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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

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Houston QB Colt McCoy continues to impress and continues Houston on their winning ways, now 6-0 to start the year. McCoy had another strong game, throwing for 311 yards and completing 4 TD tosses as Houston just keeps rolling along.

Big Duff is a fan favorite in Seattle. Week six was all about moxie, chutzpah, and grit. Teams that many were writing off stood up, others who injury had seemingly devastated, decided to carry on. Yes, there were games that went exactly as many planned, and we again saw a star player go down for the season in another tough blow to the game, but what we also saw were some teams telling us that the story of this season is not written yet. That was the case for the Bandits, earning their first win; for St. Louis pulling off a big road upset; for Memphis, standing tall against the unbeaten Wranglers, and Dallas, showing they are more than just Johnny Football. We saw Ohio take a big step towards a closer divisional race, and we saw Seattle win the battle of the winless. In other words, it was a week when teams did their best to prove us wrong and show us they had heart. We like that, and we think you did too as you tuned in. But, before we recap all the action, we should acknowledge that it was not all feel good stories this week. We kick off our coverage with a team reeling from yet another gut punch in a season that has had plenty of them. Feds Season to Forget Continues with Garrard ACL Injury To say this season has not gone the way Sean Payton would like is a huge understatement. The Federals’s coach entered the season on a hot seat already, having failed to produce a winning season in 3 years, including a bad losing streak to end out 2016. The Federals, who have been struggling on defense for several seasons, were awful last year, and so far, in this year’s 0-6 start, matters have not improved. The Federals are giving up an average of nearly 28 points per game (27th in the league) and 388 yards each outing (dead last of the league’s 28 teams. The run game has not rebounded from the retirement of Deuce McCallister, averaging only 58 yards per game (27th of 28 teams) and the “heir apparent” former Invader HB Donald Brown, has already been benched behind Wendell Smallwood after averaging a paltry 2.1 yards per carry this season. So, to say the year has not started well kind of sums it up.   Well, it got a whole lot worse this weekend, with one of the few veteran stars on the team, and perhaps Washington’s most vital offensive contributor, QB David Garrard, lost for the season with a torn ACL. The 35-year old QB is not as spry as he once was, and that was a factor in the scramble that led to him getting sandwiched and his leg being bent awkwardly in this week’s loss to the New Jersey Generals. It is an injury everyone could tell was a big one on the replay, and it could well be not only a season ender, but like the injury to Joey Harrington, there are questions floating around out there that Garrard may not feel motivated to put in the hard work of rehabbing the leg back to playing strength, opting to retire instead. Honestly, the way this season (and the past few) have gone, who could blame him?   So, what does Coach Payton do now? He has veteran backup Mike Flynn (career QBR of 69.8 as his starter now. He has a scatback trying to be a bell cow back in Wendell Smallwood, an apparent bust behind him on the bench, and his star WR, brought in during free agency, former Invader Keenan Allen, is already grumbling because he is just not getting the ball often enough. Add to that the utter incompetence of the Federals’ defense and the fact that they play in one of the toughest divisions in the league, and this could very well be a very long year for Payton and Feds fans, though some fans would likely love to see Payton’s year shortened with a quick pink slip if he cannot get some W’s on the board soon. ARIZONA WRANGLERS 32   MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 30 Going into the Sunday night game on ESPN and the ESPN Football Network, there was real fear that this could be a blowout. Arizona has been playing lights out football all year while Memphis has been very up and down, very much like their 2nd year QB, Paxton Lynch. But, from the opening drive, Memphis proved a game opponent, able to find ways to make plays and hold their own with their Summer Bowl opponent from last August.   The opening drive had to come as a shock to the Wranglers as Paxton Lynch went 3 of 4, including a 22-yard deep out to Brandon Marshall and a nice third down throw to TE Luke Stocker to keep possession and get into Wrangler territory. At the end of their 13-play drive, Lynch found HB Anthony Allen, in for Todd Gurley, placed on IR this week. Allen took the short pass and plowed his way into the endzone for 7 as Memphis declared with authority that they would not be intimidated by the 5-0 Wranglers.   Arizona did what Arizona does, scoring on their first drive after only 8 plays, a quick drive that was capped off by a nice Ka’Deem Carey outside run to the corner of the endzone. When Memphis was unable to move the ball on their second drive, the fear set in that perhaps they had gotten lucky with their first drive of scripted plays. Arizona scored again, this time a field goal as the Memphis D held inside the 5 and forced a three-pointer. But, as the 1st quarter closed, Arizona had the lead and many might have expected them to start to pull away. Quite the opposite happened.   Memphis absolutely owned the 2nd quarter, shutting down Arizona’s offense on 3 possessions and scoring twice to jump ahead at the half 21-10. The first drive was very similar to the game opener, a methodical mix of Allen and Hester runs, and crisp passing from Lynch, who looked more comfortable than most when facing Arizona’s pass rush. Lynch drove the ball down the field and then threw his 2nd TD of the game, a nice 11-yard fade route to the lanky Brandon Marshall. That drive began the 2nd quarter, the one that ended it might have even been better. The late drive included a very nice 13-yard run by Allen, a pair of third down completions and another Lynch to Marshall scoring toss. Memphis had to feel good as they headed to the locker room, up 11 on the heavily favored Wranglers.   The Wranglers received the ball to open the 3rd quarter, and they came out determined to reestablish themselves in the second half. It took them only 6 plays to do so as Carr followed up a 21-yard toss to TE Jimmie Graham with a 23-yard strike to Taywan Taylor for 7 points. Memphis would add 3 points on their next drive, but that left them only with a 6-point lead. Arizona saw an opportunity and took it. They got the lead back at the end of a 77-yard drive that saw them convert a 3rd and 17, not with a 17-yard pass, but with a swing route to Frank Gore that went for 53 yards, the biggest play of the game. Only 3 plays later FB LeRon McClain dove into the endzone to give Arizona the lead, a narrow 25-24 lead, but a big shift after being down 11 at the half.   The 4th quarter began slowly but heated up late. After two short drives produced nothing, the Wranglers had the ball back and it was Carr finding his favorite target, Larry Fitzgerald, to extend the lead to 8. Fitzgerald would finish the game with 117 yards, including a couple of nice deep balls, but it was this short 11-yard catch and score that would prove to be the most important. With 4:27 left on the clock, Memphis knew they likely had only 1 possession to try to tie the game and send it to overtime.   The Showboats got the ball after a touchback on the kickoff. They were 80 yards away, but they had plenty of time. Marc Clayton would catch 3 passes on the drive, all three of his targets. Jay Finley would add a nice 3rd down catch, scooping the ball from the turf, and Anthony Allen converted another on a 1-yard dive play. With just under 45 seconds left, the Showboats were in range on the 12. On first and 10 from there Lynch scrambled but was tripped up. He gained only 2 yards, but his roll out had shown Arizona a willingness to run. On the next play, he started on a QB run, drawing up the safeties, then lobbed the ball over them to reach TE Luke Stocker. Stocker initially thought he had scored, but replay showed his right foot had hit the sideline at the 1.   On the next play, Memphis went back to Stocker, this time on a fake HB dive. Again, he was open and again Lynch found him. This time the score was irrefutable. Memphis was back within 2. This was a situation we saw twice in last year’s playoffs, but then it was Memphis, on both occasions, with a slim 2-point lead and having to squelch the PAT to hold on for the win. This time it was Memphis trying to convert and Arizona trying to hold them off. On the PAT, Lynch gave something of a half-hearted fake to Allen before looking for Cordarelle Patterson over the middle. Patterson was there, but so was safety Troy Polamalu. Lynch made the throw, Polamalu made the swat, and the ball landed harmlessly in the endzone.   