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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rookie Johnny Manziel had one of his best games to date in Dallas's upset victory over Michigan. Completing 24 of 30, with 4 different receivers getting 5 or more receptions, Manziel threw for 3 scores and helped the Roughnecks get in the win column for the first time since Week 2 PLAYOFF PICTURE: No teams have clinched a playoff spot or been eliminated after 10 weeks, however Jacksonville can potentially be eliminated with a loss in Week 11.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As much as we enjoyed watching both Jake Plummer and Fred Jackson light it up this week, we have to give the POTW to Baltimore CB Nnamdi Asomugha. It is not every day a cornerback snags three picks in one game, and even less frequently against a quality QB and a quality opponent like Matt Gutierrez and the Stars. Baltimore played a statement game in downing the Stars in Philly, and Asomugha's performance was the exclamation point on that statement.

Philadelphia drops their second in a row as Baltimore downs a Stars team missing two of their key offensive weapons.  Tampa Bay and Texas move to a league best 8-1 record with hard-fought wins in tough road games, and Michigan impresses with a 4th straight victory, taking a win at Invesco Field from the Denver Gold.  It was also a good week for several 4-4 clubs, including Arizona, Las Vegas, Orlando, Washington, and Charlotte as they moved into positive territory with wins in Week 9.  On the flipside, several other 4-4 clubs fell to 4-5 with lackluster performances, including a poor outing across the board from the Generals and Stallions.  We will recap all the action and follow up on big news out of Las Vegas as the still-to-be-identified USFL franchise that is relocating to Sin City works with local promoters to provide fans with input into the team’s identity.  All this, plus concerns that Coach Mike Nolan may have already lost the lockerroom of the 0-9 Jacksonville Bulls.   TEXAS OUTLAWS 30    PORTLAND STAGS 25 One of the signs of a good team in any sport is the ability to pull out games when you are not playing your best.  That was the case for the Texas Outlaws this week as they struggled at Portland.  Texas had been among the league’s elite teams all season, but the Portland Stags were playing them tough and forced the Outlaws out of their usual game plan, but Texas found a way to pull out the game when the pressure was on, calling up the perfect play to get the big play that had eluded them all game.   Portland had again given the reins of the offense back to Ryan Fitzpatrick, having sat Matt McGloin after some rough games, and Fitzpatrick looked very solid, going 30 for 37 on the day and throwing for 3 touchdowns.  The Portland defense also came up big in the game, sacking Joe Flacco 4 times, including an opening drive safety that put Portland up early.  The Stags would double down on the defensive play, scoring the game’s first touchdown on the ensuing possession when Fitzpatrick found Jordan Cameron for a short TD toss to take a 9-0 early lead.   The Portland defense continued to play the Outlaws tough, stacking the box against Chris Johnson and using 2-deep zone to avoid big plays from the Texas passing game.  Joe Flacco would be able to rack up some big yardage (393 yards in total), but would be held to shorter plays and forced to complete long drives to move the ball.  The Stags were counting on Texas mistakes, and the Outlaws, frustrated by the strategy provided them in the form of drive killing penalties.    Texas would get on the board before the first quarter ended, with Felix Jones scoring on a swing pass from Flacco to pull within 2.  They would take the lead briefly in the 2nd after another stalled drive allowed for a Kai Forbath field goal put them up 10-9.  But on the very next drive, Portland again found paydirt, as again it was the connection between Fitzpatrick and Jordan, this time on a 40-yard TD toss to the tight end.  Portland would go for 2, but fail on the attempt, putting them up 15-10 with just over 5 minutes left to play in the half.  Texas would counter, taking the halftime lead 17-15 thanks to a 14-play drive that ended with a short toss from Flacco to Chastin West.   Texas had the lead, but was clearly not playing their best ball.  Portland had found a way to frustrate the big play offense of the Outlaws and shutting down Chris Johnson in the run game (8 carries for only 22 yards in the first half.)  In the second half, the frustration would continue.  Texas would be held scoreless in the 3rd quarter, and when Portland got a third Fitzpatrick TD, they would take the lead, sitting at 22-17 after three.    In the fourth, Texas had a bit more success, two drives producing two Forbath field goals and a slim 23-22 lead.  But when Portland again retook the lead with 1:34 left, thanks to a Mason Crosby kick, Texas would need to do more than dink and dunk their way down the field.  They would need to find a way to get a big play, one that had eluded them all day.   The strategy of the Stags, to play 2-deep zone while stacking the box, would shift in the final minutes of the game, with the run game now all but abandoned by Texas.  They would modify their coverage to ensure that Joe Flacco’s favorite target, Marques Colston, could not burn them.  Doubling the primary target with a safety meant that either Brandon Marshall or Marquise Goodwin would have to make a play against single coverage with a high safety.    With the ball on their own 25 and following a missed toss to TE Chris Cooley on first down, Texas would do what true contenders always seem to do, they would dial up the perfect play to beat the coverage Portland was showing. They put all three wideouts to one side, stacking Colston behind Marshall and Goodwin. This forced the deep safety to play a little closer to the line, and when the receivers split their routes, both the strong and free safeties followed the pair of Marshall and Colston towards the middle of the field in stacked routes.  That left Goodwin in single coverage down the sideline.  The speedster got a step on the corner and Flacco had the time needed to loft up a deep ball.  Colston sped under the ball, brought it in without breaking stride and had a clear path to the endzone.  The big play that had been unavailable all game long became possible in the final minute of action and Texas got what they needed, a 75-yard touchdown in the final minute to pull out the 30-25 victory.  It was exactly the type of tenacity and ingenuity that you would expect from an 8-1 squad, proving that they could pull out victories even in games where they had appeared frustrated all game long.   TAMPA BAY 24    ATLANTA 10 The Bandits continue to impress with another solid divisional win, and again it is the defense that is stepping up and proving that this is not a one-dimensional team.  LB Devon Kennard had 2 sacks, and the D held Atlanta to only 13 first downs and 232 total yards.  The Fire run game was stymied at every turn, with Steven Jackson limited to only 46 total yards.  Meanwhile, Rex Burkhead, starting in place of Jahvid Best, rushed for 111 on 19 carries and Vincent Jackson went over 100 yards again as the Bandits rolled. POTG: Bandit HB Rex Burkhead, 19 Att, 111 Yds, 1 TD    PITTSBURGH 28    NEW JERSEY 16 Real concern about the Generals as they lose a home game where they were favored by 7 points.  The Generals came out flat, and the Maulers took advantage.  Ronnie Brown rushed for 94 and a score, Adam Thielen caught 5 for 120 and a TD, and LB Paul Posluszny scored on a pick-6 as the Maulers simply plugged along in all phases of the game.  POTG:  Mauler LB Paul Posluszny: 6 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   MEMPHIS 10   ORLANDO 23 Eli Manning surprisingly returned to action this week, despite being listed as Doubtful on the injury report. He may wish he hadn’t after being sacked 4 times by the Renegades and completing only 18 of 35 pass attempts.  Orlando dominated on defense, holding Memphis to a total of 207 yards on the day. Russell Wilson completed 27 of 36 passing and rushed for 30 yards as well as Orlando moves to 5-4. POTG:  Orlando QB Russell Wilson: 27/36, 335 Yds, 1 TD, 0 Int, 5 Att, 30 Yds   MICHIGAN 28   DENVER 21 The Panthers win their 4th in a row with an impressive outing at Invesco Field.  Kirk Cousins threw for 3 scores in one of his most complete games of the season, while LeVeon Bell added 89 yards rushing and a TD for the visiting Panthers.  The Panther D also showed up big, limiting DeMarco Murray to only 1.5 YPC on a 19-yard day.  POTG : Michigan QB Kirk Cousins: 30/42, 284 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   BIRMINGHAM 24   NEW ORLEANS 33 The Breakers build a 2-game lead in the division with a home victory over 2nd place Birmingham.  Early Doucet had a big game, with 10 receptions for 118 yards and 2 scores, while Drew Brees impressed, throwing for 3 scores on the day.  Birmingham gave up on the run entirely, with Cam Newton’s 10 rushes leading all Birmingham backs.  POTG:  Breaker WR Early Doucet: 10 Rec, 118 Yds, 2 TD   LOS ANGELES 24   OAKLAND 27 The Express needed this one, and put pressure on Joey Harrington, producing 4 interceptions for the LA defense, but it was too much Ryan Williams as the Oakland back gained 124 yards on the ground and kept the Invaders in the game until a late Pierre Garçon TD gave the win to the homestanding Invaders.  POTG:  Oakland HB Ryan Williams: 22 Att, 124 Yds, 1 TD   BALTIMORE 20    PHILADELPHIA 7 Playing without Stevie Johnson or Travis Kelce, the Stars offense was no match for a motivated Baltimore defense as Baltimore put up the first 20 points of the game before a late garbage time touchdown finally put Philly on the board.  Baltimore outgained the Stars by nearly 120 yards, and produced 3 takeaways (all Asomugha picks of Gutierrez) to dominate the game on both sides of the ball, handing the Stars their 2nd consecutive loss and taking over 1st place (on a tiebreaker) from their divisional rivals. POTG:  Blitz CB Nnambi Asomugha: 5 Tck, 3 Int   WASHINGTON 27   NASHVILLE 24 Cody Pickett kept Nashville in this one, with a 3-TD day, but in the end it was too much David Garrard for the Knights to counter. Garrard threw for 344 yards and 3 scores, all but putting to rest any talk of Joe Webb stepping in.  Garrard’s 4th quarter 81-yard TD toss to Kellen Davis put the Feds up by 10 and that was enough of a cushion as they held on for the road win to move to 5-4 and remain in the NE Division playoff picture. POTG:  Feds QB David Garrard: 18/21, 344 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   CHARLOTTE 48    JACKSONVILLE 10 Things are getting ugly in Jacksonville as a bad loss was paired with visual conflicts on the Jacksonville sideline as the Bulls just could do nothing right in this game.  Jacksonville gave up 121 yards rushing to Fred Jackson, who also caught 2 balls for 37 yards and a 3rd TD.  They also gave up 3 turnovers and failed on 8 of their 13 third down tries.  It was 21-7 at the half, and got worse as the game continued as Charlotte improved to 5-4 while Jacksonville dropped to 0-9. POTG : Monarch HB Fred Jackson: 21 Att, 121 Yds, 2 TD, 2 Rec, 37 Yds, 1 TD   LAS VEGAS 23   SEATTLE 18 A  much needed divisional win for the Thunder as Jake Plummer impresses with 372 yards passing and 3 TDs.  Las Vegas outgained Seattle 429-267 and shut down both Seattle 2-point PAT attempts on their way to the win.  LB A. J. Hawk also had a strong game for the Thunder with 12 tackles in a run-stuffing showcase. POTG:  Thunder QB Jake Plummer: 17/22, 372 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   OHIO 24    DALLAS 21 Johnny Manziel had a solid game and had the Roughnecks up after 3 quarters, but a 10-0 Ohio run in the 4th gave the visitors the win and sent Dallas to 1-8.  Chris Weinke, who struggled against Dallas’s zones, found Justin Blackmon with the game-tying TD midway through the 4th and then drove the Glory into field goal range for David Green to get the W at the end of regulation in a heartbreaker for the Dallas fans at the Cotton Bowl. POTG:  Dallas FS Will Allen: 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD.   HOUSTON 10   ARIZONA 13 A defensive slugfest between two SW Division contenders.  Both teams were held under 250 yards of total offense and the two combined for only 7 of 27 third down conversions as the defenses dominated.  David Carr was sacked 7 times by Houston’s aggressive blitz schemes, while Arizona held Carlos Hyde to only 1.5 yards per rush, stacking the box to make the Gamblers one dimensional.  It was a strategy that worked for the Wranglers, who got the only points of the second half, a lone Elliott Parson field goal to snag the win. POTG:  Arizona DT Glenn Dorsey: 9 Tck, 4 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR.   CHICAGO 16   ST. LOUIS 19 Another defensive showdown decided by a 4th quarter field goal as St. Louis sends Chicago to a 5th straight loss.  Both teams were able to move the ball between the 30’s but touchdowns were hard to come by in this one.  St. Louis had one Freeman to Jordy Nelson TD toss and Chicago one Matt Forte TD run, but otherwise it was a day for the kickers, with St. Louis’s Rob Bironas getting the lone points, and the game-winning points in the 4th quarter. POTG:  St. Louis DE Olivier Vernon: 5 Tck, 1 Sck   Blitz sign Dereck Anderson for injured Young Baltimore got the big win they wanted from their game in Philadelphia this week, while also answering the question of how they would replace number 2 QB Vince Young after the quarterbacks’ fluke injury in during Week 8 practice.  On Tuesday, Coach Caldwell, who is gaining momentum for Coach of the Year, announced that 3rd stringer Tyrod Taylor would be given the backup position, while signing veteran Dereck Anderson to serve as the emergency quarterback.  Anderson, who was on the roster of Orlando in 2013 and Boston in 2012, has last taken a pro snap in 2011 with the Ohio Glory.  He was signed to a one year deal off of free agency. Baltimore certainly hopes that his streak of non-starts will continue as they have been flying with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm.  Big Ben is currently the top-rated QB in the league, with a 118 QB Rating, more than 2,500 yards passing and a 21:6 TD:INT ratio.    Orlando Makes Deal to Add HB After Murray Injury With Latavius Murray placed on the Injured Reserve List after suffering a fractured tibia in Week 8 action, the Orlando Renegades acted quickly to find a replacement and add a 2nd back to their rotation.  Knowshon Moreno remains the primary back for the Renegades, but Murray had a significant role in the offense, often coming in on third downs as well as spelling Moreno.  While Moreno has 109 carries in 9 weeks, Murray’s 78 touches in his 8 games were a big part of the plan for the Orlando offense.    The Renegades made a move to add another back, sending 2 draft picks (a 4th and a 7th rounder) to Oakland to acquire the talents of Joique Bell.  Bell, whose role in Oakland has been largely special teams and some 3rd down plays, will likely take on a traditional 3rd down back roll for the Renegades, while Tim Hightower, the 3rd back in Orlando, will likely be the player to come in for more 1st and 2nd downs when Moreno needs a breather.  For Oakland, the departure of Bell opens room for the team to expand the role of Donald Brown, acquired from the NFL and used as the number 2 back, but now also likely to have a role in the kick and punt return teams.    Is Bulls HC Mike Nolan a Candidate for 1 and Done? With the Bulls not only sitting at 0 for 9 but also seemingly having a lot of dissent within the team, the odds that Mike Nolan will not last for a 2nd season in Duvall County seem to be growing each week. Nolan, who had quite a bit of success with the New Orleans Breakers, was seen as an answer for a Bulls team that simply was too inconsistent on offense to compete in the very tough SE Division.  Expected to be a calming influence on the often erratic Tim Tebow, Nolan was viewed as an offensive-minded coach who could start to get better production from the Bulls squad.  Instead, what we have witnessed in 2014 is a Bulls offense that is among the worst in league history.  The Bulls are currently ranked dead last in the league in both scoring and offensive production.  They average only 67.6 yards per game on the ground, and barely 11 points per game.    This week’s loss, a brutal 38-point beat down by division rival Charlotte, was just the last in a series of lopsided losses for the Bulls.  In their 9-game losing streak, Jacksonville has scored over 20 points only 2 times, but has lost by 10 or more points 8 times, including a pair of 33-3 beat downs in Weeks 4 and 5.    We should probably also mention that with their 28th ranked offense, the Bulls also put on the field the 28th ranked scoring defense.  They are the only team in the league allowing over 30 points per game, and there seems to be no respite in sight.  Week 10 brings the 8-1 Bandits to town, followed by trips to Nashville and Atlanta, part of a run that will have them facing 4 straight teams with winning records.  It is hard to look at any game on the Bulls’ schedule and see them as favored to win.  Perhaps the Week 11 game at Nashville is their best chance, but that is hardly an easy game for a team that is just not playing well in any phase of the game. So, how much of this is Nolan’s fault?  Certainly there is blame to be passed around, from the GM’s office to the players on the field.  The team has failed to find top talent in several drafts, highlighted by the miss on HB C. J. Spiller, a top draft target now playing as a backup in Dallas.  Tim Tebow has been unable to develop the accuracy needed of a pro quarterback, sitting with 6 TD passes and 11 picks on the season after leading the league in picks over the past 3 seasons with a combined 54 interceptions in the three years prior to Nolan’s arrival.  The run game has been no better, with the combo of Lamar Miller, rookie Kiero Small, and CFL import Kory Sheets producing one of the least effective backfields in the league.    Jacksonville has a lot of issues, a lot of blame to go around, and a lot of holes to fill if they want to rebuild the franchise, but that often starts at the Head Coach position, and it very well may be that Mike Nolan is not the man to do this job.  The team is not improving week to week, and Nolan has not been able to maximize what talent he does have, so the odds are looking very good that the Coach that took New Orleans to the playoffs 4 times in the past 5 years, will be again out of work.    Manning Returns to Action in a Game Time Decision It was not promoted, not expected, and not planned for, but after a solid week of practice and no noticeable issue with his injured arm, Eli Manning was given the start by the Memphis Showboats when they faced off against the Renegades in Orlando.  The veteran QB and former Renegade trotted out to the field after the opening kickoff, and after an initial moment of disbelief from the Orlando crowd, a nice round of applause greeted Manning.  The feeling of positivity did not extend to the Orlando coaching staff, who scrambled to revise their defensive plans with a much more capable QB on the field for the opposition.  Manning started strong, completing 4 of his first 5 passes on his way to a more uneven performance overall, finishing the day only 18 of 35 for 156 yards.  But, the first quarter was very much Manning and Orlando making adjustments as Memphis built up a 10-0 lead before the Renegades adjusted and fought their way back with 23 unanswered points.    Coach Childress would not address the sudden decision to start Manning, stating only that Manning was cleared by physicians, had a good week of practice, and was the starter for the Showboats when healthy.  The 23-10 loss was Memphis’s 7th of the year, dropping them 5 games under .500 with only 7 games to play, but for Showboat fans the return of Eli under center is a positive step for a club that had far higher hopes this season than their current 2-7 record provides.   What is Wrong in New Jersey? That is the question being faced by 1st year head coach Norv Turner.  Most, including our preseason pundits, predicted a rebound season for the Generals, returning to a 2012 form that saw them win 12 games, but what we are seeing instead is much of what mired their 2013 season down.  Despite the return of a healthy Sam Bradford, and the arrival of an electrifying rookie target in Odell Beckham Jr. the Generals now sit at 4-5, and do not seem to have found an identity under Turner.    New Jersey currently has middle of the pack numbers across the board, 12th in scoring, 17th in total yards, 13th in scorind defense and 10th in yardage allowed.  All numbers which align with a 4-5 record, but are not the numbers that the team’s roster seems to call for.  In an offense that has talent at QB with Bradford, HB with Maurice Jones-Drew, and at wideout with both Beckham and veteran Doug Baldwin, the expectation was that New Jersey would be a potential threat to the Philadelphia Stars in the division.  Instead we are seeing Baltimore take on that role while New Jersey struggles to stay at .500.    The defense also boasts its share of talent, with DE Aaron Kampman currently second only to Calais Campbell in the sack race with 14 on the year, and with a LB group that includes NFL import Chase Blackburn and former Charlotte defensive star Rey Maualaga.  The secondary has had some issues, despite solid play from corner Nate Clements, but overall the defense has simply not gelled.  With both the offense and the D looking somewhat out of synch, the question falls on head coach Norv Turner as to why the team is just not clicking or coming together 9 games into a season that started with high expectations.     A bad week for concussions across the league, with key offensive players like QB’s Kyle Orton and Josh Freeman along with Baltimore HB Anthony Dixon all in questionable status to play this week.  It was also a bad week for Orlando as they have two players who will be out multiple weeks, WR Jeremy Maclin and DE Arthur Moats are both expected to miss significant time in the next few weeks. Las Vegas will also be without 2 players at least for 1 week, perhaps longer as CB Tyrone bell and LB Kyle Van Noy are both needing time to come back from injuries in last week’s victory.  Here is the full roster of newly listed injuries across the league.   OUT G            Paul Fanaika                     CHI        Hamstring         IR WR         Jeremy Maclin                  ORL       Abdomen           6-8 Weeks DE          Arthur Moats                    ORL       Knee                     2-4 Weeks DE          Datone Jones                    OHI       Neck                     2-4 Weeks CB          Tyrone Bell                         LV           Abdomen           2-4 Weeks DT          Khedric Gholston           CHI        Back                     1-2 Weeks LB           Kyle Van Noy                     LV           Leg                        1-2 Weeks LB           Jonathan Moulton          TEX        Groin                    1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL LB           Joe Odom                         OAK      Thigh                     OT          Taylor Lewan                    JAX         Concussion CB          Desmond Truffant          SEA        Concussion CB          Joe Haden                        ARZ       Knee FS           Clyde Adams                    TEX        Back WR         Tavon Austin                     PIT         Wrist   QUESTIONABLE HB         Anthony Dixon                  BAL        Concussion QB         Kyle Orton                          ATL         Concussion DT          Akiem Hicks                     DAL       Toe LB           Sean Porter                       MGN     Knee CB          Eric Wright                         OAK      Groin LB           Patrick Willis                    ATL         Ribs LB           Steve Tulloch                    HOU     Wrist QB         Josh Freeman                  STL         Concussion DT          Dan Klecko                        PIT         Pinched  Nerve OT          Riley Rieff                           BIR         Groin   Las Vegas Identity Contest A big announcement from the yet-to-be-disclosed Las Vegas relocation franchise, as newly added minority owner Steve Wynn and the USFL main office in New York has launched the anticipated “Choose Your Team” contest for the mystery-shrouded franchise.  