Wyoming) He is big, mobile, has a gun for an arm, and a “homespun” charm, and what is more, he is a true free agent. No USFL club has Wyoming as a protected school, which means that the Cowboys’ QB is going to the Open Draft. There are concerns about Allen’s accuracy, and about the leap up from the Mountain West to the pros, but physically, Josh Allen has a lot to offer, and teams at the top of the draft order will certainly give him a long look.   Josh Rosen (UCLA): San Diego Thunder The Thunder have been very happy with Joe Webb, and they also have Christian Ponder under contract, so we could see them trading away a T-Draft pick to a team with a less-settled QB room. What scouts like about Rosen is his calm demeanor and analytical approach to the QB position. He is not the most physically gifted QB in the draft class, but he has good accuracy and anticipation with his throws, drawing comparisons to players like Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins, not bad company at all.   Lamar Jackson (Louisville): Philadelphia Stars A true wildcard, the 2016 Heisman Winner as a Junior, Jackson is a true dual threat, compared often to Robert Griffin or Cam Newton for his ability to use his legs to absolutely destroy a defensive game plan. He has a cannon for an arm but needs to work on his accuracy and route reading. The Stars are getting a great season out of Matt Gutierrez, so once again this may be a situation where the club that holds the T-Draft rights is not feeling the need to draft for the QB position and is open to a trade.   Mason Rudolph (OK State): Oklahoma Outlaws The Outlaws have that rare situation of having 2 top tier QBs available to them. Rudolph is perhaps considered a step below the names already listed and could drop to the 2nd round in the Open Draft, assuming he does not absolutely light things up in his final season at OK State. If viewed as a 2nd rounder, then we might see the Outlaws do much as Houston did with Colt McCoy, sign Rudolph, have him learn from Joe Flacco for a year or two and then step in when Flacco retires. That seems like a plan that Outlaw fans would get behind.   Kyle Lauletta (Richmond) Another true free agent, Lauletta will get a lot of attention from USFL clubs that do not have a Top 5 pick in the Open Draft. The level of competition at Richmond has not been that of most of the other QBs listed, but Lauletta has shown some skills and some potential for growth. The best fit for him may be a club that has an aging veteran starter and wants someone to develop into the next QB for the club, rather than a team that is looking for immediate help.                 So, seven QBs will get a lot of attention this season, ahead of the USFL and NFL drafts, but this is not a QB-only draft, there is some serious talent on the board and in the wings and a team that is not overly concerned about the QB position could find themselves a real gem all across the roster. Here are 10 players we think should be early picks or T-Draft targets.   HB Saquon Barkley (Penn State): Philadelphia Stars There is no way that Barkley gets out of the first round in either the USFL or NFL Draft. But with Philadelphia over the moon with “King” Henry as their lead back, the best chance to land Barkley may be for a team to negotiate a deal with Philly to get into the T-Draft. With both Barkley and Lamar Jackson in Philly’s protected pool, the Stars could clean up by trading away those T-Draft picks.   CB Denzel Ward (Ohio State): Ohio Glory You know Coach Coughlin is scouting Ward hard. The consensus number one corner in the draft, and right there in Columbus with the Glory next door, we expect that the Glory will not only protect Ward in the T-Draft but spend some quality time wooing the corner ahead of the NFL draft.   DE Bradley Chubb (NC State): Charlotte Monarchs It is a question of cap space for the Monarchs. They would love to add Chubb on the opposite side from Chandler Jones, but they have more pressing needs, so we may well see Charlotte either trade away the pick or let Chubb go to the open draft. If he does, he will clearly be the first edge rusher taken.   OG Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame): Chicago Machine Considered the most pro-ready and can’t miss prospect in the draft, Nelson is a Week 1 starter for whoever picks him. That is likely to be Chicago, using their T-Draft prerogative. They can go for more immediate areas of need with the Open Draft and in free agency, but landing a solid 10-year starter at guard would be a good move for the Machine.   LB Roquan Smith (Georgia): Atlanta Fire Coach Arians has already commented on how much he loves Smith’s game, his explosiveness, aggressiveness, and nose for the ball. We could easily see Atlanta wooing Smith, selecting him in the T-Draft, and lining him up along with Luke Kuechley and Patrick Willis to form perhaps the most physically gifted LB trio in the league. S Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama): Birmingham Stallions It seems like every year the Stallions have a rich pool of Bama and Auburn players to pick from. But, considering the issues the Stallions have on defense, bypassing Fitzpatrick would be an absolute blunder. He is exactly the kind of presence this club needs on the back end of that defense.   DT Vita Vea (Washington): Seattle Dragons The Dragons have to see Vea as an upgrade at DT, though Broderick Bunkley has had a good 2nd half to the season. Vea is a space-eating, run-stuffing big man in the middle. He won’ t necessarily get to the QB, but somehow, some way, that halfback is getting stuffed by Vea on the inside run, and that is a nice thing to have.   DE Marcus Davenport (UTSA) We love when there are real talents at schools that are not protected, because it adds excitement to the Open Draft. Unless some of the QBs escape the T-Draft unselected (which seems unlikely), we see Davenport as a possible Top 5 pick in the USFL Open Draft, and that can help a USFL sign him, because he likely slips into the mid-teens in the NFL’s Draft, which does not have the Territorial rounds the USFL has. When picks are higher draft choices in the USFL Open Draft than the NFL Draft, they often lean towards the spring league and the higher initial paycheck.   LB Tremaine Edmunds (Va Tech): Washington Federals Physically gifted, but perhaps a bit too dependent on instincts rather than disciplined positioning and assignments, Edmunds does need some coaching up, but since Washington does not yet have a head coach for next year, whether he is picked by the Feds and chooses to come to Washington may well depend on just who the Federals tab to be their new head coach.   S Derwin James (FSU): Tampa Bay Bandits James is a playmaker, pure and simple. He will make the big hit to shake a ball loose or take inside position to snatch a ball away from a receiver. He is an intimidator and a disciplined defender. With Will Allen likely nearing the end of his career, we could see Tampa Bay go for James and possibly trade away Allen to get some value. Not a bad move for a team that needs more “pop” in their defense.   So, there you go, 17 players who will be big stories come January. Expect a lot of movement on the T-Draft trading block, because there is a lot of talent on the table, including at the most coveted position of all, and in many cases the team with a key prospect’s rights may well be in a mood to trade those rights for the right price. Should be a wild build up to the draft. Week 14 looks a lot like a palette cleanser, with only 4 divisional games on the slate. Yes, all the games, divisional or not, have stakes at this point of the season, but it does feel odd to have so few intra-divisional matchups so close to the season finale. That said, it is a fun weekend, with lots of inter-divisional showdowns that will impact playoff position, starting on Friday night when two 7-6 clubs face off in the Meadowlands. Both New Jersey and LA have a lot on the line, and neither can afford to drop to 7-7, not with the Wild Card race so tight in both conferences.   On Saturday, we are looking forward to the Charlotte-San Diego clash, two teams with a lot to prove as most of the attention this season has gone to the 1-loss Gamblers, Stars, and Wranglers. We are also looking at that Memphis-Houston night game. The Showboats took down unbeaten Philadelphia. Can they take down the Gamblers as well, or is Houston ready for them?   On Sunday, we have some teams who cannot afford to lose going head to head, including Orlando visiting Birmingham, with the Renegades desperate to do anything to snap their 5-game slide. Birmignham can reach .500 and be right in the mix for a Wild Card if they can use some home cooking to make Orlando’s slide hit 6 games. We have two 7-6 teams meeting in Ohio when the Vipers come to play the Glory in a game that could determine which of the two is in the Wild Card playoff and which is watching from home. New Orleans hosts the Wranglers in a “prove it” game for all those who think that the Breakers are just not in the same league as the USFL elites. And, a weird one to watch, but one that could be very important come January, the 3-win Skyhawks are at the 2-win Stags. Does Portland play for the draft pick or do they go for win number three. Fans are split on this, but you know the players in Portland want that W.   FRI 7PM ET          Los Angeles (7-6) @ New Jersey (7-6)             ABC FRI 9PM ET            Denver (7-5-1) @ Dallas (5-8)                            ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET         Oakland (5-8) @ Philadelphia (12-1)                ABC SAT 12PM ET       Baltimore (7-6) @ Pittsburgh (5-9-1)               FOX SAT 4PM ET       Oklahoma (6-7) @ Michigan (10-3)                 ABC SAT 4PM ET           Charlotte (8-5) @ San Diego (10-3)                 FOX SAT 7PM ET          Tampa Bay (5-8) @ Jacksonville (4-9)            NBC SAT 9PM ET          Memphis (6-7) @ Houston (12-1)                    ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET        Orlando (5-8) @ Birmingham (6-7)                   ABC SUN 12PM ET        Las Vegas (7-6) @ Ohio (7-6)                         FOX Regional SUN 12PM ET       Chicago (4-9) @ Atlanta (5-8)                           FOX Regional SUN 4PM ET         Washington (2-11) @ Seattle (6-7)                  ABC SUN 4PM ET         St. Louis (3-10) @ Portland (2-11)                  FOX SUN 8PM ET         Arizona (12-1) @ New Orleans (8-5)            ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: It was a tough call between Derrick Henry and Marshawn Lynch this week. But, while Lynch had more yards overall, Henry's 4 touchdowns were too much to overcome. Both backs had outstanding games, but the honor goes to Henry for his contribution to Philadelphia's big win this week. PLAYOFF PICTURE: Two changes to the playoff picture this week, with Arizona being added to the list of teams guaranteed a playoff spot. They join Houston and Philadelphia as confirmed playoff teams. The other change is the addition of the Washington Federals to the list of teams eliminated from playoff contention, joining Portland as eliminated clubs.

General Mayhem Arizona punches their playoff ticket. Baltimore gets right back in the mix. San Diego stumbles and Houston holds on in Week 12 action. We had some close calls this week, including a very game New Jersey squad taking on the unbeaten Gamblers. Coach Ellard showed Newton a bit of a lesson on humility, and we got a great showdown of teams on the rise as Ohio hosted Denver. Another good week to be a football fan in the USFL. We will cover those stories, look at the coaches feeling the heat, give you our ¾ Power Rankings, and look at each game this past week, but we start with our top story, a major shift of style, with impressive results as the Oklahoma Outlaws switch things up as they visit Seattle. Outlaws Go Smashmouth in Seattle It is rare to see a team completely shift their offensive strategy mid-season, but this week in Seattle we may have seen a team do just that. The Oklahoma Outlaws displayed an offensive strategy against Seattle that we have just not seen before from this club, eschewing many of their spread formations and shotgun alignments and moving Joe Flacco under center, with either a fullback or 2 tight ends, and just playing power football, smashmouth football against the Dragons. This may have been a switch brought on by pure necessity. Joe Flacco has been absolutely pummeled this season, with sack numbers that far outstrip any other team in the league. Now, part of that was certainly Flacco himself, but part of it was a scheme that focused on deep ball routes, spread formations, and trying to defend the QB with only 5 linemen. Oklahoma’s O-line has simply not been up to the task, and with Flacco both an immobile QB and waiting on deep routes, the result has been a lot of hits and a lot of sacks on Oklahoma’s former MVP quarterback.   Switch to this week and Coach Landry may have simply had enough. We expect Flacco may have hinted that he too has had enough. So, what did we see on Sunday? We saw Joe Flacco under center, in many cases with both Marshawn Lynch and fullback Roosevelt Nix behind him, or with both Chris Cooley and Julius Thomas in H-Back position or lined up next to the tackle. Unlike in the past, we saw far fewer 3 and 4 receiver sets, we saw more use of the TEs as blockers rather than receivers, and we saw a much better balance between run calls and passing plays. Oklahoma ran 40 run plays while Joe Flacco attempted only 24 passes (22 official attempts, he was still sacked 2 times, which are pass plays but do not count as pass attempts.)   What was the result? First off a resounding 10-point road win over a club that had rattled off 6 consecutive wins. Second, a banner day for Marshawn Lynch, who certainly benefitted from the tighter and heavier formations. Lynch had himself a day, rushing for 181 yards on 27 carries, getting stronger as the game wore on, which has long been his reputation. We also saw Joe Flacco with a much cleaner uniform by game’s end. Yes, he was sacked twice, but that is nothing compared to the regular 6,8, or 10-sack obliterations we have seen in the past. The offense was perhaps not quite as explosive, with the longest pass going only 30 yards (only 1, all others were less than 20), but it was productive, scoring on 5 of 9 posessions.  And what may be the best sign for Oklahoma, it was an offense that was sustainable, where the star QB has time in the pocket, has protection, and has the option of relying on one of the best “bruiser backs” in the league. Kudos to Coach Landry for being willing to put ego aside and do what was best for his team. Now we wonder if it was just too late for the Outlaws to make a playoff run. What could have been had Oklahoma started this new style of offense in Week 1? DENVER GOLD 26   OHIO GLORY 22 A really entertaining game from two teams that are often written off as “boring” and which simply don’t get much press on a national level. Denver and Ohio may not be the flashiest teams in the league, and their star players may not be on the box of Wheaties, but these are two teams that are proving that boring can win games and that team coherence and solid execution can win games. Both the Gold and Glory are looking to return to the playoffs after a bit of a dry spell. For Denver it has been only 2 years, but it has been 7 for the Glory, last seeing postseason action in 2009. Both came into the game over .500 on the season, and both played like teams fighting for a playoff bid.   Denver got the ball rolling on their first possession, a nice 9-play drive that saw Matt Leinart connect with TE Delanie Walker on a nice third down and long play, then saw Jamaal Charles, getting more early game snaps than usual, take the ball for another 13 to get deep into Ohio territory. The drive fizzled and Denver settled for a 30-yard Zeurlein field goal, but it was a very good start for the Gold offense.   After a short Ohio drive, the Glory got a break when Denver return man Kevin White muffed the punt and had to fall on it on his own 2. That gave the Glory a chance to get to Matt Leinart for a safety, and they did just that, with DE Kamerion Wemberley catching Leinart in the endzone to give Ohio 2 points and a short field on the ensuing free kick. Ohio would take advantage of that short field and would turn a 3-2 deficit into a 9-3 advantage when Isaiah Pead took a handoff at the 9 and burst through the line, shrugging off the tackle of LB Randy Gregory and plowing into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. Denver would pull back within 3 with a field goal as the first quarter ended, and we were off on a game that saw a lot of hard-nosed football, and a few key plays from both defenses, starting with that first quarter safety. The second quarter saw Ohio’s defense hold Matt Leinart and the Gold offense at bay, allowing only 1 first down in the quarter. Denver’s defense, for their part, bent a bit but never broke, forcing Ohio and Christian Hackenberg to settle for two short Robbie Gould field goals. Ohio went into the half with a 9-point lead, 15-6, but hardly a stranglehold on the game.   The third quarter was the highlight of the game as both teams came out with some strong adjustments on offense that proved effective. However, despite the adjustments, the biggest play of the quarter came from the Denver defense. On a 2nd and 9, Denver called the perfect blitz against a play action play, forcing Hackenberg to put up an ill-advised throw to a player in double coverage. Denver pounced on the mistake, with LB Randy Gregory, perhaps embarrassed by the Pead TD earlier in the game, stepping in front of TE Lee Smith and snagging the errant pass. Gregory, like Pead had done with him, refused to go down, shrugging off a tackle attempt by HB Rashad Jennings and rambling 49 yards to paydirt to pull Denver within 2 at 15-13.   The pick-six stunned the Columbus crowd, but they were soon back on their feet as Ohio mounted a slow, methodical drive, converting 3 consecutive 3rd and short plays by simply dominating the line of scrimmage. Pead was the runner on all three, refusing to go down without gaining the needed yards. With the ball on the Denver 6-yard line, the threat of the inside run proved effective and allowed Christian Hackenberg to bootleg to the left and find Curtis Samuel, the Glory’s rookie slot receiver, on a crossing route to once again boost the lead to 9 points.   But, little did Hackenberg or the Glory know that this would be the final points put on the board by the Ohio offense. Denver would prove their mettle over the final 20 minutes of game time, shutting down Ohio on 4 drives over the rest of the game, while also scoring on 3 of their own possessions. The first of the three Denver scoring drives came at the end of the 3rd quarter, a quickly-paced 8-play drive that took only 2:11 off the clock, but produced a Leinart to Kelvin Benjamin red zone TD pass that again narrowed the gap. In the 4th quarter it was all about field position, and Denver had the edge throughout. They forced Ohio to start drives on their own 8, 11, and 14 yard lines with good punts and kickoff coverage. They also held Ohio to only 1 first down in the quarter, which meant that the Denver offense got significant field position advantages. They used those advantages to get Greg Zeurlein into position for 3 field goal attempts. One was a 55-yarder that perhaps should not have been attempted, but the other two, kicks of 37 yards and then 18, gave Denver the lead and helped them expand it to 4 points with 2:08 left to play, forcing Ohio to go for a touchdown in their final drive. That final drive never materialized. A sack of Hackenberg on first down made it 1st and 17, then a false start by Ohio meant it was 1st and 22, and that was an obstacle that proved too big to overcome for an Ohio offense not built for deep throws and big plays. Shot passes to Manningham and Blackmon made it 4th and 7, but on 4th down Denver cornerback Aqib Talib, perhaps the best pure shutdown corner in the league, made sure that Blackmon would not come down with the catch on the out route, and Ohio gave up the ball on downs.   It was a rare prime time show for both clubs, and both showed that they are solid teams, with the ability to play some very disciplined and very effective football, especially on defense, but in the end, Denver moved to 7-4-1, in prime position to compete for a Wild Card, while Ohio dropped to 6-6, still very much alive, but at risk with a .500 record.   NEW ORLEANS 30  MEMPHIS 13 Drew Brees was back in full form and so was the Breaker defense as they held Anthony Allen to only 2.2 yards per carry and sacked Paxton Lynch 4 times, producing 2 turnovers as well. The Breakers built up a 16-3 lead at the half and never looked back, with Drew Brees connecting twice with Jordy Nelson for scores. The Defense also put points on the board late as the only score of the 4th quarter was a fumble recovery & return for six from Tim Williams. POTG: Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 8 Rec, 173 Yds, 2 TD   JACKSONVILLE 12   MICHIGAN 30 The Panther D held the Bulls to only 4 field goals and pulled away thanks to touchdowns from LeVeon Bell, Mike Hart, and Jerrel Jernigan (back from a minor injury). Jacksonville converted only 2 of 13 third downs and committed 4 turnovers in the lopsided Panther win. LeVeon Bell was contained, rushing for only 59 yards, but his backup, Mike Hart, had a solid day, rushing for 78 yards on only 10 carries, a nice 7.8 YPC average. POTG:  Michigan DE Justin Tuck: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   PITTSBURGH 13   BALTIMORE 38 The Blitz return to .500 with their 3rd consecutive win as Big Ben and the offense rack up 405 total yards against the Maulers. The run game was working for Baltimore, with Dixon and Williams combining for 146 yards and 2 scores. Big Ben contributed 258 yards passing and a TD as Baltimore rolled the Maulers and found themselves in playoff position after 12 weeks. POTG:  Baltimore WR Darrius Heyward-Bey: 5 Rec, 155 Yds   PHILADELPHIA 34  ATLANTA 31 Don’t be fooled by the final score, it was 34-10 after 3 quarters and Atlanta made it look good late with a pair of late scores against the Star backups. Derrick Henry was a pure monster in this game, rushing for 154 yards and 4 touchdowns basically in 3 quarters. By the time Aaron Murray started connecting on scores, this game was all but over. POTG: Stars’ HB Derrick Henry: 21 Att, 154 Yds, 4 TD   OAKLAND 3  DALLAS 22 Dallas sent Ryan Lindley to the locker room with an injury and brought Bob Volek into the game to be abused by the Roughneck defense. Johnny Manziel still looked a bit rusty, but completed 16 of 26 and threw a TD to Reggie Brown as the Roughnecks improve to 5-7. Oakland has now lost 3 in a row, dropping a game out of playoff position and into 4th place in the division. POTG:  Dallas LB Johnathan Casillas: 2 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR   ARIZONA 26  ST. LOUIS 13 The Wranglers struggled to run the ball, but had no issues in the passing game, even with David Carr knocked out of action early. Ryan Nassib came in and proved that St. Louis had no plan to cover anyone, with both Antonio Bryant and Jimmie Graham going over 100 yards apiece. Throw in a Frank Gore TD and a pretty lackluster day from Blaine Gabbert and you get Arizona moving to 11-1 by doubling up the Skyhawks. POTG:  Wrangler TE Jimmie Graham: 4 Rec, 156 Yds, 1 TD   HOUSTON 16  NEW JERSEY 10 New Jersey played about as good a game as anyone this year against Houston but it still was not enough as the Gamblers added the final 10 points to the scoreboard to take the W. Odell Beckham Jr. had 96 yards on 7 receptions, adding a 29-yard TD from Nick Foles, but later in the game Colt McCoy found his best bud, TE Vernon Davis for a 33-yard score and that was all she wrote for the Generals’ upset bid. POTG:  Gambler TE Vernon Davis: 5 Rec, 90 Yds, 1 TD   SAN DIEGO 10   CHICAGO 25 The Machine pull of the upset as they sack Joe Webb 6 times, pick him off twice, and get 17 fourth quarter points to blow past the favored Thunder. Down 10-9 after 3 quarters, Chicago took the lead on a Fitzpatrick to Fasano TD toss and then got the play they needed from the D, a 27-yard interception return by CB Josh Norman to pull ahead by 12. San Diego could not respond and the Machine finish off their best game of the year for win number four. POTG:  Chicago CB Josh Norman: 8 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   CHARLOTTE 27  ORLANDO 10 Mitch Trubisky withstood the Orlando pressure, avoided turnovers, and threw for 2 scores as Charlotte sent the Renegades to their 4th consecutive defeat. It was a huge game for veteran HB Adrian Peterson, very much looking fully recovered from his ACL injury as he rushed for 138 yards on only 19 carries. Throw in 2 Hakeem Nicks TDs and Charlotte takes over first place in the SE Division at 7-5. POTG:  Monarch HB Adrian Peterson: 19 Att, 138 Yds   WASHINGTON 10   TAMPA BAY 12 Mike Neu does not fare any better in his first game than Sean Payton had all year long, dropping the road game in Tampa Bay to the Bandits. The one bright spot for Washington was that long-abandoned halfback Donald Brown got an unexpected start and came up big, rushing for 129 yards and a score in a surprising return. Tampa Bay won the game on 4 Harrison Butker field goals, but it was the defense that held the team in the game throughout, frustrating QB Tahj Boyd on third down after third down, allowing only 2 conversions in 12 tries. POTG:  Bandit LB Brian Orakpo: 8 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR   LAS VEGAS 5   BIRMINGHAM 16 An absolute power outage for Las Vegas as they were held to only 51 yards rushing and 201 total yards. Birmingham’s defense just did not give them a shot, allowing only 1 converted third down all game. While the Stallions also struggled on offense, at least they found the endzone, getting the lone TD in the game early on a swing pass from Newton to Yeldon. Not a game for fans of offense, but a welcome win for the Stallions as they stay alive at 5-7. POTG:  Birmingham CB Antonio Cromartie: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int   LOS ANGELES 10   PORTLAND 23 Express fans have to be frustrated with this one as the Express absolutely fell flat against the 1-win Stags. Reggie Bush had 108 yards rushing, but Doug Martin put points on the board with 2 scores. Marcus Mariota looked solid, completing 20 of 29 passes for 244 yards in his best game of the year. The Portland defense also held up well, stopping 10 of 11 third down conversions and 3 of 4 attempts on 4th down. POTG:  Stags’ LB Kiko Alonso: 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int   OKLAHOMA 23   SEATTLE 13 Seattle’s win streak ends at 6 games as Oklahoma unveiled a very different offensive strategy, a smashmouth approach that helped protect Joe Flacco (sacked only 2 times) and allowed Marshawn Lynch his best game of the season, and one of the best by any back this year, 27 carries for 181 yards and a score. Seattle was hampered by a gimpy Jacoby Brissett, who left the game on 2 different occasions, splitting snaps with Matt McGloin. POTG:  Outlaw HB Marshawn Lynch: 27 Att, 181 Yds, 1 TD Henry Declared King of Philly with 4 TD Game “King” Henry is what fans in Philly are now calling their 2nd year halfback, and quite frankly, with what we saw this week against Atlanta, it seems fitting. Derrick Henry, the Alabama product who electrified Philly fans as a rookie, is looking like a true bell cow back, one of the league’s most dominating backs in his second year. This week against a pretty solid Atlanta run defense, he looked like a man against boys. Henry rushed for 154 yards on 21 carries, a 7.3 yards per carry average that only tells part of the story. Along with the big average came big plays, including a 41-yard TD run that simply embarrassed the Atlanta defenders. It was one of 4 scoring runs for the Stars’ favorite star. He also had a 15-yarder in the first quarter that included a straight arm for the ages, planting Atlanta safety Derron Smith squarely on his ass. Henry blew through arm tackles, even sent Luke Keuchley to the turf on a huge collision and reminded many of old footage of Earl Campbell.   The game marked Henry’s 3rd 100-yard effort of the season, and perhaps his best as he scored all four of Philly’s TDs on the day. Henry is currently 5th in rushing yards for the year, with 886, and while he trails Doug Martin by nearly 200 yards, we are not ruling out a late spurt to get in the mix with Martin, Jones-Drew, and Bell. The Stars are certainly hoping that Henry stays hot as they prepare for a playoff run. He may not have the Philadelphia legendary status of Kelvin Bryant, but “King” Henry is quickly becoming a fan favorite and a major factor for any team that has to face this Stars squad.   Baltimore Back in Business with 3-Game Streak Sitting at 3-6 after 9 weeks, there were real concerns that Baltimore was at risk of missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2013. But three weeks later, and with an impressive 98-30 scoring differential in those games, fans in Baltimore are back on the bandwagon and liking what they are seeing from their Blitz club. While we should immediately point out that the 3-game win streak has come against a 2-10 Federals team, a 3-8-1 Mauler squad, and an Orlando team that has lost 4 in a row after losing Russell Wilson to injury, we can still appreciate that the Blitz seem to have regained their mojo.   The offense in particular seems to have made an about-face from the lackluster outings that saw them score only 10 points against Seattle, 7 against LA, and 13 against Oakland, their last 3 losses in a 5-game losing streak before the turnaround. Big Ben Roethlisberger, the engine that drives the Blitz offense has certainly turned it around, throwing for 337 yards against Washington and a solid 258 against Pittsburgh. The run game has also started contributing, with Dixon and Williams combining for 102 yards in Washington, 95 against Orlando’s tough run defense, and 147 at home against the Maulers.  The defense has also come up big in the past 3 games, shutting out Orlando in Orlando and holding both the Feds and Maulers under 20 points in those two games.   At 6-6 Baltimore is not out of the woods, and they still trail both Philly and New Jersey in the division, but they currently sit in the 6th position in the East and can control their own destiny with a 1-game lead over 5-7 Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando and Birmingham. That is not something we thought we would be saying when they were 3-6 and riding a 5-game losing streak.   Could Jordy Nelson Reach Truvillion’s 1986 Record? In the preseason a lot of hype was surrounding LeVeon Bell’s desire to make a run at one of the league’s oldest and most revered records, Herschel Walker’s 1983 season rushing total of 1,767 yards. Bell was brash, but now, 12 weeks in, seems far from the attempt. But, quietly and without much bravado, another USFL player is very much on pace to possibly knock off a record few thought would be challenged. New Orleans receiver Jordy Nelson has 1,415 yards receiving after 12 weeks, meaning that he is only 544 yards behind the all-time USFL receiving record of 1,959 yards held by Eric Truvillion. Truvillion set that record back in 1986 and also holds 2nd and third place on the all-time season receiving yards record list with his 1985 and 1992 seasons (1944 and 1932 respectively). Could Nelson, in his first year as a Breaker, actually challenge Truvillion’s hold at the top of the USFL record book?   It won’t be easy, of course, as the needed total would require Nelson to average 136 yards per game over the season’s final 4 weeks, but it is the best run we have seen at the title since Joey Galloway went for 1,834 in 2000. Nelson has been averaging just over 118 yards per game this entire season and already has 7 games where he has topped the needed 136 per game to reach the record. But this means he cannot have a week with a 55-yard performance. He needs to be getting targeted every week, and turning as many 10-yard Brees throws into 30-yard YAC gains.  In Brees, of course, he has one of the best and most accurate passers in the game at his disposal. If anyone can lead a throw to allow Nelson to turn 10 into 30, it is Brees. So, the record is there, the QB is there, and Nelson has a shot at history. Not bad for a free agent “testing the waters” and “building a new rapport” with a new team.   Did Coach Ellard Send Newton a Message? Yeah, we all think he did. After Newton’s post-game meltdown last week, where he challenged Ellard to trade him and questioned the effort level of his teammates, we think Ellard sent him a message, and that message is “no one is above the team”. Birmingham had a solid 13-2 lead on Las Vegas when the 4th quarter began, and the defense, apparently inspired by Newton’s disparaging remarks the prior week, had not let Eli Manning (a bit rusty after injury) do anything with the Viper offense all game. It was time to burn some clock and run the ball down Las Vegas’s throat to shorten the game. Normally this would call for T. J. Yeldon and Danny Woodhead to get carry after carry, but on 13 occasions in the final 15 minutes, Coach Ellard called a designed run for Newton. This included first down runs, 2nd down and long runs, even one third and long run call. Newton being Newton, he would not audible out of a play designed for him. So what was the result? Newton finished the game with 15 rushes for -1 yards. Yup, he got smoked, time and time again. His longest run in the 3rd quarter was 3 yards and on multiple occasions Las Vegas linemen and linebackers just piled on him as he tried both inside and outside runs. The Vipers may have been losing the game, but you could see smiles on the faces of LBs Ahmad Brooks and DeAndre Levy as they helped Newton get up after yet another crushing hit. Newton was dead silent after the game. Was he humbled by the beating? By his coach’s clear message that no player wins on his own or is bigger than the team? It seems so, but will this also push Newton to push for a trade even harder? Perhaps, but not likely with Ellard. We think he will wait until the offseason and speak to GMs in suits rather than risk offending a head coach who played the game for over a decade and has no patience for disrespect.   Renegades Surprise Us with Tebow Signing Coming off a 4th consecutive loss, and 4 in which the team has averaged 10 points per game since losing Russell Wilson, we expected something to change, but what Orlando chose to do was a shocker. There were rumors that they were speaking with true NFL free agent QB Geno Smith, but the name announced as the newest Renegade was not on anyone’s radar, former Florida and Jacksonville Bull QB Tim Tebow.   Tebow played 5 up and down seasons with the Bulls, was traded to LA, where he just did not fit at all, and was released after the 2015 season. He spent the last year briefly on the rosters of the NFL Broncos and Jets, but was unemployed by Week 10 of the NFL season. That means that like Geno Smith, his 6-month window of being unsigned allowed USFL teams to freely negotiate with him outside the NFL-USFL transfer window. Orlando did just that and this week announced that the Florida star was back in the USFL and back in Florida.   