Memphis would try an onside kick with only 24 seconds left, but when Arizona fell on it the game was truly done. The Wranglers moved to 6-0, but Memphis showed a lot of heart and a lot of ability to make plays. Call it a pyrrhic victory, but the Showboats made the case that they are not so far off from their 2016 Summer Bowl squad, even if their record may not currently make that case. PHILADELPHIA 27  BALTIMORE 21 The Stars keep rolling as Matt Gutierrez goes 21 of 33 for 301 yards and 3 scores against Baltimore’s D. In a back-and-forth game, Baltimore had the lead at the half, but TDs to Randall Cobb and Travis Kelce helped Philly take over in the 2nd half. Stevie Johnson found lots of space in the Blitz secondary, catching 6 passes for 140 yards and a TD. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 388, with 3 scores, but was sacked on a key 4th and goal, costing Baltimore a possible go-ahead score. POTG:  Stars’ WR Stevie Johnson: 6 Rec, 140 Yds, 1 TD   OAKLAND 9  SAN DIEGO 12 Ryan Lindley looked rusty in his first outing as Oakland’s starter. He avoided any picks, but failed on 13 of 20 third down attempts. It was no offensive showcase for the Thunder either, as Joe Webb was picked off twice. But, in a game that saw all the scoring come from the kickers, it was Jeff Reed of the Thunder who got the last shot at a game winner and put it through to give San Diego the 12-9 win (4-3 in soccer terms), connecting on 4 of 5, while Roberto Aguayo went 3 of 5. POTG:  Thunder LB Myles Jack: 10 Tck, 2 TFL ORLANDO 21   CHARLOTTE 24 The Monarchs rebound from 2 straight losses by taking care of business at home against a Renegades team that has seen their losing streak reach 3 games. It was backup HB Taiwan Jones who provided a spark, rushing for 2 scores and averaging 8 yards per carry on his way to a 72-yard day. That big day, combined with 3 Charlotte interceptions, all from Zachary Bowman, helped offset 3 picks by Mitch Trubisky on a rough day for the rookie. Bowman also turned one of his picks into points, returning it 58 yards for a score. POTG:  Charlotte CB Zachary Bowman: 5 Tck, 3 Int, 1 Def TD   TAMPA BAY 24  CHICAGO 21 Dak Prescott returned to action and the Bandits get their first win of the year against a surprisingly unsettled Chicago club. Prescott accounted for 351 yards of Tampa’s 454 total yards, throwing for 2 scores and completing 26 of 40 attempts. The combination of rookie Dalvin Cook and veteran Rex Burkhead combined for 103 yards rushing as well. Chicago’s defense seems completely out of ideas as they allowed 9 of 14 third downs to be converted and gave up a season high in yardage. POTG:  Bandits’ WR Santonio Holmes: 8 Rec, 82 Yds, 2 TD   ST. LOUIS 19   DENVER 16 The breaks finally go St. Louis’s way as they knock off Denver in Denver. Eddie Lacy rushed for 82 yards, Jaosh Freeman completed 19 of 32 passing, and the defense limited Denver to only 87 yards rushing. The game was tight throughout, with Denver taking a 16-11 lead with1:26 left, but St. Louis put together a final drive when they needed it, marching 71 yards in just over 1 minute, with the winning score, a 2-yard crossing route to David Nelson, coming with just 20 seconds left to play. POTG:  St. Louis DE Kony Ealy: 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty   SEATTLE 28  PORTLAND 21 In a battle of two winless rivals, someone had to get their first victory of the season, and, thanks to 310 yards and 3 touchdown tosses from Jacoby Brissett, that team was the Dragons. Brissett and Mariota both had success against the troubled defenses of the opposition. Doug Martin also found holes for Portland, rushing for 117 yards and a score, but it was WR Emmanuel Sanders who stole the show. Sanders put up 121 yards and scored all three Brissett TDs, including 2 in the fourth quarter to help Seattle reach the W column for the first time all season. POTG:  Dragon WR Emmanuel Sanders: 5 Rec, 121 Yds, 3 TD   LOS ANGELES 16   OKLAHOMA 21 Another nice home crowd greeted the Outlaws, and they gave the fans something to cheer about, with Joe Flacco throwing 2 TD tosses and Marshawn Lynch combining runs, screens and swing passes to gain 124 yards from scrimmage. Add in 4 sacks of Sam Bradford and you have an Outlaw win. POTG:  Outlaw DT Luis Castillo: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF   NEW ORLEANS 31   LAS VEGAS 14 The Breakers owned the first quarter in this one, going up 14-0 on two Drew Brees TDs, but after Las Vegas roared back with 2 from Eli Manning in the second, the Breakers put the game away in the 3rd. A David Wilson TD run, a 2nd TD reception for Jordy Nelson, and 2 Las Vegas turned this game into 17-point walk for the visiting Breakers. POTG:  Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 5 Rec, 167 Yds, 2 TD   ATLANTA 20  JACKSONVILLE 14 Don’t look now, but Atlanta may be putting together some things. Aaron Murray again looked very poised on his way to 331 yards and 2 TDs, despite Jacksonville bringing pressure that produced 6 sacks. Atlanta’s defense played well also, though Matt Jones finished with 98 yards rushing, the Bulls struggled in the passing game and struggled to get deep into Atlanta territory all game. POTG:  Atlanta QB Aaron Murray: 20/27, 331 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int   NEW JERSEY 28  WASHINGTON 15 The Federals’ season is officially a disaster as they not only lose their 6th game in 6 tries, but also lose QB David Garrard for the year with a torn ACL. New Jersey got a 25-yard pick six from Devin McCourty and 160 yards rushing from Maurice Jones-Drew as they dominated the game after Garrard’s injury. Mike Flynn came in for Washington, but could not get much done, scoring only 2 field goals in the second half. POTG:  General HB Maurice Jones-Drew: 18 Att, 160 Yds, 1 TD   MICHIGAN 10   OHIO 17 Ohio took a huge step towards respectability, and towards the Central Division crown, knocking off 4-1 Michigan and moving to .500 at 3-3. It was a full team effort as the defense sacked Kirk Cousins 5 times and held LeVeon Bell to an embarrassing 28 yards rushing as the offense got 81 yards from Isaiah Pead’s return, a Hackenberg to Blackmon TD and took a 17-3 lead into the 4th quarter. POTG:  Ohio CB Chimdi Chekwa: 8 Tck, 3 PDef   BIRMINGHAM 6   DALLAS 15 The Roughnecks win their 2nd in a row with Brandon Wheedon at the helm Wheedon threw for 211 and 2 scores, while the combination of rookies Samaje Perine and Donte Freeman produced 107 combined rushing yards. Dallas’s defense absolutely shut down A. J. McCarron, in for the injured Cam Newton. Birmingham failed to get anything out of their run game, with only 11 carries on the day, as it seemed they gave up completely on running the ball. POTG:  Dallas DE Connor Barwin: 7 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty   PITTSBURGH 31   HOUSTON 41 A good effort and a nice game from Kevin Hogan again, but it was not enough as Colt McCoy went off for 311 yards and 4 TDs, including a 60-yarder to possible ROTY candidate Juju Smith-Schuster. Carlos Hyde added 85 yards on the ground, and the defense did just enough to keep Pittsburgh from a late comeback, picking off Colt McCoy late in the 4th. POTG:  Houston QB Colt McCoy: 15/24, 311 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   Wheedon Gets Win with Roughnecks Dallas fans were skeptical at first about the deal that brought former Monarch QB Brandon Wheedon to the Roughnecks. After all, they had a rising star in former A&M QB Johnny Manziel clearly set up as the starter, and Wheedon had largely been driven out of Charlotte by his tendency to throw the ball to the wrong team. But, with Manziel now serving his 2nd week of a 6-week suspension and Wheedon once again finding a way to lead Dallas to a victory, fans seem to be warming up to their new QB.   Wheedon’s numbers in his first game were a bit shaky (15 of 25 for 147), but it was enough to get past Chicago. This week, against a solid Birmingham club, the numbers were pretty darned impressive, with Wheedon completing 28 of 32 passes for an impressive 87.5% completion rate. He threw for 211 and had his first touchdowns as a Roughneck. And, what is even better, in his two game so far he has yet to throw a pick. Wheedon and the Roughnecks will have a much tougher test this week as they host the unbeaten Houston Gamblers. The Vegas books have Houston as a 10-point favorite, and after a tough game against fellow unbeaten, Arizona, that is not a surprise. But, even if Wheedon is unable to get the W this week, a good showing could put him in good standing heading into some winnable games before Manziel returns.   Reich Finally Gets a Break as Skyhawks Upset Denver It took 6 weeks, but the horseshoe finally turned the right way up for Coach Frank Reich and the Skyhawks. After suffering a series of close defeats, including a 34-31 heartbreaker in Week 5, St. Louis finally got the result they needed in a 1-score game, knocking off Denver 19-16. It took a late David Nelson TD to swing the game in their favor, but the game swung and stayed there.   Coach Reich praised his team’s resilience and grit as they kept fighting against a tough defense in a hostile environment. The Skyhawks are hoping this win can propel them towards a better midseason, as they will not face another club with a winning record (at this point) until Week 12. That is 5 consecutive games against teams at .500 or below. Could St. Louis parlay this win in Denver to victories in their next 2 road games (@ Oklahoma and @ Atlanta)?   