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Other than the surprising Generals-Bulls game, the Divisional Playoffs went off as most predicted, with 3 of 4 top seeds winning and advancing, but the big new is that we saw two injuries that could have a huge impact on the Conference Title Games as Ohio lost USFL Offensive Player of the Year Eddie George and the Memphis Showboats lost one of the most reliable kickers in the league in Jeff Hall. We will break down the impact of these two injuries but first let’s take a look at this week’s playoff action. A schocker in Duval County as the Generals ran roughshod over the favored Jacksonville Bulls. It seems like everything Coach Parcells whipped up against Jacksonville worked to a charm, from a defense that bent but would not break to a gameplan for QB Tom Brady that led to a 74% completion rate and 4 passing touchdowns. It was a huge win for a club that is peaking at the right time, and a devastating loss for a club that felt that they had the formula. New Jersey started early, scoring on their first drive as Brady hit TE Anthony Becht for the opening score of the game, Jacksonville responded with a Kenny Bynum TD run and fans tuning in had to feel like we would be seeing a back and forth contest. What they got instead was New Jersey scoring on 8 different drives, including 3 Neil Rackers field goals, but more importantly, touchdowns from Terry Glenn (2), Donald Hayes, and Olandis Gary as the Generals punted only 4 times in the game. Jacksonville’s Jake Delhomme was harassed all game by the Generals’ front 7, suffering 5 sacks, including 2 from…nope, not Phil Hansen, but LB Bobby Houston. Delhomme was hit another 6 times, with one glancing blow causing a throw to go off target and into the hands of the Generals’ top rookie, LB James Harrison. By the half it was 27-16 New Jersey and the Bulls would not score again, with New Jersey adding 17 more points to finish the game in convincing manner. We even got to see some of backup QB Todd Boumann, who saw some 4th quarter action long after most of the Bulls faithful had left for home. The Portland Thunder came into this game on a high after a surprising thrashing of Nashville back in Portland last week. The Houston Gamblers were ready for them, with one of the best defenses in the league looking to shut down Rick Mirer and punch a ticket to the team’s first Conference title game since the retirement of Jim Kelly. The game began with a big play, as the Thunder got a huge 44-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage, with Mirer using play action to freeze the safeties and finding Matthew Hatchett over the top. That was followed by another big play as Napoleon Kaufmann went around the left side for 21 yards and a score to stun the Houston crowd. The Gamblers came right back on their first drive, a bit more methodical over 7 plays, but also ending with a big play as Hasselbeck found Antonio Freeman (who was on the 1996 title team) for a 31-yard strike to even the score. The score would be even at 14 at the half as well, with Mirer hitting on another huge play to Hatchette for a score, while Hasselbeck again found Antonio Freeman as time ran down in the half to even things up. But, after some halftime adjustments that included a move away from man coverage for the Houston secondary and a use of a 2-deep zone instead, the Gamblers held Portland inside their half of the field for the entire third quarter. The Gamblers fared a bit better on offense, getting into Portland territory twice, but leaving with only 2 Chris Boniol field goals to show for it. Down only 6 after 3 quarters, Portland had to feel pretty good about their situation, but it would not last as the 4th quarter began. Rick Mirer, trying to find Hatchette again, threw into double coverage and paid for it as Houston’s Chris Carter instead. The pick led quickly to Houston expanding their lead to 13 thanks to a TD from TE David LaFleur, Hasselbeck’s third TD toss of the game. Portland was frustrated by the zone coverages Houston was using, and with Napoleon Kaufmann unable to sustain a running game (outside of his 21 yard scamper to open the game he had only another 12 yards all day), the Thunder were simply unable to make up the difference. They got a Carlos Huerta field goal to cut the difference to 10, but never again reached scoring range. Houston moves on to the Conference title game, but would have to wait until Sunday to see if it would be held in their new convertible dome or if they would be traveling to a very hostile Liberty Bowl. Houston would get their answer, but it would take the full 4 quarters and an amazing comeback for them to learn that they would, indeed, be heading to Memphis for the conference finals. In a game they trailed by 24 points at the half, Memphis came back with 28 unanswered points in the 2nd half to shock the Breakers and claim their spot in next week’s conference finals. If ever the cliché of a game of two halves were real, it was in this game. New Orleans seemingly could do nothing wrong in the first half, but fell apart entirely after the halftime break. Memphis, who struggled to string together any type of offense in the first half went on to score on 4 consecutive drives, make up the huge deficit and win the game in the second. All this despite giving up 248 yards rushing to the Breakers. Now, admittedly, one of the reasons the rushing total was so high was because Ricky Williams broke off two huge runs in the first half, a 44-yard TD and a 55-yarder only 1 drive later. These two plays accounted for 95 of his total 157 yards rushing. On the opposite sideline, 260 of Heath Shuler’s 330 yards passing were in the second half, including all 4 touchdown passes. Down by 21 points at the half, Shuler came out firing in the second half as Memphis all but abandoned any attempt to hand the ball to Garrison Hearst. He first hit TE Johnny Mitchell on a short 4-yard TD play, but then, after a quick 3-and-out on defense found Mitchell again, this time a huge 74-yard scoring play that clearly impacted the Breakers, now up only 7. New Orleans seemed lost, and again were forced to punt after only 5 plays. Shuler went right back to the air, connecting with 4 different receivers on a drive that got Memphis within 3 on a Cedric Wilson TD reception. 3:41 left to play and Memphis had recovered 21 of the 24 points they needed to get even with the Breakers. The Showboats, confident now in momentum and their defense, opted not to go onside, and that paid off as once again New Orleans failed on 3rd down and punted on a 3-and-out after only using up 41 seconds. The Showboats would not go for the tie, they would go big and they would once again find the New Orleans defense wanting. Shuler connected with Joe Horn first, then Tydus Wynans, and then the game winner, a beautiful seam route, very similar to the one that Breaker TE Johnny Mitchell had scored on early in the game, but this time it was Memphis’s All-USFL TE Adrian Cooper, and Cooper went the distance, putting the Showboats up for good with 1:28 left to play. New Orleans could not recover and Lin Elliott never got a chance to equalize the score. Memphis had pulled off a monumental comeback and would host the title game in one week’s time. The only downside for the Breakers is that on the kickoff after their 3rd of 4 second half touchdowns, kicker Jeff Hall came up gimpy, apparently suffering a hamstring injury. Punter Brad Costello would actually kick the fina point of the game on the 4th touchdown. With Hall unsure of his status for next week, expect the Showboats to sign someone off the street (ok, the waiver wire) to fill in if needed. This was the game everyone was waiting for this weekend, and it did not disappoint. Chicago and the unbeaten Ohio Glory fought it out like two heavyweights in a title match, and despite losing one of their best players to injury, the Glory found a way to come out on top once again, with an unlikely hero putting them on top. The game was a battle of strengths all day, Chicago’s punishing defense against Ohio’s explosive offense. After an opening drive by Ohio that gained a couple of first downs but was eventually snuffed out before it could get in range for a field goal, Chicago took over and they had a solid first drive ending in a Curtis Conway TD catch. The Machine were up early and when Ohio could only muster a field goal and Conway scored a second time, the 10,000 or so Chicago fans who made the trek to Columbus were getting boisterous. But Ohio was just beginning to find their game. On their next drive, the combination of George runs and Collins connecting with 3 different receivers led to a play we have seen so many times this year, Galloway on an out and up and Collins connecting with him for 6. What was a 14-3 lead for Chicago was now down to 14-10. Chicago would keep going back to what was working, with Jeff George finding Curtis Conway once again, this time on a 66-yard bomb, and it was Chicago back up by 11. Ohio did not panic and mounted an 11-play drive that ended with Eddie George finding room on the right side of the line and scoring from 11 yards out. 21-17 Chicago at the half, but plenty left to be decided. The second half flipped the script, with Chicago going out in 3 plays on their opening drive, and Ohio scoring on theirs, again Eddie George, this time from 16-yards away. But, up 24-21, Ohio would have a huge scare on their next drive as on a simple counter run on 1st and 10, George would go down with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. He was unable to put weight on his leg, as it appears he suffered a significant injury. He was helped to the sideline, where he was visibly upset, and eventually carted to the locker room. Ohio would have to hold off Chicago without one of their primary weapons. Chicago took advantage of the dour mood on the Ohio bench, mounting a long drive that ended when Duce Staley plunged in from the 1 yard line to put the Machine back on top again. With 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter the Glory were up against the wall in a way they simply hadn’t seen for most of this charmed season. They would go 3-and-out on their next drive, and gain only 21 yards on the drive after that. But, to their credit, the Ohio defense stood strong, and helped keep Ohio in the game by shutting down Chicago on three consecutive occasions. injuryWith just over 7 minutes left to play, Ohio would dig deep and start a drive that would eventually win them the game and a chance to host the Eastern Finals next week. It began with Collins finding Chad Johnson for 7 yards, then a first down on a Lamont Warren run. Collins again, this time to Stephen Alexander, then a penalty against Ohio for offsides added more yards on. Within 7 plays the Glory were at the Chicago 24-yard line, but down 4 a field goal was not a thought. They handed the ball to little-used HB3 Michael Wiley, and the young back stunned everyone by finding a hole and racing all the way to the endzone. He was practically untouched on the winning score, and although there was some drama as Don Silvestri missed the PAT, meaning the lead was only 2, not 3, the Glory would not allow Chicago to get into field goal range and the game would end on a Jeff George Hail Mary that fell to the ground out of reach of his receivers. Ohio had survived their biggest scare of the season, had found a way to win without one of their best players, and were now 2 games away from a historic perfect season. They will have to do it without Eddie George unfortunately as an MRI revealed that George had, in fact, suffered ligament damage in his knee. While it appears that surgery will not be needed, the recovery time will simply not allow George to return for the Conference Title Game or for any potential Summer Bowl appearance. That will be a huge factor in how Ohio moves ahead, but the result of this game is that they are moving ahead. LOOKING AHEAD TO 2003 Last week we looked at the biggest offseason needs for all 12 non-playoff teams. And while it is a little odd to do the same for clubs that are still in the frenzy of the postseason, we already know which players are very likely to be free agents, and what positoins are considered weak spots for each team. So, without a good sense of any potential retirement losses from most playoff clubs, we will still venture to guess where these teams may look to improve in free agency, the NFL transfer window, and the draft. We will go in order of their regular seaosn record, regardless of their playoff position for this review. PORTLAND THUNDER (7-7): Portland made great strides after an 0-5 start just to get to .500, but they still have some major issues. The run game needs more than Napoleon Kaufmann and Correll Buckhalter can give it. They are also lacking in pass rush after trading away Clyde Simmons, and they just need to build up talent across the defense as a whole. We expect HB, DT, and DE to be top areas of interest for the Thunder. Problem is their protected schools (Oregon, Oregon State and Boise State) are not going to help them there. Expect them to go after a free agent halfback, or to make a trade to try to get more in the backfield. As for D-line, the Open Draft may be their best bet. Not a lot of top level edge rushers end up in the free agent pool. ORLANDO RENEGADES (7-7): The Renegades believe they have their QB of the future, but they still need a backup behind him. Gus Frerotte is gone (not too many Orlando fans are upset about this), so expect Orlando to go after a veteran to sit behind Joey Harrington and provide guidance and security. The bigger issue for Orlando is the retirement of Chris Doleman. His impact for the defense will be hard to replace. Orlando normally has a strong protected rookie pool with Florida, UCF, and South Carolina as their protected schools, but we don’t see an impact edge rusher in the mix from those three schools this year. So, once again we look at the open draft, unless Orlando uses some draft capital or trades some talent to get a shot at other protected edge rushers like Terrell Suggs of Arizona State (Wranglers) or Ty Warren of Texas A&M (Houston). WASHINGTON FEDERALS (7-7): Washington cannot hope to replace Jerome Brown, but they have to do something to build a solid interior line. Birmingham’s Joe Salave’a would be a great start, or they could look to the draft and go after a player like Kentucky’s Dewayne Robertson, an unprotected player. Beyond DT the Federals need to find a 2nd receiver to place opposite Deion Branch. They opted not to retain J.J. Stokes, despite a pretty solid year that saw him lead the team with 63 receptions and 844 yards, but only 1 TD. Expect Washington to be a major player in the bidding for Memphis wideout Joe Horn if Memphis cannot sign him immediately. He becomes a free agent as soon as their season ends, which could be as soon as next Sunday. NASHVILLE KNIGHTS (8-6): The Knights have made a living off of their defense, but this year that defense was not as strong as in past years. Yes, it was Top 10 in most categories we measure, but they also had some games where teams found big holes and easy scores. The key for Nashville will be to build up a more athletic, more dangerous front 3. That means, and we know we seem to say this for each team, that they need to look at DT and DE as key positions. Nashville got some concessions in reworking the territorial draft after their move, but losing Kansas State and gaining Vanderbilt is not what they wanted. They wanted the rights to Tennessee Volunteer players but the league opted to keep Memphis’s priority with UT players. That hurts Nashville at a time when they need to find talent and youth. ARIZONA WRANGLERS (8-6): Arizona has needs at guard, as always at HB (especially with Dorsey Levins leaving in free agency) and they need a backup to Plummer, because he will not stay healthy forever with his penchant for running the ball. All that said, they would be nuts not to try to sign Terrell Suggs, one of the best looking edge rushers in a decade and a protected player out of ASU. If they can land Suggs, they can adjust their defense around him, and then in free agency try to build up some of the other areas of need. CHICAGO MACHINE (8-6): Chicago took a big step this year, but tehre are still so many questions, particularly about the offense. Curtis Conway needs someone to take away some of the double coverage. Duce Staley may not be a permanent answer, and at the very least needs a backup to take some carries away from his load, and the club needs more talent at Tight End as well. The good news is that a very good looking receiver is in their protected pool, Brandon Lloyd of Illinois. They also have some good offensive line talent in that pool, so in free agency they can try to land a solid running back, perhaps Levins, or even Errict Rhett, who has refused to resign with Tampa Bay after ownership tried to lowball their bid for him. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (8-6): There is a lot to like about this Breaker squad, but they have major needs on the O-line, particularly at guard, and there is a very good chance that Bobby Hoying will retire after an injury sidelined him for a good part of the year. Add to that the expected retirement of Raynard Brown and the issues are pretty clear. New Orleans might be happy with their younger receivers, Josh reed and Kevin Dyson look like they are ready to step up, but if not, the Breakers could go after a free agent like Stokes, Mike Pritchard, or Muhsin Muhammad just to bring in some experience to the group. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (8-6): We love the direction Coach Parcells has the Generals going. Their defense is more diversified, their offense more consistent. Tom Brady is developing nicely into a leader and the team has good depth at several position. If they have one clear need, it is for a shut down corner. They could also use a good outside linebacker to bring on blitzes, but corner is a more immediate need. Do they go for a veteran like Tyrone Hughes or Deon Figures, or do they look to the draft? If they look for youth, they don’t have to look far. One of the best looking corners coming out this year is Oklahoma’s Andre Woolfolk, and with Oklahoma being New Jersey’s one out-of-region T-Draft school, they would be wise to go after him. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (8-5-1): The defense is solid, we know this, but that does not mean they don’t have needs. Free safety and linebacker are two positions of potential concern, depending on any 11th hour resignings, but Houston might actually be in a good position to trade picks for players or to package picks to go after 1-2 difference makers. If someon out there is desperate for a retooling, Houston would be a good trading partner. JACKSONVILLE BULLS (9-5): The Bulls were certainly pleased with the progress this year, they don’t have a lot of potential high impact free agents, and while Jake Delhomme has to rein in his tendency to throw picks, they feel pretty comfortable with him at QB. So, where are the holes? TE is one place they could look, with rookie Jeb Putzier having a decent, but not explosive skill set, they might try to add a 2nd receiving tight end. They also could look at wideout again. Rookie Javon Walker was a nice addition, but the slot is still a position of need. Dez White has just not developed the way they would hope. They are solid at DT With veterans Sam Adams and Renaldo Wynn, but they need to find ways to free Jevon Kearse up to fully use his speed and power, so perhaps a 2nd DE. All in all, however, the talent level is good, but is it good enough to take the next big step? MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (11-3): The Showboats were all about offense this year, finishing 2nd behind Ohio in scoring, 2nd in passing and 3rd in scoring. But here is the issue: both HB Garrison Hearst and FB Larry Centers are free agents either next week or the week after, and it seems that Showboat management has not felt much pressure to sign either. Rumors have been going around that Centers is planning to retire, but if they lose him and Hearst, then they need a major rebuild. And, as if that is not bad enough, it seems they have reached an impasse in negociations with WR Joe Horn. Horn would likely be one of the top 2-3 players in free agency if he refused to sign a deal in the next couple of weeks. If Memphis loses him, and Hearst, and Centers, then that is a full on rebuild for an offense that has carried the Showboats pretty damn far this year. OHIO GLORY (14-0): Yo would not expect there to be many needs for a team that just finished a 14-0 regular season, and you wuld be right. The defense is much improved over 2001, and the offense is just scary. We will see just how deep their HB stable is with George now out. That might be a focus for them, particularly if they struggle to run the ball without their main back. They also would love to add some depth to the LB corps and perhaps a pass rusher. Looking at their protected schools (Ohio State, Wisconsin and Cincinnati), there is a lot of talent they could sign just from the territorial draft. How about safety Mike Doss, LB Antwan peek, LB Cie Grant, or even a backup QB who looks a lot like Kerry Collins in Badger Brooks Bollinger. With a very late pick in the open draft, do not be surprised if Ohio is part of the trading that goes on pre-draft, packaging late picks to get one good earlier pick. We all know what the big injury of the week is, Eddie George ruled out of the remaining playoff games with MCL and PCL damage in his right knee. We also know that Memphis is on the market for a kicker after losing Jeff Hall for the forseeable future. As we look ahead to the Conference Title Games, these two injuries are the most concerning, but there are a few others we should mention as they could impact the games. In the Houston-Memphis showdown, Houston will be without WR Koren Robinson as he is still dealing with a PCL injury of his own. TE Dan Campbell could also be out after taking a shot to the eye this week. You do not want a one-eyed receiver in this game, to be sure. Finally, LB Pat Swilling is listed as questionable with a foot injury. For Memphis, in addition to the injury to kicker Jeff Hall, the other potentially problematic absence will be that of DT Barrett Tanner, who is listed as questionable due to a recurring hip concern. Questionable is 50/50, but if he is even close to 50% he likely will try to play. For the New Jersey-Ohio game, we know that Eddie George is out for Ohio, but so too is LB Brandon Ayanbedejo (arm) and possibly DE Vonnie Holiday, who suffered a concussion this week and is still under observation. On the New Jersey bench there are no new injuries, so the Generals enter this game with a full roster available to them. CALLING IT A CAREER Four more teams (our Wild Card losing squads) have wrapped up their season and with that a few more announcements of planned retirements. In addition to that we got a few later announcements from non-playoff teams as well, meaning more needs for more teams as we prepare for an active offseason. Here are the latest players to announce their intention to file for retirment from pro football. Denver loses another key contributor on defense as CB Bruce Pickens, long their #1 corner, announced his departure this week. LA strong safety Carnell Lake also announced this week that he is ending his stellar career. Former Houston starter and Philadelphia backup, Chuck Hartlieb, will step away to get into announcing. Seattle linebacker Eddie Robinson steps away from the game after an 11-season career. But the biggest hits are being taken by Washington, who, in addition to All-USFL DT Jerome Brown are also going to lose a quality DB in safety Louis Oliver, and a solid receiver in wideout Lawyer Tillman. COACHING CAROUSEL STARTS SPINNING With the offseason we also have coaching searches to follow. With four positions currently open, there is plenty of competition as teams look to find the right man for the job. Let’s take a spin around the 4 clubs in the hunt and see what is happening. PORTLAND: While no official interviews could begin as long as the Thunder were alive in the playoffs, we did get news that the team has reversed the terms of the contract that interim HC Joe Vitt signed when he took over after 5 games this year. The change allows Vitt to be a candidate, which seems a shrewd move for the Thunder since Vitt did nothing less than go 7-2 and win a playoff game in his interim role. It would be foolish to not at least provide him with a chance to interview for the permanent position, a position he very likely should be the frontrunner for. SEATTLE: After the departure of Joe Tiller, the Dragons are hoping to bring in a coach with a pro pedigree. That may mean a USFL retread, like a Jim Fassel, Skip Holtz, or Jerry Glanville, but it also could point to a position coach or coordinator who is ready to step up. With a team that has talent but needs discipline and direction, we think the best option would be to bring in an experienced head coach, either from the USFL or the NFL, and it seems that there are plans to do just that, with interviews scheduled this week with Fassel and with NFL veteran Norv Turner. Expect one of the hottest coordinators in the league, New Jersey OC and former General FB Maurice Carthon to also get a shot to interview. BIRMINGHAM: An interesting choice awaits the Stallions. Do they also go after a pro pedigree, perhaps signing a top coordinator away from another USFL team, or do they go for someone with regional appeal? Fans want the Stallions to try to bring Ron Erhardt out of retirement, but that seems an unlikely outcome of the search this year. Far more likely is that the Stallions go after a head coach with Alabama connections like former Auburn HC Terry Bowden, former Alabama HC Mike Dubose, or even former Falcons and Bandits head coach Jerry Glanville. OAKLAND: The Invaders are another team that could go in a lot of directions. They have a potential QB search on the way, issues across the roster, and a history of going for retread coaches. The Invaders have already met with Skip Holtz, and are rumored to be scheduling visits by former NFL head coach Dennis Green as well as former Houston and Texas Head Man Jack Pardee. After the issues that the team has had in hiring senior coaches like Dan Reeves, Jim Mora, and to a degree even Dom Capers, we would love to see Oakland bring in a hot young coordinator, but that just does not seem to be what they want to do. Two games to determine who will appear in Pittsburgh at Summer Bowl 2003. We know that the networks and the bookies would love nothing more than to see Ohio go up against Memphis for the title and a possible perfect season, but this is football and we determine champions on the field. Looking at these two games, just how could Houston or New Jersey spoil the party and shock the pundits? We focus on that as we prepare for the USFL Conference Title Games. #3 NEW JERSEY GENERALS (8-6) @ #1 OHIO GLORY (14-0) Sunday @ 2pm ET Ohio Stadium, Columbus The Generals have a lot to prepare for against the Glory, but we know that one big element of the Ohio attack will be missing with Eddie George’s injury. That means that New Jersey is likely to put all their efforts into pass defense, expecting Ohio to rely on the arm of Kerry Collins. That means scheming to free up Phil Collins as the main man who can scuttle Ohio’s plans. Of course, Ohio will be prepared for this as well, so expect to see both FB Damien Shelton and TE Derek Brown in the lineup specifically to offset the schemes New Jersey uses to free up Hansen. Pass protection and Pass rush will be the chess match that may well determine the whole game. Ohio is just not likely to try to run their standard offense with Lamont Warren replacing George, so expect more 3-4 wideout sets, more deep shots, maybe even the occasional flea flicker to try to loosen up what is likely to be a series of nickel and dime defenses for New Jersey. On offense, New Jersey will try to maintain balance, using Curtis Enis to create good matchups in the playo action game for Tom Brady. Just as Ohio likes to hit Galloway deep, New Jersey will try to do the same with Terry Glenn. Ohio is sure to focus on Glenn, which means that Brady will have to look for other options like TE Anthony Becht, flanker Donald Hayes, or slot receiver Kevin Johnson. Unlike Ohio, who has Chad Johnson as a near equal to Galloway as a threat, New Jersey’s depth is just not as strong, so a lot will depend on Curtis Enis. If he forces Ohio to stick to a base defense to protect against the run, then that makes life a lot easier for Brady and Glenn. OUR PICK: We are not going against Ohio, even without George in the backfield. It will be close, we expect that, but we see Ohio moving on. Glory 21 Generals 19. #2 HOUSTON GAMBLERS (8-5-1) @ #1 MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (11-3) Sunday @ 6pm ET Liberty Bowl Stadium Memphis does not have the aura of Ohio (losing 3 games in the season’s final weeks will do that), so the folks in Vegas have wavered quite a bit on their line. Right now it is Memhphis by 3, but that is just a courtesy of having home field. Houston comes into this game with the league’s best scoring defense, allowing only 16 points a game. They do it mostly by locking down the passing game and putting pressure on the QB. Heath Shuler is a savvy vet with a lot of weapons at his disposal, but even he could feel the heat if Pittman and Sinclair are not dealt with. The two combined for 28 sacks this year, and the pressure they create with only a 4-man front means that Houston can keep 7 players in coverage. That makes it tough to pass. Memphis has a decent, but not deadly rushing game, so it may well come down to keeping Shuler mobile, rolling him out, and creating some short routes that get the ball out of his hands. The key here will be how Houston covers Adran Cooper, one of the toughest tight ends in the game to cover. On offense, Houston needs to make good use of Mike Anderson’s inside game and find ways to get the ball into Kevin Faulk’s hands in space. Faulk should not be running counters and inside runs, but should be a big part of the passing game if Houston wants to break down Memphis’s defense. Memphis has issues against the run (ranked 23rd, but they too have a solid pass defense, so Houston would be wise to try to get the run game going early and free up Matt Hasselbeck on play action. OUR PICK: They say defense wins championships, so we should lean towards Houston, but Houston has had issues scoring, and even with a good defense, we don’t think Memphis will be held under 20 points, so we are going to go with the more veteran, more tested, and more experienced team. Memphis 24, Houston 18.