Tebow with the Renegades will certainly sell some jerseys, as he still maintains a nice fanbase among Gator fans, but just how quickly he can be brought up to speed and have a chance to see game action, that seems somewhat dubious with only 4 weeks left in the season. Connor Shaw has been ineffective in the 5 games where he has been under center (4 starts and 1 sub-in when Wilson was hurt). Orlando has already stated that this week’s starter will be untested and very wet-behind-the-ears 2nd year QB Brandon Allen. Could they be thinking they can put Tebow in as soon as next week? He is certainly still a very athletic player, but there is something different about being in “football shape”, and what about mentally? The last few years have not been kind to Tebow’s ego and confidence. It seems a risk to us, but this point, with Orlando a game out of a possible Wild Card spot, perhaps risk is what is needed.   Oakland Hit Again as Lindley Joins Harrington on IR The season just got one notch uglier for the Oakland Invaders. The team is sitting at 5-7, having lost Joey Harrington to a season ending MCL injury back in Week 5. Now they get the news that his replacement. Ryan Lindley is also down for the count after suffering a fracture to the radius on his throwing arm after it crashed into the helmet of an oncoming tackler in this week’s loss to the Dallas Roughnecks. The Invaders finished the game with 3rd stringer Bob Volek under center. Volek, a 9-year veteran, is certainly a sage presence on the sideline, but last started a game in 2010, a full 7 seasons ago.   Volek will be starting this week, as Oakland visits arch-rival Los Angeles down the coast. He will be backed up by Tom Savage, acquired in free agency after being cut by the Maulers. They have added undrafted free agent 2016 rookie QB Joe Callahan of Wesley College to have a 3rd QB, but for the foreseeable future (the remaining 4 weeks) the Invaders are likely to try to run out the year with Volek under center. The Arizona Wranglers, sitting at 11-1, have clinched a playoff spot this week. They join Houston and Philadelphia as guaranteed postseason participants. As yet only Houston has clinched their division, with Denver still mathematically alive (4 games back) of the Wranglers and New Jersey still alive (4 games back) in the NE Division. Both the Stars and Wranglers can clinch their division this week with a win or with losses by the Generals or Gold.   We are seeing our usual clusters of teams in the battle for the final Wild Card spots as well. In the West, you have 4 teams with 6 wins each, and only 2 spots available. Ohio and LA currently hold the tie-breakers but those can change at any time with different combinations of wins and losses by any of the 4 teams. Seattle and Las Vegas are right there with 6 wins apiece, and 5-7 Oklahoma, Dallas, and Oakland are still in the mix as well. In the East, Baltimore is the lone 6-6 squad and holds the 6th and final spot, but there are 4 clubs at 5-7 who are certainly within striking range should the Blitz stumble. Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando, and Birmingham need to finish strong and hope that Baltimore has issues. While they are technically in range of 7-5 New Jersey, New Orleans, and Charlotte, the odds are against them to make up a 2-game difference and win on tiebreakers with only 4 weeks left. Finally, we added a 2nd team to the list of clubs eliminated from playoff position. Washington joins Portland in that unhappy club. After Portland’s win this week, the two are tied at 2-14, and both have their two wins in conference, so there is no saying which would get the 1st draft pick at this point. It could go down to a 3rd or even 4th tiebreaker if they both finish the year at 2-14. So, now the question for Stag and Federal fans, do you want to win any of your last 4 games? Generally, the answer is yes, because the Open Draft is such a crap shoot and with the NFL often claiming more than 50% of all early round draft picks, it is not worth taking the hit for “tanking” to get that 1st pick.   OUT FS           Jairus Byrd                  PHI        Hip                        IR LB           Paul Posluszny                PIT         Hamstring         IR LB           Reuben Foster               BIR         ACL                       IR LB           Dannell Ellerbe           ATL         Neck                     IR QB         Ryan Lindley                  OAK      Arm                       IR TE           Kellen Davis                  WSH     Shoulder             2-4 Weeks SS           Tra Battle                        ATL         Wrist                     1-2 Weeks LB           Nick Perry                     STL         Arm                       1-2 Weeks HB         T. J. Yeldon                    BIR         Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL WR         Justin Blackmon             OHI       Jaw        C             Peter Konz                      OAK      Concussion WR         Donnie Avery                   NOR      Arm   QUESTIONABLE QB         Andy Dalton                  PIT         Hamstring HB         Christian McCaffrey     OAK      Concussion WR         Alshon Jeffery                POR      Tendinitis DE          Matthew Judon             LV           Foot   Five Head Coaches Feeling the Heat With only 4 weeks left in the season and Washington providing us the first coach firing of the year, the question now turns to the other coaches on the hotseat, feeling like their opportunities to turn things around, or at least show some hope moving forward, are shrinking with every week. We picked 5 coaches we believe are somewhere on the sliding scale from nervous about 2018 to almost certain Black Monday fodder and reviewed where they are, how they got there and what they need to avoid the axe this August.   Jim Caldwell (BAL) The Situation: The 5-game losing streak had Caldwell squarely on the hot seat, but they have since won 3 in a row and are actually in playoff position at 6-6. The Blitz also have the league’s top scoring defense and a top 10 offense, so is Caldwell now in the safe zone? Our Assessment: We are feeling pretty good that Jim Caldwell will stay at the helm of the Blitz. There are 4 games left and even a 2-2 record could get Baltimore a playoff spot. 8-8 is not what fans want, but ownership is likely not going to let Caldwell go unless the Blitz completely tank. What He Can Do: Get that Wild Card, or at least get 2 wins to finish at 8-8 and we think Caldwell is safe for another offseason.   Lovie Smith (CHI) The Situation: It is only Smith’s 2nd year with the team and last year was a surprising success at 9-7. This year has not been so kind, with Chicago starting the year a dreadful 1-7. But they have won 3 of their last 4 games, so there is hope that Smith can keep them from a truly embarrassing year. Our Assessment:  A rough 2nd year is not always out of the question as he reworks the roster and tries to make changes to the style of play. We think that unless he goes 0-4 down the stretch, even a 5-11 season will get Smith ano What He Can Do: Winning 3 games to finish 6-10 would be great, and would give the Machine a nice 6-2 second half. That will go a long way to showing the club that Smith has the club headed somewhere.   Mike Sherman (DAL) The Situation: We had Sherman on the watch list for possible firing last season. This is his 4th year in Dallas and it has the chance to be his 2nd consecutive 10-loss season. Manziel’s suspension was an unwanted distraction and a blemish on the team, but does Sherman get the blame for that or does it lie with the Roughneck QB? Our Assessment: Dallas is sitting at 5-7. If they can win 3 of 4 to finish at 8-8, well, then Sherman may have a chance, but if they hit that 10-loss spot at 6-10, we think it is over. No idea what 7-9 would mean. What He Can Do: Dallas has just not shown any improvement on defense all year, and the Wheedon-Manziel handoff has not gone well, so we think that 8-8 may be the only saving grace for Sherman. If he hits 6-10 or even 7-9, we think they will call it a day and move on.   Henry Ellard (BIR) The Situation: Ellard can only ride his local celebrity and fan affection so far. He was brought back to the Stallions to turn Cam Newton into a star and the Stallion offense into one of the league’s elite squads. As he comes to the conclusion of his 3rd season at the helm, the offense is one of the league’s worst (27th in yards per game and 26th in passing) and his star QB is demanding a trade. Our Assessment: Likely on his way out. Ownership would rather keep Newton. What He Can Do:  Unless he can patch things up with his QB, we just don’t see a path forwards, and even that may not be enough.   Pep Hamilton (POR) The Situation: After a pretty rough 4-12 season to start his tenure at Portland, the hope was that Hamilton would be able to bring rapid development for Marcus Mariota and that Portland would take a nice positive step, maybe to 7-9 or 8-8. They now sit at 2-10 and it looks like this year’s club is less focused and less competitive than last year’s group. That is not good news for their coach. Our Assessment: We don’t see a path forward for Hamilton. Had Mariota shown signs of growth this season, then maybe a 10-loss year would have been survivable, but Mariota is not looking at all like he is ready to step up, and the Stags have just not been a team that gives their foes much to worry about. What He Can Do: Start packing, sell the house, get that resume out there for OC positions, or maybe consider a year in the booth doing color commentary. We don’t think Portland will be your home by next March.   Third Quarter USFL Power Rankings 1-HOUSTON (12-0) NO CHANGE Being number one in scoring and total offense, along with a Top 5 defense is a very good place to be.   2-ARIZONA (11-1) UP 3 David Carr is making a case for back-to-back MVP trophies as Arizona has the top passing offense in the league and is looking like a Summer Bowl favorite in the West.   3-PHILADELPHIA (11-1) DOWN 1 Fourth in points scored and in points allowed gives Philadelphia a great margin of victory of over 8 points per game. 4-MICHIGAN (9-3) DOWN 1 Another team strong on both sides of the ball, averaging over 28 points per game while allowing only 17. Arizona had better not get too cocky.   5-SAN DIEGO (9-3) NO CHANGE Still not getting the respect a 9-win team usually gets, San Diego won 4 in a row before the weird stinker in Chicago this week.   6-NEW ORLEANS (7-5) UP 2 We are all watching Jordy Nelson’s numbers, but this team is solid in lots of areas beyond their new superstar receiver.   7-DENVER (7-4-1) NO CHANGE The Gold are not going to wow you, but they can still beat you. It helps that they allow an average of only 70 yards per game rushing.   8-NEW JERSEY (7-5) UP 2 MJD has the Generals over 100 yards per game rushing, and the 2nd rated scoring defense has teams averaging only 16 points when they face the Generals.   9-BALTIMORE (6-6) UP 9 The Blitz get a lot of credit for their 3-game streak. How quickly we forgot the five-game skid that took them from 3-1 to 3-6.   10-CHARLOTTE (7-5) UP 1 We get it. Rookie QB, too many turnovers. There are reasons to be skeptical of the Monarchs, but in a weak SE Division, they could still get a top 3 seed.   11-SEATTLE (6-6) UP 9 The 6-game win streak is over, but and the Dragons play only 1 team with a record below .500 in their final 4 games. Time to prove you are legit.   12-LOS ANGELES (6-6) DOWN 3 The Express have won some surprising games, but also just lost to Portland. Guess that is the life of a 6-6 club.   13-OHIO (6-6) UP 2 With all 4 remaining games against teams at or below .500, the Glory have a chance to make a statement and propel themselves into the postseason for the first time in almost a decade.   14-LAS VEGAS (6-6) UP 9 Big wins against Denver and Oklahoma have them very much alive in the SW Division. They won’t catch the Wranglers but could still find a path to a Wild Card.   15-OKLAHOMA (5-7) DOWN 3 We loved the new offensive plan, but is it too little, too late for the Outlaws in their first season in OKC?   16-ATLANTA (5-7) DOWN 2 Aaron Murray seems to be the key for the Fire. When he plays well, they can beat some solid teams, but when he struggles, there is not much else the Fire can offer.   17-DALLAS (5-7) UP 2 We are still not sure that Coach Sherman made the right call in returning to Manziel at QB. Wheedon had better numbers in his 6-game stint than Manziel has had in any 6 consecutive games.   18-MEMPHIS (5-7) DOWN 1 How does this team beat the Stars, barely lose to Arizona (32-30) and then get crushed by New Jersey and New Orleans? They have no consistency on either side of the ball. That is how.   19-BIRMINGHAM (5-7) DOWN 6 The Cam Newton drama aside, the Stallions are just not good on defense, giving up 343 yards per game, with most of it through the air (264 per game). Hard to win in this league if you struggle in pass coverage.   20-CHICAGO (4-8) UP 7 That was a nice win over San Diego, a week after beating Oakland in Oakland. Maybe Chicago should petition to join the Pacific Division? Three of their 4 wins have come against Pacific foes.   21-JACKSONVILLE (4-8) UP 2 The Bulls keep tempting us with their defense, which has looked dynamic at multiple times this year, but if your offense can only muster 64 yard rushing and 183 in the air each week, you cannot expect to reach or surpass .500. Time to draft for offense.   22-OAKLAND (5-7) DOWN 6 The Invaders have to feel snakebitten this year, losing both Harrington and now Lindley. Coach Green is not in any danger, not with his track record, so the plan for 2018 has to start now.   23-ORLANDO (5-7) DOWN 17 The Renegades were 5-3 and looking like a division title contender before they lost Wilson. Now they look like one of the worst offenses in the league. Nothing Calais Campbell can do about that.   24-TAMPA BAY (4-8) UP 2 This has been a great quarter for the Bandits, who have won 3 of 4 in the past month, including big wins against Charlotte and Atlanta in their division. Dak Prescott has looked like he is beginning to really understand the game and see things slow down.   25-PITTSBURGH (3-8-1) DOWN 4 A nice effort in Denver got them a tie, but otherwise this has been a bad month. Losing by 25 to Baltimore has got to hurt, and the face them again in 2 weeks. Ouch. 26-ST. LOUIS (3-9) DOWN 2 The Skyhawks may be looking to reboot. After seeing how good Jordy Nelson has been in New Orleans, folks are questioning whether former MVP Josh Freeman is still the man. He is injured now, so that will be an offseason question that may not get an answer.   27-PORTLAND (2-10) DOWN 2 Hey, look, you are not in last place any more. Good for you, and good for you to put in the effort to get that win this week against a stunned LA squad. Still may not be enough to keep Pep Hamilton in his corner office.   28-WASHINGTON (2-10) NO CHANGE Jeff Ireland (GM) is gone. Sean Payton is gone. Washington is looking like a team that has hit rock bottom and now must do some soul-searching to decide who they want to be in 2018 and beyond. That will start with the hiring of a new GM and Head Coach this offseason.     MAULERS UNVEIL SLEEK “STEEL CITY” ALTERNATE’ A week after revealing their new primary looks, Pittsburgh embraces their Steel City identity with an all “steel” look. The limited-use alternate look features a steely grey helmet, not exactly glossy but also not matte. The helmet has a single purple stripe and a simple block letter P on either side. As with the entire look all orange has been removed from the design, creating a purple and silver/grey look that K-State, Furman, and Northwestern should immediately copy.   The jerseys, using the same cut and yoke pattern as the primaries, are steel grey with purple numbers (outlined in white) and a purple yoke which features a special 2-tone purple, steel and white version of the team logo. The pants are also steel grey, with a single purple stripe interrupted at the knee with a small white block. The team’s secondary logo is on the hip, also in just grey, white, and purple. It is sharp, one of my favorite alts to date and a fitting tribute to the steel city without infringing on the NFL Steelers in the least. Pittsburgh also unveiled their 1984 throwback, an expected move that is still welcomed by throngs of longstanding Mauler fans, especially when you reveal the look with Mike Rozier’s number, a very welcome callback for Mauler fans who will never forget one of their teams greatest legends. Back to some serious divisional action in Week 13, as it should be this late in the year. Ohio and Chicago kick us off in a game the Glory desperately need if they want to protect their Wild Card hopes. Then at 9pm ET it is the struggling Invaders visiting the inconsistent Express. I would not bet on this game with my own money. No way to know what will happen.   On Saturday we start off with what could be a very ugly game as 11-1 Philly visits 2-10 Washington. Expect no mercy from the Stars in this one. We also have some nice 4pm matchups with Michigan at St. Louis, Dallas @ Oklahoma, both divisional games with some playoff influence.  The night games feature two of the league’s best teams in action, 12-0 Houston hosting the Stallions and 9-3 San Diego making a tough trip to the mountains to face the Denver Gold.   On Sunday we kick off with a biggie in the NE Division as 7-win New Jersey heads to 6-6 Baltimore. This could have a huge impact in the Wild Card race. We also have Orlando, struggling to find themselves against a Tampa squad that has won 3 of their last 4. Another bad mismatch at 4pm when the 2-10 Portland Stags head to Arizona to face the 11-1 Wranglers. This may be one that you want to avert young children from watching. Finally, the nightcap on Sunday has a SE Division battle with first place Charlotte hosting the 5-7 Atlanta Fire. If Atlanta wants any shot at the division, or maybe even a playoff spot in general, they need to step up in the Dixieland Dustup.   FRI 7PM ET          Ohio (6-6) @ Chicago (4-8)                                ABC FRI 9PM ET        Oakland (5-7) @ Los Angeles (6-6)                  ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET          Pittsburgh (3-8-1) @ Memphis (5-7)                 ABC SAT 12PM ET         Philadelphia (11-1) @ Washington (2-10)         FOX SAT 4PM ET             Michigan (9-3) @ St. Louis (3-9)                       ABC SAT 4PM ET          Dallas (5-7) @ Oklahoma (5-7)                         FOX SAT 7PM ET           Birmingham (5-7) @ Houston (12-0)                NBC SAT 9PM ET            San Diego (9-3) @ Denver (7-4-1)                  ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET        New Jersey (7-5) @ Baltimore (6-6)                  ABC SUN 12PM ET         Orlando (5-7) @ Tampa Bay (4-8)                      FOX Regional SUN 12PM ET        Jacksonville (4-8) @ New Orleans (7-5)           FOX Regional SUN 4PM ET           Seattle (6-6) @ Las Vegas (6-6)                       ABC SUN 4PM ET            Portland (2-10) @ Arizona (11-1)                  FOX SUN 8PM ET            Atlanta (5-7) @ Charlotte (7-5)                        ESPN/EFN

Bomber gets the Oakland faithful ready to roll. A shocking upset as Memphis takes down the Stars in Philadelphia, a happy Houston squad now the lone unbeaten as they take care of business in Charlotte. A beauty of a game between two title contenders as San Diego outlasts Michigan on Saturday night and the season’s first tie as the Maulers, with Kevin Hogan again impressing at QB, nearly get the big upset in Denver. Overall a great week to be a USFL fan, with a lot of tight games, high drama, and big performances. We are going to break it all down, including a close look at that nice Michigan-San Diego showdown, and all the scores from the week. We start it off with a story on something that we have always know, but which this season is proving to be absolutely true, that QB health and good QB play is the key to success in the USFL.   2017 Showing How Vital QB Health Is If there were any doubters that the USFL is a QB-driven league, or that the ability to protect and keep your star QB on the field is vital to success, the 2017 USFL season is putting any doubts to rest. Whether it is looking at the success of teams who have prioritized quality QB play and QB protection, teams like Houston, Arizona, or Philadelphia, or if you look at the fate of teams who have proven unable to keep their star QB’s on the field, teams like Oakland, Orlando, or St. Louis, well the story is the same. Having a healthy leader on the field is huge. Losing your star QB is devastating.   Honestly, we don’ t even have to look at the current situations in places like Oakland and Orlando, where the losses of Joey Harrington and Russell Wilson have all but sunk the playoff hopes of each team. Just look at the ongoing saga of Joe Flacco in Oklahoma. Here is a QB that has won an MVP and 4 All-USFL honors, who has led his team to great success in the past, and who is widely regarded as one of the best pure passers in the league. The problem is that he is also a statue in the pocket, lacking even the minimal escapability that other larger QBs like Ben Roethlisberger, Sam Bradford or Andy Dalton possess. When you pair that with an offensive line that is rated as one of the 10 worst in the league, what you get is a QB who is getting sacked far more often than any sane man would want to. And while Flacco’s numbers are still solid (2,900 yards and a 17:8 TD:INT ratio), the results are not coming, with Oklahoma only averaging 21 points per game and sitting at 4-7.   But, of course, the cases of the Renegades and Invaders are even clearer. When Joey Harrington went down in Week 5 the Invaders simply did not have a response. Yes, Ryan Lindley is not exactly a wet behind the ears rookie, but the 6th year QB had not started a game since his last year in Tampa Bay back in 2014. He has struggled since coming in as the new starter, with a 69.3 QB rating and more picks than TDs. With a team whose WR group has been decimated by free agency and which depends on a rookie HB for much of their offensive spark, having a backup playing 11 of team’s 16 games has not been a scenario for success for Oakland, who currently sit outside of playoff position at 5-6.   Orlando was looking very solid until they lost Russel Wilson 3 weeks ago. They were sitting atop the SE Division at 5-3, but three consecutive losses, and a significant drop in offensive productivity now have the Renegades underwater at 5-6, and seeking a new path forward. The ‘Gades looked absolutely lost this week in a 23-0 shellacking by Baltimore. Connor Shaw, the 4th year backup who has barely seen the field in past seasons was overwhelmed by a somewhat shaky Baltimore defense, which does not bode well for the next 5 weeks. Sacked 5 times and indecisive even when he was not pressured, Shaw is not the answer, but with the league trade deadline come and gone, there are not a lot of options left. Some expect Orlando to bring in NFL free agent Geno Smith, but that could take weeks to develop and the Renegades just don’t have weeks to spare.   So, the story is not a new one, but it is a lesson for every head coach out there. Get the best QB you can get, protect the hell out of him, and make sure that you have a backup who is ready to go, just in case. Failure to do this could be the difference between a deep playoff run and a disappointing season watching the post-season from the couch. This is the USFL after all, the league that brought us Hebert, Kelly, Flutie, Favre, Aikman, and Collins. This is a Quarterback League.   MICHIGAN PANTHERS 30   SAN DIEGO THUNDER 34 Two division leaders, both with impressive 8-2 records, going head to head in what could be a preview of a Western Conference playoff clash. That sounds like a pretty good ticket, and that was what we had in San Diego when the Michigan Panthers, led by tailback LeVeon Bell came to southern California to face Joe Webb and the San Diego Thunder for the Saturday Night Special on ESPN and EFN.   Michigan came to San Diego winners of 4 straight, but it had been a while since the Panthers had faced a team with a winning record, not since Week 6 when they lost in Ohio. Since then they have had a relatively easy time of it with games against Tampa Bay, Chicago, Atlanta, and Portland. For the Thunder, who have won 8 of 9 since losing their season opener to the Express, the road has been a bit tougher, and after a huge Week 10 win at LA, the Thunder were feeling very much like the Pacific Division was theirs to claim, if they could avoid some intra-divisional losses. So the stage was set for a great matchup of two teams with very high aspirations.   The game would not disappoint. San Diego, knowing the key to Michigan’s offense was halfback LeVeon Bell, would design their defensive gameplan around run blitzes and outside containment. For Michigan the mission was to keep Joe Webb contained, forcing him to be a pocket passer, and to have eyes on Chad Johnson at all times. Both gameplans would have their moments, but both would also break down as this game slowly moved from the teens into the 20s and then into the 30s, with both clubs finding ways to put points on the board. The game opened with Michigan in possession, and after a couple of initial first downs, San Diego’s run blitz worked as drawn up on a key third and short. Myles Jack crashed down on Bell before the back could clear the backfield, producing a 1-yard loss on 3rd and 3 and forcing a Michigan punt. But, Panther punter Chris Jones nailed the coffin corner kick and San Diego found itself backed up on their own 2. After a run for no gain by Lamar Miller, Michigan DE Michael Bennett came after Joe Webb on 2nd and 10, was held in the endzone and the safety was awarded to the Panthers. Not an auspicious start for the Thunder offense.   Michigan would add to their 2-point lead with the post-safety possession, starting just short of the 50. The Panthers used the short field to quickly strike at the Thunder defense. On a 1st and 10 from the Thunder 39, play action pulled in the safeties, concerned about Bell charging to the left, but it was TE Martellus Bennett, going from left to right who was the true focus of the play. With the safeties out of position, Cousins was able to hit Bennett in stride, and the big man found the path to the endzone with only marginal threat of being tackled by the cornerback. Michigan had played the Thunder’s concern over Bell perfectly and now held a 9-point advantage.   But, on the next Thunder possession, Michigan’s defensive scheme, to contain and control Joe Webb’s movement, would prove absolutely ineffective. Webb dropped back to pass on a 1st and 10, saw a crease in the pocket, took off through the hole, and proceeded to make Michigan defenders look both slow and foolish on his path downfield. He got some good blocks from his receivers, occupying cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and FS Kenny Phillips, and allowing Webb’s run to reach paydirt. It was an 86-yard scamper that caused the partisan Thunder crowd to erupt and sent shivers down Coach McDermott’s spine. He would need to adjust his plans, put a spy on Webb at all times, and risk big plays from others because his containment plan failed miserably on the first true San Diego possession.   The Panther offense would respond to the quick strike from San Diego, mounting a 13-play drive that finished with Cousins connecting with B. J. Cunningham, in the game for injured WR Jerrel Jernigan, for a short TD toss to go up 9 once again, 16-7. But San Diego was still feeling the energy from the long Webb TD run, and the second quarter would largely be dominated by the Thunder offense. The Thunder would score 17 points in the period, to Michigan’s lone 2nd quarter field goal. The first strike came after the first of Michigan QB Kirk Cousin’s three picks on the day. A tipped ball, this first pick gave San Diego the ball on the Michigan 29 after Kyle Van Noy, blitzing on the run, instead clipped the ball coming off Cousin’s hand and FS Mark Barron snagged the tipped ball for the first of his 2 picks on the day. From the 29, San Diego needed only 4 plays to put the ball in the endzone, with HB Terrance West doing the honros from 8 yards out.   Michigan would score their lone points of the quarter on the ensuing drive, a Michael Beam field goal pushing their lead up to 19-14, but San Diego responded quickly, moving the ball from their own 27 to the Michigan 30 in only 5 plays before Joe Webb found Nick Toon on a deep ball, with a perfectly thrown strike to the endzone, brought in by the lanky wideout. The score gave San Diego their first lead of the game at 21-19, and with a field goal in the final seconds added to the total, San Diego went into the half with a 24-19 lead and a sense that momentum was theirs.   But the third quarter proved that both coaches knew how to make adjustments at the half. Neither offense found it easy to move the ball in the period. Kirk Cousins suffered his 2nd pick, this time just a poor throw that was easy pickings for CB Tye Smith. But, Joe Webb also found it hard to connect with his receivers, suffering 2 picks of his own in the period, in both cases balls intended for Chad Johnson, but both thrown under pressure and finding Michigan CB Jourdan Lewis instead. Michigan had put Lewis on Johnson after the Nick Toon TD, recognizing that while Johnson was a more frequent target, putting Kirkpatrick on Toon was needed to offset the wideout’s speed.   And so, the third quarter saw only one lone score, a long field goal from Michael Beam to pull Michigan within 2 points at 24-22. It would come down to the 4th quarter in what had to be a frustrating game for fans on the East Coast, now heading towards midnight without a clear leader in the game. The period began with Michigan in possession, moving the ball slowly into San Diego territory, but once again a forced ball would be the undoing of the drive. Cousins wanted to try play action again to hit Bennett as he had earlier in the game, but this time safety Mark Barron held back when the ball was faked to Bell, and when it headed towards Bennett, Barron was there to take it away.   San Diego used the momentum from that pick to add to their lead, moving the ball down to the Michigan 20 before the drive fizzled on a missed receiver on 3rd and 7. The Thunder added 3 on a Jeff Reed 37-yarder and now lead 27-22. Michigan would need to rebound and Kirk Cousins would need to shake off a 3rd pick in the game. With the run game not proving very effective, it would be up to Cousins to get the ball into scoring range. He did just that by first connecting with TE Rob Housler for 13 yards, then finding Cody Latimer on a huge 42-yard completion, with the Thunder defenders claiming that a rub route had been a pick, but no penalty was called. Michigan had the ball inside the San Diego 20 and was still only down 5 points, despite their earlier errors. It was now that San Diego had their defensive hiccup, much like Michigan had seen with their own glitch on the Webb TD run. Maybe it was a defensive miscall, or maybe LeVeon Bell is just too good to be contained for 4 quarters, but he let loose his best run of the game, breaking a tackle a yard into the play and then putting a smooth juke move on LB Kyle van Noy to find daylight. Once free from the linebacker group, it was over, and Bell raced to the endzone untouched, putting Michigan up 28-27. A 2-point play for the PAT found success when Cousins hit Housler in the endzone and Michigan had a 3-point advantage at 30-27 with 6:17 left to play. But, man, that is still a lot of time.   The Panther defense came up huge on the next drive, giving hope to Panther fans back East that they would hold on over the final 6 minutes. They forced a quick 3-and-out on the Thunder, aided by a holding call on 2nd down, but locked up with a nice defensive play by Kirkpatrick on Nick Toon on 3rd and 16. But, the Panther offense fizzled on the next possession, perhaps going a bit too conservative with 3 consecutive runs. Both Bell and Mike Hart were bottled up and after failing to convert with a run on 3rd and 5, the Panthers were forced to kick the ball right back to San Diego with 3:03 left to play.   San Diego would not be bottled up on this final drive. They knew that all they needed was a field goal, an Michigan knew the same, but the Thunder still used a sense of urgency, going to a no huddle and seeking to convert for new first downs on earlier downs. The strategy worked as the Thunder earned three first downs without facing a single third down, Webb finding receivers open in the 7-9 yard range consistently. A nicye draw play to Terrance West produced a 16 yard gain, and at the 2-minute warning, San Diego was on the edge of the red zone looking to take the game away from the visiting Panthers.   It would take San Diego only 4 plays and 22 seconds from there to score the go-ahead touchdown. ESPN color commentator Steve Young pointed out that the Thunder may well have scored too soon, with Nick Toon getting his second TD on a 9-yard fade route with 1:47 left to play. Young feared that the Thunder had given Michigan more than enough time to come back, but, that down by 4, they would need to go the full length of the field to score.   The Panthers would get the ball on their own 28 after a nice return by Ted Ginn Jr. but they would not find success on their last minute drive. A false start on the very first play made it 1st and 15 at the 23, and 2 plays later they would be called for a 2nd penalty, an illegal hands to the face. They ended up facing a daunting 3rd and 16, which became 4th and 16 after an incomplete pass to Latimer. On 4th down, San Diego rushed only 3, keeping everyone back. When Cousins found TE Bennie Cunningham 10 yards downfield, the Thunder defense swarmed the big receiver and he failed to gain the needed 6 additional yards, a turnover on downs and a victory formation was all that was left in the game.   San Diego is proving themselves a formidable foe, with a solid defense (7th against the run and in oversall scoring). Michigan played a good game, made a few too many mistakes and, outside of the one TD run, were never truly able to free up LeVeon Bell, who finished with only 57 yards rushing. San Diego now moves to 9-2, on the cusp of a playoff berth and only 1 game behind the Wranglers for that coveted 1-seed and home field advantage.   