Sanders Sparks Seattle to First Win When two winless teams meet, the good news is that someone is going to get a win, the bad news is that few will take that win seriously because it was against a winless team. But, be that as it may, the Seattle Dragons are still much happier this week than their foes, the Portland Stags. Seattle avoided 0-6 by knocking off the Stags in Portland. The star of the game was pretty clear, as Dragon WR Emmauel Sanders left little doubt with his 121-yard, 3-TD performance. Sanders simply torched the Stag defense time and again, helping Seattle come from behind with an 8-yard TD catch in traffic midway through the 4th quarter, only to add another, this one from 33 yards out, in the final two minutes, securing the W for the Dragons. The Dragons will face Portland again, this time in Seattle in only 2 weeks, with a tough road game in New Jersey up on the slate next.   Maulers Go with Dalton Many expected Andy Dalton to be ready to go this week for the Maulers, but he was a late addition to the inactive list and Kevin Hogan got the start as Pittsburgh faced off against the unbeaten Houston Gamblers. The Maulers came up short, 31-41, but Hogan again made a claim to the starting job with 266 yards passing and a solid 86.2 game rating.   But, with Dalton now fully cleared to play in Week 7, Coach Fangio has already stated that his injury will not be the reason he loses his starting job. After all this is a former league MVP we are talking about. Expect to see the Red Rifle back under center this week when the Maulers host another very tough team, the 5-1 San diego Thunder. You honestly have to feel for Pittsburgh. They are in the middle of a brutal run that began with now 5-1 New Jersey in Week 4, then the 4-2 Charlotte Monarchs, the unbeaten Gamblers, with 5-1 San Diego and 6-0 Philadelphia on the docket next. That is a brutal run of games regardless of who is under center.   Beyond the Garrard injury which throws the Federals even deeper in a hole this season, no other injured reserve listings, though Tampa Bay, fresh off their first win, cannot be happy to have rookie HB Dalvin Cook out for a month or longer. Quite a few defenders on the list of players expected to miss this week ,including key defensive backfield players for St. Louis, Oklahoma, Tampa, LA, and Pittsburgh.   OUT QB         David Garrard              WSH     ACL                       IR HB         Dalvin Cook                  TBY        Arm                       4-6 Weeks C             Ben Jones                      WSH     Arm                       2-4 Weeks CB          DeMetrius McCay          OKL       Elbow                   2-4 Weeks CB          William Gay                   STL         Toe                         1-2 Weeks G            Laken Tomlinson            SEA        Ankle                    1-2 Weeks T              David Tremblay               ORL       Abdomen           1-2 Weeks TE           Anthony McCoy             DAL       Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL WR         Mike Williams                  PIT         Abdomen G            Dakota Dozier                  JAX         Concussion WR         Doug Baldwin                 LV           Wrist FS           Jalen Mills                    LA          Wrist LB           Sean Spence                ORL       Hip CB          A. J. Bouye                    PIT         Concussion FS           Will Allen                      TBY        Ankle LB           Jordan Jenkins             STL         Knee   QUESTIONABLE G            Mike Briesel                   SD          Concussion LB           Calvin Pace                     SEA        Hip FB          Tommy Bohanon             WSH     Concussion HB         Chris Ivory                       ATL         Hand QB         Cam Newton                  BIR         Foot LB           Lance Briggs               POR      Ankle   Mover or Mirage: Are These 3-3 Teams For Real? We are dubbing Week 7 the “Week of 3-3” because we have so many teams trying to get past the week with a winning record. We have 9 clubs currently sitting at 3-3. Some were expected to be well over .500 by now, others are surprising us with the fight they are putting up to reach the .500 mark after 6 weeks. So, to honor this decisive week, when some will move over the “Even-Steven” point, and others will drop off. We thought we would take a look at all 9 clubs and make a very unscientific decision on who is headed up the ladder and who is about to go down the chute.   Baltimore (3rd in NE) We are still shaking our heads at this one. Here is a team that has a Top 3 defense in both yards allowed and scoring and the 3rd best offense (yards) in the league. Sure,their run game is a bit suspect, but how are they 3-3? Well, they lost to Houston, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, who are a combined 17-1 so far this year. That pretty much sums it up.   Atlanta (2nd in SE)\ The Fire looked very shaky early on, losing their first 3 games while scoring only 36 points in that period, but they have come alive over the past 3 weeks, with wins over three division foes (Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville). Aaron Murray has really looked solid in that streak, and with 0-6 Washington up next, the Fire could find themselves ready to be over .500 at the halfway point.   Jacksonville (3rd in SE) The Bulls lost to Atlanta this week, snapping their win streak at 3 games. They may well be in the middle of a QB controversy between their dual-threat but erratic starter, Robert Griffin III, and their intriguing rookie C. J. Beathard, but they have a very solid defense and HB Matt Jones has shown some skills. They could be legit, and 2 more division games in the next 2 weeks (@ Orlando and home to Charlotte) could be the proof we have been looking for.   Orlando (4th in SE) An early favorite to run away with their division, Orlando has fallen hard, losing their last 3 games to the Fire, Bulls, and Monarchs, all doubly painful as divisional losses. The defense is solid against he pass, as we always expect with Calais Campbell on the field, but they have been giving up some big runs. The offense is only averaging 17.5 points per game, not good enough to win consistently.   Birmingham (3rd in South) The Stallions had a good run of games, knocking off the Maulers, Outlaws, and Monarchs, but the past 2 weeks they have had to play without Cam Newton and it seems the wheels have come off the bus. Newton is questionable for this week’s tough matchup against Philadelphia. If he cannot play, that could be a tough game for Birmingham to pull out.   Ohio (2nd in Central) The Glory have had two solid outings in divisional games, with this week’s upset win against Michigan a very strong statement about their capabilities. The defense is improving but still gives up too many big plays. The offense is solid when they can get play action working, but this is not a team that will come back easily if they get down more than 7.   Denver (2nd in SW) We keep saying that somehow, some way, Denver ends up 9-7, 8-8, or 7-9, so the fact that they are sitting at 3-3 is no surprise. They were 3-1 at one point, but back to back losses have hurt. They have a tough pair of games coming up with a trip to Charlotte followed by a matchup with Arizona. If they can somehow win those two, we may well have to take them more seriously as a challenger in the division.   Las Vegas (3rd in SW) Another potential playoff team out of the SW Division, Las Vegas needs to figure out how to beat good teams. Their 3 wins so far are all against teams at or below .500 right now. Their three losses are to Michigan (4-2), Denver (3-3) and New Orleans (4-2). Perhaps we should not tell them that their net two games are against unbeaten Arizona and Houston. Ouch!   Dallas (4th in SW) As we reported earlier, the Roughnecks have won two straight games with backup Brandon Wheedon at the helm. They have 4 more games with Wheedon before Manziel is eligible to return to action. They start with 6-0 Houston, no easy task, but then have Oklahoma, Las Vegas and New Orleans. Even going 2-2 in this rough stretch would be a bit impressive.   Five Relocated Players Making the Most of their Moves Free agency can be a bit of a crap shoot, for the players and for the team that signs them. And while we certainly have not seen every move pay off (looking at you, Donald Brown), there are certainly some that have been pure gold, either for the player, or the team, or for both. Here is our list of the 5 free agents who are making the most of their new environs and helping their teams see success as well.   WR Jordy Nelson (STL to NOR) No doubt this has been a huge move for the Breakers. Bringing in a sure fire target from the Skyhawks has helped Drew Brees spread the field out, break down defenses, and rebound from Early Doucet’s unexpected retirement last August. Nelson has been everything promised, speedy, good hands, a knack for the deep ball, the full package. Nelson currently leads the league in receiving yards with 769, well on pace to break 1,600, and has added 5 TDs. His 26 targets leads the team, even ahead of Brees’s usual favorite target, TE Coby Fleener. All in all, this is a clear gold star signing for the Breakers.   