Wildcard weekend, and in a season that saw more parity than disparity among teams, this is a weekend that can spark a team to a deep playoff run. Eight teams still have hope this season for a title, though most of the world fully expects it all to come down to whether or not anyone can match the unbeaten Ohio Glory. Can one of these teams be the one to knock off the team that many are calling the best in league history? We won’t know this week, but we have found out which four teams are still alive to take their shot. The first of the four Wild Card games was indisputably the best game of the weekend. Orlando and New Jersey battled all game, the lead changing 4 times as Orlando could not put away the Northeast Division Champ despite building a leads on 3 separate occasions. Orlando would cough the ball up 5 times in this game, and that alone should have doomed them, and yet they were in it until the final seconds as New Jersey came back from an 11-point deficit in the final minutes to take the win. Joey Harrington began well, but was clearly overwhelmed as the pressure mounted late in the game, throwing 5 picks on the day, 4 in the second half. Tom brady, for his part, played a relatively clean game, throwing 3 touchdowns and only picked once on a deflected ball. New Jersey got the ball to Terry Glenn 9 times for 123 yards, but also found good targets in Donald Hayes and Anthony Becht. Orlando relied a bit more on the run game, but Donald Driver and Keenan McCardell both finished with more than 85 yards receiving. The game was tied twice in the second quarter, first at 10, after R. J. Redmond scored for Orlando and Terry Glenn snagged a 29-yard TD pass from Brady, but there would be much more action in the half. Harrington hit John Henry Mills for a 2 yard TD pass to put Orlando up 7, but New Jersey would answer with Brady hitting Donald Hayes just before the 2-minute warning. With a classic final drive, Harrington would lead Orlando down the field, capping off the half with a TD toss to Driver. Orlando led at the break 24-17. There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter as both Brady and Harrington threw picks that ended potential scoring drives, but early in the 4th New Jersey would add a field goal to pull within 4. Orlando responded immediately with a 104-yard kick return from Jabar Gaffney. It would be the last score of the day as on both of Orlando’s next and last 2 drives, Harrington would get picked, once by LB Bobby Houston and again by defensive player of the game Otis Smith (2 picks on the day). Down 31-20 after the kick return, New Jersey responded and with 3:59 left, Olandis Gary pulled them within 3 with a 2-yard run followed by a 2-point conversion. New Jersey would line up for a deep kick with just inside of 4 minutes left in the game and Orlando failed to put their hands team on the field. When Neil Rackers clipped the ball towards the far sideline, Orlando was caught flat-footed. New Jersey recovered the ball and Coach Parcells proved again that he is a brilliant strategist. Now, down only 3 and with all 3 timeouts left, the Generals took their time, moving the ball with short passes, screens, and runs by Enis and Gary. It was Curtis Enis who would put New Jersey on top for good, snagging a swing pass from Brady for a score that gave the Generals the 35-31 final score and help them move on to a date with Jacksonville next week. The second game on Saturday was all New Orleans early, and while Arizona fought back, the Breakers never relinquished their early lead, moving from 7-0 up to 24-6 at the half, 31-13 after 3 and finally 31-23 as the final whistle blew. Trent Dilfer was the offensive POTG, completing 19 of 25 and tossing 4 touchdowns against the Wrangler defense. The defensive POTG was DE Chidi Ahonotu, but really it should have been the entire front 7 of New Orleans, a front seven that simply would not let Jake Plummer beat them with his feet. He scrambled or ran 12 times, but gained only 30 yards on the day. That was still more than the entire HB group for the Wranglers, and profoundly less than the two main backs for the Breakers. Ricky Williams finished the game with 63 yards while Troy Davis rushed 8 times for 72 yards, including a brilliant spinning, juking 40-yard run. New Orleans got 14 in the first quarter to put space between themselves and the Wranglers, with Dilfer connecting once with Josh Reed and then with Kevin Dyson. It had been thought that the Breakers would suffer without Raynard Brown, their leading receiver, available for the game, but Reed, Dyson, and TE Steve Johnson were more than up to the task, catching a combined 16 balls for 203 yards. Reed would catch a 2nd TD in the 2nd quarter, boosting the Breaker lead to 21 and putting the fans in the Dome into a frenzy. From there it was a matter of keeping up the pressure on Plummer and the Wranglers. Arizona would eventually get the score closer, but they were never a true threat to New Orleans. The Breakers used the run game to build up a 34:30-25:30 time of possession advantage and just did not provide Plummer with enough opportunities to pull off a miracle comeback. With the win, the Breakers advance to play their new division rival, Memphis in the Divisional Round. Sunday’s opener was closer than the score indicated, at least through 3 quarters. Washington actually led at the half 12-10, thanks to a safety in the final minute of the half when Chicago HB Duce Staley misplayed a handoff and had to fall on the ball within his own endzone to avoid a defensive TD. Chicago would rebound in the second half, thanks to some good adjustments that created better running lanes for Staley, and the back recovered as well, gaining 81 of his 109 yards on the day in the second half. Washington would be held scoreless in the second half, thanks largely to a defense that simply did not give up the big play and dared Kordell Stewart to consistently convert third downs. Washington would convert only 2 of 12 and that helped Chicago slowly build up the score, first with a Curtis Conway TD, then two field goals, and finally with George hitting TE Jim Kliensasser from 23 yards out to build up the 18 point final margin. For Washington, a big disappointment as they were viewed as a potential contender despite being a Wild Card, while for Chicago the combination of smothering defense and capable offense both on the ground and in the air bodes well as they prepare to face a huge task next week, a 3rd game against the 14-0 Ohio Glory in what looks to be a very hostile Ohio Stadium. The final game of the week produced the week’s only upset as Pacific Division Champ was a 3.5 point underdog at home to the Nashville Knights. Apparently the Thunder took offense at the estimations of the Las Vegas book, and they took that frustration out on the Knights. Midway through the 2nd quarter Nashville took a 14-7 lead, but a switch was turned on within the Thunder and they simply shut the door on Nashville the rest of the way. Portland defenders picked Todd Collins off twice and sacked him 4 times in the 2nd half, while the Rick Mirer-led offense looked dynamic and dangerous against a pretty solid Knight defense. Mirer would finish the game with 267 yards and 4 touchdowns, including 2 to Matthew Hatchette, as the Thunder pulled away and won handily over the favored Knights. It will not get easier for Portland next week as they lose their home field advantage and travel to Houston to face the Gamblers in the Divisional Round. Once again they will be an underdog in that game, but they won’t have their home fans to support them in Space City. Since the biggest stories this week are in our game recaps or leaguewide issues in our Around the USFL second, we are going to dedicate our News & Notes to stories about player movement as we enter the offseason for 12 clubs. This week we look at the 12 non-playoff teams and their positions of greatest need. We will do so in the order of the draft 1-12. 1. BOSTON (Atlanta) 3-11 The former Atlanta Fire had a ton of needs even before free agency. Offensive weapons, particularly at wideout and tight end, line help, defensive line depth, you name it. But, with a few key retirements and several free agents that list gets just a bit longer. We still think WR is the top need as a starting trio of Terrance Mathis, Joe Jurevicious, and Chris Calloway is not going to do it. Wayne Chrebet is gone in free agency, as is Sanjay Beach, not that they did enough this year to merit a new deal. Expect Boston to look for wideout early in the draft. Their territorial schools of BC, Georgia (a holdover from Atlanta) and UMass are not going to get it done, but they could either trade for a top receiver, using their #1 pick as bait to entice Michigan or Tampa Bay to give up the rights to either MSU’s Charles Rogers or Miami’s Andre Johnson. 2. PHILADELPHIA 3-11 You know what we are going to say, right? It’s QB. Clearly that is the top priority. Philly resigned Will Furrer but no one expects him to be the starter in 2003, so they have to either sign a free agent (USFL or NFL) or take a shot at a huge prospect like USC’s Carson Palmer. Trading with the LA Express for that top territorial pick would get them Palmer, if he will sign, but they could also take their chances that teams like LA (Palmer), Washington (Marshall’s Byron Leftwich) or Oakland (Cal’s Kyle Boller) are not in the market for a QB, allowing Philly to use their #2 Open Draft pick to snag one of these potential top picks. 3. SEATTLE (4-10) Seattle has not, as of yet, had any significant retirements, and the free agents who are leaving are all in backup positions, so the Dragons are in a good position to focus on upgrades rather than patching holes. So what positions have the most need for an upgrade? While some fans might point at QB, Brian Griese has been effective when healthy, so we don’t see this as a position of immediate need. The two areas where there is a clear need to get better performance is at cornerback and at right defensive end. John Abraham has been solid on the left side, but he needs help, so if Seattle can either draft or sign a quality edge rusher to take some pressure off Abraham, that would be a good start. Then perhaps a quality nickel corner or even 2nd corner behind Al Harris would also be a strong option. 4. LOS ANGELES 5-9 Would LA go after Palmer? Honestly, no. Cade McNown is not their issue. They need defensive help. They were not great this year, and they are going to lose DT Cletidus Hunt in free agency after already losing Chester McGlockton to retirement in the days after the season finale. So who could they get to plug the middle? The best USFL free agent at that spot is Birmingham’s Joe Salave’a, or maybe Nashville’s Anthony Edwards. In the draft, the pool is not deep, but Kentucky’s Dewayne Robertson is at an unclaimed school, so Robertson should be a target with pick 3 in the Open Draft. Kevin Williams of OK State is another open player to examine if you are LA. 5. MICHIGAN 5-9 The Panthers like their young receivers, Hines Ward and Laverneus Coles, but losing Muhsin Muhammad to free agency (unless they can resign him, which they could not do all season), they have a need at the position. The good news for Michigan is that one of the best receivers in the draft is protected, Michigan State’s Charles Rogers. Seems a no-brainer. 6. PITTSBURGH 6-8 In a fluke of contract scheduling, Pittsburgh loses almost no one from their roster to free agency this year. That said, they don’t exactly have a murderer’s row of talent to potentially lose in the first place. Fans are not satisfied with Charlie Batch at QB, but a bigger issue seems to be the O-line, which is forcing Batch to run for his life far too often. What’s the solution? Either a true Left Tackle (unless coaches see something in Ross Verba we don’t see) or a right guard. Guards are plentiful in free agency, so they could snag one there, perhaps Oakland’s Frank Middleton, or they could go for tackle Blake Brockmeier from LA, who was a cap casualty for the Express. Then in the draft go for the position that remains unfilled. 7. TAMPA BAY 6-8 If the Bandits resign Errict Rhett and Trent Green, both of whom are top priorities, then they can turn their attention to either O-line or defense. If one of them escapes to the NFL or another USFL club, then we all expect Tampa to go into full panic mode to find a replacement. Let’s assume they sign both, which leaves them tight with the cap, so now their plan for the defense has to be the draft. Thankfully, with the U. of Miami as a protected school they can strive to sign either DE Jerome McDougle or DT William Joseph, or both. 8. OAKLAND 6-8 The Invaders could use a T-draft pick on Cal’s Kyle Boller, because we don’t see Marques Tuiasosopo being a long term answer, but if they don’t then the obvious area of need is HB. The receiving corps is solid with Burress, Booker, and now young Donte Stallworth. But Rodney Thomas had moments but not enough to ensure he keeps the starting HB job. Could Oakland make a play for Errict Rhett, or do they look to the draft and talented backs like Miami’s Willis McGahee (a possible Tampa protected player) or Larry Johnson of Penn State (a possible Philly T-Draft pick)? 9. BALTIMORE 6-8 To Jeff Garcia or not to Jeff Garcia, that is the question. We think Coach Infante will stick with Garcia but may bring in a 2nd or 3rd round talent like Dave Ragone of Louisville or Chris Simms of Texas. Infante has bigger issues at hand. The retirement of Michael Dean Perry leaves a gap at NT, and having other defenders like LB Duane Bickett and FS Leo Evans means the Blitz need to emphasize their 22nd ranked defense as a priority. 10. DENVER 6-8 After 2 straight Summer Bowl appearances the Gold did not expect to be here. Most fingers point to the suspension of Rashaan Salaam, but the combo of Rod Smart and Robert Holcombe combined for nearly 1,500 yards rushing, so we don’t see that as the issue. We think the bigger issue, the obvious one is the retirement of Leslie O’Neill. O’Neill has averaged 14 sacks a year over the past 3 seasons. You don’t just replace that, but you have to address it. Denver could go after free agent edge rushers like Nashville’s Anthony Edwards or Orlando’s Israel Ifeanyi, but there is no one of O’Neill’s impact to be had in free agency. The best pure pass rusher in the draft is Terrell Suggs of ASU, but there is no way Arizona is not drafting Suggs. So, who can Denver go after? How about a deal with Houston to sign A&M’s Ty Warren. Certainly, Houston does not need a DE right now, but again, they are a divisional rival. 11. BIRMINGHAM 7-7 This better be a deep wide receiver draft because there sure seem to be a lot of teams in need of one. Lawrence Dawsey is the clear #1, but he is 33 years old. Marcus Robinson has some good games and then disappears. The Stallions need to get Brett Favre more weapons, and the best option may be the draft. Unless Birmingham’s new coach (as of yet unchosen) really likes the look of the free agents available, players like Mike Pritchard, Lake Dawson, Cedric Tillman, or Dez White, we think the draft is where Birmingham will try to solve this need. 12. TEXAS 7-6-1 Not sure you can draft or sign a backbone in free agency, and that seems to be Texas’s biggest need, as they once again folded down the stretch and missed the playoffs. The Outlaws resigned Jeff Lewis and have Ryan Leaf under contract so QB won’t be a priority. With John Bosa’s retirement DE is a need, as is wideout after Lake Dawson opted to join the free agent pool. Texas also has needs at safety, TE, and DT, so they could go after someone like Longhorn DT Cory Redding or go after Nashville’s John Manley, who has not resigned with the club. Looking first at the new injuries that clubs who won this week will have to face, we see New Orleans with one potential issue as CB Corey Barlow is questionable with a broken nose. Portland lost 2 players who they cannot afford to lose as LB Joey Porter is out after injuring his knee, while guard Scott Conover is doubtful with a hamstring issue. Of the 4 teams that start their playoffs this week, there are a few players who will not be suiting up. Houston is still without WR Koren Robinson (PCL). TE Dan Campbell is questionable with a pinched nerve, while LB Pat Swilling is expected to play despite a small fracture in his right foot. For Memphis, the biggest missing player could be TE Adrian Cooper, listed as doubtful after suffering a sprained knee in practice. LB Rahim Abdullah is also listed as questionable with the mysterious “illness” as the only indicator of a problem. The Ohio Glory are entering their first playoff game without LB Brendon Ayanbedejo, who has a fractured arm and could also be without DE Vonnie Holiday, who dislocated his shoulder in the season finale. Finally, Jacksonville is nearly 100% healthy, whith the only name on the injury list being CB Terrell Buckley, who is listed as probable with “allergies”. RETIREMENTS We mentioned a few key retirements announced in the first week of the offseason (for the 12 non-playoff clubs, but, as is always the case, the list is longer than what we noted above. Here are the most impactful retirements of the offseason to date, most of them D-linemen. We had two early D-linemen announce their retirements effective at the end of the year, one on a playoff team who had games to play, so I guess a bit of a forewarning for those two clubs. The first is Chris Doleman of Orlando, who basically tried to use his impending retirement as a motivator for the club. With their loss this week, Doleman is expected to make it official. The second was Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, a sure 1st ballot hall of famer for the Gold. The league is losing two of its most dangerous edge rushers in Doleman and O’Neill, two tough players to replace, to be sure. But these two were simply the beginning of what feels like a wave of D-linemen deciding now is the right time to step away from the game. LA loses a centerpiece of their D-line with the retirement of DT Chester McGlockton. McGlockton was a difference maker in the center of the Express defense, though his work often led to others recording the big sack or the tackle behind the line. In Texas, another quality DE will be leaving. Texas DE John Bosa will leave the Outlaws with a big hole to fill on the left side. Philadelphia will certainly miss DT Chris Zorich in the middle of their D-line and while Atlanta had a short run with former Buffalo Bill Bruce Smith, who dabbled with retirement last year but came back for one more season, he will almost certainly be hard to replace when the team takes the field in Boston. Not all the announcements were from linemen. Baltimore took 3 hits as WR Lamar Thomas, guard Chris Thatcher, and DT Michael Dean Perry all announced this week. Birmingham did not lose a D-lineman to retirement, but HB Pat Chaffey did announce he was calling it a career this week. And finally, a second Express defender is stepping away as SS Carnell Lake announced on Thursday that he would retire from the league. FREE AGENTS ON THE MARKET In addition to the retirement announcements, the last day of the regular season means that players on 12 of the league’s 24 clubs, those not on playoff squads, are free agents if they did not reach agreements with their clubs by Wednesday following the final game. That is a lot of talent that is available to sign for 2003, or who could opt for the NFL when the transfer window opens in just 2 weeks. Among the top potential targets for clubs are these 12 players: Tampa Bay’s bell cow back, Errict Rhett: Still only 29 years old and a quality starter. Philadelphia CB Deon Figures: At 32, the market may be lower than his talent merits. Denver DE Robert Porcher: As if losing O’Neill were not bad enough for the Gold. Baltimore LB Duane Bickett: A thumper of a run stopper and decent in coverage too. Birmingham DT Joe Salave’a: A solid run stuffer who can occupy 2 linemen. Los Angeles LT Blake Brockmeier: Not often a legitimate LT goes on the market. He won’t last long. Baltimore RT Korey Stringer: Could play LT but is a better fit on the right side. Boston QB Mark Bulger: Yes, he had issues this year, but we have also seen some good games. LA wideout Michael Pritchard: At 32 he has lost a step or two, but he is a savvy route runner. Michigan C Corey Raymer: Surprised the Panthers could not come to terms with this starter. Philadelphia LT Paul Gruber: Another good left tackle who could be signed quickly. Michigan WR Muhsin Muhammad: A deep ball threat who is only 27. So those are the top 12 right now, but we need to remember that unless last second signings are made by playoff clubs, their unsigned players become free agents as well on the Tuesday after they are eliminated. Among playoff teams we still have some big names, high in demand if not signed soon: ARIZONA: QB A.J. Feely, FB Richie Anderson, HB Dorsey Levins, G Paul Ostrowski CHICAGO: G Brian Williams, TE Michael Ricks, HB Charles Rogers DENVER: DT Paul Grasmanis, DE Robert Porcher HOUSTON: CB Willie Williams, WR Cedrick Tillman, K Chris Boniol JACKSONVILLE: LB Jesse Armstead, WR Dez White, HB Leland McElroy MEMPHIS: WR Joe Horn, TE Johnnie Mitchell, DT John Von Der Boeck NASHVILLE: DT John Manley, CB DeShaun Townsend, WR kenny Lockett NEW JERSEY: DT Leon Webster, LB Bobby Houston, CB Kenny Gales, HB Amos Zeroue NEW ORLEANS: G Brad Olson, TE Steve Gailbraeth, WR Isaac Byrd, K Lin Elliott OHIO: T Robert Hicks, G Charles Johnson, DE Tony Hill, K Don Silvestri ORLANDO: DE israel Ifeanyi, HB Mike Cloud, QB Gus Frerotte, CB Marlon Kerner PORTLAND: DT Kelvin Prichett, CB Corey Sawyer WASHINGTON: WR J.J. Stokes, DT Tony Kirschke Let’s finish off with a quick preview of the four upcoming games. We have a couple of David v. Goliath games to look at and two perhaps more evenly matched games as well. #3 NEW JERSEY GENERALS (8-6) @ #2 JACKSONVILLE BULLS (9-5) Saturday @ 3pm ET This could be another good, well-balanced game between two opponents who align with each other quite well. Both will try to set the pace of the game, both will use their run game to set up play action, and both hope to disrupt the opposition’s quarterbacks to avoid big plays. OUR PICK: We think there is one player who tips the field towards the Generals and that is Phil Hansen, who once again was the league sack leader. We are saying NJ wins 24-20. #4 NEW ORLEANS (8-6) @ #1 MEMPHIS (11-3) Saturday @ 8p ET The Breakers split their series with the Showboats, knocking off Memphis in Week 12 by a 21-13 score, so we know they are capable. The injury to Barlow could be an issue as Heath Shuler will clearly test out his replacement by throwing to #2 receiver Justin McCaerins early and often. New Orleans will likely counter by trying to repeat what they did this week, use the run to set a slower pace and keep things simple for QB Trent Dilfer. If he is protected by play action he can find open receivers against the Memphis secondary. OUR PICK: Memphis had a bit of a slide at the end of the season, but that may be in part to a lack of motivation once they clinched the #1 seed. We expect the fire to be back, so we are going with the Showboats, 21-17. #3 PORTLAND (7-7) @ #2 HOUSTON (8-5-1) Sunday @ 12pm ET The Gamblers are 5 point favorites at home as most are still not sold on the Thunder, especially on the road, where they won only 2 games all year. If Houston can use Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair to put the heat on Rick Mirer, they can kill drives and create the chance for takeaways. For Portland to escape, they have to prioritize pass protection even if it means keeping TE Jeramy Stevens in to block. OUR PICK: Consider us one of the doubters. We will go with Houston, 26-19. #4 CHICAGO (8-6) @ #1 OHIO (14-0) Sunday @ 4pm ET This is the game everyone wants to see. Ohio has knocked off Chicago twice this year, both times by a 27-24 margin. The games were close, and Chicago coach Marty Mornhinweg has learned from both losses. The Machine believe that if they can keep the score under 30, and if they stay within 1 score during the game, they can wear down this Ohio squad, particularly their defensive line, and might just pull the major upset. OUR PICK: There are a lot of “ifs” in Chicago’s plan. We like Ohio to win for a 3rd time. Let’s say 27-24 again.