HOUSTON 19   CHARLOTTE 14 The Gamblers come back from a 14-3 deficit, scoring the game’s final 16 points to stay unbeaten at 11-0. Charlotte had them early, thanks to a big day from HB Adrian Peterson (107 yards, including 73 and a TD in the first half), but Houston roared back with Mike Evans producing 132 yards receiving and the defense coming up huge with the winning score, a 30-yard pick-six from Kenny Vaccaro. Mitch Trubisky heard boo birds as his pick led to the loss, picks remaining a huge issue for the rookie. POTG:  Houston SS Kenny Vaccaro: 2 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   DALLAS 13   ARIZONA 26 Keeping his word to his starter, Coach Sherman put Manziel back in the game as the starter, but facing Arizona after a 6-week hiatus is no easy task and Dallas struggled to put offense together. It did not help that the run game was held to only 45 yards on 30 attempts. Arizona faired much better with Frank Gore and Ka’Deem Carey combining for 104 and 2 scores. Larry Fitzgerald added 97 yards and a score as Arizona moves to 10-1 on the year. POTG:  Wrangler DE Adam Carriker: 3 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   BALTIMORE 23  ORLANDO 0 An ugly game for the Renegades as their offense only accounted for 199 total yards and QB Connor Shaw looked rattled all game long, sacked 3 times, but also fumbling without contact twice. Baltimore only had Big Ben for the first quarter before an injury knocked him out, but Jake Locker came in, threw for a score and helped Baltimore earn the win. The shutout was almost lost in the closing seconds, but a late Billy Cundiff field goal hooked left from 48 yards out. POTG:  Blitz WR Brian Hartline: 4 Rec, 119 Yds, 1 TD   MEMPHIS 20  PHILADELPHIA 10 An absolute shocker as one week after throwing 4 picks in a blowout loss to New Jersey, Paxton Lynch and the Showboats come into Philadelphia and knock the Stars from the ranks of the unbeaten. Lynch went 18 of 27 for 194, with 2 TDs and, more importantly, no picks. Anthony Allen was the key to the game for Memphis, rushing for 132 yards on 27 carries, he kept Philadelphia in a base defense and off balance all game long. The defense also played well, holding Derrick Henry to only 47 yards rushing and forcing Matt Gutierrez to throw a lot of passes away, producing only a 34.3% completion rate for the Philly QB. POTG:  Memphis HB Anthony Allen: 27 Att, 132 Yds   PITTSBURGH 27  DENVER 27  OVERTIME With Andy Dalton again sidelined by injury, Kevin Hogan had another opportunity to impress, and he did, going 31 of 56 for 317 yards and nearly pulling off the road upset in Denver. Hogan hit Anthony Hill late in the 4th to tie the game, but neither team could get a score on the board in overtime, so the game ended in a tie. For Denver, the star of the game was HB Jamaal Charles, who rushed for 120 and 2 scores, while his backfield mate, DeMarco Murray also played well, adding 70 yards and a score on 19 carries as Denver used a ground & pound strategy, but could not get the W yet again. POTG:  Mauler QB Kevin Hogan: 31/56, 317 Yds, 1 TD, 2 Int   CHICAGO 27  OAKLAND 24 Oakland continues to backslide without Joey Harrington at the helm. Ryan Lindley threw 2 picks, including a costly pick-six to Micah Hyde in this one, while Matt Forte rushed for 73 and a score for Chicago. Chicago capitalized on 4 Invader turnovers to take the narrow win and provide Oakland with a third straight defeat, dropping them below .500. POTG:  Chicago FS Micah Hyde: 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   WASHINGTON 7   LOS ANGELES 37 Sean Payton tried to shake things up by starting Tajh Boyd at QB and newly-signed Chris Johnson at HB. The plan failed, though Johnson’s 65 yards on 9 carries were solid. LA simply dominated, with Sam Bradford throwing for 4 TDs and the combo of Reggie Bush and Paul Perkins combining for 119 yards rushing. The result? Payton was let go on Monday, with 5 games still to play. POTG:  LA quarterback Sam Bradford: 25/32, 285 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   TAMPA BAY 19  ATLANTA 10 The Bandits pull off the road upset in Atlanta thanks to a big day from HB Rex Burkhead (26 carries for 126 yards) and 2 Aaron Murray picks. Atlanta was only 1 of 9 on third down as Tampa’s defense played one of its better games this season. Burkhead and backup Davante Booker combined for 167 yards rushing, allowing the Bandits to control the clock and grind out the win. POTG:  Bandit HB Rex Burkhead: 26 Att, 123 Yds, 3 Rec, 14 Yds   ST. LOUIS 10   JACKSONVILLE 37 The Bulls roll past St. Louis, thanks to a defense that sacked Skyhawk QB Blaine Gabbert 4 times and picked him off on 3 more drop backs. Robert Griffin III largely stayed in the pocket, completing 28 of 40 passes, including TD tosses to Matt jones and Reuben Randle as the Bulls win at home in front of nearly 50,000 happy fans. POTG:  Bulls HB Matt Jones: 14 Att, 91 Yds, 1 TD, 5 Rec, 11 Yds, 1 TD   BIRMINGHAM 14   NEW ORLEANS 32 The Breakers welcomed back Drew Brees and their QB thanked them with a 1st quarter TD, all part of a 20-0 start that the Stallions never recovered from. Brees finished with 288 yards passing on 15 of 25. He got a lot of help from his backfield as Leonard Fournette (86) and Doug Wilson (85) combined for 171 yards and a score. Cam Newton could be seen yelling at his coaches for a good part of the 2nd half, and after the game was heard demanding a trade. POTG:  Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 6 Rec, 138 Yds   OKLAHOMA 14  LAS VEGAS 38 Someone please buy Joe Flacco some protection! The Oklahoma QB was again battered and beaten as Las Vegas sacked Flacco 7 times and hit him many more. They also picked off Flacco twice and limited Marshawn Lynch to a measly 19 yards on the day. Meanwhile, Jeff Tuel had a solid game, throwing for 2 scores and rushing for a 3rd as Las Vegas gets above .500 at 6-5. POTG:  Viper DE Mario Addison: 6 Tck, 2 Sck   OHIO 16  SEATTLE 35 The Dragons look better and better each week, blowing past the Glory at home thanks to 309 yards from QB Jacoby Brissett, 94 on the ground from C. J. Anderson, and a huge game for Emmanuel Sanders, with 146 yards receiving and a TD. The Seattle defense also played extremely well, sacking Ohio QB Christian Hackenberg 6 times, including a safety from LB Khalil Mack. POTG:  Dragon WR Emmanuel Sanders: 6 Rec, 146 Yds, 1 TD   NEW JERSEY 17  PORTLAND 10 Portland continues to stay in games, but drops to 1-10, becoming the first club officially out of the playoff hunt. In an odd game, all 27 points scored happened in the first half, with both clubs unable to mount any offense in the 2nd half. Nick Foles completed 19 of 25 passing and MJD rushed for 100 yards as New Jersey built up the 7-point lead and then held Portland at bay in the second half. POTG:  New Jersey DE Aaron Kampman: 4 Tck, 1 Sck   Payton and Ireland Relieved of Duties as Washington Destroyed by Express To say the 2017 season has not been what the Washington Federals expected would be an understatement. The Federals are sitting at 2-9, on the cusp of elimination from playoff contention with 5 weeks left, and both the offense and the defense are bottom 3 in the league. While injuries have certainly played a part in this year’s failures, there was a lot going wrong even before the IR list started to grow, and something had to be done.   That was essentially the message provided to fans and the press as the Federals announced that both Head Coach Sean Payton and GM Jeff Ireland had been let go with 5 weeks left in the 2017 season. The Federals have been simply atrocious this year, and it is no surprise that both leadership positions would be let go this year, but Week 11 feels just a bit early, even for a team struggling to only 2 wins in 11 attempts. So, Sean Payton leaves Washington with a 94-75 record over 11 seasons. He had taken Washington to the playoffs 6 consecutive years, from 2008-2013, but had a 3-6 record in the postseason, never advancing past the Divisional Round. And since 2013, the Federals have been on the decline, with back-to-back 7-9 seasons, followed by an 8-8 campaign last year, spurring hope that perhaps they had turned the corner, but now, at 2-9 it seems clear that the bottom has dropped out.   For Jeff Ireland, who helped bring many of Washington’s star players to the team, including QB David Garrard, WR Keenan Allen, and LB Shawn Merriman, a 5-year tenure with the Feds is also over. Fans have been on Ireland for his inability to find an adequate replacement for legendary back Deuce McCallister, saddling the team with the worst run game in the league this season. Cap issues are also a factor in the decision to let Ireland go, as the Federals currently sit with less than $2M in available room and some big names to resign this offseason, including WR Brandon LaFell, LB Alec Ogletree, DE Mathias Kiawanuka, and DT Atiyyah Ellison.   For now, interim staff will fill both positions, with OC Mike Neu taking over as the interim Head Coach. Neu, who did not have play-calling duties under Payton, now takes over not only the offensive play calls, but the entire team as they play out the season. Head Scout John Finisterre will take over as GM until a hire can be made. Neu and Finisterre are not likely to be offered the permanent positions, not without a miraculous turnaround over the next 5 weeks, so the search for both a new coach and a GM to manage the offseason likely begin in earnest.   Do Allen & Burkhead Deserve Lead Back Status? With 100-yard efforts this week, both Memphis HB Anthony Allen and Tampa Bay HB Rex Burkhead have once again shown that they have what it takes to be successful, and the question now becomes whether their best option is to stay where they are, essentially taking 2nd seat to their team’s designated lead back, or to move on and seek an opportunity to take on the lead back role. Both backs seem capable of performing at a high level, so why do they sit in the 2nd position in Memphis and Tampa? Anthony Allen has over 600 yards rushing this year, and now, with Todd Gurley hurt, he is the de facto lead back for the Showboats. This is not the first time he has taken on that role, and he has had success in the past, so the question has to be why he gets supplanted by Gurley when the Georgia product is healthy? Couldn’t, perhaps, shouldn’t Allen be seeking a chance to be the primary back for a club. His 132-yard game this week certainly looked like the work of a true lead back, not a fill in. Since taking over for Gurley in Week 6, Allen has averaged over 80 yards per game, good enough to finish a full year at over 1,200 yards. That is not only lead back material, that is All-USFL material. In Tampa Bay, Rex Burkhead’s position has never been clearly defined. He is used in short yardage, but also as a receiver on 3rd down. Injuries have often allowed him to take on more of a role, as he did last year when in 10 starts he had over 570 yards rushing, and this year, when in 5 starts he is looking at over 500 yards, including back-to-back 100-yard games the past two weeks. Burkhead may not be the prototypical bell cow back, but he certainly has shown he can be effective. As much as Tampa Bay wants to lean on rookie Dalvin Cook, it is Burkhead who appears the better option more often than not. So, will the Bandits give their veteran back a true shot at taking on the lead role, or should Burkhead, like Allen, consider other options, other locations where they may be able to earn that full-time starting gig.   Is Mike Riley Locking Up Coach of the Year? A month into the season and many were wondering if Mike Riley would survive the year as Seattle’s coach. Now there is a lot of talk that he could walk away with the Coach of the Year award. Amazing what a 6-game win streak can do for you. But it is not just the wins, though certainly they are very big in the picture, it is the shift in how Seattle sees itself as a team and how others see them as well. The Dragons went into the season as a very obvious rebuild project. They had an untested 2nd year QB at the helm of the offense, big questions in the receiving corps and all across the defense. And yet, after 11 weeks, Seattle boasts a Top 5 offense, averaging 24.3 points per game, and a defense that has not given up 20 points in over a month, including holding New Jersey to 6 points and both Baltimore and Oakland to only 10.   That is an impressive run, and Mike Riley is being noticed as someone who looked at the talent around his team and figured out how best to use them. On offense, he implemented a short passing game, allowing QB Jacoby Brissett to have 1 or 2 reads and then get rid of the ball. He is mixing up the targets as well, making sure that both Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace are getting plenty of looks, but also allowing the TE position to be a factor, with both Tyler Kroft and Dennis Pitta seeing plenty of targets. On defense, Riley is using a high pressure system to bring 5 or 6 defenders at the QB, trusting his 5-man secondary of safeties Goldson and Schillinger and the 3-corner setup of Richard Sherman, Xavien Howard and nickel Richard Crawford, take on receivers, challenging quick routes and making it tough to get deep.   With 5 weeks of action left to go, and certainly other feel-good stories across the league, including nice coaching jobs by Dick LeBeau in San Diego, Rick Neuheisel in Las Vegas, Jim Harbaugh in Philadelphia, and Tom Coughlin in Ohio, the Coach of the Year is not a lock, but Riley is certainly making the case that the competition starts and ends with him. If the Dragons keep winning, and keep rising up the power rankings, he may well get his recognition come this year’s Awards Dinner.   Was Newton Venting or Truly Demanding a Trade? That is the question all Stallion fans want answered. Cam Newton’s post-game rant, caught on tape by reporters in the locker room included some pretty harsh words directed at his teammates, and the team in general. A lot of raving about how his talents are being wasted, about the lack of effort from others, or the lack of focus by the team as a whole, but the moment that has erupted online and in the local media is when Newton went right up to Head Coach Henry Ellard and demanded a trade. “   “You don’t respect me, what I can do. So trade me! Get me out of here! Because I can play this game but not the way you are using me. I should be dominating this league! I should be winning titles, but I am not getting a chance! If you don’t want me to be me, then I don’t want to be here! Trade me or I am quitting this whole thing! I can go to the NFL! I can go to Canada! I don’t need you or this team!” Newton could be heard yelling on the recording from a local reporter. That tape is now one of the most downloaded and debated stories of the week.   For Stallion fans, the words their star QB belted out are exactly what they dreaded, that their best player, tired of playing on teams that are just not competitive, would demand to leave. Now, neither Coach Ellard or the Stallions’ organization is in any way obligated to trade Newton. Their star QB is under contract with the Stallions through the 2019 season, but Newton does have options. What many fans fear is that he will either become a pariah on the team, refusing to put the effort in to help the team and his teammates, or, even worse, that he will do what Stallion fans saw another star QB do just a decade ago, declare his retirement from the league, a tactic which could still allow Newton to later sign on with the NFL outside of the two league’s strict transfer policy.   It is a loophole neither league likes, but one which the two leagues and their lawyers have yet to find a path to shutting. Newton, if not traded, could well opt out of his contract with Birmingham by signing a retirement filing with the league. That would allow him to become eligible to NFL or CFL teams in as little as 4 months, meaning that he could begin play in the NFL by late fall. It is a risky move, as both league’s have proven very resistant to the strategy ever since the Brett Favre situation back in the early 2000’s. But it is a move Newton could make, or could use as leverage if his true goal is to get out of Birmingham.   If Birmingham decides that it is better to trade Newton and get compensation for him, as opposed to losing him with nothing in hand, there would likely be no shortage of takers, though Newton’s particular skillset and style of play is one that does require a particular offensive mindset, one willing to put pocket passing and a pro-style offense on the back burner and allow for greater freedom for the QB to make run-pass decisions on the fly, something many OC’s and Head Coaches hate to do.   Could we see Newton in a different uniform in 2018? Quite possibly. Could that be an NFL uniform? Also possible. Because Birmingham’s ownership has a lot to lose if they try to play hardball with the QB, and potentially could justify a deal that sends their biggest star elsewhere with the hope of rebuilding around a new star, and with an offense that will better allow others on the team to flourish. It is a tough situation for the Warners (principal owners of the Stallions) and Coach Ellard, but it is one that seems to be unavoidable as long as Newton continues to express the kind of frustration and displeasure with his situation that we saw come out after yet another Stallion loss this week.   Dallas Fans Split on QB Decision This week’s Roughneck loss in Arizona has produced a new debate in Dallas. Did Coach Sherman make the right call at quarterback? Coach Sherman stuck to his guns, and to a statement he made back in the opening weeks of the season when 2016 starter Johnny Manziel was first issued a 6-game suspension. At the time of the league announcement, Coach Sherman stated unequivocally that Manziel was the starter and that if he was suspended (at the time it was under appeal) he would not lose his position and would be the starter upon his return. In that moment it was a no-brainer position, one fans were glad to hear. After all, Manziel is something of a legendary figure in Texas, from his years and his successes at Texas A&M.   But, with the suspension upheld and beginning in Week 4, Dallas had to move to Plan B, and that Plan was former Charlotte starter Brandon Wheedon, signed by the Roughnecks during camp after a trade with Charlotte that cost Dallas 2 draft picks. Wheedon was the security blanket after Manziel’s DUI arrest this past winter. When the suspension came down, the former Monarch stepped in, fully aware of the promise Coach Sherman had made to Manziel. But, what has happened since has raised doubts about that promise. Wheedon has played better than expected, looking like his best self, the version we saw take Charlotte to the playoffs in each of the past 4 years, and without the huge issue of turnovers that plagued his final 2 seasons in Charlotte. In his 6-game stint as the Roughneck starter, Wheedon has thrown for over 1,300 yards, garnered a 92.5 QB rating and has limited mistakes, throwing 3 picks vs. 6 touchdowns over that period. He has also helpd produce 3 wins, including last week’s upset of New Orleans.   And that might be the biggest issue fans are having with Coach Sherman’s decision to put Manziel into the game against Arizona as the starter. While Manziel had less than a full week of practice after 6 weeks away from the club, Wheedon was coming off one of the biggest wins of the season for the Roughnecks, a game in which he completed 15 of 20 passes and threw no picks. Yes, he was dinged up in that game, but he was cleared to play this week. Instead of going with the hot hand, Coach Sherman went to an understandably rusty Manziel. And while Manziel did not play horribly, he spent much of the game running from the Wrangler pass rush, completing 16 of 27 passes, but for only 111 yards, often dumping the ball off to his backs and tight ends. His longest pass of the day was for 14 yards, with 7 of those being YAC.   For many, Wheedon should have gotten the start, giving Manziel time to work himself back for Week 12’s much less demanding game at home against a flailing Oakland squad. While many on local sports radio in the DFW area gave Sherman credit for sticking with Manziel as the team’s starter, the question of just how to reintroduce the former Aggie as the starter were abundant. Too fast, too unprepared, too shellshocked by Arizona, those were the claims against the decision and Manziel’s play. So, what does Sherman do now? He has to stick with Manziel, right? But what if “Johnny Football” continues to struggle to find his rhythm? Is there a point where you go back to Wheedon? Dallas may not have a full-blown QB Controversy, but they certainly are not feeling like they have the position locked down and ready to roll. Five weeks left to play and we have our first playoff berths locked up. And, to no one’s surprise, it is unbeaten Houston and the 10-1 Philadelphia Stars who get their golden tickets. Philadelphia had to have mixed feelings this week, upset by Memphis, their perfect record now showing its first L, but at the same time, due to the events in other games, they lock in a playoff spot. With a 3-game lead over New Jersey, locking up the NE Division is not in play yet, but could be soon. Meanwhile in Houston, the unbeaten Gamblers are flying high, having not only locked down a playoff spot, but winning the Southern Division with 5 weeks left to play. Their attention can now be refocused on locking up the 1 seed and home field advantage, while, always in the background, and growing in power, is the reality that they still have not suffered a single loss this season. On the downside of the same playoff ranking we find Coach Hamilton and the Portland Stags. After locking up their first division title in 2015, things have gotten a lot darker for the Stags. They went 4-12 last season in a major collapse, and this year sit at 1-10, now officially the first team eliminated from playoff position. With more than a month to go, the Stags could well be playing a lot of games without any team motivations, a long time to be running out the season.  We are going to call this a light injury week, but don’t tell Orlando we said that. They are not at all happy to lose yet another offensive weapon for the remainder of the year. HB Latavious Murray, part of their 1-2 punch with Knowshon Moreno, suffered an injury in training on Tuesday, a non-game injury but a big one as his quad muscle separated from the femur, a painful injury and one that will require surgery to repair. Memphis also put a key player on IR in safety Calvin Pryor. Pryor had a partial Achilles tear during the game this week at Philly. Memphis will promote Lonnie Ballentine into the starting lineup, with Sean Webb now moved from the practice squad to fill the backup role. In Orlando, Moreno is now likely to take on more carries, but will be relieved by scatback Joique Bell and free agent Javon Ringer, signed on Tuesday. Ringer last played for Michigan, carrying the ball only 20 times in 2016.   OUT HB         Latavious Murray        ORL       Torn Quad       IR FS         Calvin Pryor               MEM     Achilles            IR TE          Kellen Davis                    WSH     Neck             2-4 Weeks   DOUBTFUL SS          Jabril Peppers                 MGN     Concussion       OT          Winston Justice              OHI       Foot   QUESTIONABLE DT          Kendall Reyes                PIT         Wrist FS          Jalen Mills                       LA          Knee DE          Cameron Jordan             NOR      Concussion WR         Antonio Bryant              ARZ       Concussion HB         Ryan Williams               SD          Concussion Ten Players Who Should Be Looking to Be Traded With Cam Newton’s outburst, demanding a trade, as well as with the issues surrounding QB play on several teams, the topic of players who should be looking to move has been a popular one around the water cooler this week (wait, who still hangs around water coolers in 2017? Maybe we should say the Keurig?).  So, we thought we would put together our bullpen’s list of 10 players who really ought to be looking for a new home.   QB Kevin Hogan (PIT) It seems obvious that Hogan is a very capable player, one who should get a shot at starting. While Andy Dalton is in the last year of his contract, no one expects him to be going anywhere, so Hogan, who has one year left on his deal with the Maulers should be speaking to management about letting him get a shot to play elsewhere, while allowing Pitt alum and 2017 Mauler draft pick Nate Peterman step into the backup role.   QB Christian Ponder (SD) Ponder signed with San Diego in the 2016 NFL transfer window with every expectation that he would get a good shot at the starting job. That first camp Joe Webb held onto the position and has not let go since. Ponder has had some mop up duty and some injury starts, but that is it. He has only 4 pass attempts this season. We know this is not why he came to the Thunder, so perhaps the time is right for him to look for another option. He has 3 more years on his contract, so a trade would be the best option for him right now.   HB Rashad Jennings (OHI) After a strong 2016, we really expected Jennings to take more carries away from Isaiah Pead, and perhaps even become the primary back, but Coach Coughlin likes Pead’s power and his ball security, and that has kept Jennings largely to a 3rd down role. That feels like a waste for a player who showed us some real ability when Pead was out injured. Jennings is averaging over 4 yards per carry this year, and certainly would garner interest from teams looking to improve their run game, so why not make a deal and get something in return? If not, Jennings is likely gone in 2018 as this is a contract renewal year.   HB Kerwynn Williams (BAL) Williams signed an extension last year, so he is locked in with the Blitz through 2019, but Anthony Dixon remains the starter and the lead back in Baltimore. Dixon is in a contract year, so perhaps some promises have been made to Williams, which would allow him to get more touches starting next year. If that is the case, then it is Dixon who is likely to be relocated, but what we are seeing this year is that Williams is outperforming Dixon when he gets the chance. Averaging 4.7 yards per touch, Williams has 55 more yards rushing than Dixon despite significantly fewer touches. That seems unsustainable beyond this year if you ask us.   WR Marques Colston (OKL) We debated on this one. Should we say Joe Flacco instead? Why is Colston, a top receiver closing in on yet another 1,000-yard season a trade candidate? Well, again, it is a contract year for him, and he is likely to shop around, particularly with Oklahoma’s declining offensive production due to poor line play. Rather than have him leave with nothing for Oklahoma in return, the best option for the Outlaws may well be a sign & trade deal with a club before the season is out. The Outlaws could seek a high price for Colston and there are plenty of teams with cap space to sign a long-term deal. They cannot trade him this season, but they could sign him to a short-term deal and then trade him in the offseason.   LB Brian Orakpo (TBY) Orakpo is a superstar talent on what has to be called a bad defense. He is fighting for the league title in tackles, but nowhere near a league title as a team. He has only 1 more year on his deal with Tampa Bay, and he has to be frustrated with the lack of clear improvement on the Bandit team. If we were his agent, we would be pushing hard for a deal that would send Orakpo to a contender and maybe land Tampa Bay some draft capital to start rebuilding.   LB Kyle Van Noy (SD) We are picking on a lot of players in the final year of their contracts, but only because they tend to be ideal trade bait for those sign & deal arrangements. Van Noy is having a very strong season for the Thunder, and he certainly seems happy playing in sunny San Diego with a team that could contend for a title. So, why deal him? Well, while San Diego has solid cap space going into the offseason, Van Noy is likely to be looking for a big raise after his performance this year. San Diego already has big money invested in Myles Jack and A. J. Hawk, and while Van Noy is certainly a quality player, it seems unlikely that the Thunder want to invest so much cap space on the LB group when they have other needs as well.   DT Aaron Donald (PIT) He is generally considered one of the best defenders in the league, and while he is under contract with the Maulers for 2 more seasons, he has to see that the quick rise of the Maulers in 2015 was something of a fluke. Things looked rosey for Pittsburgh 2 seasons ago, when they finished 13-3 and were the Cinderella story of the league. But the Maulers have simply not been able to maintain that momentum, dropping to 6-10 last year and looking very much like another 10-loss club this year. If I were Donald, I would want more. It is not about the money here, it is about being on a club that has made the commitment to winning and has the roster to get it done. It will be a tough sell for Pittsburgh to agree to trade Donald, but it should at least be on the table.   DE Cliff Avril (OAK) Avril has been one of the best defenders on the Invaders, and in the league, since coming over from the NFL in 2013. With four 10-sack seasons in 5 years, including 13 this season, he is a huge force for the Invader defense, but is his dynamic play being wasted on a club that has been 1-and-done in the playoffs the past 3 seasons and could easily be out of the playoff picture this year. Look, there are much worse places to be than the Bay Area, and Coach Green is beloved by his players, so maybe Avril is happy where he is, but maybe he would like a ring, and Oakland may not be the place to get one.   DE Arthur Moats (ORL) Whether or not you put Arthur Moats on this list depends entirely on how you view the Orlando right end. There are many who look at his 11 sacks this year, and his string of 10-sack seasons and say he is a talent in his own right who will be in the shadow of Calais Campbell for as long as the two play together in Orlando. And there are others who look at the same numbers and say that Moats is being overvalued because Campbell is drawing all the attention, that on his own, as the clear top guy on the edge, Moats would not be able to produce what we have seen in Orlando. We are on the fence on it, so maybe it depends on what Moats values. If he wants bigger money, more attention, and a chance to show that he can be a Top 10 sack guy without Campbell, then he should move on. But if he believes, as many do, that being on the line with Campbell is a big part of what gives him success, then he should milk his remaining years on Orlando for as much as he can.   New Orleans Reveals Navy Helmet & Jersey Alternate The Breakers unveiled their throwback and alternate uniforms this week, and man, were we not disappointed. The throwback is a true classic, returning to the look that started it all for Breaker Nation, with the classic color combo of navy, the original Breaker Blue, and grey, this epic look from the 1980’s is as fresh today as it was back then. The fact that they unveiled jerseys with the number and name Dupree on it certainly did not take away from the nostalgia with this look. But for our younger fans, the look that likely raised the pulse and got folks jazzed was the “Deep Dive” alternate, an all navy look from helmet to socks, featuring the first ever Breakers’ helmet without a wrap around design. The new navy helmet, with matching navy facemask, features the new logo on each side, including the flying gull, and a short tapered striping that goes from the facemask only to the crown of the helmet. The jerseys feature the same logo striping combination as the new primaries, but with a focus on the use of Breaker Blue as the primary stripe color. The numbers are white with navy and Breaker Blue piping. The pants feature the same wavy striping as the primaries, but with the entire look done in deep navy blue, this look is miles away from the primary’s bright colors and emphasis on white and silvery grey. A bold look for the Breakers, as is the entire package.   Maulers Unveil 2018 Redesign New Orleans was not the only team to reveal their 2018 look this week, as Pittsburgh also rolled out their new primary gear in a ceremony that featured former Mauler legend Mike Rozier as well as current Maulers Victor Cruz and Aaron Donald. The Maulers new primaries feature shoulder yokes that extend down to the sleeve cuffs, an offsetting color swatch across the color and chest, and a collar cut out in a 3rd color to form a dynamic look. They also feature a new blockier block lettering. The team’s primary logo is on each sleeve, with the now-familiar secondary logo, the hardhat & cross Bones featured above the nameplate on the back. Many expected a return to more traditional sleeve striping, but that was not on hand, perhaps with the team’s anticipated throwback look. The new uniform debuted with two pant sets, one in steel grey and the other in the team’s signature purple. Both pant sets featured a thick stripe, interrupted right above the knee with a small “flare” of orange. The team also announced that their throwback and alternate uniforms would be on display next week, with many hoping to see a steely grey helmet debut with the new look. There are only 4 divisional games on the docket for Week 11, but we open the weekend with a big one, as New Orleans and Memphis are separated by only 1 game. With Houston already having clinched the division title with their 11-0 record, it comes down to earning a Wild Card for both of these clubs, and a loss in division will not help either one.   On Saturday, games with major playoff impact dot the schedule. We have Atlanta hoping to return to .500 but facing a juggernaut Philadelphia squad, that game at 12pm ET on FOX, then at 4pm New Jersey takes their shot at knocking Houston from the ranks of the unbeaten, when they host the 11-0 Gamblers at MetLife Stadium. The nightcap on Saturday has a 3-win Chicago team hoping they can get the upset against a very tough San Diego Thunder squad.   Sunday opens with a nice SE Division clash as Charlotte takes on Orlando at Camping World Stadium. The Renegades have lost 3 in a row and cannot afford to slip any further below .500, while Charlotte is hoping to finish the weekend back on top of the division. Coach Neu will get his first live fire when the Federals head to Tampa Bay to take on another struggling team, the Bandits. We have interesting matchups as well between Las Vegas & Birmingham and Oklahoma visiting Seattle. We end the weekend with one of the best games of the week as Denver, sitting at 6-4-1, head into Ohio to take on the 6-5 Ohio Glory. It is a game both teams desperately want to win to help propel them into position for a Western Division playoff spot.   FRI 7PM ET       New Orleans (6-5) @ Memphis (5-6)         ABC FRI 9PM ET          Jacksonville (4-7) @ Michigan (8-3)         ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET         Pittsburgh (3-7-1) @ Baltimore (5-6)         ABC SAT 12PM ET        Philadelphia (10-1) @ Atlanta (5-6)           FOX SAT 4PM ET           Oakland (5-6) @ Dallas (4-7)                      ABC SAT 4PM ET           Arizona (10-1) @ St. Louis (3-8)                 FOX SAT 7PM ET           Houston (11-0) @ New Jersey (7-4)          NBC SAT 9PM ET           San Diego (9-2) @ Chicago (3-8)             ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET       Charlotte (7-5) @ Orlando (5-7)               ABC SUN 12PM ET        Washington (2-9) @ Tampa Bay (3-8)       FOX Regional SUN 12PM ET       Las Vegas (6-5) @ Birmingham (4-7)         FOX Regional SUN 4PM ET          Los Angeles (6-5) @ Portland (1-10)         ABC SUN 4PM ET          Oklahoma (4-7) @ Seattle (6-5)                 FOX SUN 8PM ET           Denver (6-4-1) @ Ohio (6-5)                      ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The Denver Gold may not have gotten the win this week, but in salvaging a tie, they owe a lot to HB Jamaal Charles. Charles got the bulk of the carries against the Maulers and he made each one count, rushing for 120 yards and 2 scores to help Denver avoid the upset loss. PLAYOFF PICTURE: Two teams have clinched a playoff berth and one has now officially been eliminated. Houston, sitting at 11-0, has clinched not only a playoff spot, but the Southern Division title, thanks to their 5-game lead over 2nd place New Orleans. Philadelphia, despite a loss this week, also clinched a playoff spot thanks to their conference record. The Portland Stags, the league's only 1-win team, has been officially removed from playoff contention, the only team so far eliminated.

