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Playoff picture: With 5 weeks remaining in the season, no team has yet to be mathematically confirmed for the playoffs or mathematically eliminated. Week 10 results could lead to the first clinched playoff berth as Washington only needs to maintain their lead over a grouping of 4-win teams to mathematically confirm their playoff entrance.

With 5 weeks left in the season we are looking at three divisions where one team has a commanding lead and three where we could go down to the wire. Results this week made it clear that Washington, Denver, and Los Angeles look very good for potential division title runs, while we have some neck and neck races in the other three divisions. Memphis's win this week locks them up with New Orleans in the South, with Birmingham only 1 game back. In the Southeast, Jacksonville and Boston are also locked up at 5-4 each, with Tampa only a game back. And, finally, in the Central, Ohio has a 1 game lead on Pittsburgh, with Chicago another game back. Let's look how we got here, starting with a huge road win for the Memphis Showboats. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 32 NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 26 OVERTIME The Showboats may be in a bit of turmoil off the field, but the players are working their way through it and came up big on Sunday to take a share of 1st place away from rival New Orleans. It took extra time to settle this one as both teams gave their all in a divisional clash. New Orleans got surprise help from 3rd HB Troy Hambrick, called into action when Ricky Williams, just back from suspension, came up lame in the 1st quarter. Hambrick would spell Troy Davis and rush for 63 yards and a score. For Memphis it was another huge game from TE Adrian Cooper, with help from Justin McCaerins and rookie Kelley Washington that helpled them keep pace until Dorsey Levins ended the game in overtime with a walk off touchdown. It was a close game all day, with the two teams trading scores and big defensive plays throughout the day. Early on it was the defenses, particularly red zone defense, that won out, as both clubs had to settle for field goals on early drives, leading to a 6-6 score midway through the 2nd quarter. But, on back-to-back drives, both New Orleans and Memphis broke through with big pass plays. The Breakers were first when a play action pass from Trent Dilfer to Josh Reed went for 42 yards and a score to give New Orleans a short-lived lead. Memphis responded only 4 plays later when Heath Shuler found Cooper on a seam route and the All-USFL tight end went to the house to even the score at 13. Following these two big plays, the defenses regrouped and again we saw both teams moving the ball between the 30’s but not getting the big plays needed to put up 7. Field goals from both teams made it a 19-16 Memphis lead after 3, but New Orleans would take back the lead early in the 4th. The Breakers finally made good on a red zone possession as Hambrick, subbing for Troy Davis, took a handoff from Dilfer, made one cut, and raced 9 yards to paydirt, his first TD of the season. The score put New Orleans back on top 23-19. That score motivated Memphis, who followed it up with a long 13-play drive that saw Heath Shuler connect with Kelley Washington on a key 3rd and 15 play, with Washington reaching out to just barely get the ball past the first down line and keep the drive alive. The Showboats would score as HB Dorsey Levins, who finished the game with 17 carries for 76 yards, plunged into the endzone on 3rd and goal from the 2. Up 26-23, a field goal would tie it, and that is exactly what New Orleans got. The Breakers had to settle for a 46-yard attempt because on 3rd and 7 Memphis CB Darrien Gordon managed to break up a pass to Kevin Dyson, pulling the ball out of his hands on what would have been a first down inside the red zone. The Breakers kicked the game-tying field goal and we went to overtime. Memphis won the toss and received the kick at their own 27. It took them 11 plays, but once again they found themselves within the 5 yard line. They turned to Dorsey Levins again and the former Wrangler made good, shrugging off a tackler to rumble into the endzone on a walk-off scoring play for the Showboats. Heath Shuler finished the game with 366 yards to be the Player of the Game, but it truly was a team effort as the defense did their part, the offense racked up over 450 yards, and special teams contributed with several Jeff Hall field goals. The Showboats move to 6-3 and a share of first place with the Breakers, also now 6-3. The two will face off again in Week 14, in what very well could be a game that determines the division champion. BIR 20 NSH 17 The other Southern Division game was also an entertaining and close battle as Birmingham needed a late Walter Reeves TD to take the win in Nashville. The Knights lost the turnover battle 3-0 and that was a big reason for their loss, particularly with Donta Jones’s pick-six sparking Birmingham after a lackluster first half. Todd Collins was responsible for all 3 turnovers as his accuracy was a bit shaky on the day. Birmingham continued to try to provide more touches to Shaun Alexander, with 17 carries for 66 yards on the day. The win moves the Stallions to 5-4 and right in the thick of playoff positioning, even perhaps a shot at the division. ARZ 38 HOU 31 A really fun one in Houston as the Wranglers come from behind in the 4th quarter to take the game. Jake Plummer had another huge day both passing and rushing as he amassed 5 total TDs (2 on the ground), including the game winner with 10 minutes left to play. Houston got 2 scores each from TE Dan Campbell and HB Kevin Faulk, but could not mount a final drive, down 7 with 3 minutes left. The win moves Arizona to 4-5 and drops Houston to 3-6. DEN 34 TEX 10 The Denver Gold tightened their grip on first place in the Southwest with a convincing win in San Antonio. Mark Brunell threw for 2 scores and HB Robert Holcombe rushed for 69 yards and a score to help propel the Gold to victory. New Texas HB T.J. Duckett got 14 carries on the day, rushing for 46 yards, but Texas simply could not maintain drives into the red zone. The loss drops Texas to 4-5 and gives Denver a 3 game lead in the division. LA 41 POR 22 The Express also expand their lead in the division thanks to a convincing win in Portland. Jevon Kearse recorded his first sack as a member of the Express and Cade McNown threw 3 TD passes before being relieved by Quincy Carter in the 4th quarter. LA was helped by a hit that knocked Rick Mirer out of the game and forced rarely-used John Stark to finish the game. Stark would complete only 6 of 23 pass attempts as Portland floundered in the second half without Mirer. SEA 47 OAK 13 The new look Invaders played a lot like the old look Invaders, getting blown out by a red hot Seattle Dragons club. Jon Kitna threw 3 picks and completed only 45% of his passes, while Rashaan Salaam, still on limited carries got his first TD late in the game. For Seattle it was a mix of contributors as the Dragons got a 99 yard Troy Walters kick return for a score, a pick six from Willie Middlebrooks, and a Joe Montgomery TD run (Montgomery is the 3rd HB and got only 2 touches on the day, but one was a 33 yard TD late in the game). Seattle is now 4-5 and in playoff contention in the West. JAX 20 NJ 38 The Generals got 3 TDs from Tom Brady as Anthony Becht and David Tyree helped make up for Terry Glenn’s absence. The Generals also looked very solid on defense, building up a 31-10 lead thanks to two picks of Jake Delhomme and a fumble by Lovell Pinkney. New Bulls HB Antowain Smith rushed 13 times for a very solid 74 yards, but the big New Jersey lead meant the run game had to be set aside. The win moves New Jersey to 6-3 and drops Jacksonville to 5-4. BOS 10 BAL 20 Baltimore got a big win to move to 4-5 and remain alive in playoff contention. The defense played well, sacking Drew Bledsoe 5 times to thwart Boston’s efforts. Jeff Garcia got the start as expected, but the team relied heavily on Ron Dayne, who rushed for 115 and both Blitz touchdowns. Despite the loss, Tiki Barber still had a solid game, rushing for 131 yards to retain his solid position atop the rushing leaderboard. PIT 14 WSH 25 The Maulers had a 14-3 lead going into the 4th quarter in Washington, but TD passes from Stewart to FB Tommy Vardell and TE Cam Cleeland flipped the script, giving the Federals an 18-14 lead with 1:14 left to play. The win was sealed when Ed Reed picked off Charlie Batch and ran it back for 6 to close out the game. The Feds held Terrell Davis to only 34 yards rushing in a masterful defensive performance, and while Pittsburgh’s D was equally tough through three quarters, it finally tired and Washington took the W to move to 9-0 on the year. OHI 31 PHI 21 Ohio continued to move up the standings with another win as Kerry Collins’s 4 TD day was enough to defeat the Stars. Joey Galloway had another 100-yard game, with 2 TDs as well, and Chad Johnson added 96 yards and a score as the Glory offense continued to impress. The defense was better today, holding Stephen Davis to only 36 yards rushing and picking off Brian Griese twice. With the loss, Philadelphia drops to 3-6 and will need a lot of help if they hope to get back into a playoff discussion. TBY 23 MGN 6 The Panthers continued to struggle on offense, falling to 0-9 with another poor performance. For Tampa Bay, Willis McGahee rushed for 119 and Randy Moss caught 7 balls from Kent Graham, including a 39-yard touchdown as Tampa Bay moved to 4-5. ORL 12 CHI 30 Orlando joined Michigan at 0-9 after a thorough dismantling by the Chicago Machine. Anthony Weaver nabbed Joey Harrington twice to move into 2nd on the league sack list and Jeff George threw TDs to former Renegade Donald Driver and to TE Fred Baxter in a comfortable win for the Machine, who move to 5-4 in the Central. Trading Block Cools Off Ahead of Deadline With the USFL trade deadline this Friday, we saw the trading block lose a lot of its energy after the Week 8 flurry of action. Only a couple of trades of note this week as teams got ready for the 5-game spring to the playoffs. Birmingham upgraded at guard by making a deal with Denver for Tracy Boyd. The swing guard for Denver may well plug right in at LG for Birmingham. Denver, for their part gets a solid slot receiver in rookie Kassim Osgood as well as a late round draft pick for Boyd. Jacksonville, having lost DT Renaldo Wynn in the same week they traded Jevon Kearse to LA, needed to add some muscle at DT and they found a willing trading partner in New Jersey. The Generals agreed to send Darwin Walker to the Bulls for two 5th round picks, Jacksonville’s and the pick the Bulls acquired from LA in the Jevon Kearse trade. Walker had been outplayed by John Parella this year and was acting as backup, but New Jersey has depth at the position, so Walker is off to Jacksonville. Interestingly we did hear a lot of rumors that the Blitz were shopping their starting QB Jeff Garcia, which seems very premature since Ryan Leaf has not even started a game for Baltimore yet, and since Garcia got the Blitz a win this week, but those rumors were out there. No takers however, as most teams are somewhat set at QB, at least until the offseason. New Faces in New Places Speaking of Ryan Leaf, he did not see action this week, but is practicing with the Blitz and working on picking up Coach Infante’s playbook. Baltimore uses a very different system than Texas, and the vocabulary alone could be a challenge as Coach Infante is known for his complex playcalling system. But, while Ryan Leaf is just beginning his learning curve in Baltimore, other Week 8 trade journeymen did see action this week with less than 1 week of time with their new teams. Of the players traded, we would have to say that DE Jevon Kearse had the best first week, scoring his first sack for his new club as well as 3 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery. Not a bad first impression. Antowain Smith had a decent first outing for the Bulls, racking up 74 yards on 13 carries (a very nice 5.3 YPC average), though the Bulls lost and their late deficit mean that Smith did not see many carries in the final quarter. T.J. Duckett struggled a bit more in his first action in Texas, carrying the ball 14 times but for only 46 yards (3.3 YPC). Duckett split time with Brian Westbrook, and did have a nice 11-yard run early in the game, but was clearly limited and was taken out in most passing situations in favor of Westbrook. Rookie Check In We are 9 weeks in, and it seems a good time to assess our Rookie Class. Looking only at the rookie on each club that has contributed the most, here is our ranking of the top 10 to make a contribution this season. 10) Terrance McGee, CB, Denver: Of the three rookie defenders who have seen action this year for Denver, McGee has been the biggest breakout player. Playing predominantly the nickel, McGee has 2 picks and 7 tackles this year, which is not bad considering he has only been targeted 16 times. 9) Troy Polamalu, SS, Los Angeles: Polamalu has had an immediate impact for the Express. He is currently third on the team with 48 tackles, some of them poster-worthy, and has also added a sack and a pick in his first 9 games. Polamalu seems to cherish opportunities to come close to the line and take on running backs. 8) Charles Rogers, WR, Michigan: The season and the offense have not gone the way Coach Mike Martz would want, but Rogers has been a solid contributor. He is third on the team with 32 catches on 53 targets, has 318 yards and a touchdown. He has not been as explosive as perhaps the Panthers had hoped, but with their O-line we are not sure Drew Brees could go deep very often anyway. 7) Kelley Washington, WR, Memphis: Washington’s numbers are slightly better than those of Rogers (33 catches on 45 targets, 508 yards and 3 touchdowns) but what is more important is that Washington has helped to open up the offense, freeing up both Justin McCaerins and TE Adrian Cooper to have big seasons. 6) Mike Doss, FS, Ohio: Doss has been a solid defender for the Glory. He has 27 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 picks for the Glory defense, showing his versatility as both a coverage safety and an in-the-box presence. 5) Nick Barnett, LB, Houston: The Gamblers found themselves a thumper in Barnett. The rookie LB is third on the team with 48 tackles so far this season. He has yet to record a sack or a pick, but that is not surprising considering the role he has been given. He has 6 tackles for loss as the run game seems to be his strongsuit. 4) Marcus Truffant, CB, Seattle: The first of two Dragon rookies to make our list, Truffant has been stellar for a rookie CB. Yes, he has been faked out a couple of times, but his 3 picks leads the team and he has also contributed 49 tackles, including several really good run blitzes. 3) Anquon Boldin, WR, Jacksonville: Not the biggest name among wideouts coming out of the draft, but Boldin has made a name for himself this season with 57 receptions (5th in the league), 722 yards, and 4 touchdowns. He has been the perfect #2 receiver, freeing up Terrell Owens from the double teams that have impacted his entire career. Boldin provides both solid route running and good speed to the other WR spot, and that has not gone unnoticed. 2) Willis McGahee, HB, Tampa Bay: McGahee had a rough first couple of weeks as the starter in Tampa Bay, replacing the legendary Errict Rhett, but the former Miami Hurricane is making himself a popular player in Tampa Bay with an outstanding run of games. He currently sits 3rd in the rushing race with 782 yards, and his 7 touchdowns have been huge for the Bandits. He has lived up to the hype coming out of Miami to be sure. 1) Byron Leftwich, QB, Seattle: Was there really any doubt here. Leftwich has taken the league by storm. He is currently the only QB with more than 3,000 yards passing, has 27 TD passes and a QBR well over 100. That is an amazing feat for a rookie quarterback. Kudos to Seattle for having the foresight and the guts to trade away their starter in Brian Griese and make the big move to sign this very exciting young QB. Our first playoff preview of the season and what we see is that there is, as usual, a cluster around the .500 mark with a few teams leaping out to significant division leads and a few others falling far back of the pack. No one is officially eliminated from playoff contention at this point, but we feel pretty safe keeping Michigan, Orlando, and Oakland off the chart this week. Looking at division races we see that Denver and Los Angeles are feeling pretty good, both with a 3-game lead over the closest division rival. Things are a lot tighter in the South as Memphis and New Orleans could battle all the way to the end, with Birmingham only a game back. Right now all 4 Southern teams would qualify for the playoffs, but that is not likely to hold up once we get into heavy divisional play down the stretch. In the East, Washington has a 3-game lead on New Jersey, while Ohio has just taken a 1-game lead on Pittsburgh and Jacksonville is tied with Boston at 5-4, but currently holds the tiebreaker edge. Across the entire league we see 4-5 being very much in the hunt, with even some 3-6 teams still in range. So we have a few divisional races to watch (South, Central, and Southeast being the closest) and a lot of positioning for Wild Cards still on the table. More players headed to IR as nine weeks of hard hitting football takes its toll on team rosters. Oakland rookie DE Robert Mathis is out for the year after an injury to his ACL this week. He is joined on IR by New Jersey DT Jason Wilz, making the Generals D-line a bit thin after trading away DT Darwin Walker. Portland QB Rick Mirer is also lost for the year, just as Akili Smith is cleared to play. John Walsh will serve as backup but expect Portland to sign an emergency QB. Tampa Bay will be losing the services of center Trey Teague, but likely only for a week or two. Similarly, Arizona CB Fred Smoot is out this week but may return in week 11 or 12. Ohio is also shorthanded in the secondary as Ty Howard will be out at least 1-2 weeks. Philadelphia LB Quinton Qaver sprained his wrist and is listed as doubtful for this week. Also doubtful is Nashville DT Don Sasa, Jacksonville tackle Luke Petigout, and LA tackle Jonathan Ogden. New Orleans is listing HB Troy Davis as questionable, but word we hear is that he is out this week. Rod Smart of Denver could also miss this week due to a hamstring issue. Portlanders Bond Over Lost Thunder The city of Portland has reacted quickly to the upcoming departure of the Thunder. Several protests over the past weeks have seen fans throwing away Thunder gear and demanding that Portland be included in any USFL expansion plans. City officials have responded with calls to develop the East Side stadium as originally planned, even without a club to support. The goal, one assumes, is to entice the league to return to the city (a city they technically have not even left yet) when and if the league votes to expand in 2006 and 2008. But while public sentiment is strongly behind working towards a potential expansion franchise for the city, one big piece of the puzzle is still missing. Ever since the issues with ownership first arose around the Thunder in 2001 there has been a grassroots movement to develop a stronger link between the franchise and the city, and the eminent departure of the Thunder for Las Vegas, approved last month at the league owners’ meeting, has apparently intensified the movement. The problem, of course, is that a team needs an owner, and while Phil Ruffin was pulling in Las Vegas associates to form the coalition that would be granted the Thunder franchise, efforts in Portland to identify a majority owner who would keep the team in the city failed to identify a willing investor. While it makes some sense for Portland’s government officials to consider the original stadium proposal as a sine qua non for attracting a new franchise, the missing piece of the puzzle which must be addressed is the question of ownership. If an ownership group could be located that wanted to work towards a Portland franchise, and a stadium was under development for such a franchise, it seems very plausible that the league would move towards a Portland expansion franchise in 2008. For now, we are seeing primarily sour grapes, upset fans, and politicians trying to close the barn doors after the horses have all gotten out. League Pushes for Memphis Commitment In an interesting twist in the Showboat saga, league owners, in a conference call on Tuesday, voted to include an addendum to the expansion proposal put forth by the Finance and Competition Committees, an addendum that would meet Showboat ownership’s demands that St. Louis’s automatic expansion bid be contingent upon the Showboats declining the bid to relocate. What makes the conference call interesting is the demand made back to Showboat ownership, a counter to the team’s addendum. The countermeasure proposed in the call would demand that should the upcoming referendum on a bond issuance by the city of Memphis pass, paving the way for Liberty Bowl Stadium improvements, that the Showboats would commit to remaining in the city and St. Louis’s proposal would be taken up only for an expansion franchise. Essentially what has happened is the league has pushed back on the Showboats, requiring a commitment from them equal to the commitment the Showboats are asking of the league in regards to St. Louis. So, what does this really mean for the fanbase of Memphis? It actually clarifies the situation quite a bit. If the referendum passes, the Showboats must commit to remaining in Memphis and the threat of relocation is over, but if it fails, the franchise is free to negotiate with St. Louis. For anxious USFL fans in St. Louis, the premise is also simplified. If Memphians vote to deny the bond issuance, as they have 3 times in the past when stadium refurbishment has been on the ballot, then St. Louis is very likely to become the new home of the Showboats. However, if the measure passes, Memphis will remain the home to the Showboats and St. Louis’s USFL future will come down to the vote 2 weeks later at the Owner’s meeting, a vote that could guarantee the city a franchise as soon as 2006. So, for St. Louis, things are looking promising that they will have USFL football back within 2-3 years, while for Memphis, the voters will essentially decide the future of the Showboats. Are the Breakers Next Up? That was the concern this week when majority owner of the Breakers, Jeff Canizaro, announced that he plans to divest himself of his majority share of the club. But before fans in New Orleans panic, it should be stated that Canizaro has stated unequivocally that he is patient with the plan and that his goal is to bring in local ownership to ensure that the club remains in New Orleans. Minority partner David Dixon also firmly stated that there are no plans for the Breakers to leave New Orleans for any reason and that the sale of the franchise will be a long term project to be conducted in an orderly fashion, unlike the rushed sales of the Thunder and Knights due to immediate financial and legal issues surrounding the owners. The problem, of course, is that with St. Louis, Atlanta, and now Portland, recently losing their USFL franchises due to ownership changes, some forced, some voluntary, the belief among fans that unstable ownership situations can easily lead to franchise relocation is solidly founded. It is no surprise that any transition of ownership brings with it some uncertainty, but in the case of the Breakers, concerns that the team is in trouble, or that a sale could lead to upheaval or even relocation, seem largely unfounded. If Mr. Canizaro’s statement affirms anything it is that the Breakers are to be sold locally and that this sale will not impact the fan experience or the viability of the franchise in the Crescent City. Reebok Unveils New Look for Texas Outlaws The first of the three new looks for 2004 was revealed this week at an event along San Antonio’s famous Riverwalk as Reebok and the Outlaws unveiled their new look for 2004. The new branding includes the first major change to the team logo since their formation in 1988, when they merged imagery from the short-lived Oklahoma Outlaws with the color scheme and basic uniform design of the San Antonio Gunslingers. The new look retains the Kelly green, royal blue, and black color scheme, but introduces a very different version of the “Outlaw Jim” logo. Gone is the stoic headshot of the black-hatted outlaw and in its place is a new dynamic, perhaps a bit more cartoony, version of the Outlaw. The new Outlaw clutches a footall with two gloved hands, wears a black hat with blue highlights and a green kerchief. The new logo will adorn the helmet, which loses its complex “snakeskin” pattern on the striping, returning to a simpler 5-stripe pattern of royal bordered in black and white. The shell remains Kelly green and the facemask is black. One interesting feature of the new helmet is that the base of the stripe containing the player number uses an Alamo silhouette in white to set it apart from the green helmet. This Alamo silhouette will be a prominent feature of the entire look. Both on the jersey striping and the angled horizontal pant striping we find a 3 color stripe pattern, but in each case the top stripe is not a straight line but forms the same Alamo silhouette, highlighted by a single “Lonestar” at the center of the central arch of the Alamo rooftop. On the royal jerseys and pants the stripe pattern is green at the base, then black, then white for the Alamo stripe. On the white pants and jersey the colors shift to blue, then green, then black for the Alamo stripe. The jerseys retain a slightly Westernized block font with black piping and a drop shadow. On the blue jersey the numbers are white with a Kelly green drop shadow, while on the white jersey the numbers are blue with black piping and a royal blue drop shadow. The final piece of the new look is an updated wordmark, with a rougher “Western” font and a curved base. The primary wordmark will be royal blue, with TEXAS above it in Kelly and above that a thick black line outlining the familiar Alamo rooftop and a silver Lonestar. All in all the look is clean and borrows heavily from both former Outlaw looks as well as traditional iconography of the city of San Antonio. The big question is how fans will react to the new “Outlaw Jim” logo, as this is the wildest departure from the logo which has been in use since 1988. Week 10 brings us back to divisional play in the East, with some major playoff impact games on the schedule. Pittsburgh, just one week after facing the unbeaten Federals, now gets to go to Ohio in what could be the deciding game for the Central Division. It’s either a share of 1st place with a Mauler win or a 2-game gap with a loss. The Southeast offers another top-of-division clash as Jacksonville heads to Boston with the winner taking over sole possession of 1st place. In the East, Baltimore heads to New Jersey with a win getting the Blitz up to .500 while New Jersey can all but lock up a Wild Card if they can move to 7-3. Washington survived the Maulers last week and now head to Philadelphia to face the Stars. Tampa Bay heads down to 0-9 Orlando with a win moving them back to .500 as well. Chicago can move to 6-4 if they can avoid a trap game at home against the winless Panthers. Out West, our favorite matchup is between Memphis and the red hot Seattle Dragons. If Seattle can get the home win against the defending conference champ, they move to 5-5. LA is in Arizona in a game that could be a tough matchup for the Express. Nashville travels to Houston in a game that is vital to both club’s hopes for a playoff push. New Orleans comes off their divisional loss and must travel to face a tough Texas squad. The Outlaws can also reach .500 with a win. Birmigham is over the .500 line and hopes to stay there for good as they head to Portland to take on the Thunder. Denver wraps up the western slate by playing host to the 1-9 Oakland Invaders.