A huge week 14 in one of the most balanced seasons in league history. So many teams in playoff contention, so many jockeying for position, and at the same time a club shooting for a perfect 14-0 season. It all came down to one last week and a lot of key games to determine who was in, who was out, and who would snag division titles and a possible bye week to rest and heal. Let's get right to it. Win and you’re in, lose and you’re out. It does not get simpler than that. It was basically a Week 14 play-in game and the Portland Thunder used home field to punch their ticket to an improbable playoff appearance. It was not easy as they trailed at the half 9-0, but 14 points in the 4th quarter helped the Thunder win the battle of Cinderella’s and guarantee a home playoff game next week as the Pacific Division Champion. Portland did it with both offense and defense, racking up 494 yards, including 156 on the ground, while the defense held Oakland to only 232 total yards. What made it even more impressive is that Portland’s big comeback came after their starting QB, Akili Smith, was knocked out of the game in the 3rd quarter. Rick Mirer, who has seen very little action this year, stepped up, completing 13 of 21 and throwing 2 touchdowns in the final period to even the score at 17 and send the game to overtime. In the extra period, Jon Kitna got the ball into field goal range but in a stunning development, Joe Nedney missed on a 28-yarder from the 11 yard line. Nedney slipped on the approach and never fully got his leg into the kick. The miss deflated the Invaders and they offered little resistance as Portland quickly moved the ball into position for their own kicker, Carlos Huerta. The long-time Wrangler did not miss his shot, and Portland celebrated their play-in victory. They will play one more week at least, hosting a Wild Card matchup next week. The Knights also knew that a win would equal a return to the playoffs for the 5th straight year (but their first as Nashville and not St. Louis. But to do so they would need to knock off the #1 seed in the West, a team that had not lost a game in the first 9 weeks of the season, but who had lost 2 game since then. It would not be easy. With 5 minutes left to play Memphis had a slim lead, 14-13 as both teams had played solid defense all day. Heath Shuler had thrown 2 TD passes and avoided any forced throws. Todd Collins had been content to dink and dunk, giving the ball to Ahman Green 27 times before the final drive. In their final drive, Green would touch the ball only twice. Collins would throw it 7 times, and the final throw was the one that sent Nashville to the playoffs, a quick slant to Ahmad Merritt that gave Nashville a 19-14 lead. The Knights tried for 2 and failed, but when Memphis got the ball back, down 5, the Knights smothered the Showboat receivers and forced a poor 4-down sequence that ended with Rodney Harrison knocking the ball from the hands of Justin McCaerins on 4th and 6. Nashville was in the playoffs. Another play-in game, the winner of this one would be guaranteed a playoff spot, potentially a division title and a bye. The loser could be out, depending on the result of the Denver-Houston game. Neither team could afford to risk the loss. Both played like they fully understood that. Jake Plummer did what Jake Plummer does, throwing and passing for a combined 350 yards (58 rushing, 292 in the air). The bigger surprise was the contribution of HB Chester Taylor. The rookie had not done much all year, but in this game he was the X-factor, rushing the ball 9 times for 90 yards including big runs of 33 and 29 yards. Despite the best efforts of the Wranglers, the Outlaws locked the game up at 20 as time ran out, sending the matchup to overtime. Texas would get the ball first in the extra period, but they were stymied by a 3rd down sack from a blitzing Broderick Thomas, his only sack of the game. Arizona took the ball and moved the ball well. They only needed a field goal, but when TE O.J. Santiago broke free from a tackle at the 9-yard line the big receiver shuffled into the endzone and the walk off score. The Wranglers were in the playoffs. If Denver could beat Houston they would sneak into the division title. If not, they would be a Wild Card competitor. For Texas the situation was more drastic. If Denver upset Houston the Outlaws would be a low-seed Wild Card, but if Houston got the win, the Outlaws would fall from the division lead all the way out of the playoffs. Houston’s game started just the Arizona-Texas game headed into overtime. By halftime they led the Gold 21-10, and they got the news they wanted, that Texas had lost. This meant that a win would mean not only the division title but a bye week to boot. Houston turned it on in the 2nd half, and the defense shut down Denver to allow the 21-point win. It was a good game for Matt Hasselbeck and Antonio Freeman, who combined for 130 yards and 2 scores. Hasselbeck would connect on 22 of 27 passes against a dispirited Gold team, completing passes to 9 different receivers. The win got the Gamblers the whole enchilada, a division crown, the 2nd seed in the playoffs, and that sweet. sweet bye week. And the cherry on top of their sundae is that they also knocked their arch rival, Texas, completely out of the playoffs. Not quite as dramatic was the battle for the Southeastern title. Both Jacksonville and their downstate rival Orlando were already guaranteed a playoff spot. The game was to decide who would win the division and who would likely host a playoff game as a Wild Card. It was a good game, well played and with some big moments, but Jacksonville built up a 20-7 lead in the 3rd and played keepaway, slow rolling the 4th quarter and holding Orlando at arm’s length. Jake Delhomme, the league’s interception leader, avoided mistakes and threw 2 touchdowns to help lead Jacksonville. Joey Harrington had the kind of night that rookies sometimes have, forcing some throws and getting picked twice. Both clubs will be in the playoffs, but it will be Jacksonville getting the division title and the bye that comes with being the Eastern Conference’s 2nd seed. It was not a game for a playoff spot, or even a division title, but it was a game that could send Ohio into the history books as the first club in USFL history to go unbeaten through an entire season. The Glory scored 17 in the 1st quarter and never looked back, cruising to victory and into the history books. Kerry Collins threw for 388 and 3 scores, allowing 3 different Glory receivers (Galloway, Johnson, and HB Eddie George) to go over 100 yards each. A great tuneup for the playoffs, and now a week to rest and plan for what they hope will be a 3-game run to a perfect season and a league title. With Jacksonville’s win, the Northeast division winner would not have a bye, so New Jersey could win the division but would still play next week. The difference between winning the division and coming in as a Wild Card team would essentially be the difference between a Wild Card game at home vs. on the road. A win and the Generals would be home in the Meadowlands next week. New Jersey got a solid run game from the combo of Enis and Olandis Gary, and Tom Brady threw for 267 and 2 touchdowns. Philly, playing David Garrard at QB, fell behind early and while they played with spirit, they never truly pushed New Jersey in this one. The Generals would win the Northeast and prepare to host a game next week. Blame it on scoreboard watching, but as New Jersey built a lead on Philly, Washington faded, and the Baltimore Blitz were more than happy to take out a season’s worth of frustrations by taking the Week 14 win against their arch rivals. Ron Dayne finished his season with a 128-yard performance, while Washington struggled to run the ball, with Deuce McCallister and Reuben Droughns combining for only 34 yards. If it were not for some scrambles by QB Kordell Stewart, the Feds would not have reached 100 yards of rushing for the day. Not a good way to end the year for a club that will be playing a tough road game next week in the Wild Card round. ATL 15 TBY 34 The Atlanta Fire finish their 7 seasons in the USFL with a whimper as the Fire pack up for Boston with another loss and another year as the worst franchise in the league. Tampa Bay backup QB Kent Graham threw for 194 and 3 touchdowns, and backup HB Travis Prentice rushed for 111 as the Bandits cruised, despite a solid 151 yards for Tiki Barber, chasing a rushing title and offered 29 carries to do so. CHI 14 PIT 17 In a game that meant nothing for the Machine, they rested players, played some vanilla ball, and basically did not seem all that perturbed when Pittsburgh took the lead. Chicago had players like Adrian Murell, Mike Bellamy, and Tony Cline get some snaps as they finish the year as the top Wild Card team. Next week they will have to crank it up again as they host a Wild Card game in Soldier Field. BIR 20 NOR 17 The Breakers played their starters, in hopes that they could be the top seeded Wild Card and get a home game next week, but knowing that they likely had that seed even with a loss, the Breakers did not exactly break a sweat. Birmingham surprisingly started Brett Favre, who was rumored to have spoken to ownership about not wanting to snap his streak of consecutive starts. Favre threw for 316 in the victory, but also threw 2 picks, a problem that has plagued him the past few years. New Orleans hung in there, but were never very energetic. They will need to crank up the energy next week when they will, in fact, host a Wild Card game. LA 33 SEA 3 An ugly game in an ugly season for the Dragons as they opted to start Giovanni Carmazzi, and, well, that was not a great move. Carmazzi threw 4 picks to the Express defense, including a pick-6 to Carnell Lake. LA started Quincy Carter, who would go 12 for 20 for 216 yards, but it was the foot of Steve Christie that provided most of the offense with 4 field goals. A game only a true diehard fan could watch, which might explain why the game drew only 9,530 to Seattle Stadium. TEXAS FOLDS, AGAIN. The Texas Outlaws have made the concept of the late season collapse an art form. No other team has such a rich history of leaping out to the front of the pack in their divsion and then slowly losing ground as the season progresses. We have seen it now with 3 different head coaches. Texas is in first place until a midsummer swoon causes them to drop all the way out of the playoffs. This year's version of the Texas Fold was one of the most painful yet as the loss of QB Ryan Leaf led to the 6-3-1 first place team to drop two in a row. But, a Week 13 win over in-state rival Houston put them back on top with one week to go. All they had to do was knock off the Wranglers at home in San Antonio and the Outlaws would claim the Southwest Division Title. But, this is Texas, so, of course, they blew the last game of the year, a home game against an erratic Arizona team. Not only did Houston leapfrog over them for the division title, but Arizona and Nashville both lept above Texas to claim the 5th and 6th playoff spots, once again leaving fans in San Antonio shell shocked and wondering just when the pain will end. Not this year, apparently, as the legend of Texas Fold'em just keeps growing. BLACK FRIDAY It would not be the final week of the year without the traditional purging of coaches on Black Friday. This year three USFL head coaches got the notice that they were no longer USFL head coaches after seasons that failed to produce growth. No surprise that Joe Tiller was out in Seattle. After a 12-4 season in 2000, back to back underwhelming years (5 wins last year, only 4 this season) it was time for Tiller to give up the mantle. Seattle will enter the coaching market hoping to find someone who can tighten up the worst scoring defense in the league while also developing a more explosive offense. A bit more controversial was the firing of Kevin Gilbride in Birmingham. The hand-picked successor to Ron Erhardt had gone 8-8 in his first season with the Stallions and 7-7 this year. So, not a losing record either year, but when you have a superstar like Brett Favre at QB, more is expected of you than to finish .500 and out of the playoffs. The Stallions were Top 10 in yards and in yards allowed, so there is some talent to work with here for whomever gets the chance to lead this underachieving but talented squad. Finally, the big mystery was whether Oakland’s flirtation with .500 and a possible division title in the clearly weak Pacific Division would be enough to save Coach Dom Capers. Well, after the loss this week ensured both a losing season for Oakland and a 2-game collapse at the season’s conclusion, the answer was no. Capers was let go after 3 years in Oakland, after 2 years of 4-wins, a 6-8 improvement was simply not enough to keep Capers in the big chair. A 21st ranked offense could not support a much-improved defense (6th in scoring defense) as Oakland floundered when QB Marques Tuiasosopo was knocked out of action with an injury. Surviving this week, despite pretty poor leagues we have 1st year coaches Jack Bicknell (Pittsburgh) and John Fox (Atlanta/Boston), as first year coaches often do since they need time to build a team in their image. Also on the hot seat but apparently safe, Mike Martz in Michigan, who improved from 3-13 to 5-9, a solid improvement, but one that better go further next year. Jim Mora Jr. had real issues after going 13-3 in his first year, 9-7 in his second, to