Is Houston's "Ace" looking a lot like Woody from Toy Story? Both Houston and Philadelphia survive divisional tests to remain unbeaten at 10-0. Michigan gets a scare at home, but pulls out a win when they need it. San Diego goes into LA and sets themselves up with a 3-game lead in the Pacific, and the Seattle Dragons get their 5th win in a row, making all of us preseason pundits look a bit foolish for naming them the worst club in the league. It was a week of action that did not move the needle much on who looks good and who is struggling, but it was a week that certainly had some great performances, great plays, and maybe the start of a new rivalry. We will get to the budding animosity between two SW Division clubs, as well as all the news of the week, but we start with our Big Story, the absolute lack of trade deadline action and the best theories as to why teams were just not willing to pull the trigger on a deal. It’s all right here in This Week in the USFL.   Teams Afraid to Pull Trigger as Trade Deadline Closes In one of the more unusually build ups to the trade deadline, rumors were in no short supply, sportswriters making their picks for the best possible moves to be made were also easy to find, but actual deals, well, that was something else entirely. The rumors went from the mundane (San Diego acquiring a RT from Birmingham) to the patently absurd (Tampa Bay trading half their draft for Andy Dalton). But, at the end of the day on Friday, the cutoff for trades, there were absolutely no trades involving starting USFL players or even draft picks in the first 6 rounds.   Why? What kept teams from pulling the trigger? Speculation abounds, especially around the rumored attempts by teams to get potential QB help. One theory has teams looking at the 2018 draft, where we could see as many as 6 potential “first round” talents on the board. Perhaps teams in need of a QB don’t want to commit now and then spend themselves out of a position to get a potential franchise player in the draft. The other theory tends to be about teams simply not giving up on the season yet. With the 6th playoff spot in both conferences currently held by teams at 5-5, there is very much still hope for the odd 3-7 team like St. Louis, Jacksonville, or Pittsburgh. Outside of 1-9 Portland, the reality of a “play out the string” season likely has not hit anyone yet, even the 2-8 clubs who remain very much mathematically alive.   We had thought we could also see some trades on defense, as teams try to add some pass rush for the home stretch, but again, nothing materialized. Our favorite rumor over the past 2 weeks was that Jacksonville, currently 27th in rushing with barely 60 yards per game, were engaged in frequent outreach to New Jersey, trying to wrangle HB Maurice Jones-Drew. Why the Generals, hot in the playoff hunt at 6-4, would want to give up their lead back in the middle of one of his best seasons, potentially looking at his first 1,200 yard effot, would ever move MJD is beyond us, but that rumor just would not die. Well, when the trade deadline hit on Friday night, it finally was put to rest, and so was one of the least eventful and newsworthy trading periods in recent memory.   Stand pat seems to be the message of 2017. Teams want to build in the draft, make a few key free agent moves in the offseason, but with pretty much every club still mathematically alive, and with only a few apparently “elite” teams at the top, there is room for a lot of teams to dream of a playoff trip, and that means there are few sellers and even fewer teams ready to blow up the roster this season. LAS VEGAS VIPERS 31  DENVER GOLD 23 We may well have a new rivalry budding in the SW Division. Denver and Las Vegas have had some really tight games, both teams are potential playoff spot competitors, and both just don’t seem to like each other very much. Now, we are not saying that Las Vegas is going to replace the Wranglers as Denver’s primary rival, but, much like the 3-way rivalry in Florida between Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay, we could be seeing a 3-way rivalry in development in the Southwest. If that is the case, this week’s game at Invesco Field could be a spark point for that rivalry to build in intensity.   The showdown between the 4-5 Vipers and the 6-3 Gold had a lot of drama to go around, from Denver’s Von Miller all but foaming at the mouth at the prospect of going after Viper backup Jeff Tuel, and producing some bulletin board quotes leading up to the game, to Vegas Head Coach saying that Denver has had some lucky breaks this year to reach 6 wins, again nice bulletin board material. The pre-game posturing continued in the stadium where it was clear the two teams were intent on intimidation from the get-go.   Once the game started, that intensity translated early into some chippiness and early penalties. Both the Vipers’ and the Gold’s opening drives were cut short by unnecessary penalties. But once the initial feistiness settled down and the two teams started putting plays together, the game started to move quicker and get interesting. Both the Vipers and Gold put touchdowns on the board in the final minutes of the first quarter, with Las Vegas starting things off with a 9-play drive that concluded with Jeff Tuel finding Doug Baldwin for the game’s opening score. Tuel, would have himself a very solid day, despite Von Miller’s presence. He would finish the game 25 of 38 for 267 yards and 3 scores (2 passing, 1 rushing), all the while suffering only 3 sacks on the day.   Denver responded to the Viper drive with one of their own, a 15-play marathon that ended with Jamaal Charles diving into the endzone from the 1. That score came with 1:26 left in the quarter, and it would be Denver’s last score of the half, as Las Vegas took over in the 2nd. The Vipers scored quickly upon getting the ball back, moving into Denver territory on a nice 23-yard run by Montario Hardesty, followed by a 16-yard Tuel to Eifert connection. The drive fizzled inside the 20 and Las Vegas settled for a field goal, giving them a 10-7 lead.   Denver, however, struggled to replicate the success on their early scoring drive. They would have 3 three-and-outs in the 2nd quarter, drawing groans from the partisan crowd. One of those short possessions was followed by an absolute shank off the foot of punter Dave Zastudil, a fluttering ball that went out of bounds only 22 yards from the 4th down spot. That muffed kick gave Las Vegas easy access to scoring position and in only 5 plays they increased the lead to 10 points, with Tuel adding a 2nd TD on the day, this time a bootleg run that saw him nip the corner of the endzone before falling out of bounds. Up 17-7, Las Vegas was happy to see Denver grind the ball for 1 first down before the half ended.   When the second half started, the Gold new they had to retake momentum, and they did so with a very nice 11-play drive, one in which Matt Leinart took a huge hit from LB Nate Irving, drawing the roughing call that helped them retain possession. That hit was followed by a lot of jawing and some pushing, but no other penalties were called. Denver would score 4 plays later when Leinart hit Golden Tate on a short red zone TD toss. Following a short Vegas drive, Denver’s D got them the ball back by breaking up a 3rd and 7 toss, and the Gold had a chance to even the score or take the lead. It would be the tie as the Gold could not advance past the Vegas 30 and had to settle for a 39-yard Zeurlein field goal.   So, after 3 quarters we were knotted up at 17, with regular scuffles and exchanges of words on almost every drive. One such scuffle all but undid the work Von Miller put in to get his only sack of the day. Miller had swept outside the LT, then spun past the back to reach Tuel, bringing him down for a 7-yard loss, but after the play, Las Vegas guard Ron Leary took offense to Miller’s post-sack taunt, and shoved the Denver edge rusher. The refs did not see that shove, but they saw the retaliation from Denver DT Sharrif Floyd, who pushed Leary to the turf, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave Vegas the automatic first down. They would continue the drive from there, eventually putting the ball in the endzone on Tuel’s 2nd TD toss, a short swing pass to Hardesty.   Finding themselves down 7, with just over 10 minutes to play, Denver opted to go for a big play, expecting Las Vegas to overplay the run, sensible since DeMarco Murray and Jamaal Charles had already combined for over 110 yards rushing. The call was the right one and Leinart found Golden Tate in single coverage on 1st and 10. Eighty-four yards later, Tate crossed the plane of the endzone, taking a late hit from the Vegas safety, and rolled into the endzone. Denver could tie with the PAT, but Greg Zeurlein somehow doinked the PAT off the right upright and, despite the big play, Denver found themselves still trailing.   Las Vegas tried to slow things down on their next possession, and did a fairly good job of it, producing an 8-play drive that used up over 5 minutes of clock before fizzling out in no-man’s land at the Denver 38. The Vipers opted to punt, setting Denver back at their own 7 with just over 3 minutes to go. Denver would have time, and still had 2 timeouts, to get into field goal range and let Zeurlein make up for his earlier doink.   Denver would struggle to find consistency on their final drive. They got a first down to the 19, then lost 8 yards on a sack of Leinart by Vegas FS Antrel Rolle. They needed 4 downs to get the first, using a Leinart QB sneak on 4th and inches to get one on the 29, but then the play that could define the rivalry between these two teams sent the game into chaos. On a 2nd and 8 from the 30, Leinart attempted to hit Michael Crabtree on an inside-cutting hook route. Just as the ball arrived, Crabtree was taken out by SS Eric Berry, the ball popping up in the air, where it was snagged by Darnell Bing. As Bing raced down the sideline, avoiding a half-hearted tackle effort by Leinart to score, Crabtree and half the Gold team were surrounding the refs, demanding that pass interference be called against Berry. Replay on the screen seemed to clearly indicate that Berry had arrived early, crashing into Crabtree before the receiver’s hands grasped the ball. But, the officials on the field had not called the penalty. Fans wanted a challenge, but there is no option to challenge a non-call, so there was no option available to Coach Hufnagel.   Las Vegas lined up for the PAT. Brett Maher put the ball through the uprights and Las Vegas had an 8-point lead with only 26 seconds to play. Denver fans were incensed, the offense was now completely out of synch and unable to do anything but a pair of fruitless deep throws as time ran out. Vegas pulled out the win, moved to 5-5 and clearly put themselves in playoff contention, while Denver dropped to 6-4, and clearly left the field incensed, as did many of their fans. ATLANTA 21   ORLANDO 19 The SE Division tightens up some more as Atlanta pulls to .500 and drags Orlando down to the same 5-5 record with a road win at Camping World Stadium. It came down to a 2-point PAT as Atlanta took the lead with 2:42 to play on a Murray to Green-Beckham TD toss. Orlando roared back with Connor Shaw hitting Perriman with a TD only 1 minute later, but on the 2-pointer, the Orlando QB could not find TE David Njoku and the 2-point margin held for Atlanta. POTG:  Atlanta FS Earl Thomas: 3 Tck, 1 PDef, 1 Int   ARIZONA 33  OKLAHOMA 12 Joe Flacco’s nasty sack total rises another 6 spots as Arizona manhandles the Outlaw line. Flacco would complete only 13 of 34 throws, with constant pressure. Meanwhile, David Carr had outstanding protection and completed 20 of 26 throws, totaling 297 yards and throwing for 4 TDs as Arizona rolled over a fading Oklahoma team. POTG:  Arizona HB Ka’Deem Carey: 17 Att, 137 Yds, 2 Rec, 36 Yds   JACKSONVILLE 7   CHARLOTTE 28 The Bulls could not mount a run game, even with Robert Griffin in the game for 4 quarters, as Griffin and Matt Jones combine for only 4 rushing yards, a true low point for the Jack Del Rio offense. For Charlotte, Peterson and Taiwan Jones combined for 108 and kept the pressure off Mitch Trubisky, who completed 20 of 29 and threw for 3 scores as Charlotte rolled at home. POTG:  Monarch WR Hakeem Nicks: 5 Rec, 93 Yds, 1 TD   MEMPHIS 6   NEW JERSEY 34 The Generals picked off Paxton Lynch 4 times and got 2 rushing TDs from Maurice Jones-Drew as Nick Foles got his first “W” as the newly installed starting QB. New Jersey was outgained 331-257 but won the turnover battle 4-0, which was more than enough for them to build up a 34-point uninterrupted scoring streak against the mistake-prone Showboats. POTG:  New Jersey LB Aldon Smith: 11 Tck, 2 Sck   SAN DIEGO 20  LOS ANGELES 16 This was a good back-and-forth game that saw LA take a 16-13 lead with 4:57 to play, but in the final minutes Joe Webb found Nick Toon for a score and San Diego escaped with the divisional win. Webb went 15 of 21 on the day, throwing for 2 scores, while Sam Bradford went 25 of 40 for 234 yards and a touchdown. The biggest star of the day was Thunder TE Kevin Everett, who turned 5 catches into 118 yards and a score. POTG:  San Diego TE Kevin Everett: 5 Rec, 118 Yds, 1 TD   OHIO 27  TAMPA BAY 16 Rex Burkhead had a huge game for the Bandits, rushing for 129 on 18 carries, but in the end it was not enough as Ohio shut out Tampa Bay in the 4th quarter and got two late scores to come back for the win. Christian Hackenberg connected with TE Richard Rodgers for the go-ahead score early in the 4th and then Ohio’s D did the rest, keeping LA out of range for the rest of the quarter. POTG:  Ohio LB Ryan Shazier: 8 Tck, 1 Sck   SEATTLE 26  OAKLAND 10 The Dragons make it 5 in a row, evening their record at 5-5, and at the expense of a key divisional foe. Ryan Lindley struggled, completing only 14 of 32 throws for 116 yards, while Jacoby Brissett found his groove, completing 29 of 37 for 236 and 2 scores. It was 10-0 Oakland early, but Seatle adjusted, shut down the Invader offense and rattled off 26 unanswered points to take their fifth win in a row. POTG:  Seattle QB Jacoby Brissett: 29/37, 236 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int   BALTIMORE 37  WASHINGTON 17 The Blitz found their offense once again as Washington’s D continued to struggle. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 337 and 2 scores, Kerwynn Williams rushed for 90 yards and a score and Darrius Heyward-Bey broke out for 146 receiving as Baltimore just dominated the Feds all game long. Washington did get a respectable game from HB Donald Brown, who finished with a season-high 72 yards, but it was far from enough as the Blitz scored on 4 consecutive drives in the 2nd half to pull away. POTG:  Blitz WR Darrius Heyward-Bey: 5 Rec, 146 Yds, 1 TD   DALLAS 20  NEW ORLEANS 19 Pat white continued to struggle at the helm of the Breaker offense and New Orleans dropped one late to the Roughnecks. Dallas’s Brandon Wheedon went 15 of 20 for 184 and a TD, but got dinged up, bringing on Tyrod Taylor to finish the game. Despite 166 yards from Kenny Britt, the Breakers simply could not put together enough on offense, settling for field goals. A missed PAT proved costly as Caleb Sturgis’s missed point proved the difference in the final score. POTG:  Dallas DE Connor Barwin: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   PORTLAND 21   MICHIGAN 24 The Stags played Michigan tough but fell just short as they could not convert late in the game to keep a possible game tying drive alive. LeVeon Bell had his first back-to-back 100-yard games after racking up 128 and a score in this one. Doug Martin, the league’s leading rusher, kept pace with 119 and a score of his own in this matchup of two of the league’s leading ballcarriers. POTG:  Michigan CB Dre Kirkpatrick: 4 Tck, 2 FF, 1 FR   CHICAGO 17   ST. LOUIS 18 Blaine Gabbert got the start for St. Louis, and while his numbers were not eye-popping (16/24, 171, 2 TD), he avoided any turnovers, kept St. Louis moving, and got the W with a late TD toss to Erik Decker. The former Mizzou product started his first USFL game after coming over from the NFL. He got help from Eddie Lacy’s 86 yards on the ground, and from a defense that picked off Ryan Fitzpatrick twice, POTG:  St. Louis SS Kendrick Lewis: 10 Tck, 1 Int   HOUSTON 31   BIRMINGHAM 14 The Gamblers reached a perfect 10-0 thanks to 4 passing TDs (2 each from McCoy and Driskoll) and a monster game from TE Vernon Davis. Davis caught 6 for 135, with 2 turning into scores. Carlos Hyde added 80 on the ground, and rookie sensation Juju Smith-Schuster added another TD as Houston rolled. Cam Newton threw for 215 and rushed for another 35, pulling the Stallions to within 3 at 17-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but Houston got TDs from Kiero Small and Davis in the final period to pull away. POTG:  Houston TE Vernon Davis: 6 Rec, 135 Yds, 2 TD   PHILADELPHIA 20  PITTSBURGH 13 The Stars also finished the week a perfect 10-0, but the Maulers did not make it easy. Despite losing Andy Dalton to a minor injury in the first half, Pittsburgh kept it close and was within 7 with the ball with 2:21 left to play, but a 4th and 7 proved too much as a pass from Hogan to Thielen was knocked away by Stars’ DB Courtland Finnegan, giving the ball back to the Stars with only seconds left. POTG:  Stars DB Courtland Finnegan: 8 Tck, 1 FF, 4 PDef   Kaepernick Declines Skyhawk Offer, Boller Signs While the trade wire remained silent, St. Louis tried to make news in free agency. With the injury to Josh Freeman, they sought a potential infusion of talent, and thought they had one lined up as they negotiated with the agent of former NFL starter Colin Kaepernick. St. Louis offered a 2-year deal, a rarity for a mid-season signing, and one that would have provided Kaepernick a mid-range starting QB salary. But after 48 hours, Kaepernick’s agent responded that his client could not accept the offer. He would not be coming to the USFL while his suit with the NFL for collusion and violations of the CBA between the NFL and NFLPA was still in process.   That led St. Louis to look for Plan B, and they found it in unemployed former Stallion, Breaker, and Outlaw QB Kyle Boller. Boller signed a deal for the rest of this season and will join St. Louis this week. However, with former NFL washout Blaine Gabbert getting a W in his first USFL start, it may appear that the Skyhawks have their starter for the moment, even if he was not considered the first, or possibly even the 2nd option by team officials.   Everything but the W By every stat we could measure, Denver should have won the game over Las Vegas, and yet, they didn’t, and Las Vegas evened their record at 5-5, with Jeff Tuel getting another W in Eli Manning’s absence. Denver led in total yards (417-321), in time of possession (32:02-27:58), in rushing yards (128-54), in penalties (3 for 35 vs. 5 for 50), and in first downs (17-14), and yet, they drop this one.   You will note that there is one stat we did not mention, turnovers. There was only one in the game, but it was a beauty, as Matt Leinart was not only picked off with 26 seconds left to play, but the errant pass was returned for a score by Las Vegas’s Darnell Bing, turning a 1-point deficit into an 8-point obstacle, one Denver simply did not have time to remedy. Sometimes football truly is a game of inches, and this was a game that could have, and probably should have broken the other way, but one bad play, one poor decision, can turn a possible late FG for the W into a loss at home. So it goes.   Tailback Showdown at Ford Field We had a feeling that Portland vs. Michigan would be all about the run games, and so it was, with both Doug Martin, the league’s leading rusher, and LeVeon Bell, the reigning rushing champion, going head-to-head. Both had strong games despite both defenses trying to stack the box to defend the run. Martin averaged 5.2 yards per carry and had a beautiful 25-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter. LeVeon Bell averaged an impressive 6.1 yards per carry, with a 28-yard spring in the 3rd, and a 24-yard TD run of his own in the first quarter. Both backs looked very much like All-USFL shoe-ins, and with a final total of 119 yards for Martin and 128 for Bell, the 2016 rushing champion may have gained only 7 yards on Martin, but it was enough to move him from 3rd to 2nd in the current rankings. He is coming for Martin, and with 6 weeks left to play, the difference between the two is down to only 16 yards.   Vernon Davis Back in the Headlines Remember back to the first week of the season when Houston TE Vernon Davis led all receivers with a 198 explosion to open the season? Then in Week 2 he had 2 TDs and added another 113 yards. Well, he has not had the big numbers all season, and he has dropped out of the Top 10 in receiving, as most TE’s do over time, but this week he reminded us what a weapon he is for the Gamblers, once again topping 100 yards and showing up big for his QB (or QB’s as he had 2 in the game.)   Davis had his 2nd highest receiving total of the season this week, trailing only that Week 1 outburst. With 6 catches for 135, he was a weapon this week, adding 2 more receiving TDs to his total of 10. He stands tied with another TE, Arizona’s Jimmie Williams, atop the receiving TD leaders list. The two veteran tight ends lead a long list of wideouts and are the only receivers to hit double digits in scoring catches to date (Brian Hartline is at 9). Against Birmingham, Davis was simply uncoverable. They tried a safety, but he proved too small for Davis’s block out moves, then a linebacker, but as you would expect, he could not keep up with Davis on longer routes. A fast, big, and muscular TE can be a very dangerous weapon, and it seems that Houston has figured out how to use this particular blunt instrument. With 744 yards and 10 TDs, Davis could top 1,000 for the year and seems destined for All-USFL recognition.   Lynch Struggles with Accuracy in 4 Int Debacle When the Memphis Showboats drafted Paxton Lynch out of the local U. of Memphis, they saw potential for a hometown star in the making. When they delayed negotiations with Eli Manning, they were all but guaranteeing a passing of the torch, and when they opted not to allow Kyle Orton to truly challenge Lynch’s status this offseason, they basically handed the keys to the Memphis offense to their 2nd year QB. After 10 weeks, many are now questioning the wisdom of having such a clear path, with few other options. Yes, Memphis did bring in Kyle Orton, so there is a possible alternative, but it seems that Coach Ryan is holding firm to Paxton Lynch as his starter.   Lynch has had some moments, including a beauty of a game against Arizona, with 4 TD passes against the unbeaten Wranglers. But he has also struggled with accuracy throughout the year, throwing multiple picks in 4 of his first 10 games as the starter. This week was perhaps the most egregious of Lynch’s poor games, with 4 interceptions all but handing the win to the New Jersey Generals. Lynch clearly has some talent, he can escape pressure, can make the deep throws and the outside the hashmark throws, but he has got to make better decisions on when and where to force the ball. Of course, even with a year on the bench watching Manning lead Memphis to the Summer Bowl, this is really the QB’s first season of on-field action. We expect that the game will be a bit fast, and that his reads will need to improve with time, but what we are not seeing is a strategy to minimize risk. It seems Coach Ryan is just throwing him in the deep end and hoping he will swim. Known as a defensive strategist, perhaps Rex Ryan needs to bring in some help to bring Lynch along. Perhaps one year watching Manning is not the same as having a true QB guru on staff. One way or the other, games like this week’s could define Lynch in his early career, so the time is now to give him the support he needs to succeed.   Feds Get Hit Again as Smallwood added to IR This year has been nothing short of disastrous for the Washington Federals. They start the year with six straight losses, losing QB David Garrard along the way. Their run game, expected to be led by former Invader Donald Brown, is a disaster, averaging less than 60 yards per game over that losing streak. They turn to Wendell Smallwood out of desperation, and less than a month after being given the starting job, he is lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.   Since becoming first, the part-time rotational starter in Week 5 and then the designated starter in Week 8, Smallwood has shown some flashes. He had 94 yards in a good game against the Generals. In the club’s first win of the season, a Week 7 squeaker over Atlanta, he rushed for 97 yards and caught 5 balls for 55 more. This week, he appeared headed for another big day, with 34 yards on his first 8 carries and 6 receptions in the first half against Baltimore, the dreaded pop. It was mid-juke when you could see Smallwood’s right ankle just give way. He needed to be carried from the field by two of his linemen and went straight to the locker room. Torn Achilles was the verdict, a season-ending injury that will require extensive rehab after surgery. For the Federals it was just one more big blow in a season that seems to be defined by misfortune and misery. For Coach Payton, it could well be the end of his tenure at the helm, and for Federals fans, well, offense could well be a very difficult thing to come by over the next 6 weeks.     We expect that when the first playoff picture comes out in Week 10 each season, we will be looking more at potential than at actual secured berths, but this year we are about as close as we get to an early clinching. Philadelphia sits atop the Eastern standings with a 10-0 record and a 4-game lead on the next club in their division, the 6-4 Generals. Houston is in an even better position, with their 10-0 record a full 5 games ahead of 2nd place New Orleans. The Gamblers could very well clinch their division with a win next week and a Breaker loss.   In the West, Arizona has a 3-game lead over their closest rival, Denver, while San Diego’s lead is also 3 games, and Michigan is 2 games up on Ohio. We will, of course, watch those divisional battles, but the West also has a nice cluster of teams all in play for the Wild Card, including 4 teams sitting at 5-5 and separated only by tiebreakers. Throw in the 6-4 and 4-6 clubs, and you essentially have 8 teams fighting over 3 possible Wild Card spots. A nasty week for injuries, with 6 players added to a growing Injured Reserve list, including two offensive starters for the Washington Federals and Pittsburgh’s defensive captain, Paul Posluszny. The Maulers will also likely miss QB Andy Dalton for the next 2-3 weeks after he suffered a partial hamstring tear. Birmingham, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Washington each suffered multiple injuries this week. On the other side of the ledger, there is a good chance Drew Brees will be back from injury in Week 11 and Dallas could well activate QB Johnny Manziel after the conclusion of his suspension as of this past Monday.   OUT HB         Wendell Smallwood       WSH     Achilles           IR OT          Ryan Considine             WSH     Hip                  IR TE           C. J. Uzomah                   BAL        PCL               IR LB           Paul Posluszny                PIT         Hamstring     IR OT          Nat Dorsey                      LV           Neck              IR CB          Dunta Robinson              PIT         Hamstring     IR OT          Stacy Andrews              CHI        ACL                 6-8 Weeks HB         Peyton Barber               ARZ       Arm                 4-6 Weeks OT          Brennan Williams         BIR         Neck                2-4 Weeks QB         Andy Dalton                 PIT         Hamstring        1-2 Weeks G            Carl Nicks                      BIR         Jaw                  1-2 Weeks DE          Cameron Jordan             NOR      Concussion     1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL WR         Antonio Bryant             ARZ       Concussion LB           Patrick Onwuasor           DEN      Concussion G            Connor McGovern         BAL        Ankle WR         Muhammad Sanu           NJ           Wrist CB          Ken Crawley                    DEN      Concussion CB          Demetrius McCay          OKL       Arm   QUESTIONABLE FS           Adrian Adams           WSH     Back FB          Arthur Phillips                DAL       Concussion QB         Drew Brees                      NOR      Ankle   News of 2020 Expansion Has Investors Lining Up We had a feeling that the official announcement of league expansion up to 30 teams in 2020 would have an immediate reaction across the nation, and we were not disappointed. Even with the knowledge that former Texas Outlaw owner Red McCombs and his investment group is already locked in for 1 of the 2 expansion franchises, the furor of expansion options has been immediate and impressive. Fan groups have gone public, trying to petition and pressure their communities into putting together a bid. Investment groups have started to form, or have gone public with their formation, and sports radio is abuzz with opinions on just what cities should be in the mix.   There is general agreement that the league was right to guarantee a spot to San Antonio, with many expressing disgust that the Outlaws team was sold at all, even with the stadium issues involved. What is not at all generally agreed upon is just where a 30th franchise should be placed. There are some frontrunners, to be sure, but it seems everyone has a pro or con argument for any destination. Not that we want to stoke these fires any more than they are already in play, but we decided to give you our quick assessment of 8 cities we are hearing being discussed or which already have publicly acknowledged investor groups ready to make a pitch.   1. BOSTON The early front-runner just based on metro area (nearly 56.M people in greater Boston) as well as the regional capacity of a team to represent all of New England from the NY-CT border all the way to northern Maine. Losing the Cannons several years back meant that for the 2nd time in league history, Boston lost its spring football franchise, and with the Patriots in absolute disarray as a franchise, football fans from Bridgeport to Kennebunkport have to be hoping that Boston gets a third try. The issue, of course, is whether or not Robert Kraft will finally see the value of sharing Gillette Stadium with a USFL squad. His dislike of USFL collaboration is a growing oddity in NFL circles, but it has been the primary obstacle to a strong USFL presence in New England, simply because his stadium was the one truly optimal venue in the entire 6-state region.   2. MIAMI While no one is anxious for a 1pm game in Miami in August, there is no denying that the country’s 9th largest metro area (6.3 million by latest count) is an attractive option. But you already know what the biggest obstacle for a Miami franchise is? It’s the USFL’s three other Florida teams. Both the NFL and the USFL seem to have settled on 3 being the optimal cap for teams in the Sunshine state, with the two leagues sharing Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, while the NFL has the Miami monopoly with the Dolphins while the USFL staked a claim on Orlando way back in 1987. There may be money in Miami to make this happen, but they will face a pretty powerful block of owners in the Bandits, Renegades, and Bulls if they become a finalist.   