While there was certainly some great action on the field this past week, including a nail biter in New Orleans, the days following the week's on-field action saw just as much excitement as several teams tried to fill gaps and prepare for a homestretch run to the playoffs by trading for key positions. We may have a QB controversy ready to explode in Baltimore as the Blitz add outspoken QB Ryan Leaf. Texas and Jacksonville try to improve their lackluster run games by swapping to bring in big backs, and the LA Express may have just gotten themselves the edge rusher they crave by nabbing Jevon Kearse in a bold midseason move. We will cover all these moves, plus the return of Rashaan Salaam and some roster shuffling as teams do what they can to prepare for the second half of the season. But first, let's talk about the games. SEATTLE DRAGONS 41 NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 38 Are the Seattle Dragons the next big thing? The Dragons and rookie QB Byron Leftwich seem to be following in the Ohio Glory’s footsteps, relying on offensive firepower and hoping the defense will follow. Coming into Week 8 they had scored 41, 34, 27, 42, and 26 points, giving them the #2 scoring offense in the league. Against a solid New Orleans defense they showed once again that they are playing some incredible offensive football, racking up 485 yards and 41 points, but, of course, they needed to as their defense gave up an equally impressive 487 yards and 38 points. To say that both defenses looked overwhelmed would be a bit of an understatement in this one. Byron Leftwich would start off on what would become a 5 touchdown day with the first Dragon drive. He connected with Corey Bradford for a 24 yard score to open the game. But the Dragon D could not hold the lead. New Orleans would score on their next three possessions while Seattle struggled to duplicate their early success. Trent Dilfer hit Josh Reed for a score on New Orleans’s first drive, then doubled the Breaker score on the second by hitting Az-Zahir Hakeem for a 15-yard TD toss. Hakeem would catch 8 balls on the day for 110 yards, and he would also boost New Orleans’s advantage to 21-7 as he scored again on the next Breaker Drive. Down by 2 scores, the Dragons responded with Leftwich hitting Bradford again, this time from 34 yards out as the big play capacity of the Seattle offense was on full display. Bradford would have only 4 catches on the day, but with 2 of them deep touchdown passes his presence was certainly felt. Ken Dilger would actually be the top receiver for the Dragons on the day with 101 yards in total, but Leftwich would spread the ball around, finding 7 different receivers. The half ended with New Orleans getting in range for their kicker and David Green connecting from only 20 yards out on the final play of the 2nd quarter to give the home team a 10-point advantage, 24-14. In the second half, both teams would again encounter no difficulty moving the ball, although New Orleans would have some issues in the red zone, issues which turned touchdowns into field goals and kept Seattle in the game. After another short field goal from Green, New Orleans led 27-14, but Seattle would roar back in the 3rd, scoring 3 times to pull ahead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. The first score was a 22-yarder from Leftwich to J.J. Stokes, who had been quiet for most of the first half, and who would finish with only 2 receptions on the day. After a Breaker punt, Seattle would score again, this time with Leftwich finding O.J. McDuffie from the 3-yard line on a perfectly executed fake to Corey Dillon, freeing the receiver. Dillon, who would rush for 109 on the day, was used effectively both to move the ball and to provide Leftwich with single coverage on his top receivers. The rookie QB would hit McDuffie again only minutes later to move the lead from 28-27 up to 35-27. Trent Dilfer and the Breaker offense would respond in the waning moments of the 3rd quarter, completing a quick 6-play drive with a 15-yard TD toss to tight end Bubba Franks. The 2 point PAT was good and the Breakers tied the score at 35. Early in the 4th, the Breakers would get the lead back, scoring on a 49 yard kick from Green. But, field goals were not enough as Seattle continued to move the ball. They too would have to settle for kicks, but with a game-tying 52-yard bomb of a kick from Jay Feely, the Dragons were still in the thick of this one. New Orleans got the ball back with 8:22 to play, and they started shifting gears, trying to downshift to a slower, more methodical pace. The problem there being the need to avoid mistakes, and a holding call on what had appeared to be a successful 3rd and 7 conversion gave the Breakers a 3rd and 17, a conversion they could not make, and they were forced to kick the ball back to Seattle. The Dragons had more success playing a slow game down the stretch, using runs by Corey Dillon and Brian Mitchell, mixed with short passes to Dilger, Dillon and McDuffie, to move the ball across midfield and set up Feely for a game winner. He would take the kick with 20 seconds left on the clock, and it would sail through, giving Seattle their third win of the season and a possible tipping point for their year. For New Orleans, the loss meant that their lead over Memphis would tighten up. For Seattle, the win meant that they could continue to develop and have hopes for a late surge to get them potentially into Wild Card position. DEN 10 MEM 20 Memphis had seen the Breaker loss by the time they kicked off, but they had a tough foe to face themselves. Denver was 6-1 and in no mood to give the Showboats a win. The two battled to a 10-10 tie at the half, but in the second half it was all Showboats. Heath Shuler connected with Tydus Wynans for a score and the Showboat defense picked off Mark Brunell on the one deep penetrating drive the Gold mustered in the half. Despite Denver having 3 different receivers go over 100 yards (Battaglia, Smith, and Price) the Gold could not muster 2nd half offense and suffered their 2nd loss of the season. WSH 26 BAL 20 The Federals moved to 8-0 on the road, but they got all they could handle from a determined Blitz squad. Baltimore got 114 yards and a TD from Ron Dayne, but Jeff Garcia made too many mistakes, including 4 picks, and that sank the upset attempt. The bad day from Garcia may have been the last straw triggering a midweek move only 2 days later. For Washington, Deuce McCallister rushed for 121 and Cedric Tillman hauled in 2 scores to help Washington stay unbeaten. PHI 23 NJ 30 A late Brady-to-Hayes TD broke the 23-23 tie and gave New Jersey a rousing home win before nearly 58,000 at the Meadowlands on Saturday night. Philadelphia looked good on both sides of the ball, getting pressure on Brady (2 picks, 4 sacks), but Brian Griese suffered 7 sacks against the Generals’ front 7, including one on 4th and 5 that ended their last gasp drive at the game’s conclusion. TBY 24 BOS 27 The Cannons get the close win at home to thrill the Alumni Stadium crowd. Tiki Barber was again the star for the Cannons as he rushed for 85 yards and 2 scores on the day. Robert Ferguson added a score and 101 yards receiving for Boston. Kent Graham played well for Tampa Bay, throwing for 254 yards and 2 scores, while Willis McGahee rushed for 98 yards and a score in what was a very entertaining game between two clubs on the rise. OHI 45 MGN 31 The Michigan Panthers showed signs of an actual pro offense on Sunday, but it was just not enough against the Glory. Drew Brees threw for 321 and new HB Ladell Betts averaged 7.8 YPC on limited touches. Meanwhile Eddie George had a massive game through the air, going for 3 scores, two of them over 50 yards, as he racked up 152 yards through the air on only 4 receptions. Kerry Collins would throw 5 TDs and the Glory pulled away over the 2nd half. PIT 30 CHI 44 Chicago needed this win to stay alive in a very competitive Central Division, and to get it they relied on some surprising contributors. With Duce Staley dinged up in the 2nd quarter, backup Charles Rogers got the majority of carries for 2 ½ quarters and he showed his stuff, rushing for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chicago needed every inch as Pittsburgh got 123 yards from Andre Rison, 92 from Alge Crumpler, and 102 from Terrell Davis, but 2 turnovers in the second half helped the Machine pull away, building a 44-23 lead and then keeping the clock ticking to end the game. ARZ 19 BIR 26 The Stallions reach .500 thanks to a strong defensive outing. Mike Rucker added 2 sacks to his total and Renaldo Turnbull secured a safety to help Birmingham outlast the Wranglers. What is more impressive is that it seems the Stallions have learned to run the ball. With a lead late, they turned to Shaun Alexander and the big back came through with 44 yards in the final period and 109 for the game. That was enough to withstand a 373-yard passing day from Jake Plummer and even their record at 4-4. TEX 26 OAK 10 Texas also leveled their record at 4-4, earning a road win in Oakland against the 1-7 Invaders. In his first game back from suspension Rashaan Salaam looked a bit out of shape, carrying the ball only 5 times for 6 yards. Meanwhile, Texas got touchdowns from Brian Westbrook and Ike Hilliard, and they picked off Marques Tuiasosopo 3 times to seal the win. After the game Coach Green stated that he is continuing to evaluate the QB situation and that Jon Kitna would be considered for a Week 9 start as part of that ongoing process. HOU 16 LA 31 Cade McNown returned to action and in top form as well, withstanding 4 Houston sacks to throw for 248 and 3 scores. The combo of Antowain Smith and DeShaun Foster combined for 156 yards rushing in what would be their last game together (see Stories for details). Tory Holt and Amani Toomer would both score for LA, who built up a 31-9 lead before allowing Houston’s only TD of the game late in the 4th. POR 0 NSH 13 A downpour in Nashville made this game a quagmire of mud, which was fine for both defenses but brutal for fans and offensive playmakers alike. Despite the muddy field, this game ended with no turnovers on either side. The only TD was a short pass from Collins to Ahman Green as neither team could do much. Rick Mirer, starting for the injured Akili Smith, ended up running the ball 14 times, but gained only 4 yards for his efforts. Portland had a chance to get on the board late, at least to save face, but Thunder kicker Carlos Huerta slipped in the mud on his approach to a late field goal, creating a football follie blooper that will likely follow him for a while, and keeping Portland at 0 points for the game. As we hinted in our game summaries, this was a week of action that produced several major roster shifts over the days to follow. We have no fewer than 3 trades involving current starters changing teams as some clubs look to deal with weaknesses as they push for a playoff spot while others look to unload salary and obtain draft picks in what are already lost seasons. In addition to this we had several announced promotions from bench to starter across the league, but let’s start with the trades. Jacksonville has apparently decided that highly-touted DE Jevon Kearse is simply not an ideal fit for their defense, and were willing to trade the speedy edge rusher to acquire a potential starter at halfback. LA was more than happy to split up their HB duo by sending veteran Antowain Smith to Jacksonville in trade. In total the deal saw 4 players and one pick change hands as Jacksonville sent Kearse and 3rd down back Marquette Smith to Jacksonville. In return the Express send their leading rusher, Antowain Smith and swing DE Israel Ifeany to Jacksonville along with a 5th round pick in next year’s draft. The move means that Deshaun Foster is now the true lead back in LA, ending Smith’s 4-year run as the Express’s leading rusher. Expect Foster to see a major increase in touches after the move, and expect Kearse to be a part time player this week, but almost certainly to take over the Left End position within 2 weeks. For Jacksonville, the trade is bad news for Kenny Bynum, who has struggled this year. The Bulls are expecting to start Smith right away, backed up by Bynum and rookie Fred Jackson. The move likely marks the end of Bynum’s tenure in Jacksonville, as the player is a free agent at the end of the season. DE Israel Ifeanye will likely also get significant playing time for the Bulls’ defense, replacing Kearse on the left side. Antowain Smith was not the only starting back to find himself with a new address by midweek. Upset with a lack of production from T.J. Duckett, the Michigan Panthers sent the big back and former Michigan State player to Texas, who have been struggling to find a bell cow back since the retirement of Reggie Cobb. Duckett and WR Dedrick Ward were on a flight to San Antonio by Wednesday. Flying up to Michigan are Outlaw HB Autrey Detson (more of a receiving/special team contributor) and WR Eugene Baker. The Outlaws also threw in a 3rd round pick to sweeten the deal. The move frees up over $3.6M in cap space for the year as they avoid a 3rd year bubble payment to Duckett. For Texas, the goal is to improve the offense right away in hopes of making a playoff run this year. The third and final trade seems to have been the result of frustration from two different coaching staffs. Frustration in Texas with the constant mouthing off of QB Ryan Leaf, and frustration in Baltimore with the poor play of Jeff Garcia. Baltimore is hoping to make a run in the Northeast, but Garcia has been a weak link. They send a 4th round pick and backup Billy Joe Tolliver to the Outlaws for the outspoken Leaf, who could begin to compete with Garcia right away. Expect a bit of fireworks as this is Leaf’s third team in 4 years and he is unlikely to stay quiet if his trade does not immediately provide him with a chance to prove that he deserves to be the starter in Baltimore. For Texas, they get rid of a distraction, add a very viable backup behind Jeff Lewis (and one who won’t whine about that status), and they get a midround pick as well. In other player news, the big change is in Oakland where Coach Green has opted to start Jon Kitna over Marques Tuiasosopo for Week 8. We cannot really call this a surprise, as Tuiasosopo’s 74.9 QBR is one of the lowest of any starter in the league, and his 14 picks have proven costly for a team that cannot afford to make mistakes. Kitna is almost certainly a short term answer for Coach Green and the Invaders. They toyed with the idea of trading for Leaf, but ownership in Oakland, having been burned by Leaf’s temper and attitude quickly put a stop to any talks with Texas for the controversial QB. So Kitna is the starter for now, but you know Oakland, having missed on trying to sign Carson Palmer from the 2003 draft will be looking at the 2004 rookie class, one that includes 3-4 potential 1st round picks in Ole Miss’s Eli Manning (brother of NFL MVP Peyton), NC State’s Philip Rivers, Miami (OH) star Ben Roethlisberger, and Tulane’s J.P. Losman. With two of the four QBs playing for teams that are not among any USFL’s protected list (Roethlisberger and Rivers) the odds are good that Oakland will be among several teams vying for a big name rookie QB next offseason. Oakland is also expected to shift their backfield beyond the Kitna for Tuiasosopo move, as, despite a less-than-stellar first game back, the Invaders are also expected to give Rashaan Salaam a much larger role in the Week 9 game against Seattle. So it will be Kitna and Salaam for the Invaders as they face one of the most explosive offenses in the league. In Baltimore, Coach Infante has stated that Jeff Garcia will get the start against Boston in Week 9, but was unwilling to name him the starter beyond this week, stating that they traded for Leaf to create competition and that once Leaf has a familiarity with the playbook, it should be expected that the starter will be determined on a week-by-week basis. We shall see if this motivates Garcia, who is having one of his worst seasons as a starter for the Blitz, with only 7 touchdowns and 13 picks. In Michigan, where the run game is the league’s worst, producing only 402 total yards in 8 games, T.J. Duckett is gone and Ladell Betts, recently acquired from Washington, will be the new starter. Expect to see Betts a lot on first and 2nd down, with either Autry Detson (newly acquired from Texas) or Winslow Oliver seeing action on 3rd downs. Texas is unlikely to start T.J. Duckett as he just arrived from the Panthers, but he should see some action this week in limited packages. That said, with Duckett now in San Antonio, expect Brian Westbrook to become more of a true 3rd down back, as he may see his touches drop considerably over the next month but his role become more refined. Will Duckett succeed in Texas when he had such issues in Michigan? That remains to be seen, but the Outlaws feel he has untapped potential and they could certainly use a boost as well. Wideout Dedrick Ward could also contribute right away, as he is expected to occupy the 4th receiver spot, and could compete with Kirby Dar-Dar for the slot position. Finally, a bit of a shakeup for Pittsburgh in the receiving corps as rookie Nate Burleson has been making an impression on Coach Bicknell. Expect to see Burleson more frequently lined up opposite Andre Rison in 2-receiver sets, and we also anticipate seeing more of 2nd year WR Antwan Randle-El in the slot as well. Looks like the Maulers are hoping to get a bit more out of their passing game. A bad week across the USFL as we witnessed several players carted off the field and several more who received news this week that their season was over. If there is any silver lining it is that no one team was hit with multiple season-ending injuries, but that is little comfort for teams losing a key player for the year. Among those who will be concerned are the Jacksvonville Bulls, who traded away DE Jevon Kearse and now learn that DT Renaldo Wynn is out for at least 3 months due to a back injury suffered this week. He is expected to make a full recovery, but this sidelines him at least until October. LA is in a similar situation with center Bryan Stoltenberg, who suffered a scary back injury during the Express game and was carted off. He too is expected to recover fully, but will be out the rest of the season. The Express will also be without WR Dez White at least for 1-2 weeks due to a hamstring injury. In Houston, wideout David Patten got the news he was dreading, that his hip injury would require surgery, ending his season. Houston also learned that DE Michael Sinclair would miss at least 2-4 weeks with a significant groin injury, though he is expected to be back in time for the season’s final weeks. In Boston, wideout Chris Calloway is done for the year with a PCL injury and DT Anthony McFarland will also miss up to 2-3 weks with a significant hamstring issue. In Chicago, CB R.W. McQuarters is hit with a significant injury for the second season in a row, expected to miss up to 6 weeks with a broken collarbone. Nashville will be without Darnay Scott, their primary kick returner, after suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee. Finally, New Jersey could be without Terry Glenn this week and perhaps next week as well due to a hyperextended knee, a test of the depth of the New Jersey receivers group. Showboats Look for Concessions The question of the Showboats’ status continues to get muddled as both the city of Memphis and St. Louis are putting efforts into sweetening the pot to either relocated or retain the USFL club. Meanwhile the Showboats themselves are asking that special contingencies be put into place should USFL owners approve a proposed expansion plan in their summer meetings. We start with the city of Memphis, which has successfully placed a bond issuance proposal onto a special election to be held in early June. The concept is to provide the Showboats with a significant refurbishing of Liberty Bowl Stadium, adding 20 luxury suites, additional high-tech audio-video components, improved concession and restroom facilities, and to convert nearby unused warehouse space into a team facility. The proposed changes would decrease the capacity of the stadium from 62,338 to roughly 58,000, but with greater revenue capacity thanks to the luxury suites. The city is asking voters to support the bond issuance to finance 80% of the proposed renovations, with the Showboats kicking in 20%, a shift from earlier proposals which had capped the city’s contribution below 70%. For their part, St. Louis is looking at increased tax benefits for the Showboats, should they opt to relocate to the city and the Dome at America’s Center. The St. Louis bid still has some potential issues, namely the status of the Showboats in relation to the NFL Rams, an issue which was a serious sticking point for the St. Louis Knights before they relocated to Nashville. The proposal from St. Louis is a strong one however, with far more favorable revenue options for a relocated Showboats club. The city is, however, hedging their bets after the leak of the USFL expansion plan, opening up the current deal being made to the Showboats for any approved investor group which would bring a 2006 expansion club to the city, as was proposed in the USFL’s internal expansion report. The possibility of putting together local ownership and starting with a new expansion club does seem to temper the urgency for the city to work with the Showboats to bring the club to town. And that lack of urgency is likely what spurred Memphis ownership to demand that a codicil be added to the expansion proposal in order to obtain their vote (and likely the vote of several other owners who seek to keep the Showboats in Memphis). The new addendum would allow for the 2006 expansion to remove St. Louis or Atlanta as “mandated” locations for the first wave of expansion in 2006 should an existing franchise propose, and be approved, for relocation to either city. Essentially it would allow the Showboats to make the move to St. Louis if they found it preferable and then St. Louis would be removed from the list of expansion locations and the league would seek to add a different city to the 2006 2-team expansion, or potentially delay all expansion until 2008. It is a complication that could be a problem for the expansion plan’s ratification, as it creates much greater doubt and more potential variations for a plan that allows only 24-30 months of preparation if two new clubs are to join the