finish 3-11 this year means that the bottom has fallen out. Losing Bobby Hebert is the clear primary issue, but it seems that the Mora name carries some clout in Philly and it looks like the son of legendary coach Jim Mora Sr. will get more time to rebuild this Stars team and find a QB who can compete at a high level. LEAGUE LEADERS The conclusion of the regular season also means that we know who the statistical champs are. There was no doubt coming down the stretch who would throw for the most yards. Kerry Collins, commanding that explosive Glory offense, threw for 4,361, the only QB over 4,000 yards this season. Collins also won the passing TD title by one of the widest margins we have ever seen, throwing 39 touchdowns, 13 more than the closest competitor, New Jersey’s Tom Brady. The rushing title was not a lot closer, honestly, with Ahman Green of Nashville taking the title by over 100 yards. Green rushed for 1,315, nearly 100 yards a game, while 2nd place went to Tikie barber at 1,164 and Eddie George finishing third, only 9 yards behind the Atlanta back. We all expected the receiving leader to be Joey Galloway, and he took the title by 8 yards over Jacksonville’s Terrell Owens, 1,393 to 1,385. Bert Emmanuel finished 3rd and Terry Glenn of New Jersey came out of nowhere to finish fourth after a very strong final month. Now, if I asked you who led the league with 107 receptions, my guess is you would never have picked Denver’s Peerless Price, but that is exactly what happened. In second was Baltimore’s Rob Moore, followed by Glenn. On defense some familiar names rise to the top. The inimitable Phil Hansen came on late for New Jersey, overtaking Chris Doleman and Kavika Pittman to become the only player in this 14-game season to reach 20 sacks. Pittman and Doleman tied at 17 for second. Our two tackle leaders have traded the lead all season but the title goes to Breaker LB Lamar Lathon with 124 sacks to Mo Lewis’s 118. Finally, the only player to record 7 picks, Texas’s Jimmy Hitchcock takes the title as the pick artist of the season. So the playoffs are set. Portland, Arizona, Nashville, and Houston are in. Texas is out after a brutal drop from division leader to 7th best club in the conference. The playoff matchups are set. We have known for a while that Ohio and Memphis were the respective #1 seeds in the East and West. We now know that the other two teams that will have byes as the 2nd best club in each conference are Jacksonville and Houston. That means that New Jersey and Portland will be the #3 seed as the weakest of the three divisional winners. They will host the #6 seeds, Orlando and Nashville respectively. The 4-seeds, Chicago and New Orleans will also be at home as they take on Washington and Arizona. Four games next week, four teams that will move on and 4 that will go home. As we look ahead to the Wild Card round of playoffs, there are some injury concerns that will impact the eight teams involved in next week’s action. Here is our Wild Card injury report. ORL: LB A. Jordan (Out), CB R. McNeil (Out), HB S. Irvin (Quest) NJ: G W. Shields (Out), LB K. Bell (Doubt), LB J. Harrison (Prob) For Orlando the loss of their best CB is a big concern, especially with Terry Glenn as the opposing #1 WR. A bigger issue could be Sedrick Irvin’s status. Without Irvin the run game for the Renegades is significantly hampered and more pressure is place on their rookie QB. For NJ Kendrell Bell’s absence is a problem, but they could very well get back this week their very good looking rookie James Harrison, which would certainly help them deal with Bell’s absence. ARZ: DT J. Johnson (OUT), WR S. Moss (Out) NOR: QB B. Hoying (Out), WR R. Brown (Out) The biggest issue for both clubs is the loss of a top receiver. Santana Moss has been out of the Wrangler lineup for a good part of their late season surge, so Arizona has clearly found a way to compensate, while New Orleans has depended on Raynard Brown all the way until this week’s injury. It is a 1-2 week situation, so Brown could return for the Divisionals if New Orleans can find a way to win without him this week. WSH: DE D. Footman (Out), DT J. Brown (Out), LB M. Barrow (Doubt) CHI: WR J. Morton (Out), CB R. McQuarters (Out), C G. Huntington (Out), DT G. Little (Out) For Washington the obvious pain point is the absence of All-Everything DT Jerome Brown. They are just not the same defense without him. Chicago will certainly try to exploit his absence with their run game. For Chicago, the biggest issue might be the losss of CB R.W. McQuarters, but can Washington exploit that with either Deion Branch or J.J. Stokes lining up against the 3rd best corner Chicago has? NSH: DT S. Evans (Probable) POR: HB C. Buckhalter (Out), QB A. Smith (Out), T T. Steussie (Out) Nashville looks to be the healthiest team of the 8 playoff teams this week, while Portland had to rule out Akili Smith and LT Todd Steussie this week. That is a bad combination as it means that they will have to rely on Rick Mirer at QB without strong protection for his blindside. That may be the biggest injury disadvantage of any team playing this weekend. Boston Welcomes the... Never let it be said that Boston is a baseball town. This summer, while the Red Sox were in midseason the city of Boston fell in love with a football team. More than 550,000 votes were cast in the Boston Globe's Name the Team contest, and according to team officials, more than 61,000 fans have put their names (and a sizable nonrefundable deposit) into the team lottery to win some of the 25,000 season tickets the as-yet unnamed team had to offer. This is not Boston's first tilt with spring football, as the Breakers called the city home for the first 3 years of their existence before stadium issues and a sweetheart deal in the SuperDome led to the sale and relocation of Boston's USFL club to New Orleans. Well, spring football is back in Beantown, and after a near 3-month wait the team was able to reveal the winner of their naming contest and the new identity of the club that will represent Boston proper (The club is trying hard to emphasize Boston connections to differentiate from the NFL Patriots, whose stadium is essentially closer to Providence than much of Boston. The Boston Globe on Monday ran an article detailing how the vote went, and what was amazing was how close all three name options were, down to the final week. Each ofthe three contenders spent at least 1 week as the leader, and at one point, only 3 weeks ago, all three were in a virtual dead heat. In the end, one name lept up and took control, winning with a total of over 210,000 votes, while 2nd place had 180,000 and third had 171,000. And so, on Tuesday, at a press conference held at Alumni Stadium the new identity was revealed, complete with a full uniform reveal by QB Drew Bledsoe, HB Tiki Barber and defenisve team captain LB London Fletcher. Welcome to the USFL, in a much-anticipated return to the city of Larry Bird, Bobby Orr, and Carl Yastremski, the next big name in Boston sports, the Boston Cannons!! The Cannons will begin play in March of next year, with anticipated sellout crowds to watch former Patriot QB Drew Bledsoe and what may be a very different roster. Expect Boston to keep Tiki Barber and much of a young defense that improved during the 2002 season, but we expect the new ownership and Head Coach John Fox to bring a lot of new faces in from the team that finished 3-11 in Atlanta this fall. Regardless of the roster they are inheriting, it seems clear that Boston fans are ready to embrace the Cannons, the city's newest pro sports franchise and hopefully one that can prove worthy of the love already shown by Bostonians. And, we would not miss out on a chance to review the newly revealed team uniforms. We have seen the helmets before, navy with a navy facemask, the insignia style crossed cannon logo on each side, and a gunmetal grey stripe interrupted by a cannon blast at the back bumper, but now we can see the full look, which returns to the cannonfire blast image as a motif. The jerseys feature an angled shoulder yoke utilizing all 3 colors, and featuring a cannonball and 6-pointed "blast" in yellow as focal points. The home jerseys are, as expected, navy blue, with a gunmetal yoke with navy and white outlines, coming to a point at the sleeve cuff, where the secondary "cannonfire" logo is found. The white jersey does the same with a navy, white and gunmetal yoke. both jerseys feature a rounded number font, also containing a small angular cannonfire motif. There are two pant sets, navy and gunmetal (nonmetallic) grey. Both feature full length stripes the grey a three stripe pattern of navy-athletic gold-navy, while the navy pants have a five stripe pattern of grey-navy-gold-navy-grey. Both sets have the team's primary logo on the hip. The BC monogram does not appear on the logo but was featured heavily in print materials and signage at the reveal. And so it is goodbye to Atlanta and hello Boston. One city left feeling the sting of loss the other the anticipation of something new. The Cannons will have the top pick in the USFL Draft, so the excitement will start long before the season does, and appears to have already begun with huge fan interest shown in both the Name the Team contest and in season ticket deposits. Here we go, playoff football. So what is in store next weekend, let’s take a look at our 4 Wild Card round games. #6 ORLANDO RENEGADES (7-7) @ #3 NEW JERSEY GENERALS (8-6) Saturday, June 30 @ 4pm ET Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ On paper the Generals should be a lot better than 8-6. They have a top 5 offense and are 3rd in the league in yardage allowed. So how are they only 1 game over .500? That is a bit of a mystery. For Orlando the question is how the pressure impacts rookie QB Joey Harrington. He has fared well in his first year as a pro starter, but playoff football is something that is hard to prepare for. OUR PICK: Orlando’s defense is the key to this game. That and Harrington’s nerves. But, when we look at this game, New Jersey is stronger on both offense and defense and their QB has a couple more seasons under his belt than Orlando’s so we go with the home team. New Jersey 21-17. #5 ARIZONA WRANGLERS (8-6) @ #4 NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (8-6) Saturday, June 30 @ 8pm ET SuperDome, New Orleans, LA After knocking off Memphis and Nashville in consecutive weeks, the final week’s loss to Birmingham is a bit of a head scratcher for the Breakers. But, Arizona is the ultimate headscratcher. They go from unstoppable to unwatchable faster than any other club in the league. Contain Jake Plummer and you have a good chance of knocking off the Wranglers, but that is much easier to say than to do. The Wranglers won their last 4 games to get here, and that says something. We have seen this before, a late run and a deep playoff trip for the often erratic Wranglers. OUR PICK: We see another run coming. Arizona 27-24. #5 WASHINGTON FEDERALS (7-7) @ #4 CHICAGO MACHINE (8-6) Sunday, July 1 @ 1pm ET Soldier Field, Chicago, IL Chicago opens this one as a 5-point favorite, despite looking quite pedestrian in their Week 17 loss. In fact, Chicago has gone 2-5 the second half of the year after a strong 6-1 start to the year. So why all the confidence? Maybe because Washington has hardly been dominant either. Late season losses to both Baltimore and New Jersey do not build a lot of confidence in the Federals. And yet, they have the #2 scoring defense and the top defense in the league in yardage allowed. Since Chicago is also building their reputation for defense first, this could be a true slugfest. OUR PICK: We think Washington is stronger overall, but this will not be a high scoring game, so a kicker could be the difference. Washington 13-10. #6 NASHVILLE KNIGHTS (8-6) @ #3 PORTLAND THUNDER (7-7) Sunday @ 5pm ET Civic Stadium, Portland, OR A rare event when the #6 seed is actually favored over the #3, but that is what we have as Las Vegas has the Knights as a 4-point favorite against the Thunder. Portland has been a stronger team at home, 5-2 in their comfy confines, but only 2-5 on the road, so maybe Las Vegas has this one wrong. But, with the Knights returning to the playoffs for a 6th straight year, experience is certainly on their side. That and the uncertain nature of Akili Smith’s health for Portland lean towards Nashville. OUR PICK: We think it will be close, but we think experience matters, so we pick Nashville 18-17.

Playoff Seeding EAST: 1-OHI 2-JAX 3-NJ 4-CHI 5-WSH 6-ORL WEST: 1-MEM 2-HOU 3-POR 4-NOR 5-ARZ 6-NSH

Playoff Picture: All 6 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference are locked in, though the seeding remains to be seen. The 6 teams will be Ohio (#1), Jacksonville, New Jersey, Washington, Orlando, and Chicago. Week 14 results will determine which teams win the Northeast and Southeast Divisions and what the Wild Card seeding is. In the West only Memphis and New Orleans are guaranteed spots. The winner of Oakland-Portland in Week 14 will be the lone representative of their division as the division champion. Texas, Arizona, Houston, and Nashville are fighting for the remaining 3 playoff spots. For details on how each can claim a spot, see our Week 13 recap article. Atlanta, Philadelphia, LA, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Michigan, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Denver, and Birmingham have been eliminated from contention.