QB Aaron Murray (LA to ATL) It did not start well for Murray as the new starter in Atlanta, but after an 0-3 start, Murray has started to show signs that he can be the man for Coach Arians. In his last 3 games, all wins for the Fire, Murray has thrown 6 TDs to only 2 picks, and has over 330 yards, averaging nearly 290 per game. He has also started to rally the troops, proving leadership we have not seen from him since his days down the road in Athens, leading the UGA Bulldogs.   HB Doug Martin (CHI to POR) Not a lot has gone well for Portland this year, sitting at 0-6, but no one in the PNW is blaming tailback Doug Martin. Since coming over from the Chicago Machine, Martin has done nothing but impress, rushing for 519 yards in his first 6 games as a Portland Stag. That includes three 100-yard games, and along the way has proven to be a solid blocker when needed. He has caught only 1 pass so far, so that is something the Stags need to work on, but Martin is getting the job done in the run game. Now, can Portland get the rest of their game up to his level?   WR Roy Williams (HOU to ATL) Yes, we are going back to Atlanta for a 2nd player, because the story of Aaron Murray’s recent success is also the story of former Gambler Roy Williams. A favorite target of Matt Hasselbeck in Houston, Williams was a contributor from Day 1, catching 10 balls for 82 yards in his first regular season game in a Fire jersey. Since then he has been consistent and dangerous. He is sitting at 35 catches and 533 yards after 6 weeks, both great numbers as he pushes for a 2nd straight 1,000-yard season. Atlanta needs to get him more red zone targets (only 1 TD so far), but no one is complaining about his contributions so far.   CB Stephon Gilmore (NFL to LA) Our last free agent came to the LA Express from the NFL Bills. Happy to escape the cold and snow in Buffalo, Gilmore has fit right in and become an immediate leader in the Express secondary. Lined up against each foe’s top receiver, Gilmore is now 2nd on the team in tackles, behind only All-USFL MLB Clay Matthews. He has 3 picks as well, proving that he can be a nightmare for opposing QBs. Thrown in his first USFL touchdown, a pick-6 in Week 5’s win over Seattle, and the Express have to be very happy to have brought Gilmore in from the cold.   Under Armour Reveals First New Designs as Blitz Primaries Premier With a 6 year deal in hand, Under Armour is just gearing up to style the USFL’s 28 teams. While the uniform provider is now seen with all 28 teams across the league, the plan is for 6 teams a year to get the full attention of the UA design team, developing new looks, throwback designs, and alternative uniforms. This year’s scheduled teams will take on new designs in 2018, or possibly as soon as the USFL playoffs if they qualify, and the first of the looks is now public.   Under Armour and the Baltimore Blitz revealed the new primary uniforms for the club this week, a home blue and a road white. Baltimore is not getting any new logos this year, unless you count the throwback logos revealed with the new designs, so the novelty of the new look is mostly in the design of the jersey and pant set. Retaining a blue and silver color scheme, Baltimore unveiled the new uniforms which feature one “callback” element. It is a return of the “shock stripes” to the pant and helmet that stand out the most about the new Baltimore look. This design, a callback to their time with Nike, features a shift in the silver, white, or blue stripes on both the lower thigh and on the back of the blue helmets. The shift is supposed to mimic the lightning bolt found in the team’s main logo. Other than this element, there is a lot of familiarity to the Blitz look. They are retaining a shoulder stripe and sleeve color offset with both jerseys, using white sleeves and a silver stripe on the blue jerseys and a blue stripe with grey/silver sleeves on the white top. Silver and blue pant sets are available and the team retains the popular “mascot” of Billy Blitz as its sleeve ornamentation No word on the alternate looks yet, though the use of the red, white, silver, and blue “blitz” logo from the team’s early years in Chicago clearly indicate the way the throwbacks may go. Expect red to be back on the table when those are revealed. And, since the league allows only 2 helmet shells, a throwback to that era certainly means that the team’s 2nd helmet will be a silver one.   Week Seven offers the chance for several 3-3 teams to get over the hump and make a push for a solid winning record. We have two 3-3 clubs on Friday night when Denver heads into Charlotte (4-2) and Dallas hosts unbeaten Houston. No easy path to 4-3 for either club to be sure.   On Saturday Ohio has a much better shot at getting that 4th win as they are 8-point favorites over the 1-5 Chicago Machine. Our other 3-3 club on Saturday has a huge game as they host the unbeaten Arizona Wranglers in a huge SW Division clash.   Finally, on Sunday we have 3-3 Birmingham also facing an unbeaten squad as they host the 6-0 Philadelphia Stars at Legion Field. At the same time Atlanta hopes to avoid a trap game as they host the winless Washington Federals. At 4pm the 3-3 Baltimore Blitz hope to one up on the 2-4 Oakland Invaders, but a win after a cross-country trip is never easy. Finally, we end up “3-3 Weekend” with two clubs, both sitting at that .500 mark, going head to head. It is Jacksonville at Orlando in a Florida Derby, with the loser dropping below the even mark and giving up a valuable tiebreaker as well.   FRI 7PM ET          Denver (3-3) @ Charlotte (4-2)                   ABC FRI 9PM ET          Houston (6-0) @ Dallas (3-3)                         ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET     Michigan (4-2) @ Tampa Bay (1-5)                    ABC SAT 12PM ET         San Diego (5-1) @ Pittsburgh (2-4)                 FOX SAT 4PM ET             Chicago (1-5) @ Ohio (3-3)                          ABC SAT 4PM ET             Portland (0-6) @ Los Angeles (4-2)              FOX SAT 7PM ET             Memphis (2-4) @ New Orleans (4-2)                NBC SAT 9PM ET             Arizona (6-0) @ Las Vegas (3-3)                     ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET         Philadelphia (6-0) @ Birmingham (3-3)          ABC SUN 12PM ET          Seattle (1-5) @ New Jersey (1-5)                      FOX Regional SUN 12PM ET          Washington (0-6) @ Atlanta (3-3)                     FOX Regional SUN 4PM ET            St. Louis (2-4) @ Oklahoma (2-4)                     ABC SUN 4PM ET           Baltimore (3-3) @ Oakland (2-4)                      FOX SUN 8PM ET            Jacksonville (3-3) @ Orlando (3-3)                   ESPN/EFN

Stanley Stallion in Action A season-ending, perhaps career-ending injury added a sour taste to Week 5 action in the USFL as QB Joey Harrington suffered a non-contact injury that forced Oakland to place him on IR in what might be his final season of pro football. It is not the headline anyone wants to see, but it is a part of the game. Quarterback play was very much on everyone’s mind this week, in part due to the Harrington injury, but also because two teams that seemed to have their QB situation well-defined now could be facing a controversy as short-term injury created opportunity for backups to step up and they have. We will start our coverage with that story, then review all the week’s action, go deeper into the Harrington injury, as well as Memphis’s big injury loss, and also perhaps a sneak peek at a USFL club getting a new logo. All that is coming up right here in This Week in the USFL. Do the Bulls & Maulers have QB Controversies on Their Hands? Sometimes there are teams where you just know that they have 2 quarterbacks and no clear idea of who the starter should be. We have seen that quite a bit over the years, and usually it means that the club has 2 flawed players and need one to work their way through their issues and come out the other side. But sometimes a team will think they have a clear vision of their QB pecking order, a clear starter and a developmental backup. But then the games start, the backup gets some playing time, and surprisingly seems to outperform the starter. That creates controversy. It was not supposed to be a QB competition, but now you have evidence that you may have been starting the wrong guy. That is the situation that we are seeing in both Pittsburgh and Jacksonville after both starters missed a pair of weeks and the backups have outperformed expectations. The situation in Pittsburgh is a confusing one. After all, starter Andy Dalton is barely a year removed from winning the league’s MVP trophy in 2015. He had 47 touchdowns in that amazing season, jumping up from 18 the year before. He also threw for over 5,000 yards. But 2016 he crashed to earth, throwing for only 2,800 yards and dropping to only 20 touchdowns. The Maulers crashed with him, from 13-3 to 6-10. Cut to this season. The Maulers start the year 1-2, with Dalton throwing 2 TDs and 3 picks in the opening 3 weeks, earning an overall 62.8 QB rating. Dalton goes down and in Weeks 4 and 5 the Maulers are led by 2nd year QB Kevin Hogan. Hogan in two games throws for nearly 200 yards more than Dalton had in 3, throws 4 touchdowns, no picks, and sits at 105.2 in the QBR system. After a tough loss to New Jersey the Maulers came back this week with a big win over Charlotte, a win in which Hogan threw for 315 yards and led Pittsburgh on 6 scoring drives. So, what do you do? Go back to the Week 1 starter now that he is cleared to play or go with the hot hand? The Maulers face unbeaten Houston this week, and while Dalton certainly has more experience, Hogan provides the Gamblers with less film to study and less certainty in how they can defend him. Coach Fangio is playing it coy, not letting on who will get the start, which makes sense, but come the weekend, we will get our answer. Does Hogan keep Dalton on the bench or does Coach Fangio go back to his former MVP? In Jacksonville the contrast may even be more profound. Unlike Pittsburgh, where Andy Dalton and Kevin Hogan essentially run the same offense, the injury to Jacksonville’s Robert Griffin III meant that the Bulls had to recalibrate their entire offensive scheme to meet the talents of rookie backup C. J. Beathard. Whereas Griffin is a true dual-threat QB, one you can scheme on roll outs, bootlegs, and QB runs, Beathard is a classic pocket passer. So varied are the two styles, that many in and around the Bulls questioned why Coach Del Rio and the personnel team went after Beathard in the draft.   