3. MINNEAPOLIS This one is a particular favorite for me, having spent nearly 30 years living in the Midwest, and with a new domed stadium in place for the NFL Vikings, a stadium that will make summer football very attractive in the Twin Cities, we have to include Minnesota as a high value market. Throw in the fact that a club there would be another natural rival for Central Division clubs like Chicago, Michigan and St. Louis, and that it could draw fans from Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, and you have a lot of positives to speak of. The only problem I can see is what you call a new Minnesota team? Vikings is so obvious, but so taken, and neither of the recent major league additions have really hit a homerun with the T-Wolves and the Wild.   4. VIRGINIA BEACH After losing out to Charlotte in 2008, the Virginia Beach contingent has been largely silent, but they seem to have reawakened interest in bringing USFL football to their region. The Tidewater area is the largest MSA without any major league sports franchises, but that is for a reason. Unlike most other large MSA’s, there really is not a magnet city in the region. Norfolk and Virginia Beach may both be nice places to visit, but they don’t have either the corporate strength or the cache of a large city like Miami, Boston, or Minneapolis to hitch their wagon to. That and the lack of a “ready to go” stadium are pretty big issues the Tidewater Football Group will need to deal with.   5.  HARTFORD If Boston is in the mix, how can Hartford stand a chance? That is the common refrain from those who doubt the bid being put together by investors, led by Ray Dalio, the 67-year-old founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. While there is certainly no great love of hedge funds in general, an owner with over $22B in persona resources is a compelling plus in his and Hartford’s column. The other potential plus is just outside the city in East Hartford, UConn’s Rentschler Field. The 42,000 seat stadium is a bit smallish for the USFL of today, but an expansion plan that allows for seating to increase over 50,000 is already on file, and could be fully funded by Dalio and associates. The potential downside, of course, is the proximity to New Jersey and the Generals, as well as the overall luke-warm football atmosphere both at UConn and in the state in general. Not to disparage southern New England, but it is hardly Alabama, Texas, or Ohio when it comes to football-centric cultures.   6. CLEVELAND Speaking of Ohio, the failed effort to build a new stadium & football “theme park” outside of Canton may have forced the Ohio Glory to refocus their attention on Columbus, but it also may have reawakened interest in bringing the USFL to Cleveland. Of course, nearly 20 years of struggles by the “reborn” Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999 could also be a factor in a popular, grassroots movement to bring a 2nd pro team to the city on the shores of Lake Erie. I suppose I don’t have to tell you that while Clevelanders may be growing in enthusiasm for a club, you can expect loud and frequent complaints from both the Ohio Glory and the Pittsburgh Maulers if the league looks seriously at the city. Cleveland would need to put together a dynamite ownership group, an outstanding stadium plan, and a lot of concessions to their closest neighbors, which is why we are placing them in the Group of 3 that we consider longshots, along with the next two cities we name here.   7. HONOLULU Not since the failed World Football League in 1975 has a pro football team called Hawaii home. Heck, no other major league sport has even tried to put a team in the distant islands. Yes, Honolulu and the islands are a beautiful location, with great weather, and certainly a tourist mecca, but Honolulu has two glaring issues that have kept it a wasteland of pro sports for decades. The first is the distance. Just ask the University of Hawaii or any of the teams they play how grueling it is to go on the road, especially if multiple week jaunts are not possible. Hawaii, for an East Coast team is further than playing games in London, Dublin or Amsterdam. The second factor is that the once-perfect stadium for a smaller USFL, Aloha Stadium, is no longer an ideal venue. While it has a nice capacity of 50,000 seats, it is very much a college stadium, with a lot of open seating and very few luxury suites, amenities, concession venues, or even press space. Major upgrades would be needed if a Honolulu-based franchise wanted to stay competitive with the mainland teams.   8. NEW YORK We just felt the blood pressure of the Generals’ ownership go through the roof. For years, New Jesey has been making the case that they are a regional franchise, drawing fans from as far and wide as upstate New York, NE Pennsylvania, and even Delaware. The idea that New York would get a team (some would call it a 2nd team) when the Generals play in the same stadium as the two NFL New York franchises, will get a lot of pushback. The argument is clear, adding NY does nothing to expand the fanbase of the USFL. It only cannibalizes one of the most established “big market” teams in the league.   Yes, NYC has the corporate and personal wealth to put together a very good ownership group. Yes, there are certainly some fans that would prefer to stay far away from New Jersey to watch football. These are both true, but NYC has to be considered a longshot for very obvious reasons, first is the cannibalization argument. What truly is added by having a fourth major league football team in the city? And second, where would they play? Citifield would be a very awkward fit, as would Yankee Stadium, both configured clearly for baseball, and both with baseball teams that would certainly claim primary tendency, which minimizes a USFL club’s leverage for stadium revenue. Soccer club NYCFC is exploring the possibility of a stadium in Queens very close to Citifield, but they seem intent on a nice, cozy, maybe 18,000-20,000 seat facility that can have a more urban “in the neighborhood” feel, not a 50,000-65,000-seat behemoth that requires 20,000 parking spaces. Some NY fans may want a 2nd team, but we think that it is perhaps the least likely of any of the contenders.   Breakers Break out a New Logo & Updated Helmet for 2018 Maybe the Breakers should have had The Pet Shop Boys and Thomas Dolby on hand at their Wednesday press conference, because they went fully “new wave” with their new UA look. Under Armor was on hand when Breakers’ management, Head Coach Lamar Lathon, and players Leonard Fournette, Jordy Nelson, Patrick Peterson, and Kwon Alexander unveiled the new look for the 2018 Breakers. The first and biggest announcement was the new logo for the team, a return in a sense to the original, more abstract, breaking wave motif that the club has used since their first season in Boston in 1983. The new pattern uses stacked color blocks to depict the crashing wave. A rising teal (officially Breaker Blue) wave rides on undercurrents of silvery grey, white and navy (Deep Gulf Blue officially). All of this is contained within a circular shape, intersected, as always, by a lone flying gull. The elements are very much the same as in past iterations, but the execution is more minimalist and symbolic than representational. Of course, it is the full helmet wrap design that has been the hallmark of New Orleans’s design since the beginning, and that is not changing. The new Breaker helmet features the same wave components, wrapping from front to back across the entire helmet: a huge teal wave, with grey, whlte and navy beneath it. This new design will be a challenge with the new helmet designs featuring so many cut outs and flex points, but the Breakers are committed to the full-helmet design that has become so iconic over the decades of USFL football.   The uniforms also call back several elements of past designs while sticking with the new symbolic wave motif. The grey and white pant sets feature undulating waves in 3 colors. The teal and white jerseys have offsetting colors and sleek modern numbers. The sleeves introduce a new feature, with the team’s new circular logo centered on each sleeve and the various “water levels” of each stripe matching with the stripes to the right and left of the logo. What this means visually is that some stripes are far thinner on the left than the right and vice versa. They align with the cutoff points for each color in the logo, creating a very novel effect, but one that certainly speaks to the unique style of the Breakers. No word on the alternative uniforms yet, but, if New Orleans is anything like several other teams this year, we might get to see those designs next week. Rumors are that the throwback will go all the way back to 1983, when the club was born in Boston, with a very different double blue color scheme. There are also rumors that the new alternate look will feature either a teal or navy helmet, an allowable shift since both the primary design and the throwback can use the same white shell (with a lot of decal work for the prep team every time they switch it around). So, will it be navy? Will it be the league’s 2nd teal helmet (after Charlotte)? Or will they surprise us? And just how will they do something different with the helmet design for an alternate? Could we see something like a more traditional logo-on-side design? From the Breakers? Gotta say, I am a bit jazzed to see what they come up with.   With only 4 divisional games on the docket for Week 11, this is a week to celebrate some cross-country showdowns and inter-divisional playoff positioning. We kick it off on Friday with the unbeaten Houston Gamblers, holding a 5-game lead in their division, taking on the SE Division-leading Charlotte Monarchs, whose hold on the Southeast is about as tenuous as it can get.   Saturday we have some interesting matchups of teams that are struggling right now, with Baltimore having rediscovered their offense last week now headed to Orlando, who needs to discover an answer at QB with Russell Wilson gone for the year. We have Memphis going into Philadelphia to try to stop the runaway train that is the 10-0 Stars, and we have a matchup of two of the best teams in the Western Conference as 8-2 Michigan, leaders of the Central, take on the Pacific Division-leading 8-2 San Diego Thunder.   On Sunday we have 3 divisional games, including big ones in New Orleans and Las Vegas, with 4-6 Birmingham and 4-6 Oklahoma coming to town to take on the 5-5 Breakers and Vipers. We also have an interesting matchup of two of this season’s surprise teams, the 6-4 Ohio Glory are in Seattle to take on the Dragons, winners of 5 in a row to sit at 5-5. It is a make or break weekend for a lot of teams, so we should get some tight games and some high pressure performances.   FRI 7PM ET         Houston (10-0) @ Charlotte (6-4)                      FOX FRI 9PM ET              Dallas (4-6) @ Arizona (9-1)                             ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET          Baltimore (4-6) @ Orlando (5-5)                        ABC SAT 12PM ET           Memphis (4-6) @ Philadelphia (10-0)              FOX SAT 4PM ET           Pittsburgh (3-7) @ Denver (6-4)                        ABC SAT 4PM ET            Chicago (2-8) @ Oakland (5-5)                        FOX SAT 7PM ET          Washington (2-8) @ Los Angeles (4-4)            NBC SAT 9PM ET            Michigan (8-2) @ San Diego (8-2)                     ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET      Tampa Bay (2-8) @ Atlanta (5-5)                   ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET         St. Louis (3-7) @ Jacksonville (3-7)                   ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET        Birmingham (4-6) @ New Orleans (5-5)         FOX SUN 4PM ET           Oklahoma (4-6) @ Las Vegas (5-5)                   ABC SUN 4PM ET       Ohio (6-4) @ Seattle (5-5)                                 FOX SUN 8PM ET          New Jersey (6-4) @ Portland (1-9)                  ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As good as David Carr's game was this week, we are giving our POTW to Charlotte rookie Mitch Trubisky, who put together a great outing in the Monarch's 28-7 victory this week. Trubisky was accurate (20/29), hit on some big plays (3 TDs) and protected the ball (0 Int) in perhaps his best performance of what has been a solid rookie season. PLAYOFF PICTURE: No clinching yet, though the league's two 10-0 franchises, Houston and Philadelphia are already 5 games up on 7th place, so with the right mix of results in Week 11, we could see some very early playoff berths locked up.

Bully Bob Hornton in action From a game that saw both teams using their 3rd string QBs, to an absolute swamp game in Portland, this was a week for some weird action across the league. Baltimore drops their 5th straight, New Jersey their third in a row, and New Orleans their second straight, while Houston and Philadelphia remain perfect. We are also watching as Seattle, Denver, and Ohio continue to surprise us. It was a week that also saw an unexpected QB switch as New Jersey Head Coach Norv Turner went with Nick Foles over Brett Hundley in a move no one saw coming. A weird week across the league, to be sure. We will cover all the games, look into Baltimore’s contentious locker room, and give you our thoughts on the breakout players of the season, all right here, right now.   Infighting in Baltimore as Blitz Lose 5th in a Row Things are getting ugly for Coach Caldwell and the Blitz. A lot was expected of this team, but as they lose their 5th game in a row, tensions are turning into conflicts within the locker room. The Blitz were picked by many to win the NE Division this year, following a run of 3 consecutive playoff seasons (and a league title in 2014), but after dropping their game, at home, to the Seattle Dragons, the wheels appear to be coming off the bus in Baltimore.   The post-game scene in the Blitz locker room was not good. We saw pushing and shoving, a lot of yelling between teammates, and a head coach who did his best to calm down his squad, but who did not appear to be in full control of the team. It is offense v. defense, offense v. itself, and, apparently, former St. Louis DE Olivier Vernon vs. just about everyone.  Vernon could be seen ripping into his teammates, both on the D-line and on the offense, for their lack of intensity in the loss to Seattle. That beef, particularly against HB Anthony Dixon and the offense, turned into a shoving match between Vernon and OT Ryan Ramczyk that was, in all honestly, more heated than either had been against their Seattle opposition.   This is a situation that has not gone over well with Jim Caldwell or with team ownership. It is one thing to lose a few games, but to lose the sense of team is one of the most catastrophic things that can happen to a team. It will now be up to Caldwell and team captains like QB Ben Roethlisberger, OG Connor McGovern, and CB Jabari Greer to change the dynamics of this team ahead of their game this week in Washington. Facing the last place Federals should be a boost to Baltimore, but a loss to their fiercest rival would be their 6th in a row, and a huge letdown to the team and their fans, which could well mark the end of the season for the Blitz. And, as if this team needed any more pressure, the Federals have already been hyping up the game in the local media market as a battle for respect. That is sure to bring the tensions up yet another notch as the two clubs prepare to face off on Sunday.   CHARLOTTE MONARCHS 27   TAMPA BAY BANDITS 33     OVERTIME Saturday’s Monarchs-Bandits matchup was not expected to be one of the week’s  highlights, but turned out to be one of the more entertaining games of the season. With Tampa Bay coming in at only 1-7 and Charlotte at 5-3, there was general agreement that the Monarchs should be able to pull away in this one against a Bandit offense that simply has not been able to find its stride. And while we are not sure that all has started to sort itself out in Tampa Bay, they certainly found offense this week, racking up 408 yards and exceeding their best scoring output of the season by 9 points (33 to a previous best of 24). After scoring only 13 points over the past two weeks, this was certainly an unexpected development, one Tampa fans in attendance were happy to see.   The scoring started early for the Bandits as they turned their first possession into 7 points. The Bandits put together an 11-play scripted drive that led to 2nd year back Devontae Booker plunging into the endzone from the 3. Booker and Rex Burkhead combined for 109 yards rushing on the day, with rookie Dalvin Cook out for several weeks with a fracture in the radius bone of his left arm.   Charlotte responded with Mitch Trubisky hitting Hakeem Nicks for the Monarch’s first score of the game, and the race was on. The two teams would score on 5 consecutive drives in the 2nd quarter, all field goals except for a Dak Prescott TD pass to Santonio Holmes. Prescott would have his best game of the season in this one, completing 27 of 42 passes for 299 yards and 3 TDs. Mitch Trubisky would do something he had not done all season, go a game without throwing a pick.  The combination of good QB play and some shaky defense brought us to 17-16 at the half. In the second half, the run games of both teams started to find more success. Burkhead would finish the game with 81 yards rushing, while Charlotte’s Adrian Peterson would have his first 100-yard game of the season, rushing for102 on 18 carries and adding a 3rd quarter TD to give Charlotte a 24-17 lead. Early in the 4th, the Bandits would equalize the score when Prescott hit his tight end, Greg Olsen for a short TD, the end of another long, sustained drive.   Charlotte would take the lead right back on their next drive, putting a 21-yard field goal on the board after a nice goalline stand by the Bandit defense kept them out of the endzone.  With 2:57 left, the Monarchs held the slim 27-24 lead, but there was time for Tampa Bay to either win or send the game to overtime. Once again, Dak Prescott found success in the passing game, connecting with Hank Baskett for a nice 27-yard connection, then finding Ryan Grant for 19 as the Monarch pressure seemed to backfire late in the game.    Like Charlotte, Tampa Bay had three shots at a touchdown from inside the 10, but just as they had done to Charlotte, the Monarchs stymied the Bandits in their attempts to get 7 points on the board. After Prescott was forced to throw the ball out of the endzone on 3rd and goal, they settled for 3 and sent the game to overtime.   In the extra period Charlotte would not see the ball. Tampa Bay won the toss, took the ball, and repeated a very similar drive to the one that got the game to extra time. Dak Prescott completed 3 of 5 passes, and the last one, a 24-yard dagger to Santonio Holmes, put a pin in the game and gave Tampa Bay their second win of the year. The loss hurts Charlotte, who had hoped to take over sole possession of first place in the division.  Now sitting at 5-4, Charlotte is tied with Orlando, and has both Atlanta and Jacksonville within 2 games of first. While all 4 of these clubs lost this week, not a good look for the division, it seems clear that the Southeast will be hotly contested for the rest of the season.   PHILADELPHIA 24   NEW JERSEY 7 The Generals threw us a surprise, starting Nick Foles, but that did not phase Philadelphia, who picked off the New Jersey QB three times. Derrick Henry showed he could be a receiver, catching 3 balls for 68 yards, including a 45-yard TD on a perfect outside screen. With 73 yards rushing and a rushing score as well, he combined for 141 yards from scrimmage. Matt Gutierrez would throw for 309 on the day, with 2 TDs, surviving 6 sacks from the New Jersey defense to boost the Stars’ lead in the division to 4 games. POTG:  Stars HB Derrick Henry: 16 Att, 73 Yds, 1 TD, 3 Rec, 68 Yds, 1 TD   DENVER 23    OKLAHOMA 3 A big win for the Gold as they move to 6-3 on the season, thanks in large part to a defense that sacked Joe Flacco 9 times and picked off the Outlaw QB twice. It was a rough home game for the Outlaws as their offensive line struggled to protect Flacco from Von Miller (4 sacks) and could not open holes for Marshawn Lynch (31 yards on 12 carries). Meanwhile DeMarco Murray rushed for 102, his first 100-yard game of the season. POTG:  Gold DE Von Miller: 4 Tck, 4 Sck   LOS ANGELES 24   OHIO 26 The Glory nip the Express in Columbus, thanks to a late Robbie Gould field goal. Los Angeles had gone on top by 1 with a Bradford to Agholor TD but the defense could not keep the Glory out of range for Gould. Pead and Jennings combined for 88 yards rushing and Justin Blackmon had a big game with 7 receptions for 127 and a score as the Glory move to 5-4 and drop the Express to the same record. POTG:  Ohio LB Daniel Ellerbe: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 FF   OAKLAND 20    ST. LOUIS 13 Ryan Lindley relied on the run game with McCaffrey and Davis combining for 136 yards. The defense also put in a good game, sacking Josh Freeman twice, including a hit that forced him out of the game. Ricky Stanzi could not bring St. Louis back in the 2nd half as the Oakland defense continued to pressure the Skyhawks.  Lindley found 10 different receivers on the day, throwing a TD to Taylor Gabriel, and using both of his backs in the passing game. POTG:  Oakland HB Knile Davis: 8 Att, 73 Yds, 7 Rec, 46 Yds   ATLANTA 19   MICHIGAN 26 LeVeon Bell once again went off, this time rushing for 164 yards and averaging nearly 8 yards per carry. His success helped Kirk Cousins as well, with play action helping Cousins hit 20 of 26 passes, including 3 touchdowns. The Michigan D struggled a bit against the Fire run game, with Ivory and Drake combining for 123 yards, but held Atlanta in check as the Panthers built up a comfortable 26-12 lead. POTG:  Panther HB LeVeon Bell: 21 Att, 164 Yds   CHICAGO 16    JACKSONVILLE 13         OVERTIME A hard fought game that very easily could have ended in a tie as the Machine and Bulls battled in Jacksonville. The Machine outgained the Bulls 388-262, thanks to a 146-yard day from Aaron Dobson and solid running from the two backs subbing for the dinged up Matt Forte. Brandon Boldin had 61 yards on 24 carries, while James Wilder Jr. added 28 on 14 carries. Bad per-carry averages for both, but enough run focus to free up Fitzpatrick to throw for 298 yards. Robert Griffin was back under center and guided the Bulls to a 4th quarter game-tying fieldgoal, but in overtime, with just 23 seconds left in the extra period, Chicago got the winning score on a 48-yarder from William Hopper. POTG:  Chicago WR Aaron Dobson: 10 Rec, 146 Yds   DALLAS 14   LAS VEGAS 17 In a battle of backups, Jeff Tuel outperformed Brandon Wheedon, throwing for 2 scores early to help Las Vegas go up 14-0. Dallas played from a hole the entire game. A Samaje Perine 11-yard TD run with 5:14 left to play got them within 3, but in two late game possessions, they ended with a turnover on downs and an fumble, cementing Las Vegas’s 4th win on the year. POTG:  Las Vegas DE Mario Addison: 2 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   WASHINGTON 20    PITTSBURGH 17 The Feds make it 2 in a row by building a 20-7 lead on the Maulers and holding on during a late Pittsburgh rally. Mike Flynn threw an early TD to Keenan Allen, before getting knocked out of the game in the 3rd quarter. Bradley Fletcher picked off Andy Dalton for another score and after 3 quarters the Feds had a 13-point lead. The Maulers added 10 in the 4th to make it close but could not stop a key 3rd down conversion by HB Wendell Smallwood, allowing Washington to finish out the game with the ball in their hands. POTG:  Federals’ DE Chris Long: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   SEATTLE 20   BALTIMORE 10 Who is gonna stop these Dragons? Seattle wins their 4th in a row as Baltimore’s offense fizzles.  Big Ben completes only 14 of 32 passing and the run game produces a grand total of 33 yards as the Dragon defense has come alive. On offense, C. J. Anderson and Joseph Addai combine for 115 yards, with Anderson getting 29 carries on a big day for the big man. POTG:  Dragon LB Calvin Pace: 5 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR   HOUSTON 28    NEW ORLEANS 17 With Pat White in for Drew Brees, New Orleans struggled to keep pace with the Gamblers. White was sacked 9 times but still threw for 302 yards. The problem was that those yards did not turn in to nearly enough points. The Breakers led 17-14 after 3, but Houston got TDs from Carlos Hyde and Vernon Davis to pull ahead and take over the game in the 4th. Colt McCoy finished with 287 yards and 3 TDs (two to Mike Evans), while rookie Juju Smith-Schuster caught 5 balls for 117 yards. POTG:  Houston safety Kenny Vaccaro: 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR   SAN DIEGO 6   PORTLAND 3 An absolute deluge in Portland made this game, and the field, a sloppy mess. Puddles pooled up in several areas as heavy rain pelted the field for nearly the entire game. Without lightning involved, the game was not paused, but perhaps it should have been as neither team could do anything. It came down to field goals, with San Diego getting the game winner in the 4th, a surprising conversion on a last gasp 53-yarder from Jeff Reed.  POTG:  San Diego kicker Jeff Reed: 2 for 2 on field goals.   BIRMINGHAM 16   ARIZONA 20 The Wranglers went up 14-0 in the first, thanks to long TD passes from Carr to Bryant and Carey, but then momentum shifted, and the Stallions dominated the rest of the game, nearly pulling off the upset. Cam Newton threw the ball 54 times, completing 33 for 322 yards. It looked like he had the game won late in the 4th, but a ball that looked like an easy touchdown for TE Bo Scaife, ended up as a tip, recovered in the air by Arizona LB Scooby Wright for a heartbreaking endzone interception. POTG:  Arizona QB David Carr: 13/19, 269 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int   ORLANDO 12   MEMPHIS 13 We saw 5 different QBs in this game as Paxton Lynch and Kyle Orton got sidelined for Memphis, while backup Connor Shaw, in for Russell Wilson, also got knocked out late. By the 4th it was Memphis 3rd stringer, rookie Joshua Dobbs against former Orlando 3rd stringer Bryan Kohler. Dobbs got Memphis into position for the late fieldgoal and that was enough to knock off the hobbled Renegades. POTG:  Memphis CB Marcus Williams: 4 Tck, 5 PDef   Foles Gets Surprise Start vs. Stars The fans, the Philadelphia Stars, and even the announcers on the FOX Friday Night USFL broadcast were surprised when Nick Foles trotted out onto the field to open the week of USFL action. There had been no announcement, no commentary, and no sign from the team that Coach Turner was going to make a QB switch this week. And yet, there was Nick Foles in the huddle and Brett Hundley wearing a baseball cap on the sideline. The game opened with speculation of an unreported injury, but there was soon confirmation, when Pam Oliver caught up with Coach Turner right before the half.   ‘This was a decision, not a necessity. Brett if fine, we just wanted to give Nick a chance.” Was the quote.  And let us tell you, it is a quote that has caught a lot of heat in New York and on NY Sports Radio as Nick Foles and the Generals did not look ready to take on the unbeaten Stars, falling for the third week in a row by a score of 24-7. Nick Foles, to his credit, had some moments, but he was also picked off 3 times by the Star defense. Coach Turner has since said that sending Foles in against the unbeaten Stars was a tough first assignment, but holds by his decision, stating that he expects to start Foles against Memphis this week and Portland the week after.  The goal, it would appear, is to spark a Generals passing game that averaged under 200 yards per game over the season’s first 8 weeks, with Brett Hundley under center. Foles will apparently get at least 3 weeks to show something, and after that, Coach Turner will again have a decision on his hand.  But, with New Jersey now at 5-4, 4 full games behind the Stars and in the thick of a cluster of Wild Card hopefuls, they are playing a dangerous game of wait and see.   Von Miller Has Huge Game as Gold Thump Outlaws While Von Miller has not revolutionized edge pass rushing since coming over from the NFL Broncos to the USFL Gold, he has certainly been both extremely effective and extremely entertaining. Calais Campbell may well remain as the gold standard of the edge rusher in the league, once again leading all defenders in sacks, but Von Miller certainly has had his moments, and this week was one of his biggest yet.   Against an Oklahoma O-line that simply has not been adequate all season, and vs. a QB notorious for standing in the pocket like a statue, Miller had 4 sacks on Joe Flacco, and beyond that another 9 pressures, including 1 that directly led to an interceptions. Flacco was sacked 9 times on the day, a painful reminder that his O-line and his style of play are not condusive to good health.  Of those 9, Miller got the credit on 4, but easily could have been given partial credit on 3 more. His matchups, first against LT Rodger Saffold, and then against a combination of Saffold, TE Chris Cooley, and FB Roosevelt Nix was a carnival of inadequacy, with Miller frequently and quickly defeating the blocks and double teams to harass Flacco mercilessly.   Miller is a big reason for Denver’s current place atop the defensive stats as the top team in Points Against, at only 15.1 per game, and the defense is the biggest reason the Gold are sitting at 6-3 in a year that was expected to be a bit of a setback. Coach Hufnagel is leaning heavily on his defense to keep offenses under control, and to provide his somewhat erratic offense with plenty of short fields to produce points. The Gold offense is 27th in yards, and yet 17th in points thanks to those short field scenarios. Miller is currently tied for 4th in the league with 11 sacks, only 4 behind Campbell’s 15, and this week he put a clinic on that rivals anything we have seen from Orlando’s future Hall of Famer.   Bell Racks Up Yards Again After a nice 12-yard run on the opening Michigan drive of the game, HB LeVeon Bell could be seen doing the “Feed me” gesture to the jumbotron at Ford Field.  It was a message to his coach, and Coach McDermott got the message loud and clear. Bell was feeling it against Atlanta, and his coach was more than happy to have Bell saunter up to the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. Bell would finish with 21 carries, not a gorging at the trough, but a solid dose of work.  With that meal plan he finished with 164 carries, his best total of the year and his 3rd 100-yard game.    