Despite as-of-today successful efforts to keep the identity of the USFL franchise which has been partially sold and which will relocate to the new Wynn Arena in 2015 secret, the league is moving forward with preparations for the team’s first season with a new home and a new identity.  We may still be weeks away from an official announcement of which USFL club is moving to Sin City, and several months away from season tickets becoming available, but what is known is that the franchise will take on a new identity, one designed to align with the new location in the western desert of Nevada.    This week, Wynn Properties, along with the USFL team in NYC has opened a fan contest to name and brand the new franchise.  The league, partnering with Adidas has revealed three potential identities, all sharing the same sky blue, silver, and black color scheme, and all tying to the regional identity of the city, while avoiding any reference to the gambling industry which remains a touchy subject between the market and all pro sports leagues.  Fans will be able to vote on their favorite of the three optional identities with both an online poll (linked here) and local voting sites throughout the city.  Fans will be asked to identify their home town, with added weight given to all votes which cite a Nevada address in the final tally.  So, what are the three choices.  Let’s run them down as we give you a look at the full design sheets provided by Adidas with team logos, helmets and uniforms to be considered.   OPTION 1:  Las Vegas Locomotives The Locomotives, or “Locos” as the train-inspired logo clearly presents as the preferred nickname, seeks to work on two levels, tying the team to the city’s early history as a railroad hub between the West Coast and the Plains States, while also making reference to “craziness”, in the “loco” moniker, a reference to the city’s reputation as a wild destination for gamblers, entertainment options, and a party atmosphere.  The primary logo, depicting the shortened team name, evokes a cowcatcher at the front of a locomotive train, complete with an angled font and small black diamond-shaped “bolts”.  The team will have two secondary logos, one the letter “V” also depicted as a cow-catcher, paired with the iconic 8-pointed star from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.  The final logo is a simplified wordmark of “Locos” with a series of “bubbles” spelling out “Las Vegas” and another version of the 8-pointed Las Vegas Star.  True of all three brands, the team will brandish a silver helmet with white facemask. In the case of the Locos, the primary logo is on each side, along with a central stripe that features two white and black “rails” surrounding a blue center stripe with offset metallic silver highlight.  This same striping motif is found on the pant set, which uses a more organic ‘swoop” design rather than straight line stripes.  The home jersey will be “Deseret blue”, a version of sky blue, with silver shoulder yokes, interrupted by a series of thin stripes that align at the shoulder-sleeve seem.  These stripes form a point on the chest of the jersey.  The number font is a traditional block font, but with an inlaid silver section at the base of each number along with the diamond “bolt” about 1/3 of the way up the number.  The white jersey features the same elements, but with Deseret blue numbers containing the silver and black embellishments.  The team will have 3 pant sets, silver, being the primary, with a blue and white set also available.   OPTION 2: Las Vegas Posse We all expected at least one “Wild West” reference among the team designs and the Posse gives us just that.  Referencing the add hoc group of deputized citizens turned lawmen that helped marshals and sheriffs deal with outlaw gangs, the Posse uses classic symbols of the old West’s iconography.  The primary logo and wordmark features a western serifed font surrounding the image of five horseman in silhouette against what could be a rising or setting sun, with the semicircular element shifting from blue to silver behind the impromptu group of riders. This logo, while appearing at the base of the helmet, is not the primary helmet logo.  That is reserved for the iconic six-pointed “tin star” used by sheriffs and their deputized men to differentiate them from the unruly outlaws and desperados they were pursuing.  The silver, white and black star is highlighted in Deseret blue and contains a monogram LV as well as the full team name around its inner circle.  The LV monogram will also appear as a tertiary logo for the club.  The Posse helmet is the only one of the three designs that does not feature a center stripe, but instead has the two tin stars on either side and a text-free version of the 5 riders at the base, just above the rear bumper.  The uniform features the same combination of Deseret Blue body with silver shoulder and sleeves as the Locos design, also separated at the shoulder seam with a series of thin stripes, though, unlike the other design, it does not extend on the chest. The sleeves will feature the tertiary monogram logo. The unique features of the Posse jersey are the western number font and the addition of another tin star on the chest, just as would be worn by a deputized posse. The Posse jerseys are also the only ones to feature a side panel which extends from the waist to the mid-chest. On the Blue jersey this is a thick white stripe with a thin black piping on the back, while on the white jersey the main stripe is blue.    The pant sets for the Posse are both silver, but clearly are also designed to pair with a particular jersey, as one set features a thick white stripe (as does the blue jersey) while the other has a thick blue stripe to match the white jersey. Both sets will use blue socks with thin silver, white and black stripes.    OPTION 3:  Las Vegas Vipers An animal reference for the final design option as the Vipers use the legendary rattlesnakes of the Mojave Desert.  The primary logo is a viper’s head, with two prominent fangs and piercing eyes. The Snake’s head is Deseret blue, contained by a thick black outline.  The team uses this logo in combination with its angular wordmark, but also has a secondary monogram logo featuring an angular “V” with two fangs at the upper inside angles.  A final tertiary logo depics a black shield, crossed by a blue and white chevron, both interrupted by two silver fangs piercing from above.  This tertiary logo is used in print materials but is not in use in the team’s uniform. The team helmet uses the same metallic silver shell and white facemask as the other two designs, with the viper-head logo on each side and a thin black stripe flanked by two thicker angled “fang” stripes in Deseret Blue, forming points just above the front bumper.  The Vipers jersey is the only one of the three not to feature a silver shoulder yoke.  In its place we have thick black stripes at the mid-sleeve which form into fangs across the chest.  Beneath this stripe are thinner blue and silver stripes, and, on the blue jersey, a white panel finishes the sleeve up to the shoulder.  The number font is far more angular than either of the other designs and features a unique treatment, designed to replicate snake skin, with three different tones of silver in the main number, outlined in either black and blue (white jersey) or black and white (blue jersey).  The “snakeskin” effect is found once again on the pants, contained in the wide central stripe, and surrounded by two thin outer stripes.  It this brand is selected, the team will have three pant sets, white, silver, and blue, with the corresponding center stripes of snakeskin pattern in black, silver, and blue.    So, there you have it, three choices for the newest USFL franchise and Las Vegas’s newest transplant.  We are still awaiting word as to which unfortunate market will lose their club to Las Vegas in 2015, but we anticipate that news will come out before the new brand is officially announced in one month’s time.  Until then, fans from across the nation can have a say in the newest franchise identity in the spring league by voting at this site:    Is Las Vegas USFL Color Scheme an NFL concession? After the release of the three identity choices for the new tenant of the Wynn Arena in Las Vegas, a lot of discussion around sports radio was less about the options available to Las Vegas fans, and more about what the color scheme might be saying about the city’s attempt to add an NFL club to the new stadium’s tenant list.  With rumors running wild that both the Los Angeles Raiders and San Diego Chargers are in serious negotiations to possibly uproot to Las Vegas, it has not gone unnoticed that all three designs available for the USFL franchise in the city feature colors prominent in the two NFL counterparts.  The Raiders would be well at home with the silver and black elements of the Posse, Loco, and Viper designs, while San Diego’s powder blue and the proposed “Deseret Blue” of all three designs are so similar as to be almost imperceptible.  What does this mean?  It may mean nothing, or it may mean that the USFL, Wynn Properties, and Las Vegas are trying to set up a situation in which the stadium could be decked out in the dominant colors of not only 1 franchise but both a USFL and NFL franchise.  With the seating for the stadium not yet installed, a shift either towards the sky blue of the Chargers or a black scheme for the Raiders could be a very clear indication of the NFL club likely to join the USFL team in the new facility.  Either way, the USFL club would also be well placed to align its color scheme to the interior of the facility.  With an expected timeline of December for a final decision on whether or not an NFL team will join the USFL Las Vegas club in 2015, interested parties, and fanbases, in LA and San Diego are very much aware that something as simple as the color scheme of the stadium seats and walkways could indicate whether they are going to retain or lose their local club.    Orlando Ownership to meet with Native American group. And we are not done with logo or branding-based news quite yet. Last season we reported that local Native American groups had formed an organization to protest the use of tomahawk symbols in the design of the Orlando Renegades brand.  Well, it seems that while many in Orlando and Florida in general are dismissive of the efforts to push for a change in team design, there is enough concern among team leadership that the franchise has sought to meet with the lead group in the protests, Native Peoples of Florida, to discuss their concerns and address the interests of Florida’s many Native nations.  As we reported last year, the claims of the NPF group are not that there is offense taken at the name of the franchise, as there has been with several college and high school teams as well as the NFL Washington Redskins, but that the use of tomahawk imagery in the Renegades logo, much like similar use by the Atlanta Braves and the Wahoo Indian of the Cleveland Indians MLB club, is viewed as problematic.  With pressure being felt across the nation for schools in particular to move away from Native American imagery, particularly in references to the native peoples as violent or savage through the use of war cries, tomahawk chops, and weapon imagery, it is not surprising that the Renegades are included within the larger cultural movement away from this type of imagery. Just how the Orlando Renegades franchise will address the concerns, or to what extend the NPF group is representative of the Native peoples of Florida, including the Seminole nation which not only supports but endorses the use of native imagery at Florida State University, is uncertain, but that the ownership is interested in ongoing conversations shows that there has been pressure felt, and a desire to find a resolution does exist.   USFL’s Top Rivalries: Number 8: The War on I-4. While the Florida Derby began with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville in 1984, over the years, it was the third Sunshine State team, Orlando, that has become the primary rival for the Bandits.  Yes, Jacksonville has 3 more years of history with the Bandits, with Orlando arriving in 1987, the geographical proximity of Orlando and Tampa Bay, separated by only 84 miles and the fact that Orlando has been a better club and more competitive rival for Tampa Bay than the hard luck Bulls have led to the Bandit-Renegade rivalry being the best of the three-way Florida Derby.  The “War on I-4” has been played 55 times over the past 28 years, with Tampa Bay winning 33 and Orlando 22 games.  The two have actually never met in the playoffs, but they have certainly had playoff intensity in many of their regular season games.   When we look back at the players who have made names for themselves in this rivalry, it sounds like a laundry list of Hall of Famers, mostly because it is. How about John Reaves, Eric Truvillion, Troy Aikman, and William “The Refrigerator” Perry for Tampa Bay and John Jefferson, Chris Doleman, LeRoy Butler, and Pat Williams for the Renegades.  Throw in coaching legends like Steve Spurrier and Howard Schnellenberger, and George O’Leary and you have a rivalry that is among the most talked about and most debated in any league.    One of the great elements of this rivalry is the fact that with the two teams so close to each other, the stadiums in both cities often become home to large contingents of visiting team fans.  That creates some stress for stadium security, to be sure, but it also has produced some great traditions of taunting cheers, rowdy songs, and general energy at the two annual games between these clubs.  Tampa Bay took the first game of the series this year, beating Orlando 31-24 in Week 6, but the two will face off once again in the final week of the season, a game that could determine Orlando’s playoff life or whether the Bandits capture home field advantage in the East.    Week 10 will bring us our first official playoff picture, and as we look ahead at the week’s schedule, what we see are a lot of games where the teams at the top of the standings have a chance to solidify their positions as they face weaker opponents.  No less than 6 matchups feature teams with 6 or more wins facing a club with a losing record, including the 8-1 Bandits looking to lay some more hurt on the winless Jacksonville Bulls. Other seeming mismatches include Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, Texas at Chicago, and Baltimore at New Jersey. But our Spidey sense tells us that at least one, if not more, of these games could be a trap and that there is a very real chance for an upset.    Among the more evenly matched games, we have an intriguing one between Atlanta and Ohio in Columbus, with both teams still very much in playoff position.  Denver and Arizona, both at 5-4, also have a very intriguing matchup on Sunday, with the winner getting the upper hand on a possible Wild Card spot out of the SW Division, where both trail the Outlaws and Gamblers.  Finally, the Sunday night showdown between Orlando and Birmingham could be a real indicator as to whether or not either team is a serious contender for a playoff spot. Birmingham, sitting at 4-5, very much needs a win to keep pace with the pack of Wild Card contenders, having already fallen 2 games behind New Orleans in their division.   FRI @ 8pm ET                  Philadelphia (7-2) @ Pittsburgh (3-6)                 NBC   SAT @ 12pm ET              St. Louis (4-5) @ Charlotte (5-4)                            ABC SAT @ 12pm ET              Nashville (2-7) @ New Orleans (6-3)                   FOX SAT @ 4pm ET                 Texas (8-1) @ Chicago (3-6)                                      ABC SAT @ 4pm ET                 Oakland (6-3) @ Seattle (3-6)                                  FOX SAT @ 7pm ET                 Atlanta (5-4) @ Ohio (6-3)                                         NBC SAT @ 9pm ET                 Las Vegas (5-4) @ Los Angeles (3-6)                    ESPN/EFN   SUN @ 12pm ET             Washington (5-4) @ Memphis (2-7)                     ABC SUN @ 12pm ET             Tampa Bay (8-1) @ Jacksonville (0-9)                 FOX Regional SUN @ 12pm ET             Baltimore (7-2) @ New Jersey (4-5)                      FOX Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Denver (5-4) @ Arizona (5-4)                                   ABC SUN @ 4pm ET               Portland (3-6) @ Houston (6-3)                              ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Dallas (1-8) @ Michigan (5-4)                                  FOX Regional SUN @ 8pm ET               Orlando (5-4) @ Birmingham (4-5)                       ESPN/EFN

We have reached the midway point of the USFL season and what do we know?  We know parity is very real, but that at least 3 teams have found a way to rise above the cluster.  We know that QB play is essential as the teams at the top have dynamic passers and those at the bottom of the standings are either coping with QB injuries or just bad play altogether.  We know that rookies can make a huge impact, that good coaching wins tight games, and that teams that know who they are and what they are good at tend to come out on top more often than not.  What we also know is that this can all change in an instant.  Last year we saw teams looking pretty at the midway break only to fall apart down the stretch.  We also regularly see teams that find their groove and come on strong down the stretch. So, here we are at midseason, 8 games down, 8 to play, and now the stakes get raised just a little bit.    NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 10   DENVER GOLD 17 Not exactly the most high-pressure rivalry in the USFL, the Breakers and Gold have only faced off in the regular season 15 times in 32 seasons.  Denver owns the edge 11-4, and they had the edge in this game as well, though they came into the match in 3rd place in the West at 4-3, while New Orleans, with an identical 4-3 record was in first place in the South.    Played on a scorcher of a day for early May in Denver, the temperatures rose to an unexpected 93 degrees.  You would think that would help the Breakers, who are more accustomed to the heat, but the altitude was still a factor, as it often is for opponents of the Gold.  A nice crowd of 45,003 were on hand at Invesco Field to watch as the Gold took on the Breakers, and they game they got, while not high-scoring, was still a good one, with the kind of finish you have to see to believe.   To say the first half got off to a slow start would be an understatement.  Five consecutive 3-and-outs began the game, leading to something of a sarcastic cheer when the Gold finally converted on a 3rd down late in the 1st quarter.  They would not do much with it, and we continued a festival of punting.  It was not until early in the 2nd quarter when someone would finally string together enough solid plays to reach field goal range.  Denver had a solid drive, led by HB LeMichael James, and after a nice 17-yard run by the back, they were well within Greg Zeurlein’s range.  Matt Leinart went for it all on 3rd down, missing a shot at Michael Crabtree, and Zeurlein came out to put the first points on the board.   After two more short, but unproductive drives, New Orleans rallied, with Drew Brees hitting Early Doucet on the Breaker’s biggest play of the game, a 46-yard completion.  That put the Breakers in range, and they too went  for the TD on 3rd down and settled for a short field goal.  And that is how the game went into the half, 3-3 with both teams looking like the combination of heat, altitude, and midseason blahs were catching up to them.   The next 24 minutes of action did not do much to raise the energy level at Invesco field as the only points of the 3rd quarter came with one more Zeurlein kick.  And it was not as if there were a lot of turnovers or huge defensive plays. Yes, a few solid third down efforts by the two defenses, but nothing earth-shattering.  This was felt very much like a game that just did not have any energy. That was, until Denver went up 9-3 midway through the 4th with Zeurlein’s 3rd kick.   Down 6 with only 5:45 left to play, Drew Brees and the Breakers needed to find their inner spark and get something done.  The Gold defense had held them at bay all game, with Brees still under 180 yards passing and the run game showing nothing.  Jeremy Hill had only 8 carries and fewer than 25 yards, and Mike Tolbert had carried the ball only 3 times and had 0 yards to show for it.  Denver had sacked Brees 3 times, and had disrupted several passes, but without snagging any for interceptions.   On the Breaker’s desperation drive, they mixed things up, finding lesser-used players like NFL import Kenny Britt, TE Shawn Nelson, and rarely seen slot receiver Donnie Avery to move the ball into range for Brees and the offense.  By the time they got to the red zone, there was barely a minute left to play. They could not settle for the field goal.  So, when a 3rd and goal from the 5 fell incomplete, the offense stayed on the field.  The 4th down try got the Denver crowd to wake up, fearing that their club could lose on this final drive.  Brees dropped back, looked towards Doucet, then quickly shifted and found his TE in the endzone.  Shane Nelson caught the ball in traffic and New Orleans had done exactly what the Gold faithful feared, their PAT giving them a 10-9 lead with only 59 seconds left to play.   Denver could still win with a field goal, and they had 2 of their timeouts left, so there was time for Matt Leinart.  Switching to a 3-receiver set with Tate, Crabtree, and Hankerson wide, with Daniel Graham flanking out as well, the Gold began chipping their way down field.  Nine yards, then 7, then 11, then 5, then 7 again, bit by bit they made their way into field goal range.  Zeurlein had connected from 24, 22, and 17 yards on the day, well shorter than his maximum range, but Denver wanted to get him as close as possible with the time they had.  They had worked the ball to the New Orleans 33, which would be a 50-yard kick for Zeurlein, but there were still 11 seconds on the clock.  Rather than a dive to the right side to set up Zeurlein, Coach Jauron went with a bit of trickery.    The Gold set up with 2 wideouts, 2 tight ends and DeMarco Murray in the backfield.  With all of the Breakers geared up to limit Murray on his inside run, Leinart handed the ball off, Murray surged to the line, but then pitched the ball back to Leinart, now 12-yards back and out of range of the defensive linemen.  Leinart looked first to Crabtree, his speedster, but the safety had played to that side.  That left Golden Tate in single coverage and flying down the field.  Leinart lofted the pass towards the endzone, Tate went up, tapped the ball with one hand, then snagged it, falling to the ground, his knees hitting just inside the backline.  The official raised his hands to signal a touchdown and the stadium erupted.    Denver went for 2, with the conversion meaning that even a last second Breaker kickoff return for a score would not equal a win for New Orleans.  That kickoff did not come, with Johnny Morant stopped at the 30.  The whistle blew, the clock struck all zeroes, and the Gold had pulled off a huge comeback win in the final minute to down the Southern Division leaders.  What had been nearly 55 minutes of just slogging, slow, and uneventful football turned in its final 5 minutes into an exciting back and forth battle between two teams that know how to win close games.   NASHVILLE 28     BIRMINGHAM 13 The Knights finally get up off the mat and pull out a win as they discover an offense.  