But, after two starts, Beathard is making his case. The former Iowa Hawkeye has not put up huge numbers, throwing for only 393 yards in the 2-game span, his 2:2 TD:INT ratio is also not eye-popping, though it is certainly better than Griffin’s 0 TD, 1 pick numbers after 3 games, but what is noticeable is that the Bulls, 1-2 under Griffin, won both games with Beathard at the helm, including this week’s huge upset win over the division-leading Orlando Renegades. Beathard may not be making huge statistical waves, but when we look at offensive production as a team, the Bulls seem to be responding to his style and skill set. With Griffin at the helm, Jacksonville was held to only 6 points in Week 1, 6 again in Week 2, and jumped up to 17 points against winless Tampa Bay. Enter Beathard and the Bulls stun us all by scoring 30 against Ohio in Week 4. This week against Orlando, they put up 23 points. With one of the better defenses in the league, a Bulls offense that can score 20+ points could win them a lot of games. So now Coach Del Rio has to try to determine if the less-dynamic, but perhaps more reliable Beathard gives them a better chance at doing just that. Do you give up the big play capacity of Griffin to stick with a more traditional approach?   Both Griffin and Dalton are expected back from injury this week. Both coaches are keeping their decision on who gets the start this week under wraps. But come Sunday we will see how each competition has panned out and whether or not 2 weeks of solid play has convinced a coach to go with the understudy over the more established starter. OHIO GLORY 34  ST. LOUIS SKYHAWKS 31 Two teams sitting at 1-3, division rivals, both hoping to crawl back towards .500 and give Michigan a run for the Central Division title. This game had just a bit of desperation in it, as well as all the usual division foe energy. Ohio came into town having lost 2 in a row, including a bad beatdown at the hands of the Jacksonville Bulls. St. Louis had lost 3 in a row, though their last two games (@ Michigan and vs. San Diego) had seen them hang tough with two of the league’s better clubs. Both teams needed a win, and this game played out like an early round playoff game because of that sense of urgency.   The game started off with about as much energy as you could ever ask for. Ohio took the opening kickoff and in only 4 plays had put the ball in the endzone. They hit a huge play right out of the gate when Rashard Jennings, filling in for the injured Isaiah Pead, took the 1st play from scrimmage for 32 yards, escaping the initial tacklers and making his way deep into the secondary. 3 plays later, Christian Hackenberg found Mario Manningham for the game’s first score.   The 2nd score of the game was no less surprising as Ohio picked off Josh Freeman on the Glory 41 yard line and returned it into St. Louis territory.  Hackenberg again found a receiver for a score, this time Justin Blackmon from 5 yards out and with 10 minutes still remaining in the 1st quarter, Ohio had themselves a 14-0 lead.  But St. Louis is capable of some big plays as well and they hit one on their second possession as Josh Freeman found speedy Erik Decker deep for a 42-yard gain that put St. Louis in scoring position just as quickly as Ohio had done. 2 plays later it was Freeman to David Nelson and we knew we had a game.   Ohio would add a field goal on their next drive, but even a 17-7 after the first quarter we had a feeling this game was far from over. After a couple of failed possessions, Ohio again put points on the board midway through the 2nd, as Hackenberg hit on his 3rd TD of the game, a 21-yard strike to Blackmon for the receiver’s 2nd score of the game. Ohio was now up 24-7 and seemed to be in control. St. Louis would add 3 points on a short Andrew Hamilton field goal, but then Ohio seemed to put the game away before the half, scoring on a Rashard Jennings 1-yard run at the 1-minute mark to take a commanding 31-10 lead. St. Louis used the half’s final minute to get into field goal range again, and after Hamilton connected on a final play kick, they went into the half trailing 31-13, a formidable deficit.   The furious pace of the first half was not repeated in the 3rd quarter. It felt very much like Ohio had taken their foot off the pedal, handing the ball off to Jennings and rookie Marion Mack more often than not. St. Louis mustered another field goal, but still trailed 31-16 after 3 quarters, a 15-point deficit. When Ohio added a field goal just a minute into the final quarter, it seemed they had an insurmountable advantage, up 18 at 34-16, but in the USFL, even that lead can be in doubt.   St. Louis shifted gears, all but abandoning eddie Lacy and the run game, a run game that had produced a very solid 120 yards for Lacy in 3 quarters. They went with Bobby Rainey, their receiving back, in the backfield for most of the quarter, and opted to keep 3 wideouts on the field, sometimes boosted to 4. It would be TE Rob Gronkowski and wideouts Erik Decker, Allen Robinson, and David Nelson in spread formations for the rest of the game.   The move worked almost immediately as St. Louis moved the ball well against the Glory defense, Freeman completing 4 of 5 passes on their next drive, including the 8-yard fade to Robinson in the endzone to pull St. Louis 7 points closer, 34-23. On Ohio’s next possession, St. Louis would hold on a 3rd and 3, stuffing Mack in the backfield and forcing a punt. With 2:34 left to play, they got the ball back on their own 26, down by 11. Again the spread offense and a lot of crossing and slant routes produced good results, but cost the Skyhawks time. When Freeman hit Erik Decker for his 2nd TD of the game, there was hope, but also there was only 1:31 on the clock and only 1 time out left. The 2 point PAT throw to Gronkowski connected and St. Louis, once dead in the water, was now within 3 points and a chance to pull off a huge comeback.   The Onside kick was a no-brainer call. Ohio put in their hands team, but Hamilton’s kick was a perfect 3rd bounce looper that forced Ben Obomanu to try to reach up to catch the ball. Hit by a St. Louis gunner, Obomanu could not bring down the ball, but having touched it, the ball was live. St. Louis CB Jordan Pugh was the hero, recovering the ball on the St. Louis 47 and giving the Skyhawks the chance they needed to complete the comeback and either send the game to overtime with a kick or take the win with a touchdown.   St. Louis’s offense took the field, 1:22 left to play, one time out, and 53 yards from an improbable comeback. Josh Freeman, who had shaken off a 4 of 12 start, had gone 11 of 18 over the past 2 quarters, and had 3 touchdowns already on the board. He needed a 4th to finish off the story. It looked very much like he would get it after his first pass went 12 yards to little used 3rd TE James Casey, in for Gronk on the play. Gronk returned for the next play, but was not open, so it was dumped off to FB Jeremy Felton, who gained 10. St. Louis was on the move. A third pass, this time to David Nelson, put the ball just outside of the red zone on the 21. But time was ticking. Freeman spiked the ball with 41 seconds left and a first and 10 from the 21. They were already well inside field goal range, but had a shot at a touchdown to win the game.   The next play would crush the dreams of the Skyhawk faithful, already “ka-kawing” with every stop of the clock. Coach Reich put the offense in a spread formation again, and Freeman got the look he wanted, a shell zone. He used a 3-wide cluster to the left to produce natural rubs against the corners, freeing up Allen Robinson streaking across the middle. Robinson made the catch at midfield, turned to go upfield and was immediately laid out by MLB James Laurinaitis. The ball came loose, the scramble produced a dogpile, and at the bottom was Ohio DT Jarron Gilbert. Whether Gilbert recovered the fumble originally is impossible to know. Perhaps the big man just had more arm strength to rip it away from the smaller St. Louis skill players, but in the end, Head Referee Pete Morelli signaled recovery Ohio. The call, as a turnover in the last 2 minutes, went to replay, but there was nothing to see. It was clearly a fumble, and the pile of bodies made it impossible to overturn the on-field call. Ohio had possession and ran out the clock to take the W. St. Louis fans left the game frustrated as once again the day was “close but still too far”. St. Louis fell to 1-4, Ohio stepped one game closer to .500 at 2-3.   