league in 2006. If Memphis essentially has veto power on St. Louis being included in the expansion plans, then that would require the league to also consider outside bids from other markets, to potentially replace St. Louis should the Showboats opt to move. With most owners clearly standing in opposition of a relocation of the Showboats, despite potential support for the addendum, the waters get about as muddy as the Mississippi when trying to figure out how a vote would proceed. For many the goal should be for Memphis to secure funding to retain the Showboats, with improvements to the Liberty Bowl as proposed, and then to move ahead with a targeted St. Louis and Atlanta expansion, rather than to have the Showboats draw out the process, potentially move, and provide little time for a new city to be considered. The truth is that there are many who believe the entire St. Louis proposal by the Showboats is nothing more than a pressure tactic to get the city and its residents to pay to retain the team, something they have voted against on numerous occasions by scuttling past stadium improvement proposals. Others believe that St. Louis could provide a sweet enough offer to override even a renovated Liberty Bowl offer from Memphis. It is a larger market with a more diverse corporate base and a stronger overall economy than Memphis. That alone could lead Showboat ownership to consider the move, despite local ties in western Tennessee. And while the Showboats playing hardball by using St. Louis as a tool to put pressure on the city is certainly not sitting well with many Memphians, the idea of losing the Showboats is even more unpopular. So we wait for June and a vote on the bond initiative. If it passes, the odds are certainly far greater that Memphis will retain the team, and if not, there could be chaos 2 weeks later at the Owner’s meeting when the issue of expansion is once again the topic of the day. So what does Week 9 bring us? Well, with the Eastern Conference in divisional play in Week 8 you might expect it to be the West’s turn, and you would be right. Looking at the key matchups in the Western Conference this week, we see what may be a mini-playoff game between two 3-5 clubs as Arizona visits Houston may be. A 6th loss for either club this early could spell the end of any realistic playoff chances. For Texas, hosting the 6-2 Denver Gold, a win would bring them within a game of the leaders in the Southwest, while a loss may well put Denver on the path to an early clinching of the division. In the Pacific, Seattle is hoping to get back in the hunt for a Wild Card as they host the “new look” Oakland Invaders. Portland has a chance to help themselves if they can win as a home dog against the 6-2 LA Express. And in the Southern Division, we have two huge games. First we have Birmingham an Nashville, both sitting at 4-4. A win for either club could move them within a game of the lead, depending on the big Sunday night game that features Memphis visiting New Orleans. A win by the Breakers and they open up a 2-game lead on the division, but if Memphis pulls out the W, then we could have a down-to-the-finish battle, with all 4 Southern teams still in the mix. The other half of the slate features interdivisional games in the Eastern Conference. The game we are all excited to see is Sunday afternoon’s matching of Pittsburgh visiting Washington. The Maulers have the 2nd best record in the conference, and they are headed into the home of the unbeaten Federals. Another good game will feature 5-3 Jacksonville visiting 5-3 New Jersey, playing with Tom Brady back but Terry Glenn out. Ohio is hoping that if Washington can beat the Maulers they can return atop the Central Division. They head to Philadelphia to face the 3-5 Philadelphia Stars. The Cannons and the Blitz will face off in Baltimore this weekend in a battle of teams with playoff aspirations. We also have our two winless teams in action, hoping they can muster a W. Michigan is at home to 3-5 Tampa Bay, while Orlando is visiting 4-4 Chicago. Not great matchups for either club, but on any given Sunday, right?

Seven weeks in the books, seven yet to be written, and what do we have? For the second year in a row we have a team unbeaten at the halfway point, we have several major surprises including the success of Pittsburgh, Denver, and Los Angeles, and we have two teams yet to notch a win as both Michigan and Orlando are struggling at 0-7. Ohio and Memphis, last year’s dominant teams, have been targets, and both have stumbled a bit but seem to be recovering. We also have a rookie class that is starting to assert itself, with strong first impressions from QB Byron Leftwich, HB Willis McGahee, WR Anquon Boldin, and S Troy Polamalu among others. Midway through the year and the storylines are beginning to take shape. Backup QB play has been essential for some teams, defensive might for others, but we know that the big offenses are just tuning up for the final half of the year, so this could tighten up quite a bit. We start our rundown with this week’s games, but then evaluate where all 24 clubs sit at the midway point in our Midseason Report Card. Denver Gold 27 Chicago Machine 26 Call it a choke or a comeback miracle, but what happened at Soldier Field absolutely left a sour taste in the mouth of the 45,000 Machine faithful who attended the game, as unwelcome as a hot dog with ketchup for the Chicagoans. After three quarters Chicago held what seemed to be an unassailable 26-10 lead. With their defense playing well against Denver all game, the crowd was ready for a clock-killing final quarter and a Machine victory. What they got was 17 unanswered points, all in the final 5:10 of regulation. Chicago had built their lead slowly over the first three quarters, with 4 field goals from Tim Seder, but also early TDs from HB Charlie Rogers (7 yard run) and Duce Staley (29-yard reception). Chicago’s defense had limited Denver to only 9 first downs over the three quarters and the only Denver TD came after a Jeff George pass had been tipped at the line and picked off at the Chicago 17 yard line. This did not look like the formula for a late comeback as Denver had simply not been able to establish any kind of offense through the first 45 minutes of play. But, in the 4th quarter Denver shifted gears, abandoning any attempt to maintain a run game that had averaged only 2.1 yards per carry. They turned the ball over to Mark Brunell, and the veteran QB started to find options. He would throw for over 200 yards in the final period, connecting with 8 different receivers but relying most heavily on veterans Marco Battaglia and Dedric Smith. Peerless Price would catch a couple as well, but Chicago had ensured that Price was double covered on most plays so it came down to secondary receivers. Denver got their first score of the quarter when Jeff Wilkens connected on a 48-yard field goal. Chicago seemed nonplussed by this score, as they still held a 13-point lead with barely 5 minutes to play, but when Trent Dilfer had a second pass picked off only 3 plays later, it again gave Denver a short field and a chance for a quick score. The Gold moved the ball down the field in a modified 2-minute drill, and Brunell found Battaglia to cut the Chicago lead to only 6 with 1:36 left on the clock An onside kick ensued, and, with fans now getting antsy, the ball careened off of one of Chicago’s up men and ended up in the hands of CB Clayton Holmes for Denver. The Gold would waste no time, with Brunell connecting with Danny Farmer for 13 on first down, then with Smith to reach the red zone. Two plays later it was Brunell to Smith again, this time for a touchdown and the game. Chicago was stunned, even Denver players seemed stunned by the quick turn of events. They had survived 9 penalties, 3 turnovers, and a major time of possession drought, to overcome a 16-point deficit in 5 minutes and steal a road win from one of the better defenses in the league. The win moved Denver to 5-1, tied with New Orleans atop the Western Conference. The loss dropped Chicago to 3-4 and third place in the division, a full 3 games below division-leading Pittsburgh. HOU 13 PIT 27 The Maulers finished the first half of the season at 7-1 and atop the Central by a game over Ohio thanks to a solid defensive game against Houston. Matt Hasselbeck was picked three times, including a 22-yard pick six from Pittsburgh DB Dre Bly in the 2nd period that gave the Maulers a 21-0 lead. The second half saw only field goals as Pittsburgh wore down the Gamblers and walked away with a 14-point win. POR 24 WSH 37 The only team in the league with a better record than Pittsburgh is Washington, still unbeaten after knocking off the Portland (for now) Thunder at RFK. Kordell Stewart threw for 2 scores and Deuce McCallister rushed for 95 and a TD, but once again it was the Federal D that stole the show. They struggled to contain Akili Smith on the ground as he scrambled and ran for 147 yards and 2 scores, but they shut down Portland’s passing game and even former Federal Reuben Droughns did not have answers as Washington pulled away in the 2nd half to finish the season’s first half a perfect 7-0. NOR 20 ORL 19 The Breakers bounced back from their first loss of the season, beating the Orlando Renegades by 1 in a game that was a lot closer than most expected. Az-Zahir Hakeem caught 6 balls for 102 yards and the go ahead TD for the Breakers, but the defense could not keep Orlando from sticking around all game. Touchdowns from backups R.J. Redmond and Doug Gabriel kept Orlando in it, but they simply could not get one last drive for a game winning field goal and fell to a crushing 0-7 on the season. ARZ 44 MGN 13 The Panthers also fell to 0-7 after being absolutely dissected by Jake Plummer and the Wranglers. Plummer not only threw for 207 yards (10 of 14) but rushed the ball 17 times for 166 yards and 2 scores as he was largely unphased by Michigan’s defense. Spence Fischer was sacked 4 times and was unable to sustain offense all game as the Panthers again came up with fewer than 14 points in a game. The win gives Arizona a 3-4 record at the midseason point, while Michigan is flirting with a potential winless season. MEM 24 BOS 20 A good game in Boston, where the Cannons held a 20-10 lead after 3 quarters but could not contain Heath Shuler who connected with Justin McCaerins and Tydus Wynans for 4th quarter scores to take the road win. Tiki Barber added 83 yards to his league lead but was outgained by Dorsey Levins of Memphis, who added 86 yards. The win moves Memphis above .500 at 4-3, with Boston dropping to 4-3 as well. BIR 29 JAX 20 The Stallions improve their record to 3-4 thanks to a solid mix of pass rush and balanced offense. Jacksonville, playing with backup Josh McCown at QB, struggled, with their QB tossing 3 picks in the game. Meanwhile, Birmingham mixed the pass and the run effectively, with Shaun Alexander getting 20 carries, while Brett Favre went 21 of 34 and threw 2 touchdowns, including a perfectly thrown deep ball to Joe Horn. The Stallions are still trailing New Orleans and Memphis in the division, but look like they could be serious about a run in the second half. NSH 24 TBY 31 Nashville seems to be fading while Tampa Bay gets another win with Kent Graham at the helm. The Bandits get a big day from Willis McGahee to help power them to the 7-point win. Graham, for his part, went 19 of 30, with 3 TD passes and no picks as Tampa Bay protected him with play action. Randy Moss caught 6 balls for 109 and a 42-yard TD as Tampa Bay held off Todd Collins and the Knights. TEX 19 OHI 38 Ohio continued to reestablish themselves with another strong offensive performance at home. Eddie George averaged 5.1 yards per carry on his way to a 91 yard day, while both TE Stephen Alexander and WR Chad Johnson went over 100 yards receiving, Alexander adding 2 TDs as well as Ohio rolled to a home victory to move to 5-2, just a game behind the Maulers. OAK 6 BAL 17 Baltimore’s defense kept Oakland out of the endzone and a Marquez Pope pick-six was all the scoring they would need as Oakland struggled to establish anything. The Blitz did just that, blitz, and that helped them rack up 5 sacks of Marques Tuiasosopo. Ron Dayne and Travis Minor helped slow the game down, and Baltimore came away from the game at 3-4 and still very much alive in the Northeastern Division. LA 17 NJ 34 A big win for the Generals as they knock off the LA Express to move back over .500. Tom Brady had a stellar game, returning from injury once again, as he completed 22 of 25 passes for 314 yards and 3 TDs. Add in 102 yards from Curtis Enis and you have a strong Generals performance against a solid LA defense. It did not hurt that Cade McNown did not make the trip as Quincy Carter completed only 9 passes all game against the Generals’ defense. SEA 26 PHI 29 Flying from the West Coast to the East Coast is never easy, and winning in Philly can also be a challenge. That is what Byron Leftwich discovered as the Stars sacked the rookie QB 4 times and held Seattle’s offense in check to snag a much-needed home win. Brian Griese only completed 47% of his throws, but he did connect on three touchdown passes, including 2 to wideout Bobby Engram, as the Stars move to 3-4 and leave Seattle at 2-5 at the midway point of the year. MIDSEASON REPORT CARD The midseason point gives us a chance to look at all 24 USFL clubs and assess how well they are meeting, exceeding, or falling short of their goals and expectations for the year. It is also a good time to single out performers who are rising to the challenge of the USFL season or others who are simply not living up to the hype. Here, for your consideration, is our midseason report on each USFL club, starting with the undefeated Federals and ending with the woebegone Michigan Panthers at 0-7. WASHINGTON FEDERALS (7-0) Top Performers: A defensive line that was supposed to be rebuilding after the retirement of Jerome Brown. Washington has not missed a beat, with a league-leading 13.6 points per game allowed, and the #1 pass defense in the league. All kudos to Coach Hackett for developing a 3-4 with rotation of linemen that keeps players fresh and allows for blitzing to complement good line play. There is no one star on defense, as all levels have played well, but we should acknowledge the quality of the secondary with Charles Woodson and 2nd year FS Ed Reed leading the way. Needs Improvement: Honestly, the only thing that should concern the Federals is that they have lived very much by the defense and the 2nd rated run game. If they ever do fall behind, can they come back? They are 22nd in pass offense, but that seems to be by design, so can we really say that is a problem? It has not been yet. Overall Assessment: While we think Washington is clearly a championship contender, we are not ready to say that this is a team that will run the table as Ohio did last year. The Feds have some tough games on the horizon, including a matchup with Ohio in Week 11, so while we are bullish on their chances to win the division and potentially the top seed in the East, we are not expecting perfection here. Predicted final record: 12-2 and the Top Seed in the East. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (6-1) Top Performers: The offense. Despite dealing with a 4-game suspension to HB Ricky Williams (a suspension that ends this week), the Breakers are in the Top 10 in rushing, passing, yardage, and scoring. We did not see that on the horizon for this club, but Coach Nolan has them working very well together. Special kudos to diminutive HB Troy Davis, who has stepped up in the absence of Williams and provided the Breakers with 463 yards over the past 4 weeks. Needs Improvement: New Orleans’s only loss was to an angry Ohio Glory squad, so we are not going to criticize them too much. The one area they do need to improve is pass coverage. They are giving up nearly 280 yards a game, and with teams like Seattle, Birmingham, and Memphis on the schedule in the second half, they will want to tighten that up. Overall Assessment: A better than anticipated first half. The second half schedule is a tough one, but the Breakers look like a team that knows who they are and can win in a variety of ways. Predicted final record: 11-3 and a division title. DENVER GOLD (6-1) Top Performers: Two players stand out to us as guys who are exceeding expectations. On defense you have to appreciate what Marcellus Wiley is doing After playing several years behind Leslie O’Neill, Wiley gets his chance and is grabbing for the brass ring. He has 6 sacks already on the year, and is playing well against the run as well. The other overachiever is wideout Peerless Price. We know Price is a solid possession guy, but this season he is stepping up as the clear #1 for Mark Brunell. He is among the league leaders in both yardage and receptions, and while he has only 3 TDs so far, he is about as reliable a target as Brunell could want. Needs Improvement: This was Robert Holcombe’s year to shine. He was named the starter over Rod Smart, who essentially was to play the 3rd down back role, but Holcombe has struggled, with only 3.3 yards per carry, and over the past few weeks it has been Smart who has gotten more carries. At the midway point, Holcombe is barely on pace to reach 600 yards, and you know Coach Jauron wants more than that if Holcombe is going to be a bell cow, and not a HB by committee guy. Overall Assessment: Denver is surprising many. We all thought they were going to suffer, particularly on defense, this year, but they are looking very much like a team that could win a weak Southwestern Division. Thanks to that division record, we could easily see them locking up the top seed as well. Predicted final record: 11-3, Top Seed in West thanks to a weaker division in front of them. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (6-1) Top Performers: On a team that has been a revelation this year, how do you highlight just a player or two? We are not, we are going to highlight Coach Jack Bicknell, who is maximizing his talent all over the roster. With Charlie Batch at QB he still has the 5th highest scoring offense (though dead last in passing). He is using Terrell Davis the way the big man needs to be used, and has the #1 run offense to show for it. Even more impressive he is getting a largely no-name defense (except for DuBose who everyone knows) to hold teams under 18 points a game, and that is producing a lot of wins, close wins, but wins nonetheless. Needs Improvement: Easy to point to the 24th overall passing game and say that Charlie Batch has to play better. Yes, the Mauler QB is sitting at 87.8 for his QB Rating, and has only 8 TDs on the season in 7 games, but he also has only 3 picks, and is not making mistakes. Pittsburgh is not a high-flying offense. They are a grind it out team, but at some point they are going to have to play from behind or make a comeback and we are not sure Batch can get that done. Overall Assessment: A very solid team that is very well coached, but we think the talent gap between the Maulers and some of the other top teams will eventually show. We see Pittsburgh falling behind Ohio at some point this year. Predicted final record: 10-4 and 2nd in the Central, but a dangerous team come playoff time. LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (5-2) Top Performers: LA is a tough team to figure out. They are not outstanding at any one thing, and rank in the middle of the pack in several areas, but they are winning games. I guess we should praise their balance then. Even with Cade McNown having some injury issues, the combo of McNown and Carter has produced 12 touchdowns to only 4 picks. The run game has also been very balanced with Antowain Smith and DeShaun Foster proving to be an ideal 1-2 punch, each with almost equal yardage through 7 weeks. Needs Improvement: The defense is doing fine with yardage but is not producing takeaways. That is an area they will need to improve if they want to make a deep playoff run. The team as a whole has only 3 picks to date, so more should be expected from Aeneas Williams, Ray Crockett, and even Troy Polamalu, who has excelled as a “close to the line” safety, but has not turned big hits into turnovers yet. Overall Assessment: A very solid team across the board and in the Pacific that is certainly enough to win the division. Predicted final record: 10-4 and Pacific Division Winner OHIO GLORY (5-2) Top Performers: First in scoring again, 2nd in yards per game, and iin passing, but it has not felt as natural as last year. That said, we are going to praise the receiving corps as we often do. Joey Galloway leads the league with 869 yards receiving, while Chad Johnson (we are not comfortable calling him Ochocinco) has 6 TDs on only 17 catches. Stephen Alexander has 5 as the ball is getting spread around for sure. Needs Improvement: The defense that helped Ohio go undefeated last year is struggling to duplicate their success this year. They currently rank 24th in yards allowed and 19th in points allowed. Those are not numbers that will get you a repeat as champion. The D-line is not getting to the QB (8 sacks combined from the linemen) and the leader for interceptions is a LB, not a DB, Nick Griesen with 2. That needs to improve and we expect it will. Overall Assessment: Ohio has suffered a short losing streak and now seems recommitted. We think they can overtake Pittsburgh for the division but likely not Washington for the #1 seed. Predicted final record: 11-3 and 1st in Central Division. JACKSONVILLE BULLS (4-3) Top Performers: The run defense for Jacksonville has been outstanding, allowing only 57.4 yards per game. A lot of credit has to go to the LB group of Vrabel, Arrington, Solomon and Neuman. While the Bulls still struggle to get Jevon Kearse in one-on-one passrush, their line is a huge help in the run game. Needs Improvement: The offense needs to step up. Jake Delhomme has not yet reached the 1,000 yard mark (in part due to injury) and Kenny Bynum has fewer than 400 yards rushing. That is not playoff quality right there. While rookie Anquon Boldin has been a revelation, many are asking where the heck Terrell Owens has gotten. Owens has been a league leader in past years and currently ranks 33rd in receptions. That is odd and has to change in the second half of the year. We know he is upset about his contract, but having a tank-year is not going to help that at all. Overall Assessment: Unless Jacksonville can get more from their offense, they could easily finish the year under .500 and this year the competition in the East looks fierce. Predicted final record: 7-7 and out of the playoffs. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (4-3) Top Performers: Two offensive players have really shown this year. The first is not a surprise as TE Adrian Cooper has flirted with being among the league leaders (among all receivers) and not just for tight ends. His 59 receptions and 632 yards are phenomenal for a wideout, and astronomical for a tight end. The other is HB Dorsey Levins. Having escaped Arizona’s HB quagmire, Levins is having a break out year in his first season with the Showboats. He has 461 yards to date and could reach 1,000 for the first time if he continues to get handed the ball. Needs Improvement: Memphis is struggling against the run, and that is allowing teams to slow down the game and keep Heath Shuler and the offense off the field. We saw this in losses against Baltimore and Nashville, and it could be a huge issue as they face some good rushing teams in the 2nd half of the season. Overall Assessment: We still like Memphis to make a run and finish strong. This is a team with too much offensive weaponry to be ranked outside the Top 10 in scoring. Predicted final record: 10-4 and a dangerous Wild Card team. BOSTON CANNONS (4-3) Top Performers: Tiki Barber has been very good for very long, but now he seems to be getting support. He leads the league with 739 yards rushing, and could reach 1,500 if he maintains his 4.7 YPC average. Combined with Barber’s ability to keep drives alive, the defense is one of the league leaders in producing 3-and-outs, allowing Boston to mask their ongoing issues with the passing game. Needs Improvement: We knew this going into the year, but a receiving corps of Robert Ferguson, Terrance Mathis, and James Whalen is not going to blow the doors off of a defense. Boston needs to invest in some speed if they want to truly have a dangerous offense. Overall Assessment: We are happy that folks in Boston are seeing some early success with their new team. Happy as well for all the players who struggled in Atlanta these past few years, but we are putting the breaks on the unrealistic expectations being set up in Bean Town for this club. They already have more wins than all of last year, and we don’t see them being a club that will challenge when things get tight. Better than last year, but not there yet. Predicted final record: 7-7 and barely missing the playoffs. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (4-3) Top Performers: The receiving corps has stepped up this year, for both Brady and Boumann. While the team played rotating QBs due to two different injuries to starter Tom Brady, the receivers have been active in getting help to both QBs. In past years it felt like Terry Glenn was a one man show, but this year Donald Hayes, Kevin Johnson and TE Anthony Becht have certainly stepped up as well. While Glenn leads the team with 34 receptions, Hayes is only 2 behind at 32 and has good yardage totals as well. Becht and Johnson have also been strong in support. Needs Improvement: While no one is going to say Phil Hansen needs to do more, the rest of the New Jersey D-Line needs to step up, especially against the run, where the Generals rank 23rd of 24 clubs, allowing 126 yards a game. That means DTs John Parella and Darwin Walker need to do more to help out the linebackers. Far too often backs are getting past the line of scrimmage before they are even touched by a defender and that makes things far too easy for teams to keep drives alive. Overall Assessment: New Jersey can make a run if Tom Brady can stay on the field. While Boumann has played adequately, New Jersey is simply a better offense with Brady at the helm. Predicted final record: We are going to predict that Brady does stay healthy and New Jersey makes a run. 8-6 and 2nd place in the Northeast, with a Wild Card. NASHVILLE KNIGHTS (3-4) Top Performers: The Nashville O-line has been the strength of the club this year. They are providing time for Todd Collins (91.7 QBR) and making holes for Ahman Green (641 Yds) and have helped Nashville to the 6th best scoring defense in the league. And this year they appear to need it. Needs Improvement: We all talk about the Knights defense as if it has not changed year to year. It is no longer an elite defense. This season Nashville is actually among the worst in the league after 7 games. They rank 23rd of 24 teams in yards allowed at 401.1, and are in the bottom four in both passing and rushing yards allowed, which also means teams are scoring on them, providing them the 22nd best scoring defense. So where are the issues? Pretty much everyone other than veteran Kevin Hardy and SS Rodney Harrison are a bit suspect. Their edge combo of Chad Brattske and Mike Ulufale have a combined 5 sacks. Their DTs are nowhere to be seen on the tackle leaders list. Other than Hardy, the linebackers have been vulnerable, and the CB combo of Steve Israel (looking well past his prime) and Reggie Rusk (has not found a prime yet), are not getting the job done. St. Louis has all of 4 picks as a team this year, and none from the cornerback position. That is not the sign of a good defense. Overall Assessment: If Nashville is going to make a run, they are going to have to improve that defense considerably. Honestly, in a division with Memphis, New Orleans and Birmingham, the Knights may well be headed for 4th place. Predicted final record: 6-8, 4th in South HOUSTON GAMBLERS (3-4) Top Performers: We have to give it to Matt Hasselbeck and the passing game. We expect the defense to be solid, and they have been (3rd in yards allowed), but for Houston to have the 5th best pass attack in the league is a bit of a surprise. Matt Hasselbeck is completing 70% of his passes and has almost 1,900 yards. A lot of this is due to the ability of his receivers to find gaps in zone coverage and provide good targets. Antonio Freeman leads the group wit h65 targets and 692 yards receiving, but TE’s David Lafleur and Dan Campbell have also been reliable. They need more from Koren Robinson and Drew Bennett to truly be dangerous, but this is a good position for them. Needs Improvement: As much as we want to praise the Gambler passing game, we need to recognize that Matt Hasselbeck has 9 touchdowns and 10 picks this year. He is completing a high percentage of passes, but those mistakes can be deadly against better teams. If Hasselbeck can cut down on the forced throws, Houston might well be a very dangerous club down the stretch. Overall Assessment: A good team with an aggressive defense and an improving offense. They need to stop shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and find a way to improve their 19th ranked run game if they want to make waves. Predicted final record: We see Houston missing out on the playoffs this year in a division that is very balanced but has a resurgent Denver at the helm. 7-7 final record. BALTIMORE BLITZ (3-4) Top Performers: The defense which was so bad last year has done a full 180 turn. They currently rank 2nd in the league in points allowed, 1st in yards allowed, 3rd against the pass and 4th against the run. That is astounding, and a lot of credit has to go to the middle of that defense. NT John Randall is a monster to deal with in the center, and then behind him you have LBs James Farrior and Tracy Scroggins, both with 47 tackles and 5 sacks each this year. Finally, at Strong Safety you have Adam Archuleta, making backs and receivers hesitant to play the middle of the field. Baltimore’s scheme is not complex, but what is happening is that players are trusting their instincts and that is leading to disruption and turnover opportunities. Needs Improvement: The offense is middle-of-the-pack in yardage, but 23rd in scoring. That always points to one thing, red-zone conversion rate. Baltimore is kicking far too many field goals, which is nice for Bill Grammatica, but bad for the win-loss ratio. The offense needs to find ways to be more creative in the red zone. Handing off to Ron Dayne or forcing the ball into tight coverages is not working. Of Jeff Garcia’s 9 picks already this year, 5 have been in the red zone. If they could just turn a few more drives into 7-pointers, they can be a tough out. Overall Assessment: Any team with a defense as good as Baltimore’s should be a playoff team. The issues in the red zone are really problematic, however, so if they get in, we think it will be as a low seed Wild Card. Predicted final record: We are going to be optimistic and say they can get to 8-6 and a Wild Card. TEXAS OUTLAWS (3-4) Top Performers: For all the whining we hear from Ryan Leaf, the truth is that Jeff Lewis is doing a solid job at QB. He has a 10-2 TD-INT ratio, is completing just under 65% of his throws, and is avoiding the big mistakes we have seen from Leaf in the past. It may not make the current backup happy, but we are goin to say that Coach Gailey made the right call here. Needs Improvement: The run game is not what it needs to be. Brian Westbrook is a talented back, but he is ideally suited to be a 3rd down back not a guy getting 20 carries a game. He is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry and he is wearing down. But when we look behind him on the depth chart, we are not impressed with Kevin Barlow or Autrey Denson. Could Leaf be traded for a HB and solve both problems? Overall Assessment: A middle of the road team with a middle of the road record. That is a pretty honest assessment of the Outlaws across the board. Predicted final record: 7-7, that just seems about right to us. PHILADELPHIA STARS (3-4) Top Performers: It feels at times like two players are carrying the entire Philadelphia defense. CB Kenny Gales, acquired from rival New Jersey, is having a career year, with 4 picks and 40 tackles already this season. DE Regan Upshaw is equally impressive with 8 sacks and 33 tackles. These two are the main reason Philadelphia is hanging in games as Upshaw pressures the QB and Gales makes them pay. Needs Improvement: The Brian Griese trade has been largely beneficial for Philly, but now they need to upgrade at receiver. Steve Smith is playing well, with 34 receptions for 382 yards and 4 scores, but he cannot get deep, one of his strong suits, because Griese does not have reliable underneath receviers. Marcus Pollard is just not fast enough to be a major threat (averages only 6.9 YPC), and neither Bobby Engram or veteran Troy Brown are getting open for Griese. Overall Assessment: The Stars are clearly in rebuild mode after a 3-win 2002. They have 3 wins already, and could double their win total from last year, but what they really need is to keep adding talent on both sides of the ball. Predicted final record: We see the Stars falling back a bit. 5-9 is a decent rebuild year for them. PORTLAND THUNDER (3-4) Top Performers: When your leading passer and leading rusher is the same guy, you should probably pick that guy, right? That is the situation in Portland, where Akili Smith’s 301 rushing yards lead the team, but he only has 1,174 yards passing and has struggled to find open receivers. So, we cannot pick Smith. Who can we point to as outperforming expectations? New arrival Muhsin Muhammad is our guy. On a team with a weak passing game he still has 54 catches for 621 yards and 5 touchdowns. He has outpaced last year’s #1 target, Matthew Hatchette by 33 catches. That is amazing for a player in a new system. Needs Improvement: Got to be the run game. Rueben Droughns is averaging only 3.3 yards per carry and Correll Buckhalter is even worse at 2.4. That puts a lot of pressure on Akili Smith, and does not provide him the advantage of using a credible run threat for play action. Portland needs to figure out how to build a run game, and that may mean waiting until 2004. Overall Assessment: The Thunder got lucky to reach 7-7 and even luckier that they got the division title with that last year. This year Coach Vitt is not getting those breaks. Predicted final record: We think 6-8 is about where the Thunder should expect to end up. CHICAGO MACHINE (3-4) Top Performers: For a club that is underperforming overall, this normally would be tough, but for all the issues they have on offense, we have to say that they still have the #1 run defense in the league, and that is largely due to their LB corps. The top 3 tacklers on the club are the three starting LBs—Urlacher (50), Polley (38), and Keith Brooking (37). So, for all the handwringing about how far behind Ohio the Machine are, this group deserves kudos for keeping Chicago in nearly every game. Needs Improvement: With a solid run game led by Duce Staley, and a decent set of receivers (Curtis Conway, Donald Driver, Jim Kliensasser, and Johnnie Morton), why is Chicago so underwhelming as a passing team? The finger points directly to QB Jeff George. The “Million Dollar Arm” is not making the throws he needs to for his receivers to make yards after the catch, and he is not making the big plays in play action. Chicago should be able to do a lot more in the air, but George is struggling once again, and that does not bode well for them. Overall Assessment: Chicago is a talented team, but with George struggling, they cannot put enough offense together to truly challenge. We think they might be able to get to .500 or a bit over this year, but can they really make a run? Right now we are not seeing it. Predicted final record: Even with a strong 2nd half, we would say 7-7 is the most realistic outcome. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (3-4) Top Performers: Birmingham has long been the Brett Favre Show, and this year feels no different. The defense is not great (again), the run game has moments, but never seems to take command, so again we see Favre doing all he can to make big plays. This year, he has been able to make quite a few while also avoiding the picks that have regularly plagued him. He has a 12-3 TD-INT ratio, one of the best in his long career. Needs Improvement: Despite the emergence of DE Mike Rucker as a major force, the Stallions still have the 24th ranked pass defense, allowing over 304 yards a game. Rucker is not getting a lot of help from the rest of the defense, particularly a secondary that has Deion Sanders in it. Beyond Sanders the secondary is vulnerable, so it is far too easy for teams to avoid the superstar corner and still find open receivers. That is a big issue, especially after Birmingham snagged SS Lawyer Milloy from the Panthers with hopes that the secondary would be a strength. Overall Assessment: Another frustrating season for Stallion fans as once again the plans to get Brett Favre some help just are not panning out. Perhaps the best option is to blow it all up, trade Favre while he still has major value, and build from the ground up. Seems like blasphemy to suggest but they seem to be running in place everywhere else. Predicted final record: We think 6-8 is about the cap unless other aspects of the team start to pull their weight. TAMPA BAY BANDITS (3-4) Top Performers: Kudos to QB Kent Graham for filling in as well as he has and getting Tampa to within range of .500, but we cannot call him a top performer. That award has to go to rookie HB Willis McGahee. The rookie started off slow, but has come on over the past 5 weeks, with three 100-yard games as he takes a lot of weight off of Graham’s shoulders. With McGahee playing well, the Bandits do not have to rely on a backup QB to do it all on offense. Needs Improvement: Seen as a second weapon to draw coverage from Randy Moss, TE Jeremy Shockey has been a huge disappointment. He has only 12 catches this season, his 2nd with the team. He had only 24 his rookie year, so he is on pace, but everyone was hoping for a huge step up in his productivity this year. It simply has not happened. Yes, Trent Green is out, but with a backup QB under center, you would expect the TE to benefit from a lot of dump down passes. It has not happened, and backup TE Brantford Banta is only 1 catch behind Shockey. Overall Assessment: Tampa Bay is actually an intriguing team down the stretch. Their defense has been decent, not great but decent. Graham has played within himself, and McGahee is helping Tampa Bay reach offensive balance. We think Tampa Bay could have a good second half. Predicted final record: We are optimistic here. We think 8-6 is very possible with their remaining schedule. ARIZONA WRANGLERS (3-4) Top Performers: After a very rough 1-4 start, the Wranglers have won back to back games and are in range of .500. And we could praise Jake Plummer all day as the team’s leading rusher and passer, but we are going to look at the defense, which has been up and down. Specifically we are going to praise the veteran of the team, SS Bennie Blades. The former Memphis and Baltimore standout, in his 16th USFL season (3rd in Arizona), is having a really strong year. Not only does he lead the Wranglers with 2 picks, but he is tied with Broderick Thomas to lead the team with 3 sacks. Needs Improvement: Your defense has an issue when the Strong Safety is leading the D with only 3 sacks. What has happened to the pass rush? DE Gary Walker and Chike Okeafor are not earning their pay and the opposition QB’s are getting the time they need to throw deep. Arizona has started blitzing more to get pressure, but that forces corners to deal with one-on-one coverage, which is an issue for Arizona. Overall Assessment: If Arizona wants to make a run at LA, they need to get on it in a hurry. But once again it looks like it will be the Jake Plummer show if they do. The HB combo of Pritchett and Rhodes is not getting any traction (2.8 YPC for Rhodes, 3.8 for Pritchett) and the D is just not getting pressure. Predicted final record: We think Arizona is just not ready to compete right now. They could surprise us, but we aren’t counting on it. We are going to say 5-9 and perhaps a change at the top. SEATTLE DRAGONS (2-5) Top Performers: Rookie QB Byron Leftwich is the talk of the Emerald City. Leading the league in passing yards and he already has 20 TD passes this year. He has been a revelation for the Dragons, only problem is he cannot play defense. Needs Improvement: The Dragons rank 21st in Points allowed, and that is not going to produce a lot of wins. John Abraham has 7 sacks, but overall the line is not doing enough to pressure QBs or keep HBs behind the line. Gilbert Brown is clearly too heavy right now and needs to drop weight to be effective. The LB’s are getting overrun with linemen and that is making them far less effective against the run. And with Abraham not getting help on the line, the Dragons need to blitz to create pressure, and that is leaving their secondary vulnerable. Overall Assessment: The Dragons have two great pieces to build around with Leftwich and Corey Dillon. The offense looks ready to roll, but that defense is holding them back. Predicted final record: 2-3 more wins looks like the best the Dragons can hope for. We predict 2. 4-10. OAKLAND INVADERS (1-6) Top Performers: We are reaching the part of the list where finding items to be optimistic about is harder. There is not a lot to like about what we have seen from Oakland this year, especially after showing some signs of life last season. LB Roosevelt Colvin looks solid and FS Antuan Edwards has started strong with 3 picks in the first 7 games, but there is such chaos on defense that it is hard to praise even these two players. And, when we look at the offense, well… best not. Needs Improvement: This offense needs more than a facelift, it needs a whole body transplant. Marques Tuiasosopo is not the answer at QB, with 11 picks and only 8 TDs. Rookie HB Justin Fargas is having major issues with the speed of the USFL, and has not learned how to pick up blitzers yet, which is no good for Tuiasosopo. The Invaders signed Rashaan Salaam, who could start to see action this week, but we are not sure that is the answer. Expect QB to be a major priority in the offseason for Coach Green. Overall Assessment: A team that needs more talent, and a scheme that plays to their strengths. If Salaam is truly clean and rehabilitated, that could help, but not enough for this season. Predicted final record: We see 3-4 wins total. We are going to say 3-11 as the final record. ORLANDO RENEGADES (0-7) Top Performers: Believe it or not, Orlando, sitting at 0-7, is actually in the Top 10 in a key defensive category. They rank 7th in passing yards allowed. But yes, that is because they cannot stop the run. Looking for someone who is stepping up on the defensive side, it is hard to find anyone. The Renegades are close to last in the league with only 4 picks as a team, which is in part due to the fact that they are also near the bottom in sacks, with only 7 as a team. So, who is playing well? LB Robert Hinkley is the league leader with 67 tackles, so kudos to him, but the question is why does he need to make so many? Where are the other 10 guys? Needs Improvement: The defense has huge issues, the run game has been MIA, and Joey Harrington is not progressing without that support. So, basically, the whole team needs to do better, or Orlando has to bring in a better team. They are 0-7 for a reason. Overall Assessment: This is a team that is hitting rock bottom. They failed to address offseason losses, or improve talent around their young QB, and they are paying the price. Predicted final record: It is very hard to go winless, but Orlando could. They have a Week 11 matchup with 0-7 Michigan, and that may be their only win. We predict 1-13. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (0-7) Top Performers: On an 0-7 club, you don’t expect to find any position group doing well, but we are going to say that despite the issues we see with Michigan’s offense, the fault does not lie with the receivers. Hines Ward has 45 receptions for 629 yards despite some truly horrible weeks from backup QB Spence Fischer. Laverneus Coles and Charles Rogers have solid numbers as well. The problem for Michigan is that with no run game to speak of, Drew Brees is getting pressured so often that he cannot take advantage of a pretty decent receiver group. Needs Improvement: As bad as the O-line has been this year, and we worry for Drew Brees’s safety, the bigger issue is a 24th ranked defense that simply cannot provide any relief for the offense. Their leader in sacks (Leonard Little) has only 3. The team does not have a single interception in 7 games. That is unheard of. The defense looks slow, unorganized, and unmotivated. Overall Assessment: Coach Martz has been with the Panthers for 2 ½ seasons and to say he has not produced results feels like an understatement. We honestly don’t expect him to make it to Week 14. Predicted final record: 0-14 is a very realistic possibility here. Life is not easy for offensive linemen, no glory, no fame, and you generally only get your name called when you screw up and your QB gets sacked. Add to that the propensity for injury. Some of the biggest men on the field are also some of the most vulnerable. All it takes is a crackback block to take out your knee, or for someone to roll up on your ankle, and you are down. It should not come as a surprise then that the IR list is getting a bit crowded with offensive linemen. This week we saw Memphis guard Anthony Redmon added to IR with a shoulder injury, Philadelphia center Steve McKinney, with a fractured leg, Chicago RT Marcus Spears with a hamstring, and Houston guard Matt Lehr with a torn biceps. And sure, there were others as well (Pittsburgh backup safety Shaunard Harts and Michigan FS Mike Prior were both added to IR this week), but the number of linemen on IR dwarfs any other position on the field. We have had a lot of heavy news lately, between player controversy, ownership malfeasance, and franchise relocation, so we thought we would finish up this week with a bit of light-hearted fun by looking at some of the silliest elements of the game, the mascots. These goofy sideline figures are largely for the kids, and in some cases they are more annoying than animating, but they are a part of the in-stadium experience that helps make the USFL one of the hottest tickets in the country. So, with no further ado, here is our list of the 10 best mascots in the USFL. #10) The Tampa Bay Bandit, riding Shadow across the field. Not the plush, foam covered mascot many teams use, but a nameless rider, clad in black, riding a black stallion around the stadium. The Bandit appears pre-game with the Bandits flag in hand, but during the game you often see him riding around one of the two endzones, firing his pistols into the air whenever Tampa Bay scores. #9) Jacksonville’s real life bull, Duvall. Yup, a fully-grown steer is on display pre-game and, thankfully, well away from the action during the games. We don’t know who thought the idea of having a live bull anywhere near the fans was a good idea, but folks in Jacksonville seem to love Duvall, so he is here to stay. #8) Henry Gila at Wrangler games. Yup, a 7’ high foam gila monster wearing a cowboy hat, vest, chaps and boots. I guess the Wranglers wanted to avoid a cowboy image, what with Texas and Tampa already working that angle, but we are not sure why they chose a slow-moving orange and black venomous lizard. Sure, gila monsters are native to the region, but still, kind of a weird choice. #7) General Mayhem. The big-chinned military man with an oversized head, riding pants, and a helmet certainly fits the theme of the New Jersey Generals, but the question we have is why have a modern or WW2 era general as a mascot when you have a secondary logo depicting a revolutionary war hero. Regardless of the anachronism, General Mayhem is a very popular figure on the Meadowlands sidelines, especially when he comes riding out on a mini motorcycle complete with sidecar. #6) Outlaw Jim. Another big-headed caricature of the team’s mascot, Outlaw Jim is your typical Cowboy in a black 10-gallon hat figure, complete with boots, spurs, and a black vest. Not a dead ringer for the outlaw in the team logo, but pretty darn close. #5) Cimarron the Stallion. Back to live animals as mascots as the Birmingham stallion have a beautiful buff and white stallion that races around the stadium, bows on command, and is more than willing to be in as many photos as fans want. #4) Mr. Roboto. The Machine had to put some thought into their logo since the name Machine does not exactly instantly evoke an image. They opted for a cartoonish robot that is somewhere between a Transformer toy and the Iron Giant. Mr. Roboto is a big foam robot, though better proportioned than some of the Big Head variety around the league. And yes, he does dance the robot to his theme music. #3) The Blitz Band. You thought we were going to say Billy Blitz, the rage-filled, lightning bolted, foam mascot on the sideline. Sure, he is fine. But what makes Blitz games so special is the presence of a full marching band. A holdover from the NFL days of the Colts, the Blitz Band is a weekly experience at all home games, both in the stands and at halftime. #2) The Skipper. Our favorite of the big-headed plush figures, Memphis’s riverboat captain is about as zany as they come, riding out on a go-kart made up to look like a riverboat (complete with pyrotechnic smokestacks and a steam whistle) The Skipper is gonna mug for the camera, play the fool with the kids, but he might just down a beer with the adults as well. Apparently they rigged the mouth of the suit to a funnel system so that The Skipper can “borrow” a beer from an unsuspecting fan without having to actually drink it. #1) Burt Reynolds. Sure, we could have listed any number of league mascots here, but the truth is that fans at Tampa Bay Bandit games want nothing more than a win and a chance to rub elbows with the Hollywood action star. More often than not, Burt is at the games, at least a few times a year, and when he is, he is there to see and be seen, taking photos, swapping stories of his time as “The Bandit” and cheering on the team he helped to create. So maybe he is not a mascot in the purest terms, but he sure is entertaining. We start the second half of the season with the Eastern Conference facing some tough divisional matchups while the West settles in for some interdivisional battles. Our favorite game of the week is an unlikely one, but one that could show us what to expect for the second half, Tampa Bay at Boston. Boston has been a pleasant surprise this season, and could take over 1st place with a win. Tampa Bay is in contention in a division that Jacksonville has been unable to dominate. The Bulls are at home this week, with the 0-7 Renegades in town. They need to keep pace to hold Boston at bay. In the Northeast, we have Philly at New Jersey in a game that could springboard one of them towards the playoffs. Washington, still unbeaten, is at Baltimore in a big rivalry game. Do the Blitz have enough to pull out the upset here? In the Central 5-2 Ohio will visit winless Michigan to open the second half of their title defense season. Surprising Pittsburgh has a tough road matchup at Chicago, with Ohio breathing down their neck. Out west, the best game on the docket is the matchup between Denver (6-1) and Memphis (4-3). The Gold have been surprisingly good this year, and Memphis cannot afford another loss as they chase New Orleans in the South. The Breakers are at home against the 2-5 Dragons, hoping to get their 7th win in 8 tries. Portland and Nashville will battle to reach .500 as the two 3-4 teams meet in Adelphia Stadium. Arizona and Birmingham are in a similar situation, both 3-4 and hoping to reach .500 with a win. The Stallions hold home field advantage as they will play at Legion Field. The LA Express will host the Houston Gamblers in a game that could be a fun watch on Saturday, while Texas is in Oakland, where the Invaders may debut Rashaan Salaam in sky & yellow this week.

In a week where the biggest news occurred at the USFL Owners Meeting in New York, the on-field action seemed secondary, but that did not mean that the games were not engaging. Quarterback play remained a major theme as several starters were out of commission. The Pittsburgh Maulers, LA Express, and Denver Gold continued their surprising success, while both Ohio and Memphis sought to reassert themselves. Washington won the battle of defensive titans while both Michigan and Orlando both fell to 0-6. And while the headlines revolved around the Thunder and their future, a lot of teams are focused on the present. NEW JERSEY GENERALS 30 ARIZONA WRANGLERS 31 Every time we seem ready to write off the Arizona Wranglers, Jake Plummer puts the team on his back and wills them to victory. That is certainly the storyline out of this week’s comeback win in Tempe as New Jersey backup Todd Boumann had the Generals up by 9 with 5:10 to play only to watch as Plummer and the Wranglers pulled off a stunning 10-point swing in the final moments of the game to earn only their second victory of the season. It was a classic Jake Plummer game, where the gunslinging dual-threat QB threw three picks, including the game-opening pick-six to linebacker James Harrison of New Jersey, but redeemed himself with 3 touchdown passes as well as 110 yards rushing, including a 60 yard TD run. It was ugly at times, and once again Plummer seemed to get absolutely no help from his running backs as Coach Art Still has simple never been able to develop a solid rushing attack outside of his quarterback’s impromptu ballcarrying. The game began about as badly as a game can for Arizona. On only the 2nd play from scrimmage Plummer missed on a throw to halfback Stanley Pritchett, causing the back to tip the ball straight up. James Harrison snatched the ball out of the air and easily jogged the 21 yards to the endzone for the game’s first score. New Jersey would add two more touchdowns in the first quarter to build up a 21-0 lead, adding first a Boumann to Terry Glenn 37-yard scoring toss, and then a 1-yard Curtis Enis plunge to take an imposing lead after only 15 minutes. Arizona would start to fight their way back in the 2nd, as Boumann also started to make mistakes. He would throw 3 picks on the day as well as Plummer, and his first gave Arizona a short field to play with. Plummer would connect with TE O.J. Santiago for the Wranglers’ first score as a result of that takeaway. After a Generals field goal on the next drive, Arizona would finish the half with a Plummer to Santana Moss scoring tows with only 1:02 on the clock to pull the Wranglers back to within 10 at 24-14 going into the break. It was 27-14 midway through the third when Plummer would have his biggest play of the game, another of his patented bootleg runs that simply caught New Jersey by surprise. With B.J. Askew out in front as lead blocker, Plummer raced down the sideline, avoided the tackle of Jason Sehorn and scored to pull Arizona within 1 score at 27-21. And here we probably should mention the defensive effort of the Wranglers. Led by Broderick Thomas and CB Philippi Sparks, the Wranglers had held New Jersey out of the end zone since the first quarter and they would do so for the remainder of the game. Sparks would record 2 picks and the defense would hold Curtis Enis to only 26 yards rushing beyond the first quarter. The defensive stands kept Arizona in range. New Jersey would add a third field goal to open the final period, boosting the lead to 9 points, but Arizona would quickly wipe away that advantage. With just under 3 minutes to play, Plummer would connect on his third TD pass of the game, this time to TE Matt Cushing. The Wranglers would go for the onside kick and find success as CB Asante Samuel would end up with the ball after a wild scramble between both teams. New Jersey would challenge the play, arguing that Samuel’s foot was out of bounds, but the replay showed he had possession first, and the ball would go back to Arizona, now down only 2 points. The Wranglers completed the comeback, taking their first lead of the game with only 56 seconds left to play when kicker Rob Bironas connected on a 31-yard field goal. New Jersey was unable to mount a final drive and the Wranglers took home an improbable win, but exactly the kind of wins that fans had gotten used to during the Plummer era. The win is not one that will quell the growing discomfort with Coach Still and the inconsistency of the 2-4 Wranglers. Fans, complaining that Plummer’s talent is being wasted on a team that never seems to build around him or provide him with offensive balance, are becoming impatient with what seems like a persistent mediocrity as Arizona simply fails to perform to the level of their overburdened QB each season. For New Jersey, the question of whether or not they can win without Tom Brady seems to be the primary issue, as Boumann struggled with the Wrangler defense and the run game was unable to compensate. Terry Glenn’s early TD was his lone reception on the day as Boumann consistently felt pressure to take the dump down pass to the back or tight end. Brady could miss another week and General fans are concerned that they are falling further and further behind Washington, who have yet to lose a game. PIT 27 NSH 23 While fans in New Jersey and Arizona are getting anxious, the Pittsburgh faithful have to be ecstatic about their club’s performance to date. Not only have the Maulers knocked off Ohio, but their 5-1 start is an unexpected sign that this team may have turned a corner. This week it was a dual of top running backs as both Ahman Green of Nashville and Pittsburgh’s Terrell Davis showed their stuff. Green gained slightly more yards (127 to 116), but Davis had the last laugh as Pittsburgh scored the final 13 points of the game to take the win on the road. CHI 17 MEM 23 Memphis returned to .500 and sent Chicago to 3-3 as well with a home win this week. It took 4 Jeff Hall field goals and a late Adrian Cooper touchdown, but the Showboats were able to hold off Chicago and take the win. Dorsey Levins rushed the ball 22 times for the Showboats, scoring the eventual game winner as Memphis held off a late Chicago surge to earn the win. OHI 41 NOR 24 After two consecutive losses the Ohio Glory reasserted themselves by knocking off one of the league’s two unbeaten squads in their home. New Orleans’s defense was tested all day as Kerry Collins went to the air early and often, throwing for 416 yards and 5 touchdowns as Ohio flexed their muscles against the previously unbeaten Breakers. Three Trent Dilfer picks helped the Glory rack up some short fields and quick scores as Joey Galloway scored 3 times on his way to a 137 yard day. WSH 19 HOU 9 The Federals outdueled the Gamblers in a battle of two of the league’s best defenses. An early Deuce McCallister TD was the key as Washington built up a 19-3 lead and battered Houston QB’s all game, leading to all 3 Houston QB’s seeing playing time over the course of the game. Kris Kershaw would eventually add a late Houston TD, but it was too little too late for the Gamblers, who fall to 3-3 with the home loss while Washington stands as the league’s only unbeaten at 6-0. PHI 18 TEX 24 Down the road in San Antonio, the Texans overcame an early deficit to outlast the Philadelphia Stars and return to .500. Jeff Lewis threw 3 TD passes in the game and afterwards Ryan Leaf openly commented on his desire to be traded, no real surprise there. For Philadelphia, Steve Smith caught 6 balls for 89 yards and a score, but dropped a potential game-tying score with 1:03 left, forcing Philly to kick attempt a 4th and 11 pass play that did not succeed and clinched the win for the homestanding Outlaws. BOS 22 OAK 19 Boston survived the cross-country road trip and moved their record to 4-2 as Drew Bledsoe went 30 for 36 and threw 3 touchdowns for the Cannons. Oakland contained Tiki Barber (45 yards on 22 carries), but could not generate a run game of their own, a likely reason why we saw a big-name signing on Monday (see below). Boston relied on Bledsoe, and he, in turn, relied on possession receiver Joe Jurevicious, who caught 2 touchdown passes on the day to give Boston the 3 point win. TBY 21 POR 14 Kent Graham got the W for the Bandits on their cross-country road game as Tampa Bay upset the Portland Thunder on a week that simply did not go at all well for fans in Oregon. Randy Moss caught 6 balls for 97 yards and a score, and rookie Willis McGahee ran for two scores as Tampa Bay outpaced the distracted Thunder. JAX 12 LA 20 The Express moved their division-leading record to 5-1 with a home win against a tired Jacksonville squad and backup QB Josh McCown. The young QB would complete only 23 of 45 passes, while LA’s backup QB, Quincy Carter, would fare a bit better despite only a 12 for 27 day. Tight End L.J. Smith, who only appears to catch TDs, did it again, helping LA build up a 20-6 lead with another score. The Express defense did the rest. ORL 14 SEA 42 Byron Leftwich continues to impress as the Dragons laid out the winless Orlando Renegades at home. The rookie QB thrw for 298 yards and all 6 Seattle touchdowns, connecting with David Boston for 3 scores and J.J. Stokes for 2 more on his way to a team record. Corey Dillon also got in on the act, rushing for 105 and a 5.5 YPC average against the overwhelmed Renegade defense. BAL 6 DEN 16 Denver improved its record to 5-1 thanks to a stellar defensive performance against the Blitz. Rod Smart and Robert Holcombe combined for 117 yards and 2 scores to help the Gold retain first place in the Southwestern Division. It was 16-0 through three quarters before a late Ron Dayne TD (with missed 2-point conversion) got Baltimore on the scoreboard, but it was not enough as Denver held on to win the low scoring affair. Roster Moves Highlight Midseason The question of Rashaan Salaam’s future was answered this week and we also saw three significant trades as clubs start to make moves to bolster their rosters, while some of the league’s weaker squads make swaps to add draft capital. The Oakland Invaders ended the mystery around the future of former Denver Gold All-USFL halfback Rashaan Salaam, holding a press conference on Monday to announce that they had signed the back to their practice squad and had hopes of activating the former league rushing leader within the next couple of weeks. Salaam, who just returned from a one year suspension following significant drug charges, di not appear at the presser led by Head Coach Dennis Green, but is reported to be in Oakland, working out with the team. Oakland has one of the worst run games in the league, and rookie Justin Fargas has simply been unable to establish himself as the team’s lead back, so the signing is a logical one, if somewhat risky from a public sentiment standing. Dennis Green is known as a coach who will work to rehabilitate players and as a “player’s coach” could be a good fit for Salaam, who is hoping that this second chance can turn into a story of redemption. The Salaam signing was just the first of several moves which show that the midseason ritual of roster turnover and trades ahead of the Week 10 deadline is under way. We saw three significant trades this week, each a case of a team in the playoff hunt adding talent from one of the league’s weaker teams while sending draft capital to a club likely to seek major roster help in the draft. The first move was made by Chicago, who sent the 3rd round pick they acquired from Philly last year as well as backup tackle Wade Smith to the Orlando Renegades for underused wideout Donald Driver. Driver is expected to lineup opposite Chicago’s #1 receiver, Curtis Conway as soon as this week, providing Jeff George with a reliable and dangerous second option. Chicago which spent all of last season chasing the unbeaten Ohio Glory, is seeking to compete not only with the defending league champion but also the surprising 5-1 Pittsburgh Maulers in the Central Division. Houston looked to enhance their already formidable defense, sending two picks (a 3rd and a 5th) to winless Michigan to acquire LB Sam Cowart. Cowart is expected to work his way into the rotation in Houston’s 4-3 defense and to provide some run-stuffing power to help Houston continue to win low scoring battles in the Southwest Division, where the Gamblers are chasing the Denver Gold. Michigan immediately turned around and proposed a second trade, sending the 3rd rounder obtained from Houston to Philadelphia, along with 2nd string TE Roland Williams to Philadelphia for two players. Philly sends the Panthers halfback Ladell Betts and guard Benji Olson in return. Betts had fallen out of favor as the backup to Stephen Davis with the emergence of rookie Larry Johnson from Penn State. For Michigan, the arrival of both Betts and Olson is a sign that Mike Martz may actually be trying to address the sad state of the Panther’s run game. It may be too little for Martz, who is rumored to be on the brink of losing his job, but perhaps these additions can help the Panthers prepare for a better 2004 campaign. Washington’s Winning Formula With the Ohio Glory taking out New Orleans this week, we are down to only one unbeaten in the league, the Washington Federals. So how have the Federals done it this season, a year when many predicted they might take a step back? The answer, as it always seems to be for Washington, is defense. The Federals have both the #1 scoring defense, allowing barely under 12 points per game, and the top pass defense, the only one in the league averaging below 200 yards a game allowed. The offense, while boasting a top 10 run game with 112 yards per game, is not exactly lighting foes up as Ohio and Memphis did last year. In fact, the Federals have only scored 30 or more points once all season. They have been winning because opponents, thinking the loss of Jerome Brown would hamper the Federals’ defense, have simply been unable to devise a scheme to get the advantage. Washington has held four of their 6 opponents under 10 points, not allowing a touchdown in 3 games of six played. What has made them hard to gameplan for is that the focus of the defense is not one player. The Feds are playing strong team defense, with contributions across the roster. Eleven different players, led by DE Tony Brackens (3), have recorded sacks, and while Michael Barrow leads all defenders with 52 tackles, the Federals have 8 different starters who have 20 or more tackles on the season. The secondary has been solid in backing up the pass rush, with CB’s Michael Booker and Charles Woodson combining for 5 picks on the year, and the Federals have been able to work a field position game that allows their offense to score points without a particularly strong ability to put together long drives. It may not be the most exciting style of play, but the Federals have found a formula that has them at 6-0 and well ahead of the competition in the Northeast Division. Do we see them going unbeaten as Ohio did last year? No, that seems unrealistic, but this is a team that could easily win the division and potentially take home the top seed in the East, and no one wants to face that defense at home in the playoffs. Boston Success Angers Atlantans After suffering