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Eleven of fourteen playoff spots are locked up as teams battled in Week 13 for positioning and a chance to extend their seasons. Portland becomes a playoff team in just their second season of existence, while Charlotte and Pittsburgh are in danger of turning strong starts into disappointing finishes. Newe Orleans flexed their muscles ahead of a huge game in Nashville next week, and we may have a true win & in game brewing between two border rivals as the season heads towards its final week. All this, plus the Hall of Fame class of 2009 is named and we take a look at the best players at two of the most undervalued positions in the game as our Best of the USFL puts the foot in football. This Week in the USFL is here for Week 13. MICHIGAN PANTHERS 21 PORTLAND STAGS 26 By the time Michigan took the field on Sunday they had already clinched the Central Division title, thanks to Friday night’s Oakland win over Chicago and Houston’s Saturday win over Pittsburgh, so the pressure was off. And while the Panthers certainly wanted to stay in the running for the #1 seed, trailing Oakland by a game, it was not enough to give them the spark they needed against an up-and-coming Portland Stags team that had won 5 of their last 6 games. Portland started the game well, dominating the first half, but had only 9 points on the board to show for it. When Mason Crosby added his 4th field goal of the day to make it a 12-0 game, it seemed to wake up the slumbering Panthers. Michigan had gained only 112 yards in the first half to Portland’s 189, but the Panthers finally shook off their slumber and mounted a solid 71-yard drive in the third, concluding with Brian Griese hitting his favorite target, Hines Ward, for a 24-yard TD throw. Suddenly, despite being the better team for nearly 45 minutes, Portland was tested, and they would need to respond. The Stags, now up 10, would respond in an unexpected way, with two defensive TDs in the final quarter, two plays that helped them avoid a collapse as Michigan dominated the period. The first came after a brilliant punt from Stags’ Frank Whalen that posted up on the 1-yard line and put Michigan in a tight spot. That spot got a lot worse when halfback Justin Fargas and QB Brian Griese muffed the handoff. The ball was on the ground in the endzone and Stags’ LB Mike Maslowski was there to fall on it, giving Portland back its 2-score lead, now up 19-7. But Michigan bounced right back and before you could go get a beer at Columbia Sportswear Stadium, Griese again found Hines Ward, this time for a 50-yard strike that once again pulled the Panthers back to within 5 points, only 1 score away from stealing the win. Portland’s offense, which had struggled all game, never reaching the endzone, could do nothing on the next drive, and the Stags once again punted the ball to the Panthers. But, for a second time in the quarter, Michigan gave it right back. On a play action pass that fooled no one, Griese tried to hit Laverneus Coles, but CB Marquand Manuel saw it coming the whole way, stepped in front of the pass and then had open field all the way back to the end zone, 66 yards away. Once again, Portland’s defense had saved them and pumped the lead back up to 12, 26-14. Michigan would get a third big play from Hines Ward, a third long TD (71 yards to be exact) as he proved simply untouchable in the second half of the game, but it was too little too late. With time marching down, Portland recovered the onside kick and ground out the win with 3 straight runs, the last by former Michigan HB Chris Perry in what might be interpreted as a bit of a “gotcha” moment for the halfback. The loss does not seriously damage Michigan. They are still Central Division champions, and can still get the #1 seed if Oakland stumbles next week, but for Portland the win was huge. It moved them to 8-5, their first winning season in the short 2-year history of the club, and clinched them a playoff spot in only that second year of action. CHICAGO 15 OAKLAND 18 Joey Harrington found Jeb Putzier for the game winner with only 1:29 left to play as Oakland comes back to beat Chicago. Brady Quinn could not finish the game, so Henry Burris tried to get Chicago into late field goal range, but a holding penalty pushed them too far out and the Hail Mary was not answered for the Machine, who drop to 8-5, clinching the Central for Michigan. BALTIMORE 20 JACKSONVILLE 17 The Bulls had Baltimore on the ropes, but a huge 122-yard game from TE Antonio Gates helped the Blitz old on for the win, a win that puts them in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed with 1 week to go. Ron Dayne also had a big game with 120 yards. NEW JERSEY 13 TAMPA BAY 10 The Bandits just had nothing going right as New Jersey lulled them to sleep. A late Fitzpatrick to Austin TD tied the game and with time running out Ryan Longwell connected on a 41-yarder to give the win to the visiting Generals and end Tampa Bay’s playoff hunt once and for all. WASHINGTON 10 NEW ORLEANS 40 The Breakers showed that they are a team no one wants to face this postseason by trouncing the Federals in the SuperDome. Fred Jackson went over 100 yards and scored twice, as all 3 of the Breakers’ backs scored on the Feds. The D also did its job, holding Deuce McCallister to only 54 yards rushing. DENVER 27 LOS ANGELES 6 The Gold wrap up the SW Division with an impressive defensive performance against Jeff Garcia and the banged up Express. Moore and Ringer combined for 148 yards on the ground, and Matt Leinart connected on 3 scoring tosses as Denver rolled to the division title. PITTSBURGH 24 HOUSTON 27 Fighting for their playoff lives, Houston snapped their losing streak by edging the Maulers with a final minute field goal form Dan Carpenter. Pittsburgh has now lost 4 in a row and finds themselves outside of the Top 7. They need help to sneak back into the playoffs after what had been an impressive 7-2 start. Houston now sits in 6th position and can control their own destiny. BOSTON 18 ORLANDO 12 A big win for the Cannons as they now find themselves in a 3-way tie for first place in the NE Division. Orlando, despite the loss, is the SE Divisoin Champion, but they cannot like the way Boston held their offense in check, with Jason Babin landing 12 tackles and 2 sacks against the Renegade O-line. BIRMINGHAM 0 ATLANTA 20 The Fire win their 5th in a row, and actually have a shot at a Wild Card next week. They did it with defense, shutting out the Stallions, holding Kyle Boller to only 14 completions on 40 attempts. The offense was methodical if not splashy, with Darren McFadden rushing for 71 yards and J. J. Arrington celebrating his new contract with a TD catch. MEMPHIS 16 CHARLOTTE 15 The Monarchs drop out of the Top 7 after another big loss. This time it was the Showboats, playing only for pride, and with Mike McMahon again under center, pulling off the road win. Cadillac Williams rushed for 73 and a score, but it was the much-maligned Memphis D which took this game away from the Monarchs, holding them to only 3 converted third downs on the day. PHILADELPHIA 9 NASHVILLE 16 A tough loss for the Stars, but a big win for Nashville, who can wrap up the Southern Division with a win at home against the surging Breakers next week. The Stars could just not find the endzone as Kurt Warner and Company settled for field goals. Nashville only found paydirt once, a Frank Gore run, but it was enough as they got 2 sacks from Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and held Philly to only 22:30 of possession in the game. ARIZONA 6 LAS VEGAS 27 A big win for the Thunder with Jerry Glanville watching from home. The D came through for Las Vegas, with Joey Porter on a mission, getting 6 tackles, and a key sack/fumble that shut down Arizona early. Colt Brennan went out of the game hurt, with David Carr returning under center, but Carr could not get it done, and the Thunder stay alive into Week 14, though their odds are not great. ST. LOUIS 28 TEXAS 31 A really good game and, honestly a solid crowd in Dallas to watch two teams eliminated from playoff contention. Sage Rosenfels got the start for Texas, but was almost immediately hurt, meaning that 3rd string QB Dan Orlovsky had to take the field. He did well, throwing for a score and giving the ball to T. J. Duckett 31 times. Duckett rushed for 119, and in the end helped get Texas into field goal range, where Rian Lindell won the game for the home team with a last second kick from 50 yards out. OHIO 31 SEATTLE 21 The Glory get the win they needed to stay alive, snapping Seattle’s win streak in the process. Two TDs from Nate Burleson was not enough as Eddie George looked like a younger man with 161 yards rushing and another 58 through the air. He was everywhere as Ohio pulled out all the stops to get the win and move to 7-6. Still business to do next week however, as Ohio still needs help to make the postseason. This Defense is On Fire The Atlanta Fire have quietly become a team no one wants to face. Over the course of the past 2 months their defense has become just plain nasty. TheFire have not given up more than 20 points since a 23-16 loss in Chicao back in Week 7. For the second half of the season, they simply have been tough to score against, giving up only 7 to Orlando 2 weeks ago, and shutting out Birmingham this week. But just how are they doing it? It starts up front, where Jason Ferguson, Robaire Smith, Andre Wordsworth and Chris Kelsay are filling up the gaps, keeping teams in third and long situations by stuffing the run, and then getting pressure with timely blitzes from Corey Miller and Rahim Abdullah. Their star LB, Na’il Diggs often shifts from the strong side to the middle depending on the blitz scheme, and he is outstanding in coverage, making those middle of the field throws a high risk proposition. It certainly does not hurt that CB Charles Woodson is just dominant on the outside, making it very tough for any team to connect with their top receiver. His shut down capacity means the safeties can rotate to help out Andre Woolfork on the other side, or stay central to assist nickel back Eric Warfield. It is a defense built on a simple scheme, but with enough wrinkles to keep teams guessing, and enough talent at each level to make life very difficult for opposing offenses. And it is a defense that still has a shot of returning Atlanta to the playoffs for the first time since their surprise appearance as an expansion club in 2006. Maulers and Monarchs Prove 14 Weeks is a Long Season Both Charlotte and Pittsburgh can still hope to squeak into the playoffs with wins (and quite a bit of help) this weekend, but it should not be this hard. At one point the Maulers were sitting pretty at 7-2, but have since lost 4 in a row. Charlotte began the year 4-0 and at the midway point was a very respectable 5-2, but losing 5 of 6 since then means they are in dire straits. In both cases it appears that anemic offensive production is to blame. Neither Chris Weinke nor Cody Pickett have been able to really build much over the second half of the season. Pickett could possibly even be pulled this week in favor of an X-factor, rookie Pat White. We are not sure that Coach Rivera will go there, but it is absolutely on the table. We don’t think Coach Mora will do the same in Charlotte with Seneca Wallace, pretty freshly brought over from LA, replacing Weinke, but it too is not out of the question. Both Pittsburgh and Charlotte now face Week 14 games that will make or break their seasons, and, as luck would have it, they face two other teams desperate for a W, Ohio and Atlanta. All 4 clubs are sitting on the edge of the playoff field, and a win could put any one of them over the top, while a loss all but guarantees disqualification and a disappointing end to the year. Colt Brennan Out for Wranglers Well, the Brennan era for the Wranglers did not last long. The Hawaii product got three starts, but had to leave his third game very early after suffering an injury late in the 2nd quarter. Brennan suffered what the Wrangler staff are calling a shoulder separation in his non-throwing arm after a rough hit on an incomplete pass. That brought David Carr back into action. Carr, who had started the year, Arizona’s first without Jake Plummer under center in over a decade, but had been pulled due to lack of production. So what does this mean for the Wranglers? Well, they likely did not get a long enough look at Brennan to decide if he would be the starter next year, or, quite likely, as we see so often, with a full offseason, could Carr rebound and claim the starting job again. We won’t know until February when camps open up. Carr will get the start this week in a pretty meaningless game for the club, but one that could help propel him into a more positive direction this offseason. Of course, the other question Wrangler fans are asking is whether or not the team believes that neither of their options are adequate and might try once again in the offseason to improve at the vital QB position. Texas down to #3 QB for Season Finale If Arizona thinks they have a dilemma, at least they have a possible starter this week for the season finale. Texas will go into the game with their rival, Houston, down to their 3rd string QB. Joe Flacco, the club’s clear starter, is still nursing cracked ribs, and backup Sage Rosenfels was forced out of the game this week with a back injury, likely needing a solid month or longer to recover. That leaves Texas looking to 4th year third-stringer Dan Orlovsky. Orlovsky, who started one game in 2007, will get his second pro start 2 years later as he finishes up the season for the 5-8 Outlaws. Texas did sign 33-year old Damon Huard off of the waiver wire, but with no time at all with the club, Huard entering the game would all but symbolize that the club had no shot at an upset win. Outlaw fans were hoping for better, hoping to play spoiler against their in-state rival, but with Orlovsky at the helm they will need a massive effort from T. J. Duckett and the defense to get that done. Campbell Says He Will Play in Week 14 Calais Campbell, who already has a new sack record in his back pocket, has said that his goal is to set the bar high, stating that he fully expects to play the full game this weekend. It is a game that has little meaning for the Renegades, who are almost certainly stuck at the #3 seed in the East, and they may well rest Drew Brees ahead of the Wild Card playoffs, but when asked if he too will be resting this week, Campbell responded quite defiantly “Are the Bulls putting a QB on the field? Because if they are then I want to be out there too” said the league’s sack king. The final call is up to Coach Thomas, of course, but don’t be surprised if Campbell makes a case on the sideline to stay in, regardless of the score. With 32 sacks already this year, a big game against the Bulls could put him in an almost unreachable stratosphere, but the risk of injury is also very real and with a playoff game just a week away, sometimes cooler heads have to prevail and top players have to be protected. We first thought we would trot out all the possible permutations that Week 14 could create for us, but quite honestly it got really complicated really fast. Let’s just leave it at 7 teams fighting over 3 spots, and a lot of seeding decisions to be made. We have a 3-way tie atop the NE Division, a head-to-head title fight between New Orleans and Nashville, and potential Win & In battles between Pittsburgh and Ohio, and possibly Charlotte and Atlanta too. So, rather than trying to figure it all out, we just focused on the positive. What is the best case scenario for each playoff hopeful? BALTIMORE: Easy, beat Boston and they are the #1 Seed in the East. NASHVILLE: A bit more complex. Beat New Orleans and they win the division. With the right combo of other losses, they could also move up to the #1 seed, but they need tiebreakers to do it. ORLANDO: They already have the Division Title, but could move up to the #2 seed in the right conditions. Despite that possibility, with both #2 and #3 hosting Wild Card games, the pressure is off and the ‘Gades will likely rest some starters vs. Jacksonville. WASHINGTON: If they beat 1-12 St. Louis and Baltimore loses to Boston, Washington could capture the Division and the #1 Seed. They had it briefly until a loss this week sent them into a 3-way tie, but they hold the tiebreaker over Boston, so a Boston-Washington tie at 10-4 goes to the Feds. BOSTON: A win over Baltimore and a Federals loss and they take the Division Title, with a shot at #1 as well. NEW ORLEANS: A win in Nashville and they leapfrog the Knights and capture the Southern Division, which comes with a home playoff game for the N’awlins faithful to get excited about. PHILADELPHIA: They are right on the cusp, but it is pretty basic, a win and they are in the playoffs as a Wild Card. A loss and they need a lot of help. CHARLOTTE: If Philadelphia loses to New Jersey, the winner of the CHA-ATL game could jump into that #7 playoff spot, and despite a horrible 2nd half to the season, that could save the Monarchs, who hope to join Portland as playoff teams in only their 2nd year of existence. ATLANTA: The Fire are riding high, winners of their last 5, but they need 1 more and some help from New Jersey to have a shot. OAKLAND: A win or a Michigan loss and they are the #1 seed, and get that sweet, sweet bye week. MICHIGAN: Must beat Chicago and hope that Portland can upset Oakland, giving the Panthers the #1 seed and the bye. DENVER: They are set at the #3 seed. Expect them to rest some starters in Week 14. CHICAGO: They are set as a Wild Card, but a win gives them a home field game in the Wild Card round. PORTLAND: If the Panthers knock off Chicago, a win over Oakland would give Portland a home playoff game. Pretty impressive for a 2nd year franchise. HOUSTON: They just need to win to ensure a playoff game. Playing against Texas’s 3rd string QB, they had better get it. OHIO: Despite their struggles this year, a win against Pittsburgh and they capture a Wild Card. PITTSBURGH: Must beat Ohio. That gets them in and knocks Ohio out. SEATTLE: The key for the Dragons is for Houston to lose. If they do, then the Dragons could sneak in ahead of the Gamblers. LAS VEGAS: The Thunder need a Houston loss and a Seattle loss in Week 14 to have any chance, oh, and yes, they have to beat the Express as well. We already mentioned the QB injuries in Texas and Arizona, but they are not the only potentially impactful hits teams have taken ahead of the season finale. With so much on the line for so many teams, getting injuries now is just a nasty reality. Nashville will have to go the rest of the way without WR Derrick Mason, placed on IR this week. Portland will play their season finale without WR Roddy White as his MCL is not in a shape he can play through. Seattle guard Chris Kemoeatu reaggravated his hip, so he is out at least 2 weeks. Oakland will be without TE Joel Dreesen, as he suffered a cracked rib in this week’s game and will miss this week, but could return in the playoffs. Michigan DT Leonard Renfro is probable, coming back just in time for a playoff run. The Maulers got a scare last week with Sean Taylor going out, but he is expected to play this week. Chicago’s Brady Quinn is still smarting from a big hit last week, but is expected to start in this week’s game. 2009 Hall of Fame Class Named Congratulation are in order as five USFL stars have become the newest to be nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall and the USFL league office in New York announced the names of the five enshrinees this week. These five players make up the 15th class of Hall of Famers to be recognized in Canton from the spring league. The winners this year include a former Heisman Trophy winner, two of the league’s best linemen of all time, and a pair of defensive standouts. All together they have accumulated 27 All-USFL nominations and 4 league titles. The group is led by one of the most iconic USFL players of all time, Heisman Winner Doug Flutie. Flutie, who played 11 seasons with the New Jersey Generals, 7 with the Michigan Panthers, and came back for one year as an emergency option for the Houston Gamblers, was one of the biggest names in football when he signed on with the league in 1985. In his 18 years in the league, Flutie would throw for over 54,000 yards and would amass 358 passing touchdowns (376 if you add in his rushing TDs). Known for his escapablity, inventiveness, and penchant for late game comebacks, Flutie remains involved in the game today as a broadcaster and ambassador for the league. One of the best left tackles in league history, Richmond Webb spent 15 seasons with the Birmingham Stallions, winning All-USFL honors 9 times over that span. He was Brett Favre’s personal bodyguard for much of his career, helping the Stallion QB put together some of the most prolific passing seasons in league history. He won a title with Birmingham in 1993 and enters the Hall as a first ballot enshrinee. Strong Safety LeRoy Butler entered the league with Jacksonville as a rookie in 1990, He would go on to play for four different teams in his 15 year career, spending several seasons with the Bulls, Gamblers, Renegades, and Bandits. His highpoint came in 1996, when he helped Houston land their third league title. Named All-USFL four times, Butler retired with over 1,100 tackles, 31 sacks, and 11 picks. It took Marvcus Patton two years to get the call, but in his second year of eligibility, the career-long member of the Denver Gold joins fellow Gold LB Kurt Gouveia in the Hall. Patton came to Denver in 1990 and played 14 years in the Mile High City, racking up 1,064 tackles, 39 sacks and 9 picks in his career. He was a part of the 2000 championship for the Gold, and in his second year in the league won Defensive MVP for his 134 tackle season in Denver. Finally, in his second year of eligibility, guard Will Shields was recognized as one of the best in the game. Shields spent most of his career (1993-1998) with the Tampa Bay Bandits before moving to the New Jersey Generals from 1999-2003. He won a title in his last year in Tampa Bay as part of one of the most explosive offenses in league history. A five-time All-USFL nominee, Shields started 157 consecutive games at guard, and allowed only 38 sacks in 14 seasons of USFL play. Congratulations to all five of this year’s worthy nominees. The Enshrinement Ceremony will take place on October 17th in Canton, Ohio. Best of the USFL—The Kickers With two weeks left, we opt to save the endless QB debates until Week 14 and finish up with the two most disrespected positions on the field, kicker and punter. Sorry folks, but these guys are football players too, and they often can determine the result of games, from forcing teams back to their own endzone with a perfect coffin corner kick, or by putting the game winner through the uprights. Every team needs a solid special teams squad, and that starts with these two positions, and you won’t find better than the kickers we list here when it comes to USFL specialists. Doug Pelfrey, Washington The right combination of power, accuracy, and nerves of steel. Pelfrey always seems to be among the leaders in both scoring and converted kicks. This season, the 16-year vet, has hit on all 31 PATs and added 24 field goals. Stephen Haushka, Boston A very accurate kicker inside of 45 yards, Haushka may not have the most powerful leg, but his accuracy is vital for a team that plays in some pretty windy conditions at Alumni Stadium. The NFL import has made an immediate impact in the USFL, racking up 26 field goals and connecting on all 36 PAT’s this season. David Green, New Orleans Yes, Green plays in a dome, but that does not diminish his monster leg. In his 6 USFL seasons, Green has connected on 191 field goals, with a career long of 57 yards, without the advantage of wind or altitude. Dustin Colquitt, Michigan Michigan’s Colquitt is the master of the coffin corner, recording 39 kicks inside the 20 in 2008, and a very solid 19 this year (Michigan is just not punting that much this season). He averages nearly 46 yards per kick as well, so it is not as if these are all pooch kicks out of bounds. Hunter Smith, Texas If you want a guy who can kick the ball 65 yards in the air, that is Hunter Smith. Another first year player with the Outlaws, Smith has impressed with a long of 65 yards and over 3,500 yards on 79 kicks. That is a lot of punting (not great for Texas as a whole) but a lot of very good kicking out of Smith. Here we go, Final week of the year. No Friday game as all action happens on either Saturday or Sunday. Divisional matchups in 12 of 14 games, with 3 playoff spots on the line and a lot of seeding yet to be determined. Here is our rundown of all the big games this week (and just a couple of not so big ones). SATURDAY NOON KICKOFFS BALTIMORE @ BOSTON: The Blitz win the #1 seed and the division with a win here, but Boston is looking to move up the seeding by knocking off the visitors from Baltimore. New Jersey @ Philadelphia: A win at home against their archrivals and Philadelphia locks up a Wild Card spot. But New Jersey will see this as their Summer Bowl in what has been a rough season. NEW JERSEY @ PHILADELPHIA: The Stars are in the postseason with a home win in the finale, but there is nothing the hard luck Generals would love better than to play spoiler and knock their rivals out of the playoff hunt. It will be a tough mountain to climb for New Jersey, but we expect them to come out fired up for this one. ST. LOUIS @ WASHINGTON The Feds draw a pretty winnable final game, but they cannot rest their starters because a win and a Baltimore loss to Boston and it is DC getting the #1 seed and the bye week, and you know they want both. SATURDAY 4PM KICKOFFS LAS VEGAS @ LOS ANGELES: The Thunder need help to make the postseason, but it all starts with them knocking off the wounded Express in LA. OAKLAND @ PORTLAND: Oakland has a shot at the #1 seed, but Portland is a hungry team looking to prove it is not a fluke in this year’s playoffs, so they will play hard. SEATTLE @ TAMPA BAY: These two teams are basically playing out the string. Seattle needs so much help that they cannot be going into this game thinking they have any shot at a Wild Card, even if the math says they do. SUNDAY NOON KICKOFF ATLANTA @ CHARLOTTE: The hottest team in the first half of the year against one of the hottest down the stretch. The two teams will know their situation before gametime. If the Generals knock off Philadelphia, then the winner here could be punching their ticket to the playoffs as the #7 seed. JACKSONVILLE @ ORLANDO: You would expect the Renegades to rest some players here. Their odds of winning the #1 seed depend on what happens in the East, but they basically need Baltimore and Boston to tie to have any real chance, so if that weird result does not happen, expect to see very little of Drew Brees. MEMPHIS @ BIRMINGHAM: A game to skip unless you are a huge Kyle Boller fan. Nothing on the line, Favre unlikely to see the field, this one is just your classic “don’t get hurt” game between two teams with disappointing seasons. NEW ORLEANS @ NASHVILLE: Now, this is a game you must watch. The winner takes the Southern Division. You have Nashville’s shut down defense against a Breaker offense that has put up some impressive games of late. Can the Knights hang on and take the division? Or will the Breakers steal the title after trailing Nashville all year long? SUNDAY 4PM KICKOFF MICHIGAN @ CHICAGO: The Panthers have the division, but if they want that bye week as the #1 seed they have to defeat the Machine. Chicago is playing for a possible home Wild Card game, so they too will be putting their hearts into this one. PITTSBURGH @ OHIO: The Glory control their own destiny, but if Pittsburgh can knock them off in Columbus, it is the Maulers, not the Glory who will capture the Wild Card berth. Depending on what happens to Houston, both could actually qualify, but the best way to ensure a Game 15 is to win this week. DENVER @ ARIZONA: The Gold will rest several starters in this game. They cannot move up or down from the #3 seed, so they want to be as rested and healthy as possible when they host a Wild Card game in 2 weeks. TEXAS @ HOUSTON: It has not been the year the Outlaw fans hoped for, but if they can knock rival Houston out of the playoffs, they will certainly feel they accomplished something. We are not sure who will be in at QB for Texas, but for Houston, whoever it is had better expect a lot of blitzes. Houston is in with a win, so they will be on high adrenaline for this one.