MEMPHIS 23  BIRMINGHAM 14 The Showboats have 2 wins on the season and both are against the Stallions as the rivalry takes a new turn. The 3-1 Stallions again fell to their arch rivals, this time at home and favored by more than a touchdown. Memphis was aided by a very early injury to Cam Newton after only 4 snaps. Newton went out with a stress fracture in his foot that could cost him 2-3 games, and that gave Memphis all they needed to grind out a win over Birmingham, that and 121 yards from Todd Gurley, who left the game late with an injury as well, his potentially season ending. POTG:  Memphis HB Todd Gurley: 17 Att, 121 Yds   LAS VEGAS 10  OAKLAND 3 It was not a pretty game to watch, and it was certainly a rough one as Invader fans watched as their star QB, Joey Harrington, went down with a non-contact knee injury, later defined as a complete MCL tear. Without their starter, and with backup Ryan Lindley nursing an injury, Bob Volek came in for his first real action since 2010. Oakland’s defense kept them in it, but Volek could get nothing out of the offense and Las Vegas got all they needed on a Manning to Baldwin TD toss to get the divisional road win. POTG:  Las Vegas QB Eli Manning: 27/34, 205 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int   CHARLOTTE 17  PITTSBURGH 30 The Monarchs drop a 2nd straight game as Pittsburgh and backup QB Kevin Hogan have themselves a day. Hogan went 22 of 31 for 315 yards, putting Victor Cruz over 100 on the day as well. Meanwhile, Mitch Trubisky was chased, hit, and sacked by the Mauler front 7 all game long. Were it not for a nice 118-yard day from Adrian Peterson, this one could have gotten uglier. POTG:  Mauler WR Victor Cruz: 5 Rec, 135 Yds, 1 TD DALLAS 26   CHICAGO 15 The Machine came out on the wrong end of this one despite outgaining Dallas 324-214, but a 2-0 turnover deficit will do that to you. Dallas had a 19-15 lead late and a desperate pass by Fitzpatrick quickly turned into a pick-six for Melvin Ingram, extending Dallas’s lead as time ran out. It was a big win for a much maligned Roughneck defense, as they limited Matt Forte to 51 yards rushing and sacked Fitzpatrick 4 times on the day. POTG:  Dallas LB Melvin Ingram: 6 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   DENVER 16   MICHIGAN 23 The Panthers take command of the Central by moving to 4-1, thanks in large part to a strong day from Kirk Cousins and a key 4th down play on Denver’s late drive that turned the ball over to the Panthers to end it. LB Sean Porter caught Matt Leinart with a blitz on 4th and 5 with only 37 seconds left to end the Gold’s chance to come back in the final seconds. It was the 4th sack of Leinart on the day, and the biggest of the game to be sure. POTG:  Michigan QB Kirk Cousins: 23/32, 257 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int   LOS ANGELES 17  SEATTLE 15 Seattle played it tough but had to keep settling for field goals (5 in the game) instead of touchdowns, and that gave LA just enough to escape with a win. The Express defense gave them an early 7-0 lead on a Stephon Gilmore pick-six, and Paul Perkins added another TD, but Seattle kept hanging on. They had a chance to win it late, but kicker Jeffrey Harris missed on a 49-yard kick as regulation ended and LA escaped with win number 4. POTG:  Express HB Reggie Bush: 15 Att, 86 Yds, 1 Rec, 15 Yds   BALTIMORE 14   NEW JERSEY 20 Tied at 14 midway through the 4th, this was anyone’s game to win, but after New Jersey went up 3 with 1:48 left, a botched handoff on 4th and short caused Baltimore to give the Generals back possession with 23 seconds left, and New Jersey added another late field goal to ice the game. Backup Nick Foles threw for 2 scores, matching Ben Roethlisberger’s total as the General defense kept Baltimore off rhythm all game long. POTG:  New jersey WR Odell Beckham Jr: 8 Rec, 103 Yds, 1 TD   OKLAHOMA 24   ARIZONA 38 This one was not as close as the final score indicates. It was 38-7 after three quarters and Oklahoma finally found some success against mostly Wrangler backups in the 4th. Despite 3 picks, David Carr absolutely destroyed the Outlaw secondary for 337 yards and 4 touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald caught 5 for 138 and a score while Jimmie Graham had 2 scores as Arizona rolled over their rivals. POTG:  Wrangler QB David Carr: 16/30, 337 Yds, 4 TD, 3 Int   WASHINGTON 27  PHILADELPHIA 37 Washington’s defense continued hemorrhaging points as Philadelphia scored on 7 of 9 possessions and racked up 387 yards, including 109 from WR Stevie Johnson. Three David Garrard picks did not help as Washington had the lead at the half, but then gave up 3 straight TD drives as Philadelphia came up huge in the 2nd half. POTG:  Philadelphia QB Matt Gutierrez: 20/40, 313 Yds, 3 TD, 2 Int   ORLANDO 20   JACKSONVILLE 23 A huge win for the Bulls as rookie QB C. J. Beathard connects on 2 TD passes and the defense picks off Russell Wilson 3 times to secure a Bulls win over first place Orlando. Jacksonville safety David Bruton returned one of those picks 49 yards for a score and Beathard held up in the pocket to connect with both Gavin Escobar and Mike Williams for scores as the Bulls now sit at 3-2 and have a share of first place. POTG:  Bulls’ QB C. J. Beathard: 18/28, 135 Yds, 2 TD   ATLANTA 20  TAMPA BAY 0 Another bad loss for the Bandits as Atlanta shuts them out, picking off E. J. Manuel twice and sacking him 4 times in a very ugly offensive game for Tampa Bay. Meanwhile Aaron Murray remains hot, throwing for 223 and 2 scores as he leads Atlanta to back-to-back wins. Rookie O. J. Howard had another nice game, catching 5 balls for 81 yards and a TD for the Fire. POTG:  Fire QB Aaron Murray: 19/29, 223 Yards, 2 TD, 0 Int   PORTLAND 17   SAN DIEGO 34 Portland is no match for the Thunder and now will meet equally bad 0-5 Seattle next week in a battle of winless clubs. San Diego improves to 4-1 with another nice game from Joe Webb, who throws for 334 and 4 TDs on the day. Webb connected with TE Kevin Everett twice, but also threw to Chad Johnson and Nick Toon for scores as the Thunder roll over the Stags. POTG:  Thunder QB Joe Webb: 22/32,334 Yds, 4 TD, 2 Int   NEW ORLEANS 27  HOUSTON 40 Houston takes command of the Southern Division with a convincing game against the Breakers. Carlos Hyde rushes for 104 and 3 scores and Mike Evans joins the top 5 receivers thanks to a 132 yard day. Rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster also had a great game, catching 4 balls, 2 of them Colt McCoy TDs. Drew Brees threw for 384 in a losing cause, including 158 to Jordy Nelson and 107 to Kenny Britt, but it was just not enough as Houston’s offense was just too much for the Breaker D. POTG:  Houston HB Carlos Hyde: 22 Att, 104 Yds, 3 TD   Huge Win has Jacksonville Fans Bullish Bulls fans are feeling giddy after their team won their 3rd game in a row, and a big one at that, knocking off Orlando and taking a share of 1st place in the SE Division. After an 0-2 start that saw them score only 12 total points, the Bulls have beaten Tampa Bay, Ohio, and Orlando and looked very solid doing it. While the issue of the QB position is now one that could cause some controversy, as outlined earlier in our report, there are some aspects of Jacksonville’s 3-game streak that are not being questioned and could be indicators that the Bulls may be turning the corner after 6 consecutive 10+ loss seasons, including a disastrous 0-16 disaster in 2014.   So, other than perhaps a QB Controversy, what are we seeing in the Bulls that provides reason to be optimistic?   First up, the scoring defense is looking solid. They currently rank 3rd in the league, behind only Baltimore and New Jersey, allowing a mere 14.2 points a game. That has been the strength of the team the past 2 seasons, so it is no surprise that they are holding down scoring and giving their offense a chance each week.   Secondly, it’s all about the turnover differential. The Bulls have racked up 19 takeaways in only 5 weeks, that is nearly 4 per game. That includes 10 picks and 9 fumbles recovered. Dominique Rogers-Cromartie is leading the way with 4 picks, but we should also look at Sean Lee, the former Stars’ MLB, who has 2 picks and 3 forced fumbles. Throw in 2 pick-sixes and we have a defense that is helping put points on the board and create lots of short fields.   So, what about the offense? That has been a big issue for the Bulls over the past half-decade. What is different this year? Well, to start, the Bulls may have found themselves a back, as unheralded Matt Jones is averaging a respectable 3.8 yards per game and is providing an option in the backfield, especially on shorter third down plays. The 3rd year back already has more yards than in any previous season and is possibly on pace for a 1,000-yard season.   