through bad season after bad season with the Fire, fans in Atlanta are not at all pleased that the club seems to have turned a corner after having relocated to Boston. The Cannons are 4-2 and in first place in the Southeast after six weeks, and it has Atlantans none too pleased. The Cannons are doing it in a way that seems completely foreign to fans of the former Fire, with defense. Boston currently has a top 10 rating in scoring defense, yards allowed, and pass defense, something unheard of in their years in Atlanta. Tiki Barber has always been great for the franchise, but this year he is leading the league in rushing by a pretty large margin. The LB corps, which has been solid for years, finally seems to be getting help from other aspects of the defense, allowing them to roam the field, deliver big hits, and force turnovers. Chris Claiborne, in his 4th season, has flourished in Boston, and London Fletcher has become a true leader as defensive captain. The two Tyrones (Legette and Poole) are locking down receivers and the pass rush has been successful enough to pressure opposing QB’s and force errors. Things are looking good in Boston and the fans at Alumni Stadium are eating it up, selling out the first 4 games on the schedule this Spring. Meanwhile, as Atlanta awaits a decision from the league on expansion, efforts are underway to put together a strong expansion bid, and perhaps the first African-American led ownership group in the league. A broad coalition of investors and resources in the city has been gathered, and there is even a grassroots effort to ensure that not only does Atlanta get a team back, but that the name of the Fire, with all team records, remain the property of the city and any new franchise, much as we saw in Cleveland when the NFL Browns moved to Baltimore. It seems odd to see such fervor for the identity of the Fire when the club itself had such a poor showing and mediocre attendance, but it seems the departure of the franchise has sparked a more significant reaction than their 8 years in Atlanta seem to merit. Good for them, we guess. Now we just have to wait and see if the newfound passion for USFL football translates into the city recouping the Fire or a team in general. Underrated and Underused With the trading block beginning to see some action, we thought it would be a good time to look across the league at some of the players who are highly talented but perhaps not being used to their full potential. Underappreciated players can often kickstart their careers with a trade to a team or a system that better suits them, and their lack of production with their current team can also provide good incentive for clubs to accept a trade offer in hopes of connecting with players who better match their offensive or defensive schemes. As we looked across the league, these are the five players we felt were not reaching their potential in their current settings. Will one or more of them receive a new home over the next month? Well, if this week is any indication, there are plenty of teams hoping that the right midseason swap can help propel them upwards, so the odds are good that at least one of these hidden gems might find themselves changing locker rooms before too long. 5) Plaxico Burress, WR, Oakland Dennis Green inherited a lot of issues in Oakland. The run game was one, and it seems they are hoping that the signing of Rashaan Salaam will help there, but the passing game has also been a major issue. We think Coach Green is likely to make a QB move in the near future, as Marques Tuiasosopo is just not panning out the way he may have hoped. After trying for Carson Palmer in the 2003 draft, another shot at a big armed QB seems inevitable. In the meantime, Plaxico Burress is simply not being maximized. Burress is a bit receiver, capable of going up for contested balls and has the potential to be a big time player with the right support. He should be getting numbers similar to Jacksonville’s Terrell Owens, a similar player in many ways, but in Oakland that is just not happening. We don’t see Coach Green giving Burress away, but unless the Invaders can find a QB who can make use of his skills, we worry that Plaxico Burress will never reach his full potential. 4) Jevon Kearse, DE, Jacksonville We have no idea how Jevon Kearse is not among the league leaders in sacks. The man is a freak of nature and seems to have all the skills in the world, and yet, teams are simply not finding it difficult to gameplan to slow him down. This is largely the fault of Coach Cunningham, who is simply not creating enough schemes to free up Kearse and not providing enough of a threat from other directions to make it difficult for opposing offenses to double team the speedy edge rusher. The result is that Kears has only 4 sacks this season. It is not a horrible number but when we look at his abilities, we wonder how he is not right there with Kavike Pittman, Phil Hansen and Mike Rucker atop the leaderboard. 3) Joey Porter, LB, Portland Another defender who should be a league leader and just does not seem to be getting the opportunities. Maybe Coach Vitt is still feeling out the skillset of Porter, but it seems obvious to us that he should be used more as a blitzer and less frequently in coverages. Porter’s strength is his speed and ability to deliver big hits. We see that in the run game all the time, but it is not being used to create QB pressure nearly often enough. We know that Coach Vitt prefers to send only a 4-man rush, but when you have a player like Porter, you should be using his talents to disrupt blocking schemes, not covering tight ends. 2) Shaun Alexander, HB, Birmingham Ever since the departure of Joe Cribbs from the Birmingham backfield, Stallion fans have been waiting for the next big back. First it was Stephen Davis, then Dorsey Levins, now Shaun Alexander, and he looks like the best of the bunch and yet the Stallions never seem to maximize the run game. They have become so dependent on Brett Favre that they seem incapable of shifting gears and becoming a run-first team. Honestly, we could say that they are wasting Favre’s talents as well by not balancing out their offense, but clearly the player who deserves better is Alexander. This is a guy who could be up at the top of the rushing leaderboard in the right system and with enough carries. Put him in Pittsburgh or Nashville and he could be going for 1,500 yards or more, but in Birmingham he simply is not given the touches or the support around him to be an elite back. That seems a real waste. 1) Drew Brees, QB, Michigan We all saw what Brees did at Purdue, and when he was picked by the Panthers, we thought we might have a natural transition from Flutie to a similarly diminutive but very talented QB. What we have gotten instead is a smaller QB who spends all game running for his life. Coach Martz and the personnel team in Michigan have not done enough to prioritize the O-line, and that shows up not only in the paltry run game the Panthers have, but in Brees’s constant scrambling and panicked throws. Brees is a QB who could be completing 75% of his throws if he had protection. He should be connecting with a pretty good stable of receivers in Hines Ward, Laverneus Coles, and rookie Charles Rogers, making big plays and using play action to get wide open looks. Instead, he has no run game to rely on, and he spends most of his day outside of the pocket. That may have been OK when Doug Flutie was making magic with his legs, but that is not Brees’s game, and Michigan is suffering because they have a talent at QB, but they are not giving him what he needs to be successful. The comparison right now is less to Flutie and more to Archie Manning during his frustrating career with the hapless New Orleans Saints. A good week for most teams with no season-ending injuries reported. That does not mean that there are no injuries to concern clubs, but all are shorter term. The most serious injury is a broken jaw suffered by Tampa Bay center Trey Teague, who could miss as many as 4-6 weeks. Two top receivers will miss at least one week, potentially more as both New Jersey’s Terry Glenn (knee) and Philly’s Steve Smith (ankle) are out this week. Chicago will play the next 1-2 weeks without their defensive captain as Brian Urlacher suffered a hernia during practice this week and will need time to recover. Among those listed as doubtful or questionable for this week we find Arizona DT Jason Peter (Ribs), Houston WR Koren Robinson (hamstring) and several QBs who remain game time decisions, including LA’s Cade McNown (Ribs), Jake Delhomme (Foot), Drew Brees (Foot), and Tom Brady (Shoulder). USFL Approves Sale & Relocation of Portland Thunder The news Portlanders have been dreading has come. On Tuesday the USFL owners approved the sale of the Portland Thunder to Phil Ruffin and a new ownership group that is comprised almost entirely of Las Vegas developers and casino owners. The sale comes with the expectation that the club will relocate to Sin City for the 2004 season. While some within the league remained concerned about the potential issues surrounding the presence of legalized gambling in the state of Nevada, the simple truth was that alternatives simply did not come forward to purchase the majority share of the Thunder and keep them in Portland. Phil Ruffin was adamant that he would not sell his share of the team, meaning that a full transfer of the team to an entirely new ownership group was unlikely (thus ruling out the Dallas-Fort Worth group which had made overtures to the league). Ruffin will remain the President of the Thunder, despite the team taking on new ownership that will control a greater share of the team than Ruffin currently holds. Plans are already underway to prepare UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium to host the Thunder next season, with a potential expansion from its current 30,000 seat capacity up to 38,000 or higher through use of temporary seating and additional endzone capacity. The move will not impact divisional alignment, with the newly relocated Thunder remaining in the Pacific Division. The move leaves Portland wondering what happened and whether or not they can ever recover a USFL presence. Just one week after the leak of a potential 2-stage expansion plan which favors St. Louis and Atlanta recovering their franchises (or replacement franchises to be more accurate), fans in Portland have to wonder if a similar option will exist for them as well. Two years ago, when the ownership group headed by Phil Ruffin and former Worldcom CEO Bernard Ebbers, was approved for the city, not only did it bring a sigh of relief to Thunder fans in Portland, but the city had already begun plans to potentially construct a new 50,000 seat stadium on the eastern side of the city as a permanent home to the Thunder. Now those plans are very much scuttled, and the city is looking at returning to pre-1988 status where the NBA is the only sport in town. Without a viable stadium in the works in Portland, and with the league voting on potential expansion this week, time is fleeting for the city of Portland to figure out a plan if they wish to recoup a USFL franchise. Their best option may well be to begin stadium construction even without a team in place, in hopes of putting together a viable expansion bid for the anticipated 2008 league growth to 28 teams. It seems unlikely that the league would grant a St. Louis/Atlanta styled deal for Portland when Civic Stadium is the lone option for a club, an option which significantly restricts financial viability for a franchise due to its limited capacity. There has been no word yet from Ruffin regarding the identity of the team, though, with Portland gear consistently among league leaders due primarily to its unique color scheme, it would be surprising for the club to trash their current identity, one which travels well, is unique in its look, and sells well. We would anticipate that the Las Vegas Thunder will be the result of the relocation, rather than developing an entirely new persona. Owners Unsettled on Expansion & Alignment Hurry up and wait seems to be the theme of the expansion decision in the USFL owners meeting this week. While the owners moved quickly on the issue of the Thunder, they seemed unprepared to make a decision on potential expansion, sending the report back to the finance committee for additional data projections. It seems that several owners are either unsatisfied with the concept of a 2-tier expansion, or concerned that promoting St. Louis and Atlanta to an early expansion will lead to continued chaos around other cities as ownership groups might seek a quicker remedy by enticing a current franchise to relocate rather than wait for a 2008 or 2009 expansion opportunity. Add to this the fact that the Thunder decision now creates a new market that is angry about losing their own club and will endeavor to reobtain a franchise, basically a new St. Louis in Portland, and you have a lot of concerns about stability. Originally the 2-tier proposal, granting teams to St. Louis and Atlanta, was seen as a way to calm the potential for additional relocations, but several owners seem to feel that it may actually enhance the chances that owners will opt for the big buyout and relocate their teams prior to 2008 if the right deal from a city like Dallas or Miami comes along. The league, if concerned about this, could act to limit the ability of teams to sell during this period, or simply deny relocation, but that requires a willingness to fight the legal battles to enforce such positions, legal battles that they are likely to lose and which will cause significant internal strife within the league. At the same time no one wants to see a free-for-all of cities battling to either retain or obtain a franchise, as good as that might be for any particular owner. We are already seeing the fallout of this in Atlanta and St. Louis, and now Memphis is using St. Louis as a bargaining chip, holding city officials hostage and angering one of the league’s best fanbases at the same time. So what happens now? Well, the Finance Committee will try to provide the desired data and projections in time for this summer’s league meeting, as a vote at that time seems imperative if the league is going to potentially seek to expand in time for the 2006 season, as originally proposed. Memphis will continue to speak with officials in St. Louis, Portland will have to reassess what they want to do to attract or obtain a USFL franchise, and the league will prepare for a 2004 season with a club now in Las Vegas, and all the issues that creates. Week 7 is the halfway point of the season and this year we have something of an odd phenomenon. After spending Week 6 in interconference play, we shuffle the deck a bit for a 2nd consecutive week of West v. East to end up the first half of the season. It is make or break time for several clubs who sit at 2-4 and need a win to get back to contention. Among the desperate squads we find Birmingham, who head to Jacksonville to face the 4-2 Bulls. Arizona got a big win last week at home, but now travel to Michigan, where the Panthers are hoping to avoid going 0-7 in the first half. Tampa Bay also won last week and now host Nashville with a chance to get to 3-4. It’s a battle of 2-4 clubs, with only one able to claw back into contention as Seattle, fresh off their big win over Orlando, travels to Philadelphia. Baltimore is the final 2-4 club, and they are at home against a 1-win Oakland squad that may have a QB controversy brewing. The unbeaten Federals are back home, but face a very feisty Portland club. LA is 5-1 but heads across the country to face the Generals, who need a win to stay in the hunt in the Northeast. 5-1 New Orleans will try to recover from their first loss of the year as they head to Orlando to face the winless Renegades. Denver is a surprising 5-1, but they face a tough foe this week as they travel to Chicago to take on the Machine. Memphis is in Boston in an intriguing matchup, and Houston visits the 5-1 Pittsburgh Maulers in a good matchup. Finally, the Ohio Glory hope to regain their swagger at home as they face the 3-3 Texas Outlaws.

It was a week for the backups as several teams managed to pull out wins despite losing their startup QB's. New Jersey got a huge victory over Ohio thanks to the late heroics of backup Todd Boumann. Jacksonville called on Josh McCown when Jake Delhomme was knocked out of the game and the young QB helped spark a Bulls' win. Will Furrer came in late for Brian Griese and guided the Stars to a road win, and Quincy Carter got the start for an injured Cade McNown and helped lead LA to a divisional win. Things were not so good in Michigan, where veteran Spence Fisher simply could not get anything going and the Panthers were blown out and shut out in what appears to be a spiral leading to Mike Martz being let go sooner rather than later. But let's start with the biggest upset of the week as the Ohio Glory lose their second in a row, despite building up a 14-point margin and knocking Tom Brady out of action. NEW JERSEY 30 OHIO 24 -- OVERTIME Ohio falls again as New Jersey, with Todd Boumann subbing for an injured Tom Brady, leads two late TD drives to even the score in regulation and then adds a third in overtime to upend the defending champs for a second consecutive week. Last year, as we watched the Ohio Glory race to a 17-0 season, we were quick to point out that the difference between 2002 and past seasons was that Ohio had a defense that would allow them to hold leads or keep teams from coming back on them. That defense appears to be failing the Glory this year as they have now lost two consecutive games, with both Pittsburgh and New Jersey scoring 30 or more points in their victories. Unlike last week, a road loss to a Mauler squad that built up a lead and then limited Ohio’s opportunities to come back, this week the Glory were at home and had a lead to protect. They had successfully knocked New Jersey’s star QB out of thee game and by all accounts the game was theirs to win. That Todd Boumann was able to mount a comeback has to be a troubling revelation. Perhaps more troubling is the way New Jersey was able to counteract the Glory offense. While Pittsburgh focused on 3rd down stops and a ball control offense, New Jersey turned up the pressure. They brought blitzes on passing downs, to incredible success, as the Generals were able to record a staggering 11 sacks on the day, five from perennial All-USFL DE Phil Hansen, and 6 more from a variety of players who swarmed Kerry Collins on every passing down. Collins remained in for the entire game but walked away battered and befuddled by the constant pressure. This showed in the 4th quarter, where New Jersey scored an unanswered 14 points to even the score at 24 and send the game to overtime. Whereas the first half had belonged to Ohio, with Collins connecting twice with Joey Galloway to build a 17-3 lead, and the 3rd quarter was a bit more even, with both clubs scoring once, the 4th quarter, after Brady had to leave the game, was all New Jersey. Todd Boumann began the quarter with a quick strike attack that moved the ball 67 yards in only 5 plays, ending with a 23-yard TD toss to rookie David Tyree. After the defense got Collins off the field with one of four 4th quarter sacks, this one on 3rd and a manageable 4 yards, New Jersey took the ball down the field a second time. This drive required more time, 11 plays and 6 minutes to be exact, but the result was the same. Boumann found Terry Glenn from the 11-yard line and tied the game with only 1:22 left to play. Ohio had a chance to avoid overtime, but once again the New Jersey defense sent rushers from every angle, and back to back sacks, one from Hansen and one from free safety Brian Dawkins, ended the drive and sent the game to an extra period. Ohio got the ball first in overtime, but after an initial first down on an Eddie George run, the offensive line again misread the new Jersey blitz, leaving Hansen with one-on-one blocking and the league’s legendary edge rusher got to Collins just as he was preparing to release the ball. Collins avoided the fumble, but the Glory were forced to punt. They would not see the ball again as New Jersey, with momentum fully on their side, marched through a tired Ohio defense, and put the game to bed with Boumann’s third TD of the day, this time to Kevin Johnson. For New Jersey it was a statement game. The Generals were back above .500 after losing two early games when Brady was hurt. For Ohio, it was a second consecutive outing in which both the offense and the defense showed signs of weakness and vulnerability. So now every team on the schedule will look at what Pittsburgh and New Jersey were able to do and can try to replicate the elements that worked to derail the Ohio offense and wear out the Glory defense. CHI 17 JAX 20 The Bulls scraped out a win despite losing their starting QB, just as New Jersey did. Jake Delhomme suffered an injury early in the first quarter and the defense held as backup Josh McCown slowly got into the flow of play. By the third quarter he found his stride, connecting with Bobby Shaw for the game-winning TD in the 4th, and the defense held Chicago out of field goal range as time wore down to take the W despite giving up 130 yards receiving to Curtis Conway and another 75 to Johnnie Morton. WSH 10 ORL 9 Washington and Orlando dealt with downpour rains in the Citrus Bowl and again the combination of weather and defense was enough for the Federals to move to 5-0, while Orlando dropped to a surprising 0-5 on the year. Deuce McCallister slogged through the wet field to score the only TD of the game as both clubs combined for only 11 first downs. Orlando was particularly troubled by the weather, converting only 1 of 12 third down plays. BAL 21 PIT 28 A good game at Heinz Field as the Blitz and Maulers went toe to toe for 4 quarters, with the deciding score a Patrick Surtain pick-six in the 4th quarter. Charlie Batch looked very proficient, throwing for 3 scores and avoiding turnovers, while Jeff Garcia also threw 3 scores but suffered 2 picks, including the costly pick six that gave Pittsburgh their 4th win of the young season. PHI 29 TBY 28 The Stars got their second win of the campaign thanks to another backup as Will Furrer stepped in for a concussed Brian Griese and led the Stars on a 2-minute drill that produced a late TD to Alex Van Dyke. Despite the L, halfback Willis McGahee had another good game for Tampa, with 92 yards rushing, well outpacing the 