Cody Pickett throws for 283 and 3 TDs while the combination of LeGarrette Blount and Montario Hardesty rack up 131 yards and a TD as Nashville blows past a lackadaisical Birmingham squad. The Knights outgained Birmingham 416-283 and converted on 6 of 13 third down chances as the Stallion defense looked unprepared for the new-look Knight offense. POTG:  Knights QB Cody Pickett: 24/35, 283 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int   NEW JERSEY 21   CHARLOTTE 24 Trouble in New Jersey as the Generals have now dropped 3 in a row.  WR D. J. Hackett had a big game and Charlotte got scores from both Fred Jackson and Shonn Greene as they built a 24-14 lead.  The defense sacked Sam Bradford 5 times and picked off two passes, including one on the final desperation drive for New Jersey, dropping the Generals to 4-4 and raising Charlotte to the same record. POTG:  Monarchs WR D. J. Hackett: 6 Rec, 133 Yds, 1 TD.   ORLANDO 14   ATLANTA 34 Atlanta asserts themselves as a contender in the SE Division with a big win over the visiting Orlando Renegades.  The Fire built a 24-0 lead at the half before Orlando finally started fighting back. Kyle Orton had a good game, completing 20 of 27 passes for 227 yards and 2 scores.  Orlando, playing without Russell Wilson, struggled to put points up, with both rookie Connor Shaw and veteran backup Chad Henne each playing a half.  Henne had more luck in the 2nd half, but could not outpace the Fire. POTG:  Fire DB Earl Thomas: 2 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD.    ARIZONA 10   MICHIGAN 12 David Carr got knocked out of the game on a safety endzone tackle in the first quarter and backup Nick Foles could not muster much on offense as Michigan pulls this one out on defense.  Wrangler QBs were sacked a combined 8 times in the game.  Michigan HB LeVeon Bell was the only reliable offensive player all game, rushing for 92 yards on 26 carries and scoring the key TD for the Panthers as they moved to 4-4 and drop Arizona to the same record. POTG:  Michigan DE Justin Tuck: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF.   CHICAGO 26   OHIO 36 Ohio gets the divisional win to move to 5-3 as they get a huge day from Steve Smith (8 rec, 156 yds, 2 TD) and rush for a combined 136 yards with Pead and Jennings.  Chicago tried to keep pace, and Doug Martin had a good bounce-back game with 102 yards, but there was just not enough in the tank as Quinn was sacked 5 times by the Glory defense.  Chicago, once the division favorite, now drops to 3-5 at the halfway point. POTG:  Ohio WR Steve Smith: 6 rec, 156 Yds, 2 TD.   PORTLAND 6   BALTIMORE 49 The Blitz are looking like one of the league’s best teams as they move to 6-2 with a thorough thumping of the Portland Stags.  Big Ben completed 20 of 26 passes for 346 yards and 3 TDs as Baltimore rolled.  Darius Heyward-Bey continues to impress, catching 6 for 132 and a TD on the day.  The defense also did their part, limiting the Stags to 2 of 12 on third down and 252 total yards. POTG : Blitz QB Ben Roethlisberger: 20/26, 346 yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   OAKLAND 31    LAS VEGAS 17 The Invaders regained sole possession of first place in the Pacific with a convincing win over the Thunder. Keenan Allen caught 6 for 136, and rookie TE Richard Rodgers had 7 catches as the Invader passing game found plenty of holes in the Las Vegas defense.  With Marshawn Lynch held to only 46 yards rushing, Oakland’s D also did their part to get the Invaders the key divisional win. POTG:  Invader QB Joey Harrington: 25/34, 342 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int.   SEATTLE 14   PHILADELPHIA 31 The Stars continue to roll as they hit the midway point an impressive 7-1 on the year.  It was a balanced attack for the Stars with Steve Slaton rushing for 91 yards and a score and Matt Gutierrez going 22 of 31 for 235 and 2 touchdowns.  With Stevie Johnson out, it was rookie Allen Robinson having his best game of the year with 6 receptions for 48 yards. Travis Kelce added 4 for 64, and the Stars defense helped out with 4 sacks, 1 interception and stopping 7 of 10 third down attempts.  POTG:  Stars DE Anthony Hargrove: 4 Tck, 2 Sck.   DALLAS 20   WASHINGTON 27 The Federals escaped a plucky Roughnecks team as the USFL had its first version of the NFL’s big Dallas-Washington rivalry.  It was the Deuce McCallister show as the veteran back erupted for 29 carries and 180 yards against the overmatched Dallas defense.  David Garrard again had a good game, throwing for 240 with 2 scores.  Dallas played the Feds tough, getting TDs form Ben Watson and Brandon Manumaleuna, but it was just not quite enough to get the W. POTG:  Federals HB Deuce McCallister: 29 Att, 180 Yds.   JACKSONVILLE 13   TAMPA BAY 27 The Bulls continue to flounder and the Bandits to thrive as Tampa Bay equals Philly for the best record in the East at 7-1. Three Culpepper TDs helped the Bandits pull away after a 10-7 Bulls lead at the half.  Culpepper would throw for 311, despite 4 sacks by the Bulls’ defense.  LB Brian Orakpo was named POTG for his 2 sack, 10 tackle game.  A good NFL signing for sure. POTG:  Bandits LB Brian Orakpo: 10 Tck, 2 Sck. PITTSBURGH 7   LOS ANGELES 27 The Express make it 2 in a row as they shut down Andy Dalton and the Maulers to win their 3rd of the year.  The two teams were almost even in yards gained (326-307) but the results were very different as LA got touchdowns form L. J. Smith, Reggie Bush, and LeRon McClain, while the Maulers could manage only 1 Ronnie Brown TD for their efforts. POTG:  Express MLB Clay Matthews; 5 Tck, 1 FF, 2 PD   HOUSTON 20   MEMPHIS 6 An ugly game for Ryan Mallett, going 16 for 40 for only 107 yards and throwing 2 picks in a lopsided loss for the Showboats.  Houston had 2 backs go over 100 yards as they simply ran over the Showboat defense.  Carlos Hyde led all rushers with 124 on 25 carries, while Ben Tate averaged 11.1 YPC in mop up duty, carrying the ball 10 times for 111 yards.  The Showboats could do nothing right, finishing the day with only 150 total yards and only 2 field goals on the scoreboard. POTG:  Gambler FS Willie Andrews: 2 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 Sfty.   ST. LOUIS 13    TEXAS 31 Texas leads the Western Conference at 7-1 after knocking off the Skyhawks in San Antonio.  What may be even scarier is that the Outlaws finally found a run game.  NFL Import Chris Johnson looked a lot like his earlier self, rushing for 116 yards on 17 carries, a 6.8 YPC average. Felix Jones contributed another 53 on only 9 carries as the Skyhawk run defense was shown to be lacking.  St. Louis drops to 3-5 as they simply could not keep pace with a very smooth Texas offense. POTG:  Outlaw HB Chris Johnson: 17 Att, 116 Yds, 1 TD.   Knights to Stick with Pickett, Manning Future Uncertain Coach Greg Roman made it official today.  The Nashville Knights will retain Cody Pickett as their starter even after Peyton Manning is cleared to play.  For how long, we don’t know, but Pickett earning the club’s second win this weeks certainly made the announcement more believable.  This is a major blow to Manning, who came to the USFL with hopes of proving that his 2011 spinal fusion surgery is not the end of his career.  While he has done that, playing the entire 2013 season without incident, a second back injury, though not related directly to the prior issues with his neck, did cast a shadow on his second act, and now, demotion to the sideline, is another blow to the former NFL MVP.    Whether or not this decision will hasten a retirement announcement from Manning is unclear, but what is certain is that confidence in him as a viable starting option in Nashville has waned.  Pickett has hardly been lighting the league on fire since he got the chance to enter the game 3 weeks ago, but he has done enough to show that he is a potential long term  option, and for Roman, that long term potential at QB is an enticing possibility.   Manning is still not cleared to play, though his injury status has been updated to “Questionable”.  By most accounts he is expected to have clearance this weekend, but now will spend the game holding a clipboard and coaching up Pickett as the Knights take on the Federals at LP Field.    Orlando loses 2 Big Offensive Weapons This was a very rough week for fans of offensive football in Orlando as the Renegades lost two solid contributors from an offense that already has had some issues.  Starting wideout Michael Jenkins is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a fracture in his left leg, while 3rd down back Latavius Murray could be out as much as 8 weeks, essentially the entire remaining regular season, with his own leg fracture, his being in the femur, which is notoriously slow to mend.    Jenkins currently leads the ‘Gades with 33 receptions, though it is number two receiver Jeremy Maclin who has the yardage lead with 507 to Jenkins’s 388. Expect Maclin to move into the top target position, with Dwayne Harris possibly beside him and DeSean Jackson retaining his slot position.  As for Murray, the 2nd year back had a solid start to the season, getting 78 carries to Knowshon Moreno’s 85, and rushing for 385 yards to Moreno’s 405.  This total was helped by three weeks in which Moreno was injured or not at full strength and during which Murray acted as the lead back, including Week 4, which saw the back rush fro 130 yards against Charlotte.  Since Moreno’s return, Murray’s carries have dropped below 10 per game, but he remained a steady part of the passing game.    With Murray out of action for at least a month, Orlando will look to Tim Hightower to act as the relief for Moreno, while the starter may well be kept in the lineup for more 3rd downs, testing his pass-catching prowess. Orlando faces the Memphis Showboats this week, and we should have a good idea of how Coach Fox will address the two injuries as he gameplans for Memphis.   Eli Not Ready to Return for Showboats As Memphis prepares for Orlando this weekend, it appears that once again Eli Manning will be unable to go.  The Showboat season starter is still listed as Doubtful and seems unlikely to return to action before Week 10 at the earliest.  In his absence, the Showboats have, well, stunk.  That is about the only way to say it.  They rank 27th in points scored, 27th in yards gained, and the passing game is struggling to make anything happen.  Matt Cassel got the initial starts for the injured Manning, but in 3 games he threw 4 picks and 4 touchdowns, losing all 3 starts. Ryan Mallett got the start against New Orleans in Week 6 and has not fared much better.  In fact he has a lower completion percentage (only 44%) and has 3 picks to no touchdowns, but, to his credit, he was under center in the Showboat’s lone victory in the past 6 weeks, a narrow 20-17 edge over the Knights.    We expect Mallett to get the start again this week, but, as always, all eyes will likely be on Eli Manning and the injury report.  If Memphis has any hopes of salvaging the season, at least avoiding a 10-loss season once again, they will be looking to Manning to work some miracles.  At 2-6, they don’t have a lot of time to make things right.   Another bad injury week as 10 players were listed as being out for Week 9 action, including two added to the injured reserve list, Texas guard Kyle Long and Baltimore backup QB Vince Young.  Add to that some significant injuries to key players on several teams, from HBs Jahvid Best in Tampa Bay and J. J. Arrington in Atlanta, along with WR Michael Jenkins of the Renegades and CB Marcus Truffant of the Express, and this week is looking like one that could impact results moving forward.   OUT G            Kyle Long                       TEX        Back                     IR QB         Vince Young                   BAL        Quad                    IR HB         J. J. Arrington                  ATL         Leg                        6-8 Weeks FB          Greg Jones                     POR      Back                     6-8 Weeks FS           Dominique Barber         STL         Hip                        6-8 Weeks WR         Michael Jenkins              ORL       Leg                        4-6 Weeks OT          Ryan Clady                      DEN      Wrist                     4-6 Weeks HB         Jahvid Best                      TBY        Back                     2-4 Weeks CB          Marcus Truffant               LA          Abdomen           2-4 Weeks DT          Holoti Ngata                   LV           Leg                        2-4 Weeks                 DOUBTFUL WR         Larry Fitzgerald               ARZ       Concussion WR         Marqise Lee                      LA          Foot FS           Mark Barron                      LV           Hand TE           Joel Dreesen                     NOR      Concussion   QUESTIONABLE HB         Frank Gore                       ARZ       Hamstring WR         Stevie Johnson               PHI        Foot CB          Richard Sherman           SEA        Knee TE           Travis Kelce                      PHI        Concussion HB         Joseph Addai                   BIR         Knee   The 5 Biggest Surprises of the Season’s First Half Every season writes its own story, and every season surprises us with the plot twists, character development, and unforeseen changes of fortune.  As we look over the first eight weeks of the 2014 season, there has certainly been a lot to be excited about and a lot that we could not have foreseen.  Looking at the season’s first half, here are the five stories that have surprised us to date.   Rookies Raise the Stakes for the Gamblers The Houston Gamblers are sitting pretty in the Central Division with an impressive 6-2 record, and that is due in large part to the quality of their rookie class.  It is always a plus when a team can get production out of their rookie class, but what Houston is seeing is beyond positive, it is transformative.  Rookie HB Carlos Hyde currently sits in 4th place among all USFL rushers with 690 yards, on pace to eclipse 1,300 on the year.  Texas A&M Wideout Mike Evans leads the team with 36 catches and 440 yards, beating out both Roy Williams and Mike Sims-Walker, the two vets expected to be at the top of the Gambler’s target list.    Beyond the big two, Houston is also getting valuable snaps from other 2014 draftees.  Center Travis Swanson has been averaging 18 plays per game, while CB Malcolm Butler has been in 8-10 defensive plays each game as well as serving as a kick returner for the Gamblers, a second option behind Bethel Johnson, the team’s special teams star.   With contributions from four rookies, including the strong performances from Hyde and Evans, the Gamblers appear solidly in the playoff hunt in a tough SW Division.   Wranglers Struggle to Find Formula As much as Houston’s fast start has been a surprise in the Southwest, the defending champion Wrangler’s struggles have also been a story to follow. Arizona sits at only 4-4 after eight weeks, and, what may be more troubling, their killer defense has slipped a bit, ranked only 7th in points allowed and 17th in rushing yards allowed. A big piece of Arizona’s 2013 success was on the back of HB Frank Gore, but the grinder of a back seems to be spinning his wheels more than in 2013.  Gore has a respectable 489 yards rushing, good enough only for 14th in the league.  What is more, his per carry average has dipped to only 3.6 yards per touch, not enough to help Arizona grind out first downs and keep the defense off the field.   The Wranglers are certainly not out of the hunt, and a strong second half could see them in the mix again, but if they want to improve over the second half, they may have to look at diversifying their offense a bit to give the D more down time. Gore has 135 of the team’s 170 rushing attempts (not counting QB scrambles).  Could rookie Ka’Deem Carey provide some rest for the big man in the season’s final 8 weeks?  And while the duo of Larrry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant is certainly capable, Coach Tomsula and QB David Carr need to get more balls in the hands of other receivers, most notably TE Rob Gronkowski, who has only 17 catches in 8 games, barely 2 per outing.  David Tyree and Kassim Osgood have combined for only 19 catches, a number well below what the Wranglers need if they are going to stay on the field.   A strong second half will start this week, when the Wranglers host the Gamblers in what could be considered a bellweather game for their playoff chances.  A defeat against the Gamblers would put them under .500 and well behind the two leaders in the division, Houston and the Texas Outlaws.   Parity Rules in Southeast & Central Divisions Yes, we know the old line about parity vs. parody, and with both the Southern and Central divisions there are certainly critics who complain that neither division has a true Summer Bowl contender amongst them, but when we look closer we see signs of both competitiveness and balance across both divisions.   Starting in the South, New Orleans, sitting at 5-3, has a very solid 3-3 record outside its division, including wins over the Wranglers and the Baltimore Blitz.  Birmingham sits at 2nd place at 4-4, but they too have had some good victories, including two strong performances back-to-back against Arizona and Houston.  Yes, Memphis has truly struggled without Eli Manning, dropping 5 of their past 6 games, and Nashville lost 6 in a row before this week’s victory at Birmingham, but both clubs have shown they can play teams tough and could play spoiler down the stretch.   In the Central, Ohio leads the division at 5-3, on the heels of a strong first half at home, where they are still unbeaten at 5-0.  Their road game has been the issue, dropping all three travel games, but the team looks solid, ranking in the upper half of the league in nearly every team stat, with particular strength in run defense, where they are allowing only 80 yards per game. Just behind them at 4-4 are the Michigan Panthers, winners of their last 3 games.  Michigan has shown an ability to defend the pass which was not there last year, ranking 6th in the USFL after 8 games.  With Hines Ward back, the offense is more productive, and Kirk Cousins has himself a true go-to target.  LeVeon Bell is also looking strong with 700 yards placing him 3rd among all USFL backs.  What makes the Central most intriguing is that despite some stumbles in the opening 8 weeks, both Chicago and St. Louis, expected to be atop the division this year, are still very much in range at 3-5.  Both clubs have struggled on defense, with St. Louis giving up 190 points in their first 8 games, while Chicago’s 168 is well above their expectation.    So, what do we expect in the 2nd half of the year.  We think the Breakers could pull away from their pack in the South, but we see the Central remaining a close battle with all 4 clubs having a say down the stretch in what could be the most balanced division in the league.   Mannings Missing from Southern Race One of the most storied families in football is having a pretty disastrous year.  Eli and Peyton Manning were supposed to be the heroes of football in the state of Tennessee.  Former Ole Miss product Eli had arrived in Memphis last year with promises of reviving the Showboat attack.  He had great numbers in 2013, with over 4,800 yards passing and 27 touchdowns, but 2014 has been anything but a repeat of his initial success. Suffering an arm injury in the 2nd game of the year, Eli has not been able to make it back onto the field, and could miss even more time.  What was thought to be a 2-4 week injury is stretching to possibly a 6-8 week absence, which is not at all what Memphis needed.   For Peyton, the issue has not been injury as much as performance.  Yes, Peyton did suffer a minor back injury, which, with his history, is concerning, but it is simply the lack of production that has led the Knights to go with Cody Pickett at QB.  While Manning’s 65.4% completion rate was solid, he produced only 3 touchdowns in his 5 starts. Pickett, coming in during Week 6, has produced a 5:1 TD:INT ratio, and helped the Knights snap a 6-game losing streak with a win at Birmingham this week, one where he produced 4 TD drives, capping off three with scoring tosses. Many in the Volunteer State are now looking at the 2-6 records of their favorite teams and wondering if the Mannings were more flash than substance, at least this year.  That cynical take on the year could dissipate, particularly if Eli is able to return and produce some wins, but the Mannings certainly are looking at the season to date as one to forget.   Baltimore Blindsides the Northeast Look at our preseason picks and you can see why we say that Baltimore’s 6-2 record is a blindside hit for the NE Division.  This was a team we expected to take a major fall and to finish in 5th place, and they are looking very much like a club that can compete with the Stars and challenge for the division.  While New Jersey and Washington have not lived up to expectations, Baltimore has exceeded them.  The defense is among the league’s best, allowing only 16.1 PPG and giving up only 201 passing yards per outing.  Led by LB Jason Taylor and FS Adam Archuleta, the Baltimore D has proven to be aggressive, fast, and smart.  They don’t have a dominant pass rusher, but still have 19 team sacks.  They have also been able to turn offensive mistakes into takeaways for the D, with CBs Jabari Greer and Nnambi Asomugha combining for 5 picks in the opening 8 weeks.    On offense, Big Ben is having one of his best seasons as a pro, throwing for over 2,200 yards and 20 TDs at the midway point.  He has been bolstered by an undervalued receiver group that has stepped up in a big way.  No player has been more of a surprise this year than Blitz WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, whose 776 yards trails only Marques Colston (TEX) among all receivers.  Add in Antonio Gates, who leads all tight ends with 605 yards and 6 TDs, and the Blitz have found themselves a pretty good formula to win consistently.      The 5 Break Out Stars of the First Half Just as teams can surprise us, individual players can also exceed expectations and break out of the crowd. We have chosen 5 players who we believe have big years underway and even bigger and brighter futures.  Only one is a rookie, but all five are players who are making a name for themselves in 2014.   Carlos Hyde, HB-HOU You knew Hyde had to be here.  The clear frontrunner for ROTY, with only Odell Beckham Jr. even in contention, Hyde has been among the league’s elite backs since the opening week. He has already logged three 100-yard games, and could be leading Houston back to playoff football after a 3-year drought.   Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR-BAL We already mentioned DHB in our review of Baltimore’s quick start, but a season like this deserves some more attention.  Heyward-Bey has toyed with 1,000 yards in the past, reaching 900 but never the 1k mark in each of the past 3 seasons. Well, this year he seems on a mission to not only shatter that ceiling, but to fly well above it.  With nearly 800 yards in only the first 8 games, we could easily see DHB sitting at 1,500 yards by season’s end.   Aaron Dobson, WR-CHI The 2nd year receiver for the Machine has taken over as Brady Quinn’s primary target, with over 70 targets in the season’s first 8 weeks.  He has come down with 53 of those throws, and is leading the Machine in targets, receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns.  If the Machine are going to climb back to .500 and into playoff contention, Dobson will be a big piece of the picture for them.   Chris Kelsay, DE-ATL Defensive End Chris Kelsay really burst on the scene last year, with his first double-digit sack total (15) in an 11-season career.  This year, his 12th in the league, he is on pace to hit 20 sacks, with 11 over the first 8 weeks. Atlanta is sitting at 5-3 and has a defense rated as Top 5 in both yards allowed and passing yards allowed in large part due to Kelsay’s motor and drive to the QB.   Jarrett Johnson, LB-JAX There is not a lot of good news around the winless Jacksonville Bulls, but one shining hope for the future is in linebacker Jarrett Johnson.  The 3rd year backer, brought over from Nashville after his rookie season, has 63 tackles over the opening half of the year, well on pace for his first 100-tackle season.  