A quick technical note. We are about 1-1.5 days away from the Week 14 report. The games have been simulated and all that is left is to create the weekly report. That means that we are also about 1 day away from closing the poll on the Boston USFL club's identity. The poll will remain open until Midnight ET for any last minute scramble to support one identity over the other two. The story for Week 14 and the results of the poll will be revealed on Saturday. So, if you have been holding out your vote until the end or have friends who follow this site but have not voted, now is the time to get those votes in. As we get to the final weeks of the year, it is harder and harder to highlight only 1 game as our Game of the Week. So many matchups have huge ramifications, so we thought we would do something different this week. We have chosen 4 games which have major playoff implications or simply were nailbiters between teams headed to the postseason. We will write more about these games and give abbreviated results of the other 8 games this week. So, a bit of a reshuffle as we head down to the wire. Chicago had not yet clinched a playoff spot, Jacksonville had, and that may have been the difference in this game as the Machine were just a bit hungrier. Jeff George and Jake Delhomme traded touchdowns all game, with Delhomme connecting with Terrell Owens twice and Dez White for a third. George threw four touchdowns in the game, with 4 different receivers finding the endzone, including TE Jim Kliensasser and HB Deuce Staley. Add in 84 yards for Staley and the Machine had enough firepower to build up a 29-17 lead in the 4th. Jacksonville came back, but simply ran out of time before they could come all the way back. Chicago and Jacksonville leave the game with identical 8-5 records, but the Bulls still have a shot at a division title, something Chicago lost hope for weeks ago as Ohio just kept winning. Despite the outcome of this game, other results helped both teams clinch playoff berths, but, of course, neither team knew that as they played. Washington built a 21-10 lead thanks to an Ed Reed pick-six and scores from both Deuce McCallister and Rueben Droghns, but slowly Jacksonville kept chipping away at it in the second half. First with a Keenan McCardell TD catch, then three straight drives that ended with Owen Pochman field goals, so the game went form 21-10, to 25-21 with only 2:20 left. Washington, which had struggled to sustain drives in the second half, had one last 2-minute drill left in them. A 17-yard scramble by Kordell Stewart and a 13-yard pass to Bubba Franks on 3rd and 11 kept the drive alive for the Feds. Stewart ended the drive with a 20-yard corner route for 6 points to J.J. Stokes. With only 31 seconds left on the clock, Washington took the lead and the win to move into a tie with New Jersey atop the Northeastern Division. New Jersey became the latest team to find out just how tough Ohio is. They found out quickly as Ohio’s first four drives of the game were a Silvestri field goal, a 28-yard TD pass from Collins to George, a 7-yarder from Collins to Johnson, and an Eddie George TD run. 24-0 and we were still in the first half. New Jersey did not give up, as Tom Brady led them all the way back, with 2 TDs to tight end Anthony Becht, a Curtis Enis plunge, and an Olandis Gary TD on a swing pass, it was 28-27 New Jersey when the third quarter ended. But, Ohio would stifle the Generals in the final period, and with one successful drive, capped off by a Collins to Stephen Alexander TD pass, Ohio would win their 13th in a row and keep their perfect record intact. New Jersey drops to 7-6 and a tie with Washington for the Northeastern Title. They face Philly next week and a win will still grant them the division. Both clubs were on the fringe for a playoff spot, but only 1 could punch their ticket this week. Thanks to a great gameplan that maximized the talents of backup HBs Troy Davis and Troy Hambrick in the absence of Ricky Williams, New Orleans outlasted the Knights and got that postseason bid. The two Troys combined for 124 yards rushing and provided Trent Dilfer with plenty of play action opportunities. He connected on 20 of 26 passes and found both Raynard Brown and Steve Johnson for scores. Nashville had a strong day from Ahman Green (124 on 24 carries) but it was not enough. Nashville can still get in with a win this weekend in the season finale, while New Orleans is now assured a Wild Card spot. The Battle of Texas was a defensive slugfest this time around. The Outlaws only managed to convert 1 third down all game, but also managed to get into the endzone twice, while Houston kept kicking field goals. Neither Jeff Lewis or Matt Hasselbeck looked comfortable as both kept getting flushed from the pocket by the opposing defenses. Despite the struggles, Carl Pickens raked in 8 passes for 99 yards to lead all receivers and Erric Pegram topped all backs with 22 carries for 113 yards as Texas took over first place in the Southeast. It is not guaranteed however, as a loss next week could drop the Outlaws all the way to 3rd place in the division and possibly right out of the playoffs. Houston faces the Denver Gold next week, and a win at home will get them a playoff spot. Denver needed to finish 2-0 to have a shot at they playoffs, and while their defense held their own against Jake Plummer, the offense failed to make an appearance in their final home game of the year. The Gold could only muster 268 total yards of offense as Rod Smart was held to only 22 yards rushing, a 1.2 YPC average. Arizona fared a bit better and got two rushing touchdowns from their mobile QB. The win puts them in range of the Division title. A win next week at Texas and a Houston loss to Denver and they jump up at the last moment to win the division. A win, regardless of the Houston-Denver result and the Wranglers are in the postseason once again. A win this week would have clinched Oakland the Pacific Division, but the Express were in no mood to provide that to their arch rival. Amani Toomer broke free on a 60-yard TD late in the game to ruin Oakland’s plans in a game that had been leaning towards the Invaders most of the day. Jon Kitna avoided mistakes but the careful style also failed to produce a lot of scoring chances for the Invaders. They relied on their defense, and it held up well for most of the game, limiting the Express to only 14 points, but confusion on the key play allowed Toomer a free shot at the endzone and Quincy Carter, subbing for McNown once again, found him for the big score that threw Oakland’s playoff chances into the air. The Invaders can still win the division if they can knock off Portland in Portland next week. Portland, much to the credit of their interim head coach, Joe Vitt, is still alive. They may have a losing record at 6-7, but they host Oakland next week and the winner of that game will qualify as the division champion at 7-7. To do this they needed a win this week against their biggest rival in a Cascade Clash. They got it, thanks in part to a really strong 18 of 23, 230 yard, 3 TD day from Akili Smith. The strong day in the air helped them overcome 125 yards from Corey Dillon to pull off the 4-point win at home. Portland will need to do it again, because if they can win at home next week against the Invaders they will snatch away a division title at 7-7 that no one thought possible earlier in the season. MEM 38 BIR 20 Memphis kept their starters fresh in this game despite having nothing to play for except rivalry. Heath Shuler needed the tune-up and he got it against the Stallions’ D, throwing for 358 yards and 5 TDs in his best performance in over a month. Joe Horn caught two touchdowns and the best TE in the game, Adrian Cooper caught 5 balls for 153 yards, including a gamebreaking 65-yarder that settled this rivalry game early. BAL 35 PIT 14 It seems like forever since Ron Dayne broke the 100-yard mark, but he got 105 with 2 touchdowns this week against a tired Pittsburgh defense. Pittsburgh also found room to run as Terrell Davis logged 103 yards and a score for the Maulers. In the end the Blitz found more points in their drives, scoring on all 3 fourth quarter drives to turn a 14-14 tie into a route as Pittsburgh simply wore down. MGN 23 ATL 20 The Panthers slugged out a narrow win in Atlanta thanks to a late Shayne Graham field goal. Atlanta once again saw Drew Bledsoe get knocked out of the game, and Mark Bulger came in once more. Bledsoe’s injury appears to be minor but it was enough for Coach Fox to keep him sidelined. On the other sideline, Drew Brees hit Muhsin Muhammad twice for scores and ran an effective 2-minute drill to put Michigan in position to win. PHI 24 TBY 38 David Garrard struggled, throwing 3 picks against the Bandits as Tampa Bay showed a little fight in this meaningless game for both teams. Travis Prentice, playing for a dinged-up Errict Rhett, rushed for 113 yards and Chris Doering did his best to sub for the injured Randy Moss as Tampa Bay amassed 332 yards against the Stars’ depleted defense. ONE GAME FOR GLORY The Ohio Glory sit at 13-0 and are one game away from doing something no USFL team has ever accomplished, completing the regular season with an unblemished, undefeated record. If there is pressure in the Ohio locker room it certainly did not show this week as the Glory confidently took every shot New Jersey could throw at them and found a way to win. There is a lot of confidence in this group as they prepare for their final game against the Michigan Panthers. QB Kerry Collins, speaking to media on Wednesday, reiterated that they are approaching this game as they do every game, understanding that at the end of the year, only a title really matters, and that 14-0 means nothing if they cannot run the table in the postseason. Halfback Eddie George said much the same, emphasizing that every week is a challenge and that their ultimate goal is to bring the John Bassett Trophy to Columbus, a city where he has been a star since his days at Ohio State. Both he and wideout Joey Galloway have been “native stars” for the Glory through some pretty rough years, so this season certainly feels special to them. “We have the talent on this team to win it all, and we have the right mindset too” said Galloway. It appears they do, as the Glory have faced some tough games and have each week found a way to win. One more game to make that happen. Michigan may not be a huge challenge on paper for a team that has not faltered all season, but the game will be as much about Ohio’s mental state as any opposition the Panthers can put together. PICK YOUR CINDERELLA The Pacific Division will be won by one of two teams no one saw in the race after the first month of the season. While the inexplicable collapse of both the Seattle Dragons and LA Express is an interesting story, don’t rain on the parade of Invader and Thunder fans, who did not see this coming and are now excited to face a Win-and-In scenario when the two clubs battle this upcoming Sunday. At one point in the season, Oakland was 1-5 and Coach Capers was a clear candidate for the hotseat. The Invaders rattled off five straight would go 5-1 in a midseason turnaround for the ages, reaching .500 in Week 12 and holding the top spot in a clearly problematic Pacific Division. Their loss this week is troubling, as was the loss of QB Marques Tuiasosopo, but they can still win the division if they can knock off Portland. Portland was even deeper in the hole than the Invaders, starting the year 0-5 and firing their Head Coach, Ray Rhodes, as a result. In stepped defensive coordinator Joe Vitt, and what happened next was nothing short of a miraculous change of culture. Portland won their first game under Vitt, a road win against these same Invaders, but no one expected much. They then defeated a good New Orleans team. Wins against LA (twice), Chicago, and Seattle this past week, have the Thunder at 6-7 and a win at home this week will give them the division title. It is an astounding story for a club that at one point looked like a very good candidate to have the top overall draft pick as the league’s worst team. But here is the thing. There can be only 1 Cinderella. One of these teams has to lose this week, one will win. Can Portland use home field to once again upend the Invaders or will Oakland muster one more win to take the crown and join the playoff field. It will be a rocking atmosphere in Portland to be sure, as fans have embraced the plucky attitude of their team and their defiant “interim” head coach. A play-in game is always a blast in a season’s final week, but when the two teams are such longshots the excitement is even greater. SOUTHWEST SHOWDOWN We cannot decide if everyone wants to win the Southwest Division or no one does. Going into the final week Houston, Texas, and Arizona all have pretty clear paths to a division title. Texas, currently in the lead in the division thanks to a tiebreaker with Houston has the most obvious path. Win and they are in as the Division champs. The weird thing is that if they lose to the Wranglers they might not qualify at all. If they lose and both Houston and Nashville pull out wins, then it is Texas sitting at home. Houston has their destiny in their hands, at least as far as getting into the playoffs goes. A win and they are guaranteed at least a Wild Card berth. Win and have Arizona defeat Texas and the division goes to the Gamblers. A loss, and just like Texas, they could be out. Finally, Arizona, who has not been in the lead in the division all season, can still take home the crown. Defeat the Outlaws and have Houston go down to Denver and it is the Wranglers who sneak in at the last minute and steal the crown. With the big Wrangler-Outlaw game in San Antonio, oddsmakers are giving Texas the best chance to take home the Southwest Division title an a bye week as the #2 seed. But here is the thing, the Outlaws have a long history of late season chokes, and fans are definitely nervous that once again their club will find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory. Houston has to feel good that they face a Denver team that is dispirited and has been disappointing all season long. Meanwhile, Arizona has perhaps the least predictable path, and the most dynamic player in the division in QB Jake Plummer. As we have seen in past playoff runs, the Wranglers tend to get hot when the pressure of ending the season with a loss is on their minds. Can they do it this year? This weekend we will find out. Only 1 week left to go and it is quite a mess still. The good news is that we know who the 6 Eastern Division playoff teams will be. Chicago, Washington and Orlando all qualified this week. We know that Chicago will be a Wild Card, while we will have to wait until after Week 16 to see if Jacksonville wins the Southeast or Orlando can catch them. The same is true in the Northeast, where New Jersey is tied with Washington, but holds the tiebreaker. If the Bulls win, they are guaranteed a bye as the 2nd seed, but if they lose, New Jersey or Washington could sneak up and snag the coveted bye. EAST SCENARIOS NJ: Win or Washington Loss = Division Title, Lose + Washington Win = Wild Card WSH: Win + NJ Loss = Division Title. Lose or NJ Win = Wild Card JAX: Win = Division Title, Lose = Wild Card ORL: Win = Division Title, Lose = Wild Card In the West it is still very shaky. Memphis and New Orleans have clinched spots, with Memphis the division winner and New Orleans a Wild Card. We know that only 1 team will emerge from the Pacific Division, but this week Portland leapfrogged over Oakland. Next Week the two face off in Portland and the winner gets the division title and will host a Wild Card game. The loser is out. In the Southwest, Denver has been eliminated, but all 3 of the remaining teams, Texas, Houston, and Arizona are still alive not only for a playoff spot, but for the division title and a bye week. Texas is the division champion with a win over Arizona at the AlamoDome. If they falter and Houston can beat Denver in Houston, then the Gamblers take the division. But if both Texas and Houston fall next week, Arizona will sneak up and claim the division crown. And, even more, there is a good chance that between Arizona, Texas, and Houston one or two of the three could lose and not only lose out on the division title, but a playoff spot altogether. Why? Because Nashville is lurking at 7-6, and if they can knock off Memphis at home in Nashville, then the Knights would get in ahead of a 6-loss Houston or Texas or a 7-loss Arizona. NSH: Win = Wild Card, Lose = Out. ARZ: Win = Wild Card, Win + Houston Loss = Division Title. TEX: Win = Division title, Loss + Houston or Nashville loss = Wild Card. Loss + HOU/NSH both win = Out. HOU: Win + Texas Loss = Division title. Win + Texas Win = Wild Card. Loss + NSH/ARZ Loss = Wild Card. Loss + Nashville and Arizona win = Out. With playoff spots and seeds up for grab, here are the injuries that could impact some of our key games in Week 14: Chicago has lost WR Johnnie Morton for the rest of the year with broken ribs. Oakland will be without RT John Michels due to a posterior cruciate injury. Portland needs a win to make the playoffs, but they will be without Correll Buckhalter at HB as he suffered a significant quad muscle injury that would also keep him out of at least 2 rounds of the playoffs if Portland qualifies. Memphis will miss backup HB Tony Carter, as his ribs are an issue this week and likely for any future games. New Jersey will miss guard Will Shields, as he has a torn MCL and will be placed on IR. Bad news for Washington as well, with Jerome Brown’s knee injury now diagnosed as a partial ACL tear, which means that his season is done. Texas will not have WR Jeff Query this week, but the deep threat could be back for a possible Wild Card or Divisional game. The same is true for Ohio DE Vonnie Holiday, who is Doubtful this week. Houston’s Pat Swilling is also listed as Doubtful with a sprained knee. Finally, New Orleans remains without Ricky Williams and Oakland without Marques Tuiasosopo for yet another week. Both are listed as Doubtful for this week, but might be available as the playoffs start. Nashville Knights have a new look. The wait is over for Nashville Knights fans as the team unveiled their new logo and uniform this week. The Knights have been playing all season with the 2001 St. Louis Knights uniforms (without logos) and with a generic purple helmet with player numbers on each side. The promise was that they would reveal a new logo, one without the iconic St. Louis Gateway Arch, by season’s end, and with the club on the edge of a possible playoff appearance, which would allow them to wear their new look for the first time this season, the Knights revealed just what that look would be. We start with the team logos. The primary logo combines the medieval with the local as the logo is composed of a broad sword, portrayed with extreme perspective so that it fits well on a team helmet, and a circular logo depicting three stars, an image taken directly from the state flag of Tennessee. This logo, done in silver, purple, and gold. The team also released a secondary mark which takes the rondel with 3 stars from the state flag and presents them in team colors of purple, silver, and gold. The secondary appears on the uniform at the collar and on each hip. The Helmet remains purple with a purple facemask, the large logo on each side. The new feature is a single stripe which begins at the brow in gold, then, with a small purple notch (a recurring motif) shifts to silver. The uniforms also retain the basic color scheme we saw in St. Louis, with purple and white jerseys, silver pants, but also a purple pant set. But in the uniforms we also see a lot of difference with the St. Louis design, which used large arch shapes to create a “bib” effect on the jerseys. The Nashville Knights will go with a simpler look that uses the notch motif to transition colors. This can be seen on the single pant stripes, which, as with the helmet, have a notch to indicate the shift from one color to another. This is also visible on the sleeve stripes. On the white jersey there is a thick purple stripe and within it a gold stripe which shifts to silver. On the purple jersey only this center stripe is presented as the sleeves themselves are purple. The other interesting quirk about the new Knights uniform is that they opted to go with single color numbers, white on the home jersey and purple on the white away jersey. They are the only club in the league that has single color numbers, a bit of a throwback look though it is a custom font. If the Knights qualify for the USFL playoffs by winning in Week 14, we will see these uniforms in action, but it will have to be the away look as Nashville is unable to get the #3 or #4 seed as the former is reserved for a division champion, and New Orleans or one of the Texas teams would be the only ones capable of obtaining the #4 seed. It all comes down to this, one week to decide a lot of playoff scenarios. We know 8 of the 12 teams that will compete, so 4 spots still remain to be decided. Lots of scoreboard watching this week. Here are the games in order of both relevance and simplicity for the playoffs. Oakland @ Portland: Winner is Pacific Champion at 7-7. Loser goes home. Jacksonville @ Orlando: Winner is the Southeastern Champ, loser is a Wild Card. Arizona @ Texas: Winner is guaranteed a playoff spot, loser has to hope that Nashville also loses. Either team, or neither could win the division title, depending on what happens in Houston. Denver @ Houston: If Houston wins they are no worse than a Wild Card, lose and it could get messy. Denver likely will not rest starters as they want to reach 7-7 and avoid a losing record. Memphis @ Nashville: Nashville needs the win to qualify for the playoffs. Memphis will rest some starters, so the Knights have as good a chance as ever to win this game. Baltimore @ Washington: The Feds need a win and a New Jersey loss to take the division. If either they lose or New Jersey wins, they are a Wild Card. New Jersey @ Philadelphia: The division is theirs for the taking if they can knock off their division rival. Games with no playoff implications Michigan @ Ohio: The only thing sitting between Ohio and 14-0 is a Panther squad playing out the string. Chicago @ Pittsburgh: Nothing to lose or gain for Chicago. They might rest some starters here. Birmingham @ New Orleans: The Stallions would like to finish 7-7 to at least save face. New Orleans wants the win to ensure a home playoff game. Atlanta @ Tampa Bay: Expect a lot of backups in this one. LA @ Seattle: Two teams very disappointed in their seasons, with coaches answering a lot of tough questions.