Then there is the passing game. We already know that Coach Del Rio has a decision to make, return to Robert Griffin and his less traditional style, or continue to allow rookie C. J. Beathard learn on the job and give the Bulls a more prototypical profile of pocket passing. Jacksonville is improving, though their passing offense is still ranked 26th out of 28 clubs, with only 180.8 yards per game. They may well be in the market to try to secure a trade for a topflight receiver as currently they do not have a receiver over 200 yards or 20 catches. Andre Caldwell, Mike Williams, and Tavon Austin have all been splitting targets, but no one has truly proven to be a go to receiver that defenses need to focus extra attention on.   Finally, one last positive sign for the Bulls, unlike past years, they seem to be staying healthy in 2017. Now, we don’t want to jinx them by pointing this out, but they are currently the only team in the league with no one on either Injury reserve or on the Week 5 injury list. That is a rare feat, and one that certainly helps as they face some tough games ahead. They are home to Atlanta this week in another big divisional game, then have their rematch with Orlando in Orlando, before facing Charlotte in Week 8. If the Bulls can sweep that 3-game stretch, they will be 5-0 in the division, which is a huge help come tiebreaker time.   Jennings Makes Most of Opportunity to Start Identified as a “3rd down” or “receiving” back, Rashard Jennings has has a very specific role both with the Thunder and in Ohio. It is why we have seen him averaging fewer than 120 carries a season throughout his career. But, the recent injury to Isaiah Pead may be giving Jennings a chance to prove he can be more than a 1-down back. Averaging about 10 carries per game through the first 4 weeks, Jennings got a chance to take on the lead back role when Isaiah Pead suffered a hyper-extended knee in Week 4. Jennings responded with a day that had to surprise everyone from Glory fans to Coach Coughlin, taking 23 carries for 165 yards and a score.   Now, that performance was against the Skyhawks and their troubled defense, so we perhaps have to tone down the Jennings-mania just a touch, but it was still a performance that showcased the back’s elusiveness and open field moves. Pead is questionable this week, so again we should expect to see Jennings get the majority of the carries, with rookie Marion Mack backing him up. With Ohio facing a much tougher defense in the Michigan Panthers, this will be a true test to see if Jennings has what it takes to perhaps start splitting carries or even surpassing Pead in carries regularly.   Hyde Powers Houston to 5-0. No surprise at all that Carlos Hyde had a big game when his team needed him to. In their key divisional matchup with New Orleans, Coach Phillips went in knowing that the Breaker pass defense, was formidable, and that Colt McCoy could use the kind of help a good day from Hyde could provide. A gameplan was put in place to get the ball in Hyde’s hands often. The result? Hyde got 22 carries, and with those carries racked up 104 yards (a 4.7 average) and 3 touchdowns. Hyde was unstoppable inside the 20, touching the ball 8 times and averaging over 5.5 yards per carry in the Red Zone, including his 11, 7, and 1 yard TD runs.   Hyde is not among the league leaders, as teams earlier this year focused on the run and tried to force Colt McCoy to make plays, but as McCoy has demonstrated more and more poise and ability to make plays, defenses have had to account for the Houston passing game, and that very well could give Hyde an opportunity to thrive in the weeks ahead. The Houston back currently sits in 10th place on the rushing table with 327 yards, but we think it is a safe bet he could finish in the Top 5 by season’s end.   Harrington Lost for the Season. Was it his Last? It is what every coach, every owner, and every fan dreads, that the player viewed as most valuable and least replaceable on their team will fall to injury. That is what Oakland is facing as Joey Harrington, the clear number one at QB for the past 11 seasons, is likely done for the year after suffering a fully torn MCL. It happened on a completely innocuous play with no contract, as we often see with knee injuries. Harrington had dropped back, left the pocket to his left, and looked to be sixing up a pass to TE Zach Ertz when his right foot landed awkwardly, twisting on its side. Harrington went down, the ball fluttering out of bounds, and the trainers came out.   Initially the concern was Harrington’s ankle, but he quickly pointed the trainers to his knee. He was helped to the sideline by two linemen, not putting pressure on the leg at all. From there it was quickly off to the locker room and by that evening the verdict was in. A full tear of the ligament and a lengthy recovery. Harrington, who turned 37 this year, has been rumored to be in his final season since last October, but no player wants their career to end this way.   For Coach Green and the Invaders, the ‘next man up” theory has to come into effect. That man will almost certainly be Ryan Lindley, the former Bandit. Lindley missed this last game with an injury of his own, but is expected to be back and ready to start this week, allowing 9-year veteran Bob Volek to take on a 2nd string role. Oakland also could activate practice squad QB Tom Savage to the active roster to allow for 3-player depth at the vital position. Lindley last started a game in 2014 with Tampa Bay, when he had 2 starts and appearances in 4 games for the Bandits. With Oakland already breaking in a new WR group after the offseason departures of both Pierre Garçon (NFL) and Keenan Allen (WSH), adding in a largely inexperienced QB can only cause worries for Green and the Invaders.   Todd Gurley Placed on IR after Breaking Wrist A second big injury this week as Memphis starting HB Todd Gurley will again miss significant action. The former Georgia Bulldog played in only 14 games last year, but it looks like his 2017 total will be only 5 games as he left the Memphis loss to Birmingham late, after racking up a very nice 121 yards in the game. Gurley had an awkward landing on his right arm and immediately came out of the game. X-rays revealed a compound fracture in his wrist, and as this is his dominant ball-carrying hand, and it would require a hard cast, the verdict was that his season was over. Gurley came within 50 yards of his first 1,000-yard season in Memphis’s Summer Bowl run last year, and currently leads the Showboats with 288 yards in 5 games, but is done for the year.   The obvious step up will be from Anthony Allen, who showed some real spark in a 700-yard season in 2016, subbing in for Gurley for several games. Allen now becomes the primary back for the Showboats, though we also expect we will see more of former Orlando and Denver back Jacob Hester, and maybe even practice squad player and undrafted Idaho rookie Scott Fox.   OUT G            Rokevious Watkins      PHI        Neck                     IR OT          Nat Dorsey                     LV           Shoulder             IR HB         Todd Gurley                  MEM     Wrist                     IR QB         Joey Harrington           OAK      MCL                      IR FS           Jalen Mills                      LA          Wrist                     1-2 Weeks DE          Da’Quan Bowers            BAL        Ribs                       1-2 Weeks QB         Cam Newton                 BIR         Foot                      1-2 Weeks LB           Nate Irving                      LV           Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL LB           Sean Spence                  ORL       Hip CB          Shaquile Grifffin             ATL         Jaw CB          Dunta Robinson              PIT         Arm CB          Prince Amukamara       WSH     Concussion HB         Chris Ivory                        ATL         Hand G            Mike Briesel                     SD          Concussion   QUESTIONABLE WR         Robert Woods               MEM     Concussion WR         Percy Harvin                     OKL       Knee G            Mike Iupati                   ORL       Personal CB          Alphonso Hodge            OAK      Turf Toe DT          Sione Pouha                   BIR         Hand   Hundley & Prescott Expected Back Good news on the injury list for a pair of teams as New Jersey’s Brett Hundley and Tampa Bay’s Dak Prescott return to action this week. Hundley missed the past two weeks with back spasms, and while Nick Foles played well and got the Generals wins over both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, everyone expects the former USC Trojan to be back under center for the Generals when they take on the Federals this week.   For Tampa Bay, the two games with E. J. Manuel at the helm have not gone as well as Nick Foles’s outings. A 19-7 defeat in Baltimore was followed by this week’s embarrassing 20-0 drubbing by Atlanta. In Prescott’s absence, Manuel threw 3 picks and no TDs, and the offense simply did not move the ball well at all (187 yards passing followed by 158). That said, with many glad Prescott is back under center, the fact that he too went winless in his 3 games this season still has many Bandit fans pining for a better option.   