The strategy of feeding Bell early and often worked out well for the entire Michigan offense as the threat of the run made life that much easier for Kirk Cousins, who used play action to complete 20 of 26 passes on his way to a 3-TD day. Teams have been packing the line to hinder Bell, and have had some success doing so, but when he is on, as he was this week, even that does not slow down the back. With 1-8 Portland on the menu this week, we should probably expect Bell to eat heartily this week as he pushes his way towards the top of the rushing leaderboard.   Seattle Wins 4th in a Row with Road Upset of Blitz In our preseason power ranking we had the Seattle Dragons as the worst team in the league.  At the ¼ mark of the season we had maintained them there as they sat at 0-4 and looked somewhat lost with 4 straight losses. But now, with their impressive win over Baltimore, the Dragons have won 4 in a row and are one of the hottest teams in the league.  They are traveling to Oakland this week to face an Invader teams struggling to find an identity without Joey Harrington available. A win against their Pacific Division rival and the Dragons are sitting at 5-5, something few would have predicted and fewer still would have believed when the team hit 0-5 earlier this year.   So, how have they done it?  The stats seem to indicate that it has been a full team effort, with the offense and defense playing complementary ball. The Dragons have found an offense with Jacoby Brissett at QB and a split-carry backfield of C. J. Anderson and Joseph Addai. They are averaging 22.9 points per game, good enough for 7th in the league.  Meanwhile, the defense has been keeping them in games, holding the opposition to only 201 yards passing per game. When we look back at their initial 5 games, all losses, we did see some signs that Coach Riley’s team was not as weak as their record indicated.  When you look at those early games, you see that Seattle lost by 3, 3, 6, and 2 points in 4 of the 5 games, with only a 27-12 defeat in San Diego standing out.  They were in games, and as they gained in experience with Riley’s system and emphasis on ball control, they started to break through. Against Portland, the team’s first win, it was Brissett, with 310 yards and 3 TDs who proved the hero. The next week, a stunning 39-6 demolition of the Generals in New Jersey was the result of a high pressure defense that simply rattled Brett Hundley and the General offense.  After another win over Portland, one where Brissett again threw for 3 scores, the Dragons traveled to Baltimore and once again the defense proved very effective, holding the Blitz to only 33 yards rushing and holding Roethlisberger to only 260 yards and 1 TD. This is complementary football, and with Seattle now at 4-5, fans in Seattle are beginning to have faith in their team and have hopes that a Wild Card berth is a very real possibility for a team we all thought needed a lot of work to even finish 4th in the division.   Summer Squal Creates Sloppy Field as Thunder Return to Portland We all talk about football weather, often used to describe brisque fall days or somewhat sloppy conditions. What we saw in Portland this week was not football weather. To use another cliché, it was weather only a duck could love, and while Oregon is famous for its ducks, they were not on the field when the Stags took on the San Diego Thunder this week. What was on the field was water, a lot of water. Overwhelmed by the constant deluge, the field’s natural wicking could not keep pace and puddles formed all over the field. Players crashed to the ground, producing splashes worthy of a pool party cannonball dive. Even the refs had issues, with several slips and blooper reel falls as they tried to keep pace with the action.    The result of this swamp game? Horrible offense, sloppy defense, a lot of frustration, only 9 points scored, and a very wet, uncomfortable and unhappy fanbase. The game only drew about 18,000 fans to the 52,000 seat Columbia Sportswear Stadium, a mixture of weather weariness and a 1-7 team in the Stags.  But those who started the game  under ponchos and rain gear, most finished the game either underneath the protective cover of the mezzanine concession walkways or in their cars, unwilling to sit out what was a truly bizarre, and not very entertaining game. Welcome to football in the Pacific Northwest, where even the summer can occasionally look like mid-March in other parts of the country.    Yet Another QB Lost as Freeman Goes to IR This is proving to be a bad year for QB injuries as a 4th USFL starter is lost for the season. St. Louis’s Josh Freeman this week joined Joey Harrington, David Garrard and Russell Wilson on the league’s season-ending IR list. Freeman suffered a full bicep tear this week as he tried to support his weight and that of a defender as he was tackled. The injury to his throwing arm means that he will need surgery, already planned for next week, and a long recovery time before he can begin throwing again.    The rash of injuries to league starters, mostly savvy veterans, has been somewhat unprecedented, and what makes it that much harder to gauge is that the injuries are all so different. For Wilson it is the bicep, for Harrington the MCL, Wilson’s hip, and Garrard’s ACL.  This is not a situation where there is a ready explanation. We cannot point to a league rule that needs tweaking, or the turf condition. It is simply bad luck, if you believe in that kind of thing. No clear answers, but if I were one of the league’s 24 other team managers, especially those whose clubs depend on a star QB, I would be lighting up some sage bundles and trying to purify the stadium from evil spirits. It can’t hurt. Right?   Aside from the Freeman injury noted above, the story of this week’s Injury Report is concussions. As many as 5 players could miss action this week due to the brain injury.  Concussions are always a concern, but what has been somewhat troubling of late is the frequency of this injury among offensive linemen, not usually a group that engages in high speed helmet-to-helmet contact.  What we are seeing is cases of blurred vision, loss of balance, and headaches being produced by what seem like routine plays or contact with elbows and knees in dogpiles.  The league will have difficulty regulating what happens in these post-fumble skirmishes, so the answer may be to look into further protective advances in helmet design.   OUT QB         Josh Freeman              STL         Torn Biceps         IR OT          Ryan Considine               WSH     Hip                         IR G            Rokevious Watkins        PHI        Back/Neck               IR OT          Stacy Andrews                 CHI        ACL                         IR OT          Demar Dotson                 MGN     Wrist                        6-8 Weeks HB         Dalvin Cook                 TBY        Arm                         1-2 Weeks SS           Daimion Stafford            DEN      Concussion            1-2 Weeks   QUESTIONABLE SS           Baccari Rambo               BIR         Concussion                       G            Mike McGlynn               POR      Concussion G            Mike Iupati                     ORL       Hamstring C             Stefan Wisniewski         DEN      Concussion LB           Jarvis Jones                MEM     Concussion Breakout Stars of 2017 We are past the midway point of the USFL season and time to take a look at players who have impressed us, often surprised us, as they broke out of obscurity and have garnered some much-deserved attention this season.  We have chosen five this year who are outperforming expectations and showing us that they have the stuff to make an impact for their clubs. Here are our five breakout players for 2017.   QB Colt McCoy (HOU) We all knew that the handoff from Matt Hasselbeck to McCoy was planned for years. What we did not know before the season started was how ready McCoy would be to take the reins of Coach Phillips’s Gambler team.  With McCoy currently leading the league in both QB Rating and yards, it seems clear that he was more than ready to take over the Gamblers. McCoy has Houston at 9-0 and very close to locking up a playoff spot. He trails only David Carr in touchdown passes, and he is quickly becoming a celebrity around Houston.  Just this week there were 3 new adds featuring McCoy on the air in the Houston area. Welcome to stardom, Mr. McCoy.   QB Aaron Murray (ATL) If the USFL had a Comeback Player of the Year award, Aaron Murray would likely be earning the title this year. Two years after being benched as they starter in LA, a job he held for barely 1 full season between his rookie and sophomore years, Murray returned to Georgia in a trade and has rebuilt his reputation. In a move that was largely viewed as LA giving up on the former UGA quarterback, the Express sent Murray back home to the Atlanta Fire for only a 6th round pick in the 2017 draft and 3rd string HB Raymond Williams.  Murray was supposed to be a “local star” the Fire could talk up even if he could not beat out Brad Gradkowski or Notre Dame rookie Deshone Kizer for the starting job.  But Murray won the job in camp, and after a couple of rough weeks to start the year, has started to show the leadership and the QB skills we saw in college.  Murray has been a big reason Atlanta has won 4 of their last 6 games, and could well help the Fire stay in the mix in the very competitive SE Division this season.   HB Doug Martin (POR) It was a trade that many questioned, breaking up a solid 2-back system in Chicago.  And while both Portland, with Martin as the lead back, and Chicago, despite the success of Matt Forte, have struggled to put wins on the scoreboard, there is no doubt that Martin’s arrival in Portland has given him a chance to show his worth. Despite playing on a team that struggles to pass the ball, Martin is leading the league with 778 yards after 9 weeks, on pace for a 1,500 yard season. He is averaging just under 4 yards per carry, but has put up 100 yard games 3 times, with another 2 games over 90 yards. It has not produced wins yet for the Stags, but it has shown that Martin can be a true bell cow, not part of a tandem. While he has had three 1,000-yard seasons in his time with Chicago, this year feels different because he is the clear number one, and the focal point of every defense that faces the Stags.   WR Justin Blackmon (OHI) Another veteran player who has found new life this season, Blackmon did not change teams this year, now in his 4th year in Ohio after coming over from Dallas in 2014, but this year is proving to be his best yet.  Maybe it is the improved QB play with Christian Hackenberg under center.  Perhaps it is the new offense brought in by OC Nathaniel Hackett, or perhaps it is just Blackmon’s maturation in the years since coming out of Oklahoma State.  The early years of Blackmon’s pro career did not go as planned, with a DUI and a marijuana possession charge in Dallas pushing the Roughnecks to move the player to Ohio.  But under the watchful eyes of the Glory, and particularly well-noted disciplinarian Tom Coughlin, Blackmon has grown and developed, both as a player and as a man. After a 1,000 yards season in 2015, he had 990 last year, and now is on pace for over 1,500 yards, but what is more, he has kept his nose clean and has become a reliable teammate and team leader.  A good story of second chances, to be sure.   DE Robert Ayers (JAX) The story of this year seems to be 2nd chances.  That is what Robert Ayers got when he left the Outlaws and joined the Jacksonville Bulls.  After 5 seasons in Texas, where Ayers started only 4 games, he came to Jacksonville, where he earned the starting job, first at RE and, after 9 sacks last season, now on the left side.  The shift to the coveted LE spot has been seen as a sign of faith in Ayers from Coach Del Rio, a confidence that has led Ayers to reach 10 sacks for the first time in his pro career.  He now sits at 12 for the year and could well hit 20 by season’s end. That is a great story for a player who simply did not show what he was capable of until he found a situation where his talent was properly groomed and his confidence boosted.    Portland’s Conflicted Fanbase On Display Sunday It is always a bit of an odd display when the Thunder come back to Portland.  Ever since the club left for Las Vegas in 2004 the fans in Portland have held something of a love-hate relationship with the Thunder.  Much like the Colts with Baltimore or the Raiders and Oakland, there remains so much history and so many good memories that many fans still have a soft spot for the Thunder, even as they feel betrayed by the club for leaving the city. When Portland got a USFL club back in 2008, there were many who pushed for the Thunder identity to return to the city and for Las Vegas to get a new identity.  That effort went nowhere, and the Thunder remained in Las Vegas while the Stags became the new team for the Rose City. A common site at SD-POR games is the classic Portland Thunder logo. However, every time we see the Thunder return to Portland, which is once per year ever since 2008, the calls for the league to force the team to return their identity to Portland is revived. We saw it again this year, with fans both booing the Thunder when they took the field and chanting “Port-Land-Thun-Der” throughout the game.  With the Stags struggling to fulfill their initial promise, and especially after their lone division title in 2015 collapsed into a 6-10 season last year, the call for the Thunder to return to their “real home” has been more vocal than ever.  For every Stags jersey you will see in the stadium, there is a retro Portland Thunder jersey.  These fans are not rooting for San Diego to defeat the Stags, they clearly support their city, but they are clamoring still for the team that they grew to love as children once again represent their city.  It is something we see every year, and while it certainly speaks to the hearts and minds of old Portland Thunder fans, it cannot feel good for San Diegans who have embraced the club since their 2nd relocation just 2 years ago.   Jacksonville’s 2018 Look Revealed Under Armour and the Jacksonville Bulls revealed 4 uniforms this week, with both their standard home and away (dark and light) looks as well as a retro look from their 1984 inaugural season and a brand new alternative look that is a huge departure from tradition.   The primary designs, while new, do include a lot of elements familiar to Bulls fans. We have no changes to the metallic grey helmets, still featuring the full-body charging bull with the trailing lines of black, garnet, and orange. The jerseys also have a familiar look, but with some modifications.  The garnet jerseys have numbers outlined in black and orange, a return to an earlier look after the black outlined white numbers of their Adidas set.  They retain the grey shoulder yoke, but the new uniforms replace the orange color swatches under the shoulders to a thin black line that extends into the collar. The sleeves retain the bull logo, with thin stripes that parallel the helmet striping.  The white jerseys have removed the garnet shoulder yoke and now are fully white, with only the thin stripe from the collar to the sleeve, now in orange. They feature double-piped numbers, garnet with orange and black.  The set comes with three pant sets, a grey set to pair with the garnet jersey, a garnet set to pair with the white jersey, and a white set for very hot summer days, also paired with the white jersey.  The combo is very familiar, and aligns well with the 1984 throwback designs, featuring the original helmet decal on the metallic grey helmet, wide sleeve stripes, and single piped numbers on both the white and garnet variations.  It appears that this retro set only includes one pant option, the original 1984 grey pants.   The look that has everyone talking, however, is the alternate, dubbed the “Toro Bravo” set.  It radically departs from the tradition of the Bulls by removing the full body bull logo from the helmet and by going with orange as the dominant color. The USFL’s new allowance of 2 distinct helmet shells make this possible, and the Bulls go all out with an innovative design featuring an orange shell with stylized bull horns on each side.  Unlike the NFL Vikings, which feature the horns thinning from front to back. These horns are angled as a charging bull’s horns would be, back to front, with the points headed towards the opposition.  The helmet features a black facemask as garnet is missing from the entire look. The Jersey also has no garnet at all, an orange shirt with white numbers piped in black and metallic grey, a black collar with grey front piece, black highlight lines at the yoke seam, and the same thin striping and bull logo on the sleeves as the new primary kits.  The jersey is matched with white pants with black, grey, and orange angled horizontal striping, and orange socks with a black stripe.  It is a very new look for the Bulls, something no one expected as they go for the horns-on-helmet style, and a lot of orange, perhaps a tribute to the state’s most famous product.  Expect to see this kit next year, particularly against in-state opposition like Orlando or Tampa Bay.  Astute fans of alternative football leagues will recognize the Toro Bravo helmet design (front-facing horn) from the European Football League's Madrid Bravos. Hence the alt look's nickname. It is all about divisional matchups in Week 10, with 10 of the league’s 14 games seeing teams facing rivals in their division.  It kicks off on Friday when the 4-5 Fire take on the 5-4 Renegades in the up-for-grabs SE Division.  Orlando is struggling to replace Russell Wilson, and Atlanta has a shot to hit .500 with a win.  In the later game, the 8-1 Wranglers head into Oklahoma to face Joe Flacco and the Outlaws.   On Saturday it is back to the SE Division with Jacksonville headed into Charlotte.  Then out West as San Diego hopes a win in Los Angeles will boost their division lead to an impressive 3 games.  Las Vegas is in Denver, hoping to get the road upset and move to .500, but Denver is chasing the Wranglers and wants that 7th win. The late game is in Oakland where the 5-4 Oakland Invaders host the rising Seattle Dragons, winners of 4 in a row.   On Sunday, we are in Washington, where the Feds are winners of 2 in a row and face a slumping Baltimore team that has lost 5 straight.  Then at 4pm we have Chicago @ St. Louis and Houston @ Birmingham. The Gamblers will take their unbeaten record up against Cam Newton and a Stallion squad that wants that .500 mark with a win. The whole weekend wraps up in Pittsburgh, where the 3-6 Maulers have the brutal task of trying to give Philadelphia their first loss of the season.   FRI 7PM ET        Atlanta (4-5) @ Orlando (5-4)                            ABC FRI 9PM ET            Arizona (8-1) @ Oklahoma (4-5)                     ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET         Jacksonville (3-6) @ Charlotte (5-4)                 ABC SAT 12PM ET         Memphis (4-5) @ New Jersey (5-4)                  FOX SAT 4PM ET           San Diego (7-2) @ Los Angeles (5-4)               ABC SAT 4PM ET           Las Vegas (4-5) @ Denver (6-3)                        FOX SAT 7PM ET            Ohio (5-4) @ Tampa Bay (2-7)                       NBC SAT 9PM ET           Seattle (4-5) @ Oakland (5-4)                         ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET        Baltimore (3-6) @ Washington (2-7)               ABC SUN 12PM ET          Dallas (3-6) @ New Orleans (5-4)                   FOX Regional SUN 12PM ET         Portland (1-8) @ Michigan (7-2)                     FOX Regional SUN 4PM ET            Chicago (2-7) @ St. Louis (2-7)                         ABC SUN 4PM ET           Houston (9-0) @ Birmingham (4-5)                FOX SUN 8PM ET          Philadelphia (9-0) @ Pittsburgh (3-6)             ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dak Prescott had himself a week, throwing for 3 scores, falling 1 yard short of 300 for the game, and helping Tampa Bay pull off the upset over Charlotte in overtime. Not too bad for a player coming off an injury.

Feddy Freddy is a favorite among DC fans, even if he looks a lot like the NFL Eagles' Swoop. We have reached the midway point of the league and we still have 2 unbeatens after 8 games, the Houston Gamblers and the Philadelphia Stars. We also have had strong first halves from Arizona, Michigan, and San Diego, each with 2 losses or fewer.  On the other end of the spectrum, while we have no winless teams, we are looking at 4 clubs that have managed only 1 win and are already nearing playoff irrelevance: Portland, Chicago, Washington, and Tampa Bay. In between these two extremes, we have 19 clubs between 5-3 and 3-5, all of them very much in the mix as we set up for the second half of the year. Some are riding very positive streaks, like Seattle’s and Oklahoma’s 3-game runs.  Others are headed very much the wrong way, including Baltimore, losers of their last 4 after a 3-1 start; Las Vegas dropping their last 3 games, or Jacksonville, dropping from 3-2 to 3-5 over the past 3 weeks.  As we examine the midseason results, we will look at the stories of the year so far, all the results from Week 8, and our midseason Power Rankings.  All in an effort to prepare you for the next 8 weeks and the race for the USFL postseason. The 5 storylines developing in 2017 While we probably should say that our way-off-base preseason picks might be the story of the year, rather than wallow in self-pity over our inability to see into the future, we thought it might make mores sense to review the stories that those outside our offices are talking about.  So, here, based on all the social media chatter, sports radio discussions, and on-air back-and-forth, are the five stories that have taken over the first half of the 2017 USFL season.   Colt McCoy Steps In & Steps Up The Gamblers though they had set the table about as well as they could for Matt Hasselbeck’s replacement, but even they likely never imagined that their new QB would not only have the club at a perfect 8-0 at this point in the year, but that McCoy, who spent 3 years backing up the future Hall of Fame QB, would be leading the league with a 131.9 QB Rating, would be on pace for over 4,000 yards passing, and would have 18 TDs, 2nd only to David Carr, at the midway point. We cannot think of a recent QB transition that has been as well-planned, and as effective as this one. Kudos to Coach Phillips and to McCoy himself for playing the long game and waiting his turn.  It certainly seems to be paying off.   Harrington & Garrard on Injured Reserve Any year in which you lose two solid starting QBs to injury for the season is a rough one, and that is certainly the case this year, with 8 weeks left to go. While Oakland hopes that Ryan Lindley prove capable in subbing for Joey Harrington, the 1-7 Washington Federals are still looking for an answer, well more than one at this point, but one at QB to be sure. What makes these two injuries so significant is not just the ramifications for this year, but the very real possibility that one or both veteran signal callers may have already played their last game as a pro.  Both are in an age range where an injury like theirs could well trigger a recalibration of priorities and a move towards retirement.   Bell Frustrated but Michigan Looking Better For It LeVeon Bell had to know that publicly setting 2,000 yards as his target for the year, a target not only beyond anything a USFL back has ever achieved, but over 200 yards beyond Herschel Walker's 1983 record season, would put a target on his back.  Every week teams are scheming to rein in the back, putting extra players at the line, focusing on the run game more than against any other team.  Here is the thing though, while Bell is currently only 5th in the league with 589 yards, not even on pace for a 1,200 yard season, much less a 2,000 yarder, the Panthers are sitting at 6-2, with a 2 game lead on the division.  Was Bell’s boastfulness just a strategy to pull the focus towards him and allow the Michigan passing game to find easier routes to success?  Is this a long con by the back to help Michigan win more games?  That does not seem to be the case, as Bell is still as outspoken as ever, but if it is, it seems to be working.   Oklahoma is USFL Country With 4 consecutive sell outs to start their season in their new home, the Outlaws have to be absolutely over the moon about their return to Oklahoma. While OK City is certainly a smaller market than San Antonio was, the state as a whole is turning out to support the Outlaws. From a Week 2 blowout of Memphis to this week’s squeaker over the Dallas Roughnecks, the fans in Oklahoma City have been amazing. It is as close to a college atmosphere as you can get north of Birmingham, and one of the best motivators the club could ever want. The Outlaws enter the break on a 3-game win streak and are hoping they can pay back their new fanbase with a playoff berth.  Meanwhile, San Antonio is hoping for good news from the league about a return of USFL football as soon as the 2020 season.   Chicago’s Collapse Every year there are teams that enter the season with high hopes but seem to crash and burn. While we picked Washington to be very successful, only to see them flounder, for many more fans, it has been Chicago that has had the biggest let down.  Last season the Fitzpatrick-led Machine surprised many, rising from a 3-win 2015 season to challenge Michigan at 9-7 and then to win two playoff games, including a win in Michigan, before falling in the Western Conference Championship. The Machine seemed to be a team on the rise, but 2017 feels very much like a return to the pain of the 2015 season. The Machine defense has been a huge disappointment, and the offense, despite being first in rushing in the league with Matt Forte, is just not putting points on the board, scoring only 14.9 per game, bad enough to be 27th in a 28-team league. Sitting at 1-7, the Machine may already be looking at 2018, wondering what they can do to reawaken last year’s dynamic energy. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 21    BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 23 Due or die time for the Stallions. That may seem a bit early in Week 8, but when you are 3-4 and you are already 4 games behind the division leader, you cannot afford to fall 3 games behind second place, not if you want any shot at a Wild Card.  That was the situation the Stallions found themselves in, sitting 2 games behind the Breakers with the chance to be 5 games behind division leading Houston with another loss. With Cam Newton back after a 2-week absence due to injury, and with a rowdy home crowd ready to give it up against a division rival, there was no time like the present to make a stand.   New Orleans came in with motivation of their own, after all, they too were chasing Houston, who had yet to lose a game, and another division loss would not bode well if they wanted any chance at catching the Gamblers for the division title. It would be Newton vs. Brees with a lot of mid-season playoff positioning in play. Or so it was planned. The game would find its own path.    New Orleans came out hot. After stuffing Birmingham on a 3rd and 4 just outside of field goal range, they got the ball and proceeded to carve up the Stallion defense on their opening drive, using 12 plays and capping off the 81-yard push with a 1-yard shovel pass from Brees to FB Curtis Nelson that put the big blocking back into the endzone. The Breakers looked ready to dominate after 2 possessions.  But, as so often seems to happen with Cam Newton on the field, one bad decision immediately changed the tone of the game.  That decision was for New Orleans to double Amari Cooper and Dontrelle Inman, leaving no one spying on Newton. The big and athletic QB spotted a lane and before anyone could get in his way, he had a full head of steam and was past the first down marker, then past the 50, then the 30, then the endline and in for 7, brushing off the tackle attempt of a cornerback along the way. The 72-yard run shifted momentum and energy in the stadium.  New Orleans would not score again in the half, while Birmingham would add a field goal to take a 10-7 lead.   Following the lead-shifting field goal, Birmingham got yet another big play, this time from the defense. On a 2nd and 7, Drew Brees tried to use play action to slow down the rush.  It did not work, and when DE Jacquies Smith clipped Brees’s elbow just as he released, a floating duck flew into the air for anyone to nab. The fluttering pass was grabbed on the fly by LB Reuben Foster, who got about 8 yards downfield before Breaker players tried to wrap him up, but Foster, turned his back to the defense, spotted Antonio Cromartie behind him, and soft tossed the ball back to the cornerback.  While two New Orleans linemen were bringing Foster to the ground, Cromartie was down the sideline, untouched for a score.  The Stallions went into the half up 10 and feeling very much like the team that had the juice on this day.   Brees, trying to help on the pick-six, got caught up with a trailing Stallion, his ankle catching a cleat, and he would hobble into the locker room for the half. Down 10 and with their starter out of action, it did not look good for the Breakers. When they came out of the locker room to start the third, Brees was nowhere to be found and former Bandit Pat White was taking some warm up throws.   White struggled in his first possession, completing only 1 of 3 passes, and leading to a quick 3-and-out, but the Breaker defense held and soon New Orleans had the ball back. Now in tune with the game, White looked a lot sharper on his next drive.  He completed a nice ball to Kenny Britt, then another to his TE, Coby Fleener.  In 7 plays the Breakers were knocking on the door, and on a 3rd and goal form the 5, White found Kenny Britt again, this time for 6, giving us only 3-point Stallion advantage.   After two stalled drives, one for each team, Birmingham got the ball back with 1:27 left in the 3rd quarter.  Again it was Newton who sparked the offense, this time shaking off an edge rusher, spinning out of the apparent sack and finding T. J. Yeldon in the flat for what would be a 9-yard gain and a first down. The drive would not reach the endzone, but a Garrett Hartley field goal gave Birmingham a 6-point advantage just as the 4th quarter began.    That lead would grow to 9 points as Newton again moved the Stallions into field goal range, this time using his arm to find Cooper for a 31-yard gain on a 2nd and 2. Again the drive stalled inside New Orleans territory, but Hartley added the valuable 3 points to give Birmingham a 2-score advantage with just 3:21 left to play.  New Orleans would need to score fast and then get the ball back to have a shot at upending the Stallions.   Pat White did well to get the Breakers back on the board, using only 2:17 on an 8-play drive, all passes, that finished with White hitting his HB, Leonard Fournette, on a swing pass to the left.  The problem was, that 2:17 being used meant that he would have barely one minute to get the ball back and get 3 points on the board to eke out the win.  That meant an onside kick, which has only an 11% success rate.  The kick from Sturgis was a good one, taking the much-desired high 3rd bounce off the natural grass, but the Breakers had their hands team in and the high bounce quickly found the hands of Donny Avery, who dropped to the ground with the ball before a Stallion player could get a good hit on him.    