Known primarily as a blitzing edge rusher (5 and 6 sacks in 2012 and 2013), Johnson has rounded out his game with the Bulls this year, one of very few Bull players who can be said to be having an up year.   Our Revised Divisional Race Predictions Picking the races in the preseason is never easy.  There are so many roster additions, you have no idea how rookies will really pan out, and one injury can derail an entire season.  In other words, don’t blame us if our picks from March are not holding up.  This is football, and our best estimates of the season ahead are just that, estimates. So, with 8 weeks down, how are we doing?  Well, let’s just say that not everything has gone to plan.  Here is our chance to right the wrongs of the past.  We revise our picks from the preseason edition and try to give another guess as to where things could end up by season’s end.   This was one that has certainly surprised us. We looked at Baltimore and New Jersey and thought the Generals had a better chance to improve quickly over last year.  Right now it looks like Baltimore would have been the better call.  We still think New Jersey and Washington can get right back in this thing with a strong 2nd half, but now we are feeling like the battle is for 3rd place and a Wild Card, not to challenge the Stars and Blitz at the top.  We also have to say that we saw better things for the Maulers than we are getting from them this year. Our Original Ranking:   1-PHI   2-WSH   3-PIT  4-NJ   5-BAL Our Revised Ranking:   1-PHI   2-BAL   3-WSH   4-NJ   5-PIT   While Tampa Bay has certainly impressed us more than we anticipated, the Southeast is not as out of whack as the Northeast.  Right now it looks like the Bandits are in the driver’s seat, but we could see Atlanta pull them back a bit, and we are not usre Orlando or Charlotte are truly out of it.  What we did not anticipate was Jacksonville going winless after 8 games.  Can they get it together or do we need to consider 0-16 as a realistic possibility? Our Original Ranking: 1-TBY   2-CHA   3-ATL   4-ORL   5-JAX Our Revised Ranking:    1-TBY   2-ATL   3-ORL   4-CHA   5-JAX   In the South, we had New Orleans as the team to beat, Memphis rising, Birmingham falling and Nashville bringing up the rear.  We will never know how the year would have turned out without the Eli Manning injury, but we do think that in the second half, when Eli returns, the Showboats could rise to their potential, though their defense still seems lost.  We think Birmingham, even with decent production from their new WR group, is still an 8-8 team, so we don’t see a big change in the standings from now until Week 16 and our preseason picks could actually hold up. Our Original Rankings:   1-NOR   2-BIR   3-MEM    4-NSH Our Revised Rankings:   1-NOR   2-BIR    3-MEM   4-NSH   Chicago has been a letdown, and we still don’t really have a good answer as to why they are losers of 4 in a row.  Ohio has been the bright spot, which we thought they had the potential to do.  We think Michigan at .500 feels about right, and we are not sure what to make of the Skyhawks.  Clearly whatever magic they had in 2012 is no longer there.  So, our rankings are practically upside down from what we predicted.  Our Original Rankings:   1-CHI   2-STL   3-OHI   4-MGN Our Revised Rankings:   1-OHI   2-CHI  3-MGN   4-STL   While we all expected Texas to be tough, what we could not see after the preseason was the decline of Arizona’s defense or the rise of Houston’s rookie class.  Those two big shifts have impacted the SW Division heavily.  As for Denver, well, they are who they are, and they just keep plugging along.  Dallas, well, life is never easy with a rookie QB. Our Original Rankings:   1-ARZ    2-TEX    3-DEN   4-HOU   5-DAL Our Revised Rankings:   1-TEX   2-HOU   3-DEN   4-ARZ    5-DAL   This felt like a division that Oakland could run away with, but that distance has been harder to come by for the Invaders.  Las Vegas is hanging tough despite all the distractions and the trio of LA, Seattle, and Portland have all shown that they can win games.  We had the Thunder bringing up the rear, which could still happen, but is not the case right now.  If one of the three 3-5 clubs can string together a good run, they could challenge the Invaders, but we think that the parity here will keep any one team from going on a tear.  Our Original Rankings:     1-OAK   2-POR   3-LA   4-SEA   5-LV Our Revised Rankings: 1-OAK   2-POR   3-LV   4-SEA   5-LA   NFL Raiders & Chargers Both Exploring Las Vegas Option It appears that the City of Las Vegas may have done too good of a job of selling their new 65,000 seat domed stadium as a possible NFL venue.  It appears they have set up something of a reverse bidding war, with both the Los Angeles Raiders and the San Diego Chargers negotiating terms to relocate to Sin City.  This is not only great news for the stadium authority, and for the USFL, which will reap the benefits of the NFL lease in helping to finance the new facility, but could be a boon to either the LA Express or soon-to-relocate Thunder.  How is that?  Well, it all comes down to primary tenancy.    The Express and the Raiders have been sharing Farmers Insurance Field since it was constructed, and while the terms for both teams are certainly adequate, the Raiders had a slight edge in negotiations since the Express were an expansion team, with a poor track record for attendance in their first iteration.  That all but guaranteed the Raiders to be the primary tenant, with right of refusal on USFL requests for everything from office space in the facility to additional revenue from off-season event arranged by the Express.  Were the Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas, something very much on the minds of the Davis family, the Express would move into primary position as the facility’s primary tenant, with the LA Galaxy soccer club as the secondary, and that would be a bonus for the club.   A similar situation exists in San Diego, with a bit of a twist. Certainly, were the Chargers to pull up shop for Las Vegas, the new tenants, the USFL Thunder, would have a better position to be viewed as the primary tenant, with the inherent advantages that come with that.  However, unlike Farmers Insurance Field, Qualcomm is not a state-of-the-art facility, and the Spanos family (owners of the Chargers) have been fighting for years to get a new facility constructed.  If John Moores and John Tu take up that fight, they would no longer have an NFL team to offer the stadium year-round use, though it is expected that John Moores’s prior ownership of the Padres and connections to San Diego State University might actually have more sway in local government than the Spanos family was able to muster.   What does a possible NFL franchise in Las Vegas mean for the USFL there? Well, it might split the fanbase somewhat, though many markets have shown that fans are more than happy to root for the local NFL team in the Fall and then switch to the USFL team each spring.  The immediate impact is on the revenue side, which is good for both the USFL and for Steve Wynn, who not only bought a minority share in the new Las Vegas club, but also in the stadium itself, thus the name Wynn Arena. Having both a USFL and NFL team guarantees no fewer than 16 high value dates a year, not that Las Vegas cannot attract other large events, concerts or conventions.  It means immediate upgrade to “big league” status for the city, and it means double the football revenue for Wynn, the USFL and the stadium authority.    Just when the NFL will hear the cases for either team to make a move is unclear, and certainly there will be pushback within the fall league ownership about losing either major California market, but there does seem to be momentum towards having one of the two SoCal clubs find a new home in Las Vegas, and that comes as very good news to the USFL and whichever franchise is the as-yet undisclosed tenant in Wynn Arena.   We open the second half of the season with  9 of 14 games being divisional rivalries.  We kick it off in the Southeast, with Tampa visiting Atlanta in what could be a must-win for the Fire if they want to have a shot at the division crown.  Saturday sees two potential battles for first place with Birmingham traveling to New Orleans at 7pm on NBC and then LA in Oakland at 9pm ET. Sunday also has some big divisional games, starting off with the 6-2 Blitz headed to Philadelphia to take on the 7-1 Stars.  This could be the defining game of the year for the upstart Baltimore Blitz.  At 4pm, we have another huge game for the Wranglers, trying to stay relevant in the division they dominated last season.  They host the Houston Gamblers, and a loss could put them 4 games behind the Outlaws and 3 back of 2nd place. Finally, in the ESPN/EFN Sunday night game, we have the Machine and the Skyhawks, both 1 game behind Ohio in the parity-spiked Central Division, facing off in the Dome at America’s Center with a shot at 1st on the line.  A big week, and it will only get bigger from here.   FRI @ 8pm ET                  Tampa Bay (7-1) @ Atlanta (5-3)                             NBC   SAT @ 12pm ET              Pittsburgh (2-6) @ New Jersey (4-4)                    ABC SAT @ 12pm ET              Memphis (2-6) @ Orlando (4-4)                             FOX SAT @ 4pm ET                 Texas (7-1) @ Portland (3-5)                                     ABC SAT @ 4pm ET                 Michigan (4-4) @ Denver (5-3)                                FOX SAT @ 7pm ET                 Birmingham (4-4) @ New Orleans (5-3)             NBC SAT @ 9pm ET                 Los Angeles (3-5) @ Oakland (5-3)                       ESPN/EFN   SUN @ 12pm ET             Baltimore (6-2) @ Philadelphia (7-1)                  ABC  SUN @ 12pm ET             Washington (4-4) @ Nashville (2-6)                     FOX  Regional SUN @ 12pm ET             Charlotte (4-4) @ Jacksonville (0-8)                    FOX  Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Las Vegas (4-4) @ Seattle (3-5)                              ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Ohio (5-3) @ Dallas (1-7)                                        ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Houston (6-2) @ Arizona (4-4)                                FOX SUN @ 8pm ET               Chicago (3-5) @ St. Louis (3-5)                               ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Deuce McCallister has been about as stable a presence in the USFL as we have seen over the past 5 seasons. Now, with the Federals needing a boost, he turns it up to 11 and has his biggest game of the season, rushing for 180 yards and powering the Washington offense to victory.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Take your pick, both Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger had huge 400-yard passing games. And while we absolutely respect Flacco's 412 yards and 4 TDs, we think we have to give this to Big Ben because the emergence of Baltimore's passing game goes against all preseason picks and expectations for this team. The fact that he can put up 400 yards and that Darius Heyward-Bey is now a Top 5 receiver is an amazing feat.

Call it Desperation Week as teams at or near the bottom of the standings, knowing there backs were against the wall, stood up and took a swing at the favorite in their games.  We see this in our game of the week, where not only did the 1-5 Express need to find a way to prove to themselves that they were not dead yet, but also where Mark Sanchez may be playing for his job.  We see it in Washington trying not to fall completely out of the NE Division race by knocking off the Generals at MetLife Stadium.  We see it in Michigan going into St. Louis and earning their 2nd straight win to pull back into contention in the Central.  And we see it with Charlotte holding off the Atlanta Fire and proving they too are not out of the running in a competitive SE Division.  A lot of teams rallying, and a few who seem to have found their groove as Baltimore, Birmingham, and Ohio get big wins this week.  We will run down all the games, take a special look at some of the league’s best individual game performances of all time, and discuss the big news out of League Offices right here, right now. OAKLAND INVADERS 23   LOS ANGELES EXPRESS 25 It’s rare to talk about a “must win” game before we reach the halfway point of the season.  It is a designation often used in the heat of the late season playoff run, but for the1-5 LA Express, and particularly for their embattled quarterback, Mark Sanchez, this matchup, at home, against their in-state rival, was a must win game. So much had been expected from the Express with the arrival of two-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid as the head coach, and, well, the goods have not yet been delivered.  Sanchez in particular was coming under fire for the lack of execution in the LA offense, and both he and Coach Reid needed to prove that they could do more, that the Express were on the right path. In their way, of course, was a team that had no interest in proving LA’s point. The Invaders, sitting at 4-2, had a tenuous position atop a division many had expected them to run away with.  Las Vegas was on their heels and both Seattle and Portland were playing better than anticipated.  They too had a desire to come out of this game with a win to secure their position atop the division. But the air of desperation for the Express led them to greater focus and that showed itself in the opening minutes of the game.  The team’s initial scripted plays worked against the anticipated Oakland defensive schemes.  On the opening drive of the game, the Express worked their way quickly down the field until a missed 3rd down throw to the endzone forced them to go for a 32-yard field goal. They would hold Oakland without a first down on defense and quickly get the ball back. Again their gameplan seemed to work against Oakland’s man coverage.  In only 8 plays the Express were knocking on the door.  In typical Andy Reid style, the used play action on first down, and Sanchez found WR Robert Woods in the endzone for the short TD toss and a 9-0 lead.  Troubled kicker Damon Duvall again struggled, missing on the PAT and drawing boos from the crowd at Farmers Insurance Field. Oakland had had enough.  On their next possession they mixed up the play calling, shifted to more 3-wideout sets on earlier downs, and found success against the LA defense.  Using draws and delayed handoffs, Ryan Williams started to find room, while the 3-receiver sets helped Joey Harrington find mismatches in the secondary.  The former Oregon QB would connect with Taylor Gabriel and Oakland cut the LA lead to only 2. Most of the second quarter was a battle of field position as both teams adjusted their schemes on the fly. A poor punt gave Oakland good field position late and the Invaders capitalized to take their first lead of the day. Following a 39-yard run by Williams, one in which he delivered a nasty straight arm to the LA cornerback, Harrington connected for his 2nd TD toss of the game, this time to Keenan Allen, the talented sophomore player.  Oakland would take that 14-9 lead into the break, and once again, the LA crowd was nervous about their team’s chances. The Express came out of the half refocused, stopping Oakland on their first drive with a Tracy Porter pick of Harrington on an ill-timed throw.  The interception gave LA some energy and the first play from scrimmage got the crowd to their feet.  Mark Sanchez dropped back, found the defense in man coverage, and took off running.  It was a shock to everyone, but not to his interior line, who led the way. A called QB draw on first and 10 led to a TD as the defense was simply unprepared and the smaller safeties simply could not manage the linemen leading the way for Sanchez. A gutsy call, absolutely an unexpected one for a QB not known for his run game, and a crowd pleaser to boot. Oakland was stunned by the call and by trailing once again. The 2-point attempt after the play had failed, so the Express led only by 1 at 15-14, but they lead. They would return to the run game, and Ryan Williams would have some solid gains, helping the Invaders move the ball deep into LA territory. They would pound the ball down to the 1, but were unable to get it in the endzone. Two consecutive interior runs proved fruitless, and when Joey Harrington’s 3rd down throw missed its target, Coach Green opted to go with the chipshot kick and put the Invaders back up 17-15. That decision would haunt the Invaders later. LA, buoyed by the goalline stand, took the ball to the endzone on the next drive, withsolid gains by Reggie Bush on the ground and a nice 15 yard pass to WR Jerrel Jernigan on a third and 9.  From the 2, Sanchez would roll out on 2nd and goal and find Robert Woods again, for the former Trojan’s 2nd TD on the day.  With the Duvall kick, LA was back on top 22-17. But the lead would be short lived. Oakland took over possession and immediately started using crossing routes and underneath receivers to move the ball down the field. It was 7 yards to Garçon, 6 to Rodgers, 5 to Ertz, 9 to Gabriel, and so forth down the field. Using all three of their timeouts on the drive, Oakland managed to get to the LA 6-yard line, and spike the ball with 1:32 left to play.  It took only 1 more play for Oakland to take back the lead, a nice pass again to Keenan Allen in the corner of the endzone, but in their haste to retake the lead, had Oakland left too much time on the clock.  They had a 23-22 lead but had left the Express 1:27 and only a 1-point deficit. The Express still had 2 timeouts left and all they needed was a field goal, but, of course, trust in Damon Duvall had been waning for several weeks.  The Express would want to get well within his range to improve their chances. Oakland knew this, and was willing to give up short passes, particularly in the middle of the field, but not the deeper out routes LA was hoping to hit.  Sanchez was forced to take his safety valves, throwing to Bush or newly-acquired TE Jason Whitten instead of Woods, Roddy White or Jernigan deeper down the field.  They used their last time out with only 5 seconds to go and still only on the 35-yard line. Duvall would come out with a 52-yard kick needed for LA to take the win. It was a lot to ask for a kicker who had missed on 5 of 12 field goal attempts on the year and who had earlier missed a chip shot PAT.  Duvall lined up the kick, the snap was on the spot, the holder spun the ball, and Duvall let loose.  The kick initially looked like it was headed too far to the right, but then started hooking back in. The ball slipped just inside the right upright and LA had their much-needed victory.  It was not a pretty win by any measure, but it was a win and one that could potentially take some pressure off the team’s 2nd year coach and their much-criticized quarterback. BALTIMORE 31   PITTSBURGH 21 Absolute domination by the Blitz passing game, something no one expected to say this year.  Big Ben threw for 405 yards, including 170 to his number one receiver, Darius Heyward-Bey, and another 110 to NFL import Brian Hartline.  Pittsburgh would fall behind 24-7 at the half and from there the Blitz coasted to the 10-point victory. POTG: Blitz QB Ben Roethlisberger: 21/27, 405 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int. WASHINGTON 17   NEW JERSEY 14 Both the Federals and QB David Garrard needed this one as they were at risk of falling out of contention or, in Garrard’s case, losing his starting job.  Garrard responded with a 294-yard, 2 TD day, and, despite a nice 134-yard day form Odell Beckham, Washington held off the Generals to earn their 3rd win on the year.  The Federal D gave up yards, but also snagged takeaways, including two picks of Sam Bradford to hold the Generals to only 14 points on the day. POTG: Federals DT Cameron Wake: 11 Tckles, 1 TFL. ORLANDO 31   CHICAGO 16 The Machine are in freefall, losing their third in a row after a 3-1 start.  Orlando gave them their third loss of the streak, thanks to a defense that limited Doug Martin to only 44 yards rushing, sacked Brady Quinn 4 times (2 more for Campbell) and picked the Chicago QB off as well.  Russell Wilson went out at the half and Connor Shaw, the unheralded rookie came in to throw 2 TD passes and lead Orlando to the win, putting them above .500 at 4-3. POTG: Orlando HB Knowshon Moreno: 16 Att, 92 Yds. SEATTLE 20   OHIO 23 The Glory also jump over .500 with a 3-point win over visiting Seattle.  The run game was working for Ohio, with the combo of Pead and Jennings combining for 119 yards and 2 scores.  The defense gave up 414 yards to the Dragons, most of it on the arm of Byron Leftwich, but they kept Seattle out of the endzone on 3 of 5 red zone visits, and that proved the difference. POTG: Glory DE Isaac Hilton: 3 Tck, 2 Sck. ATLANTA 24   CHARLOTTE 48 At risk of becoming an also-ran in the SE Division, Charlotte came out with their most complete effort of the year. Brandon Wheedon threw for 2 scores, Fred Jackson rushed for 2 more, and the defense came up with enough big plays to thwart the Fire, despite 102 yards form Steven Jackson and a 132-yard receiving day form Josh Reed. POTG: Monarchs’ CB Derech Cox: 9 Tck, 1 int, 1 Def TD, 1 FF. TEXAS 34   DENVER 28        OVERTIME The Gold and Outlaws battled for 60 minutes but needed overtime to find a winner. Despite 2 picks and a fumble in the game, Denver had a 28-14 lead with 4:59 left to play, but Texas got two late TDs from Brandon Marshall to even the score and send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Denver never saw the ball as the momentum-filled Outlaws won the toss and drove the ball into the endzone to end the game.  Joe Flacco put up over 400 yards and threw for 4 TDs, while Denver got a 97-yard kickoff return in a thrill-packed SW Division game. POTG: Outlaws QB Joe Flacco: 27/41, 412 Yds, 4 TD, 2 Int. NEW ORLEANS 24   JACKSONVILLE 21 The Bulls were surprisingly stalwart in this one, but Caleb Sturgis’s final drive field goal gave the win to New Orleans and sent Jacksonville to 0-7 on the year.  Drew Brees started, but could not finish the game, giving way to Quincy Carter, who put the Breakers in position late for that Sturgis kick.  Hill and Tolbert combined for 103 yards and a score, but Jacksonville hung tough with Tim Tebow having his best game of the year, going 20 of 34 for 149 yards and 3 scores. POTG: Breaker WR Early Doucet: 5 Rec, 103 Yds, 1 TD. MEMPHIS 20   NASHVILLE 17 The battle at the bottom of the standings between the 1-win Showboats and the 1-win Knights goes to Memphis, thanks to a 10-0 scoring run in the final period.  Down 17-10, Memphis got a 4th quarter Peyton Hillis TD plunge and a Jason Neal field goal to take the win. Nashville had signs of life with Montario Hardesty running for 101 yards and Denarious Moore catching 6 balls for 106 yards and 2 scores, but in the end it was not enough as Memphis held the Knights scoreless for the final 15. POTG: Memphis CB Keiwan Ratliff: 5 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR. LAS VEGAS 7   TAMPA BAY 23 Jake Plummer returned for the Thunder, but looked a bit shaky, completing only 11 of 32 passes as Tampa Bay ran away with this one.  Jahvid Best and Rex Burkhead combined for 120 yards rushing on 29 carries, while Daunte Culpepper connected for scores with both Vincent Jackson and Luke Stocker.  The Bandit D doubled Chad Johnson all game, holding the outspoken wideout to only 2 catches for 22 yards. POTG: Bandit OT Levi Brown: 12 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed. PHILADELPHIA 21   PORTLAND 17 Portland looked solid for 30 minutes, taking a 17-10 lead into the half, but Philadelphia roared back in the 2nd half to take the road win.  Ryan Fitzpatrick got the start, with Coach Mornhinweg stating that Matt McGloin had personal issues to address and could not attend the game.  Bit of a mystery there.  Fitzie played well, throwing for 226 yards and a TD to Brandin Cooks.  But, with 2 TD tosses from Matt Gutierrez and 101 yards from Steve Slaton, the Stars were able to pull out the win on the cross-country trip. POTG: Stars LB Terrell Suggs: 9 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF. MICHIGAN 28   ST. LOUIS 17 A much-needed road win in the division for the Panthers as LeVeon Bell ran wild against the Skyhawk defense.  