43-yard day Philly’s Stephen Davis had. SEA 27 LA 35 The Dragons hung with the 3-1 LA Express through three quarters, but the Expressed pulled away in the 4th and took home the 8-point win with a late Amani Toomer TD. Again, in a week of backups, we saw good play from LA’s Quincy Carter, who got the start due to Cade McNown’s week 4 injury. Carter finished only 12 of 20, but threw for 3 touchdowns to help LA get the home win. Tory Holt led all receivers with 141 yards on 5 receptions, but it was Toomer with two second half TDs that stole the show. HOU 17 DEN 24 Denver’s rebound season continues as Mark Brunell survived a 3-pick day by connecting on all three Denver touchdowns. TE Marco Battaglia was the star for Denver as he caught 7 balls, including two Brunell TD tosses. The Gold were down 17-14 after three quarters but held Houston in check in the final quarter as they added 10 points to the total and sent the fans home happy from New Mile High. POR 33 OAK 18 The Portland Thunder continue to ignore the chaos surrounding their long term future and move to 3-2 on the year with a solid win in Oakland. Akili Smith returned to action and led the team with 3 TD passes, connecting with new WR Muhsin Muhammad for 2 scores. The Portland D also came up big, picking off Marques Tuiasosopo 4 times in the victory. TEX 34 ARZ 24 The Wranglers drop their 4th game in 5 tries as Texas gets a Marlon Kerner pick six, a rushing TD from Kevin Barlow, and two Jeff Lewis TD passes to outpace the efforts of Jake Plummer. Once again the run game was simply nonexistent for Arizona as Dominique Rhodes and Stanley Pritchett combine for only 52 yards total. NSH 33 MEM 25 Nashville wins the in-state rivalry game a the Liberty Bowl and in so doing sends Memphis below .500 at 2-3. Ahman Green had a big day, rushing for 127 yards on 26 carries, and Todd Collins used play action effectively to connect on long TD passes to Bert Emmanuel and TE Justin Peele. Adrian Cooper was his usually amazing self, catching 9 balls for 161 and a score, but Nashville held the wideouts in check to keep Memphis’s offense off kilter. NOR 18 BIR 17 The Breakers improve to 5-0 with a big road win in Birmingham. The defense played shut-down defense all day, allowing New Orleans to outgain Birmingham 427 to 299. Most of that offense was Trent Dilfer, surviving 4 Birmingham sacks to connect for 378 yards passing. He did throw 2 picks, so the pressure got to him, but Birmingham was only able to turn those turnovers into 3 points on the scoreboard. The score could have been higher, but New Orleans failed on two attempts to convert 2-point PATs after falling behind 17-6 and battling back with 2nd half TDs to Josh Reed and Kevin Dyson. MGN 0 BOS 35 A truly ugly game in Boston as the Panthers simply could not do anything right. Michigan managed only 20 yards rushing, QB Spence Fisher was inaccurate and simply couuld not produce drives, and the defense gave up 174 yards and 2 touchdowns to Tiki Barber despite knowing all along that he would be the centerpiece of the Boston attack. This one felt more like Ohio State vs. Southern Utah than a game between two pro squads, a bad look if you are Mike Martz and you are hoping to keep your job. Week of the Backup QB If there was a theme this week, it was certainly the value of a quality backup QB. We saw Quincy Carter start for the Express and get LA a convincing division win. Todd Boumann came in for a dinged-up Tom Brady and not only led a comeback to send the game to overtime, but also won the game in the extra period. Will Furrer played less for Philly, but he too led the club to a victory in a tight game. Meanwhile Kent Graham looks like he will start the rest of the season unless Tampa Bay makes a trade in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Spence Fisher looked completely unprepared for his start as Drew Brees’s replacement, failing to score a single point against a Boston defense that is not exactly a brick wall. As we get into the meat of the league schedule, having a quality backup will be key as it has become rare for a starter to be able to start and finish all 14 games. While many will likely not get a start this year, at some point they are all going to see action one way or another, and in cases like that of Tampa Bay, having a backup who is not only familiar with the offense but able to jump in and get quality starts can be the difference between a playoff appearance and a low draft pick. Looking at the 24 #2’s across the league, we see a mix of youth and veteran presence, former starters and potential trade bait. In some cases the difference between starter and backup is so close that teams find themselves constantly second guessing who to start, while other franchises see such a gap that the fans have to hold their breath any time the starter gets so much as a hangnail. We looked at the 24 backups leaguewide and set up a categorization for you. Openly Challenging the Starter OAK: Jon Kitna—Coach Green is clearly giving Marques Tuiasosopo the benefit of the doubt as the younger player, but Kitna has been a starter before and could be again if Tuiasosopo struggles. ORL: It seems crazy to think that Orlando would go away from Joey Harrington after all they did to sign him, but his play has been very erratic this year, and Mark Bulger has shown that he can start games and win them. He has been a workable starter before, and while he is unlikely to lead the league in QB Rating, he can win games for you, something Harrington has been unable to do this year. PIT: Jeff Blake was brought in to challenge and push Charlie Batch, and while it seems to have worked and Batch is playing well, Blake is a legitimate starting QB, and could be trade bait if Pittsburgh feels comfortable with what they are seeing in Batch this year. TEX: Ryan Leaf—No surprise here. Leaf was a #1 draft pick and still believes he should be the starter for the Outlaws. We could absolutely see him pushing Jeff Lewis, and if that does not work out, seeking a trade. TBY: There were a lot of questions about Kent Graham, but it seems that Tampa Bay is feeling pretty good about what they have in him. It does not hurt his chances to actually earn the starting job that Trent Green has not looked good this year. Graham could finish the season as a starter if he can put together some wins for the Bandits. Quality Backup who could start elsewhere BOS: Jim Miller is a solid backup, and that is probably his best option right now, but it feels like he has been a QB who could produce quality starts if given the chance. Maybe we are overestimating his abilities, but when he has played, he has had flashes of really good football, so we think that he may be an undervalued commodity. JAX: We debated whether Josh McCown belonged here or one category lower. He has a lot of raw talent, is big, strong, and young, so he could be a diamond in the rough for the Bulls. If he gets a chance to develop, he could be a quality signing if he ever becomes a free agent. LA: Quincy Carter has shown, as recently as this week, that he can be a starter. He has great elusivity and a strong arm. He lacks experience and needs to work on both his footwork and his decision-making, but he could easily challenge for a starting spot on many teams. NOR: Aaron Brooks was a starter in Atlanta, and could easily be a starter again. He has a lot of talent, and made the most out of a bad situation with the Fire. Right now, learning behind Trent Dilfer may be a good step towards him reclaiming a starting job, as it was decision-making and reading defenses that were his weak spots, two areas where Trent Dilfer’s knowledge can help him grow. PHI: Will Furrer was the starter last season in Philadelphia. Yes, he struggled, but so did the Stars as a team. He lost the job to Brian Griese, and that seems like a good move for Philadelphia, but we could see Furrer signing with a club and making a difference if the talent is around him to allow his style of play (short passes, quick release, perhaps West Coast Offense) to function as planned. WSH: Scott Zolak is not a true starter, but he may be the best “fill in” quarterback in the league. He has shown on several occasions that he can come in cold and lead the team to a win, and he can look really solid the next week. Why can’t he be a starter? The easy answer is that his arm talent is not quite there, and he is not quite fleet of foot enough to avoid rushers, so you have to gameplan to protect him, which is easy enough on short notice, but does limit the offensive options, something no OC wants to do long term. Good for a few games a year if needed ARZ: Tony Banks was brought in from the NFL in part because his skillset parallels that of Jake Plummer. He too can be a dual threat, but it would be a shallow imitation of the All-USFL QB to have Banks playing. BIR: The Stallions have both Dany Kannell and Eric Zeier behind Brett Favre. Both have had chances in the league, with Zeier a starter in Atlanta over several seasons. Do we think either can replace Favre if called upon? No, not really. They are serviceable, and can finish up a game if needed, but if Favre were to be unavailable for more than a week or two, the Stallions would not be looking too good. CHI: Ray Lucas has talent, and a lot of moxie as well. More of a raw athlete than a refined passer, Lucas has a very different style than starter Jeff George, so the fit in the Chicago system is an odd one, but you can gameplan for his skills and he can be successful if you do. MEM: Bill Musgrave has gotten some starts and some relief duty in the past few years and has always looked prepared and capable when called on. He is not a guy you build a team around, but if Heath Shuler has to miss a few weeks, you could do a lot worse than to have Musgrave step in. NSH: A couple of years back, the Knights realized that Rob Johnson was not the answer, even as the 2nd QB, so they brought in Craig Whelihan to back up Todd Collins. Whelihan is not a long term solution, but his savvy and good decision-making make him a solid “fill in” guy. NJ: We are not sure that Todd Boumann has the arm talent to be a full time starter, but as he showed this week, when he is called into emergency duty he can get the job done. He is a smart player, well-suited to be a student of the game and to fill in as needed when the starter goes down. Do you want him to start 8 games? No, you don’t, but 1-3 is a window where he could be very useful. POR: Rick Mirer was once a high draft pick in the NFL, and was a potential starter for the Thunder, but has clearly not developed as planned. We have seen him play enough to realize that spot duty may be his best option at this point. We just don’t see Mirer being successful as a long-term starter. Pray your starter stays healthy BAL: Fans may wish Baltimore had someone other than Jeff Garcia under center, but with Billy Joe Tolliver as the #2, no one is calling for Garcia to be benched. Tolliver, at 34, is not the old gunslinger he was when he first started out. The future for Baltimore may be rookie Seneca Wallace, who currently occupies a spot on the practice squad. DEN: Eric Wilhelm is pretty much untested as a starter. He gets so few opportunities and has spent the last few seasons essentially acting as a signal-messanger for Mark Brunell and a holder on kicks, and that is about it. Ideally you want a backup who has seen enough action to not get rattled if called on in a pinch. That is not Wilhelm. HOU: Neither Brock Huard nor Kris Kershaw inspires much confidence that the Gamblers could survive an injury to Matt Hasselbeck. They are both game manager types, which works well for Houston’s system, but they simply don’t bring much to the game as far as instincts or experience. MGN: This weekend proved what Michigan fans have long thought, that Spence Fisher, despite a couple of strong years in New Jersey, is just not a quality backup. He is not a profoundly athletic player, and with so little opportunity to hone his skills as he backs up Drew Brees, he looks ill-equipped for emergency call-ups. Even 3rd stringer Spergon Wynn may give Michigan a better chance when Brees is unavailable. OHI: It may be a bit unfair to put Chris Redman this low, but the simple fact is that we have no idea what he can or cannot do. Other than a few preseason snaps, we have simply not seen Redman under center. Maybe the talent Ohio saw from him in college will translate, but there is simply no way to know at this point. SEA: Byron Leftwich has been all Seattle hoped for, but Dragon fans have to worry about what happens if he gets injured. Craig Erickson used to be considered one of the league’s best backups, but his skills have clearly deteriorated as he aged, and he does not have the quickness to escape defenders any longer. Seattle has toyed with using Tee Martin as the #2 simply because his athletic skills would allow them to use the same playbook that Leftwich is using, but Martin’s accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. The future for 0-5 Mike Martz and George O’Leary We are five weeks into the season and we have two clubs that have yet to win a game, Orlando and Michigan. Losing that many to start a season puts immediate pressure on ownership to make a big move and very often that move is to remove the head coach. Looking at Coach O’Leary in Orlando, that seems like an unlikely result. After all, Coach O’Leary brought the Renegades a title only 2 years ago, and with a 2nd year quarterback and a lot of losses in free agency and retirement since the title, a period of rebuilding seems appropriate. What is concerning for Orlando is that Joey Harrington is looking like he has not progressed since his rookie year. Harrington’s completion percentage has dropped, he has thrown as many picks as touchdowns, his yards per game are down, and his QB rating has dipped from 90.4 to 79.2. None of those are good signs. It has not helped that the run game led by Sedrick Irvin has simply not worked this year. Irvin is averaging 3.7 yards per carry, which is about what it was last year, but it is simply not good enough to develop a credible threat for the run. Irvin’s yards per game are down below 50, whereas last year he was in the mid 60’s. Finally, the defense is not where it was either, which, to a degree is expected when you lose a dynamic playmaker like Chris Doleman. Orlando is currently ranked 22nd against the run, allowing 122.4 yards per game, and 18th in points allowed at 25.6 per game. Last year the Renegades averaged 21 PPG and only 89 yards per game on the ground. So, while we expect patience for Coach O’Leary, this season is not working out as Orlando fans had hoped, and improvement over the final 9 weeks of the year will be a significant expectation. Mike Martz does not have the same security as O’Leary, and could well be yet another example of a coach who loses his job midseason unless we start to see some changes. Michigan is averaging a paltry 11 points per game, dead last in the league. The rushing attack has been nothing short of pathetic, averaging only 33.6 yards a game, again dead last, and not even close to 23rd. Yes, their numbers dipped with this week’s shutout, but even with Drew Brees under center Michigan scored only 9 points (no touchdowns) against Chicago, 10 against LA, and 17 against Jacksonville. The defense is dead last against the run, 154.4 yards per game, which means teams are simply dominating time of possession against the Panthers. So what can Martz do? First things first, he should be considering some personnel shifts. Signing Rashaan Salaam could be a risky proposition, but it could also provide a bit more dynamism to a run game that desperately needs something. The Panthers have some decent receivers in Hines Ward, Laverneus Coles, Dedrick Ward, and rookie Charles Rogers, but the line has been a problem all season. Drew Brees has been scrambling or throwing a lot of passes away just to avoid being crushed. Signing Salaam won’t solve that issue, but just the threat of a quality run game could slow down the pass rush and force the defense to play both options. Michigan needs to bring in linemen, and that may require them to trade away either picks or quality players to get some help. Do you do that if your club is 0-6 or 0-7 or do you mortgage this year for the future, and in so doing, condemn the coach to a lame duck session? Right now that is the decision ownership in Michigan needs to do, because the odds of a turnaround for the Panthers is just not looking very likely at all. No fewer than 7 quarterbacks showed up on the injury report this week. The good news, if we can say that there is good news, is that none of the injuries are season ending, and, in fact, other than Trent Green continuing to show up on the report for Tampa Bay, no other QB is expected to miss more than 2 weeks. Looking at the injury report, it seems New Jersey will once again be without Tom Brady, as he is expected to miss up to 2 weeks with a minor fracture. Cade McNown will miss at least one more week as he recovers from a rib injury suffered in Week 4. Jake Delhomme in Jacksonville and Drew Brees in Michigan are both listed as Doubtful for this week. Brian Griese is recovering from a concussion and is listed as questionable, while Portland’s Akili Smith, who played this week, remains on the list but is cited as probable for Week 6. Beyond the QB position, the injuries most likely to impact their clubs over the long haul include Oakland DT Jermaine Smith (4-6 weeks with a torn quad), Orlando CB Fernando Bryant (torn bicep, 4-6 weeks), Texas CB Jimmy Hitchcock (4-6 for a stress fracture), Jacksonville tackle Luke Petigout (2-4 with a dislocated shoulder), and Nashville DE Chad Bradtske (1-2 weeks with a foot injury). Last week we reported that league expansion was being studied and would be an item on the agenda in next week’s league owners meeting. This week a leaked document showed exactly what the report put together by the combined competition and finance committee are presenting to the 24 ownership groups of the league. The report makes a recommendation for a 2-tier expansion from 24 clubs up to 28 between now and 2008. Citing market sizes, television viewership, and the potential to minimize team poaching by cities currently unserved by USFL football, the report points specifically to the situation that led to both the St. Louis and Atlanta relocations and which currently are impacting Portland and Memphis. The proposal for a 2-stage expansion has two very different elements. The first wave would be a targeted expansion specific to the cities which lost their franchises over the past 2 years, with bids limited to ownership groups that would place teams in St. Louis and Atlanta by 2006 or 2007. No specific ownership groups are mentioned, which is to be expected, but we are aware of several potential investors in both cities, including quite possibly the first minority-owned franchise forming in Atlanta. The second phase would be an open expansion call for 2 additional franchises, a process which would allow bidding groups like those known to exist for franchises in Dallas, Miami, Kansas City, and Sacramento to make their case to the league. If the league were to approve this plan, the immediate impact may actually be to undercut one of their own current franchises, as it would almost certainly impact the ability of the Showboats to use St. Louis as a possible counterweight to their demands for improvements to facilities in Memphis. Expect the Showboat ownership to demand some form of exemption, or the option to swap St. Louis for Memphis as an expansion location should the Showboats seek to accept the offer put forward by St. Louis to relocate the team. The second significant impact is that the second wave of potential expansion could force some of the more amorphous bidding groups to get serious and get to the nitty gritty of negotiating stadium deals, sponsorships, and season ticket estimates. The process might advantage some locations, such as Dallas, which have existed for some time, while others, such as Kansas City, have largely been theoretical only, with several big names connected to the idea but no formal movement on any major front to organize into a legitimate bidder. League owners will review the findings, discuss the pros and cons, and very possibly vote on the plan, with the understanding that with a 2006 target date for the first expansion round, they both stick to the already designated moratorium until 2005 or beyond, and also provide themselves with 3 years to move from plan to proposals to fielding a team in the target cities, with another 2 years to complete the more complex process of seeking open bids for a wide range of markets. Of course, the other issue which will be a major topic of discussion and debate at the meetings is the fate of the Portland Thunder. If, as expected, the proposal from Phil Ruffin includes relocation to Las Vegas, then the question of USFL football in Portland is also on the table and that could easily upend the plans as put together by the two committees this past month. Week 6 is an inter-conference week, with most clubs flying north to south or coast to coast to take on foes they are less familiar with. It is a chance to see if one conference has the edge over the other or to give teams a chance to reinvent themselves against a club that is just not that familiar with tendencies and personnel. Among the more interesting games we have one of this year’s 2 unbeaten teams hosting last year’s unbeaten club as Ohio, sitting now at 3-2, visits 5-0 New Orleans in the Dome. The other unbeaten squad, the Washington Federals, face their own 3-2 club, and one who should match up well, as they head to Houston to take on the Gamblers in what could be a defensive mano-a-mano matchup. Beyond the two unbeatens we have several 4-1 clubs in action, including LA hosting the 4-1 Jacksonville Bulls in a battle of two clubs that have started very hot. Denver, also sitting at 4-1, is at home against a game Baltimore Blitz club. The final 4-1 club, Pittsburgh, will be in Nashville to face a very tough Knights club in Music City. For the league’s two 0-5 clubs, there is hope this weekend as Michigan travels to 1-win Birmingham while 0-5 Orlando travels all the way across country to face 1-4 Seattle. Other games on the schedule this week include Chicago @ Memphis, New Jersey visiting Arizona, Philadelphia headed to San Antonio to face the Texas Outlaws, Boston in Oakland, and Tampa Bay taking on the Thunder in Portland.