Three plays later, Newton’s kneel down ended all hope for the Breakers and got a throaty ovation from the home crowd in Birmingham.  The Stallions would finish the season’s first half at 4-4, only 1 game behind New Orleans and right in the thick of the upcoming playoff race. OKLAHOMA 19   DALLAS 13 The Outlaws win their third in a row, and first on the road as they level their record at 4-4. Marques Colston came up big with a 72-yard TD to tie the game before two late field goals wrapped up the W for the visitors. Joe Flacco threw for 305 on the day and the Oklahoma defense kept Dallas out of the endzone for the entire 2nd half as they move to .500. POTG:  Oklahoma WR Marques Colston: 4 Rec, 143 Yds, 1 TD   ARIZONA 17   DENVER 28 Denver gets the big home win to knock Arizona from the unbeatens. They did it with defense and a ground game that helped them earn a nearly 40-20 time of possession advantage.  Demarco Murray and Jamaal Charles (back from injury this week) combined for 121 yards and a score, while the Denver D picked off David Carr twice, ran one back for a score, and stuffed Frank Gore all day long. POTG:  Denver CB Aqib Talib: 3 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   TAMPA BAY 6    MEMPHIS 27 Paxton Lynch had his best game of the year, completing 29 of 42 throws for 290 yards and 2 TDs as Memphis blew past the offensively-challenged Bandits. Anthony Allen contributed 81 yards rushing, Robert Woods had 2 TD catches and 119 yards, and the Memphis D held Tampa back Rex Burkhead to only 14 yards on 15 carries. POTG:  Memphis WR Robert Woods: 9 Rec, 119 Yds, 2 TD   CHARLOTTE 28    JACKSONVILLE 24 The Monarchs get a late Trubisky to Pettigrew TD to lift them over the Bulls in Jacksonville. Trubisky struggled with 3 more league-leading interceptions, but came up big with the late game winner. Adrian Peterson rushed for 89 yards and D. J. Hackett added 9 catches for 93 yards and a score as Charlotte moves to 5-3 and keeps the Bulls from hitting .500 at the midway point of the season. POTG:  Charlotte SS Shane Welton: 2 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   PORTLAND 17   SEATTLE 24 The second Cascade Clash goes much as the first did, with Seattle getting a narrow victory, their third straight win after an 0-5 start. Seattle QB Jacoby Brissett looked solid, completing 21 of 35 throws and tossing 3 touchdown passes.  Doug Martin was again the main weapon for Portland, rushing for 92 yards, though it was Felix Jones who scored both rushing TDs for the Stags.  Three Portland fumbles helped decide this game as Stag receivers just could not turn catches into possessions. POTG:  Seattle FS Deshon Goldson: 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR   PITTSBURGH 6   PHILADELPHIA 33 The Stars put away their in-state rival easily as Matt Gutierrez throws for 305 with 2 TDs.  The Star defense sacked Andy Dalton 6 times and forced 2 picks in a rough day for the Red Rifle. Add in 2 Travis Kelce TDs and 148 yards from Stevie Johnson and you have a pretty easy win for the unbeaten Philadelphia Stars. POTG:  Star QB Matt Gutierrez: 13/26, 305 Yds, 2 TD   LAS VEGAS 21   HOUSTON 27 Houston also stays unblemished, though Las Vegas kept it close with a late rally. Mike Evans caught 5 McCoy passes for 118 yards and a TD while Carlos Hyde added 111 and a score rushing the ball. Jeff Tuel played well for the injured Eli Manning, but a 27-7 Houston lead proved too much for him to overcome in the second half. POTG:  Houston HB Carlos Hyde: 27 Att, 111 Yds, 1 TD, 2 Rec, 53 Yds   ST. LOUIS 13   ATLANTA 20 Atlanta reached .500 at the midway point with a 7-point home win over the now 2-6 Skyhawks. Aaron Murray went 24 of 33 and connected with Matt Jones for a score. Drake and Ivory combined for 92 yards and a TD and the Fire defense picked off the final Hail Mary from St. Louis to preserve the win. POTG:  Atlanta CB Darius Slay: 7 Tck, 2 FF, 1 FR   OAKLAND 20    WASHINGTON 11 The Invaders take advantage of the flailing Federals to even their record at 4-4 with backup Ryan Lindley getting his second win as the starter.  Lindley went 18 of 27 for 147, but got a huge boost from rookie HB Christian McCaffrey, whose 126 yards included a rushing TD as well. The defense got 7 sacks on Federal starter Michael Flynn, picking Flynn off twice as well on a rough day for Federals fans. POTG:  Invader HB Christian McCaffrey: 21 Att, 126 Yds, 1 TD   LOS ANGELES 19    BALTIMORE 7 The LA defense had Big Ben’s number in this one, sacking the Blitz QB six times and limiting Baltimore to a single score. Reggie Bush rushed for 64 yards and, with Sam Bradford temporarily out of the game, backup Brodie Croyle hit Willie Snead IV for an Express TD. Ad in 4 Dan Bailey field goals and you have the Express at 5-3. POTG:  Express DE Tim Jameson, 3 Tck, 3 Sck   MICHIGAN 27    CHICAGO 12 Chicago succeeded in stifling LeVeon Bell, holding the defending rushing champion to only 20 yards, but in doing so they left their secondary exposed and Kirk Cousins took advantage, throwing for 255, including 2 touchdowns to WR Jerrel Jernigan.  Throw in a Kenny Phillips pick-six and you end up with a comfortable win for the Panthers. POTG:  Panther WR Jerrel Jernigan: 6 Rec, 129 Yds, 2 TD   OHIO 20   SAN DIEGO 30 Joe Webb pulled out a couple of long TD runs and threw for a third as the Thunder held off a game Ohio squad to move to 6-2 at the midway point.  Ohio got a strong game from Christian Hackenberg, throwing for 311 yards and a score, but it was not enough after a Webb 67-yard TD run was folled by another from 28 yards out. Add in 85 more rushing yards from HB Ryan Williams and you get the Thunder by 10. POTG:  Thunder QB Joe Webb: 18/27, 240 Yds, 1 TD, 9 Att, 96 Yds, 2 TD   NEW JERSEY 10   ORLANDO 16    OVERTIME Extra time was needed in Orlando, but even with Russell Wilson injured and out for the final 3 quarters, the Renegades still hold on to win on an overtime TD from Connor Shaw to Michael Jenkins. In a game that saw Orlando sack Brett Hundley 6 times, it was one lone hit from Aaron Kampman on Wilson that could put the Orlando QB on the IR and produce some major concerns for the Renegades. POTG:  Orlando QB Connor Shaw: 22/44, 193 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int   ROTY Race Heats Up Rookie of the year has often been a bit of a frontrunner’s award, with a player emerging early and building momentum through the year.  This year, however, we may have a real race on our hands.  There are several players who have impressed early, so now it is about maintaining momentum, getting more high-impact plays under their belt, and having their teams use them more and more.   At the front of the pack right now we have two offensive players who are getting a lot of looks, HB Christian McCaffrey in Oakland and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster with the unbeaten Houston Gamblers.  McCaffrey has racked up 555 rushing yards, on pace for a possible 1,200 yard rookie season. In addition to that, he has been a big part of the Oakland passing game, with 27 receptions at the midway point.  Smith-Schuster has emerged as a favorite target for Colt McCoy, helping Gambler fans recover from the free agent departure of Roy Williams with 528 yards and 5 TDs in his fist 8 games as a pro. Just behind these two, but certainly in striking range is Charlotte QB Mitch Trubisky and St. Louis LB Trey Hendrickson .  Hendrickson is seeing a mix of snaps at both OLB and DE, and has picked up 4 sacks and a safety so far, to go with 32 tackles.  He faces two potential challenges, however, as his St. Louis club is not looking like a very good team overall, and that as a defensive player he simply does not get the attention, press, or highlight plays that some of the offensive “skills” players get.  For Trubisky, the wins have been a very positive feature of his season to date, helping Charlotte finish the first half atop the SE Division with a 5-3 record.  The problem?  Well, 14 interceptions in 8 games is not what anyone wants to see.  There is no way a QB even on a winning team gets the ROTY award if he throws for over 20 interceptions, much less his current astounding pace of 28 over a season.   Webb Shakes & Bakes the Glory San Diego QB Joe Webb once again used his legs to great effect, helping the Thunder upend the Glory.  Webb had a 67-yard TD run and added another from 28 yards out as San Diego held off the Glory by 10 points. He missed earning his second 100-yard game by only 4 yards, rushing for 96 in the game. Webb’s strong run game has made him the league’s top rusher among all QBs, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and on pace for over 500 yards this season. He leads both Cam Newton and Robert Griffin by considerable amounts.  And, what may make Webb the best dual threat QB in the league is that he is also finding success in the air, with over 2,200 yards and 10 passing touchdowns.  He is completing over 63% of his passes even as he uses his mobility to turn good coverage into a successful rushing play. Webb has San Diego at 6-2 despite a middle-of-the-pack defense, scoring 23 points per game.   Orlando Gets W in Overtime but Loses Wilson Orlando may have won their second in a row to finish the first half of the season at 5-3 and share 1st place with Charlotte, but it came at a cost. Starting QB Russell Wilson is expected to miss the rest of the season with a hip injury that requires traction for at least the next 3-5 weeks.  Wilson’s injury makes him the third starter to be added to IR this season, and in Orlando’s case, could seriously hamper an offense that was built around his mobility and ability to hit the deep ball while outside the pocket.  Backup Connor Shaw came in for Wilson and did earn the W for the Renegades, but the 3rd year QB has only started 3 games in his 3 year career and has some big shoes to fill. Coach Fox has expressed confidence in Shaw, expecting him to serve as the starter for the rest of the year.  In reserve, Orlando has 2nd year player Brandon Allen, and is expected to activate undrafted rookie Bryan Kohler (New Hampshire) from the practice squad this week, but we expect Orlando to try to land a veteran just to have some stability and experience in the QB room.  Could they be looking at Kyle Boller, Brady Quinn, or even former UF Star Tim Tebow?   Brees Likely Out for Week 9 Breakers’ QB Drew Brees hobbled off the field with an ankle injury this week.  While x-rays were negative and the injury has been ruled a lower ankle sprain, it is unlikely that Brees will be able to suit up this week as the Breakers host the Houston Gamblers. That is a big loss for a very big game in the Southern Division. Houston is sitting pretty at 8-0, and w in in New Orleans this week would give them a nearly insurmountable 4-game lead in the division, a near guarantee of a division title.  New Orleans will roll with former Tampa Bay and Oakland QB Pat White, with Keith Null and rookie Chad Kelly also on the active roster.  Brees could be back for Week 10’s game in Dallas, but missing perhaps the biggest game of the season for New Orleans has to be a real struggle for the very competitive Brees.   A bad week, with 4 new IR additions, including Wilson from Orlando and LB Paul Posluszny, a defensive captain for the Maulers. Add in a lot of dings, bumps and bruises and you have one of the longer injury lists of the season so far. OUT LB        Paul Posluszny          PIT         Hamstring           IR QB         Russell Wilson        ORL       Hip                        IR FB          Ross Woodbridge   MEM     Neck                    IR OT          Stacy Andrews       CHI        ACL                       IR C             Blake Schlueter      ARZ       Hamstring               2-4 Weeks CB          Ken Crawley          DEN      Jaw                           1-2 Weeks G            Mike McGlynn      POR      Concussion             1-2 Weeks WR         Muhammed Sanu  NJ           Wrist                        1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL WR         Curtis Samuel         OHI       Thigh                                     QB         Drew Brees               NOR      Ankle DE          Quentin Groves       ARZ       Concussion FB          Kyle Juszczyk           MGN     Shoulder WR         Courtney Taylor     BIR         Concussion DT          Dontari Poe             MEM     Toe   QUESTIONABLE C             Jamey Richard            POR      Toe TE           Cameron Brate               PHI        Hamstring G            Parker Ehinger               PIT         Groin DE          Anthony Zettel                CHA      Wrist WR         Tiquan Underwood       DAL       Concussion HB         Knowshon Moreno        ORL       Concussion DE          Matthew Judon               LV           Personal League Meetings Provide Plenty of News It was one of the more eventful league meetings in recent years, when all 28 USFL franchises were represented in the New York league headquarters this past week.  There was a lot on the docket and a lot to report on after an intense week.  From negotiations with the USFL Players Association to the debate of the 2018 schedule, expansion on the table, and a mysterious call for financial audits of all 28 clubs. Let’s start with the league’s work on getting an agreement in place with the USFLPA.  The issue is revenue sharing.  The players are asking for 55% of the league’s revenue to be directed to salaries, the league is hoping to keep the total at the current 51%.  They are hoping that by adding more heft to the league’s post-career medical support and pension funding they can demonstrate that the league is already committing more than 55% of their revenue to the players, though not directly through compensation.   A select subcommittee was set up in this week’s meetings to engage with the union over the next 6 months to see if an agreement can be reached before the holidays and the USFL draft in January.    Second on the agenda was the schedule, which was set to include a bye week, another USFLPA demand. While most league owners were on board with just how to structure the bye week, with several different proposals coming to the floor, it eventually came down to two models, one, very similar to the NFL’s current bye system, with teams spreading their byes out over 10 of the season’s 17 weeks.  The other was a more compressed schedule, one which would see all 28 teams have their bye over a 3-week span, with variation between 6-12 teams having a bye each week.  In the end, the compressed bye schedule won out in large part because while the 3 bye weeks in the mid-season window will produce some issues with the league’s television broadcast partners, the input of ABC, FOX, NBC, and ESPN was strongly in favor of a model that produced 14 unaffected weeks, with 14 games each, even at the expense of 3 weeks which might have only 8-12 games played. The third “big ticket” item was the anticipated vote on an expansion timeline and format. With a guarantee already in place to return a team to San Antonio upon completion of the new Alamodome, expected to be ready in time for the 2020 season, it is not so much a question of if expansion happens, but when and in what format. While this week did not produce an answer on the “how?” question, the league did charge the Competition Committee to develop a plan for both an Expansion Draft draft and a College Draft strategy.  What was decided was the timeline, and as expected the league will be expanding to 30 franchises with the addition of two new teams for the 2020 season. San Antonio is a lock for one of the two, with ownership already in place in Red McCombs and Trevor Rees-Jones.  The other franchise will be the result of a competitive proposal structure, though there seems to be some inclination to returning a team to New England if a qualified bid comes in from the region.  That is not great news for fan groups in the Twin Cities, Kansas City, and Miami, that had hoped their cities would get a fair shake. We may well get bids from investor groups in all three, but it appears that as long as there is an investment group representing either Boston or the larger New England region, it would likely get preferential positioning in the bidding process.   That brings us to the final issue on the docket, the call for financial audits of all 28 USFL clubs.  At first there was concern that this was the result of improprieties or potential malfeasance, but that was quickly dispelled by league officials. It appears that what is on the table is a desire to prepare several teams for sales to new owners, and to do so the league is looking to accurately assess the value of each franchise.  What league officials are trying to avoid is a bidding war in which one city artificially inflates their value to land a big fish investor, only to force other franchises to try to keep pace and potentially fail to locate investors, leaving the current ownership in limbo.  We suspect that the audit is very much a reaction to what many viewed as significantly overvalued sales when the Cannons moved from Boston to become the Dallas Roughnecks and when the Outlaws were sold to a group of Oklahoma City investors.  The league fears that the high prices paid for those two franchises, while potentially beneficial for the league in one sense, its public perception, is actually a detriment for other owners who may now not have the ready investor pool that they would like.  There was no word out of the meetings as to which clubs are in the potential market for sale, but there are still several franchises who have largely 1-man or 1-family ownership, some dating back to the 1980’s and may be looking at options ahead of the potential departure of the family or ownership figurehead. So, no crisis, at least not that anyone let on, and within the next year we should get an assessment of each franchise’s value, as well as a plan for league expansion, and a new-look schedule.  Hopefully a new CBA with the union is also in the mix, because the last thing the league wants do see just before altering their schedule to add bye weeks and with expansion on the horizon is a labor disruption.   Mid-Season Power Rankings Halfway through the season and our rankings have changed quite a bit.  As teams rise and fall throughout the year, some continue to impress us, some have us worried, and some are just happy not to be dead last right now.   1-HOUSTON GAMBLERS (8-0)                  Up 1 The Houston Gamblers can thank Denver for their rise to number one.  The Gold’s home win over the Wranglers allowed Houston to move up the one spot to take over as king of the mountain.   2-PHILADELPHIA STARS (8-0)                  Up 1 The Stars are still fighting for respect and are not able to leapfrog the Gamblers, though they two move up one with their unbeaten streak now at 8 games.  Matt Gutierrez is silencing the critics with a very solid season that has him sitting at 18 passing TDs in his first 8 weeks.                 3-MICHIGAN PANTHERS (6-2)                 Up 9 A huge leap up the charts for the Panthers, despite a second consecutive 3-1 quarter. Seems folks are believing that the Panthers are not only a solid club, but one playing in a division they can dominate, potentially the first to claim a playoff spot.   4-ARIZONA WRANGLERS (7-1)                Down 3 One loss. That is all it took to knock Arizona down from the top of the mountain.  Not surprising that they fall 3 spots, but to have 2-loss Michigan ahead of them seems a bit of a statement that perhaps folks are seeing this Arizona club as somehow flawed in ways most are not seeing.   5-SAN DIEGO THUNDER (6-2)                  Up 4 The Thunder got a great game from Joe Webb this week, and that seems to be building confidence in their ability to hold off the Express and potentially take the division. They are not a flawless team, and they need to improve their run game (outside of Webb) if they want to stay this high up the rankings all season.   6-ORLANDO RENEGADES (5-3) With Russell Wilson possibly out for the year, we may well see Orlando start to slide down this list.  They are a very balanced team, with the league’s YPC leader in Knownshon Moreno, but there are few that feel that Connor Shaw is ready to lead this club to another 5-6 wins this year.   7-DENVER GOLD (5-3)                                 Up 4 After knocking off the Wranglers, and with Orlando possibly struggling in the next month or more, it seems Denver is poised to rise even higher. They are not a flashy team (they rarely are) but they play solid ball and have shown they can beat the best when they are on their game.   8-NEW OREANS BREAKERS (5-3)           Down 2 A win this week against Houston can help folks forget the 2-2 month the Breakers just put in.  That game could be the focus of their entire campaign. If they get it right, they are in the mix for the division, if they lose, they fall 4 games back, which is too far for any realistic chance at catching Houston.   9-LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (5-3)              Down 4 The Express also went 2-2 this month, and that inconsistency is what has folks nervous about this club, including their own coaches.  Andy Reid preaches consistency and preparation, but you never seem to know which Express squad you are going to get.   10-NEW JERSEY GENERALS (5-3)                           Down 2 New Jersey struggled with Philadelphia, which is not a surprise, but they also got hammered by Seattle, and it is that game that has us worried.  Is Brett Hundley hitting a wall?  Is the O-line unable to protect him? Bad questions to be asking at this phase of a season.   11-CHARLOTTE MONARCHS (5-3)                         Up 2 Mitch Trubisky has a winning record after 8 weeks, but he is also leading the league in picks, with a painful14 in only 8 games.  The Monarchs need to do more to support him if they want him to cut down on those mistakes.  Far too many of those picks are due to the young QB trying to do it all.   12-OKLAHOMA OUTLAWS (4-4)                              Up 8 With three straight wins, Oklahoma gets the honor of leading the cluster of 4-4 teams into the rankings.  We like what we are seeing from the offense over the past month, with Joe Flacco and Marshawn Lynch having  more success as the season wears on.  The D still has a few too many question marks, but overall the team seems to be headed in the right direction.   13-BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (4-4)        Down 3 We are honestly surprised Birmingham did not drop farther after a 1-3 quarter, but perhaps our voters are taking into account that they did not have Cam Newton available for 2.5 of those 4 games.   14-ATLANTA FIRE (4-4)                                 Up 3 Again, a bit surprised, as we thought Atlanta’s 3-1 quarter might push them into the Top 10, but even with the offense looking a lot better, there are still a lot of questions about this club, and particularly about their ability to beat some of the league’s better teams.   15-OHIO GLORY (4-4)                                  Up 7 The Glory got a lot of credit for their 3-1 second quarter.  It seems that folks are seeing what they want to from the defense and with Christian Hackenberg finding some success, Ohio could be a team on the rise.   16-OAKLAND INVADERS (4-4)                 Down 1 A very modest shift for the Invaders after a second 2-2 quarter.  Middle of the pack seems to fit them well this year, and, honestly, after losing Joey Harrington, we expected a huge drop off, but so far the team has rallied behind Ryan Lindley.   17-MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (3-5)            Up 7 Paxton Lynch seems to be seeing the game better and has had some solid outings of late.  Going 2-2 in the 2nd quarter is a slight improvement, but the Showboats also showed us they could compete when they hung tough with Arizona on a nationally televised night game.   18-BALTIMORE BLITZ (3-5)                       Down 14 Wow, what a violent drop!  Seems that the voters are very much worried about this Blitz squad.  They started the year strong at 3-1, but have been out of synch for a while, not putting up points and not forcing turnovers.   19-DALLAS ROUGHNECKS (3-5)             No Change Dallas, and QB Brandon Wheedon, are getting no respect.  They went from 1-3, to a slightly better 2-2 this quarter, despite their starting QB being suspended for 6 games. Former Monarch Brandon Wheedon has come in and played well, but voters are still very suspicious of this defense.   20-SEATTLE DRAGONS (3-5)                     Up 8 A 3-game win streak, with 2 of those against Portland, helped catapult Seattle out of the basement and near the top of the bottom quarter.  That is a big jump, and we suspect a lot of this comes from the way they dominated New Jersey in one of the year’s biggest upsets.   21-PITTSBURGH MAULERS (3-5)             Down 3 The Maulers may have improved in the 2nd quarter (from 1-3 to 2-2) but no one is willing to give them credit for it.  It does not help to have lost some very ugly games and to have a possible QB controversy brewing after Andy Dalton returned from injury looking less effective than Kevin Hogan did in his absence.   22-LAS VEGAS VIPERS (3-5)                      Down 6 The 2-2 start turned into a 1-3 second quarter, and with the offense looking a bit anemic, even when Eli manning is back in action, it is looking very much like the Vipers are not in the running in a very tough SW Division.   23-JACKSONVILLE BULLS (3-5)                Down 7 The honeymoon seems to be over for C. J. Beathard, and we expect to see more RGIII in the second half of the season.  That said, is there really a QB issue here? Or is it possible to say that neither option is particularly compelling?   24-ST. LOUIS SKYHAWKS (2-6)                 Up 1 Not much change in our perception or our assessment of how the year is going for Coach Reich.  The Skyhawks battle but they rarely come out on top. This is a team in need of a rebuild.   25-PORTLAND STAGS (1-7)                       Up 1 Well, the Stags did get their first win, a shocking upset of the Express in LA, but that was sandwiched between two losses to rival Seattle.  Aside from Doug Martin, it is hard to point to anything that is going well for this Stags team.   26-TAMPA BAY BANDITS (1-7)                   Down 1 We want to give the Bandits credit for earning a win, but that win was over Chicago, who are clearly the most disappointing team of the year right now (well, one of two). Contrast that one win with the Bandits’ humiliating 55-7 loss to Michigan, 20-0 loss to Atlanta, and this week’s 27-6 loss to Memphis, and this has been a very bad month by the bay.   27-CHICAGO MACHINE (1-7) The Machine have now lost 6 in a row, and have looked every bit the part of a team that has no identity and no true leadership. That is not good for Coach Smith, who showed such promise last year, as he struggles to get anything to work as scripted each week.   28-WASHINGTON FEDERALS (1-7) The Federals are looking every bit the train wreck, and the loss of David Garrard pretty much locks in that sentiment, despite Michael Flynn pulling out the game in Atlanta. The Feds are just miserable on defense, and with no run game to speak of, they simply cannot control the clock, shorten games or keep from falling behind and playing catch up every single week.   Birmingham Going “Sweet Home, Alabama” with Alt Uniforms The Birmingham Stallions celebrate their home state with the release of their alternate uniform, a design that removes all the old gold from their look and uses crimson and white to celebrate the state of Alabama (and the university that shares those same colors). The new alts feature a red helmet, jersey and pants, all featuring angled striping in white, intersected by the diagonal stripes seen on the state flag.   The helmet features the team’s new logo, now without any gold elements, portrayed in white, along with a stripe that tapers from front to back.  The Jersey has a white shoulder yoke, again with the state’s two diagonal stripes breaking up the look.  Finally, the pants also feature a tapered stripe, with the crossed stripes just below a small version of the “B” monogram secondary logo on each hip. We expect to see this look primarily for night games as the all-red look might be considerably warmer and less comfortable for a good part of the season during day games in Alabama’s hot, humid summer. We should also note that, as expected, the new alts were revealed along with the team’s throwback alternates, a call back to the 1983 inaugural season, featuring traditional shoulder and pant stripes along with the original 1983 full-body Stallion logo.   A 50/50 week with half of the league in divisional play and the other half playing across divisions or conferences. We kick the weekend off with a double header of divisional games, starting in New Jersey, where the 5-3 Generals try to serve up the first loss of the season to their arch rivals, Philadelphia. The late game has two contenders in the Southwest Division squaring off as Denver heads to OK City for the first time since 1987 to face the Outlaws.   On Saturday we have some interesting matchups on tap, including LA @ Ohio, Atlanta @ Michigan, and Dallas at Las Vegas, both sitting at 3-5 and hoping a win gets them back in the mix in the Western Conference.  Sunday has a huge game in the Southern Division as the Gamblers take their perfect 8-0 record into New Orleans. If the Breakers stand any chance of catching Houston for the division crown, they absolutely need to win this head-to-head clash at the Super Dome.   FRI 7PM ET           Philadelphia (8-0) @ New Jersey (5-3)           FOX FRI 9PM ET            Denver (5-3) @ Oklahoma (4-4)                      ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET         Los Angeles (5-3) @ Ohio (4-4)                      ABC SAT 12PM ET        Charlotte (5-3) @ Tampa Bay (1-7)                  FOX SAT 4PM ET           Oakland (4-4) @ St. Louis (2-6)                        ABC SAT 4PM ET          Atlanta (4-4) @ Michigan (6-2)                        FOX SAT 7PM ET          Chicago (1-7) @ Jacksonville (3-5)                  NBC SAT 9PM ET           Dallas (3-5) @ Las Vegas (3-5)                         ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET       Washington (1-7) @ Pittsburgh (3-5)               ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET        Seattle (3-5) @ Baltimore (3-5)                   ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET      Houston (8-0) @ New Orleans (5-3)                FOX SUN 4PM ET          San Diego (6-2) @ Portland (1-7)                   ABC SUN 4PM ET           Birmingham (4-4) @ Arizona (7-1)                   FOX SUN 8PM ET          Orlando (5-3) @ Memphis (3-5)                       ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: San Diego got a huge win this week, moving to 6-2, and at the heart of that win was another big dual-impact game from QB Joe Webb. Not only did Webb guide the offense and throw for a score, but he had more dynamic run plays called, including a 67-yard highlight reel run for a score. All told, Webb produced all 3 of the Thunder's touchdowns, two with his feet and one with his arm.