Bell would rush for 121 and 2 scores, both goalline leaps over the line.  Kirk Cousins would go 17 of 28 for 264, with 2 scores but also two picks that helped St. Louis stay close. Eddie Lacy also had a good day in the battle of 2013 rookies, rushing for 106 and a score as well.  But, in the end, Michigan just had more in the tank and improved to 3-4 with their 2nd straight win. POTG: Panther HB LeVeon Bell; 23 Att, 121 Yds, 2 TD. DALLAS 6   ARIZONA 13 Both offenses struggled in this one as Arizona went 0 for 11 on third down while Dallas went only 3 of 16.  It was a sloppy game all around with only 1 TD drive.  Frank Gore was held to only 37 yards rushing by the Dallas defense while Johnny Manziel was held to 192 yards passing by the Wrangler D.  Antonio Bryant’s goalline TD catch would prove the difference in the game as Arizona held Dallas scoreless in the second half to claim their 4th win of the year. POTG: Arizona LB Karlos Dansby: 10 Tckles, 3 TFL. BIRMINGHAM 33   HOUSTON 20 A huge road win for the Stallions, making it back to back victories over SW Division foes, with Arizona and now Houston falling to the Stallion stampede.  Cam Newton was again the star, throwing for 295 yards and 2 scores but also running for 55 yards and another touchdown.  Chris Chambers is becoming Newton’s favorite receiver, with 9 catches for 124 yards and 2 scores in this one.  Houston was close at 19-13, but two additional 4th quarter TDs from the Stallions made it a 33-13 game and the Gamblers just could not come back this week. POTG: Stallion QB Cam Newton: 24/37, 295 Yds, 2TD, 1 Int, 7 Att, 55 Yds, 1 TD. Bandits Lose Best for 4-6 Weeks A bad break for the surging Bandits as their new lead back, Jahvid Best, is expected to be out no less than a month, and possibly the better part of the regular season after suffering a back injury, which included a cracked vertebrae in this week’s game. He has full motion and feeling in his legs, which is always good news, and the doctors believe that the spinal cord has not been damaged, but they are going to want to have Best in traction for at least 2 weeks, and then a slow recovery before they would clear him to run, practice, or play again. The Bandits subbed in 2nd year back Rex Burkhead for Best this week, and the backup did well, gaining 50 yards on 11 carries.  We expect Burkhead and veteran Shane Vereen to share carries for the time that Best is out, though Tampa Bay also has on their practice squad undrafted rookie free agent and son of former Buccaneer, Wrangler and Bull, James Wilder, James Wilder Jr.  Could we see the sun of a Buccaneer legend now get on the field for the Bandits? Manning Moved to Questionable, Creating QB Conundrum for Roman Positive medical news, but potentially controversial roster news as Peyton Manning was moved from “Out” all the way to “Questionable” this week in the team’s injury report.  The move could mean that Cody Pickett’s starting gig could end as early as this week, or it could produce a quarterback controversy with some wanting Pickett to stay on and others seeking for Manning to return to action as soon as he is able.  Picket has been solid, but not inspiring in two games at the helm, and he has not yet been able to conduct the Knights to a 2nd win this season.  Mired at 1-6, with some tough games coming up at Birmingham this week, then home to Washington and on the road again to New Orleans, there is no easy place to test out Manning’s health or to determine if Pickett is ready to lead.  It will be into the fire for either QB against some pretty nasty defenses. Baltimore Moves to 1st in Yards with Surprising Aerial Attack It feels like we may be showing a Baltimore bias this week with how much we are talking about the Blitz, but their on field performance does deserve some attention.  Not only did Big Ben put up over 400 yards passing this week, but the Blitz passing attack all season has been dynamic, diverse, and difficult to defend.  Whether it is using Antonio Gates as a flanked wide option, passing to the fullback as a regular designed play, or getting the ball deep to Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Blitz and head coach Jim Caldwell have been mixing it up, confounding defensive schemes, and moving the ball very well. The Blitz now sit atop the league with the 1st rated offense in the USFL, and that includes having the 2nd best passing attack in all of spring ball. This is not a position anyone foresaw for this club, except maybe for Coach Caldwell, who did not go crazy trying to pursue a new lead back for the run game or any high-cost free agent receivers to upgrade his wideout group. He built an offense around the players he had and what they can do well, and that strategy is paying dividends for the Blitz this year. McGloin Absence Irks Stag Fans Dropping a home game to the now 6-1 Philadelphia Stars should not be the kind of thing that disrupts a team, but when many point the finger to the mysterious absence of your team’s starting QB, that can cause some friction and some distraction.  We still, 4 days later, have no idea why Matt McGloin was not in uniform and not able to play for the Stags in their game against Philadelphia.  Coach Mornhinweg initially cited a persona issue, and he is sticking by that vague and unenlightening statement.  McGloin does not appear on the injury list, and did not last week either.  He has been seen in practice starting on Tuesday, so it does not appear to be a long term issue, and we have gotten no reports of an emergency or death in the family.  Quite frankly, we have no idea what may have caused McGloin to miss the home outing this past Sunday. That lack of understanding has been a field day on social media, as both Facebook and Myspace have lit up with theories.  Everything ranging from McGloin coming out to the team as gay, to a DUI, to abduction by Sasquatch, to a raging case of herpes.  You name it, someone out there has proposed it.  But, we all know that any legal issues would be public, that medical issues would have to be reported in the injury report, even if they are embarrassing, and that McGloin has not been arrested.  If he was abducted by Sasquatches, they seem to have released him unharmed, as he was able to fully practice this week.  Will we get an answer?  Will either McGloin or his coach publicly acknowledge the issue?  We just don’t know. Chicago Fires GM, Promotes Former Player Chicago Machine Head Coach Greg Schiano made a midseason move to improve his offense.  The Machine, who currently rank 26th in yards per game and 25th in points per game, at only 15.6 per outing, have struggled all season to do enough on the offensive side.  With a 3-game losing streak dropping them to 3-4, Coach Schiano had seen enough.  On Monday, Coach Schiano announced that his OC, Mike Sullivan, had been let go and that the decision had been made to promote Running Backs Coach Paul Ott Carruth, a former HB/KR for the Machine to the role of Interim Offensive Coordinator. Ott Carruth’s charge will be to revitalize a run game that had garnered HB Doug Martin 1,500 yards and 12 TDs in 2013, but which was noticeably weaker in 2014 even with the addition of former New Orleans starter Matt Forte as a second option.  So far this season, Martin has gained 505 yards and has only 3 touchdowns, well off pace from 2013.  Of course, the other half of the offense also needs attention.  Brady Quinn currently ranks 18th of 28 starters with 1,374 yards, behind Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, two QBs being discussed as potentially losing their jobs.  Quinn is 19th in touchdowns with only 9 on the year, and his QB Rating of 85.7 is one of the lowest of his career. Ott Caruth and the Machine will get their next chance to improve on the offensive output this week when they kick off a 2-week road trip within the division, heading to Columbus to take on the Ohio Glory this weekend before traveling to St. Louis for Week 9. A long list this week of new injuries, with the Jahvid Best injury being the one with perhaps the most notable impact, but there are several that will certainly impact this week’s games, including the loss of WR Greg Jennings (MEM), Larry Fitzgerald (ARZ), and Marqise Lee (LA) from various offenses.  Halot Ngata will certainly be missed in Las Vegas, as will Khedrick Gholston in Chicago.  QB Russell Wilson in Orlando is listed as Questionable and could be a game-time decision.  Here is the full list of injuries added to the growing report this week: OUT G            Kyle Long                     TEX        Back                     IR CB          E. J. Bigger                         MEM     Arm                       6-8 Weeks FS           Dominique Barber         STL         Hip                        6-8 Weeks HB         Jahvid Best                        TBY        Back                     6-8 Weeks OT          Mario Henderson           DAL       Arm                       4-6 Weeks DT          Haloti Ngata                     LV           ACL                       2-4 Weeks DT          Khedrick Gholston         CHI        Back                     2-4 Weeks WR         Marqise Lee                      LA          Foot                      1-2 Weeks WR         Larry Fitzgerald               ARZ       Concussion       1-2 Weeks OT          Riley Reiff                           BIR         Abdomen           1-2 Weeks DOUBTFUL WR         Greg Jennings                 MEM     Hand C             Brad Meester                   POR      Concussion SS           Chad Scott                       ORL       Concussion WR         Davante Adams              OAK      Hamstring QUESTIONABLE G            Evan Mathis                      NOR      Hand CB          Brandon Carr                    DAL       Concussion DE          Justice Cole                      DEN      Neck CB          Marlin Jackson                CHI        Concussion C             Tim Barnes                        ATL         Shoulder FB          Roosevelt  Nix                  TEX        Arm QB         Russell Wilson                 ORL       Concussion DT          Marcell Dareus                OHI       Shoulder DE          Cliff Avril                         OAK      Ankle League Locks in Las Vegas Relocation, But Won’t Reveal Who. This is a new one.  We don’t think we have ever heard of a league approving a team’s sale, but keeping the buyer secret.  That is what the USFL is trying to do with the Las Vegas market.  At a conference call this week among the league office and the 28 league owners, a decision was made, a franchise was cleared to bring in new ownership, at least minority ownership, and the path to relocation to Las Vegas was approved.  This means that one of the league’s 28 existing franchises will be playing in the new domed facility off the Las Vegas strip next spring, but we are not to know which team it is, not yet. We understand the idea.  Don’t reveal the team and no one market will have fans turn on their team in the middle of a season. But, the risk of course is that what you will get instead is smaller uprisings in multiple markets as no one is sure whether or not their club is safe.  And, let’s be honest here, just for how long does the league believe it can keep the lid on this before legal proceedings or internal leaks force the name of the franchise into the public sphere?  They will be lucky to get 2-3 weeks of extended uncertainty out of this, which means that right around the playoff push in Weeks 9 or 10, the information could get out and the league, and one of its teams in particular, could be in for a very messy 2 months. Here is what we know so far, and it is not much.  We know that the league approved this week the sale of a minority share of one of its franchises to casino developer Steve Wynn.  That Wynn, in turn, agrees to not only buy a portion of what will be a relocated franchise, but that he will take as well a $100M stake in the new stadium, a stadium which will take on the name of his organization.  The newly dubbed Wynn Arena will host the relocated team and the league will recoup a portion of the $600M invested in the facility. We do not know the timeline for formally recognizing the franchise that will relocate, but we do know that the league, in partneship with the City of Las Vegas and with Adidas will begin a “Choose the Identity” contest, allowing fans through online and local voting to choose form three potential team identities, beginning as soon as two weeks from now.  Apparently Adidas has had Las Vegas identities in the works since the sale of the Thunder to a San Diego investment group was made official.  This new identity means that we also know that whatever team moves to the desert, their identity will not travel with them, meaning that if the USFL does move for expansion later this decade, as it has indicated, the city losing its franchise now could regain not only a USFL presence, but the very same franchise, much as we saw with the LA Express and the Atlanta Fire. We will continue to investigate, to see just when and how the identity of the market that will lose their team to Las Vegas will be revealed.  We do not expect this incredibly explosive bit of information to stay under wraps the entire season, and when it breaks we will be here to break it to you.  In the meantime, it seems there will be a “name the team” or “pick the nickname” contest ready to roll by Week 9 of the season, so stay tuned for that as well. Five Teams Surprising USFL Pundits Every year we do our best to predict how the new season will proceed, and every year the USFL finds ways to surprise us.  While the midway point of the season is quickly approaching and many of our early picks are looking pretty good (a rising Bandit squad, a crashing Knights team, solid play in Texas and Philadelphia), there have been some surprises this year.  Here are five teams that are not where we thought they would be. Baltimore (5-2) I guess we owe the Blitz and their fans an apology, at least 7 weeks in.  We had Baltimore pegged as a team in decline, picked to be the basement dweller in a very tough NE Division.  We did not like their plan to replace Ron Dayne, felt their receivers were underwhelming, and didn’t really think much of the defense either.  Shows what we know. The decision to stick with Anthony Dixon may not be prodicing a league rushing champion, but Dixon’s 480 still have him in the top 10 and he is less than 90 yards out of the top 5.  We called their WR group one of the worst, if not the worst in the league, and now Heyward-Bey is in the top 5 in yards with 644, Brian Hartline has 4 TDs already, and Antonio Gates is also reminding us that a Tight End is a receiver, with 556 yards and 5 TDs in his first 7 games this year.  The defense we were quick to dismiss is 2nd in the league in points allowed at 17.6 and is among the league’s best against the pass, allowing only 207.4 yards per game. So, a huge Mea Culpa to the Blitz, who currently sit in 2nd place behind 6-1 Philadelphia and look like legitimate contenders for both the division and a deep playoff run. Las Vegas (4-3) We expected a collapse here.  After over a year of insecurity, front office confusion, legal actions, and the fall out from a 1-7 second half last year, all that plus a change in the Head Coach’s office, we thought for sure that Las Vegas would be on the fast track to a total rebuild. But, to his credit, former Michigan Panthers’ head coach Dick LeBeau has brought with him a sense of calm, a structure and discipline the team needed, and a focus on their on-field actions, not the craziness surrounding their sale and eminent relocation to San Diego. And while a 4-3 start may not be lighting the sky on fire, it is impressive considering all they have had to deal with, including home games where the few remaining Thunder fans are outnumbered by tourists from the opposition’s fanbase.  Of course, we all wonder if another collapse is on the way.  But, this is a different team, with a different mindset, and a new head coach who may simply not allow history to repeat itself. Birmingham (4-3) It is not so much that Birmingham is 4-3, which we probably could have accepted in the preseason as a reasonable record, it is more that they are showing an ability to knock off very good teams.  Whether it is their two recent back-to-back victories over Arizona and Houston, or their earlier wins on the road at both Memphis and Nashville.  The Stallions are showing that they can raise their level up to that of the competition. Now, if we look at their three losses (at New Jersey, home to New Orleans, and at Philadelphia) we could say that all three are games that we could not have foreseen a Birmingham win even if we had set our expectations higher.  With their upcoming schedule including another Breakers showdown as well as games against Denver, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Texas to end the year, Birmingham is going to have to raise their game week in and week out if they hope to outperform our preseason expectations. Memphis (2-5) Not all failed predictions are because the team outperforms expectations. In the case of the Showboats it is because they are not meeting the level of quality we expected of them. Yes, losing Eli Manning was a huge blow, and having a struggling offense that puts up barely 15 points a game is a huge issue with the Showboats, but this is also a team that we expected had improved on defense, and that is just not coming to pass.  The Showboats are 26th in yards allowed, at over 350 per game, and even worse in points allowed, 27th out of 28 teams, with an average of 28.6 points per game. Those numbers cannot be the fault of Manning’s absence alone.  Where is the rally by the rest of the team?  Where is the pride in keeping games close and playing for the upset. Memphis has lost games by 20, 32, and 33 points in their 4 game losing streak. They got a win this week, but only because Nashville is as bad a team as we thought they would be.  The Showboats think they could get Eli back for Week 9’s trip to Orlando, but that could already be too late for a club that was expected to have more to offer than their passing game. Washington (3-4) It is not too late for the Federals, but they have two big problems, both of which have led them to a shaky 3-4 start. The first is that they may be in the midst of a full blown quarterback controversy.  After leading the Feds to the playoffs last year, Joe Webb looked very capable of unseating David Garrard in the offseason. He did not, but with Garrard struggling with consistency and turnovers, there are many who believe Webb is the answer. The other big issue is that the Generals and Blitz have both shown to be much better than anticipated and much closer to Washington in talent and drive than expected.  The Feds have already found themselves splitting the series with both clubs, but now have to realize that they still have two dates with a very good Philadelphia club left on the schedule.  It is not too late for the Federals to go on a run, but they had better not delay.  The good news is that their next 3 games are against 1-6 Dallas, 1-6 Nashville, and 2-5 Memphis, so they could easily be 6-4 by the time they next face a club with a winning record. USFL’s Best Rivalries: Number 9: The Cascade Classic No surprise reason why the Portland Stags and Seattle Dragons form one of the league’s best rivalries.  The two Pacific Northwest cities have a natural rivalry in everything from basketball (back when the Sonics still played in Seattle) to college football (Oregon & Washington), and in soccer (Sounders & Timbers).  In the USFL the rivalry began in 1995, when Seattle was granted an expansion club and the Portland Thunder would acquire a new regional rival.  It took no time at all for those two clubs to start mixing it up, and for 7 years the two battled it out twice a year, with Seattle taking a 9-5 advantage over the Thunder. When Portland’s team moved to Las Vegas it hurt Seattle too, so when the Stags were granted an expansion club in 2008 there was no greater advocate and no more excited fanbase than the Dragons.  The two cities got right back into it, trash talking and ribbing each other as if there had never been a gap. Today, the Portland-Seattle rivalry remains one of the most fun to watch, even if both clubs may be not in their best form, they always get up for each other and often play tight games that are not decided until the end.  Currently, Portland holds a slight edge, having won 7 and lost 6 to the Dragons, including a 31-26 victory in Week 4 at home. Seattle can even the series if they can win the rematch at Lumen Field in Week 12.  It’a a battle wrapped in buffalo plaid flannel, powered by coffee and doughnuts, and just a whiff of salmon in the air.  It’s the PNW distilled down to a football game. Only 5 divisional games this week, including Orlando @ Atlanta and Oakland @ Las Vegas on Saturday.  That Oakland-Las Vegas game will be a huge one for both clubs, as on will emerge as the frontrunner for the Pacific Division.  We also have some interesting inter-divisional games, starting with New Jersey at Charlotte on ABC on Saturday.  Portland is in Baltimore, where the Blitz have outperformed all expectations.  Seattle has a tough outing on Sunday as they head to Philadelphia.  New Orleans will be tested in Denver, and the nightcap on Sunday has St.  Louis trying to get back to .500 in the Central but facing a tough task in San Antonio against the 6-1 Texas Outlaws. FRI @ 8pm ET                  Nashville (1-6) @ Birmingham (4-3)                  NBC SAT @ 12pm ET              New Jersey (4-3) @ Charlotte (3-4)                ABC SAT @ 12pm ET              Orlando (4-3) @ Atlanta (4-3)                              FOX SAT @ 4pm ET                 Arizona (4-3) @ Michigan (3-4)                          ABC SAT @ 4pm ET                 Chicago (3-4) @ Ohio (4-3)                               FOX SAT @ 7pm ET                 Portland (3-4) @ Baltimore (5-2)                        NBC SAT @ 9pm ET                  Oakland (4-3) @ Las Vegas (4-3)                     ESPN/EFN SUN @ 12pm ET             Seattle (3-4) @ Philadelphia (6-1)                  ABC SUN @ 12pm ET             Dallas (1-6) @ Washington (3-4)                       FOX Regional SUN @ 12pm ET             Jacksonville (0-7) @ Tampa Bay (6-1)                FOX Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Pittsburgh (2-5) @ Los Angeles (2-5)                 ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Houston (5-2) @ Memphis (2-5)                         ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               New Orleans (5-2) @ Denver (4-3)                     FOX SUN @ 8pm ET               St. Louis (3-4) @ Texas (6-1)                                ESPN/EFN