Player of the Week: Chad "85" Johnson certainly made life easier for Drew Bledsoe this week, turning 3 of his 5 receptions into touchdowns and averaging over 36 yards per catch as Boston exploited the longball to lock up a playoff spot. Playoff Picture: A big week in the Eastern Conference as 5 of 7 playoff berths were locked up after this week's results. No division titles claimed yet, but Washngton, Orlando, Nashville, Baltimore and Boston are all guaranteed at least 1 more week of play as they all lock up playoff spots. In the West, Chicago joins Michigan and Oakland as playoff teams as well. We now have 7 teams officially eliminated as well, with Birmingham, New Jersey, Texas and Los Angeles joining Jacksonville, Memphis, and St. Louis in that "honor".

Even at only 14 weeks, the USFL season is a long one and teams that seemed unbeatable early on may fade over the long haul, others, who did not have their ducks in a row when action kicked off in March are gaining confidence and becoming more dangerous as we hit June. That is the way every season and it is no different this year, as Week 12 proved. Clubs like Houston, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh are running out of gas while others like Seattle, Boston, New Orleans and Portland seem to be peaking at just the right time. Even clubs with little playoff hope like Atlanta are proving that they are on the right path as they string together wins down the stretch. This week’s results showed us that dichotomy, particularly as some upsets sent home the message that the 2009 season is not yet done and that every team has its own internal motivations, some running on fumes and others fully energized down the home stretch. ARIZONA WRANGLERS 17 HOUSTON GAMBLERS 13 As tempted as we were to highlight the Washington-Baltimore overtime game, we also recognize that sometimes we show a bit of East Coast bias, with our headquarters here in New York, so we decided instead to go with a game that was a defensive battle, with a couple of big moments, and which might very well prove very impactful for the playoff and division race in the West. In Fox’s “Game of the Week” on Sunday afternoon Houston came in a significant 7-point favorite. The Gamblers were a game behind Denver for first in the Southwest, playing at home, and were facing a Wrangler squad that had lost faith in their NFL import QB and had handed the reins over to a 2nd year mid-round draft pick out of Hawaii, Colt Brennan. Brennan, who had started 2 games at the end of 2008 without throwing a TD, was back under center after a largely uninspiring 20-10 loss to Memphis the week before. Both the Vegas bookmakers and the Fox broadcast team of Chris Myers and former USFL QB Trent Green were finding little to get excited about in either Brennan or the 3-8 Wranglers, focusing most of their attention on the Gamblers and their quest for a third straight SW Division title. The game began tentatively, with Houston’s 5th ranked defense and Arizona’s 20th ranked D both holding their own against the opposing offenses. Both teams struggled to put together more than 1 first down in 5 short first quarter drives that did not bring either team into field goal range. As the quarter wound down, Houston was having its best drive of the game, with Tatum Bell hitting on a 13-yard run, and Hasselbeck finding Roy Williams on an 11-yard toss to finally get the Gamblers into scoring range. The 2nd quarter kicked off with the first score of the game as Houston got the ball inside the 5, thanks to an Arizona roughing the passer call on Kimo Von Oelhoffen. From there Kevin Faulk took a toss, found a crease on the left side, and dove into the endzone to give the Gamblers a 7-0 lead. The Houston score prompted Arizona to shift its strategy. No longer content to play the field position game, they started mixing things up a bit. Rather than hand the ball to Sedrick Irvin as they had on their first 3 drives, Colt Brennan threw the ball on two consecutive first downs, connecting with TE Kevin Everett and then WR Larry Fitzgerald to quickly get the ball into Houston territory. They also subbed in Ahmaad Galloway for Irvin on several plays, with Galloway the better receiver of the two. Galloway would have 3 of his 8 carries on the day on this drive, including his longest of the day, an 11-yarder that brought the ball into field goal range. When the drive stalled after a tipped ball on 3rd and 4, Arizona sent out Nick Folk and his 45-yarder put them on the scoreboard. The Wrangler defense did its job on Houston’s next possession and shut down Matt Hasselbeck’s attempt to convert on a 3rd and 6, forcing a quick Houston punt. The Wranglers were set up on their own 31. After a good run by Irvin on first down (back to that call, apparently), the Wranglers faced a 2nd and 3, and got a bit creative. Brennan handed the ball to Irvin, who appeared to be headed towards a dive play off center, but then paused and tossed the ball back to Brennan. Santana Moss was in single coverage with the safety crashing to the line to stuff the run, and Brennan hit him with a looping bread basket toss that allowed the speedy receiver to catch the ball in stride and race away from the corner for the 63-yard TD strike. It would be Brennan’s longest throw of the day, and a perfectly-timed misdirection play that put the Wranglers up 10-7 with only 1:52 left in the half. The play shocked the Houston crowd, and riled up the Wrangler bench. And while Houston would have an effective 2-minute drill drive that equalized the score at 10 apiece with a Dan Carpenter field goal, the touchdown gave Arizona an energy boost that they held onto for the rest of the game. In the 2nd half, the Wrangler defense fed off the offense’s big play, sacking Matt Hasselbeck to effectively end both Gambler drives in the 3rd quarter. The first was a coverage sack for only a loss of 2, but good enough to force a Houston punt. The second was a nasty takedown, with Lance Briggs breaching the pocket unblocked on a 3rd and 7 and driving Matt Hasselbeck to the ground. The Wrangler offense was not able to take advantage during the quarter however, missing on a 4th and 2 play just on the fringe of field goal range on their deepest drive of the quarter. When the 4th quarter began, the Houston offense finally got back into scoring range, but Hasselbeck missed on a throw to Ike Hilliard, and the Gamblers were forced to go for 3, taking a 13-10 lead just 2 minutes into the final period. With Denver having won their matchup with Texas the day before, Houston knew that a loss in this game would put them 2 games behind the Gold for the division title, and possibly ending their shot at the division. Denver had only LA and Arizona left on the schedule, while Houston would face the Pittsburgh Maulers before a finale against their rivals, the Outlaws. This game was pivotal for them to remain within 1 of the Gold. None of that seemed to matter to the Wranglers, who sat at 3-8 and while not mathematically out of playoff contention, already knew that they would finish the year with a losing record. Arizona’s players were taking a different mindset, with every game down the stretch serving as an audition for a spot on Coach Tomsula’s roster next year. Tomsula had spoken about talent upgrades and roster shakeups in the weeks prior to this game, and his move away from David Carr to Brennan was a clear sign that no player was guaranteed a starting position or even a roster spot in 2010. Now, with Houston playing somewhat flat, and nothing to lose, the Wranglers saw an opportunity. Down by 3, and with time running out, Colt Brennan and the Wrangler offense would have to make it happen on this drive. They started on their own 22, and got to work. A short pass to Kassim Osgood in the slot, a 4-yard grinding run by Irvin to pick up the initial first down. Going without a huddle, Brennan completed his next 2 passes, both for first downs, and then gave the ball to Galloway, who ran for 7 before going out of bounds. Arizona still had 2 time outs, but they played as if they had none, using the sideline and rushing to the line when necessary. They forced Houston to go without substitutions on several plays, and despite pressure from Kavika Pittman and Osi Umenyiura, Brennan stayed in the pocket and found receivers. After an offsides call against the Gamblers, Brennan hit on another nicely thrown ball, this time to Moss again, and the Wrangler receiver got the ball down to the Houston 9. Using their 2nd time out, Arizona began with 1st and 10 from the 9, well within range to tie the game, but with 44 seconds left to play, also within range to go for the win. A handoff to Irvin got them only 3 yards, and they rushed to the line. A short toss to fullback LeRon McClain did not get them into the endzone, and they now faced 3rd and goal from the 4. They used their last time out with 22 seconds left, knowing that the next play had to be in the endzone or an incompletion to give them time to send Nick Folk out to tie the game. The Wranglers came out in a 2-TE, 1 back formation with Irvin in the backfield. Brennan got the snap, faked the handoff to Irvin, and rolled right. His second TE, James Casey, rolled with him, and Brennan put the ball on his hands just inside the endzone. Casey rolled to the ground but held on to the ball, and with 18 seconds to go, the Wranglers took the lead and the win. Was this an instant classic? Well, no. But it was a game that demonstrated the power of belief and showcased the parity found in the USFL, where a team that had nothing to lose could upend a team that had everything to play for. With the loss, Houston drops to .500 and now has little hope to catch Denver for the SW Division title. They fall out of the Top 7 clubs in the West, meaning they now must fight just for a Wild Card spot, while Arizona, with the win, somehow remains alive for another week, and, perhaps most importantly, proves to themselves that they have some fight in them. MEMPHIS 21 NEW ORLEANS 42 Favre goes down to injury again, removed from the game after only 1 pass attempt, and, accordingly, Memphis got smoked. Favre was tackled for a safety on the 2nd play of the game and that play took him out of action with a potential shoulder issue. Meanwhile the Breakers scored in almost every way you can, with the safety, an 80-yard punt return, and TDs from Fred Jackson, Early Doucet, and Kenny Irons. TAMPA BAY 17 ATLANTA 24 The Bandits midseason rally seems to have faded hard as they drop another one. And, don’t look now, but Atlanta has now won 4 in a row for Coach Ramsey. Darren McFadden had a field day against the Bandits (missing Zeke Moreno at LB), rushing for 140 yards on only 18 carries. J. J. Arrington added another 39 and a score as Atlanta is making some noise. PHILADELPHIA 20 PITTSBURGH 17 The Keystone Clash has lost some luster since the Maulers moved out of the NE (Atlantic) Division, but the two still know how to provide a good game. The Maulers picked off Kurt Warner 3 times in this one, but could not stop him from connecting with Steve Scott for 2 scores and the game winner. JACKSONVILLE 30 CHARLOTTE 27 A bad home loss for the Monarchs, as their record drops to 6-6 and puts them outside the playoff qualifiers with only 2 weeks to go. Jacksonville got a pick-six from Corey Graham and a late Justin Medlock field goal to steal a win in Charlotte from a sloppy Monarch’s team that turned the ball over 3 times. DENVER 31 TEXAS 6 Denver inched closer to locking up the SW Division with a big divisional win in Dallas. Javon Ringer had his best day as a pro, rushing for 144 yards and 2 scores against an outmanned Outlaw defense. Matt Leinart did go down in this one, and may miss the final weeks of the regular season, so it was certainly a bittersweet win for Coach Jauron and the Gold. OAKLAND 36 LOS ANGELES 16 The California Derby has had a definitive Oakland tilt of late and this game is no different as the Invaders dominate their downstate rivals. Joey Harrington threw for 372 yards and three scores, including 2 to Greg Jennings and 1 to new TE Jeb Putzier as they took it to the Express, playing without Mark Sanchez. SEATTLE 15 LAS VEGAS 10 Not the best game of the week, but one with lots of stories as Seattle wins their 5th in a row and now find themselves in playoff position. Las Vegas slips to 5-7 and Coach Glanville crossed a line (again), this time pulling on the facemask and striking WR Kahlil Hill after a bobbled ball turned into a fumble recovered by Seattle. Glanville has since been suspended due to the incident. And, with a club on the downslide, more may be on the way for the overheated head coach. OHIO 6 MICHIGAN 26 A bad week for Ohio as Michigan dominates the border rivalry. Randy Moss caught 7 balls for 122 yards, but still blew up about the team’s performance in post-game. Michigan was outgained by Ohio by nearly 100 yards, but was far better at making plays that led to points, building up a 17-3 halftime lead and then keeping the pressure on all game. NEW JERSEY 15 BOSTON 34 Bledsoe and Johnson just exploded against the New Jersey defense, with the QB throwing for 386 yards and 4 touchdowns, and the league’s best receiver catching 5 balls, 3 for scores and averaging 37 yards per reception as big play came after big play. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Cannons, who now set their eyes on Washington and a possible division title. BIRMINGHAM 9 NASHVILLE 13 The Knights continue to struggle on offense, but got 102 yards and a vital TD from Frank Gore to avoid the divisional upset from the Stallions. Neither team surpassed 300 yards of total offense as this game was just a sluggish mess on a hot, humid day in the Music City. ST. LOUIS 10 CHICAGO 13 Chicago also struggled offensively, with Brady Quinn picked off twice, but they hang on thanks to a late Maurice Clarett TD that helped them avoid a major upset on their way to their 8th win of the year. St. Louis was in this game despite rushing for a ridiculous total of -15 yards on the day. Most of that was Josh Freeman getting stuffed on QB runs, but Larry Johnson’s total of 5 rushing yards did not help either. ORLANDO 24 PORTLAND 34 Brees returned to action this week but struggled against Portland’s defense, throwing two picks. Meanwhile, A. J. Feeley had a strong game despite being sacked 5 times (once by Calais Campbell, giving him the league record with 30 sacks on the year). Despite the pressure, Feeley went 23 for 28 for 324 yards and 3 scores as Portland moved to 7-5 and gave themselves a very good shot at their first playoff appearance. WASHINGTON 23 BALTIMORE 20 OVERTIME In what could have easily been our game of the week, Washington and Baltimore battled into extra time before a Doug Pelfrey 40-yarder settled this rivalry game. Kordell Stewart threw for 2 scores and Deuce McCallister rushed for 122 as Washington edged the Blitz in overtime. Ron Dayne led the Blitz with 124 yards on the ground, while a late Roethlisberger to Heyward-Bey TD sent the game to overtime, only for the Feds to pull out the win and take over first place in the NE Division in the end. Campbell Sets Sack Record It was not his most dominant game (5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack), but it was a memorable game for 2nd year DE Calais Campbell as a 3rd quarter wrap up of A. J. Feeley set a new league record with Campbell’s 30th sack of the season. A truly amazing number, to be sure, and completing it in only 12 games makes the record even more impressive. The past two games have not been easy for Campbell. Following a 5-sack showcase against Brett Favre and the Showboats, both Atlanta and Portland have demonstrated that using a 3rd OT as an eligible receiver (essentially a TE) was a good strategy to contain Campbell even if it gave the offense one less actual receiving threat. The strategy, first showcased by the Fire, has held Campbell to only 2 sacks in 2 games, frustrating the big man with double team blocking while not pulling away guards from the task of containing DT Albert Haynesworth. Campbell should expect to see much the same the rest of the way, as once a formula works, everyone imitates it until it doesn’t. But, even with the frustration the new strategy creates for the Orlando end, it did not keep him from setting the record, held earlier by former Renegade great Chris Doleman. With two games left to play, both home matchups (Boston and Jacksonville), Campbell has a chance to push the record even higher, bolstered by an adoring home crowd which has helped to make his black and royal jersey one of the league’s best-selling. Glanville Suspended After Another Sideline Blowup Yell all you want, even at your own players and coaches, but do not get physical. That is a pretty well-known parameter in pro sports, but one that a frustrated and flailing Jerry Glanville simply cannot seem to keep straight. Once again the fiery head coach is in hot water for striking out physically. Earlier in his career with Tampa Bay, it was a sideline issue with one of his coaches. This time it was an incident with wideout Kahlil Hill on the sideline, one that, while causing no injury to the heavily padded Hill, clearly crossed a line. Glanville was suspended from the sideline for the next game against Arizona, Las Vegas’s last home game. The team announced the initial suspension, but it was strengthened by the league who required that Glanville not only be kept from the sideline, but not be present at the game at all, removing the option of having him lead the team from the coordinator’s booth. Since the argumentative Glanville also calls the defense, that puts LB Coach Robert Gooch in a tough spot, having to take on the DC duties, while OC Charlie Joiner will serve as the 1-game interim coach on the sideline instead of in the booth. The blow-up, and the suspension derived from a dropped ball by Hill on a critical 3rd down in Las Vegas’s 15-10 home loss to Seattle. The loss put the Thunder at 5-7 and in serious risk of a losing season and another year without a playoff appearance. General consensus is that failure to reach the postseason this year will very likely lead to Glanville being replaced as the head coach. The Thunder have been on the cusp of the playoffs for several years now but always seem to fall short. Once again they were viewed as a potential contender in the Pacific, especially after making a huge commitment in future draft capital to land QB Jake Plummer. Plummer has not been what Thunder fans expected, a white knight riding in to save the team from its offensive incompetence, and the Thunder are not looking like the dominant squad many Thunder faithful hoped would easily shoot to the top of the standings. Instead they look like the same old squad, solid on defense but unable to win the close games needed to allow a defensive-minded team to make a run at a title. Now, both the season and Glanville’s tenure with the Thunder are outside of his control, and his position may well depend on the players rallying to his defense with a win next week, a win Jerry Glanville would have to watch on TV. Seattle Wins 5th in a Row and Is In Playoff Position While the game against Las Vegas was most noteworthy for Jerry Glanville’s tantrum on the sideline, it should not be lost on us that the win by the Dragons marks their 5th in a row, and that this win puts them in 7th place in the West, a playoff position this year. Once again it appears that a miserable first month of the season could still be salvaged as Seattle could come back not only from an 0-4 start, but from a 1-6 first half of the year, to still make a playoff appearance. Seattle’s path is not the easiest, with a big game against another 6-6 playoff hopefull, Ohio, this week and a season finale on the road, across the country in Tampa Bay in Week 14. However, if the Dragons can pull out two more wins, they would finish at 8-6, a stunning comeback from a 1-6 start and very likely a playoff-eligible final record. As much as we want to question how Marvin Lewis is getting his team prepared during the offseason, and why they sputter so badly to start the year, we have to be impressed by his ability to rally the Dragons and get such good results in the final half of the season. If he could just get two halves of a year together, this Dragon squad could easily be a top seed and actually get some home playoff games, instead of having to run a gauntlet of road games to reach a Summer Bowl, as they did in 2005. Houston and Baltimore Both Lose 3rd Straight With losses this week, both Houston and Baltimore are looking like teams in trouble. Both have lost three in a row, with Baltimore blowing a 2-game lead in the NE Division and Houston falling 2 games behind Denver in the Southwest, with a real chance to miss the playoffs entirely. So what seems to be the problem for both? For Houston, the issues stem from the injury to Shaun Alexander. Without their leading rusher available, the Gambler offense has struggled. The Gamblers 13 points in this week’s loss to Arizona marks the most they have scored in the 3-week slide, putting up only 10 against Michigan and 7 against New Orleans the prior two weeks. Not known as a high-flying team with Alexander, the Gamblers have the 22nd rated pass attack, and that does not improve when you cannot draw in defenders with the threat of the run. With Alexander out, Houston needs to find a way to recalibrate their offense around the pass and the use of Kevin Faulk as a dual purpose back. And they had better do so quickly if they don’t want to be on the outside looking in when playoff time comes around. For Baltimore the issues are not as obvioius. They have fallen to three solid clubs in Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and Washington, and in each case they have scored exactly 20 points each time, but gave u 30, 24, and 23, losing the last two games by a single possession. There is no clear issue at play with the Blitz, no major injury to point to that has taken away a key player. They just are not making enough plays to win. Ron Dayne is over 1,000 yards and his production has not slumped. Ben Roethlisberger is still producing the plays he has all year, but not producing the big plays that lead to big first downs or points on the board. The Blitz are still very much in the playoff race at 8-4, but coming from an 8-1 position that had them as the #1 seed, and now sitting down at #4, they need to finish strong. They face a road trip to Jacksonville this week, certainly a winnable game, before a tough season finale in Boston against the Cannons, who are also 8-4 and would love to leapfrog over Baltimore. With two weeks left, the time is now for the Blitz to rediscover their winning formula and make a move. A big week for playoff clinching results in the East, with 5 of 7 spots now claimed. Washington took over not only 1st place in the NE Division with their overtime win in Baltimore, but also now becomes the #1 seed in the conference, with 4 teams all 1-game back. Orlando, Nashville, Baltimore