Hi USFL Followers. My apologies for this week.  I messed up and jumped ahead to Week 8 before I created the weekly standings & stats, so there will be no Stats & League Leaders page for Week 7, but we will have a deluxe version in Week 8, with the Top 10 in each statistical category.  Skipper wants you to join Showboat Nation. It was a wild week in the USFL, and one for folks that bet the upsets. Three road dogs, each at least a 7-point underdog, pulled off the unlikely upsets this week. We also saw some dominance as all three unbeatens won their road games by a commanding 103-56 margin, and Michigan joined in on the fun, putting up 55 against Tampa Bay as LeVeon Bell went off after a week of hearing a lot of criticism. We have all this, plus Orlando’s Dynamic Duo, Joe Flacco quieting the doubters, a new breed of Stallion in Birmingham, and our first look at an Under Armour alternate uniform. Stay tuned, it is a week full of stories as the USFL hits midseason with some flare.   Road Dogs’ Day Afternoon It was a weekend that made Vegas bookmakers cry themselves to sleep. Three major upsets, all on the road, and all by teams that were 7-point underdogs is not what the books want to see. It was a weekend full of surprises, but these three games were certainly ringing the bell at the top of the shock meter. Seattle Crushes New Jersey at MetLife The Generals entered this game as 11-point favorites over the 1-5 Dragons. Seattle had shown little all season long, getting their first win last week against the 0-6 Portland Stags. So, you can expect that very few at MetLife Stadium thought their home squad would do anything but roll in this inter-conference game. Well, someone rolled, but it was not the Generals. Seattle put in a totally unexpected defensive clinic, with linebacker and safety blitzes putting constant pressure on Brett Hundley. The result? Four picks and a fumble, all of which gave Seattle short fields and easy options for adding points to the board. The larger the Seattle lead got, the more desperate the Generals became and the more prone to mistakes. It was a devastating loss for New Jersey, not just because it showed they were vulnerable, but because it provided a blueprint that more talented teams than Seattle can imitate. With New Jersey facing Orlando and their tandem of edge rushers this week, expect the Generals to use a lot more max protect plays. Portland Stuns Los Angeles at Farmers Insurance Field On the West Coast another 10-point favorite went down as the LA Express simply came out flat and never showed much intensity against the winless Portland Stags. Portland, for their part, played nearly mistake-free ball, with only 3 penalties and 1 turnover in the game. They dominated the time of possession, using Doug Martin to force LA’s safeties up and then hit on play action plays, mostly to Brandin Cooks. It was an effective strategy; one we wonder why we have not seen it sooner. It may just be that LA came into the game overconfident, perhaps looking ahead to Week 8’s matchup against Baltimore. Whatever the cause, the Express were never in synch in this one and even against a winless Portland squad, that can cost you a game.   Washington douses the Fire at the Georgia Dome With all the moaning and frustration on D.C. sports radio this week, bemoaning the loss of David Garrard and calling for the immediate firing of Sean Payton, you would think the Federals had already conceded their game in Atlanta, but the team came out focused and ready to play smashmouth football against a Fire squad that underestimated how much fight they had in them. Washington dominated the first half, building up a 17-0 lead over the two quarters while limiting Alanta to only 82 yards of offense. The Fire fought back in the second half, but Washington was able to slow them down and run down the clock thanks to 97 yards from HB Wendell Smallwood (75 of them in the 2nd half). The Federals are far from feeling good at 1-6 but getting that first W certainly is a huge hurdle cleared.   While not the only upsets of the week, with Oakland over Baltimore, Pittsburgh over San Diego, and Denver over Charlotte also counting, these three road dogs, each expected to lose big, proved to us once again just how tough it is to predict USFL football and just how close the margin between victory and defeat can be in a league with the type of talent the USFL has.        BALTIMORE BLITZ 13   OAKLAND INVADERS 19 The Blitz-Invader game had all the tension you would expect of two teams who seem to be treading water while others surge past them.  The time was now for these two clubs to make a move and get themselves in the playoff discussion, even with 9 weeks left in the season.  Oakland, sitting at 2-4 could hardly afford to drop another game, particularly at home, but they were going into this game with an unknown commodity at QB, Ryan Lindley getting the start with Joey Harrington now lost for the year and on the IR list.   Baltimore, for their part, came into the game, sitting at 3-3 after dropping two consecutive divisional games to the two clubs ahead of them in the standings, New Jersey and Philadelphia.  They had been in both games, but saw both slip away.  It is a script that would be repeated a third time in this game as Baltimore let a 10-point advantage slip away, a troubling sign for a club that had visions of a division title.   The Blitz entered the game as a 4-point favorite, despite being the road team, largely due to the uncertainty at QB for the Invaders.  Ryan Lindley would be getting only his second start in the past 4 years after taking over for Harrington in Week 6.  He would find some measure of success right away, helping Oakland get into field goal range on the first offensive possession of the game. Not much was asked of Lindley early on, a couple of short passes and a scramble as pressure surrounded. Him.  HB Christian McCaffrey touched the ball on 5 of the drive’s 7 plays, and when Roberto Aguayo connected on his kick to give Oakland a quick 3-0 lead, there was a sense of relief on the Invader sideline.   That feeling was redoubled when the Oakland defense proved very capable on Baltimore’s first possession, forcing a 3-and-out after getting what would be the first of nine sacks on the day. Baltimore would fare a bit better on their 2nd drive, crossing into Oakland territory thanks to a nice catch and run from Brian Hartline. The Blitz had to settle for a field goal after a failed deep ball on 3rd and 7, but with the Lambo kick they had equalized the score.   When the 2nd quarter began, Baltimore was again finding success on offense. This time it was HB Anthony Dixon finding room to break off a pair of first down runs. The Blitz again crossed into Oakland territory, but again had to settle for a field goal, this time due to a nice stunt move by DT Sedrick Ellis, which freed him up to wrap up Roethlisberger before he could make his throw.  Baltimore led 6-3, but the Invaders were holding their own.   The Invader offense again tried to use short passing and the legs of rookie Christian McCaffrey, but this time they got stopped in no-man’s land, at the Baltimore 32.  They asked Aguayo to make the 49-yard kick, but in some swirling wind the ball clearly went off line and missed badly to the right. Baltimore received the ball at their own 38 after the missed kick, and that helped them jump start their best drive of the day. It did not take long for them to find success, with Anthony Dixon breaking into the secondary on only the 2nd play of the game. It would take the invaders 40 yards to track down and bring down the Oakland running back.  Three plays later, Dixon would cross the plane and fall into the endzone for the first TD of the game and a 13-3 lead for the visiting Blitz.   Aguayo did connect on a last second kick for Oakland to trim the Blitz lead to 7 at the half, but the Invaders were struggling to turn field position into points while Baltimore had done just that on their touchdown drive. The Blitz would start the second half with the ball, and another touchdown could be a huge issue for a struggling Invader offense. The Blitz planned to come out of the half aggressively, and they did just that, with Big Ben connecting with Darrius Heyward-Bey on the first play of the second half, moving the ball from the Blitz 17 up to the 27.  But, aggressive playcalls can also lead to overly aggressive decisions and that is what we saw on the very next play.  Roethlisberger tried to hit his receiver on an out route, but CB Keenan Clayton was ready for the throw. The Invader DB broke on the ball as soon as it was out of Roethlisberger’s hands.  He muscled his way past Heyward-Bey, grabbed the ball in stride, and raced 32 yards to paydirt, a play that electrified previously quiet Santa Clara crowd.   The Touchdown sparked the Oakland defense.  They would not allow another Baltimore score for the remainder of the game, increasing pressure on Big Ben to add 6 sacks in the second half to the 3 he had suffered in the first 30 minutes.  They would allow some yards to Anthony Dixon, but Baltimore would not get inside the Oakland 36, with the only scoring attempt being a missed 47-yard kick attempt in the 4th quarter.   Oakland, for their part, took the defensive score and used it as motivation to control the line of scrimmage and eat away at the clock.  This strategy really kicked in after the Invaders went on top 16-13 with a third Aguayo kick. Early in the 4th quarter they would add a 4th and build their lead to a precarious 6 points.  But, with pressure on defense and a time-killing offense, Oakland was able to eat up the clock and keep Baltimore from pulling closer. The Blitz would not even attempt another kick in the game, and when Ben Roethlisberger’s last second Hail Mary attempt was swatted down by Oakland’s Jaiquawn Jarrett, the Invaders had earned a 3rd W, their first since the Harrington injury.    DENVER 24   CHARLOTTE 19 A minor road upset, as 3-point underdog Denver get back on track and move to 4-3 with a solid win in Charlotte. The Gold pressured Mitch Trubisky into 2 picks and got 2 scores from WR Michael Crabtree as they knocked off the Monarchs. Despite being outgained 318-244, Denver made more of their opportunities and turned Charlotte turnovers into 10 points, helping them get the road win. POTG:  Denver WR Michael Crabtree: 5 Rec, 73 Yds, 2 TD   HOUSTON 31  DALLAS 24 The Gamblers did not get the blowout that the other 6-0 clubs mustered, but their win over Dallas still had plenty of highlights as they came back from a 24-3 halftime deficit with 28 unanswered points, shutting out Brandon Wheedon and the Roughnecks for the final 30 as well. It was a tale of two halves as Colt McCoy (and Jeff Driskoll) threw for 3 scores in the 2nd half, with Carlos Hyde scoring the game winner with 1:40 left to play. POTG:  Houston WR Mike Evans: 6 Rec, 124 Yds   MICHIGAN 55  TAMPA BAY 7 This was a 13-7 game at the half, but Michigan went nuclear in the 2nd half, scoring touchdowns on 6 consecutive possessions to blow out the flailing Bandits. LeVeon Bell, tired of the criticism of his season to date, sent a huge message with 145 on the ground, 31 in the air, and 5, that is 5 touchdowns on the day. POTG:  Panther HB LeVeon Bell: 15 Att, 145 Yds, 2 TD, 4 Rec, 31 Yds, 3 TD   SAN DIEGO 19  PITTSBURGH 25 Andy Dalton returns and leads the Maulers to an upset victory against the Thunder. He got help from his defense as Dwight Freeney and company got to Joe Webb 5 times for sacks and produced a key pick on the final drive to preserve the home W. Dalton threw TDs to both Cruz and Thielen as he returned to action after injury. POTG:  Mauler DE Dwight Freeney: 4 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 Sfty   CHICAGO 14   OHIO 27 With Christian Hackenberg injured in the first half, Brock Osweiler came in and went 9 of 13, throwing for 2 TDs as Ohio got the win in this divisional matchup. Matt Forte averaged only 2.6 yards per carry and had a brutal goalline fumble that cost the Machine a shot at a score. Hackenberg was 14 of 19 but got knocked out of the game when he took a knee to the helmet trying to recover a botched shotgun snap. He is expected to be OK to go next week. POTG:  Glory HB Isaiah Pead: 17 Att, 47 Yds, 1 TD, 3 Rec, 59 Yds, 1 TD   PORTLAND 23  LOS ANGELES 9 Perhaps the upset of the year so far as the winless Stags go into LA and stun the Express. WR Brandin Cooks goes off for 143 yards, Doug Martin has 98 rushing and a score, and the Stag defense comes up big, holding Sam Bradford to only 17 of 33 passing and limiting Reggie Bush to only 57 yards on the ground. A shocker to be sure. POTG:  Portland WR Brandin Cooks: 4 Rec, 143 Yds, 1 Td   MEMPHIS 6   NEW ORLEANS 21 No upset in New Orleans, where the Breaker D allowed Memphis to get yards, but not points. The Breakers scored all 21 points in the first half, taking a 3 TD lead into the half, and allowed only 2 Lewis Ward field goals all game. Drew Brees found 3 different receivers for scores, including TE Coby Fleener, back from injury. POTG:  Breaker DT Ricky Jean-Francois: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   ARIZONA 31  LAS VEGAS 13 Arizona harassed Eli Manning throughout the first half before he was sent to the bench with what was diagnosed as a deep thigh bruise. Jeff Tuel came in and was forced into throwing 3 picks, helping Arizona pull away and take the game easily. David Carr had himself a nice game with 4 touchdowns, and Frank Gore had his first 100-yard game of the year, averaging 7.8 YPC on only 13 touches to get there. POTG:  Arizona QB David Carr: 13/21, 236 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   PHILADELPHIA 41  BIRMINGHAM 19 Four touchdowns from Matt Gutierrez and 104 yards from Derrick Henry were more than the Stallions could handle as Philadelphia moved to 7-0 with an easy road win. Backup TE D. J. Williams had himself a day with 2 touchdowns in the game and we even saw Tony Pike take some snaps at QB as Philly rolled. POTG:  Stars’ QB Matt Gutierrez: 19/27, 267 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   SEATTLE 39   NEW JERSEY 6 Another absolute shocker, as the Dragons pick off Brett Hundley 4 times and gather in a fumble as well in an absolute disaster for New Jersey. Joseph Addai and C. J. Anderson combined for 129 yards and 2 scores. Jacoby Brissett threw for 2 touchdowns, and the defense was astoundingly good against the Generals as Seattle stuns the MetLife Stadium crowd and earns their 2nd win in a row. POTG:  Dragon free safety Dashon Goldson: 3 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 Int, 1 FF   WASHINGTON 17  ATLANTA 10 Another road upset as winless Washington, with backup Mike Flynn at QB, go into Atlanta and pull off the surprise. Washington went up 17-0, with a defensive showing no one expected, but almost blew the lead late as Atlanta simply ran out of time in the 4th after scoring 10 unanswered. Flynn looked good, going 18 of 29 and throwing 2 picks, but it was the Feds’ D that surprised us all by holding Atlanta to 2 of 14 on third down and only 251 total yards. POTG:  Federals’ LB D’Qwell Jackson: 7 Tck, 3 Tfl   ST. LOUIS 14   OKLAHOMA 41 The Outlaws move to within a game of .500 thanks to Joe Flacco’s best game of the year, throwing for 344 yards and 4 scores. Both Marques Colston (132) and Marquise Goodwin (121) went over 100 yards, with Colston hauling in 3 of Flacco’s 4 TD tosses. St. Louis’s secondary just did not have an answer. Another home victory for the Outlaws, who have yet to win on the road. POTG:  Oklahoma QB Joe Flacco: 11/21, 323 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   JACKSONVILLE 9   ORLANDO 20 The Sunday nighter was a good one as these two familiar foes battled at the newly renamed Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The Renegades never trailed, taking a 14-0 lead in the first after DE Arthur Moats returned a fumble 4 yards for a TD.  But the Bulls hung tough, pulling to within 5 after 3 quarters with three David Akers field goals. They just could not get to the end zone and that was their undoing. Orlando got 94 combined yards from Moreno and Murray and survived 2 Russell Wilson picks on a humid night in central Florida. POTG:  ‘Gades’ DE Arthur Moats: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Def TD, 1 FF, 1 FR   Stars, Wranglers & Gamblers Blow Out Foes for 7-0’s Ok. maybe we should not call the 31-24 comeback victory for Houston a blowout, but when you score 28 unanswered points in the 2nd half, it sure feels like a blowout. Other than that, the headline works. The league’s three unbeatens looked very much like they wanted to stay that way with huge performances this week, all on the road and all showcasing each team’s strengths.   Arizona got the win thanks to offensive explosiveness both in the passing and in the run game. They also used their D to stifle the Vegas attack (though an injury to Eli Manning certainly helped.) Houston turned on the juice in the 2nd half, roaring back and past the Roughnecks thanks to touchdowns on 4 consecutive drives. Philadelphia, perhaps a bit less explosive, used 104 yards from Derrick Henry and a very good game from Matt Gutierrez to put away the Cam Newton-less Stallions.   All three teams head into Week 8 without a blemish on their records. When could they be challenged next? Well, it depends on how dominant you think they are in their own divisions. Arizona has a tough road outing in Denver next week, where the Gold often find a way to frustrate their Southwestern rivals. Houston faces Las Vegas this week but may be looking ahead to a matchup with 5-2 New Orleans in Week 9. Beware of the trap game here. Finally, Philadelphia is home for a Keystone Clash with Pittsburgh in Week 8 but then has a huge road game in New Jersey against the 5-2 Generals.   Philly does not have either Arizona or Houston on the schedule this year, but the Wranglers and Gambles will revive their former SW Division rivalry in Week 15, a game that could well be a Summer Bowl preview and could, at least theoretically, be a matchup of two 14-0 opponents.   LeVeon Bell Runs Angry for Panthers After struggling to 28 yards last week against Ohio, his 4th consecutive game without 100 yards rushing, LeVeon Bell was apparently tired of people asking about his pledge to hit 2,000 this year. He decided to shut down the doubters and silence the sarcastic comments in the best way he knew how, on the field. Bell went off this week, scoring 5 touchdowns, rushing for 145 yards on only 15 attempts (that’s 9.6 YPC) and showing he could be a receiver too, with 3 of his 5 receptions going to the house. Yes, it was against Tampa Bay, so there may still be more to prove, but it seems very clear that while 2,000 yards may be a bit ambitious this season, Bell is not playing around. His big day pushed him back into the Top 5 Rushers (4th by 2 yards to Matt Forte, but still 50 yards behind Doug Martin) and we expect to see more of him as the Panthers face 1-6 Chicago, 3-4 Atlanta, and 1-6 Portland in the next 3 weeks.   Is Flacco Back-oh? Another player silencing the doubters this week was Oklahoma QB and former MVP Joe Flacco. After several rough weeks to start the year, Flacco is coming on, particularly when the Outlaws are in their new home at OGE Energy Stadium in OK City. At home Flacco has thrown for 9 TDs without a pick. This week, against St. Louis, he topped 300 yards for the first time since Week 3, and he helped Oklahoma get their 3rd home win. They are 3-1 in Oklahoma, but 0-3 everywhere else, something he will want to remedy when the Outlaws head back to Texas, where they are unlikely to get a very mixed reception in Dallas this weekend. But, regardless of the attitude of former Texas Outlaw fans, Joe Flacco is still putting up big numbers, making big plays, and proving he is among the league’s elite field generals.   Campbell & Moats Befuddle Beathard Two weeks ago, the Jacksonville Bulls and rookie QB C. J. Beathard got the better of the Renegades, eking out a 3-point home win against Orlando, but this week the Renegades had home cooking, had a lot more film on the new Bulls’ offense, and had a plan. That plan? Pressure the rookie to within an inch of his life. That is what we saw on Sunday night as the front 7 of the Renegades made life miserable for the former Iowa Hawkeye. Beathard was only sacked 3 times but also threw a pick and gave up an “untouched” fumble trying to scramble away from pressure. That fumble ended up in the hands of DE Arthur Moats, who rumbled it back just 4 yards to the endzone for a key Orlando score.   The Bulls are doing better than expected at 3-4, especially with Robert Griffin still out of commission, but this week they ran into a motivated and angry Renegades team, and if there is one thing we know about playing against Calais Campbell and Arthur Moats, just like Bill Bixby on the old Incredible Hulk TV show, you won’t like them when they are angry.   Three new IR additions and a long list of players ruled out for Week 8 or longer means this has been a bad week on the injury front. OUT FB          Ross Woodbridge           MEM     Neck                     IR CB          Dunta Robinson              PIT         Hamstring         IR OT          Nat Dorsey                     LV           Back                     IR FS           Clyde Adams               NOR      Back                     6-8 Weeks WR         Jacoby Jones               TBY        Collarbone        6-8 Weeks CB          Ken Crawley                  DEN      Jaw                        2-4 Weeks DE          Quentin Groves             ARZ       Shoulder             1-2 Weeks LB           Channing Crowder        POR      Elbow 1-2 Weeks FB          Kyle Juszcyk                   MGN     Shoulder             1-2 Weeks OT          Antonio Garcia                SD          Arm                       1-2 Weeks DE          Ty Warren                         NOR      Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL DE          Tim Crowder                HOU     Ankle TE           Cameron Brate                PHI        Hamstring LB           Tim Williams                    NOR      Concussion WR         Tiquan Underwood        DAL       Concussion LB           Donterrious Thomas     OAK      Ribs   QUESTIONABLE WR         DeMarcus Robinson     ARZ       Eye WR         Doug Baldwin                   LV           Wrist OT          Rob Haverstein               NOR      Hand   Need QB Help? Five Options To Consider As we creep up on the midway point of the season, it seems clear once again just how vital the quarterback position is. Look at the league leaders in the QB Ratings and what you find are leaders of teams sitting with 5, 6 or 7 wins. Whether it is Drew Brees leading all starters with a 132.3 QBR, David Carr sitting at 22 touchdowns in only 7 weeks, or Carr, Webb, Brees, Cousins, McCoy and Joe Flacco allover 1,800 yards and well on their way to a possible 4,000 yard season, the QB position seems to be one of the best indicators of whether your team is going to have success or not. So, what options do some of the struggling teams have? Whether from poor play or injury, there is no shortage of teams that could use another option at the QB position. We know the Federals and Invaders, with their starters now on IR, are sending their feelers out, trying to find a possible midseason upgrade. We also know that there is significant concern in places like Tampa Bay, Portland, Chicago, and Seattle that there is not a lot of confidence that they have a franchise player in place. So, what options are out there? Well, it is midseason, so the choices are not slam dunks, each has its risk and each could be a band-aid at best, but there are 5 players we think are worth considering, if teams are willing to make a move.  Here are our 5 Top QB prospects potentially available right now.   Free Agent Kyle Boller A former starter in Birmingham, and a solid backup for the Outlaws, Boller remains unsigned and available if a team believes he can step in and be an upgrade. He is experienced, unlikely to be flustered under pressure, and has solid arm talent. We see Boller as a good option for a team like Portland, where they are still trying to push Marcus Mariota to improve, but where the backups (Matt McGloin and Kellen Moore) are not viable replacements if he continues to struggle.   NFL Cast Off Colin Kaepernick This one comes with no small amount of baggage. Kaepernick made national news with his protests on the field and during the national anthem at NFL games in 2016. Many believe that the reason he was not resigned by the 49ers, despite taking them to a Super Bowl in 2012. His protests started a small movement across the NFL, one that did not go over well with a large portion of football fandom. While there is certainly talent there, the question of whether a team is ready to take on the publicity hit and the upset fans to sign him is a huge issue. Not many GMs want to bring a player with his potential volatility into the locker room.   Baltimore Backup Jake Locker Locker has played well in his sparse opportunities since being brought in to back up Ben Roethlisberger, including Week 3 this year when he stepped in for Big Ben and threw for 174 yards. There are still concerns about Locker as a full-time starter, but the biggest issue here is the price that the Blitz will likely ask for his services. Locker is under contract with the Blitz through the 2019 season, so any deal to acquire his services is likely to come at the cost of major draft capital and maybe a player as well.   Ohio Former Starter Brock Osweiler We started this project before the weekend’s games, so we did not know that Osweiler would be seeing action this week for the Glory. After Christian Hackenberg left with a concussion (head hitting the turf on a late hit) Osweiler came in and pulled out the game for the Glory. That performance likely made acquiring the former Glory starter a much more expensive prospect. Not only did it remind the organization how important a good backup QB can be, but it showed that even with little preparation, Osweiler can be effective.   NFL Free Agent Geno Smith I know what you are going to say. “But the NFL Transfer Window is not until September.” That is true, but you have to remember that Geno Smith was let go by the Jets back in January. He went through the February-March transfer window untouched and has yet to sign with an NFL team. That means that his 6-month free agent status runs out in the first week of June. If he hits that date without signing, he is officially released from all NFL entanglements and could sign with anyone (USFL, CFL, you name it). June may be too late for many teams, but if a late season injury requires an urgent response, Smith could be the best option out there.   Birmingham Stallions Confirm Logo Leak with Uniform Reveal Rumors of a logo change in Birmingham have been confirmed as the Stallions and Under Armour revealed the 2018 uniform designs for the Southern Division club. The leaked image of a team banner was accurate. The Stallions are moving from their half-body design, with the stallion reared up and ready to strike, to a head in motion design, showing the horse’s head, neck and flowing mane. Not dissimilar to the design adopted by the NFL Broncos in the mid-90’s, this new design focuses on the horse’s head, using the mane to depict speed.   The colors for the club will remain the same, a deep crimson and a dark gold that leans towards a greyish tone. The secondary logo remains the same, but the uniforms do feature some new elements. The most noticeable change is on the jersey sleeves, where a pair of stripes run diagonally from the lower cuff at the front to the shoulder at the back. This angled stripe brings back images of the early Stallion uniforms with elaborate sleeve striping but is much simpler with only 2 wide stripes and “future focused” with the unique angling. The revealed design includes gold pants with a single red stripe for both home and away, though team officials stated that a white pant set will also be produced for some of those hot summer day games. The pant sets include a nod to the team’s home state, with small Alabama flags (white background with two crossed red diagonals) on the hip. The helmet features a single untampered red stripe, another callback to the early years of the Stallions. And the socks will have a solid red color block with no striping. A mix of tradition and innovation, and certainly a look that will not be confused for any other USFL club. The club had hoped to unveil both their throwback look, expected to harken back to the days of Cliff Stoudt, Joe Cribbs, and Coach Rollie Dotsch, and their alternate uniforms, which likely will use either red or white for their alternate shell color, but the final production of the uniforms was not ready, so we should expect another reveal soon.   Baltimore Reveals 1983 Throwback & “Thunderbolt” Alternate While the Birmingham alternates were not ready for their big reveal this week, Baltimore followed up their new uniform debut with a 2nd act as they revealed two alternate designs this week. The designs were on display at M&T Bank Stadium on Tuesday for a local press event. First up was the throwback design, and as expected, it went all the way back to the team’s first season in Chicago, the 1983 design. That means a return of red to the team’s palette, with red jerseys and striping along with the original “blitz” wordmark logo, complete with lightning bolt final z’s.   The second design, which the Blitz are calling their “Thunderbolt” alternate makes use of the same silver helmet, though with updated decals with both the “shock” stripe that we saw on the standard blue helmet as well as the lightning bold “B” primary logo. The most interesting aspect of the new alt uniform was the use of ombre effect or color blending on both the jersey and the pants. Both shift colors from top to bottom, either from silvery grey to white on the jersey or from white back to silvery grey on the pants. The Blitz confirmed that this jersey will be used in lieu of their white “road” kit, though they will certainly trot it out for a home game once or twice next year. The final novelty of the new alternate kit is in the numbers. The jerseys have blue numbers and at the base of each number is a small lightning bolt icon, similar to the one in the “Baltimore” wordmark. It is certainly a new look for the Blitz, but also one that retains a lot of elements (in new combinations) from their new primary blue and white designs.   League Owners to Meet Next Week Next week’s Owners’ Meeting in NYC could prove to be a big one. Several hot button topics are expected to be discussed, with potential timelines for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the players’ union, the new bye-week schedule for 2018, a possible 2020 or 2021 expansion, and apparently some financial auditing on the docket.   The first three topics were all expected, the last one is a bit of a sudden development. The USFLPA and the League are already in discussions about the CBA which is set to expire after the 2018 season, so it is no surprise to see that negotiation on the agenda. The Bye Week Schedule is a known commodity again, with the league already committed to experiment with a 17-week schedule in which each team will play 16 games. The only question now is how many mid-season weeks will be impacted. Some owners seem to be pushing to move all of the byes into only 2 weeks, essentially having 2 weeks of 7 games apiece instead of 14. Others seem to favor a 4-week model, with either 6 or 8 teams on a bye during weeks 7-10, and yet others favor more of an NFL system in which there are fewer teams on byes each week but there are between 6-8 bye weeks during the season.   Expansion too is a known topic of importance right now. With a timeline set for the construction of a new Alamo Dome in San Antonio, the question is really only one of timing and format. The league committed to returning a team to San Antonio as part of the Outlaw sale agreement that sent the franchise to Oklahoma City. The league would be within the guidelines of that agreement as long as a franchise is in place for the 2021 season, but many might want to push for 2020 instead, assuming a 2-team expansion to bring the league back to a balanced schedule with each of its six divisions having 5 teams in a 30-franchise model.   It is that last topic, a financial audit of the 28 league franchises, that has caught us by surprise. The language in the meeting agenda released gives little detail on just what is being audited and for what purpose. There is some concern that this is an indication that the league’s finances, or perhaps those of certain franchises is under scrutiny. With no details provided, rumors can quickly build, so we want to be careful, but this is the first mention of an actual audit of league or franchise financial standing in over a decade, so there is some concern that someone within the league structure has found cause for concern and the combined ownership is bringing it to the fore to sniff out the issues before it becomes the concern of the government, particularly the IRS. But again, that may well just be speculation. We will hopefully know more next week. We will be ending up the first half of the season with divisional games early and a lot of teams hoping to reach or stay above .500 after 8 games. It kicks off on Friday with a rare divisional double header as the SW Division is on tap, with Oklahoma visiting Dallas, both sitting at 3-4 on FOX and then Arizona heading to their nemesis, the Denver Gold on ESPN/EFN in the nightcap. A huge week in the division to be sure as either the Outlaws or Roughnecks can find themselves back at .500 and as the Gold try to rein in the rampaging Wranglers.   Saturday offers us five divisional matchups, including another battle at .500 with 4-3 Charlotte visiting 3-4 Jacksonville. We also have Birmingham hoping to get some home cooking against the Breakers with a chance to reach .500 as well. We have Portland at Seattle, in the PNW, Pittsburgh and Philly in the Keystone Clash, and we have the Vipers headed to Houston to try to knock off the unbeaten Gamblers.   Sunday features only one divisional game, with Michigan visiting Chicago. But, outside of the divisional matchups we have a lot of positioning on tap, with 3-4 Atlanta hoping a win at home against the Skyhawks will put them at 4-4. Oakland hopes for the same as they visit the Washington Federals. LA (4-3) and Baltimore (3-4) face off in the Charm City, while 4-3 Ohio heads out to San Diego, hoping to match the Thunder with 5 wins after a road victory. The nightcap game is New Jersey (5-2) at Orlando (4-3). The Renegades are hoping their D-line makes it a very long night for Brett Hundley after the Generals’ QB gave up 4 picks to the Dragons this week.   FRI 7PM ET         Oklahoma (3-4) @ Dallas (3-4)               FOX FRI 9PM ET            Arizona (7-0) @ Denver (4-3)                   ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET        Tampa Bay (1-6) @ Memphis (2-5)        ABC SAT 12PM ET          Charlotte (4-3) @ Jacksonville (3-4)          FOX SAT 4PM ET            New Orleans (5-2) @ Birmingham (3-4)   ABC SAT 4PM ET          Portland (1-6) @ Seattle (2-5)                   FOX SAT 7PM ET             Pittsburgh (3-4) @ Philadelphia (7-0)       NBC SAT 9PM ET          Las Vegas (3-4) @ Houston (7-0)               ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET         St. Louis (2-5) @ Atlanta (3-4)                   ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET        Oakland (3-4) @ Washington (1-6)          ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET         Los Angeles (4-3) @ Baltimore (3-4)         FOX SUN 4PM ET           Michigan (5-2) @ Chicago (1-6)               ABC SUN 4PM ET          Ohio (4-3) @ San Diego (5-2)                   FOX SUN 8PM ET           New Jersey (5-2) @ Orlando (4-3)            ESPN/EFN