A big week for blowouts as we saw 5 games with a 14-point or larger margin, including some lopsided divisional games with statement victories by Philadelphia, Houston, and New Orleans.  But it was also a good week for some drama, as we saw in Birmingham’s comeback win over Arizona, Denver’s battle in Seattle, and Tampa Bay’s tight victory over rival Orlando.  Quarterback play is key, as it always seems to be, with some teams getting outstanding performances from their stars and others struggling either with inconsistency or with backups who just are not stepping up.   So, in other words, a pretty standard week for the “more fun league”, as we head towards midseason.   We will recap all the action,  talk about a couple of trades as teams try to remedy their issues, and give you our assessment of the 2014 season theories that have some life and those that are just blowing smoke.  All that plus two teams reveal their looks for 2015, including the once-leaked and now confirmed San Diego Thunder design.   All right here, so don’t go anywhere. ARIZONA WRANGLERS 34   BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 37 This was not a game we had circled on our calendars, but the  Birmingham Stallions sure did.  For them, a game against the defending league champions was a benchmark for their season, a chance to show that they could beat an elite team, even if Arizona was only 3-2 this year.  For them it was a chance to prove to themselves that they were a contender.  For Arizona it may well have been a trap game, coming off their defeat of Texas to pull within 1 game of first place, and could also have found the Wranglers looking ahead to a Week 8 matchup against the now 5-1 Houston Gamblers.  So, two teams with very different levels of focus. What the game showed us was twofold, first that a Birmingham offense that has struggled for much of the year, could rise to the occasion, and second, that Arizona’s defense still has not returned to their outstanding 2013 form.  Both offenses put up huge numbers this week, as Arizona racked up a whopping 473 yards of total offense, with 432 coming off the arm of David Carr, while Birmingham had a more moderate 333 yards, but showed resilience with 2 scores in the final period, a wild 4th quarter. The game started very much in favor of the Wranglers.  After each team had a 3-and-out on their first possession, Arizona found success on their second with a 67-yard drive that culminated in an 18-yard TD toss from Carr to Fitzgerald.  This would be the start to a career game for the Wrangler wideout, finishing with 5 catches for 161  yards, and making him one of three receivers for Arizona to go over 100 yards on this most prolific passing day.  Gronkowski would add 105 and Bryant, who is coming into his own as the number two receiver, would add 111. Arizona would get the ball back quickly and add a field goal before Birmingham started to show signs of offensive life.  As the 1st quarter wound down, the Stallions put together a solid drive, helped by a couple of nice runs from Marion Barber, starting in place of Joseph Addai, and Barber would finish off the drive with the 3-yard TD score. 10-7 Arizona after one quarter. Birmingham would equalize the score on their next drive, with Garrett Hartley kicking a 33-yarder to even things up, but late in the quarter, the Wranglers would again find their way deep into Stallion territory, This time it was more balanced, with Frank Gore and Ka’Deem Carey both breaking off 10+ yard runs before Gore scored on a goalline push.  Gore would finish the game with 107 yards, and a 4.9 YPC average, one of his better games this year.  Carey would also look dangerous, averaging 7.2 yards on 5 carries. Down 17-10 at the half, Birmingham was still very much in the game, though they were struggling to contain the Wrangler offense.  That struggle continued, when Arizona took their first drive of the second half down the field again and Carey juked past a defender to score on a 12-yard touchdown run, putting Arizona up 24-10. This could have been a breaking point for the Stallions, but proved to be a moment for QB Cam Newton.  Newton has not been running as much as in past years, but with his receviers covered on a 2nd and 6, and with the line creating a gap in the pocket right in front of him, Newton took off.  What followed was a brilliant 64-yard TD run that saw the former Auburn QB stiff arm one defender and fake out another on his way to the endzone.  The run electrified the Birmingham crowd of nearly 53,000, and helped put the Stallions back in range of Arizona, now down only 7.  What was to come was a 4th quarter that would see 31 points put up on the board and a wild swing as Birmingham would score 21 points in only 7 minutes. It began early in the quarter with another long Arizona drive, one that included a 46-yard pass to Bryant, stalling in the red zone and producing another Parson field goal.  Birmingham was down 10 with 13 minutes to go, but they too put up a long drive, and in only 3:33, they were back again, scoring on a Newton to Inman pass to pull within 3. Arizona would need to keep passing as they had all day to keep ahead of a determined Stallion team. That need to keep passing will eventually lead to a mistake, and that mistake came only 18 seconds later, when David Carr missed on a throw to Gronk, putting the ball behind him and in perfect position for LB DeMeco Ryans, Birmingham’s best defender to snatch it and return it 32 yards for the go ahead touchdown.  It was a stunning moment, a huge game-shifter, and another crowd pleaser.  Birmingham would have their first lead of the game with only 9:48 left to play. Arizona got the ball back, and now passing was truly a requirement.  They mixed the passes up with Gore runs, and moved the ball well, but the drive bogged down at the 31, and again they brought Elliot Parson out to add 3 points, but this time their kicker could not come through and the ball sailed to the left of the goalpost.  Birmingham would have the ball back at the 38.  They would use that field position to again strike at the seemingly tired Wrangler defense.  An 8-yard run by Danny Woodhead, a 9-yarder from Barber, short passes to Holloway and Edelman, and a nice scramble for 10 by Newton would bring the ball into the redzone. Once there, Birmingham was determined to boost their lead to 10, forcing Arizona to score twice.  With the ball at the 6, the Stallions called for an option play with Newton, rolling him out to his right with 2 receivers crossing the endzone.  He could run or throw, depending on the defense’s reaction.  Arizona feared Newton’s running ability and that left room for the QB to find Chris Chambers in the endzone.  The Stallions now lead by 10, 37-27 with only 3:33 left to go. Arizona would race on their next drive, giving up on the run entirely and hitting receivers all over the field.  It was an impressive drive, and one that went far too quickly for Birmingham’s liking.  They would use only 1:13 on the drive before Carr found Domenic Hixon for the score.  That left them 2:01 to play and they would be down only 3.  Would they onside kick this or send the ball deep?  Coach Tomsula decided to trust his defense, shaky as it had been on that day, and sent the ball deep, hoping to get better field position after a Birmingham punt.   Problem was, in order for them to punt, you had to stop their offense. The Stallions, seeing that Arizona was overloading the box, played that to their advantage.  A screen to Woodhead garnered 11 yards on first down, forcing Arizona to use their last time out.  A Barber run on 1st gained 2 and killed 37 seconds, a designed Newton roll-out on 2nd down gained another 5 and killed 38 seconds.  Third and 3 and a first down would give Birmingham the game.  The Stallions put the ball in Barber’s hands again, and the back did what you have a big back to do, he carried defenders past the line to gain and into a new first down.  One kneel down later and the Stallions had their victory.  Arizona would drop to 3-3, Birmingham would rise to 3-3, which, in the Southern Division was good enough for 2nd place and only 1 game back of New Orleans.  For Arizona, 3-3 put them 2 games back of the division leaders and a game back of 3rd place Denver. TAMPA BAY 31   ORLANDO 24 In a game the Renegades really felt they needed to have, they just came up short as once again Tampa Bay mounts a huge comeback.  Down 24-14 at the end of 3, the Bandits get 4th quarter touchdowns from Jahvid Best and Luke Stocker, then add a late Nate Kaeding field goal to steal this one out from under Orlando, despite a huge 5-sack game from Calais Campbell.  Jahvid Best was insane in this game, rushing for 77 yards and catching 2 touchdown passes from Culpepper. POTG: Orlando DE Calais Campbell: 7 Tck, 5 Sck, 1 FF PITTSBURGH 13   PHILADELPHIA 34 The Stars move to 5-1 with a complementary game from all angles, limiting Pittsburgh to 239 total yards while racking up 448 themselves.  Matt Gutierrez threw for 307 and 2 scores.  Steve Slaton rushed for 105 and a TD and the defense limited the Mauler run game to only 74 total yards.  It was a pretty thorough victory by the favorites to win the division. POTG: Stars QB Matt Gutierrez: 24/31, 307 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int DALLAS 7   HOUSTON 30 Houston cruises to victory with a balanced attack that saw Matt Hasselbeck throw for only 131, Carlos Hyde rush for only 74 yards, and Mike Evans only have 3 catches.  But, with the big 3 somewhat limited, we saw Ben Tate run for 2 scores and Mike Sims-Walker score as well.  Add to that a nice defensive game that had Johnny Manziel picked off twice and held Rashard Mendenhall to 55 yards on the ground and you get a 23-point margin of victory. POTG: Houston HB Ben Tate: 12 Att, 44 Yds, 2 TD NASHVILLE 7   TEXAS 47 Cody Pickett’s first start of the season is not an easy one as he gets no help from his run game or his defense.  Joe Flacco again goes off for 404 yards and 4 TDs in a dominant performance.  Felix Jones and Chris Johnson show signs of life for the run game, with the two combining for 168 yards and 2 TDs, with Hasselbeck adding TD tosses to Colston, Shipley, and Chris Cooley (2).  And we have to point out Colston’s day, because it was insane. He had only 6 catches but racked up 238 yards with those 6 balls, averaging nearly 40 yards per catch. POTG: Outlaws WR Marques Colston: 6 Rec, 238 Yds, 1 TD BALTIMORE 35   WASHINGTON 24 The Blitz come down to DC and get a win that has Federal fans worried.  Baltimore improves to 4-2 and the Feds drop to 2-4 as Ben Roethlisberger throws for 297 and 3 TDs. Add another nice game for Anthony Dixon (75 Yds, 2 TD) and this Blitz team may finally start to get some respect. David Garrard threw 3 picks in the game, which now has some calling for Joe Webb to get the ball instead. POTG: Blitz QB Ben Roethlisberger: 21/24, 297 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int. LOS ANGELES 7   LAS VEGAS 16 Las Vegas may not be getting the love in their last season in Sin City, but they are winning those home games anyway.  In a game that has LA fans wondering when Andy Reid’s offensive genius will kick in, the Express are held to 240 total yards, and gain a paltry 40 yards on the ground.  Kevin Kolb wins again in relief of Jake Plummer (expected back next week, and Marshawn Lynch rushes for 120 and a TD in a solid game for the Thunder on both sides of the ball. POTG: Thunder HB Marshawn Lynch: 27 Att, 120 Yds, 1 TD. MEMPHIS 3   NEW ORLEANS 34 Ryan Mallett proves no more effective than Matt Cassel had been as Memphis struggles to only 225 total yards against that Breaker defense. Former Federals LB Antonio Pierce goes off for the Breakers with 2 forced fumbles, a pick, and a TD on his pick-six. Quite a day for the future Hall of Famer.  Drew Brees returned to action with 179 yards and 3 touchdowns as New Orleans rolls. POTG: Breaker LB Antonio Pierce: 8 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD, 2 FF, 1 FR NEW JERSEY 10   ATLANTA 16 Atlanta finds an answer for New Jersey’s offense, limiting the Generals to only 8 first downs, 2 of 13 on third down, and 218 total yards.  The key, it seems, is to catch them when Maurice Jones-Drew is injured.  The run game produced only 39 total yards for the Generals, and Atlanta still stayed in a nickel as their base formation.  In a game when neither offense showed much, the Fire got enough short drives to feed kicker John Bounds or 3 field goals and the win. POTG: Atlanta SS DaJuan Morgan: 5 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR. CHARLOTTE 17   MICHIGAN 23 The Panthers get win number 2, stay within 1 game of first in the clustered Central Division and have the Monarch faithful worried as Charlotte again struggles to pull out a game. A 2-0 turnover advantage and a nice 111-yard, 1-TD game from LeVeon Bell help Michigan eke out the win over the Monarchs. D. J. Hackett was the one bright spot for Charlotte, catching 11 balls for 121 yards, but it was not enough for them to overcome the Panthers. POTG: Michigan HB LeVeon Bell: 28 Att, 111 Yds, 1 TD. JACKSONVILLE 5   ST. LOUIS 16 St. Louis gets a share of first place as they lull Jacksonville to sleep.  Tim Tebow did not throw a pick for a change, but he still could not produce any offense for the moribund Bulls.  It was not a great game for the St. Louis offense either, but they had enough with one Freeman to Jordy Nelson TD pass to take the win. POTG: Skyhawk DE Olivier Vernon: 4 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF, 1 FR. PORTLAND 21   CHICAGO 13 The Stags are getting some believers as they travel into Chi-Town and upend the Machine. Jonathan Stewart was the key, rushing the ball for 87 yards on 23 attempts and adding another 42 through the air for the Stags. Second year DE Dion Jordan sacked Brady Quinn twice, including on the final drive, to preserve the win, and the D held Doug Martin to only 21 yards in an impressive display of team defense. POTG: Stag HB Jonathan Stewart: 23 Att, 87 Yds, 1TD, 6 Rec, 42 Yds. OHIO 7   OAKLAND 30 Chris Weinke had a rough outing against the Oakland defense, completing only 12 of 27 passes and tossing a late pick-six.  Joey Harrington survived 6 sacks to throw for 229 and a TD, while Ryan Williams added 74 yards on the ground for the Invaders. Oakland scored the final 23 points of the game after a 7-7 tie in the first quarter as they roll to 4-2. POTG: Invader CB Eric Wright: 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD. DENVER 24   SEATTLE 17 Denver gets the tough road win thanks to a late Daniel Graham TD catch as the Gold move to 4-2 and keep with the Outlaws and Gamblers. In a balanced game it was the small things that gave Denver the win, including an interception from LB Shawne Merriman, and a nice 21-yard run by HB LeMichael James to keep a drive alive on a 3rd and 14 draw play. POTG: Gold LB Shawne Merriman: 5 Tck, 1 PD, 1 Int. Colston, Campbell, and Pierce Have Ridiculous Days Man, if what you love about football are big players having big games, this was the week for you. Marques Colston set a league record for passing yards in a game, in a league known for huge numbers in the passing game. Calais Campbell looked like the Kool-Aid Man smashing through the wall of Tampa Bay’s line, and Antonio Pierce, the ageless wonder at MLB, showed all of New Orleans why he is still the best player on the field when the Breaker D is out there. Let’s start with Colston, because we are still trying to figure out how he did this.  The man had only 6 catches, but with those 6 he racked up 238 yards of offense. That is an average of over 39 yards per catch. It included his 34-yard TD, a 74-yarder that could have been another if not for a very late bump out of bounds, a 43-yarder, a 51-yarder, and two very ordinary catches for the remaining 31 yards.  You almost have to feel pity for Nashville’s Duane Starks and Willie Middlebrooks, the corners who traded off being burnt like a Swede on holiday in the tropics.  A league record and a truly stunning outing from one of the best receivers in the game. As for Calais Campbell, we all know he is the best DE playing pro ball right now.  His numbers are off the charts year in and year out, so when we say he had a career day this week, and against the division leader, that is huge.  How about 5 sacks in one game?  Not since Derrick Thomas of the KC Chiefs in the NFL have we seen a day like this for an edge rusher. There was just nothing Tampa’s Jason Carpenter could do at LT.  The Bandits tried adding Luke Stocker on chip blocks, but Stocker is not a great blocking TE. They even had Jahvid Best and Rex Burkhead try to get in on it, but they were just run over by the big man.  At the end of the day Tampa would win the game, but ask Daunte Culpepper what he remembers of the game and you know it will be the vision of Campbell coming through time and again like a rhino on rampage. Not to be outdone, Breaker LB Antonio Pierce also put on a clinic, showing the diversity of skills that make him a sure fire hall of famer once he retires.  Against a pretty shaky Memphis offense, and a perhaps even shakier Ryan Mallett at QB, Pierce was everywhere.  He had 8 tackles, which for him is about on par, but those included two times where he stripped the ballcarrier of the ball, and one time when that strip was followed by a recovery as well.  Oh, and as if that were not enough, he also stared down a pass from Mallett to his TE, stepped in front of the ball, picked it off, and on the way to the endzone shrugged off the Memphis QB to score a pick-six. It was a brilliant game all around for Pierce, and would have garnered him POTW on any other week. Chicago Bolsters Secondary with Trade for Safety Help The Machine, concerned about their 17th ranked pass defense, made a move this week to bolster their secondary, dealing with the very team that defeated them on Sunday.  Safety T. J. Ward will now relocate to Chicago, where he is expected to quickly work his way into the starting defense, while Chicago sends a 3rd round pick in the 2015 draft to Portland in return. It is a chance to start for Ward, who has played well in relief but was locked behind NFL import Donte Whitmer in the depth chart.  For Chicago it is about adding some stopping power and improving their coverage against slot receivers and tight ends, a problem all season long. Ohio Trades for A Weapon on Offense The Ohio Glory, concerned about a significant dip in the performance of QB Chris Weinke and some struggles putting points on the board, made a deal this week with Dallas to acquire wideout Justin Blackmon. Blackmon, who started off his career very strong as a rookie, has tailed off and found himself sitting behind Hank Basket and Tim Wright on the depth chart.  The OK State star will get a new lease on life in Ohio, where he is expected to quickly become the number two receiver behind Steve Smith, a position formerly held by Arrelious Benn. Chicago sent a 2nd round pick to Dallas, along with backup receiver Sean Morey, to acquire Blackmon. Dallas also tossed in a 5th rounder to balance the trade.  Blackmon had a big rookie season in 2012, catching 111 passes for 1,305 yards, but had fallen out of favor due to a combination of drops and locker room blowups.  This season he was demoted to the second string and has had only 10 catches in the Roughnecks’ first 6 games.  With Steve Smith as his mentor in Ohio he may not learn to keep quiet (not Smith’s strong suit either) but he will certainly learn a thing or two about focusing on the ball. For Real or Forget It We have reached the part of the season where trends are emerging, tendencies are being discussed, and surprises early on could be fading.  So, we asked ourselves, which ideas being tossed around the fan-world are legit and which are likely not going to pan out.  We divided some of the hot topics of the day into 2 categories: For Real—we see this as a very real trend that could last the entire season or Forget It—this is an illusion or false premise and will not hold up over time.  Here is our list of the current topics under discussion and whether we see them as potentially valid or likely invalid, For Real or Forget It. Las Vegas is a Contender for the Pacific Title After last year’s drop from a 6-2 start to a 1-7 finish, it is hard to fully get on board with the Thunder as a serious contender.  Will this year’s chaos also grind away at the Thunder and leave them spent by midseason, unable to finish the year strong?  Or will they learn from last year’s collapse and stay united all summer?  That is the big question.  Their 4-2 start is great, but that is no guarantee that the Thunder will keep up their winning ways through the dog days of June and July, when the temperatures, and the pressure to win, will rise higher and higher.  We are skeptical, but we also recognize that this team has a lot of talent, and that Coach LeBeau is a very different coach than June Jones.  We are optimistic that perhaps this year Las Vegas can keep the momentum going and go out on a bang in their final season in Sin City.  Our vote:  FOR REAL Memphis Can Come Back When Eli Does That is the hope all Memphians have, that the team which has been just awful without Eli Manning can somehow turn the switch back on, revive their offense, and start winning games.  Is that realistic?  Is that likely?  We have trouble believing it.  This is a team with a pretty mediocre defense, a somewhat hit-or-miss run game, and some weaknesses on the offensive line. Yes, we think having Eli back under center will be a definite upgrade from either Matt Cassel or Ryan Mallett, neither of which have won a game yet, but is that enough to take a 1-5 team and somehow make them relevant?  We don’t buy it. Our vote: FORGET IT. David Garrard Could be Benched With Washington dropping to 2-4, and Garrard uncharacteristically throwing the ball to the wrong team, voices are cropping up with Joe Webb on their minds.   Webb did so well last year, leading Washington to the playoffs after Garrard was sidelined with a season-ending injury.  Why not take a chance, change things up, and see if you can’t spark something.  We understand that Coach Payton likes Garrard, but if the job is not getting done, then it is time to bring in another pretty solid QB to see if the dynamic can be changed. Our vote: FOR REAL. Kevin Kolb is Better than Plummer I know, it seems insane on the surface.  On the one hand you have Jake Plummer, career starter, with over 57,000 passing yards, 7 All-USFL nods, and 2 MVPs, and on the other you have a journeyman backup with a lifetime QB Rating of only 72, and no accolades whatsoever.  So, why the debate?  Well, in his two starts this year, Kolb has thrown for over 650 yards, 2 scores and no touchdowns.  The Thunder, rather than fade as other teams have without their starting QB, have thrived, defeating both Chicago and LA in back-to-back weeks. And yet, it is not as if Plummer is having a bad year or has fallen off the “aged out” cliff. His numbers are also quite solid, with 1,488 yards passing in 4 games, an 11:5 TD:INT ratio, and a QB rating very solidly in the 90’s.  So, does Las Vegas have a better shot at sustained success with a transition to Kolb?  Are you kidding?  No.  Plummer is a proven winner, an proven star, and a very capable starter even at 37. Kolb has benefitted from solid defense and a return to giving the rock to Marshawn Lynch.  Just stop with this already. Our vote: FORGET IT, SERIOUSLY!!! The State of Texas Could Sweep All 5 League Awards OK, this one is a bit farfetched.  Yes, Joe Flacco is certainly a candidate for MVP, perhaps the league favorite right now.  And we fully expect either Carlos Hyde or Mike Evans to win Rookie of the Year, at least they are both in the running.  If Houston can somehow win the division, we could see Wade Phillips recognized for getting over the hump this year.  That is at least conceivable.  The problem comes with OPOTY and DPOTY.  Certainly, with a 238-yard game this week Marques Colston is putting his name in the hat for OPOTY, and if he were to help lead Texas to a division title, maybe even a 1 seed, we could imagine it.  But we are having trouble seeing a defender on either the Outlaws or Gamblers (not to mention Dallas’s pretty bad D) that could step up and nab the DPOTY award.  There are certainly players we like on both defenses, but are they dominant as individual contributors?  We just don’t see it happening.  Our vote: FORGET IT. St. Louis is Your Future Central Champion Right now the Central Division is looking pretty even and pretty mediocre, with St. Louis, Chicago, and Ohio all sitting at 3-3 and Michigan only a game back at 2-4.  This could be a division with a 9-7 or even 8-8 champion, though we think at least 1 team will make a run at 10 wins.  So, is St. Louis the best of the bunch?  That is really hard to say.  They have more experience than the others, but Chicago was still last year’s champ, and they are making moves to improve mid-season.  Ohio has some firepower, even with Chris Weinke taking a step back from last year’s impressive numbers, and they too just made a move to improve their squad.  And, most telling, St. Louis is not showing the offensive formula that worked so well in 2012.  Eddie Lacy is good, but he is not getting the carries that Antowain Smith had.  The passing game is certainly not quite as dynamic without Taylor Jacobs, and Josh Freeman seems more hesitant after a pretty rough 2013.  So, do we think St. Louis will win the division?  It is way too soon, possible, but way too soon to know.  