and Boston also clinch at least a Wild Card spot with 2 weeks left to make a move upward. In the West, Chicago’s narrow win over St. Louis also books them a ticket to the postseason. Believe it or not, Arizona, at 4-8 is still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, something Texas, LA, Birmingham, and New Jersey can no longer say, as all 4 joined the Skyhawks, Bulls, and Showboats in the club of mathematically eliminated teams. Right now Seattle is in the 7th position and controls their own destiny, but Ohio and Houston are right there at 6-6 as well. In the East, New Orleans has the final spot at 7-5, but Charlotte is only 1 game back. Atlanta, winners of 4 in a row is 2 games back, so their late surge may be just a little too late. Denver, despite a 2-game lead with 2 to play has yet to officially win the SW Division, but a win next week, or a Houston loss, and they will wrap up the division title as well. Michigan has a 2-game lead in the Central, so they are in a similar boat, 1 more win or a loss by Chicago and they are the Central champ. It is almost a cruel irony, that as we come closer to the close of the season, the wear and tear of 14 weeks of football starts to accelerate the injury risk rather than winding it down. We saw 8 players join the ranks of IR this week, many on playoff hopefuls, by far our worst week of the year. Just as teams are gearing up for the playoffs or winding down for the offseason we see a rash of significant injuries which will spill over into both the offseason and the postseason. Among playoff contenders we saw Ohio put OT Winston Justice on IR with a significant groin injury. Orlando added SS Atari Bigby with a compound fracture in his left foot. They also lost LB Will overstreet to a knee injury. Nashville lost WR Derrick Mason to an ACL injury that could require he miss part of training camp next spring, while Portland put WR Roddy White on IR with an MCL injury. Pittsburgh did not avoid the bug, with their best corner, Patrick Surtain, lost to a knee injury (not ACL or MCL, but meniscus). While not in playoff contention, New Jersey’s long season will conclude without either safety Bob Sanders or LB Donterrious Thomas on the field as both have been added to IR this week. While not IR placements, we should also note that Texas will finish the 2009 campaign without Joe Flacco, who suffered 2 cracked ribs this week and will be replaced by Sage Rosenfels for the season’s final 2 games. Washington will finish the regular season with Eddie Kennison out of action, but the receiver could be back as soon as the divisional round. Free Agency Round Up The past few weeks have seen pretty much every team in the league get serious about resigning their stars and locking in playmakers before their contracts expire and they become free agents. Some are holding out, looking at free agency as a chance to cash in on their value or even to jump to the NFL, but many of the biggest names in the league have resigned and set themselves up well for the future with multiple year, multi-million contract. Here, as we reach less than a month from at least half of the league’s teams seeing their players eligible for free agency, is our rundown of the key signings and unsigned players for each club. ARIZONA Key Signings: LB Karlos Dansby, FB LeRon McClain, QB Jim Sorgi Still Unsigned: CB Ray Crockett, WR Santana Moss, HB Ahmaad Galloway Outlook: Moss feels like a player hoping to cash in on free agency, Crockett may be leaning towards retirement. ATLANTA Key Signings: LB Na’il Diggs, HB J. J. Arrington Still Unsigned: C Jim Pyne, DE Andre Wadsworth, QB David Garrard Outlook: Wadsworth should be the priority as we expect Garrard to be allowed to go. BALTIMORE Key Signings: QB Ben Roethlisberger, SS Adam Archuleta Still Unsigned: LB James Farrior, DE Jared Allen, CB Tyrone Bell Outlook: That is a lot of defensive talent, and not much cap room to resign them. BIRMINGHAM Key Signings: DE Mike Rucker, OT Jef Backus Still Unsigned: WR Joe Horn, G Steve Sciulo, TE O.J. Santiago Outlook: Resigning Rucker was key. Horn should be next if he's not planning to retire. BOSTON Key Signings: LB Chris Claiborne, DE C. J. Mosley, TE James Whalen Still Unsigned: QB Adrian McPherson, LB London Fletcher Outlook: McPherson has to be job 1 as we all know Bledsoe is retiring after this year. CHARLOTTE Key Signings: DE Julius Peppers, CB Carlos Rogers, CB Nnambi Asomugha Still Unsigned: TE Dan Campbell, WR Az-Zahir Hakeem, G Chester Pitts, LB Scott Fujita Outlook: Charlotte emphasizes the D with its personnel. But will they let Campbell go? CHICAGO Key Signings: LB Tommy Polley, CB Marlin Jackson, TE Anthony Fasano Still Unsigned: G Sean Mahan, G Solomon Page, CB Al Harris Outlook: Which guard is Chicago's priority, because they are unlikely to ink both. DENVER Key Signings: FS Jamel Williams, WR Peerless Price, DT Montae Reager Still Unsigned: LB Kendrell Bell, SS Dexter Jackson Outlook: Bell may test the FA waters, but Price was in that boat too and signed anyway. HOUSTON Key Signings: HB Shaun Alexander, CB Ronde Barber, WR Roy Williams Still Unsigned: DT Richard Seymour, LB Sam Cowart Outlook: Houston did well resigning three top targets, but Seymour is still a holdout. JACKSONVILLE Key Signings: TE Jason Whitten, DT Broderick Bunkley Still Unsigned: FB Madison Hedgecock, HB Antowain Smith, CB Corey Graham Outlook: We expect a new coaching staff in Jacksonville, and they may well have different priorities, especially at key positions like HB. LAS VEGAS Key Signings: G Chris Liwienski, DT Haloti Ngata, WR Kahlil Hill Still Unsigned: OT Robert Hicks, TE Ben Hartsook, WR Troy Williamson Outlook: Vegas could also very easily have a new head coach for 2010, so perhaps the offense gets a bit more attention? LOS ANGELES Key Signings: G Alan Faneca, HB Maurice Morris Still Unsigned: OT Jonathan Ogden, WR Dez White, FS Darnell Bing Outlook: Ogden is likely to retire, so the priority now is Bing at safety. MEMPHIS Key Signings: HB Cadillac Williams, C Casey Rabach, DE Reggie Torbor Still Unsigned: QB Brett Favre, DT Leon Bender, CB Terrance Shaw, QB Mike McMahon Outlook: Everyone is waiting to see if Favre retires after a rough injury-filled year. MICHIGAN Key Signings: WR Hines Ward, WR Laverneus Coles, LB Andy Katzenmoyer Still Unsigned: DT Leonard Renfro, OT Matt Willig, LB Shawne Merriman Outlook: The Panthers locked up their WR duo, now the question is at LB, with Katzenmoyer signed, does that mean there is no money for Merriman? NASHVILLE Key Signings: CB Willie Middlebrooks, LB Terrell Suggs, FB Peyton Hillis Still Unsigned: TE Bubba Franks, FS Bhawoh Jue, G Tre Johnson Outlook: They extended Suggs’s deal, giving them room to do more this offseason. NEW JERSEY Key Signings: DT Ian Scott, G Tuten Reyes Still Unsigned: CB Mike Rumph, K Ryan Longwell, QB Kevin Kolb Outlook: We expect some roster turnover in New Jersey, we also expect Kolb to go as they look at OU standout Sam Bradford as a protected T-Draft prospect. NEW ORLEANS Key Signings: LB Hannibal Navies, OT Mark Tauscher, CB Randall Gay Still Unsigned: C Chris Spencer, HB Fred Jackson, SS Kennoy Kennedy Outlook: The Breakers re-up Navies after trading to get him, and they have a good cap number to do more. OAKLAND Key Signings: HB Ricky Williams, DE Justin Smith, QB Joey Harrington Still Unsigned: DT Joe Salave’a, WR Plaxico Burress, SS Pearson Prioleau Outlook: With Harrington and Williams resigned, all attention turns to Plaxico Burress, who is likely to miss the entire 2010 season with his injury recovery and legal issues. We expect Oakland to cut him loose and look for a replacement this offseason. OHIO Key Signings: HB Eddie George, SS Jermaine Philips Still Unsigned: QB Kerry Collins, WR Randy Moss, DE Vonnie Holliday Outlook: We know the Glory are hoping that Collins does not call it a career. As for Moss, that could go either way, depending on how disruptive he is the rest of the way this year. ORLANDO Key Signings: SS Tony Carter, WR Michael Jenkins, SS Atari Bigby Still Unsigned: HB Cedric Benson, G Scott Shaw, C Todd McClure Outlook: Bad luck that Orlando just inks a deal with Bigby and he ends up on IR two days later. Jenkins was a big get, now they need to focus on the O-line. PHILADELPHIA Key Signings: C Matt Birk, QB Kurt Warner, TE Dallas Clark Still Unsigned: LB Paul Posluszny, WR Terrell Owens, HB Michael Robinson Outlook: The stars would like to keep all three of the names we listed, but their cap situation is not going to help them there. They could easily have to let all three walk. PITTSBURGH Key Signings: FS Scott Shields, LB Buster Davis Still Unsigned: DE Dameaion Jeffries, OT Zach Weigert, WR Travis Taylor Outlook: The Maulers are an older roster that could see a wave of retirements and a focus on bringing in more draft picks. PORTLAND Key Signings: WR Koren Robinson, OT Todd Wade, CB DeAngelo Hall Still Unsigned: FS Terrance Kiel, QB Ken Dorsey Outlook: Robinson has had a break out year with Portland and is getting paid for it. SEATTLE Key Signings: DE John Abraham, TE Jeramy Stevens Still Unsigned: HB Corey Dillon, WR Darnerien McCants, LB Piso Tinoisamoa Outlook: The big question in Seattle is if Dillon will resign or retire after this year. Their entire offseason plan will revolve around that decision. ST. LOUIS Key Signings: DE Antonio Smith, FS Antuan Edwards, DT Larry Triplett Still Unsigned: HB Dominic Rhodes, SS Bobby Myers, WR Bryant Johnson Outlook: We expect some more roster shakup this offseason, so don’t be too eager for the Skyhawks to resign any of the players still out there. TAMPA BAY Key Signings: TE Jeremy Shockey, SS Idrees Basheer, FS Bryan Scott Still Unsigned: CB Samari Rolle, DT La’Roi Glover, DE Orpheus Roye Outlook: After signing their excellent safety duo, Tampa Bay will be hard pressed to find cap room for more signings, but all three of their top candidates are also potential retirement candidates. TEXAS Key Signings: CB Nathan Vasher, OT Ryan Tucker, G Derrick Dockery Still Unsigned: OT Jermaine Mayberry, DT Chris Hovan, HB Leon Johnson Outlook: Resigning 2 of 3 linemen was key for Texas, and they opted to go for youth over the more experienced Mayberry. WASHINGTON Key Signings: HB Deuce McCallister, C Austin King, LB Cameron Wake Still Unsigned: DT Anthony McFarland, DT Kenard Lang, CB Rashad Bauman Outlook: After getting Deuce the payday he richly deserved, attention now turns to the DT position, but does Washington have enough cap room to return both of their key DT’s to the fold? Best of the USFL—Outside Linebacker Our last defensive position and we have some really tough choices. Do we go for the run stuffer, the edge rusher, or the sideline to sideline ranger? How about a bit of all three? Joey Porter-LV Porter is your classic run-stuffing, edge contain linebacker, but he is also a nasty edge rusher, with 43 sacks since coming into the league in 99. Porter has two 100+ tackle seasons, a bit unusual for an outside linebacker, but the way Coach Glanville uses him is all about his flexibility to play both the run and harass the quarterback. Takeo Spikes-SEA The 11-year vet is another dual threat backer, with 53 sacks in his career, and several years over 90 tackles per season. A team captain since the turn of the millennium, Spikes got himself a ring with the underdog Dragons in 2005 and would love a second. Na’il Diggs-ATL Diggs has, at times, felt like the glue holding together the Fire. Coming over in 2006 as part of the expansion draft, he was an important player in Nashville, but now is the clear leader of the Fire defense, with three straight 100-tackle seasons, and a 4th in range this year. Hannibal Navies-NOR After 7 strong years in Memphis, Navies was traded midseason this year to New Orleans, and he is already making an impact for the Breakers. A bit injury prone, Navies missed 10 games last year and 7 the year before. Can he stay on the field for the Breakers? Because when he is on the field, he can be a difference maker. Kendrell Bell-DEN After 4 years in New Jersey, Bell came to Denver and was just a perfect match for Coach Jauron’s defense. He is not a big pass rusher, though he will get you a handful of sacks each year. He is better in coverage than most on this list, and he can deliver a hit to the running back that will shake his teeth. Expect him to be a factor for the Gold in the playoffs. There is certainly no lack of talent in the USFL when it comes to outside linebackers. In trying to get to 5 players for this report, we had to eliminate some really talented guys, All-USFL guys. Players like LA’s Lofa Tatupu, Oakland’s Roosevelt Colvin, Ohio’s Glenn Cadrez, and Jacksonville’s Lavar Lavar Arrington were all in the conversation, and we felt bad that Houston’s Sam Cowart and Birmingham’s DeMeco Ryans were not. Week 13, the penultimate week of the year and a fully inter-divisional week that may still produce some playoff berths and eliminations. Sunday night’s game between the Glory and the Dragons could well be an elimination game with both teams sitting at 6-6. Similarly, both Las Vegas (5-7) and Arizona (4-8) are on the very fringe of playoff eligibility, so the loser here is done. In other big impact games we have Pittsburgh @ Houston, who cannot afford another loss. Washington is in New Orleans and Michigan is in Portland, with both home teams hoping to lock up a playoff berth with a win. We also have some heavy hitters matched up with Chicago at Oakland, Boston in Orlando, and Philadelphia traveling to Nashville. This could be the biggest week of the year for divisional titles and playoff clinching games. A full slate of quality games to be sure. FRIDAY @ 8pm Chicago (8-4) @ Oakland (10-2) NBC SATURDAY @ 12pm Baltimore (8-4) @ Jacksonville (2-10) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm New Jersey (3-9) @ Tampa Bay (5-7) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Washington (9-3) @ New Orleans (7-5) FOX SATURDAY @ 4pm Denver (8-4) @ Los Angeles (4-8) ABC SATURDAY @ 4pm Pittsburgh (7-5) @ Houston (6-6) FOX SATURDAY @ 8pm Boston (8-4) @ Orlando (8-4) ESPN SUNDAY @ 12pm Birmingham (4-6) @ Atlanta (5-7) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Memphis (2-10) @ Charlotte (6-6) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Philadelphia (7-5) @ Nashville (8-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Arizona (4-8) @ Las Vegas (5-7) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm St. Louis (1-11) @ Texas (4-8) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Michigan (10-2) @ Portland (7-5) FOX SUNDAY @ 8pm Ohio (6-6) @ Seattle (6-6) ESPN

Week 11 turned out to be a strong week for road underdogs as six managed to beat the odds and take away a win. While there were not a lot of major upsets, with Atlanta’s win over Orlando the biggest surprise, it was a week when home favorites like Tampa Bay, Nashville, Washington and Pittsburgh could not get the job done, tightening up the playoff race and proving that home field advantage is only worth so much. We start our review, however, not with a road upset, but with a home team, desperate to stay relevant in a very tough division, takes out the division leader to once again find themselves back in the playoff mix. BALTIMORE BLITZ 20 PHILADELPHIA STARS 24 The Stars, mired at 5-5, came into their home matchup with the Blitz as 5-point underdogs, despite the game being played at Lincoln Financial Field. They emerged a 4-point victor and back in the hunt in a tightening NE Division. Philadelphia, which had lost 3 of their last 4 games, including defeats to sub-500 Atlanta and Birmingham squads, was seen as a team headed the wrong direction, but against the Blitz they pulled out all the stops and found a way to send Baltimore to their 2nd straight defeat, pulling themselves within 2 games of the division leader at the same time. And they did it by essentially imitating their opponent on both sides of the ball. Philadelphia used a consistent power run game, paired with short passes on offense to wear down the Blitz, while the Stars defense stuck with a 4-man rush and a mix of 2-deep and 1-deep zones to keep Ben Roethlisberger guessing. They did not get much pressure, though three sacks is not a bad day, but they limited the big play, with the longest Blitz passing play going for 12 yards. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner focused on converting third downs, keeping in front of the yard markers, and completing passes. He would finish 24 of 29 for 242 and 3 scores in one of his better performances this year. The two teams started off the game with good defensive stands, but on Philadelphia’s 2nd drive, they got a break, the first of what would be 9 Baltimore penalties, turned a 3rd and 15 into an automatic first down. That penalty kept the drive going, and 4 plays later Warner would find Steve Smith for the game’s opening score. It would be the only score until the 2-minute warning of the first half, with both defenses playing well and limiting the offensive capacities of their opponents. Late in the second quarter, Philadelphia would find the formula to get back in scoring range, relying on the run game with Steve Slaton leading the way. A 2nd and 2 turned into a 30-yard run for the West Virginia product, placing the ball just outside the red zone at the Blitz 21. On the very next play, Warner faked the ball to Slaton and found Terrell Owens in single coverage for his second TD toss of the day. With only 1:46 left in the half, it looked like the homestanding Stars would take a 2-score lead into the break. That image was shot when Doug Gabriel, on the ensuing kickoff, found a perfect wedge to run behind, broke out to the left and took the ball all the way for an apparent touchdown. A review challenge (automatic for scoring plays) found that Gabriel had, in his efforts to walk the tightrope down the sideline, stepped out of bounds just with the edge of his left foot at the 2-yard line. One play later, Roethlisberger hit Jacob Tamme for Baltimore’s first score, and the Stars went into the locker room only up 7. Baltimore would carry the momentum of Gabriel’s 98-yard kick return into the second half, coming out of the gate with a 57-yard drive that ended with a Martin Grammatica field goal, and then going one step better with a 71-yard drive that featured a Ron Dayne TD drive. It was Dayne’s best drive of the day, gaining 33 of his 105 yards on just this one possession. From a 14-0 lead, Philadelphia now found themselves down 17-14. The Stars rallied and in a drive that started in the final seconds of the third quarter and bled into the 4th, Philadelphia again returned to Steve Slaton and Michael Robinson to move the ball. Paired with some short slants and hook routes to Owens, Smith, and TE Dallas Clark, the Stars drove all the way to the 1-yard line, but on a 3rd and goal, could not punch the ball in. Coach Harbaugh called it conservatively and sent out Mike Nugent for a chipshot field goal to tie the game, eschewing the option to try again on 4th down. Two drives later, Baltimore would regain the lead, again off the foot of Martin Grammatica. With 2:36 left to play Baltimore was again on top, 20-17. Philadelphia, however, had some swagger left. They took the kickoff and gave the ball to Warner to move down to field goal range. He did better than that, moving crisply in a no-huddle offense with mid-range passes to Smith and Brent Celek, a nice out route to Reche Caldwell, and then a big 2nd and 3 play to Owens to get the ball well inside Nugent’s range with 1:22 still on the clock. Plenty of time for the Stars to go for the win, not the tie. A draw play to Slaton garnered 7 yards, then a quick toss to Clark for a first down and the 2nd of Philly’s 3 time outs. After being forced to throw the ball away on 1st down, Warner responded with a strike to Steve Smith, his 6th catch of the day. Smith spun out of the initial tackle, but quickly dove out of bounds when the safety threatened to tackle him. With the ball now at the 2-yard line and the stadium crowd in full voice, Warner went back to Smith, and the diminutive receiver was ready, catching the quick outside toss at the 1 and diving for the pylon. The Stars retook the lead 24-20 with 1:15 left to spare. Baltimore would get their shot, but would need a touchdown. They took the touchback on the kickoff and started at the 25. Roethlisberger was forced to dump the ball short to Antonio Pittman on first down, then found Antonio Gates on 2nd down to move the ball to the 37. But that is where the Stars dug in. On first down they again found pressure on Roethlisberger, and this time big DT Kendrick Clancy got a mitt on the ball as Roethlisberger tried to hit Tory Holt, tipping the ball up in the air and down to the turf. On 2nd down, Roethlisberger was again forced to dump the ball off, this time to Jacob Tamme for only a gain of 3. Using their last time out, they set up for 3rd and 7. Roethlisberger stayed in the pocket, despite good pressure from the Stars’ 4-man rush, tossing the ball towards Darrius Heyward-Bey, but it was off target and DHB could not go up and catch the high throw. 