Week Twelve was a good one for both the Generals and the Bulls as they locked up a playoff berth with wins. Ohio held on in a tough matchup with Chicago for their 12th win, remaining unbeaten. New Orleans handed Memphis a second loss in 3 weeks, and Nashville came away with a big win in Birmingham. All this plus chaos in the Western Conference as both the Southwest and Pacific Divisions are just getting messy. We start with everyone’s game of the week, the 11-0 Ohio Glory visiting their toughest division opponent, the Chicago Machine. Chicago had the D, Ohio the Offense, which would win out? Early on it seemed Chicago was poised to crush Ohio fans’ dreams of a perfect season, but in the end a huge comeback from the Glory helped them preserve their perfect record, and send Chicago crashing down to earth. Chicago dominated the first half, pulling out to a 17-7 lead at the half thanks to two Jeff George TD passes, the first to Curtis Conway and the second to TE Jim Kliensasser. If not for a late 2nd quarter Chad Johnson TD for Ohio, this game could have easily been out of reach at the half. It almost was early in the 3rd as Chicago added another TD as George connected with Conway again. With the lead ballooned to 24-7 Chicago, everything was going there way. But momentum is a fickle animal, and all it took was one big play to turn the tide towards the unbeaten Glory. That break was a 39-yard punt return by Malcolm Floyd, that gave Ohio exactly what they needed, a quick score to get the game back in range. It only took Kerry Collins 2 plays after the long punt return to put Ohio in the endzone, finding Robert Ferguson for a score. The Glory would start to roll after this quick score, while Chicago could only watch as their lead shrank, their offense struggled, and the Glory came all the way back. Down 24-14 with 1 quarter to play, Ohio shrunk the lead to only 3 points midway though the 4th, when Collins hit Joey Galloway for an 18-yard touchdown to pull to 24-21. They would even the score with only 1 minute left on a Don Silvestri field goal. What happened next is the sign of a truly confident team. Ohio lined up for a deep kick, and everyone in Soldier Field, including the entire Machine roster, thought this game was headed to overtime, but it was a fake out. Silvestri clipped the ball on the tee, sending it just over the first line of Machine defenders, and creating chaos as both teams scrambled to pick it up. It would be LB Glenn Cadrez of Ohio who would recover the onside kick, perhaps his biggest play of the year. 3 plays later, and with the clock down to 3 seconds, Chicago fans were crushed as Silvestri connected from 46 yards out to end the game with a walk-off field goal. Ohio had survived, their perfect record intact. What had begun as a celebratory summer night in Soldier Field completely flipped in large part due to the special teams of the Glory. Chicago missed their shot at Ohio, and with only New Jersey and Michigan on the schedule, both games in Columbus, that Ohio could very well complete the season without a single loss, a feat no USFL team has ever accomplished. For Ohio the heroes on this night were familiar to all, Collins with 301 yards passing, George with 110 on the ground, Galloway leading all receivers with 135 yards receiving, and a team effort on defense, led by LBs Craig Powell, Glenn Cadrez, and Clint Kriewaldt. Two weeks to go and Ohio has a shot at perfection. WSH 6 NJ 20 New Jersey will play Ohio next, but first they had to take care of business in their division, and they did, knocking off their closest competitor, Washington, thanks to a Brady to Glenn TD in the 4th quarter to pull out of range of the Federals. Kudos to the Generals’ D, who sacked Kordell Stewart 6 times and limited Deuce McCallister to only 2.9 yards per carry. New Jersey consistently rushed 5, blitzing linebackers, safeties and corners. Stewart rarely had time to think, much less adjust as a new General was coming on the blitz on almost every down. It was a brilliant gameplan for Coach Parcells and the Generals, one that clinched them a playoff spot with 2 weeks left to play. TBY 24 JAX 27 Tampa Bay was game, but with a playoff berth on the line, Jacksonville found the will to win as they scored the game’s final 17 points to wipe out a 24-10 deficit and win the game on a Kris Brown field goal. Jake Delhomme looked like a worldbeater in the 4th quarter and finished the game 31 of 40 for 312 yards. Terrell Owens was his top target, catching 10 of 11 targets for 150 yards and a TD as the Bulls win their 8th game of the season. NSH 23 BIR 21 In a battle of 6-5 clubs, Nashville used a late Ryan Longwell fieldgoal to edge the Birmingham Stallions. Birmingham held rushing leader Ahman Green to only 66 yards (a 2.6 YPC average), but Nashville got 3 field goals to go along with TDs from Green and Emmanuel to nip Birmingham at the end. NOR 21 MEM 13 Memphis seems to be losing their mojo, falling for a 2nd time in 3 weeks as the Breakers defense held the Showboats to only 207 total yards. Heath Shuler only completed 6 of 17 pass attempts, as New Orleans played keep away, killing clock from the onset of the game as they combined carries from Troy Davis, Troy Hambrick, Ricky Williams, and FB Danny Greene to rush the ball over 33 times. Williams left hurt, but the Breakers kept running the ball. Their defense did the rest, limiting Shuler to only 108 yards passing as the Showboats looked tired. HOU 10 ARZ 20 A huge win for Arizona as they knock off Houston to move to 6-6 and tighten up the Southwest Division. All 4 Southwest teams are at .500 or higher thanks to wins by the Wranglers and Gold. For Arizona it was Plummer and more Plummer, who not only completed 17 of 24 passes, but rushed the ball 21 times for 98 yards. The Houston pass rush was neutralized by Plummer’s bootlegs, sprints, and scrambles, making Houston’s defense far less effective than against more sedentary quarterbacks. TEX 14 DEN 24 Denver knocked off Texas in a bad day for the Lone Star State. Mark Brunell threw for 264 and 2 scores and the combination of Holcombe and Smart combined for 109 yards on the ground as Denver equalized their record at 6-6 with the win. Ryan Leaf was knocked out of the game, and could be looking at serious time away due to injury as he was unable to walk to the sideline. Jeff Lewis came in and looked like a player who had not seen the field for several weeks. Trouble for Texas to be sure. POR 23 LA 19 The Thunder get their 5th win of the season, remaining a game back in the Pacific by knocking off the LA Express. Akili Smith threw for 329 and 2 scores as Portland all but abandoned the run game against the Express. McNown threw for 325 for LA, but it was not enough in the end as Portland scored twice in the final period to pull ahead and stay ahead. SEA 9 OAK 31 Oakland retained their slim lead in the Pacific by dominating Seattle in every way. The Invader D picked off Brian Griese twice, sacked him 4 times, and shut down Corey Dillon in his first game back after injury. Jon Kitna looked far more comfortable under center, throwing for 295 yards with 2 scores a she connected with Marty Booker and Plaxico Burress for scores. Oakland controls their destiny and 1 more win may be enough to lock up the division. PHI 18 BAL 13 Philly went with youth and it got them their 3rd win of the season. Ladell Betts rushed 22 times but gained only 43 yards. David Garrard, in his first pro start, fared a bit better, completing 14 of 29 passes for 190 yards and a TD, but the big story was the much-maligned Stars defense. Philly got 6 sacks of Jeff Garcia, including 2 from Regan Upshaw, and a safety recorded by DT Kendrick Clancy as the Stars held Baltimore scoreless in the second half. ORL 24 ATL 13 Joey Harrington returned under center for Orlando, but the star of the game was Chris Doleman, who terrorized Drew Bledsoe all game. His big play came late in the 3rd when Doleman not only sacked the immobile QB, but caused a fumble and then was able to fall on the ball. 2 plays later, Harrington hit Donald Driver for a score that put Orlando up 24-3. PIT 31 MGN 27 A really good game between two 4-win clubs that simply have not stopped playing hard. T.J. Duckett had a solid game at HB, rushing for 127 yards and 2 scores, but it was Andre Rison’s show, as the veteran Mauler hauled in 3 touchdown passes from Charlie Batch to help the Maulers edge the Panthers for win #5. THE BIG DECISION It is a decision no club has ever had to make before, to go for a 14-0 record but risk potential injury to a key player, or to rest starters in the season’s final 2 weeks and potentially risk a chance at history. That is what Coach Al Luginbill faces as he looks ahead at the last two weeks of the regular season. On the one hand, the Glory have two home games, with a chance at an amazing feat, an undefeated season, but on the other you have the even loftier goal of earning the team’s first ever Summer Bowl appearance and possible title. What if the Glory were to lose Kerry Collins, Joey Galloway, or Eddie George from their offense due to a late season injury? That fear has to be there. As much as we all want to see Ohio fight for a potential perfect season, the concern for player wear and tear, for a possible injury that could deeply impact the club’s playoff viability is very real. Coach Luginbill knows all this, and may take some solace in the fact that the season is 2 games shorter than in the past, which means his players are not quite as worn down as in a 16-week season, but that does not eliminate the risk. It is a decision that will be criticized either way. If they bench some key starters and lose against New Jersey or Michigan, than the shot at glory (how ironic) is lost, but if they play all 22 starters but lose one or more to injury for the playoffs, then the potential title could be lost. It is a nasty call, and one we are glad we in the press box don’t need to make. Coach Luginbill has been dodging questions on it all week, but all indications are that at least for this week’s game against the Generals, the starters are all on duty. Will that be true in Week 14? We shall see. PLAY THE ROOKIES? Philadelphia was the first team removed from playoff contention, and the first to swap out some veteran starters for rookies in an attempt to test their capacity. This week we saw several more teams join them as clubs playing out the string. Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Seattle all face similar situations, though the particulars of each club are different. In Atlanta, we anticipate that Drew Bledsoe will continue to start, if for no other reason than that the new owners want to build up the “Bledsoe returns” hype for their scheduled move to Boston. They are also unlikely to rest Tiki Barber, who is listed as “Probable” this week after sitting out a week with an injury. Barber is still in the hunt for the rushing title, and in a year with little to cheer for in Atlanta, that would be something the Fire would have to celebrate. If anything we are more likely to see TE Bob Slowikowski get some reps on offense after largely being limited to special teams and the occasional goalline 3-TE formation. We could also see CB Brian Williams replace veteran Tyrone Poole or Sam Madison to get some reps. DT Wendel Bryant and LB Will Witherspoon have already had significant playing time, so we don’t see any change there. In Los Angeles we already saw plenty of HB DeShaun Foster, who now sits on the IR, and the only other potential offensive rookie who could get swapped into the starting lineup is WR Kalill Hill, who may see some snaps in place of 11-year veteran Mike Pritchard. On defense LB Robert Thomas has been a regular on kick coverage, but could be used as a way to rest Barry Minter. Do not expect Mo Lewis to take a break as he is leading the league in tackles and has a hefty bonus coming if he can claim that title. Finally, DT Larry Triplett has been in regular rotation with David Rocker and Chester McGlockton but could easily see more snaps vs the 10 and 11 year veterans these next 2 weeks. Finally, there is Seattle. Again no major QB or HB candidates to step in, but we could see some shifting on the O-line, with guard Brandon Moore getting some reps along with 2nd year players like T Jeff Backus and center Louis Williams. Jeramy Stevans has been the Dragons’ star rookie all year, so nothing changes there, though he is listed as doubtful this week with a shoulder injury. Wideout Ashlie Lelie is the most likely late season sub as he has simply not seen much action behind David Boston, O.J. McDuffie and Troy Walters. With Boston expected to miss this week we may well see Lelie offered a shot to shine. Another player who could see more gametime is DE Kenyon Coleman, again due to injury. John Abraham, the team’s sack leader, is doubtful with a hamstring, so his season could well be over, and Coleman is the likely replacement. A chance for him, like many on these three clubs, to show what they can do and hopefully move towards a starting role in the future. We mentioned the Leaf injury, and while we are still awaiting definitive word, the early results point to a partial separation of the quad muscle on his left leg from the bone. Painful and not a quick heal to be sure. If this is the case, expect Ryan to be sidelined for at least 2-3 months. It could be even worse as a bad tear could even impact the start of the 2003 season. In Portland the concern is for HB Correll Buckhalter, who left the game with a back injury. X-rays came back negative, but swelling is still impeding movement and feeling for the big back. Expect him to be added to the IR this week. Chicago could be without DT Brentson Buckner for the remainder of the regular season as the big man suffered a fracture in his right foot. In Tampa Bay the concern is for star wideout Randy Moss, who could miss 1-2 games with a collarbone injury. In Washington LB Michael barrow is listed as out for this week after suffering a sprained knee. And, finally, New Orleans HB Ricky Williams is listed as Doubtful thanks to turf toe. That could end up being a multiple week situation, something to keep an eye on. Two more teams punch their ticket as Jacksonville and New Jersey are assured at least a Wild Card spot. With only 2 games left for each team we still have a lot of permutations that could provide playoff opportunities for more than half of the league. With only 4 spots left and several divisions with 1-game differences between the leaders and the pack, there is a lot left to be decided. We know the two top seeds, and now we have 2 Eastern Conference spots are claimed, which leaves 6 of 10 spots still out there, including 5 in the West. Looking at who has been