We could see any of the 3-3 teams making a run if they got their mix right on both sides of the ball. Our Vote:  WHO KNOWS? A bit of a rough week for offenses around the league, as three teams will be without key contributors.  Orlando takes the biggest hit with WR Michael Jenkins placed on IR and out for the year with a broken fibula in his right leg.  Philadelphia will also be without its number one receiver, though perhaps for only 2-4 weeks as Stevie Johnson suffered a hairline fracture in one of the bones of his foot, a painful but relatively quick-healing injury.  For Birmingham the problem is at halfback, where Joseph Addai will be out again, expected to be at least 2 weeks, with a hamstring partial tear.  Alongside these offensive players we should note that LA, having just traded away Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, will now be out their other season-starting cornerback as Marcus Truffant will miss up to 8 weeks with an abdominal tear. This leaves LA with neither of their starting cornerbacks from the season’s first week. OUT WR         Michael Jenkins                 ORL       Broken Leg         IR CB          Marcus Truffant             LA          Abdomen           6-8 Weeks WR         Stevie Johnson               PHI        Foot                      2-4 Weeks DT          Khedrick Gholston         CHI        Back                     2-4 Weeks LB           Kyle Van Noy                LV           Leg                        2-4 Weeks HB         Joseph Addai             BIR         Hamstring         1-2 Weeks DOUBTFUL LB           Buster Davis           PIT         Concussion CB          Brandon Carr             DAL       Neck QUESTIONABLE TE           Ben Hartsook           ATL         Hip FS           Earl Thomas             ATL         Toe WR         Javon Walker            BAL        Concussion DT          Peria James              NSH      Concussion Is Coach Reid Souring on Mark Sanchez? The question of whether or not the former USC quarterback is the right fit for Coach Andy Reid’s offense is being asked a lot as the Express drop to 1-5 and currently sit in the bottom 5 teams in passing, total yards, and points scored.  Sanchez is absolutely struggling.  His QB rating this season has dropped to 61.9, one of the worst in the league and the worst of his career.  He has a 1:2 TD:INT ratio (3 to 6) an dis completing only 53,8% of his passes.  Now, part of this has already been blamed on the retirement of Keyshawn Johnson, but that cannot be allowed to stand as a season-long excuse for poor play.  Far too often Sanchez is simply missing his receivers, including connecting on only 23 of 48 passes in the direction of Robert Woods, only 21 of 41 to rookie Marqise Lee, and only 32 of 56 to their supposed top receiver, Roddy White.  The Express recently traded with Jacksonville to land an All-USFL tight end in Jason Whitten, but is that enough of a change to revive a pretty moribund Express passing attack?  And if it is not, what other options are out their for Coach Reid? The truth is that there are not likely to be any silver bullets this year.  It seems unlikely that Reid will pull Sanchez for either veteran backup Brody Croyle or Georgia rookie Aaron Murray, though if LA is an early elimination from playoff contention, we may see Murray getting a shot to prove himself in the season’s final weeks.  The more likely scenario is that Reid will test out Murray, and if he struggles, the Express will look for a possible offseason solution.  Could that mean potential draftees Jameis Winston of FSU or Marcus Mariota of Oregon?  Both QBs will be possible T-Draft selections, and we could certainly see Tampa Bay having interest in Winston while Portland most likely will want to take a hard look at Mariota in the draft pool.  So what does that leave?  Possibly a disgruntled veteran looking for a change of scenery. Of the players currently in their last year of current contracts, the QBs who stand out are Kyle Orton (ATL), Matt Leinart (DEN), Jake Plummer (LV), Cody Pickett (NSH), Chris Weinke (OHI), Byron Leftwich (SEA), and Daunte Culpepper (TBY).  We expect that both Plummer and Culpepper are more likely to sign a 1-year deal to stay put or to retire than to start over with a new team.  We know that Chris Weinke and Matt Leinart are quite happy with their current situations, so that leaves Kyle Orton, Cody Pickett, and Byron Leftwich. Honestly, we don’t see a lot of options there. There could be an NFL option after the fall league’s 2014 season, when some younger players come off their rookie contracts, players like Jimmy Clausen, Christian Ponder, and Blaine Gabbert, but are any of those some-time starters likely to be unsigned by January and a potential improvement over Sanchez?  So what are the options?  Honestly, a trade may be the best option for the Express.  We have no idea who would be interested, but with a pretty shallow rookie pool and a not very engaging free agent pool, the pathways to LA making a move from Sanchez to a new option may well be Murray surprising us or a trade, likely a very costly trade. New Jersey reveals 2015 Uniform Update The Generals become the first team to reveal their Adidas updated uniforms for next season, unveiling the new look with a prese event at MetLife stadium.  While the team did introduce a new wordmark, returning to block lettering after several years using a signature-style script, the rest of the look will be very familiar to fans of the club.  The team retains their somewhat minimalist look, with stripeless jerseys sporting large TV numbers on the sleeve, white and red pant sets with a wide stripe flanked by two thin Brigadier Blue stripes, and the now iconic stripeless red helmet with white facemask.  So what is new with the look? Well, first off, the Generals return their revolutionary-war inspired secondary logo to the uniform, now placed above the rear nameplate on the jersey instead of as a chest patch. The NJ monogram logo will appear on the pants at each hip, and the new wordmark will adorn the chest of each jersey.  The numbers are returning to a traditional block font reminiscent of the league’s first seasons, and the Generals are adding a blue sock set to go with their red pants.  So, very much a return to tradition, a minor tweak to the main look, but very much a look that fans and rivals will instantly recognize as the Generals. Thunder Confirms San Diego Design Leak Following the leaked image from an Adidas design team member, the USFL, Adidas, and the Thunder have opted to go public with the new look for the soon-to-be relocated Thunder.  The San Diego Thunder will retain much from the look which began in Portland and transferred (somewhat briefly) to Las Vegas.  That look includes the use of Thunder Green (a sort of electric lime green) as the dominant color for the jerseys (and one pant set).  The major difference in the look is the boosting of the team’s use of Sky Blue, largely replacing Yellow as a secondary color.  This is evident on both jerseys, where the sleeves’ ombre effect, formerly green to yellow color shifting, now shifts from green to blue.  The same is true of the numbers on the white jerseys and even the outlining or background color of the primary logo. The San Diego Thunder also confirmed that the new secondary logo monogram is official, including the SD letters and a cloud in white and sky blue which calls back to the team’s first logo used in the late 80’s and into the early 1990’s. The team will retain both a white and a green pants set, with both using an ombre effect in the center stripe, surrounded by two thick Navy blue stripes.  Yellow will still be used in the color scheme as well, as piping for stripes and numbers, and as part of the secondary and primary logos. The league hopes to ramp up merchandise sales along with season ticket sales starting in July. For now, the design and only a few prototype uniforms have been released. USFL's Best Rivalries: Number 10: The Rust Belt Rumble This may be one of the better examples of a lopsided rivalry, where one team feels a lot more animosity towards the other than vice versa.  The record between the Ohio Glory and the Pittsburgh Maulers is not exactly balanced, with Ohio having won 27 of 36 meetings, a whopping 75% of the team’s encounters.  So, with such a lopsided series of results, what makes this a rivalry?  Well, three things really. Firstly, the tradition of rivalries between western PA and eastern Ohio. Sure, Columbus is not exactly Youngstown, but with the Glory being the only team in the Buckeye State, and with natural rivalry between the states thanks to Penn State’s addition to the Big 10, there was some natural regional animosity there. Secondly, there is a bit of nastiness in the games between these two that has added fuel to the fire.  Whether it is accusations of dirty play, headhunting, or just tough trench wars, the games between these two always seem to have an element of nastiness to them that we don’t always see in other rivalries. Finally, there is a bit of jealousy on the part of the Maulers, let’s be honest. Coming into the league 11 years before the Glory, Pittsburgh had tried to build a fanbase in Ohio, particularly among the eastern cities of Youngstown, Akron, Canton, etc. so the arrival of the Glory in 1995 was not a welcome one for the Mauler organization.  Some fans stayed loyal, others broke for the Glory, and that created something of a no-man’s land along the eastern part of the state.  That is where you see the rivalry really at its best, even  more than in either Pittsburgh or Columbus.  If Governor Kasich of Ohio has his way and is able to relocate the Glory to a new stadium and football-centered complex in Canton, that deep split among the fans could get even more intense. This week could be a huge one in the trajectory of this season.  We have 8 divisional games out of 14 again this week, including some major rivalries and some battles that could determine if teams are truly in the playoff hunt or are just posing as potential contenders.  Add to that the desperation of some of the 2-win, even 1-win teams, and this could be a lot of fun. We start on Friday with a California classic, the Invaders at the Express. Coach Reid has to get a win here or the Express could be looking at a major overhaul this offseason.  On Saturday we have 2 major NE Division clashes as Baltimore visits Pittsburgh and Washington has their rematch against New Jersey.  We also have a great matchup in the SW Division with Texas heading to Denver for the ESPN Saturday Night Football headliner. On Sunday we start off the day with a must win game for both the Showboats and Knights as they revive the Tennessee Tussle, with both clubs sitting at 1-5.  We have an interesting contrast of styles as Las Vegas visits Tampa Bay, and we have another cross-country jaunt as the Stars head out to Portland, where the Stags have been better than expected.  Also on Sunday, divisional matchups between Michigan and St. Louis and Dallas at Arizona. It all caps off with the Stallions headed to Houston. FRI @ 8pm ET           Oakland (4-2) @ Los Angeles (1-5)                NBC SAT @ 12pm ET     Baltimore (4-2) @ Pittsburgh (2-4)                 ABC SAT @ 12pm ET      Washington (2-4) @ New Jersey (4-2)             FOX SAT @ 4pm ET       Orlando (3-3) @ Chicago (3-3)                        ABC SAT @ 4pm ET        Seattle (3-3) @ Ohio (3-3)                               FOX SAT @ 7pm ET        Atlanta (4-2) @ Charlotte (2-4)                      NBC SAT @ 9pm ET     Texas (5-1) @ Denver (4-2)                                  ESPN/EFN SUN @ 12pm ET      New Orleans (4-2) @ Jacksonville (0-6)            ABC Regional SUN @ 12pm ET     Memphis (1-5) @ Nashville (1-5)                     ABC  Regional SUN @ 12pm ET     Las Vegas (4-2) @ Tampa Bay (5-1)                  FOX SUN @ 4pm ET       Philadelphia (5-1) @ Portland (3-3)                 ABC SUN @ 4pm ET       Michigan (2-4) @ St. Louis (3-3)                         FOX Regional SUN @ 4pm ET        Dallas (1-5) @ Arizona (3-3)                             FOX  Regional SUN @ 8pm ET      Birmingham (3-3) @ Houston (5-1)               ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As impressive as Calais Campbell's 5-sack game was, we have to give this week's POTW to Texas wideout Marques Colston. Sure, 6 receptions and 1 TD are not exactly mind-blowing, but 6 receptions for 238 yards?!?!?!?! That is insane. In case you are keeping track, that averages out to 39.7 yards per catch, including his 35-yard TD and a 74-yarder that came about as close to a TD as a play can without getting in the endzone. Just dominant all day long.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As much as we like to celebrate offense around here, you have to give it up when a player has a huge defensive game, and this week Philadelphia's Brian Fletcher did just that. Fletcher's pick-six turned the tide for Philadelphia and his forced fumble ended all hopes for a Stallion comeback. Two huge plays in a game that could have easily gone to Birmingham instead of the Stars.

Week six saw a huge showdown in the desert as Arizona faced off against Texas, A clash for the top of the Pacific division between upstart Portland and the favored Oakland Invaders, a Northeastern Division classic between Washington and New Jersey, and a Southeastern Division showdown between Charlotte and Tampa Bay.  In other words, this was a good week for rivals and bitter divisional foes to clash, and with early season stakes on the line in each game. Add to this some strong inter-divisoinal matchups, like those between Nashville and Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Birmingham, and New Orleans in Baltimore and you have yourself a very entertaining and hard-hitting weekend of football.  That is what Week 6 brought us, but it also appears to have been a turning point week for several teams as the days after the week’s games saw the first trades of the regular season, a quarterback decision, and an injury that may well lead to a permanent change for another club.  We will break it all down right here on This Week In the USFL, starting with the Game of the Week between last year’s league champion and this year’s last remaining unbeaten team. TEXAS OUTLAWS 17   ARIZONA WRANGLERS 22 This was a game that the Arizona Wranglers absolutely had to have, not only because dropping to 2-3 with Texas rising to 5-0 would be an almost insurmountable gap, but from a confidence standpoint.  The team that went15-1 last season needed to prove to themselves that they were still very much a contender, capable of winning the big games.  They proved that this week, holding off the unbeaten Outlaws to pull themselves over .500 and within a game of Texas in the SW Division. What is even more helpful for the psyche of the Wranglers is that they did it very much the way they had won those 15 games last year, with a solid defense and a ball control offense.  They still struggled to run the ball, with Frank Gore struggling to only 2.8 yards per carry and 37 total yards, but David Carr was still able to use the threat of the run to connect with his receivers on play action in early downs.  Carr survived 5 sacks by the Texas defense to throw for 322 yards and 2 scores.  Joe Flacco had even more pressure as Arizona’s defense sacked the MVP candidate 8 times, including 2 from last year’s DPOTY, Adam Carriker. Both defenses looked solid in this one, especially in a scoreless first quarter in which the only foray into the opposition’s side of the field was a fluke play that saw Texas’s CB trip himself in coverage, allowing Kassim Osgood to turn a 5-yard slant into a 28 yard completion.  Neither team really threatened until the final drive of the quarter, which spilled over into the 2nd.  On that dive, Joe Flacco managed to avoid the pressure and find both Jordan Shipley, his new go to escape valve, and Marques Colston with nice gains.  He would then find Brandon Marshall for the scoring toss and Texas got the first points of the game.  Arizona would answer in the final moments of the quarter with a long field goal by Elliott Parson and this pivotal Southwest Division match would go to the half with Texas up 7-3. The third quarter saw Arizona play its best ball. The defense stifled every Texas possession, ending 2 of 3 with sacks on third and long. The offense would finally crack Texas’s zone coverages, with Carr finding Antonio Bryant on a beautifully orchestrated double move that freed him up for a 53-yard scoring throw that brought the 52,708 fans at University of Phoenix Stadium to their feet.  On their next drive, Carr would just miss on a longball to Fitzgerald and would have to settle for a field goal, but the two drives had Arizona up 13-7 as the quarter wound down. Texas would catch a break early in the 4th as a perfectly timed swat knocked the ball from rookie Ka’Deem Carey’s hands and the Outlaws recovered the ball at the Arizona 33.  They could only advance the ball to the 19 before their drive stalled and Kai Forbath was called on to kick a 36-yarder to make the score 13-10.  It was a 3-point addition that was quickly wiped out by a nice Arizona drive, one that included a 26-yard catch and run by Fitzgerald, and ending with Parson kicking to again extend Arizona’s lead to 6. But the unbeaten Outlaws were not going to go down without a fight and with 7:47 left on the clock they had their backs against the wall.  Keeping Chris Cooley in to block, providing Flacco with just a bit more time, the Outlaws finally seemed to get their passing game in gear, first with a 15 yard toss to Marquise Goodwin, and then with what could have been the back-breaker, a 42-yard touchdown toss from Flacco to Brandon Marshall against single coverage.  Arizona’s blitz had backfired and Marshall was able to outmuscle the corner and take the ball into the endzone.  Now down 17-16, Arizona had 5:48 to take back the game. The Wranglers had two goals in their final drive, score at least a field goal to take the lead, and kill as much time as they could.  With all three running backs having proven ineffective against Texas’s stacked defense, the Wranglers would have to rely on the passing game to do both.  David Carr mixed up his targets, hitting TE Rob Gronkowski, HB Ka’Deem Carey, and slot receiver David Tyree with short passes to slowly move the chains, the Wranglers just kept converting, often on 2nd down, and with each play they milked the clock.  Texas did not start using their time outs until after the 2-minute warning, and even with that, by the time Arizona entered the red zone, there was less than a minute left. After a 1-yard run by Gore, his 13th carry of the day, for only 37 yards, Arizona opted to go for the kill shot. Carr faked the ball to Gore on 2nd down, rolled to his right and found Antonio Bryant, the game’s leading receiver with 112 yards, on a corner route and with a step on CB Cedric Griffin.  Carr had targeted Griffin often in the game, with Michael Boulware the tougher corner to break.  On this play, Griffin had fallen for a shoulder fake by Bryant and that gave the receiver the step he needed.  He pulled in the ball, tapped his 2nd foot in play, and Arizona took a 22-17 lead with only 34 seconds left to play. The time would prove inadequate for a Texas squad that needed a TD to regain the lead.  They had barely enough time with no time outs to reach midfield, and on the final play of the game DE Larry English snagged Flacco’s legs and sent the QB down for the 8th time, ending the game on a sack.  The win is huge for the Wranglers, who now pull within a game of Texas, but also for the Houston Gamblers, who would match the Outlaws at 4-1 with a win in their game later in the weekend. For Texas it was a sign that they would be in for a tough and protracted fight if they wanted to take the SW Division, perhaps the deepest division in the league right now. CHARLOTTE 14   TAMPA BAY 17 The Bandits survive a divisional scare as Charlotte had a chance with time running out to win the game, but failed on a Hail Mary in the final seconds.  Tampa used Jahvid Best and Rex Burkhead to produce 30 carries and 123 yards rushing, a bit out of character, but with Vincent Jackson still getting 6 catches for 85 yards and a score, they had the lead late, but Charlotte got a Taiwan Jones TD run with 2:24 left, held Tampa to a 3-and-out and went for the Hail Mary, only to have Antrell Rolle knock the ball down in the endzone to preserve the win and move the Bandits to 4-1. POTG: Bandit WR Vincent Jackson: 6 rec, 85 Yds, 1 TD. JACKSONVILLE 3   ORLANDO 33 In his worst game to date, Tim Tebow completed only 11 of 35 yards passing as Orlando dominated despite getting only 1 sack in the game against the elusive Bull QB.  Russell Wilson threw for 2 scores and Knownshon Moreno returned to action with 112 yards and a score.  The ‘Gades had 21 first downs to only 6 for the Bulls.  The win moves Orlando to 3-2, and sets up a huge Florida Derby matchup with Tampa Bay this Friday night. POTG: Renegades HB Knowshon Moreno: 21Att, 112 Yds, 1TD. PHILADELPHIA 31   BIRMINGHAM 20 Birmingham got a mid-game pick-six from Antonio Cromartie, but otherwise were dominated by a Philadelphia offense that racked up 127 yards rushing and 17 first downs on the day.  Slaton and Stacy combined for 108, with Stacy averaging an impressive 9.7 yards on his 6 touches.  Throw in two picks of Cam Newton and a fumble by marion Barber and you have a comfortable Stars win on the road. POTG: Stars CB Bradley Fletcher: 3 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD, 1 FF, 1 FR PORTLAND 20   OAKLAND 23 The Stags show they are game, but a late David Buehler field goal gives the win to the homestanding Invaders.  Oakland got 346 yards and 2 scores from Joey Harrington, with rookie Richard Rodgers and veteran Pierre Garçon each scoring.  Portland’s Stewart was held to 78 yards rushing, but Matt McGloin went 27 of 37 with 2 scores to help Portland stay in this one until the final drive. POTG: Invader QB Joey Harrington: 21/32, 346 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int. ST. LOUIS 34   DALLAS 26 The Skyhawks win their 2nd in a row despite a huge day from HB Rashard Mendenhall, rushing for 134 yards and all three Dallas touchdowns.  St. Louis got 2 TDs from William Bethea, 107 yards from Eddie Lacy, and two Freeman TD tosses to pull away late, going on a 24-4 3 run in the second half and picking off Johnny Manziel 3 times to earn the win. POTG: Dallas HB Rashard Mendenhall: 24 Att, 134 Yds, 3 TDs. NEW JERSEY 37   WASHINGTON 31 The Generals add to Washington’s woes, dropping the Feds to 2-3 with a dominant run game against the usually stingy Washington D.  Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 161 yards on only 13 carries and backup Delone Carter did even better, rushing for an even 100 on only 8 carries as the Generals simply had the answer for Washington’s run defense.  David Garrard threw for 407 yards and 3 scores, trying to keep Washington in the game, but they just could not catch the Generals. POTG: NJ Halfbacks Maurice Jones-Drew and Delone Carter:  21 Att, 261Yds, 2 TD. LOS ANGELES 10   SEATTLE 13 A light drizzle dampened spirits in Seattle, but the Dragon D did the rest, holding the Express down despite 4 Dragon turnovers.  The Dragons picked off Mark Sanchez twice and held LA to 4 of 13 on third down as they improve to 3-2 with the divisional win.  LA kicker Damon Duvall missed two field goals from inside the 40, either of which would have tied the game, and the Express drop to 1-4. POTG: Dragon rookie LB Khalil Mack: 9 Tck, 1 Sck. NASHVILLE 17   PITTSBURGH 20 A tough day for Knights fans as they lose to the Maulers and also lose Peyton Manning to injury.  More on that later in our report, but as far as the game, Nashville outgained the Maulers but could not turn yards into points.  TDs from both Gerhardt and Ronnie Brown gave Pittsburgh the lead late, but a final field goal attempt was shanked by Brett Maher, giving the Maulers the win and dropping Nashville to 1-4. POTG: Mauler punter Steve Kemp:  8 Punts, 362 yds, 45.2 Ave, 3 inside 20. NEW ORLEANS 28   BALTIMORE 23 With Ben Roethlisberger knocked from the game with an ankle injury, New Orleans escaped a battle of backups, with Quincy Carter going 18 of 29 for 179 yards and Baltimore QB Vince Young going 13 of 26 for 194 and 2 scores.  