4th and 7 and desperation time. Again Roethlisberger looked towards Heyward-Bey, but this time Quentin Jammer was ready to jump the route, getting an arm in between the receiver and the ball and sending the ball to the turf. The Stars had held off the division leader and kept their playoff hopes very much alive. With a loss by the Federals as well this week, it meant that 4 teams (Baltimore, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia) were now all within 2 games of each other, with all 4 over .500 and all 4 in the group of 7 teams that sat in playoff position. DENVER 13 NASHVILLE 12 Both defenses came to play in this one as Denver escapes Music City with a 1-point win. It was the ability of the Gold to run the ball with Javon Ringer (54 yards) and Mewelde Moore (72 yards) that made the difference as the Knights just could not get Frank Gore (19 carries, 59 yards) untracked. ATLANTA 13 ORLANDO 7 Another defensive struggle and a huge upset as the Fire knock off the Renegades in Orlando. The Fire focused on pass protection, keeping in extra blockers and limiting Calais Campbell to 1 sack. That may be the formula going forward, though it certainly helped that Atlanta’s defense held Knowshon Moreno to only 24 yards rushing. It certainly helped that Drew Brees missed the game, as Matt Cassell was not able to rally the Renegades. CHARLOTTE 24 TAMPA BAY 13 The Monarchs win a game they had to have, getting a big day from FS Chris Crocker (2 sacks) and a 2-TD, 97-yard effort from HB Robert Edwards. Charlotte also contained the Bandits by containing McGahee, limiting him to 2.4 yards per carry on the day. OHIO 24 NEW JERSEY 10 Eddie George scored twice and Randy Moss had a good game with 118 yards receiving as Ohio got the win they wanted on the road and moved to 6-5. Ryan Fitzpatrick spent much of the day scrambling, finishing the game with 16 official “rush attempts”, most of which started as pass plays but quickly deteriorated. LAS VEGAS 13 PORTLAND 17 A slobberknocker between two 5-5 clubs that goes to the home team. Las Vegas had a 13-0 lead, but the defense faded in the second half. A. J. Feeley connected with both Visanthe Shiancoe and Jabari Holloway in the second half as the Thunder upended Las Vegas and moved to 6-5. MICHIGAN 34 ST. LOUIS 17 The Panthers took care of business in St. Louis, with Brian Griese throwing for 346 yards and 3 scores. Both Fargas and Washington also got 6 apiece as Michigan rolled. Coach Williams got feisty after the game as he was asked about his job security, but who wouldn’t? LOS ANGELES 29 SEATTLE 34 Is this really happening again? Seattle wins their 4th in a row and find themselves in the Wild Card hunt in the West by moving to 5-6. LA led 23-13 just before the half, but a 97-yard kickoff return from Reggie Brown pulled Seattle within 3 and turned the momentum. A third quarter TD from Leftwich to Burleson got them the lead and another to Jeramy Stevens secured the win for the surging Dragons. OAKLAND 38 JACKSONVILLE 31 The tough West Coast-East Coast flight seemed to sap Oakland early, but they charged back thanks to 4 TDs from Joey Harrington. Harrington threw 2 to his HB, Ricky Williams, while also connecting with Greg Jennings and Pierre Garçon to pull ahead and get the W. ARIZONA 10 MEMPHIS 20 The Showboats finally get back in the win column as Brett Favre throws for 305 yards. Lee Evans was his big target with 131 yards receiving, while Robert Ferguson caught 6 balls for 91 yards. For Arizona, Coach Tomsula gave Colt Brennan the start in a surprise gameday announcement. The youngster went19 for 36, was sacked twice and threw 1 TD and 1 pick in his first official start. BOSTON 41 WASHINGTON 31 A shootout all the way, Boston outlasted and outpaced the Federals thanks to 123 yards from Chad Johnson and a whopping 185 yards on the ground from Rashard Mendenhall. Washington countered with 3 TDs from Kordell Stewart and 120 yards receiving for Deion Branch, but there was just not enough in the Federals arsenal when the D could not contain Bledsoe and the Cannons. HOUSTON 7 NEW ORLEANS 16 New Orleans needed this one as it moves them to 6-5 and puts them in range of Nashville in the South. Eli Manning got the game winner, a late TD to TE Chris Cooley to get the home win and quiet the boo birds who had been calling him out for 3 quarters. Houston was held to only 72 yards rushing without Shaun Alexander and could only muster one Tatum Bell TD as they drop to 6-5. TEXAS 21 BIRMINGHAM 13 A solid game from WR Brandon Marshall (6 receptions for 104 yards and a score) help Texas improve to 4-7. T. J. Duckett added 83 yards and a score as Texas sacks Kyle Boller 5 times. The Stallion QB was called on a lot, with 57 pass attempts, but he could not rally the Stallions in this one. CHICAGO 19 PITTSBURGH 17 The Machine claw their way up the ladder with a road win against a tough Mauler club. Cody Pickett had the better day throwing the ball, but Brady Quinn got the W in the end thanks to a late Maurice Clarett TD run. Quinn finished with only 147 yards to Pickett’s 327, but the Machine D kept Quinn in the game and the offense got the job done when they needed to to pull up to 7-4. Arizona starts Colt Brennan over Carr In a surprising gametime decision this week Coach Jim Tomsula of the Wranglers pulled his NFL import QB, David Carr, and gave the ball to 2nd year QB Colt Brennan. The former Rainbow Warrior from Hawaii had been on the bench all season behind the 7-year NFL veteran, but clearly Tomsula was concerned that Carr may not be the answer in a 3-7 USFL season. Brennan had his issues, tossing a pick and completing only 19 of 36 passes, but he also had some moments, including a 50-yard deep ball to Santana Moss and a very nicely thrown 38-yard completion to Larry Fitzgerald. It seems clear that the QB situation is now a competition as the Wranglers look to improve in 2010. Coach Tomsula is likely to give Brennan more opportunities to prove himself in the final weeks of the season. Under Carr the Wrangler passing game has sputtered, ranked 27th with an average of only 183 yards per game. The Club is averaging only 17 points per game and while Carr is not the sole reason for their struggles, it seems clear that Brennan will be given a shot to show he can do better. As for Carr, who signed a 3-year deal to leave the NFL and come to the desert, this cannot be a good sign. However, as has been pointed out in the local press on numerous occasions, it is not uncommon at all to see NFL imports struggling in their first year in the USFL. The physical strain of playing a full 16-week NFL season and then jumping right into a spring USFL season has often led to wear and tear, both physically and mentally, on NFL players and QBs are certainly not immune from this. So, we expect to see more of Brennan down the stretch, and fully anticipate an open QB competition in camp next spring, after Carr has had a chance to recover from back to back seasons. We may not have seen his best this year, so there is a chance he will be in better shape to compete next year, when the Wranglers as a whole are hoping to put out a better product on the field. Brees Out with Tendinitis Orlando’s loss at home to Atlanta had a lot of causes, and we should certainly give kudos to Coach Ramsey for finding a way to contain Calais Campbell to only 1 sack, but for most the game only turned Atlanta’s way because of the absence of Drew Brees. Brees started to complain of tightness in his throwing arm, particularly the elbow, on Monday, after Orlando’s victory over Memphis. By mid-week he was appearing on the injury list, and by game time he was a scratch. Matt Cassel got the start, and despite completing 21 of 31 passes in the game, he was unable to rally the ‘Gades to a win. He got no help from Knowshon Moreno as Atlanta’s front seven limited the UGA back to 1.8 yards per carry and a grand total of 24 yards for the day. Orlando is still in fine shape, with a 2 game lead over Charlotte and only 3 to play. They could clinch the division with a win over Portland this week and an upset win by Jacksonville over the Hornets, but more importantly, we expect to see Brees back under center for the Renegades as they gear up for what many hope is a Summer Bowl run. Glanville goes ballistic at Plummer Things have not gone as planned for the Thunder this year. The arrival of Jake Plummer from the Wranglers in a blockbuster offseason trade was supposed to be a turning point, the key piece of the puzzle that would finally allow the Thunder offense to match the results that the defense has had for years. But, once again, the Thunder have been a one-sided team, with a Top 3 defense and a bottom 5 defense. Dropping to 5-6 with their loss to Portland this week, Jerry Glanville had apparently had enough. Famous for his sideline blowups, the diminutive head coach got into it on the sideline with his star offseason acquisition, visibly laying into Plummer after missed an open receiver on a key 3rd down play. It was a clear moment of frustration for a coach who is hearing the boobirds and the calls for a change from local fans. And yet, he is not entirely wrong. Plummer was viewed as an offensive savior this offseason, expected to bring MVP-caliber play to the Thunder offense. But the truth is, we have seen declining production from Plummer for the past couple of years. After a very strong 2006, in which he threw 33 touchdowns and only 4 picks, his numbers have steadily declined. His QB Rating went from 120.9 in that 2006 season to 94.3 in 2007, 78.8 in 2008, and now 76.2 in his first year in Las Vegas. Most blamed the decline in Arizona to poor coaching and poor protection, but coming to Las Vegas has not improved either it would seem, and Plummer is beginning to look very much like Joe Namath in his last year in LA, or Ron Jaworski with the Dolphins. Las Vegas was hoping for a Joe Montana-Chiefs situation but may have ended up with more of a Johnny Unitas in San Diego result. That said, Glanville will almost certainly catch heat himself from Las Vegas fans and local sports radio. His blow ups rarely produce better results, and his lack of offensive imagination has been an issue with every team he has coached. If Las Vegas again fail to reach the playoffs, even after investing so much to win the Plummer Fire Sale in the offseason, it could mean more than sideline histrionics, it could mean that Glanville is headed down the road at season’s end. Seattle doing it again? Could it really be happening again? Could Seattle again be recovering from an early season debacle to claw their way back into contention? Last year the Dragons started 0-4, but went 10-2 after that to finish the year solidly in the playoff picture. This season, with another 0-4 start, leading to a 1-6 record at the midway point, and only a 14-game season, the general consensus was that it was not going to happen again. But, this is the team that won a championship in a 6-8 season, and now, after 4 consecutive wins, the Dragons sit 1-game under .500 and find themselves only 1 game out of a Wild Card position. They could do it again if they can win 2-3 more down the stretch. Seattle can get back to .500 with a win against the struggling Las Vegas Thunder this week. They will then face two more teams floating around.500 to close out the year, with a home game against Ohio in Week 13, and a season finale in Tampa Bay against a Bandits team that is in a very similar situation at 5-6. If there is one thing we can say for this club, and Coach Marvin Lewis, it is that they never count themselves out. Once again they seem to be trying to pull off an unlikely 2nd season within the same year, and if they can, they could very well be a dangerous opponent to face in the playoffs, as we learned in their 2005 championship run. We have our first eliminations and our first tickets officially punched to the postseason. As expected, losses by St. Louis and Jacksonville have condemned the Skyhawks and Bulls to an early elimination from playoff contention. Sitting at 1-9 with only 3 weeks left this is not a surprise at all. Memphis, which got a W this week, was also eliminated thanks to an 0-8 conference record, making even a late run to 5-9 a pointless endeavor. On the other side of the standings, two Western teams have locked up their spots in the postseason. Michigan, by virtue of an 8-1 conference record, is assured no worse than a Wild Card, though they hope to fend off Chicago and Pittsburgh, both 1 game back, to win the Central. Oakland has won their division, the first team to do so, thanks to a 5-0 division record. Portland can still catch them with 9 wins (assuming a Stag 3-game win streak paired with Oakland going 0-3 down the stretch) but with 2 division losses already, they cannot win the tiebreaker, thus guaranteeing the Invaders the Pacific Crown. Both Michigan and Oakland sit at 9-2, with Michigan having the edge for the top seed thanks to their conference record and a week 8 victory over the Invaders, but with 3 games left, a loss by the Panthers will upend that calculus and provide Oakland with an opportunity. in the East, things remain quite a bit more muddled, with only 2 games separating current #1 seed Baltimore (8-3) from 8th place New Orleans (6-5). And with no division leader in the conference seeing more than a 2-game lead, we may need to wait a while to determine division winners and playoff spots in the conference. A tough week for some teams trying to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Several contenders took big injury hits this week, starting with Los Angeles, who not only had to put DT Daryl Gardner on IR with a back injury but also expect to miss Mark Sanchez for 1-2 weeks with a shoulder injury. Nashville will be without guard Jeb Terry for the rest of the year after his hip injury was determined to be a fracture to the pelvic bone. Pittsburgh has placed WR Kevin Johnson on IR after he fractured his tibia, while Tampa bay will be without LB Zeke Moreno for the rest of the regular season, with a possible playoff return if they can qualify. Birmingham today confirmed that Mike Rucker will miss at least the next 2 games with turf toe, while Seattle is expected to be without OT Chad Clifton for the next 2 weeks as he deals with an ankle injury. Washington has listed LB Antonio Pierce as doubtful for this week due to a sprained knee, while Portland will be without CB DeAngelo Hall (neck). Philadelphia has CB Antonio Cromartie listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Finally, a sigh of relief from Renegade Nation as Drew Brees was back at practice this week and is listed as probable for the game against Portland. The Class of 2010 Three weeks left in the regular season which means some teams are already looking at the offseason and trying to see if there may be any help coming in the draft. As teams strategize about signings, free agency, the NFL window and the College Draft, there is a lot to factor into a GM’s work. We thought a good place to start would be with the College Draft Class of 2010. We may not know all the juniors who might come out this year, but based on what we know right now, we can assess the top players at each position and see where they could garner some interest in January when the USFL and NFL start making their picks. We will start with the defense and then look at the offense’s best talent to see just who may be on the radar of each USFL club’s scouting team. We will list the top 3 players at each position, indicating if they would be protectable in the Territorial Draft Pool, and then see where the best fits may be. SAFETY: Eric Berry, Tennessee (NSH), Earl Thomas, Texas (TEX), and T. J. Ward of Oregon (POR). All three could be picks in the T-Draft. Of the three, Texas certainly should have an interest in Earl Thomas while we could see Portland or Nashville passing for positions of greater need. CORNER: Joe Haden of Florida (JAX), Kareem Jackson of Alabama (BIR), and Devin McCourty of Rutgers (NJ). We could easily see each of these players being protected as all are in the territorial pools of clubs that certainly need to shore up their defenses. Don’t expect any of the three to make it to the open draft unclaimed. LINEBACKER: Rolando McClain of Alabama (BIR), Sean Weatherspon of Mizzou (STL), and Sean Lee of Penn State (PHI). The Stars are not likely in the market for a linebacker, but both St. Louis and Birmingham could certainly be interested in these top flight linebackers. DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska (DEN), Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma (NJ), and Dan Williams of Tennessee (NSH). The Gold should absolutely protect and throw the bank at Suh to try to land him in the Mile High City. New Jersey could opt for McCoy as well, though they went for B.J. Raji last year, so maybe they look for other positions. Nashville has two solid DTs already in Peria James and Shaun Rogers, so we think Williams might head to the open draft. DEFENSIVE END: Brandon Graham of Michigan (MGN), Jason Pierre-Paul of USF (TBY), and Jerry Hughes of TCU (Houston). Of these three, the best fit is JPP with the Bandits, who could certainly use a polished edge rusher to help that defense. CENTER: Maurkice Pouncey of Florida (JAX) and J. D. Walton of Baylor (TEX) seem like the best options in this year’s group. Jacksonville could go for Pouncey, but it depends on what a new regime is looking for (Sorry, Gunther, we don’t expect you to be with the Bulls in January, not after this season’s collapse.) GUARD: Mike Iupati of Idaho, Jon Asamoah of Illinois (CHI), and Mike Johnson of Alabama (BIR). The top guard in the draft is unprotected, so that means a frenzy in the open draft if guard is a need. Birmingham has a lot of needs so we are not sure if guard will merit one of only 3 T-Draft protected slots. Chicago could certainly go for Asamoah, who would fit in well with their run-first strategy. TACKLE: Trent Williams of OU (NJ), Russell Okung of Oklahoma State, and Bryan Bulaga of Iowa (STL). The Skyhawks need to build a run game and Bulaga would make a lot of sense for them to help in that cause. Guard is a potential area for New Jersey as well, so Trent Williams could be tempting. Okung will be in the open draft since no team has OK State as a protected school. TIGHT END: Jermaine Gresham of OU (NJ), Rob Gronkowski of Arizona (ARZ), and Tony Moeaki of Iowa (STL). We just don’t think New Jersey or St. Louis can prioritize tight end in this year’s draft, so we expect Gresham and Moeaki to be available. Gronkowski may be another story, as Arizona is set at WR and HB, we think, so a TE is a smart move, and Gronkowski offers some very intriguing skill sets. WIDE RECEIVER: Demaryius Thomas of Georgia Tech (ATL), Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State, and Aurelious Benn of Illinois (CHI) are at the top of our list, but it is a pretty good group. Chicago will have to decide if they prefer Benn or Notre Dame’s Golden Tate. We think they will protect one of the two to bring in a new #2 receiver. Atlanta would be foolish to pass up a chance to bring in a potential #1 receiver in Thomas. The need is so obvious. HALFBACK: C. J. Spiller of Clemson (JAX), Jahvid Best of Cal (OAK), and Dexter McCluster of Ole Miss (NSH) are our top 3 backs. With Ricky Williams in Oakland and Frank Gore in Nashville, we think that means that Best and McCluster go to the open market, but Jacksonville should look long and hard at Spiller as an option to add some life to a pretty mundane run game. QUARTERBACK: Sam Bradford of Oklahoma (NJ), Tim Tebow of Florida (JAX), and Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame (CHI) are our top 3 QBs, with Colt McCoy of Texas also in the mix. New Jersey has to be licking their chops at the possibility of signing Bradford. It will not be cheap, as the NFL will also want to put a bid in, but New Jersey is an attractive market to be sure. The big question for us is whether or not Jacksonville will go for the fan favorite and instant ticket seller in Tim Tebow. They have Jake Delhomme solidly in the starting role, so that could produce more issues than answers, but the temptation is great, to be sure. Clausen is not likely to go to Chicago, who signed Brady Quinn only a few years ago, filling their Notre Dame QB quota for a while. Some real talent to be sure in the upcoming draft, and some tough calls for teams that have only 3 T-Draft picks to protect. Do they go for the big-money, big name player, or do they use those picks on depth and positions of need? It is way too early to tell right now. We have to get through free agency, the NFL-USFL transfer window, and the wave of retirements that can change priorities for teams pretty quickly. It is way too early to know anything, but the perfect time to speculate wildly. Best of the USFL: Interior Linemen Another tough position to gauge, both Center and Guard, as stats are just not abundant for most line play positions. While some focus is paid to the ability of guards and centers to pull and contribute to counter and trap run plays, protecting the QB remains the primary facet of their work. C Jeff Saturday (OAK): Two very different players listed as the best centers in the league this year. The first is a 12-year veteran for the Invaders, a player with 2 All-USFL nominations and generally considered the most physically and mentally complete player at the position. C Matt Birk (PHI): Our second selection is in his first year in the USFL after transferring from the NFL this year. Birk came to Philly with a very solid NFL career in his rear view, and he has proven his worth as he has helped the Stars protect Kurt Warner and produce a solid run game at the same time. G Steve Hutchinson (TBY): A 9 year veteran for the Bandits, “Hutch” is one of the best pulling guards in the league and the only guard to win a Player of the Week award in the past 10 years. In 9 years, Hutchinson has averaged fewer than 5 sacks allowed per year, one of the best totals for any consistent starter at the position. G Leonard Davis (TEX): Our second guard in this list is a man mountain for the Outlaws. Not as mobile as Hutchinson, but nearly impossible to move off the line also. Davis is also in his 9th pro season with Texas, and tops Hutch with only 30 sacks allowed over 9 years of action. G Ruben Brown (OAK): The elderstatesman of our list, Brown is in his 14th season in the USFL, much of it spent in Philadelphia before he moved to the West Coast with Oakland in 2007. Another impossible to move inside presence, Brown is known for his ability to move defensive tackles at will, a real asset when you want to establish the run for a big back like Ricky Williams. Others who merit mention and consideration include guards Alan Faneca (LA), Chris Naole (HOU), and Logan Mankins (OAK), along with centers Shaun O’Hara (STL), and Mike Flanagan (DEN). Yes, you read that right, both Oakland’s left and right guards are listed within our small group of the elite players on the interior line, a fact that clearly helps explain the ability of the Invaders to run a consistently strong interior rushing strategy. Three weeks left in the season, lots of playoff spots left to claim, and 5 of 6 divisions still up for grabs, so what can Week 12 tell us? Well, with 12 divisoinal games, this week will absolutely be a difference maker for many teams. Let’s Break it down. FRIDAY @ 8pm Memphis ( 2-9) @ New Orleans (6-5) NBC SATURDAY @ 12pm Tampa Bay (5-6) @ Atlanta (4-7) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Philadelphia (6-5) @ Pittsburgh (7-4) FOX SATURDAY @ 12pm Jacksonville (1-10) @ Charlotte (6-5) FOX SATURDAY @ 4pm Denver (7-4) @ Texas (4-7) ABC SATURDAY @ 4pm Oakland (9-2) @ Los Angeles (4-7) FOX SATURDAY @ 8pm Seattle (5-6) @ Las Vegas (5-6) ESPN SUNDAY @ 12pm Ohio (6-5) @ Michigan (9-2) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm New Jersey (3-8) @ Boston (7-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 12pm Birmingham (4-7) @ Nashville (7-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm St. Louis (1-10) @ Chicago (7-4) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Orlando (8-3) @ Portland (6-5) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Arizona (3-8) @ Houston (6-5) FOX SUNDAY @ 8pm Washington (8-3) @ Baltimore (8-3) ESPN

Player of the Week: Joey Harrington's 400 yard, 4 TD day not only won him Player of the Week, but helped Oakland become the first club to lock up their division. Playoff Picture: As expected, we saw our first clinchings and our first eliminations this week. Michigan locked up a playoff berth at 9-2 while Oakland did one better, taking the Pacific Division Title thanks to a 3-game lead in the division and a spotless division record. On the other end of the spectrum, three teams are officially playing for pride, or to keep their head coach employed. Memphis, Jacksonville, and St. Louis were all eliminated this week.