Federals Cut DC Allen Loose, Promote Fewell A team accustomed to being among the league’s elite defenses is not sitting down as their defense proves to be among the league’s worst this year. On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Bruce Allen was let go and secondary coach Perry Fewell given the interim position. It is not really a big surprise that Coach Payton let Allen go after a 5-game stretch that had the Federals’ defense giving up over 300 yards passing per game, and nearly 28 points on average. Fewell, hoping to land the permanent gig at DC, will need to find a way to tighten up the secondary, improve the positioning of the linebackers, and, perhaps most importantly, get more pressure from DE’s Chris Long and Mathias Kiawanuka. The two have only 6 sacks between them, and Coach Allen was forced to use blitzes to create many of those opportunities, blitzes that often led to wide open receivers in single coverage. It won’t be an easy fix for Fewell, but Washington needs to see improvement if they want any chance to recover this season after a dismal 0-5 start.   Possible Stallion Logo Leak? We have a possible leak out of Under Armour that could reveal that the 2018 uniform redesigns by the USFL’s new uniform partner, could herald a logo change for the Stallions. An image of a souvenir pennant seems to show a new logo depicting a horse’s head in motion, a departure from the reared-up Stallion the team has used since they swapped out their full-body horse logo for the 2000 season. Is this a new logo for the Stallions? The new logo, if proven to be authentic, shows a white stallion with gold highlights and red outlines, complete with a flowing red mane. The logo includes only the head and neck of the rowdy horse. At this point, with no official confirmation from either Under Armour or the Stallions, it is not known whether this is only a partial logo, paired with the team’s wordmark on the pennant, or if this is to be the full logo. It is also not known if or how this logo would appear on the helmet.   Under Armour did promise when they got the USFL contract that they would not shy away from modernizing the look of USFL teams as part of the process. With 6 USFL clubs due for a “refresh” for 2018, it may well be that Birmingham is one of the teams getting a more comprehensive redesign. We expect several designs to be released over the next month to both build excitement for the new looks and to possibly provide teams with their new looks in time for the 2017 playoffs. In addition to Birmingham, we expect updated designs for the Baltimore Blitz, Jacksonville Bulls, New Orleans Breakers, Pittsburgh Maulers, and Washington Federals.   San Antonio Stadium Update Good News for USFL Fans The City of San Antonio & State of Texas now covering 27% of reconstruction costs. Celebration in San Antonio as ground was broken on the rebuild of the Alamodome. The ceremonial shovel was cast into the dirt by Mayor Rob Nirenberg, assisted by former Outlaws owner Red McCombs, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and lead architect Bill Johnson of HOK. The groundbreaking is itself a monumental feat when you consider the challenges of getting the funding and approvals together for the project. But, over the past 6 months several pieces fell into place. First was a settlement with Chubb insurance, which provided the project with $210M towards the project, about 23% of the estimated build cost, far less than a full payment on the insurance would have provided, but far more than Chubb had initially offered after revelations of sub-standard construction during a 2010 renovation put the claim of tornado damage at risk.   Following the successful settlement, and with the promise by McCombs and his partner Trevor Ross-Jones to fund up to $500M into the project, roughly 50% of the expected $1B price tag for a newly designed dome, it was up to the city and the state to find funding for the remaining $290M. It took several months, and two different ballot initiatives, but the project finally secured funding through a combination of bond sale (statewide) and a hotel/restaurant tax of 0.75% within the City of San Antonio and 0.5% within Bexar (San Antonio) county and the surrounding counties of Wilson, Atascosa, Medira, Corral, and Guadalupe. The original Dome architects will revive the structure. With funding in place, HOK was hired, and Bill Johnson, who is also working on Atlanta’s new retractable dome, were hired to revise the original plans of the Alamodome and produce a new, 68,000 seat facility. Unlike Atlanta, the new Alamodome will not be retractable, but will feature 4,000 additional seats along with 8 additional luxury suites. HOK was the architecture firm for the original dome but was not hired for the renovations in 2010 that produced significant structural and material flaws cited by Chubb in their initial denial of coverage when a tornado caused major damage to two sides of the facility on Memorial Day Weekend in 2015.   The timeline for the stadium calls for completion by November 2019, which means that the USFL’s promise to return a franchise to the city when the facility is completed could push the league to look at 2020 as an expansion season. Of course, the possibility still exists that a current USFL owner could choose to sell their franchise to the McComb/Ross-Jones endeavor, but at present we are not seeing any ownership groups that are eager to sell what has become a pretty solid investment over time. With the price tag set by the OKC Football Group’s purchase of the Outlaws last season, current owners are very much looking at solid year-to-year growth in the value of their clubs, so expansion does seem the most likely prospect.   Expect the San Antonio Group to make their pitch for a 2020 expansion date at next month’s Owner’s Meeting in New York. And while Outlaw fans in and around San Antonio must be feeling a bit left out right now as their former club sells out OGE Energy Stadium in far off Oklahoma City, the fanbase of the former Texas Outlaws may now see a new light on the horizon as the Alamodome is set to be rebuilt, bigger and better than ever.   With 3 unbeatens and 4 winless clubs in the league right now, the odds for an upset here and there, and for those numbers to decrease is very real. Will a team sneak up on someone and get their first win? Will someone else knock off one of the three unbeatens? The chances are good we will see at least one of these two scenarios happen this week, as we saw in both Week 3 and Week 4.   We have our first unbeaten team taking action on Friday Night, when the 5-0 Stars face a very tough challenge in traveling to Baltimore to take on Ben Roethlisberger and the Blitz’s top ranked defense. This could be a very tough one for the Stars. On Saturday, we have 3 of the 4 winless teams playing, with 2 playing each other, almost certainly assuring that the number of winless clubs will shrink by at least 1 this week. First off, at noon, we have 0-5 Tampa Bay, with Dak Prescott returning to action, headed to Chicago to face a struggling 1-4 Machine club. Then at 4pm, it is 0-5 Seattle visiting 0-5 Portland in a Cascade Clash that could leave one team sadder than an all day PNW soaker of a rain day.   Sunday we have two unbeatens and one winless club trying to earn W’s. Washington hopes they can turn the tide of pain as they host the New Jersey Generals in a key divisional game in the Northeast. Then, at 4pm, it is Pittsburgh hoping they can surprise the unbeaten Houston Gamblers in Houston, a tough task indeed. Finally, on Sunday night, the ESPN/EFN simulcast features 5-0 Arizona headed to Memphis for a rematch of Summer Bowl 2016. Memphis seems a very different team this year without Manning and now with Todd Gurley on IR, while Arizona looks possibly even more dominant than in their title run last year.   FRI 7PM ET         Philadelphia (5-0) @ Baltimore (3-2)                FOX FRI 9PM ET         Oakland (2-3) @ San Diego (4-1)                    ESPN/EFN   SAT 12PM ET         Orlando (3-2) @ Charlotte (3-2)                       ABC SAT 12PM ET         Tampa Bay (0-5) @ Chicago (1-4)                    FOX SAT 4PM ET         St. Louis (1-4) @ Denver (3-2)                           ABC SAT 4PM ET          Seattle (0-5) @ Portland (0-5)                         FOX SAT 7PM ET           Los Angeles (4-1) @ Oklahoma (1-4)              NBC SAT 9PM ET           New Orleans (3-2) @ Las Vegas (3-2)              ESPN/EFN   SUN 12PM ET       Atlanta (2-3) @ Jacksonville (3-2)                     ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET        New Jersey (4-1) @ Washington (0-5)              ABC Regional SUN 12PM ET         Michigan (4-1) @ Ohio (2-3)                            FOX SUN 4PM ET            Birmingham (3-2) @ Dallas (2-3)                      ABC SUN 4PM ET         Pittsburgh (2-3) @ Houston (5-0)                    FOX SUN 8PM ET           Arizona (5-0) @ Memphis (2-3)                       ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: With starter Isaiah Pead out with an injury, it was up to third-down back Rashard Jennings to step in, and boy did he. Jennings had 23 attempts for 163 yards and helped Ohio eke out a thrilling 34-31 victory over St. Louis for their 2nd win on the season. Expect Jennings to get more touches after a game like this one.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As good as Drew Brees's week was, we have to give this to backup QB Jake Locker, who did not miss a beat as he replaced Ben Roethlisberger as the signal caller for the Blitz. Locker threw for 319 yards and 4 TDs as Baltimore put a hurting on Tampa Bay in a battle of backups. pu