The advantage for New Orleans was the run game, which had 101 yards between Hill and Tolbert.  Despite a tough loss, Antonio Gates continued to shine for the Blitz, racking up 100 yards and 2 scores on 7 receptions in a losing cause. POTG: Breaker LB Rocky McIntosh:  5 Tck, 2 Sck. ATLANTA 41   MEMPHIS 9 Matt Cassel looked totally overwhelmed as the Fire just decimated the Showboats.  Kyle Orton threw for 3 scores and backup Brad Gradkowski, playing most of the 4th quarter added another as Atlanta manhandled a Memphis squad that just could not get anything going on offense. Coach Childress seemed to indicate that Cassel may well face a challenge from Ryan Mallet as the team continues to wait for Eli Manning’s return to action. POTG: Fire De Chris Kelsay: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF. MICHIGAN 10   OHIO 24 The Glory move to 3-2 with a nice rivalry win over Michigan.  With Steve Smith unable to go, the Glory relied on their run game.  Isaiah Pead rushed for 118 and 2 scores and 3rd down back Rashad Jennings added a 3rd score as the Glory dominate don the ground, limiting LeVeon Bell to only 42 yards on 20 carries.  The lone bright spot for Michigan was a good game by NFL import Justin Tuck, who had 3 tackles, a sack and a fumble with recovery on the day. POTG: Ohio HB Isaiah Pead: 21 Att, 118 Yds, 2 TD CHICAGO 13   LAS VEGAS 16 With Jake Plummer sidelined, it was up to Kevin Kolb to keep Las Vegas winning.  The Machine shut down Marshawn Lynch (37 yards on 17 attempts), the Thunder D kept them in the game, and Kolb had enough to get the W, throwing his lone TD to Lynch out of the backfield.  Kolb finished 16 of 22 for 386 yards as the Machine stacked the box and dared him to throw.  Both Chad Johnson and T. J. Houshmanzadeh came up just short of 100 yards (96 and 93 respectively), but it was enough to get the Thunder another home victory in their soon-to-be former home. POTG: Backup QB Kevin Kolb:  16/22, 386 Yds, 1 TD. DENVER 10   HOUSTON 27 Houston moves into a tie for first place with the win at home and Texas’s loss.  The Gamblers did their part with 3 Hasselbeck TDs (Williams, Evans, and Sims-Walker each with one).  Hyde and Ben Tate combined for 110 yards as well, while the defense sacked Matt Leinart 7 times, including 2 from DE Jerry Hughes.  Denver went only 2 of 15 on third down and only had the ball for slightly over 25 minutes in the game as Houston gets the big divisional win. POTG: Houston QB Matt Hasselbeck: 24/35, 192 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int. Manning Out With Bulging Disc It is an injury which for any other player would be frustrating but viewed as a short-term condition, but when the bulging disc is on the upper back of quarterback Peyton Manning, a player who has already returned from a spinal fusion procedure in his neck, and when that quarterback may have already been in the final year of his career, and was being viewed as having lost the chip on his shoulder (or the zip in his arm), the 2-4 week recovery time could just be the start of something much bigger. The truth is that there were some already saying that Nashville coach Greg Roman should look to replace legendary QB Peyton Manning with former Mauler Cody Pickett.  Mannings numbers were not horrible, 1,292 yards and over 70% completion rate, but his 3:4 TD:Int number, and Nashville’s 1-3 record were not looking good.  But now, with Manning coming out of yet another loss, and with another potential issue with his back, though not directly related to the area of his fused neck vertebrae, the time may very well be right to see if Pickett can turn the Knights’ season around. Manning took a tough hit as he released the ball on a mid-4th quarter drive, slowly worked his way to the sideline and was then carted off to the locker room in obvious pain.  The team would reveal the diagnosis of a bulging disc, a painful but relatively treatable injury, later that day.  For a quarterback in a different phase of his career, the injury would mean perhaps a month on the sideline, but for Manning, already dogged by claims that he just no longer had the physical necessities to be effective as a starter, and with the prior history of injury, the reality may well be that Nashville will move ahead with Pickett at the helm, and that this may actually be what is best for Manning as well. A legend in the NFL, Peyton Manning came to the USFL to prove that his 2011 spinal fusion surgery would not be the end of his career.  And while he has proven that he could come back from that procedure, his time in Nashville has not gone as planned.  Caught on a team that was overdue for a generational refresh of the roster, Manning was unable to revive the team as a serious contender, with Nashville dropping from back-to-back 8-8 seasons down to 5-11 last year and now 1-4 in 2014.  With the drop in team success there was also a clear difference in Manning’s game, with him now relying on his experience and knowledge of the game far more than on his arm strength and escapability.  Now, with another back injury, and with the team struggling on offense (ranked 18th in yardage and 27th in scoring), the injury allows first year coach Greg Roman to see if Cody Pickett can do any better. Nashville will go with Pickett for at least the next 2-4 weeks, with Curtin Painter as the backup. They signed undrafted 2013 Tennessee grad Tyler Bray as the emergency QB, but what everyone is expected to watch for is what happens if and when Manning is cleared to get back on the field.  Will he regain his position or will Pickett prove he offers more to the Knights as the starter in Manning’s absence. Nashville Trades for HB Help The Knights are now at least in a short-term transition on offense with Pickett replacing Manning, but they did more to address their offensive woes this week.  Having lost Ray Rice to suspension after the arrest for domestic abuse and the incriminating video of what appears to be him knocking his wife unconscious came out, the Knights have struggled with Montario Hardesty as their lead back. They addressed that concern this week, sending DE Cullen Jenkins and a 5th round pick to the Portland Stags for bruising back LeGarrett Blount and backup DE Brian Johnston.  Blount will be expected to come into rotation with Hardesty as soon as this upcoming week, with hopes that he can provide better short yardage and goal line options to the Knights.  The move also means that rookie DE Dee Brown moves into the starting lineup at right end on defense, while Portland hopes that adding Jenkins will help them improve what is already a pretty solid defensive squad.  The Jenkins-Blount trade thus becomes the first of the regular season in the league, with 5 weeks remaining before the Week 10 trade deadline. LA & Jacksonville Swap Star Quality Players It appears that Nashville’s move may have opened the door for trading to begin, as two clubs desperately trying to turn their seasons around, Los Angeles and the winless Jacksonville Bulls, agreed on a deal that not only swaps players, but players with All-USFL qualifications.  Jacksonville, with the worst defense in the league and arguably the worst secondary in particular, needed a potential shut down corner after being burnt by the long ball all season.  Los Angeles, struggling on offense, needed a way to compensate for the loss of Keyshawn Johnson to retirement and take pressure off their somewhat underwhelming receiver group. And so a trade was agreed upon that would provide the Bulls with a quality cornerback in Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, and would give Mark Sanchez and the Express a middle-of-the-field weapon that would force teams to shift zones and reduce the number of double coverage schemes against the outside receivers.  The Bulls would send All-USFL tight end Jason Whitten to LA, along with nickel back Coty Sensabaugh.  LA would send Rogers-Cromartie to the Bulls, promoting Jamar Taylor into the starting slot at corner opposite Marques Truffant. Along with DRC, LA would backfill Jacksonville’s TE position by sending Gavin Escobar to the Bulls. A big trade with two big name players, but one designed to help each club deal with their biggest current issues, LA’s lack of offensive diversity and Jacksonville’s shaky defensive backfield.  Will it be enough to help out the 1-4 Express and the 0-5 Bulls?  Hard to say, but at least we can say that they are not standing pat, but trying to get better. Bulls Add McPherson, Sign of Change? Jacksonville used the trade to help the defense, but it was their free agent move that actually got the fans on Florida and Georgia sports radio talking.  The Bulls signed former Boston/Dallas quarterback Adrian McPherson to a 1-year deal on Tuesday.  McPherson who was the starter for the Cannons in 2010 and began 2011 in that roll, was supplanted by Jake Locker and let go this year by Dallas with the arrival of Johnny Manziel.  He last saw significant action in 2012, when he started 6 games for the Cannons in their final season in Boston, thowing for 1,434 yards and 7 TDs (with 9 picks). Why is this a big deal? Well because neither Josh McCown or Chase Daniel were seen as real threats to supplant Tim Tebow if Coach Nolan wanted to make a QB change.  McPherson could be.  After all, McPherson’s lifetime QB Rating is a relatively respectable 82.4 while Tebow now sits at 74.7 after 4 full seasons, and unlike Tebow, McPherson’s lifetime TD:INT ratio is solid at 50:29 is in far better shape than Tebow’s upside down 65:68 numbers.  Whether this is a move by Nolan and the Bulls to stoke the competitive fires on their cult-favorite QB out of Florida or if it is Nolan actually looking for a new option at quarterback is unknown, but it is certainly a move that is intriguing on the surface. Ryan Mallett To Start for Showboats Another QB move is easier to interpret. After another rough game and another loss for the Memphis Showboats, Coach Childress has made a change at QB, announcing that former Arkansas star Ryan Mallett would get the start in Week 6.  The Showboats are still hoping that Eli Manning’s return is eminent, but most have it at least 2 weeks off, and after falling to defeat in all 3 Matt Cassel starts, including 2 of 3 games where the team mustered only a single TD, Coach Childress had to make a move to try to salvage the season before Manning came back.  And so, Mallett, the Showboats starter in 2011-2012 right out of college, will get a chance to show that he has matured and improved his game.  Expected to have at least 2 games to show what he can do, this may be Mallett’s best chance to impress the Showboats, but perhaps more importantly, the free agent market. Mallett still has another year on his deal, but there is a chance he could be let go this year.  Of course, if he can impress with his opportunity this season, perhaps he will get a new deal with Memphis afterall. The injury to Peyton Manning may be grabbing the headlines, largely due to the unique nature of his health concerns and position on the team, but there was no shortage of other significant injuries this week, including two players sent to IR with season-ending injuries.  Add to that several 2-4 week departures and even more who are week to week or day to day and it was a pretty bad week overall on the injury front. OUT G             Josh Liberious            PHI        Neck             IR FB          Greg Jones                      POR      Back              IR G            Chance Warmack          ARZ       ACL               2-4 Weeks QB         Peyton Manning              NSH      Back             2-4 Weeks LB           Sean Porter                     MGN     Knee              2-4 Weeks HB         Maurice Jones-Drew     NJ           Turf Toe           1-2 Weeks FS           Larry Asante                     ORL       Jaw                 1-2 Weeks SS           Darren Sharper                PHI        Ankle               1-2 Weeks DOUBTFUL G            Ben Sobieski                    NOR      Wrist DE          Cliff Avril                         OAK      Concussion OT          Geoff Schwartz               WSH     Neck OT          Reid Fragel                      OHI       Hand QUESTIONABLE CB          Cortland Finnegan         ORL       Concussion OT          Breno Giacomo               NSH      Hamstring LB           Mason Foster                   SEA        Shoulder SS           Patrick Chung                   HOU     Concussion DT          Mike Daniels                     STL         Concussion Ohio Governor Goes on Offensive As fans and communities across the USFL fret over the potential that their team is on the trading block, potentially being sold off or assigned to be the new occupant of the Las Vegas domed stadium that the league largely financed, one governor is not standing pat. John Kasich of Ohio, up for a possible 2nd term this November, has promised full support to keep the Ohio Glory in Ohio.  Citing the team as the most successful pro sports franchise in the state (a bit of a slap in the face to the Bengals and Browns), Kasich said it was the intention of his administration to make the case to the USFL that the Glory are just where they need to be, and that Ohio as a football market was vital to the league. What is interesting about Kasich’s defense of the Glory, unlike that of so many other mayors and governors around the league, is that he seems ready to put his money where his mouth is.  With the Glory still sharing the oversized Ohio Stadium in Columbus as their home venue, the goal for the team has been to obtain a more appropriate 55,000-60,000 seat stadium to be their home.  They had been working with MLS club Columbus Crew to push for such a facility in Columbus, but have come up against roadblocks ranging from anti-taxation protests to NIMBY concerns, to just simple lack of funding. What Governor Kasich, in a speech given on the stump this Wednesday, is proposing is not a new stadium for Columbus, but for a football-centered destination stadium and sports facilty to be built in Canton, Ohio, already home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kasich’s proposal would propose a new 58,000 seat stadium to be built less than a half-mile from the Hall of Fame and current HS facility Fawcett Stadium.  A facility which would include practice fields, a commercial park with restaurants, bars, and shops, and a stadium which, he proposes, would serve as the home for the Glory, but also as a second home for three regional college teams, the University of Akron, Kent State University, and Youngstown State University, with each team playing 2-3 games in the facility each fall along with Glory games all spring and summer.  His proposed “Football City” project would be a centerpiece of his plan to revitalize the economy of Eatern Ohio, a region that includes Youngstown, Canton, Akron and a string of smaller cities reaching up to the Cleveland suburbs. The proposal, of course, is nothing but words at this point, and could likely depend on Kasich being reelected.  It also would move the team from Columbus about 2 hours east, but would allow the team to remain “Ohio’s team” and could be a nice tie-in for a regional identity that links the USFL and the Glory even more closely with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  With Kerry Collins, the star QB of the Glory’s magical run in the early 2000’s being inducted into the Hall this October, you can expect a lot of talk about this plan from Kasich in the next few months.  Of course, the USFL’s decision will come much sooner, but this proposal, if it is to be believed by the league and the current Glory ownership, could very well be a game changer when it comes to the Glory being on the potential list of Las Vegas transfers.  A bold move by the governor, but one that will certainly garner him some votes from diehard Glory fans who do not want to even consider the possibility of the Las Vegas Glory in 2015. Nashville Fan Group Seeks to Sway USFL Votes. Fans in Nashville are not waiting for their politicians to make moves to protect their club. A group calling themselves “The Knights Watch” are circulating petitions throughout Nashville and the surrounding counties to try to encourage the city and the state to pressure the USFL and the stadium authority in Nashville to make a deal that would keep their USFL club in town.  Nashville is considered a very strong contender for relocation to Las Vegas largely due to the impasse between Knights ownership and LP field.  This fan group is trying to pressure the city to cut a deal with the stadium and the Knights to ensure that their club is not the one to be relocated to the new Las Vegas domed facility. To date the group claims that they have over 40,000 signatures on their petition, with a total target of 250,000.  The timing is tough for them, as they will need to quintuple that count before the league makes a decision in the coming weeks.  That is not to say that Nashville is the prohibitive favorite to be relocated, but that the efforts through public pressure may not be timely if the goal is to get a deal on the table in time for the Knights to be taken out of the running. Baltimore Blitz Up for Sale? In another potentially troubling situation for fans, there are significant rumors running around Baltimore that lead owner Louis Thalheimer (71) is seeking to sell of his majority share of the Blitz.  Thalheimer, who bought the Blitz from Chicago’s James Joseph in 1986 and move the club to Baltimore, has seen his role reduced over the years, stepping down as President in 2007 due to health concerns.  With his health still a concern and with no heirs within his immediate family, Thalheimer is rumored to be looking to sell the franchise now, before there is a dispute over ownership if he should pass in the coming years. The timing of the decision, if the stories are to be believed, is one that scares many Marylanders, as having a team for sale in a period when the league is pressing to find a franchise to place in Las Vegas, puts Baltimore potentially at ground zero for league attention.  Thalheimer is a lifelong Baltimorean, so there is a sense that he does not want to put the team in jeopardy of abandoning the city, but at the same time, if the league is willing to help finance a sale, perhaps at a somewhat inflated value, to get a team to Las Vegas, then a deal could still be cut.  Baltimore, as the 20th largest MSA (metropolitan statistical area) in the country is significantly larger than Las Vegas, but its proximity to both Washington and Philadelphia could mean that the television networks would not see the loss of a Baltimore franchise as a game changer when it comes to their agreements with the USFL. And so, if the rumors are true, and if there is a chance that Thalheimer will allow the league to influence a possible sale, there could well be reason for concern in Baltimore.  The Blitz have made their home in the Charm City since 1987, replacing the departed Colts in the hearts of the city since long before the arrival of the NFL Ravens.  The loss of the Blitz would be a major blow for the city and its football-loving community.  So the question now is whether Thalheimer stays true to his Baltimorean roots and protects the club from relocation or whether the league might very well get their wish of a willing seller for a club to fill the gap they find themselves with in the still unnamed Las Vegas dome. USFL’S Top Rivalries:  Number 11—Battle of the Dynasties This is a unique rivalry in our list.  It is not a divisional matchup, not even a regional rivalry, this one is based purely on bragging rights.  You have the Houston Gamblers, who won league titles in ’88, ’92, ’95, and 2010 up against the Philadelphia Stars, who won titles in ’85, ’87, and ’91, and who have appeared in 4 more summer bowls.  They both want to claim to be “The” dynasty of spring football, the greatest franchise in the USFL. The arguments are pretty well practiced at this time.  Houston fans will point to 7 Summer Bowl appearances, 4 rings over Philadelphia’s 3, and specifically they will point to the 2010 title, where they beat Philadelphia in the Summer Bowl 22-19.  For Stars fans, that loss is a big one, but they rebound with their 3 titles their consistent victories in what is viewed as a generally tougher division. It is a rivalry that does not see the teams meet every year.  They won’t meet this year unless both reach the Summer Bowl.  But when they do meet, the intensity is there.  Everyone seems to recognize that these are two storied franchises with a lot of pride in their history and in their unique contributions to the game.  Whether you tend to pull for the tradition of Kelly, Thomas, and Ricky Sanders or Chuck Fusina, Kelvin Bryant, and Sam Mills, this is a game that usually brings back memories, brings up some of the legends of the game, and gets both fanbases excited to once again show their stuff. In the history of this rivalry, Houston does hold the edge, both in the regular season, with 10 victories to Philly’s 6, and in the playoffs, where their only meeting was that Gambler victory in Summer Bowl 2010. Next week is an interesting one in that we drop to only 6 division games and 8 inter-division matchups.  That means a bit of a respite for some teams from the divisional infighting, not that any team can take a week off.  However, even without a majority of games being divisional rivalries, we do have a few worth noting, a few right off our list o the best rivalries in the league.  We kick it off on Friday night with the War on I-4 as Tampa Bay heads up the highway to Orlando to face the Renegades.  Orlando is only 1 game behind the Bandits, and a win for them would assure them a share of first place, while Tampa would like nothing more than to add some distance between themselves and the Renegades. On Saturday we have three pretty well-established rivalry games and one new one.  Not only do we have the Keystone Clash between the Maulers and Stars, but also rivalry games between LA and Las Vegas and Baltimore v. Washington in the Beltway Brawl.  Add to these well-known rivalry games a new potential rivalry as Dallas heads down to Houston for a Texas in-state derby. Only one divisional game on Sunday, with Memphis facing New Orleans.  Drew Brees should be back in action for the Breakers while Ryan Mallett will get the start for the Showboats.  Other games with some interesting storylines include New Jersey at Atlanta, Portland visiting Chicago, Oakland hosting Ohio, and the nightcap, the 3-2 Denver Gold heading to Seattle, where the Dragons are surprising many with their 3-2 record. FRI @ 8pm ET                  Tampa Bay (4-1) @ Orlando (3-2)               NBC SAT @ 12pm ET              Pittsburgh (2-3) @ Philadelphia (4-1)          ABC SAT @ 12pm ET              Arizona (3-2) @ Birmingham (2-3)                    FOX SAT @ 4pm ET                 Dallas (1-4) @ Houston (4-1)                              ABC SAT @ 4pm ET                 Nashville (1-4) @ Texas (4-1)                             FOX SAT @ 7pm ET                 Baltimore (3-2) @ Washington (2-3)                 NBC SAT @ 9pm ET                 Los Angeles (1-4) @ Las Vegas (3-2)                  ESPN/EFN SUN @ 12pm ET             Memphis (1-4) @ New Orleans (3-2)                ABC SUN @ 12pm ET             New Jersey (4-1) @ Atlanta (3-2)             FOX Regional SUN @ 12pm ET             Charlotte (2-3) @ Michigan (1-4)                      FOX Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Jacksonville (0-5) @ St. Louis (2-3)                  ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Portland (2-3) @ Chicago (3-2)                         ABC Regional SUN @ 4pm ET               Ohio (3-2) @ Oakland (3-2)                              FOX SUN @ 8pm ET               Denver (3-2) @ Seattle (3-2)                        ESPN/EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: HB Jonathan Stewart was about 80% of the Portland offense as they held off the Dragons this week to move to 2-2 on the season. Stewart carried the ball 27 times for a whopping 174 yards and 3 Portland touchdowns. Now, if the Stags could just build a play action game off of that they might have something there.