Player of the Week: There could be no doubt that Calais Campbell would get this honor after a truly monsterous 5-sack performance against Brett Favre and Memphis. Campbell now sits only 1 sack behind Chris Dolman for the league record and has 4 games left to play. Playoff Picture: No clinching or eliminations after 10 weeks, thanks in part to the expanded 14-team field, which is even keeping the 1-win clubs mathematically alive.

Baltimore gets a shock from the visiting Bandits, and we see a huge win for Seattle, as they keep their slim playoff hopes alive with an overtime surprise in Chicago. Charlotte falls again, as do Boston and Philadelphia, while Oakland keeps on rolling. The stakes are getting higher with each week, and this week’s results create a logjam in the middle of the standings in both conferences, assuring we will continue to have meaningful games all across the league each week. In addition to running through the scores of the week, we will take a look at the coaches feeling the heat, review the one last-second trade before the league’s trade deadline, and look at the best of the best when it comes to edge rushers in the USFL. All that in this Week 10 edition of This is the USFL. SEATTLE DRAGONS 44 CHICAGO MACHINE 38 OVERTIME Someday we are going to focus on a hard fought but low-scoring defensive game, but that day is not today. This week’s game of the week was viewed as a battle between a team that relies on its offense against one that is dominated by its defense, but what we got, and pretty early on, was a shootout that would take the game into extra time before it was decided. Seattle, sitting on the fringe of playoff elimination at 3-6 was heading into Chicago to face a 6-3 Machine club that had designs on catching the frontrunners in the Central Division. These two would amass over 900 yards of total offense and over 700 yards passing in a game that saw Chicago lead from the early moments until the late 3rd quarter, then fall behind before equalizing and sending the game to overtime. The game began with Chicago receiving the ball and taking nearly 8 minutes to drive the length of the field, an 81-yard drive that culminated in a short TD toss from Brady Quinn to Donald Driver. After a quick 3-and-out from Seattle, the Machine got the ball back and scored again, this time on a 17-yard run from their workhorse, Michael Turner. After going down 14-0, Seattle woke up, and on their 2nd possession they closed out the first quarter by marching 67 yards and capping off their drive with Byron Leftwich hitting David Boston for a 17-yard TD throw. 14-7 at the end of one. In the second quarter Seattle evened up the score, and they did it on one play. After forcing a Chicago punt, Seattle got the ball on the 30 and on 1st and 10 they faked the ball to Corey Dillon. Chicago bit on the fake, and the safeties surged forward. That allowed Nate Burleson to find single coverage as he flew down the right sideline. Leftwich avoided the rush and hit Burleson in stride. In one play, the Dragons had gone 70 yards and added a second TD to their score, evening the game at 14. Chicago would rebound from the defensive slip, again using a mix of the run game of Michael Turner and short passes from Quinn to move the ball down the field in a methodical 10-play drive that culminated with their lead back’s 2nd TD run of the day. But, while the offense was doing its part, the vaunted Chicago defense was struggling to get to Leftwich, and the Boston receivers were taking advantage to get behind the coverage. Seattle again struck quickly. They needed only 5 plays before David Boston again equalized the score, getting the connection from Leftwich on a 30-yard strike. Leftwich, who would finish the day with an epic performance of 453 yards and 5 TD passes, was just hitting his stride. Chicago continued to battle for the lead, retaking a 7-point advantage late in the half as Quinn found Anthony Fasano for a short TD in the half’s final minute. We went into the break with the Machine leading (tenuously) 28-21. The second half saw Seattle get their first lead. They would hold Chicago scoreless in the third, and after getting a Dave Rayner field goal to get within 4 at 28-24, they would finally grab their first advantage when Leftwich again found a path to the endzone, connecting with TE Tyler Eckler from 26 yards away. The score put Seattle up by 3 and sent a clear message that Seattle was not intimidated by the Machine or their defensive reputation. They would add to this slim lead as the final period began, Leftwich landing his 5th TD pass of the game, a short crossing route from the 3-yard line to Dwayne Jarrett that gave the Dragons a 38-28 lead. While the defense struggled, Chicago showed that they too were capable of moving the ball, first garnering a field goal to pull back to within 7 and then mounting a 2-minute drill to close out the game’s four quarters. Quinn relied on his receivers in the final drive, the only Chicago drive not to heavily feature Michael Turner. With connections to Driver, Fasano, Johnny Knox, and finally a 9-yard TD strike to Anquon Boldin with only 5 seconds left on the clock, Chicago came back from the 10-point deficit and sent the game to overtime. In overtime, both teams failed on their first possessions. Chicago got a second chance and believed they were in position to win the game with a Tim Seder field goal, but the winds at Soldier Field are tricky and Seder’s kick sailed to the right, giving Seattle a chance to win the game with a final drive as the overtime period hit 3 minutes remaining. Seattle did just that, moving the ball crisply down the field, helped at one point by a neutral zone infraction, but largely once again on tosses from Leftwich tohis primary receivers, David Boston (104 yards on the day), Nate Burleson (88 yards), and his tight ends. With the ball placed at the 3-yard line after a Tyler Eckler catch, Seattle turned to their short yardage back, Ladell Betts, and the big man earned his keep, plunging into the endzone on a dive play. Seattle took the W, keeping their somewhat slim playoff hopes alive, while Chicago slid to 6-4, now 2 games behind Michigan and 1 behind Pittsburgh, with 4 games left to play. TAMPA BAY 30 BALTIMORE 20 Friday’s week opener was all we could have wanted as the Bandits found their offense and Baltimore, even with Roethlisberger in the lineup, struggled to stay with only 1 loss on the year. Big Ben would throw three picks to the suddenly ball-hawking Bandits, while Willis McGahee stunned the Blitz with 120 yards rushing. Ron Dayne added 121 of his own, but it was not enough as Tampa Bay wins by 10 thanks in part to a tenacious defense that made life tough for Big Ben all game long. NASHVILLE 27 BOSTON 19 The Knights also get a valuable road win as they upend Boston thanks to TD runs from Cedric Cobbs and Peyton Hillis. The Knights sacked Drew Bledsoe 5 times and held him to 17 of 41 passing, which kneecapped the Boston offense and gave Nashville their 7th win of the season, keeping them in first place in the South. CHARLOTTE 10 WASHINGTON 31 Desperation time for the Monarchs, who acquired a new QB just days before this game. That may have been prescient as Chris Wienke struggled with 2 picks and 5 sacks against the Feds. On offense Washington relied heavily on Deuce McCallister and his 134 yards rushing to get the job done. Kordell Stewart added two short TD passes to help the Feds pull away and win by 21. LAS VEGAS 17 PITTSBURGH 6 The Maulers expected to face a tough D when they met the Thunder, but they also had to deal with a rejuvenated offense, thanks to the arrival of WR Willie Ponder, who caught 5 balls for 91 yards as Jake Plummer got the W on the road. JACKSONVILLE 27 BIRMINGHAM 30 A really good game that very few across the country watched. Birmingham would just not go away, scoring the game-tying field goal with 4:57 left and then racing down the field in the final seconds to set up Kris Brown for the game winner. Michael Bush got his first TD as a Stallion and Kyle Boller found Dedrick Ward as the Stallions pulled out the win at home. TEXAS 20 OHIO 24 Texas was game but this was a win that Ohio had to have. They struggled early, but came back to win this one on a Kevin Smith TD catch. Eddie George and T. J. Duckett both went over 100 yards in this game, a close match where the difference may well have been the 7 penalties that Texas committed in the 2nd half. HOUSTON 10 MICHIGAN 14 A defensive slugfest that only saw scoring in the first and final periods. Mike Sims-Walker (HOU) and Hines Ward (MGN) scored in the first, and Houston went up 10-7 midway through the fourth, but backup Drew Stanton (in for a dinged-up Brian Griese) completed only 1 pass in the 4th quarter, but it was a long TD pass to TE Bennie Joppru for the win. ATLANTA 24 PHILADELPHIA 19 A bad home loss for Philadelphia, who clearly did not take Atlanta seriously enough. Kyle Orton went 20 of 24, but it was the Atlanta run game that did in the Stars, with Darren McFadden and J. J. Arrington both scoring for the Fire. Philadelphia went 3 for 14 on third down and just could not get Atlanta’s offense off the field as they fall to 5-5. NEW ORLEANS 16 NEW JERSEY 23 The Generals played a good game at home, despite the boo birds at Giants Stadium. Ryan Fitzpatrick went 21 of 28 for 259 yards and connected with T.J. Houshmandzadeh and R. J. Redmond for a 2-TD day. Eli Manning did not fare as well, and the Generals defense also held the Breaker run game in check as they earned their 3rd win of the year. ORLANDO 21 MEMPHIS 7 Maybe Brett Favre should have stayed out one more week. The Memphis line was dominated utterly by Orlando, with Calais Campbell getting to Favre a painful 5 times. Three more from blitzing safety Tony Carter gave Orlando 8 sacks of the former MVP and made sure his return to action was memorable but not in a way Favre would have wanted. LOS ANGELES 4 ST. LOUIS 10 The Skyhawks finally get one in the win column as their defense holds LA scoreless. The only LA points came on an early safety and then a later deliberate one on a punt backed up to the 1-yard line. Not that it was an offensive showcase for St. Louis either as the only TD was a Fred Baxter swing pass from Josh Freeman. But, a win is a win, and St. Louis showed spirit throughout the game, holding LA to only 10 first downs all game. OAKLAND 29 ARIZONA 17 The Invaders continue to find ways to win, this time getting TDs from Pierre Garçon, Ricky Williams, and Greg Jennings on their way to a 12-point win in the desert. It was only 20-17 after 3 quarters but Oakland dominated the final period and pulled away for the 9-point win, their 8th on the year. PORTLAND 23 DENVER 6 A bad day for the Gold as their run defense totally collapsed, giving up 140 yards to Jonathan Stewart and the Stags. Portland QB A. J. Feeley also had an easier than expected day, completing 21 of 28 passes against the usually staunch Denver defense. Denver was held to only 2 of 11 on third down, cutting drives short and allowing Portland to pull away in the second half. Campbell Manhandles Favre in Return to Action It was a dream game for Calais Campbell and a nightmare for Brett Favre. Memphis’s offensive line could do nothing right against the USFL sack leader, providing Campbell with the kind of game that DE’s dream of. Campbell was in the backfield so much he should have been given credit as a Memphis running back. Five sacks and another 8 QB pressures. The haul put him 1 game behind Chris Doleman’s league record of 29 sacks and the Renegades still have 4 games to play, almost guaranteeing Campbell the record. Of course, what makes this even sweeter is the success the team is having. The ‘Gades have won 4 in a row after a stumble against Pittsburgh, have a 3 game lead on the Southeastern Division with only 4 left to play, and are now tied with Baltimore at 8-2, giving Orlando a real shot at the #1 seed and the only bye week available in this year’s expanded 7-team Eastern Conference Playoffs. Campbell is a huge part of that success, as his pressure on opposing QB’s has helped Orlando rise up to be the #2 defense in the league for yards allowed and third in points allowed at only 16.2 per game. Next up for Campbell are the Atlanta Fire, so you might want to include QB Kyle Orton in your prayers for this week as Orlando and their sophomore sensation at DE square up to take down the Fire and possibly clinch the division in Week 11. 11th Hour Trade Sends QB to Charlotte Not willing to cede the Southeast to Orlando just yet, Charlotte finally addressed their offensive concerns and made a deal at the deadline to try to bolster that side of the ball. All season long the Monarchs have depended on their defense, but the calls that Chris Weinke is not getting the job done finally led Charlotte to bring in some competition. On Thursday the Monarchs pulled the trigger on a deal that sent their 2nd round pick in the upcoming 2010 draft to the LA Express to bring former Express starter Seneca Wallace to the Queen City. The move makes sense for both clubs. With LA having moved on to rookie Mark Sanchez as their starter, and with Jeff Garcia, Seneca Wallace, and Brodie Croyle in a crowded QB group, LA gets some value for their former starter and is able to call up Croyle from the practice squad. Charlotte brings in some competition for Chris Weinke, hoping to see a reaction similar to what we have seen this year in Pittsburgh, where the presence of Pat White seems to have lit a fire under their starter, Cody Pickett. Despite the early season success of the Monarchs, Weinke has been a question mark all year. Now that they have dropped 5 of 6 and slid well out of first place, the questions have become louder. Weinke’s numbers explain why. He has an 8:12 TD:INT rato, and is under 60% completions for the year. His QBR, which was a mediocre 84.7 last year, has dipped to 70.1 this year, third worst among regular starters (with Arizona’s David Carr and Texas’s Joe Flacco the only sub 70.0 starters in the league.) The hope, of course, is that Wallace’s presence will inspire better play from Weinke, because it is unlikely that the traded Wallace will be able to start for at least 2 weeks. Wallace is also at the end of his contract year, so Charlotte will have to pony up some funds if they want to keep him into 2010. They have the room to do that under the cap, but may be tempted, if they fall even further, to start Wallace in the season’s final weeks just to see what they have traded for. So, for Weinke, he may have only 1-2 weeks to show that he can handle the position and retain the starting job. At 5-5, Charlotte is still very much in playoff position, but their current run of losses has to get turned around if Weinke and the Monarchs have any hopes for the future. Houston could miss Shaun Alexander for Home Stretch A bad break for a player having a very good year as Houston halfback Shaun Alexander could be done for the year after a nasty collision left him with two broken bones in his dominant arm. Alexander crashed into two Michigan defenders in the third quarter of the Houston loss in Detroit on Saturday night. Immediately it was clear that something had gone horribly wrong, as the camera shot quickly turned away from the halfback. What has since been seen was Alexander’s right arm dangling awkwardly, showing evidence of at least one bone broken clean through. X-rays revealed that both the radius and the ulna were broken by the collision, with the radius broken through. The injury will force Alexander to forego the rest of the season. He is already in a full plaster cast, with the bones reset and isolated for the foreseeable future. Prior to his injury, Alexander was having perhaps the best season of his career, with over 700 yards in his first 9 games. He was well on pace for a third consecutive 1,000 yard season, and was among the top 5 rushers in the league. Now, with 4 games left in the regular season and the Gamblers in a dead heat for the SW Division title with Denver, Alexander is out and Houston will turn to a combination of 3rd down back Kevin Faulk and former rotational back Tatum Bell to get the job done. With the trade deadline already passed, Houston just does not have much of an option beyond the two players already on their roster. Alexander is expected to be able to resume play for 2010, but even if Houston makes a deep playoff run, the expectation is that the big back will be out of action. Big Day Means No Griping from Moss, For Now. After blowing up in post-game media after a Glory loss last week, there was something of a morbid curiosity over what would happen were Randy Moss and the Glory to suffer another defeat this week against Texas, but, with a 24-20 win, and with Moss targeted 6 times, catching 4 for 125 yards, it was radio silence out of the extroverted wideout. Moss did not always seem happy on the sideline as Texas did give Ohio a tough game, but after the game Moss was largely quiet and largely towed the line for the Glory. While there are reports that he had been fined by the team for his Week 9 outburst, one in which he questioned both his QB and his head coach (despite their undeniable success over the past decade) and demanded to either get the ball more or get a shot to play elsewhere, any fines levied by the team have not been made public. With Moss, there is no doubt an issue with being viewed by many as the #2 option behind Glory legend Joey Galloway, a position the former Bandit never had in Tampa Bay. That, combined with two seasons of reduced productivity have clearly gotten to the Marshall U. product, who is very outspoken about his own belief in his value as a player. Should Ohio continue to win games to get back in the hunt in a very tough Central Division, and should Moss continue to see more balls headed his way, we expect the outbursts will be contained, but should Ohio falter, or should Moss feel looked over by QB Kerry Collins, we could well return to a very vocal, very disgruntled wideout in Ohio. With a 14-team playoff field it is still too early for any clinching or any disqualification, but we are not far off. Several teams sitting at 8-2 (Baltimore, Orlando, Washington, Michigan, and Oakland) could, with the right combination of results, lock up playoff berths next week. Likewise, several 1-win teams could see themselves officially out of contention with another loss. For now it is all still unsettled, and what may be more interesting, there are 14 teams, a full 50% of the league sitting between 6-4 and 4-6. With 4 weeks left to play any of these 14 midling clubs could find their way to postseason play or flop right out of the picture. Yes, even early season write offs like Birmingham and Seattle are back in play, along with some teams that seem to be swooning late in the season (Charlotte’s 4 game losing streak, as well as LA’s 2 game slide come to mind.) A lot to be settled, and a lot just unknown at this time. A bad week across the league, not just for the Gamblers, who lose both HB Shaun Alexander (IR) and wideout Mike Sims-Walker (1-2 weeks, foot). Portland saw DE Ebenezer Ekuban suffer a neck injury that will require surgery, ending his season. Charlotte HB Travis Prentice suffered a partial tear of his hamstring in a non-contact injury. New Orleans put OT Mark Tauscher on IR with a fracture to his tibia, and St. Louis lost HB Dominic Rhodes for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. Add to this the decision by Tampa Bay to put Brad Gradkowski on IR, in part due to the success of Rhett Bomar last week, and the news out of the Bay that veteran LB Kevin Mitchell could miss 2-4 weeks with a shoulder injury and you have a lot of teams looking for a lot of answers. Coaches on the Hot Seat Ten weeks in, only four to go, and for several USFL head coaches, these final four weeks could be the difference between getting another year to prove their plans are moving in the right direction or finding themselves suddenly free each Sunday. By our count there are at least 6 coaches whose positions are very much in jeopardy right now. For some it may well be too late to salvage anything out of the season, while for others their future hangs very much in the balance in the final month of the season. Here is our look at the six head coaches who are feeling the heat right now. Brad Childress (JAX): It does not look good for Childress, or for the Bulls in general. In his 11th season with the Bulls, Childress has had some success, including playoff appearances in 5 of those seasons, but a playoff record of 4-5 and a decline from 10 wins in 2006 to 8, 7, and so far only 1 win this year likely means that his tenure in Jacksonville is coming to an end. The Bulls are likely to make some major overhauls this year, and we think that will start at the top. Hue Jackson (LA): The promise was there. Jackson took LA to the Summer Bowl in his first year (2006) but since then it has been diminishing returns, with a Wild Card appearance the next year, then 