All good things must come to an end, and that includes winning streaks. The Ohio Glory made history by winning 17 consecutive games to become the first franchise in USFL history to run the table on a complete season and win a league title with an unblemished record. That streak continued into the 2003 season, but came to an end this week when a road trip to rival Pittsburgh ended with defeat. Ohio's defeat at the hands of the Maulers is only one of several big stories coming out of the week, as we had a wild week of overtime games, nailbiters, upsets, and a Game of the Week that pitted two teams with 1 combined win against each other, but produced an exciting back and forth battle worthy of a heavyweight title fight. We start with that game as Oakland earned their first win of the season. OAKLAND INVADERS 39 ARIZONA WRANGLERS 36 While most would agree that Pittsburgh’s upset of Ohio after 20 consecutive Glory wins was the story of the week, it was not, in technical terms, the best game of the week. That honor has to go to the shootout between the Invaders and the Wranglers in Tempe. We will certainly talk about just how Pittsburgh managed to get the better of Ohio, but let’s recognize just how good Oakland’s win in Arizona was. This is an Invader squad that had looked completely out of synch through three weeks, losing all three games and scoring only 30 points during the three week span. They more than doubled that total in just this one game as several players who were being criticized heavily in local media stepped up big time against the Wranglers, who, once again, look like a team that has talent but lacks consistency. The first thing that has to be said is that the biggest names on the team came up big for the first time all season. Plaxico Burress had his first 100-yard game of the year. HB Justin Fargas averaged 4.4 YPC on his way to a 22 carry, 97 yard day. Marques Tuiasosopo did throw three picks, but made up for it with 3 TD passes, including the game-tying toss to Taylor Jacobs with only 14 seconds left to play in regulation, a play that shifted momentum back to Oakland, got them to overtime, and put them in position to steal this game away from the homestanding Wranglers. Add in a 2-pick day for FS Antuan Edwards, a forced fumble by SS Pearson Prioleau, and 8 more tackles for Roosevelt Colvin, among league leaders in tackles, and you have Oakland’s first W of the year, and the first for new head coach Dennis Green. IT did not look good at first as Arizona raced out to a 10-0 lead in just the first 10 minutes of play. Jake Plummer found O.J. Santiago for a TD and things seemed to be going well for the Wranglers, but a costly mistake, Plummer’s first pick of the day, led to a quick score for Oakland, and they would follow it up only 2 minutes later with a second score as Mack Strong took the ball in to give Oakland a 14-10 lead at the end of a high energy first quarter. In the second, Tuiasosopo found Plaxico Burress for a 22-yard TD, and the lead was up to 11, but Arizona would add 10 more points before th half, and be down only 1, 21-20 at the break. The Wranglers would then open the 2nd half with a long drive capped off by a Plummer to Moss fade route. When the 2-point conversion failed, it mean that Arizona had a 5-point lead at 26-21. The lead would change hands once again as Oakland responded. Tuiasosopo hit on his 2nd of 3 TD passes, this time to Taylor Jacobs (1st of 2) and a successful 2-point play meant they took over the lead at 29-26. But, as we had seen all day, the lead would not hold. Jake Plummer was able to move the Wranglers right down the field, and called his own number on a TD run to once again put Arizona on top. On their next drive they would add a field goal as well, moving the lead to 36-29 with only 2:16 left on the clock. It would be up to Marques Tuiasosopo to move the ball 78 yards for a tying score if Oakland wanted to come back once more. The young signal caller did just that, completing 4 of 6 pass attempts along the way, with the final throw a short completion to Jacobs once again, this one for his 2nd TD on the day. The PAT was good and the game went to overtime. Both teams got their possessions in overtime, and both teams failed to put points on the board. It was then that Antuan Edwards made the play of the day, tipping a pass intended for Santana Moss, and then picking it off on the rebound. The pick, his 2nd of the game, gave Oakland the ball on the Arizona 48. 4 plays later Joe Nedney was lining up for the game winning fieldgoal. Up and through and the Oakland Invaders had won their first of the year. The win showed that the faith that team ownership and new head coach Dennis Green had placed in Tuiasosopo was not a mistake. Having failed to sign USC product Carson Palmer, there had been a lot of pressure on the club to try to sign or trade for a veteran QB. They resisted the urge, going into the regular season with Tuiasosopo and Jon Kitna on the roster. Tuiasosopo had a game that, while flawed, showed his potential. The other player who got a bit of redemption was rookie HB Justin Fargas, who had shown poorly in his first three games. With a lot of talk about Oakland making efforts to sign the recently reinstated Rashaan Salaam, the pressure was on and Fargas came through. Oakland may well still pursue Salaam, but Fargas is at least showing signs that he can be a weapon on offense for the Invaders. For Arizona it was yet another in a long history of games that seemed won only to be lost in the final minutes. Arizona has developed a reputation for being consistently inconsistent. It is an issue that could eventually cost Art Still his job at the helm of the club, but as we have seen on several occasions, the Wranglers seem to do just enough to qualify for the playoffs and, once there, can get hot at just the right time. OHI 17 PIT 34 We will do a full rundown on just how the Maulers upended the Ohio Glory this week in our feature article, but the short version is that they limited 3rd down success, stymied the run game, and held the ball with their own potent rushing attack. The star on offense was clearly Terrell Davis, who rumbled for 142 yards on 29 carries to lead the Maulers. On defense it was truly a team effort, but Demetrius Dubose, with 11 tackles was the key leader, always in the right place at the right time. And while Joey Galloway went over 100 yards receiving and Chad Johnson scored yet another TD, the combo did not overwhelm the Maulers, who steadily built up their lead over all 4 quarters, becoming the first team to knock off Ohio in over 14 months. BAL 16 NJ 23 A big win for the Generals, who return to .500 with Tom Brady back at the helm. New Jersey managed only 80 yards on the ground, but Terry Glenn was able to break free on a couple of key deep balls to help the Generals outpace the Blitz. Two fumbles by Baltimore backs did not help as both Mike Rumph and James Harrison were able to punch out the ball from the backs’ hands and give New Jersey extra series on offense. PHI 25 WSH 33 A tighter game than many expected between the Stars and the Federals. Stephen Davis had his best game of the year, with much of his success coming up the middle against Washington’s new DT combo. Davis would rush for 137 on 17 attempts, and backup Ladell Betts scored from 3 yards out, but it all fell just a bit short as Washington got a 60-yard TD run from QB Kordell Stewart to take a late lead and hold on for the 8-point win at home. BOS 27 JAX 38 Jacksonville flipped the script on the Boston Cannons, limiting league leading rusher Tiki Barber to only 62 yards on 19 carries, while their own back, Kenny Bynum had a field day, rushing for 142. Rookie Fred Jackson was used effectively on 3rd down and scored 2 touchdowns on 11 carries. Another rookie, WR Anquon Boldin, also had a strong game, catching 8 balls for 96 yards as Terrell Owens missed this game with a stomach flu. ORL 28 TBY 38 Orlando drops to 0-4 as Tampa Bay gets their first win of the season thanks to another rookie who found his stride. HB Willis McGahee got his first 100-yard performance this week, with 119 yards on 24 carries, including two touchdowns for the Bandits. Orlando was down 31-7 at one point, came roaring back, but, down 31-28, Joey Harrington made a huge mistake in the final minute of the game, tossing a poorly-aimed ball to his wideout, only to watch it picked cleanly and run back for 7 more Tampa points. It was Harrington’s 3rd pick of the game, three more than backup Kent Graham had for Tampa in his first start of the season. CHI 34 MGN 9 Mike Martz is unlikely to make it through the season if he cannot figure out Michigan’s offensive woes and quickly. The Panthers managed only 3 field goals against Chicago as Drew Brees was pulled suffering an injury just before the half. While BreesP had Michigan in range at 13-6, backup Spence Fisher had major issues and Chicago simply built up a commanding lead in the 2nd half as Michigan could not move the ball at all. LA 16 DEN 34 The Gold knock LA from the realm of the unbeaten thanks to a solid performance from wideout Peerless Price. Price scored twice and caught 7 for 16 as the Gold took a share of first place with the home victory over the Express. Denver’s defense also came up big, sacking Cade McNown 5 times, including a sack that sent him to the sideline for 2 series during the transition from the 3rd into the 4th quarter. By the time McNown was able to return, Denver had increased their lead from 7 to 17, on the way to an 18 point win. NOR 47 HOU 28 In the battle of unbeatens, someone had to get their first loss, and that would be Houston as the Breakers found plenty of holes in the Gambler defense, with Trent Dilfer throwing for 3 scores and Troy Davis again finding success as a stand-in for Ricky Williams. The small scatback rushed for 160 yards against the Houston D, and that freed up some passing lanes, which led to TE Bubba Franks having a rare 100-yard day. Add in three picks of Matt Hasselbeck and you have a big win for New Orleans on the road. NSH 24 TEX 19 Texas held a 19-17 lead with only 25 second left, but got complacent on the kickoff, leading to Darnay Scott taking the game-ending kick back 102 yards for the score. In a game where the Outlaws held Todd Collins to only 152 yards passing and kept Ahman Green under 80 yards on the ground, losing on a botched kick coverage is going to hurt. MEM 23 POR 20 Memphis got 107 yards rushing from Dorsey Levins to pull off the road win in Portland. With Heath Shuler limited to only 196 yards passing, the Memphis run game proved pivotal as they held the ball for over 37 minutes against the Thunder. Portland, with Rick Mirer starting for the injured Akili Smith, had trouble getting going and found themselves down 20-6 after three quarters. Mirer connected with Matthew Hatchette and Muhsin Muhammad in the final period, but came up just short as they could not get one more score needed to come back. BIR 17 SEA 34 Seattle got their first win as Byron Leftwich continued to impress, throwing for 310 yards and 2 scores and battling through 6 Birmingham sacks to do it. The Stallions toned down their spread passing game in the rain in Seattle, as Shaun Alexander ran the ball 15 times for 111 yards in an atypical Birmingham strategy. Brett Favre threw two awkward interceptions to help Seattle build up a lead that they would not relinquish. HOW DID PITTSBURGH DO IT? That is the question being asked all around the USFL, that and “Can it be repeated?”. Well, first off you need to acknowledge that just like any team, Ohio is going to have hot weeks and cold weeks. You likely are not going to be able to replicate what Pittsburgh did if Ohio is in the zone. Get that out of your mind right away. But, let’s assume it is not a week when they are hitting on all cylinders. What can teams take away from the Pittsburgh game? The first thing is ball control. As with all great offensive teams, the first part of the strategy has to be to keep that offense on the sideline. Pittsburgh milked the clock from the first drive, running 36 run plays, but only 59 total plays. But those 59 plays took up over 37 minutes of action. So you run the clock down between plays, execute on third down to keep your drives alive, and do what you can to force third and long for the Glory. Ohio was only 3 of 12 on third down in large part because Pittsburgh put them in a lot of third and long situations. Slowing down Eddie George was a big part of the plan. And yes, it meant that occasionally a receiver was in single coverage, but by limiting the run game, the Maulers helped set up 3rd and 7 or longer 8 times, and Ohio only converted 2 of those. The last piece of the puzzle is to avoid self-inflicted wounds. If you look at last year’s close games with Ohio, including all three matchups with Chicago, you can see where teams either committed unwarranted penalties at bad times or turned the ball over, providing Ohio with extra possessions. Pittsburgh did neither, committing only 3 penalties all game and producing no turnovers, whereas Ohio had two and 6 penalties. So, the formula is 1) Milk the clock, 2) stuff the run, 3) win on 3rd down and 4) no unforced errors. Easier said than done, to be sure, but the Maulers made it work. GREAT WEEK FOR ROOKIES One week after we critiqued some of the rookie performances, we got a lot of strong performances out of the Class of 2003. Yes, Byron Leftwich and Anquon Boldin had been impressive already, but this week we got a great game for the first time from both Willis McGahee in Tampa Bay and Justin Fargas in Oakland, and in both cases the 0-3 teams got their first wins of the year. Beyond the two running backs, other first-year players making some waves include L.J. Smith, the big TE out of Rutgers, who has 3 TDs already this season. Charles Rogers has been getting regular snaps in Michigan, but has yet to find the endzone or a Panther win. Kelley Washington started out hot, with 3 TDs in the first 2 weeks of the year, but has now slipped a bit, with only 1 catch in Week 3 and 2 in Week 4. Fred Jackson is seeing regular action in Jacksonville’s backfield, and Musa Smith is the solid backup to Eddie George in Ohio. Will we see more of these players as the season wears on? Almost certainly. On defense the early breakouts from this year’s rookie crops are no surprise. Osi Umenyiura recorded his first sack this week, but already has 2 forced fumbles and 10 tackles at right end. LA is overjoyed with the maturity of rookie SS Troy Polamalu, who already has 22 tackles, a sack, and a pick. Seattle is equally happy with their choice of Marcus Truffant, who has 22 tackles and a pick in his first 4 games. Seattle is looking at potentially having a Rookie of the Year candidate on both sides of the ball. If Truffant and Leftwich keep up the pace this year, that could very much be true. TAMPA REACHES OUT TO TEXAS ABOUT LEAF Kent Graham may have shown a lot this week, but that has not stopped Tampa Bay from looking for help with Trent Green out for the year. Sources in Texas are reporting that Tampa Bay has made inquiries into the possibility of trading for disgruntled Outlaw QB Ryan Leaf. Leaf, who has been very vocal about his displeasure with sitting behind Jeff Lewis, would almost certainly be open to relocation if it meant a starting job. Texas might be open to the move if Lewis looks solidly like a starter and moving Leaf provides the Outlaws with something they need in return. The only hangup we see is the role Trent Green would play after 2003. He is done for the year, but he still has another year on his contract. If Tampa Bay were to bring in Leaf, it would be as a starter, assuming Graham starts to suffer some growing pains. If that is the case then Tampa Bay has an issue this offseason, with 2 players who see themselves as the starter. It is not a new issue, particularly for Leaf, who has lost the faith of coaches in Oakland and now is on thin ice in Texas. Would a move to a 3rd team, one which already has invested quite a bit in a veteran QB, really be the answer he is seeking? And is Tampa Bay ready to deal with all of Leaf’s antics in hopes of getting a strong arm at QB? With a win from backup Kent Graham this week, the immediate pressure may be off, but this is a situation to monitor for sure. SALAAM FIELDING INQUIRIES BUT NO TAKER YET With his reinstatement this past week, there was a lot of anticipation that Rashaan Salaam would quickly sign with a club looking to boost their run game. So far that has not been the case as it appears that teams are doing their due diligence before making a strong offer for the former Gold halfback. Sources within Salaam’s camp are saying that they have met with no fewer than 4 clubs so far, but that no contract has been offered to date. We know that both Oakland and Michigan put out feelers, and we expect that Portland may be another club looking at the former Colorado halfback. Any one of those three would benefit from his skillset if they can be assured that his issues with drugs are behind him. We had thought Oakland to be the frontrunner, but with a 98-yard performance from Justin Fargas this week, the urgency may be a bit lower. Michigan still has major issues and at 0-4 they may be a prime candidate, particularly if Mike Martz is concerned that his job is on the line, which clearly seems to be the case. Portland is a bit of an odd choice since they have already traded for Reuben Droughns, drafted Onterrio Smith out of Oregon, and have Correll Buckhalter also in the rotation. Admitedly, Salaam, at his best, is clearly a step ahead of all three, but Portland has so much going on (both on and off the field) that it seems a particularly dangerous place for Salaam to end up. But, with Akili Smith currently their lead rusher, and the only Thunder back who is averaging more than 3.5 YPC, maybe it is not such a wild idea that they would sign the troubled Salaam. Injuries are starting to be a real factor across the league as we see more players who are impacted and who miss games due to a wide variety of issues. LA saw two significant injuries this week, including their starting QB Cade McNown, who took a huge hit and now could be out several weeks with cracked ribs. In addition to McNown’s rib injuries, the Express are likely to be without DE Van Tuinei for 1-3 weeks due to a hamstring injury. In Michigan, the 0-4 Panthers cannot afford any more bad news, but it does look like QB Drew Brees will miss at least 1 week after injuring his foot on a late game scramble. Portland’s Akili Smith sat out this week, and is about 50/50 to play in Week 5 as he continues to recover from the hyperextended knee he suffered in Week 3. In Boston, wideout Chris Calloway was placed on IR with a PCL tear that will require surgery. Arizona guard Chuck Johnson is expected to miss up to another 4-6 weeks with a fracture in his right arm, while Portland CB Will Allen, a key piece of their secondary, will be out at least 2 weeks after suffering a non-contact knee injury. Others who are likely to be out this week after bowing out in Week 4 include Orlando CB Ryan McNeill (hand), Tampa Bay TE Jeremy Shockey (back), and Jacksonville’s defensive captain, Mike Vrabel (knee). Thunder & Showboats Close in on Pivotal Decisions We have news on the futures of both Portland and Memphis franchises, and it does not look good for either city. Thunder owner Phil Ruffin has submitted a proposal to expand ownership to the league. As with the Atlanta/Boston proposal last year, this is a sealed document, reserved only for the league’s Finance Committee. The league has been seeking alternatives to expand ownership of the franchise ever since principal partner Bernard Ebbers was forced to divest himself of his majority share due to the freezing of his assets as part of the Worldcom fraud investigation. That investigation has turned up significant concerns, and Ebbers’s ownership has been dissolved, leaving the league temporarily supporting the franchise through the 2003 season. It is assumed that Ruffin, a Las Vegas casino owner and real estate developer, will be proposing an expanded ownership pool through the introduction of additional investors from the Las Vegas area, and that this may be coupled with a relocation from Portland to Las Vegas’s Sam Boyd Stadium. Sources in the league office have been quiet about the nature of the documents provided by Mr. Ruffin, but there are rumors that the expanded ownership could include figures such as Kirk Kerkorkian, a former musician and major investor in the MGM Entertainment group that owns several Las Vegas casinos, as well as Jeff Foster, a commercial real estate developer and head of Prologis Development, which has operated in the city since 1994. If these rumors are true, it would certainly point towards a potential relocation to Las Vegas as the preferred option of Mr. Ruffin and the potential ownership group. While any relocation of a franchise is a serious concern for the league, Las Vegas, which has legalized gambling, including sports gambling, poses unique challenges to a professional sports organization, which is one reason why league such as the NBA have avoided the city as a potential home to a franchise in the past. On the Showboats front, the city of Memphis has made efforts to move a bond issuance bill to a special ballot but, as is often the case, the bill has been mired in committee and may not come to fruition without significant compromise on the part of several important factions within city government. The cost of the proposed bond, and the renovations to Liberty Bowl Stadium that it proposes, are significant, and the risk of the Showboats opting for a lucrative deal in St. Louis are still very much on the table. For their part the city of St. Louis and the stadium authority that manages the Dome at America’s Center, has put together a proposal that would provide the Showboats with a more beneficial package than the former St. Louis Knights ever saw. The team would not be changing hands as ownership would remain, but could benefit from the advantages that the Dome provides. With local connections in Memphis, the ownership group of the Showboats has motivation to remain in the Mid-South, but unless the city can provide significant movement on the renovation initiative for the Liberty Bowl, the risk is still very real that the Showboats could leave behind one of the league’s most fervent fanbases. Finally, with the Spring Ownership Meeting scheduled two weeks from now, a proposal on the topic of expansion is anticipated to be a top item on the agenda. The competition and finance committees have developed reports which will be shared with the 24 representative ownership groups. With cities such as Atlanta and St. Louis actively engage in trying to return USFL football, concerns about additional relocation efforts creating uncomfortable instabilities across the league, and with local investors in cities such as Dallas, Miami, Charlotte, Kansas City and Sacramento seeking opportunities to make their case, it seems the USFL is facing a potential “expand or risk mass exodus” scenario in which owners may opt to cash in on lucrative franchise sales that lead to significant upheavals across the league. While many clubs are locked into long-term deals, often the result of new stadium construction in partnership with the NFL and local cities, there are several which could walk away from their current contracts should a better offer be available, and several potential ownership groups willing to pay the price to obtain a franchise in their city. With USFL clubs have tripled or more in value since the mid 1990’s it is a hot market, but a hot market, while lucrative for ownership open to a sale is a bad sign for local ownership and local fanbases who see their franchise as more than a commodity to be sold off and moved. Expansion is seen as an alternative, one which could allow for several of the aggressive ownership bidders to obtain their piece of the USFL pie, while also reducing the pressure on current franchises to consider lucrative bids to pull up stakes and head to a new location. If, for example, the league were to add franchises in Dallas, Miami, St. Louis and Atlanta, the risk of a current franchise like the Showboats relocating are greatly reduced. Of course, such an expansion has its risks. The USFL is no stranger to instability in ownership and franchise acquisition, having already dealt with shaky expansion bids or team buy-outs in San Diego (eventually Tulsa and then San Antonio), Atlanta, St. Louis, and now Portland, the league will have to do a better job of vetting ownership than we have seen in the past, and then the question of dilution of talent also becomes a major concern. With 32 NFL franchises already competing for talent with the current 24 USFL franchises, just how deep is the talent pool and can it support a 26 or 28 team USFL without a noticeable decline in on-field quality? There are those on both sides of this particular issue, making their cases that the talent pool is already diminished or that the talent pool exists and issues of player quality are a red herring used by owners to protect the exclusivity of their ownership from further expansion of the league. As owners prepare to meet in New York, what is known is that the market is there for expansion, the footprint of the USFL is already being impacted by the presence of lucrative relocation deals, and the audience for USFL football, both in-stadium and through media, has never been greater. Contracts with both ABC/ESPN and FOX are due to expire in 2005, so the time to leverage a potentially larger USFL is now. And with several clubs currently unhappy with their local stadium deals, the risk of delaying or defeating expansion efforts is that more current franchises will jump at the chance for a quick and very profitable buy out and more of the league’s strong fanbases will find themselves without a club to root for. There is risk in that as well, but primarily at the league level, not the individual ownership level, and that is a dangerous distinction for the league as a whole. OK, enough gloom and doom about the long term picture of the league and its stability. Back to the more immediate topic of the 2003 season already under way. What does Week 5 offer on the USFL schedule? How about 3-1 Houston facing 3-1 Denver at Mile High? Or 4-0 New Orleans traveling to a frustrated 1-3 Birmingham? We have LA, fresh off their first loss, hosting Seattle, after their first win. We have Portland at Oakland in divisional play, and Texas visiting Arizona, with both clubs hoping not to land at 1-4. We also have an interesting contrast of styles as Memphis hosts in-state rival Nashville, with both clubs perched at 2-2 and hoping to move up the division rankings. Those are the 6 divisional games in the West this week. In the East it is inter-divisional play, with the best game looking like New Jersey visiting Ohio (and certainly hoping to repeat Pittsburgh’s success.) Pittsburgh, now 3-1, is home again, this time against Baltimore. A desperate 0-4 Orlando club now gets a tough matchup as they host the 4-0 Washington Federals. In Jacksonville we have a battle of 3-1 clubs as Chicago comes to visit the Bulls. Michigan sits at 0-4 and now goes on the road to Boston, where the Cannons sit at 2-2 and look like a more coherent squad than in past years, at least early on. Finally, we have 1-3 Philadelphia visiting 1-3 Tampa Bay. You know both teams will battle for that 2nd win in this one.