6-10 in 2008, and this year a 4-6 record so far means that a turnaround is needed for Jackson to qualify for the postseason again. It may well take at least a 3-1 final month to get LA into contention, and while there is some leeway given to a coach managing a rookie QB, a losing season again this year could mean that the Express bring someone new in to help ready Mark Sanchez for more success in the future. Jerry Glanville-LV: The situation in Las Vegas is very similar to that of LA, with one glaring difference, Jerry Glanville, despite all his bravado and bluster, has yet to get the Thunder over the top and into the playoffs. His best season in the 4 completed years was a 9-7 campaign last year, and there was promise there, but at 5-5, the Thunder need to win 3 of 4 to have a shot at a playoff spot. If he can attain that, then Glanville may get one more year, but if the Thunder finish 7-7 or worse, it just does not seem viable that ownership would keep “The man in black” on the sideline for 2010. Mike Nolan-NOR: 2009 marks Mike Nolan’s 10th season in New Orleans, and he certainly has had some success, with 6 playoff appearances over that time, but nearly all have been Wild Card spots at or near the .500 mark, and at 5-5 we find the Breakers at that mediocre middle ground once again. Throw in a 7-6 playoff record (boosted by a Summer Bowl appearance in 2003) and Nolan has to be considered another coach who needs to snag 3 of 4 down the home stretch. We think an 8-6 record and a Wild Card will help his cause, but even that may not be enough, particularly as so many are still wondering why Eli Manning has not fulfilled the promise he shows at moments but never consistently. Norv Turner-TEX: Turner may be the victim of heightened expectations. The Outlaws were a trendy pick to be a team on the rise, potentially a challenger to Houston and Denver in the Southwest, but a 3-7 record at this stage feels very much like a team that will once again finish 3rd in the division, possibly 4th. Turner may avoid a third straight 10-loss season, and that would be good, but will 6-8 or 5-9 be good enough to give him a 4th year in Texas? Doug Williams-STL: This is only the 2nd year at the helm for Doug Williams, the former All-USFL QB, but starting the year 0-9 is no way to demonstrate growth to ownership. They got their first win this week, but it was a very ugly win, one that does not show us a lot of potential for a 2nd win this year or growth in 2010. The one saving grace for Williams is that Josh Freeman has shown some potential. If St. Louis can eke out a 2nd or 3rd win this year, with Freeman beginning to look like a legitimate starter, then perhaps Williams gets a third season to show that the plan is beginning to work, but that is a big “if”. Odds do not look good for year 3 of the Williams era in St. Louis. Best of the USFL—Defensive Ends The edge rushing defensive end has been a glamour position in the USFL since the start of the league, with Reggie White still the gold standard, but the story of the year this year has been the emergence of Calais Campbell as the latest in a line of QB terrifying ends that stretches from White to Doleman to Hansen, and now appears to rest in Orlando once again. But Campbell is not the only player in the league to inspire fear in the QB or gameplans from the OC to handle their presence. We chose our Top 5, with Campbell on top and several familiar names to follow, a list no quarterback wants to see on the schedule, to be sure. Calais Campbell (ORL): The season this sophomore pro has had is one that rivals all of the legends of the league. In only 10 games he has amassed 28 sacks, one away from the league record with 4 games left to play. After a very strong rookie year that was cut short by injury, Campbell has emerged this year as a dominant force on defense. Paired with DT Albert Haynesworth, Campbell is averaging nearly 3 sacks per game, and is redefining what success at the DE position looks like. Anthony Weaver (CHI): In any other year, Anthony Weaver’s 14 sacks in 10 games would have him competing for the league lead. Chicago’s big man on the edge is as consistent as they come, with his 6th year of double digit sacks in the last 7 already guaranteed and the potential to reach his 20 sack total from 2008 still very much alive. Weaver is not the flashiest end in the league, but he certainly is one of the most effective. Kavika Pittman (HOU): It is not all about longevity, though Pittman being in his 14th season in the USFL is impressive enough. It is about consistency. The last time Pittman failed to get 10 sacks in a season was when he was still in college. That is right, 14 years and 14 seasons of double-digit sacks, including several sacks titles and a career total of 244 sacks that has him 3rd on the all time list, behind only Phil Hansen and Reggie White. Kyle Vanden Bosch (PIT): Playing on some pretty shady Mauler squads, Kyle Vanden Bosch has not always gotten the attention he deserves, but in his 9 seasons with the Maulers, the big man has never failed to reach 10 sacks in a season, and is usually closer to 20. He has 13 so far this year, and would love to catch up to Anthony Weaver for 2nd in the league. Not the fastest edge rusher, Vanden Bosch is great with his hands, and has a range of power moves to get past even the most experienced left tackles. Mike Rucker (BIR): Another bright star in a cloudy sky, Rucker has been the best defender in Birmingham for most of his career. Unfortunately, the Stallions have just not been very good for a big chunk of that career. A 20-sack guy in 2008, Rucker is a little off that pace this year, with only 11 sacks, but remains a wrecking ball of a LE for the Stallions. Others who were part of our conversation, and who may well see their repuatation rise in the next few years, include Boston’s Jason Babin, Seattle veteran John Abraham (SEA), Oakland’s Justin Smith, and one of this year’s breakout players, Charlotte Monarch LE Julius Peppers (CHA), who is finally having the kind of year we have been waiting for. Ohio Gets a Facelift A new look for the Ohio Glory as they presented their new Reebok-designed logos and uniforms this week at Ohio Stadium. Don’t expect a major overhaul for the league’s only back-to-back champions, but it will be 7 years since their last title in 2010 so a tweak and a revision to their look is certainly appropriate. The logo is the first item revealed, an updated version of the familiar bald eagle logo. A bit more linear and a bit less cartoonish than the original 1995 design, the new eagle logo remains atop a rondel, a callback to the state flag of Ohio, complete with internal stars and still gripping a red and white banner in its beak. Along with the new primary logo there is a new wordmark, featuring a more modern font with the “o” a circular “buckeye” in red, with a white star and blue outline. This new wordmark will also serve as a secondary logo along with the familiar silhouette of the state “draped banner” logo that has been used for the past few years. The uniforms also see modest changes. We will still see the team’s well-recognized flag blue helmets with white facemasks, we still have blue and white jerseys and pant sets. The striping will be different, with red-white-red stripes paired with blue on all elements, in some cases highlighting the primary logo and in others the “buckeye” letter “O”. The new wordmark, along with 3 stars are part of the collar and chest. The three stars are said to represent the capital city of Columbus and the 2 league titles the Glory have won to date. The same 3 stars are seen on the helmet surrounding each player’s number. The jerseys feature a new number format, with a drop shadow in red on both looks. It is still a very recognizable look for a team that has been one of the league’s most popular in jersey sales for nearly a decade. Week 11 brings us a mix of divisional and inter-divisional games as the SW Division heads to the Southern Division and the other 4 divisions stay largely in house. That means a lot of potential impact on the playoff and seeding chases across both conferences. It all begins on Friday when Denver heads to Music City to take on the Nashville Knights. Both clubs need the win to help them towards a division title, so this should be a good one. On Saturday we have some do-or-die games as 5-5 teams Tampa Bay and Charlotte clash in Florida. Both Las Vegas and Portland sit at 5-5 as well and will face off at Columbia Sportswear Stadium. LA and Seattle, both sitting at 4-6 and on life support for a playoff spot, will face off in Seattle on Saturday night, with the loser likely done. Sunday kicks off with Boston facing Washington in a NE Battle, then at 4pm, we have Houston at New Orleans and Chicago heading to Pittsburgh in a key Central Division clash. The weekend concludes back on the East Coast, where Philadelphia (5-5) need to pull off the home win against Baltimore (8-2) to have any chance to stay in the playoff hunt. FRIDAY @ 8pm Denver (6-4) @ Nashville (7-3) NBC SATURDAY @ 12pm Atlanta (3-7) @ Orlando (8-2) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Charlotte (5-5) @ Tampa Bay (5-5) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Ohio (5-5) @ New Jersey (3-7) FOX SATURDAY @ 4pm Las Vegas (5-5) @ Portland (5-5) ABC SATURDAY @ 4pm Michigan (8-2) @ St. Louis (1-9) FOX SATURDAY @ 8pm Los Angeles (4-6) @ Seattle (4-6) ESPN SUNDAY @ 12pm Oakland (8-2) @ Jacksonville (1-9) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Arizona (3-7) @ Memphis (1-9) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Boston (6-4) @ Washington (8-2) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Houston (6-4) @ New Orleans (5-5) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Texas (3-7) @ Birmingham (4-6) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Chicago (6-4) @ Pittsburgh (7-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 8pm Baltimore (8-2) @ Philadelphia (5-5) ESPN

Player of the Week: Another big week for Drew Bledsoe as he puts up 4 touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in a big win to move the Cannons to 6-3 and deep into the playoff picture.

Some big time stumbles this week as several 4-4 teams bite the dust in a week filled with disappointment for teams eagerly chasing a playoff spot. New Orleans, Las Vegas, Ohio, and Tampa Bay all take a step back in their quest to qualify for the expanded 2009 playoffs. Things have also gotten dicey for Charlotte, who drop their 4th game in 5 attempts, while everything is going as planned for the Orlando Renegades and Chicago Machine, among others. It is no time to panic, but there are a lot of teams around the league that need to get hot and go on a streak if they want to compete for a Wild Card. We have 5 weeks left and no room for errors as the season races towards decision time and the playoffs. TAMPA BAY BANDITS 35 ORLANDO RENEGADES 40 The predictions pre-game for this one were that both teams would lean on their defenses to try to get a vital win within the division, and the predictions were way off. This was a shootout form the beginning, It was a wild game from the onset, with Tampa Bay playing most of the game with their 3rd string QB in the game, a third stringer who would go on to have a monster game with 4 TDs in his first ever pro action. Orlando would take the early lead and hold it throughout, but the Bandits would not make it easy, throwing caution to the wind and opening up the playbook in an all out effort to get a needed divisional win. The game opened with Brad Gradkowski getting the start as Daunte Culpepper dealt with a pinched nerve in his throwing arm, an injury that apparently had been an issue off and on going all the way back to 2008. He was unable to effectively grip the ball, so the Bandits had no other choice but to give the start to Brad Gradkowski. The 4th year backup was impressive in the opening drive, connecting on 3 of 4 passes for 60 of the drive’s 74 yards, and finishing up with a 35-yard TD toss to Chris Doering to open scoring on the day. Orlando would immediately respond with their own drive, a 78-yarder, culminating with Drew Brees hitting Michael Jenkins for the equalizer. The game was off and running with both offenses seemingly getting the upper hand. That reality appeared to come crashing down when on the first play of the second drive, Gradkowski was sacked by DT Albert Haynesworth, and fell awkwardly on his throwing shoulder. He would go immediately to the sideline, with untested Rhett Bomar trotting onto the field. The rookie out of Sam Houston State would be taking his first snaps in pro football and would be finishing out the game. Tampa Bay played that first drive very cautiously, and it led to a 3-and-out, but that would not remain the case for long. As the 2nd quarter began, Orlando started to look like they would take advantage of Tampa’s fragile QB situation and run away with the game. In the period they scored 12 unanswered points, starting with a field goal, then a Knowshon Moreno TD on a swing pass from Brees, and finally a safety when Chauncey Davis trapped Bomar in the endzone. Orlando would go up 19-7 and would be feeling pretty good about their situation, but that is when Steve Spurrier quickly decided to take off the training wheels and play with abandon. The final drive of the first half saw Bomar in the shotgun on almost every play, and as the Bandits mixed McGahee runs with a lot of slant and quick out routes, Bomar started to look more comfortable, connecting with Doering for his first pro TD, a 22-yard toss & run that brought Tampa Bay to within one score. It would go into the half at 19-14 Orlando. The Renegades would continue to pressure Bomar, collecting 7 sacks on the rookie all game long, and they would continue to push the balldown the field on offense, but Bomar did not back down. After Drew Brees hit Michael Jenkins for his second TD of the day, a 7-yard fade route, Bomar and the Bandits came right back, and once again it was Chris Doering, now with his 3rd TD of the game, as Bomar hit him on a very well placed corner route pass that got the Bandit fans in attendance to their feet. This was not going to be an Orlando route of a wounded Bandit team. This was going to be a fight. Up only 26-21, Orlando got right back to their offensive gameplan, mixing Moreno runs (he would finish with 103 yards on the day) with quick passes. Brees would again find Jenkins for a score, his third on the day, and Orlando would once again be up by 12, 33-21. Bomar and the Bandits pushed the ball again, but this time Bomar’s inexperience showed itself. Trying to force the ball to Doering, Bomar threw an ill-advised ball and Orlando’s Atari Bigby picked it off, returning the pick 61 yards for a score to give Orlando their biggest lead of the day, 19 points, as they hoped they had put the stake in the heart of the undead Bandits. But, Tampa Bay was just not going to go away. With time winding down in the third quarter, Bomar continued to look to throw the ball, now with little choice, down by 3 scores. As the period came to a close, he connected with Karl Williams on another well-thrown ball, and Tampa Bay cut into Orlando’s lead, finishing the period at 40-28 and within range for a potential comeback. The 4th quarter saw both teams trying everything to slow down the opposition. Both defenses began blitzing with abandon and both QBs were impacted. Drew Brees would throw two picks in the quarter, giving Tampa Bay hope, but Orlando would garner 4 of its 8 sacks on the day in the period as well, keeping the Bandits at bay for most of the period and forcing Rhett Bomar to scramble and toss away several throws. Bomar would get the Bandits closer than was comfortable for Orlando with 2 minutes left in the game, when a blitz left slot receiver Davone Bess with only 1 man to beat in the secondary, and the quick slant turned into a score, Bomar’s 4th TD toss on the day. Tampa Bay was back within 7 at 40-35, but time was running out. The Bandits elected to go for the onside kick, hoping to recapture the ball and have nearly 2 full minutes to get the game winner. Initially it appeared that the Bandits recovered the short kick, but upon review, gunner Philip Buchanon had his foot out of bounds when he first touched the ball, which disqualified him and gave the ball to the Renegades. Orlando fed the ball to Moreno on first down, then brought in Cedric Benson on 2nd and 3rd down, converting a 3rd and 2 with a 3-yard Benson run to bring the clock under one minute and use up all of Orlando’s time outs. From there Drew Brees took a knee twice and the Renegade faithful finally breathed a sigh of relief. Orlando had come out on top, solidifying their division lead with a 7-2 record, at the same time knocking Tampa Bay below .500 and out of the 7-team playoff grouping with 5 weeks left to play. But, along the way, the Bandits may just have discovered their potential future at QB with an impressive debut for a largely unheralded rookie QB. They, of course, are hoping to see Culpepper back in action next week, but Bomar is likely to be the backup with Gradkowski likely out for 1-2 weeks, so we may see the young QB in action again. NEW JERSEY 14 BALTIMORE 17 Despite losing Ryan Fitzpatrick to injury early in the game, New Jersey held a surprising 14-3 advantage at the half, but Baltimore rallied with 14 unanswered points to take the win. Two Martin Grammatica field goals surrounded a Ron Dayne TD run with 2 point PAT as Baltimore avoided the trap game and came out with the win in the end. ST. LOUIS 7 PITTSBURGH 24 The Maulers took care of business in front of a raucous 42,450 at Heinz Field as they scored the first 17 points of the game to take control. Vincent Jackson caught both first half TD tosses from Cody Pickett, while Kevin Johnson contributed 113 yards receiving and added the game’s final score, as Pittsburgh moved to an impressive 7-2 on the year. OHIO 17 CHICAGO 20 Randy Moss threw a fit after this one. He was targeted only 6 times and held to only 60 yards on 3 receptions as Ohio again struggled to put the pieces together against Chicago’s defense. Michael Turner had no complants, fed the ball 28 times, he rushe for 123 and a score as Chicago improved to 6-3 and sent Ohio under .500 at 4-5. BIRMINGHAM 7 ARIZONA 42 No one saw this coming as Arizona explodes for 6 TDs in this one. Sedrick Irvin exploited the Stallion D for 123 yards and 2 scores. Ahmad Galloway had another 58 and a score, while Colt Brennan, in after a blow to Dereck Carr sent him to the locker room, went 11 of 16 to help Arizona pull away in this one. Kyle Boller’s 4-interception day certainly did not help as Jimmy Williams returned one for a score a swell. NEW ORLEANS 16 TEXAS 17 A very nice home win for the Outlaws as nearly 50,000 cheered on Texas in Dallas. New Orleans took the lead on a Fred Jackson TD run, but in the 4th Joe Flacco executed a perfect screen pass to T. J. Duckett to give Texas the 17-16 lead and the defense did the rest, picking off a desperate 4th down Manning pass to preserve the 3rd win of the year for the Outlaws. SEATTLE 34 PORTLAND 11 Seatle made sure Portland would not jump over .500, scoring twice in the 1st (Boston and Sproles) and then adding on TDs from Tyler Eckler and Corey Dillon to build up a lead Portland simply could not overcome. Dillon would rush for 79 yards and a score while Byron Leftwich picked apart the Stags’ defense for 333 yards. CHARLOTTE 14 MICHIGAN 33 Charlotte loses their 4th game in the past 5 weeks as they simply did not match up well against Michigan. The Panthers used the run to balance the offense, with Fargas and Washington combining for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brian Griese did not have to air it out, throwing only 24 times. Chris Weinke played catch up most of the game and struggledto a 23 of 43 afternoon, throwing 2 picks along the way. JACKSONVILLE 20 ATLANTA 30 The battle for the basement in the SE Division goes to Atlanta, pushing Jacksonville to 1-7 and putting Coach Brad Childress’s job squarely on the hot seat. The Fire got 2 TDs and 222 yards from Kyle Orton while Darren McFadden rushed for 83 yards and another score as Atlanta earned their 2nd win on the year. WASHINGTON 13 PHILADELPHIA 30 The Stars needed this one to have any hope of staying relevant in the NE Division, and they got it, thanks in large part to Steve Smith’s 106 yards. TDs from Smith, Steve Slaton and Michael Robinson helped put Philadelphia over the top despite 93 yards rushing from Deuce McCallister. Kordell Stewart threw the ball 48 times, mostly in the second half when Washington trailed by 2 scores, but he could not get the ball into the endzone. MEMPHIS 24 DENVER 30 With Brett Favre still sidelined, many expected a Denver cakewalk, but the Showboats put up a spirited fight all game long. Denver needed a 23-yard TD run from rookie Javon Ringer in the 4th to finally pull away. Mike McMahon had 3 TD passes and threw for 351 in his best game of the season, but it was not enough to get Memphis a road win. OAKLAND 13 LAS VEGAS 10 A chippy game that saw several skirmishes break out, this one was 10-10 midway through the final period, but Oakland had one more drive in them and with time running out Mike Hollis put them on top. Marshawn Lynch won the battle of big backs, outpacing Ricky Williams 103-49, but 112 yards and a TD from Greg Jennings helped Oakland win the war, sending Las Vegas below .500 on the year. NASHVILLE 10 HOUSTON 31 An impressive win for the Gamblers as they scored the game’s first 31 points and then coasted down the stretch. Alexander and Faulk combined for 163 yards on the ground and Matt Hasselbeck added TD passes to Vernon Davis and Alexander as Houston rolled at home. BOSTON 34 LOS ANGELES 17 Drew Bledsoe remained hot, winning Player of the Week again for his 363 yard, 4 TD day. LA simply could not keep pace as Boston pulled away in the 3rd quarter, thanks to TD catches from Chad Johnson and TE James Whalen. Without Troy Polamalu in the game, LA simply did not have the stopping power needed to hold Boston at bay. Charlotte Fading Fast After a 4-0 start, the Charlotte Monarchs are watching their hopes of a division title fade away as they have gone 1-4 over the past 5 weeks. And while three of those losses have come against top tier opposition (Orlando, Baltimore, and Michigan), there can be no excuses as good teams find a way to win these tough matchups. The defense continues to play very well, ranked 2nd in yards allowed and 4th in scoring after 9 weeks, but the offense is just not putting enough drives together to build leads. They are averaging only 18.6 points per game, and have not scored over 20 points since Week 4. Despite these issues with the offense, Coach Mora this week traded for more defensive help (see below) rather than trying to shore up the O-line or provide Chris Weinke with another weapon. Weinke is himself becoming a matter of concern, with a sub-par QB Rating of only 79.7, and a TD:INT ratio of 6:9 in the 5 game slide. There are some whispers that Charlotte might need to turn elsewhere, but looking at the QB room we just don’t think John David Booty or Curtis Painter are the answer, so that may be a question for the offseason. For now, Charlotte needs to figure out a way to infuse some more scoring into their offense and still maintain the solid defense that got them to 4-0 earlier this season. Boston, Denver, and Orlando Rising If Charlotte is heading down the chute, Boston, Denver, and Orlando are certainly climbing the ladder. Boston has won 3 in a row to move to 6-3, 2 games behind Baltimore, but right in the mix with Washington. Denverhas also won 3 in a row, also sits at 6-3, but in their case, that puts them in a dead heat with Houston once again for the Central Division. The two have split their series already, but with games coming up against Texas and Arizona, Denver is hoping to finish the season at 4-2 in the division, hoping that may be enough to give them the title. As for Orlando, their 3-game win streak has them now in sole possession of first in the SE Division, and with Charlotte fading, their biggest challenge looks like it will be the 4-5 Tampa Bay Bandits. With a 3-game lead on Tampa Bay, and having already swept the series with their rivals, the Renegades are in a very good position and may now be setting their sites on the #1 seed in the East. They trail Baltimore by 1 game, and do not play the Blitz, so they will need help, but Baltimore has tough games coming up against Tampa, Philly, Washington, and a season finale in Boston, so there is a lot of hope among ‘Gade fans that they can catch the Blitz and snag the only playoff spot that comes with a bye this year. Randy Moss Vocal as Glory Lose 2nd in a Row We mentioned it briefly in our game recap, but the Randy Moss blowup deserves more attention. Moss, clearly upset not only by Ohio’s loss in Chicago, or even their 1-5 run over the past 6 weeks, is also fuming because he is not getting the targets or the stats he expected when he came to Ohio. He views himself as a clear #1 receiver and yet Joey Galloway is still viewed by many as Kerry Collins’s favorite target. Moss has more catches (by 1) and more TDs (by 1 again) but he is not putting up the kind of numbers he did in Tampa Bay, and he is letting people know that the blame for that is not his. He had some choice words for Coach Luginbill, and for Collins his QB, comments that were recorded by local media and will almost certainly result in team disciplinary action. He may not be wrong about his underutilization in Ohio, or about the Glory being on the downside of their dominant years, but throwing his coach and QB under the bus hardly seems to be the way to remedy the situation. More likely than not it is the kind of tantrum that gets a player shipped off in the offseason, even a player as talented as Randy Moss. And maybe that is exactly what he is hoping for. Pre-Deadline Trades Defined by Postseason Hopes The trade deadline is tomorrow (Friday), and we have seen a frenzy of activity with several trades made by playoff contenders seeking players and basement dwellers sending off solid talent in trade for draft picks and depth in key positions. Basically the distinction between buyers and sellers has been a strong one this year, a factor which could come to fruition as some of these clubs make a run at a Wild Card or even their division crown. New Orleans made a big move to try to solidify their chances, not only trading for a top tier veteran linebacker, but doing so in division. Memphis, the two time division champion, but sitting on a 1-8 record, has become a seller, and this week they sold LB Hannibal Navies to the Breakers, getting backup QB Mike Flynn and two draft picks (2nd rounder in 2010 and 4th in 2011) in return. Navies is a 2x All-USFL linebacker who has averaged 84 tackles per year over his career with the Showboats. He had a dip last year, and at 32, he may only be a short-term solution, but for this year, he is expected to have an immediate impact for a young and undersized Breaker LB group. Charlotte, in the midst of a 1-5 dip, and facing some offensive challenge, opted to double down on their Top 5 defense, bringing in a quality cornerback to line up alongside Carlos Rogers. They send TE Mark Bruener and back up CB Mike Mickens to the Arizona Wranglers to acquire 7-year veteran Asante Samuel. Samuel, is considered a strong bump & run coverage guy at the corner, and can go one on one with receivers, freeing up the safeties in Charlotte’s blitz-heavy defense. Bruener will take over the #2 TE position for Arizona behind Kevin Everett. A solid route runner and receiver, Bruener could allow Arizona to run more play action from 2 TE formations. Las Vegas, dipping to 4-5 in a tough Pacific Division Wild Card race, has decided to bolster their passing game for Jake Plummer, sending SS Kevin Curtis and a 6th rounder to the St. Louis Skyhawks, to acquire underutilized WR Willie Ponder. Ponder, in his 3rd year out of SE Missouri State, is a quality kick returner and a solid slot receiver who could provide Jake Plummer with a good inside target. He will line up in the slot, with Hatchette and Kahlil Hill outside, splitting time with Troy Williamson, and acting as the 4th receiver in spread sets. Finally, Oakland, looking to provide Joey Harrington with more options after the injury/suspension of Plaxico Burress and the injury to Hank Basket, has sent two 5th round picks to Jacksonville to acquire veteran TE Jeb Putzier. Putzier, once the starter for the Bulls, has had limited production the last two years after the signing and development of Jason Whitten. In Oakland, Putzier will likely split time with Joel Dreesen as an inside target for Harrington, who now has Greg Jennings and Pierre Garçon outside. With only 24 hours left before the trade deadline, we don’t anticipate further moves, but you never know when someone will pull off an 11th hour deal just ahead of the roster freezes. Our first playoff picture of the year and yes, it is too early for any clinching of spots, but we are not as far from it as you would imagine. For example, Oakland, at 7-2 is already 3 games up on the closest competitor for the division, with Las Vegas, Portland, and LA all sitting at 4-5. While it is unlikely, the Invaders could clinch as early as this week. The other two Western divisions are much closer, with Michigan tied with Pittsburgh for 1st in the Central and Houston and Denver both knotted up at 6-3. Right now in the West, Portland, sitting at 4-5, has the tie breakers for the 7th and final slot, though it is a crowded cluster with the Thunder, Express, and Ohio Glory all sitting at the same record, 1 game under .500. In the East, all three division leaders have only a 1-game advantage over the 2nd place club, with Baltimore 1 up on Washington (and Boston 1game behind that), Orlando a game up on Charlotte, and Nashville only up 1 against New Orleans. Right now all 7 clubs in the top spots are above .500, unlike the west, with New Orleans the odd team out in 8th place at 5-4. Tampa Bay is the only 4-5 squad still in the mix, but with Philadelphia and Charlotte both at 5-4, there is a lot to sort out even with an extra Wild Card team this year. Way too early to know which teams will get the #1 seed in each conference, the only playoff seed to get a bye in this year’s expanded 7-team format (a byproduct of the labor issues this offseason). Baltimore currently sits 1 game up on Orlando for that top seed, while in the West Michigan has the tie breaker against Oakland, with both sitting at 7-2. However, You cannot count out Houston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, or Denver, all of whom are just 1 game back at 6-3. No eliminations yet, though the odds are heavily against 0-9 St. Louis as well as 1-8 Memphis and Jacksonville. Even a 5-0 run puts them still below .500, but for now they are not mathematically eliminated. A rough week for quarterbacks as several missed plays or were removed from games, but the good news is that most are listed as “questionable” at worst, and we will see most on the field this week. Among the players impacted but not discounted from Week 10 action we find Brady Quinn (neck), Tee Martin (shoulder), Ryan Fitzpatrick (elbow), and Drew Brees (wrist). Kerry Collins is also listed as a possible gametime decision after suffering a broken nose in the game this week, while Daunte Culpepper is hoping to be back in action but continues to deal with an issue with nerve pain in his throwing shoulder. While QBs were prevalent on the injury report this week, there were far more significant injuries among other position players. Nashville WR Derrick Mason is done for the year, placed on IR with an ACL injury that will require rehab well into the offseason. Nashville also lost backup center Kory Lichtensteiger fo the year with a cruciate ligament injury. Washington lost one of their starting receivers as Eddie Kennison is down at least 2 months with a fractured vertebrae in his upper back. Charlotte center Derek Smith will also miss the rest of the regular season, placed on IR with a torn quad, while St. Louis HB Dominic Rhodes was diagnosed with a fracture in his left foot that could keep him out for 4-6 weeks, essentially the rest of the year. Expected back in action this week we have Memphis QB Brett Favre, though at this point Coach Haslett must worry that another injury would be a very high price to pay for starting the veteran in a lost season. Also expected back are New Orleans DE Israel Ifeanyi, NJ DE Shaun Ellis, Boston CB Fred Smoot, Washington DT Anthony McFarland, and Philadelphia C Matt Birk. Teams Who Need a Hot Streak Looking at the final 5 weeks of the year, as we prepare to hit Week 10, there are several teams who could really benefit from a 2, 3, or 4 game win streak to make some noise. Now this is actually true of most teams, but in the case of the 5 we are going to highlight, any hope for a playoff run could depend on the club getting hot now and building up some wins back to back to back. LAS VEGAS: The Thunder currently sit in 8th position, tied with Portland, Ohio, and LA at 4-5. We predicted them as a club that could come on late as Jake Plummer adjusts to a new offense and develops rapport with his team. The Thunder just added another target for Plummer in Willie Ponder, and they need to start seeing better offensive production if they want to make a run. The defense has been solid, as expected, Top 10 in both yards and points allowed, but he offense struggled, with Plummer leading the 26th rated passing attack. The Thunder will need more from him and from the offense in general to make a run at a Wild Card. CHARLOTTE: We have already discussed the slide from 4-0 to 5-4, but if Charlotte wants to turn this thing around, they need to get back to what worked early, shut down defense, and then find some more points on offense. That may mean more touches for Robert Edwards, who is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, or perhaps giving veteran Autrey Detson more touches, after all Detson is averaging 4.1 per carry with only 35 touches this season. The Monarchs added another defensive piece this week, so the hope is still there that they can make a run at Orlando late, but each week that seems less likely unless they can turn things around and unless the Renegades start to slip up. PORTLAND: The Stags are a bit of a surprise in the final Wild Card spot right now. They have had some pretty bad outings, including a 34-11 drubbing at the hands of Seattle this week, but they have also had some solid wins, such as recent victories over Ohio and LA. The issue for the Stags has been pass defense. They have only 3 interceptions as a team, fewer than many players, and are dead last in turnover margin, due largely to only 7 total takeaways. More aggression and more focus on ballhawking may be necessary if they are going to stay ahead of the other 4-5 clubs. It will not be easy, as they face 4 games against teams with 6-3 or 7-2 records in their final 5 weeks. A deep fade may be more likely than a win streak. OHIO: The Glory have lost 5 of 6 after a 3-0 start, and Randy Moss is openly hostile in post-game interviews. That is not good for a club that many expected would be a major challenger in the Central. They sit in 4th place at 4-5, and it just does not seem like a 4th place team can eke into even the expanded playoffs, so they will need to try to catch Chicago to have any shot. The offense, still ranked 3rd in the league, is not enough, especially when the defense is allowing nearly 22 points per game and ranks 26th of 28 teams in yards allowed. They do have a favorable schedule, with games against 3-win Texas and Seattle, along with 2-win New Jersey in their final 5 games, but tough showdowns at Michigan and then closing the season with Pittsburgh will be the key for them. If they can win those 2 games, they could be in place in a very tight Central Division. LOS ANGELES: Of all the teams in our list here, and in the 4-5 cluster, the Express are the hardest to figure out. Their offense is ranked 23rd, and yet, we look at the roster and we cannot figure out why. Sure, they have a rookie QB in Mark Sanchez, but it feels more like Coach Jackson is holding them back, calling a very conservative gameplan and yet somehow underutilizing Maurice Jones-Drew at the same time. If LA wants to make a run, they have some winnable games, starting next week at St. Louis, but they have to open things up a bit. Let Sanchez go deep, free up Jones-Drew by getting the safeties to respect the deep ball. Without that, the Express seem unlikely to get over the hump in a division that has 3 clubs sitting at 4-5 and fighting amongst themselves. Best of the USFL—Wide Receivers No other position in football has had the impact that wideout has had in the USFL. Ever since the early days of Eric Truvillion, Jackie Flowers, and Trumaine Johnson, the USFL has been about the deep ball and the speed merchant receivers. Quality receiver play remains a hallmark of the league, making the selection of only 5 receivers as the best of the league in 2009 a really hard task to settle. We are certain that there will be debates all over the country on this list, especially because we have placed two receviers from the same team in our Top 5. Chad Johnson (BOS): There is no doubt who the #1 receiver in the league is right now. Chad Johnson, formerly Chad Ochocinco, has been a revelation ever since he first stepped on the field with the Ohio Glory. His move to Boston earlier in the decade has only pushed his stock higher. He is the master of the deep ball, leading the league in receiving yards in 2008, 2006, and 2004, while racking up 71 touchdowns as a Boston Cannon. Joey Galloway (OHI): Ohio’s number 1 receiver for 12 seasons, Galloway may be the elderstateman in the group, but his 1,175 yards in 2008 show that he is still among the most productive receivers in the game. At 35 we don’t know how many seasons he has left in him, but while he is on the field, we should just keep enjoying his smooth speed and graceful moves. Hines Ward (MGN): Beginning his career in Arizona, Ward had his first 1,000 yard season with the Wranglers in 2001, and then proceeded to jump ship and become a Michigan Panther. That decision has paid off big time, allowing Ward to average over 88 catches per season, win the 2005 yardage title, and win himself a league title last year. Known as a tenacious blocker as well as a precise route runner, Ward is a true leader for the receiving group on and off the field. Randy Moss (OHI): When Randy Moss was in Tampa Bay there was no doubt he was one of the league’s top receivers, but our pick of Moss as a top 5 receiver now that he is in Ohio will be controversial. The talent is certainly there, but Moss did not even reach 1,000 yards last year, and he is potentially going to come up short this year as well. His vocal criticisms of Coach Al Luginbill’s offensive gameplanning has certainly not made him a favorite among Glory faithful, and his push for a trade is likely to lead to even more friction, but for anyone to say that Moss is not an elite receiver in this league is delusional. David Boston (SEA): A lot of prime candidates for the #5 spot, but we had to go with Boston, a one man show for the Dragons for Seattle since arriving on the scene with 1,216 yards as a rookie. Boston has been strong the past 2 seasons, with 1,436 yards and 15 TDs in 2007 and 1,358 and 11 TDs last year. He is on pace for another 1,000 yard season and we expect he will be among the league leaders once again. Among those who just missed the cut we have a lot of clear cut #1 receivers, from Chicago’s technical wizard Donald Driver to Arizona’s young gun Larry Fitzgerald. Houston fans will likely cry foul that we passed up Roy Williams, while Showboat followers will point to Robert Ferguson as a key piece to their back-to-back Eastern Conference runs. Others in our pool of finalists included Steve Smith from Philly, Tory Holt in Baltimore, and Denver’s peerless possession man, Peerless Price. All 28 teams go into inter-divisional play in Week 10, so that means some clashes at the top of the standings, some clashes at the bottom, and some games that look a bit like mismatches. We love the Friday night matchup of a hot Bandits squad heading up to Baltimore to face the 7-1 Blitz. On Saturday, the Nashville-Boston matchup will be a clash of styles to be sure. Charlotte at Washington is another game to keep an eye on. And Saturday’s ESPN night game between Houston and Michigan should also be a fun one. On Sunday we finish up the weekend with Orlando in a possible trap game at Memphis, especially if Favre is back under center (still questionable), and we have an interesting nightcap with up and down Portland heading to Denver. FRIDAY @ 8pm Tampa Bay (4-5) @ Baltimore (7-1) NBC SATURDAY @ 12pm Nashville (6-3) @ Boston (6-3) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Charlotte (5-4) @ Washington (7-2) FOX SATURDAY @ 12pm Las Vegas (4-5) @ Pittsburgh (7-2) FOX SATURDAY @ 4pm Jacksonville (1-8) @ Birmingham (3-6) ABC SATURDAY @ 4pm Texas (3-6) @ Ohio (4-5) FOX SATURDAY @ 8pm Houston (6-3) @ Michigan (7-2) ESPN SUNDAY @ 12pm Atlanta (2-7) @ Philadelphia (5-4) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm New Orleans (5-4) @ New Jersey (2-7) FOX SUNDAY @ 12pm Orlando (7-2) @ Memphis (1-8) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Seattle (3-6) @ Chicago (6-3) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Los Angeles (4-5) @ St. Louis (0-9) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Oakland (7-2) @ Arizona (3-6) FOX SUNDAY @ 8pm Portland (4-5) @ Denver (6-3) ESPN

Player of the Week: Joe Horn helped Birmingham pick up a solid upset this week with some last minute heroics. His 112 yards on 9 receptions were impressive, but the game winning TD is what gives him the title this week.

Inter-divisional play kicked off the second half of the season with a few surprises. Seattle gave Houston all they could handle and a little more. Birmingham seems to be finding a defense as they squeak past Philadelphia thanks to a good defensive game plan and a nice TD catch from Joe Horn. The Express win a defensive slugfest with the Machine and Portland pounds Ohio in a result the Las Vegas oddsmakers did not see coming. And while some of the league’s top clubs just keep chugging along, some at the bottom are still struggling to find a way out of their losing ways. We will take a look at all the results, update you on some injuries, and on stadium construction projects, and get you ready for Week 9, here at This Week in the USFL. HOUSTON GAMBLERS 22 SEATTLE DRAGONS 25 Unlike last year, Seattle’s slow start may have extended a bit too long as the 1-6 record for the Dragons all but assures that they are headed for a losing season, but no one seems to have told the players, as they rallied against SW Division leading Houston this week. Despite falling behind 17-0, the Dragons did not give up, rallied late and upended the Gamblers for only their 2nd win of the season. It looked like this one would be all Houston in the first half as Houston raced out to a 17-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of play. Touchdowns from HB Tatum Bell and Kevin Faulk highlighted a first half that all broke Houston’s way. Seattle struggled to move the ball, with Sean Alexander averaging less than 2 yards per carry in the half, and with Byron Leftwich throwing two picks and getting sacked 4 times. But something shifted at halftime and Houston’s grasp of the game started to slip away. It began with the opening drive of the second half, where Seattle finally started putting together some first downs, Leftwich connecting with WR Nate Burleson as Houston continued to blanket David Boston. Burleson became an important target for the Dragons, finishing the game with 110 yards. The rotation of Corey Dillon with Ladell Betts also started to pay off as the Houston D-line began to wear down. Betts would finish the game as Seattle’s leading rusher, but it would be Dillon who would finally get them on the board, thanks to a short-yardage TD to end the drive. Houston was also stymied by the Seattle defense on their first drive, giving the ball right back to the Dragons, who again marched down field and added more points, this time a Dave Rayner field goal. Houston would again fail on offense as the third quarter showed a strong momentum shift, but they would catch a break as the Sepulveda punt would settle on the 2-yard line, putting Seattle in a rough position to start off. That possession ended as quickly as it started, with a holding call in the end zone giving Houston 2 points and the ball. Houston would add another field goal on their post-safety drive, putting them up 22-10. As the third quarter closed, but Seattle was not out yet. They took possession at their own 22, and after connecting with Darren Sproles and Nate Burleson, Byron Leftwich got what he wanted, a zone defense look that would free up David Boston from his double coverage. He took advantage, finding Boston in a seam in the defense, and when the safety slipped trying to redirect, it meant Boston had a step on him, and that is all the veteran speedster needed, racing 63 yards for the score. Down only 5, Seattle was back in the game with time for at least 2 more drives. Houston could not muster another drive, and Seattle got the ball back with over 5 minutes left in the half. They began with a conservative I-formation look, and after a 2-yard run from Dillon, they presented Housotn with the same look, but this time play action caught Houston a bit flat footed. Slot receiver Darnerian McCants ran an excellent out and up route, and Leftwich caught him in stride for an unanticipated deep ball. McCants ran under the pass and raced down the sideline to give Seattle a 79-yard TD and the lead. They went for 2 and completed the PAT to Jeramy Stevens, giving them a 3-point lead with 4 minutes left on the clock. From their it was up to the Dragon defense, and just as they had done the entire half, they put pressure on Matt Hasselbeck, blitzing instead of laying back in coverage, and the strategy worked. Houston gained 1 first down before 2 straight incompletions left them with a 4th and 9. With over 3 minutes still on the clock, the Gamblers decided to punt. They would not see the ball again as Seattle ground out 2 first downs and the clock to win the game with the ball in their hands. Houston dropped to 5-3 while Seattle got a home victory for the fans and improves to 2-6 after 8 weeks. WASHINGTON 16 MEMPHIS 3 Memphis had hoped Brett Favre could return for this one, but it was Mike McMahon at the helm, and his 2 picks helped Washington slog out a win in the heat. Memphis’s D did a good job against Deuce McCallister, holding him to only 1.4 yards per carry (22 for 31), but his lone TD would have been enough to give the W to the visiting Feds in a game that saw few big plays. PHILADELPHIA 19 BIRMINGHAM 20 A game the Stars could not afford to take lightly, and they paid the price as the Stallions edge them thanks to 10 points in the final 7 minutes. Joe Horn’s game winning TD silenced the small contingent of Star fans who made the trip. Kyle Boller did not have huge numbers, but his 29 of 36 day kept Birmingham in the game until the end and they got the big play they needed to pull the upset. NEW JERSEY 13 ORLANDO 21 Two more sacks for Campbell and 2 TDs for Knowshon Moreno help the Renegades pull out the home win. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 363 to keep New Jersey in the game, with 105 going to TE Anthony Becht, but it was not enough as a late TD from Brees to Michael Jenkins helped Orlando put this one away. NEW ORLEANS 20 ATLANTA 16 The Fire had a 16-13 lead with only 1:21 left, but Eli Manning led a game-winning drive, hitting TE Chris Cooley with the game winner with only 13 seconds remaining to steal the win. Manning finished with 297 yards and 2 scores as the Breakers avoid the upset. CHICAGO 12 LOS ANGELES 14 LA’s defense came up big with Dominique Rogers-Cromartie landing one of the plays of the week with an acrobatic pick-six. Chicago protested the call, but review showed that while DCR did hit the ground, no Machine player touched him, allowing him to roll back up and run for the score. It was one of 2 picks thrown by Brady Quinn as LA held the Machine in check and eked out the win at home to move to .500. OHIO 19 PORTLAND 34 The Stags move to .500 with a surprising blow out of the Glory. A. J. Feeley was feeling it, throwing for 3 scores and connecting with Koren Robinson for 111 yards. The Portland D held Moss and Galloway to only 1 combined TD, despite giving up nearly 200 yards to the pair. Add in 10 Glory penalties and Ohio falls short on their West Coast trip. NASHVILLE 16 TAMPA BAY 33 The Bandits also even their record with an impressive home win over the Knights. Daunte Culpepper threw for 235 and 2 scores while the combo of McGahee and Toefield combine for 116 yards as the Bandits flex their offensive muscles against the league’s best defense. The Bandit D also showed off its strength, limiting Frank Gore to 65 yards and Jay Cutler t o only 48.6% passing. BOSTON 23 JACKSONVILLE 21 The Bulls almost pulled off the upset of the day but fell short as a Boston field goal in the 4th gave them just enough to pull out the win. Rashard Mendenhall had to leave the game, slowing the Boston offense, but Joe Jurevicius added 146 for his best game of the season. ForJacksonville, it was a Lavar Arrington fumble return after a blocked field goal that highlighted their effort. BALTIMORE 16 CHARLOTTE 13 A war of attrition between two very good defenses as Baltimore edges Charlotte in what could become a regional rivalry between the two. Darrius Heyward-Bay had the play of the game, a 63-yard TD in the 4th that helped the Blitz pull this one out. Charlotte fans are upset that a 1st quarter TD was called back on a call that replay would have likely overturned, but Coach Mora opted not to use the red flag, with the result being 3 points instead of 7. ST. LOUIS 17 DENVER 23 Denver got a scare from the Skyhawks as they looked sloppy all game long, but in the end they scored the game’s final 9 points on three Graham Gano kicks to edge St. Louis. The Skyhawks found a way to shut down the run, limiting Moore & Ringer to a combined 42 yards, while Josh Freeman helped stake St. Louis out to a 17-14 lead after 3, but Denver found a way to win in the 4th to move to 5-3. PITTSBURGH 27 ARIZONA 19 Pittsburgh’s Cinderella season continued in Arizona as Kenny Watson rushed for 2 scores and Cody Pickett threw for 2 more to help the Maulers knock off the Wranglers. Watson and DeShaun Foster combined for 141 yards on the ground as Pittsburgh shortened the game and kept Arizona at arm’s length. TEXAS 10 LAS VEGAS 20 Jake Plummer had his most consistent game, throwing for 179 yards and 2 scores, while Marshawn Lynch went over 100 yards on the day to power the Thunder to a needed home win. It was 20-3 until late in the game when a garbage time TD made the game look closer than it was. MICHIGAN 22 OAKLAND 10 The most anticipated game of the week was slow to get going, but Michigan scored the final 19 points of the game to take the W and put Oakland away. Matt Prater had 5 field goals as the Panthers struggled in the red zone, but Oakland struggled to get to scoring range at all as the Michigan LB’s were the dominant force in the game, combining for 31 tackles and holding Ricky Williams to only 2.4 yards per carry. Both clubs now stand at 6-2 on the year. Bandits Battling Back Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Bandits may be this year’s comeback kids. After a brutal start to the year, and some bad play form Daunte Culpepper, seemed to doom the Bandits to a major backslide after their 14-2 season a year ago, the Bandits seem to have found themselves. They have won their last 3 games, two of them divisional matchups, and this week’s big 17-point win over Southern Division leading Nashville may be the alert to the league that the Bandits are going to be in the mix for the rest of the year. The Bandits have a great chance to drive that message home this week as they have their rematch with the Renegades in Orlando on the schedule. Orlando edged the Bandits 21-17 in Week 4, and sit atop the division at 6-2, but the now 4-4 Bandits have a chance, with a win this week, to pull within 1 game of Orlando and get even with Charlotte as they seek a playoff spot. How have they turned the corner? Better play from Daunte Culpepper has certainly helped. The veteran has thrown 6 TDs and 0 picks in the 3-game win streak, a much better ratio than when the season started. He is also making key throws on third down, helping Tampa Bay sustain drives and score 26, 30, and 33 points the past three weeks. Willis McGahee is having a big year, and Culpepper’s success is giving him opportunities to exploit lighter defensive alignments, making him all the more dangerous. And yet, the biggest difference may be the defense. After limiting Jacksonville to only 3 points in Week 7, The Bandits held Nashville to 16, but along the way held the Knights to only 2 converted 3rd downs and produced 2 takeaways. If the Bandits can stay steady with their new formula, they have a very real chance of making a playoff run. They have a key 3-game run, starting with Orlando, and followed by 7-1 Baltimore and 5-3 Charlotte. If they can get 2 of 3 in that series, they get a nice 3-game stretch against Atlanta, New Jersey, and Seattle to end the year. Winning those three would put them at 9-5, which would almost certainly garner them a Wild Card, and a possible shot at the division, particularly if they can sweep these next games against the Renegades and Monarchs. That is a lot of “ifs” and “should they” situations, but it is far better than their 1-4 start seemed to predict for them. Intriguing Award Races Should Heat Up in Second Half This could be one of the most interesting seasons in recent memory when it comes to individual awards. When your frontrunner for MVP is not only not a QB, but not an offensive player at all, you have an interesting year. That MVP race is currently led, by what feels like a comfortable margin, by Orlando DE Calais Campbell, whose 21 sacks in 8 games puts him well on pace to set a new league record for sacks in a shortened 14-game season. Trailing him are two QB’s (of course) in Brian Griese and Drew Bledsoe. There will be some heartstrings pulled for Bledsoe to be sure after his injury-shortened 2008 “final” season, but his numbers (and Boston’s 5-3 record) don’t provide the kind of overwhelming evidence of greatness to leapfrog over one of the greatest defensive seasons we have ever seen. So, right now, it looks like Campbell’s award to win. A rare defensive MVP means that the QBs will compete for Offensive Player of the Year, putting Griese and Bledsoe in competition with HBs Deuce McCallister and Frank Gore. Again, the numbers are not overwhelming for any of the favorites, so it might come down to which one helps propel their team to a gaudy win total. Washington has the edge there, and there is no denying that Deuce McCallister is a driving force for the Feds, but with Kordell Stewart winning MVP last year, there may be hesitation to give another Fed the OPOTY this year. If that is true, then look for voters to give Brian Griese some kudos for his success with Michigan’s high octane offense this season. If Calais Campbell wins MVP, as we suspect he might, then that would leave DPOTY open. We have not seen a player win MVP and one of the POTY awards in decades, so we don’t think the voters would double dip with Campbell, though if any season deserved double accolades, it would be his. If not Campbell, the next obvious choice is Julius Peppers, who is having an outstanding season for Charlotte, a team whose winning record feels very much like the effort of the defense above all else. Pittsburgh is also surprising many with their success, so we list DE Kyle Vanden Bosch as a potential dark horse here if the Maulers can somehow edge the rest of the Central and nab an unforeseen division title. Rookie of the Year looks like a 3-man race right now, with Boston gaining extra points for the bold move they made to sign Florida wideout Percy Harvin. Harvin has rewarded the Cannons with a dynamic presence, a propensity for big plays, and 5 TDs in 8 games. He is on pace for 1,000 yards and has to be seen as a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year. Trailing him we see LA quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez’s numbers are not that exciting, but he has LA in the playoff hunt as a rookie, and if the Express can gain some ground on Oakland and score a Wild Card, Sanchez will certainly get some votes. Finally, the one defensive player who is looking solid in his rookie year, Ohio’s James Laurinaitis, who leads the club with 56 tackles while taking over as the play caller for the Glory defense. A longshot to be sure, but Laurinaitis is certainly one of the outstanding rookies on display this year. Finally, the race for Coach of the Year already seems pretty locked in as a 2-man race. As much as we might respect the work that Tom Coughlin has done in Baltimore, or Jim Johnson in Nashville, this one comes down to the two teams that are far surpassing expectations, the Pittsburgh Maulers and the Charlotte Monarchs. That means Ron Rivera, in his 4th season with Pittsburgh or former Stars Coach and new Monarch’s head man Jim Mora Jr.. We give the edge to Rivera, who has been slowly building up the Maulers and took a chance on Cody Pickett this year, despite drafting a QB in the T-Draft. That bet has paid off and the Maulers are sitting right in the thick of the Central Division race. Charlotte started the season on fire with a 4-0 start, but have gone 1-3 since then. If Mora can turn that around and get Charlotte the SE Division title over Orlando, he will certainly garner a lot of votes, but right now our money is on Rivera. QB’s Seek New Deals We finish off our weekly stories from the USFL with a reality check. We are 6 weeks away from player contracts expiring and we are looking at a significant number of quality quarterbacks still unsigned. Unless some teams get off their butts and start making offers, there could be a feeding frenzy in the offseason. That said, there are several situations where we cannot imagine teams letting their starters go. Chief among those is Baltimore, where the Blitz simply cannot afford to trifle with Ben Roethlisberger, not with the year he and the Blitz are having. Making Big Ben the club’s QB for the next 5-6 years has got to be priority #1 in the front office. Similarly, Philadelphia does not want to see Kurt Warner go, though the Stars have not had the success they had hoped for, which could lead to some hesitation. Age may be a factor for the Federals in their talks with Kordell Stewart, but this is the QB who won MVP last season with an amazing comeback season. Nashville may have the toughest choice. Jay Cutler has had flashes, but has not been consistent enough to be a slam dunk as the franchise QB for the Knights. We could see him being allowed to walk if the Knights feel they have an inside line on another top QB. But who would that QB be? What about Adrian McPherson from Boston. McPherson has been saying all the right things about the return of Drew Bledsoe, but it cannot be easy to spend another year on the bench. We think Boston will resign the Syracuse product, with the understanding that 2009 is Bledsoe’s final year and McPherson the obvious heir to the throne. The only other big name QB who could potentially bolt is Oakland’s Joey Harrington, but we have heard nothing out of Harrington that says he is dissatisfied with his role or with Coach Dennis Green. So, in the end, we could see all 7 of these starters resign, or we could see some wild speculation down the stretch. It would be an unusual year for all 7 to go on the free market, but it would also be very unusual for all 7 to feel that the deals being offered are appropriate, so don’t be shocked if 1-3 of these “franchise” quarterbacks are with a new franchise next year. Some potential QB concerns this week, with both Pennsylvania starters on the injured list as questionable. Kurt Warner has been experiencing some blurred vision and there is concern about a possible concussion or even a detached retina. He is due to see a specialist on Friday, and that could determine his availability on Sunday. In Pittsburgh, Cody Pickett is listed as questionable due to a tight hamstring. He has said he plans to play, but has been limited in practice. Washington will be without their defensive captain for at least 2 weeks, possibly longer as Antonio Pierce is dealing with a lot of inflammation after spraining his knee in practice. There is no ligament or tendon damage, which is a very good sign, but it still could be 2-3 weeks before Washington gets one of their best defenders back. Baltimore is dealing with some depth issues on the D-line as both Jeff Zgonina (DT) and Chuckie Nwokorie (DE) are expected to miss this week’s games. Zgonina is dealing with a neck injury while Nwokorie has a hamstring issue of his own. Texas will be without LB Kailee Wong (hand), and LA has Troy Polamalu (wrist) listed as OUT this week, though no information on the duration of either injury has been released. Finally, Nashville MLB Hunter Hillenmeyer is listed as doubtful after suffering a hyper extended knee in last week’s loss in Tampa Bay. He could be back in Week 10. Stadium Picture Remains Positive Midway through the 2009 season and we are looking ahead to the future, particularly the future homes of some of the USFL franchises. We have the renovations to the Alamodome moving ahead, construction on the new stadium in the Meadowlands progressing nicely, and news about potential stadium construction in two other USFL cities. We start with the Generals and the latest from the Meadowlands. NEW JERSEY GENERALS: The facility being built nearby the site of Giants Stadium, current home for the Jets, Generals and the Giants, has a name. In an agreement between the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the NFL and the USFL, the rights to the new stadium have been sold to the Met Life insurance company. Met Life Stadium will be the name for the new 82,500 seat facility. The Stadium construction is on schedule and should be ready for the Generals’ opening game in Spring of 2010. The innovative, high-tech stadium will be able to alter its physical appearance (lighting, screens, etc) to match the color schemes of each team, with a red emphasis for the Generals, green for the Jets, and blue for the Giants. The stadium is also scheduled to host several NCAA games, including an Army-Navy game and a potential bowl game (January in New Jersey is not exactly welcoming, but it is what it is.). TEXAS: The renovation of the Alamodome is also on pace, with the stadium expected to be back on line by December, in time for the stadium to host the Alamo Bowl for the NCAA. The Outlaws, who are enjoying record crowds and vocal support in Dallas, despite a 2-6 record, are set to return to their San Antonio home in March, 2010. The new capacity for the dome will be reduced from 64,000 to 56,000, but with an addition of 22 more luxury suites. In addition to the new suites, a revamped concessions deck, expanded locker rooms, and a new sound system will be installed in time for the 2010 season opener. BIRMINGHAM: Following the sale of the Stallions’ controlling share to John Menard, movement on a stadium proposal has moved in some good directions. Menard has spearheaded a new initiative to engage the University of Alabama hierarchy, seeking support for a new open-air stadium that would be home to both the Stallions and the UAB Blazers, while also serving as a potential Iron Bowl site for matches between Alabama and Auburn. There was an initial push for a domed or retractable-roof stadium with the Stallions citing some pretty hot and humid summer dates over the year, but the cost was viewed as prohibitive by both the university and the city. The hope is that a deal can be reached that will allow all three, along with the state government to contribute to the construction cost. It seems that the main point of contention at present is about the site for the venue. The city is hoping for a downtown location, while the university is pushing for a campus site on the city’s southeast side. The two primary sites are honestly only about 1.5 miles apart, so it is hoped that a compromise can be made and a stadium deal put into place that would have construction starting in 2011 with a 2013 unveiling. LAS VEGAS: Talks have begun between the USFL and the city of Las Vegas. The goal, of course, is to find a permanent home for the Thunder, who have been playing at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium, a facility built in the early 1970’s and with a permanent capacity of barely 30,000 seats. The Thunder have been using additional bleachers to bring the stadium over 40,000 but it is not a good long-term solution for the club. Several issues exist, of course, one of which is the desire of the city to attract an NFL to bring in additional revenue for a new facility. For the Thunder, the goal is to get a facility built sooner rather than later, and they are pushing for a domed facility as summer daytime temperatures in Las Vegas make even late afternoon games unpleasant for a good portion of the season. The cost of a domed facility is of course significantly higher than for a bowl or open air stadium, but there certainly is a case to be made for it in the Nevada desert. Attendance figures and scheduling flexibility for the Arizona Wranglers, including the ability to host a Summer Bowl, were greatly improved when the Wranglers moved from Sun Devil Stadium to the new University of Phoenix stadium, a retractable roof facility. Arizona, of course, had the advantage of being home to both a USFL and NFL club, something Las Vegas currently does not. So the question becomes, can Las Vegas attract an NFL team without a stadium in place, or do they build the stadium, having only a USFL tenant and then try to attract a 2nd franchise? It is a costly proposition, but may be the best option if the city wished to retain the Thunder much less expand their sports presence. Best of the USFL: Middle Linebacker We return to the Best of the USFL discussion with one of the glamor positions in the game, the defensive QB in its own way, the middle linebacker. From the days of Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke, and Jack Lambert, MLB has been the home for a teams’ biggest hitter, their defensive captain, and the face of intimidation. The USFL certainly has maintained that reputation, and the present day game has several of the best MLB’s in the game today. Brian Urlacher (CHI): The undisputed King of the USFL MLBs right now, Urlacher is a 6 time All-USFL player and 3-time USFL Defensive Player of the Year. A huge hitter, but also a mobile, almost speedy MLB, having come out of college as a safety, Urlacher is the prototype for an MLB in a pass-happy league, able to play deep in the Tampa-2 zone scheme or come to the line to pressure the QB or stuff the run. It does not get better in the league (Some will argue that Ray Lewis is better, but that just opens up NFL-USFL debates and we don’t want to go there. Mike Vrabel (JAX): Whereas Urlacher feels like a natural-born MLB, Mike Vrabel came into the position with a lot to learn. Having begun on the outside, Vrabel was converted to the MLB in Jacksonville as they wanted a more versatile sideline-to-sideline option. With Lavar Arrington on the outside, the need was in the middle, so Vrabel took the spot and has not looked back since. London Fletcher (BOS): Now in his 12th season with the Cannons (one of the early Atlanta holdovers), Fletcher does not possess the range of the first two MLBs on our list, but what he does have is a nose for the ball and a big presence against the run. With 112 tackles last season, Fletcher seems to just be getting better with age. Kirk Morrison (MEM): Only in his 4th pro season, Morrison has made a name for himself as a steady tackler and a pretty good coverage linebacker. He had his first 100-tackle season in 2007 and followed it up with 119 tackles in 2008. This year he is already at 72 tackles and could hit 100 again in only 14 games. Paul Posluszny (PHI): The Polish Hammer is another of the best young linebackers in the game, and the favorite son of Philly’s Polish community (taking over for Ron Jaworski). The Penn State product in his 3rd year in the pros has yet to hit the magic 100-tackle point, but has already proven to be a quick-twitch linebacker who can deliver a big hit. Others we considered for the Top 5 include Atlanta’s breakout star this year, Corey Miller, Baltimore’s James Farrior, 2nd year Monarch Jerod Mayo, Las Vegas’s A. J. Hawk, and Michigan’s Andy Katzenmoyer. Arizona’s New Look The Arizona Wranglers, in the middle of a rebuilding and reimagining process under 1st year head coach Jim Tomsula are not just revising the roster and the playbook, they are updating their look. Nothing major, after all, the copper, red, blue and gold look is one that fans nationwide have embraced. The flames on the pants, the branding iron logo, the whole thing has been very popular since it was introduced in the early days of the league, with only minor modifications since then. The new look revealed by the club and Reebok this year, one of the 3 looks coming for 2010, Reebok’s last year with the USFL, uses a lot of familiar elements while adding one new feature that will stand out. The logo is going to be modified slightly as the “flaming W” branding iron will get back its handle. It is a tweak that fans have been asking for ever since the club switched from their earlier “circle brand” logo to the new flaming W. The handle will be added back to the logo and will appear on the helmet. The main logo will be paired with a secondary which has the familiar W shape placed atop a silhouette of the state of Arizona. This new secondary will typically be shown with a copper state and iron blue outline and W, but there is a version which harkens all the way back to 1983, a blue and yellow version. The uniform will feature many of the elements of past years, a red-dominant color scheme, copper pants with flames extending down the leg, a flame-inspired number font with double piping, and red and white jerseys. What is new, then? Well, the sleeves are the major addition, with Reebok adding what they call their “desert sunrise” effect, a color shift from the cuff to the shoulder. On the red jersey, this will begin with blue cuffs, then a copper sleeve that is interrupted by a white W-logo and then red to the shoulder. The white jersey will have a similar pattern, but with blue cuffs turning to red sleeves, a blue W logo and then copper from the midpoint up to the shoulder seem, providing Arizona with colored sleeves on a white jersey. The new look is expected to debut in 2010 with the team’s preseason games, since Arizona seems unlikely to make a playoff game this year. We are expecting news and more significant updates from the two remaining Reebok reimaginations for 2010, Seattle and Ohio, before Adidas takes over the league’s design contract for 2011. Week 9 provides us with 8 divisional games and 6 inter-divisional matchups. It opens on Friday with that huge matchup between Tampa Bay and Orlando. If the Bandits can win this road rematch, they could be right back in the mix in the SE Division. On Saturday the most intriguing games are both on national tv, with FOX hosting the 12pm matchup of Ohio and Chicago, while ESPN has the Pacific Division Cascade Clash matchup of Seattle and Portland. A Stag victory puts them at 5-4 and in position to fight for a Wild Card spot. Finally, on Sunday, Tune in early (except in northern Florida and Georgia) for a great matchup between Charlotte and Michigan, the game to be shown in most of the USA on ABC. Meanwhile on Fox we have a NE Division clash as Washington heads to Philly to face a desperate Stars team that may not have Kurt Warner available. At 4pm we have another good divisional game with Oakland traveling to Las Vegas, who need a win to get over .500 and stay in contention in a pretty tight division. The Sunday nightery features another 4-4 Pacific division club as Mark Sanchez and the Express will host Boston. FRIDAY @ 8pm Tampa Bay (4-4) @ Orlando (6-2) NBC SATURDAY @ 12pm New Jersey (2-6) @ Baltimore (7-1 ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm St. Louis (0-8) @ Pittsburgh (6-2) ABC SATURDAY @ 12pm Ohio (4-4) @ Chicago (5-3) FOX SATURDAY @ 4pm Birmingham (3-5) @ Arizona (2-6) ABC SATURDAY @ 4pm New Orleans (5-3) @ Texas (2-6) FOX SATURDAY @ 8pm Seattle (2-6) @ Portland (4-4) ESPN SUNDAY @ 12pm Charlotte (5-3) @ Michigan (5-3) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Jacksonville (1-7) @ Atlanta (1-7) ABC SUNDAY @ 12pm Washington (7-1) @ Philadelphia (4-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Memphis (1-7) @ Denver (5-3) ABC SUNDAY @ 4pm Oakland (6-2) @ Las Vegas (4-4) FOX SUNDAY @ 4pm Nashville (6-2) @ Houston (5-3) FOX SUNDAY @ 8pm Boston (5-3) @ Los Angeles (4-4) ESPN

Player of the Week: Back for a season many did think would happen, Drew Bledsoe is having a very strong swan song once again. In Week 7 he threw for 410 yards and 4 scores as Boston climbed over .500.