eliminated, Atlanta, LA, and Portland now join Philadelphia on the outside and several other clubs are on life support, but life support still means there is a chance, no matter how slim. The Jacksonville Bulls clinched a playoff spot on Sunday, and to celebrate, on Tuesday they revealed their new Reebok design for the 2004 season, a design they will first wear in the playoffs this year. The league office has essentially declared that this will be allowed for all clubs after having first granted permission to the Nashville Knights to get an early start on their 2003 designs. Nashville has yet to reveal their new logos and uniforms, but this week Jacksonville rolled out their new look, the first major update to their logos since they joined the league in 1984. The Bulls will have an updated primary logo, replacing the charging bull logo with… a charging bull logo. That sounds minor, but actually the new logo is quite different. Unlike the original 1984 design, which has the bull formed from a series of thin black, garnet, and orange lines that wrap around the helmet, the new bull is fully formed, striking an aggressive pose, outlined in black with a garnet body and orange highlights. The wrap-around feature is still there, but now limited to the ground beneath the bull’s feet, which is formed by thicker black, garnet, and orange stripes. It is a bold look, still retaining the essence of the Bulls’ identity, but not as obviously providing an 80’s aesthetic. The main logo now has two forms, a rondel, similar to the one used in previous iterations, and a full figure Bull with wordmark. Expect to see plenty of both at Alltell Stadium if the Bulls lock up a home playoff game. The new Bulls’ uniform features many of the features of the prior look, but with the new 4-stripe motif (Black-garnet-orange-black) as a centerpiece. The helmet remains dark grey, with the bull logo on each side and the stripes wrapping around to the back, where the team name “Bulls” is written into the striping. The jerseys continue to feature a dark grey yoke and sleeves, now with the 4-stripe pattern on both sleeves, with the full figure bull standing above the uppermost black stripe. The numbers are more angular, but remain garnet or white with orange and black piping. The Bulls will have 3 pant sets to choose from, including a new white set which we anticipate will be reserved for the hottest of Florida day games in June and July. The primary set are grey, with the 4-stripe pattern, the secondary garnet set has the same look, but with grey replacing garnet in the striping, and the white is identical to the grey set except for the primary color. It is a look that is unmistakably that of the Bulls, but which modernizes the imagery of the club and provides a more suitable stand alone logo for use outside of the helmet and jerseys. Fans will be able to find gear with the new logo as well as new replica jerseys at the stadium shop as early as Week 14, with wider distribution in Florida, Georgia and on the U.com shop soon after. Two weeks left, and we have divisional games out West, which could go a long way to adding more playoff teams to the pool. The biggest games are in the Southwest, where all 4 teams are within a game and a half of each other. Denver and Arizona will face off in Tempe and the loser may just be out of luck, while the winner could well move into the top 6 and playoff contention. That is especially true if Houston can knock off Texas at home. A win for the Gamblers would clinch the Southwest Division and dump Texas beneath the Denver-Arizona winner. Expect that game to be vicious. In the Southern Division, Nashville and New Orleans are both sitting at 7-5. They face off in Nashville, and the winner there is almost certainly locking in a playoff spot. Memphis has lost 2 of their last 3, and it will be no easy task to get a W as they visit arch rival Birmingham, who are on playoff life support at 6-6. If the Stallions can pull this off, they may greatly improve their chances and they may also shake Memphis’s confidence. In the Pacific, we expect only 1 team to make the playoffs and if Oakland can win in LA they may well wrap it up. Seattle and Portland face off in Portland and the 5-7 Thunder know that any playoff hopes depend on them going 2-0 and seeing Oakland fall. The Eastern Conference is in interdivisional play for the last time this season, and some of these games could also impact the playoff hunt quite a bit. New Jersey gets their shot at knocking Ohio down as they visit Columbus. Washington is hoping for an Ohio win over the Generals, but they also have to take care of business as they travel to Orlando to face the Renegades. Chicago heads to Jacksonville, with both teams hoping to get a W ahead of next week’s divisional play. Chicago could clinch a playoff spot as the Bulls did this week if they can upend Jacksonville in the Gator Bowl. Believe it or not Pittsburgh is still alive at 5-7. They need a lot of help to get a postseason berth, but they also need to win at home this week against the Baltimore Blitz. And, rounding out the week we have Michigan at Atlanta and Philadelphia visiting Tampa Bay, with no real playoff factor at play in either game.

Playoff Picture: Jacksonville and New Jersey have clinched a playoff berth, though the division titles are still undecided. They join Ohio and Memphis in the postseason. LA, Seattle, and Atlanta join Philadelphia as clubs eliminated from contention.

Playoff Picture: With wins this week both Memphis and Ohio have now locked up the #1 seed in each conference, which provides home field advantage and a bye week. Philadelphia becomes the first club officially eliminated from playoff contention at 2-9.

Memphis rebounds with a win and locks up the Southern Division and the top seed in the West all at once. Ohio also locks up the top seed in the East by winning their 11th game. Philadelphia loses a heartbreaker after an amazing defensive effort and becomes the first team eliminated from the playoffs, and with an astounding 10 of 24 teams sitting with either 6 or 5 wins on the year, league parity is making the playoff race both incredibly complex and incredibly compelling. We will focus on this as we review each game of Week 11 of the USFL 2002 season. For the first time in a month our game of the week does not involve the Memphis Showboats. Instead we have two teams on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot battling it out for a chance to move into a more advantageous position. Nashville has started coming on after a surprisingly weak start to the year. They started 2-5, but have now won 4 in a row to get right in the thick of the playoff hunt in the West. Texas has been battling with Houston all season to stay atop the Southwest Division and was hosting this matchup of two teams with solid rosters but mixed results this year. In a game that saw both defenses play well, limiting each team to very few successful 3rd down conversions (Nashville was 2 of 11, Texas 3 of 15) it came down to field position and opportunities taken. Both clubs can run the ball, though Texas’s Erric Pegram has struggled of late. Pegram would rush for 74 yards and rookie Brian Westbrook would add another 36 to help Texas build a 13-7 lead at the half. Nashville relies on Ahman Green, a contender for the rushing title, and he delivered on this day with 108 yards on the ground. The first half was a war of attrition with Nashville having only 1 successful drive, a short 54-yard drive that ended with a Collins to Derrick Mason 6-yard TD pass, while Texas would only manage 2 field goals on offense. The biggest play occurred early in the 2nd period, when Collins missed on a pass to Bert Emmanuel and the ball was snatched by Texas’s interception leader, Jimmy Hitchcock, who ran the ball back 39 yards for a score, giving the Outlaws the 13-7 lead. In the 2nd half, things did not look much better for either offense, as between the two clubs we saw 6 consecutive drives end with punts. We did not get another score until midway through the fourth quarter, when a pick from Texas QB Ryan Leaf gave Nashville the ball on the Texas 22 yard line. The Knights did not miss this opportunity, scoring with Collins again hitting Mason for a short TD pass. That flipped the script of the game, with Texas now trailing 14-13. They had been playing conservatively all game, but now had to play catchup, at least to reach field goal position. They got their best chance with 2:33 left to play, as the offense had marched down to the Nashville 36, but on 2nd and 3 Ryan Leaf was sacked for a loss of 7, putting Texas out of field goal range and leaving them with a 3rd and 10. On the next play, a holding call pushed them back to 3rd and 20, and they were unsuccessful even trying to get some of that back for Rian Lindell, forced to punt. With just over 2 minutes to go, Nashville milked the clock, rode the back of Ahman Green, and eventually kicked a field goal to go up 4 with only seconds remaining. Texas got in their own way, with 2 penalties helping Nashville keep their drive going and the clock ticking. The loss puts Texas 1 game behind Houston for the Southwestern division, but at 6-4-1 they are still in strong position for a playoff spot. Nashville, with this 4th consecutive win, now sits at 6-5, and within the top 6 in the West. Will they stay there? There is a lot of competition so the key will be to continue winning, but if they can win 2 of 3 to wrap up the season, their odds are very good. NJ 24 BAL 37 A bad loss for division-leading New Jersey as they slip into a 6-5 tie with Washington. A playoff longshot-saving win for Baltimore, who got a huge game from wideout Rob Moore, with 132 yards and 2 scores, including a game-opening 49-yarder to shock the Generals. QB Jeff Garcia had his best game of the season (one week after we listed him as a huge disappointment this year), completing 22 of 26 with 3 touchdowns. Baltimore still has a big hill to climb at 4-7, while New Jersey still holds the tiebreaker over Washington, both at 6-5. WSH 7 PHI 6 The Federals move into a tie for first thanks to one drive that saved them from an ignominious loss. Philadelphia played like their season depended on it, especially on defense, where they held Washington scoreless through 57 minutes of play. The Federals could not run the ball (limited to only 62 yards on the ground) and Philly held them to only 3 third down conversions all game, but the Stars were also unable to score against the Washington D, and when the Feds finally broke through with a Rueben Droughns 4-yard TD run just prior to the 2-minute warning, there was no response from the Stars, who fall to 2-9 and become the first team officially out of playoff contention. JAX 34 ATL 31 It took 10 points in the final period for Jacksonville to outlast and upend Atlanta. The Fire looked really solid despite playing without star HB Tiki Barber. Mario Greer rushed for 77 yards and scored on a 69 yard punt return to help Atlanta put the pressure on the Bulls. But, in the end, a Drew Bennett TD catch and a late Kris Brown field goal helped the Bulls reclaim sole possession of 1st place in the Southeast. Atlanta fall to 3-8 and needs to win out to have any shot at a slim Wild Card chance. TBY 31 ORL 12 Orlando’s taste of first place was short-lived as the Bandits ambushed them in the Citrus Bowl. Errict Rhett rushed for 93 yards and a pair of scores, but it was a late Travis Prentice TD run that put the game away. Orlando, playing without Joey Harrington for a second straight week, struggled to mount offense as Gus Frerrote threw for only 218. The Renegades are still in the hunt at 6-5 and with Harrington expected back in action in Week 12, and Tampa has some life left even at 4-7 if they can win out to reach .500. MGN 10 CHI 18 Another typical Chicago slugfest as the Panthers had the early lead but Chicago battled back, thanks to a safety (Brees downed in the endzone) and a Jonathan Linton FB plunge for 6 on the ensuing drive. Michigan’s defense played well, limiting Chicago to only 229 yards on the day, but they had their issues on offense, only reaching the redzone 2 times in the game. Chicago’s win puts them at 7-4 and almost certainly in the playoff mix despite trailing Ohio by 4 games in the division. Michigan drops to 4-7 and needs help and 3 straight season-ending wins to have any shot at a Wild Card. PIT 23 OHI 34 It was close early, but Ohio pulled away late, turning a 28-23 lead to an 11-point victory at home. The win clinched Ohio the top seed in the East, while Pittsburgh drops to 4-7 and will need a lot of help to sneak into Wild Card position. Joey Galloway continues to be dominant, catching 5 balls for 136 and a score, while Chad Johnson added 6 catches, 2 for scores as Ohio just keeps rolling. LA 14 DEN 22 The Gold, despite having a losing record (5-6) now find themselves right in the playoff mix. Rod Smart, who moved into the Top 5 rushers this week, had 73 yards on the ground and TE Marco Battaglia caught 2 scoring tosses from Mark Brunell to help Denver get the home win. LA started the game with Quincy Carter playing for the ailing Cade McNown, but late in the 3rd lost Carter as well and finished the game with QB3 Glenn Foley at the helm. Foley’s 2 of 10 performance meant no late comeback for the Express. OAK 10 ARZ 38 Arizona’s big win in Tempe means that they too are in Wild Card range. The Wranglers picked off Jon Kitna twice in his first start this season. Plummer threw for 3 scores and ran for another to boost the Wrangler offense. Oakland still holds a lead in the Pacific, but needs to find a way for Kitna to keep the offense afloat or they could get caught by either Seattle or Portland. We may very well see a team with a losing record representing the division unless one of the 3 gets hot late. NOR 6 HOU 27 Houston’s defense had a great game against the 6-4 Breakers, and Antonio Freeman found openings against the Breaker D to lead the Gamblers to a key inter-conference win and sole possession of first place in the Southwestern Division. Freeman caught 6 balls for 111 and a score in the game, and Hasselbeck also connected with TE Dan Campbell for another big TD as the Gamblers kept New Orleans out of the endzone all game. New Orleans is still alive at 6-5, but all hope of catching Memphis is long gone. BIR 35 SEA 13 The Stallions are even with New Orleans at 6-5 after a drubbing of Seattle in Seattle. Brett Favre went 19 of 29 for 249 and 3 scores and Shaun Alexander rushed for 83 as Birmingham’s more balanced offense looked efficient in this one. Seattle started Griese but he looked pained at times and was replaced by Erickson at the half. Seems they might have tried to bring Griese back a bit early. With Corey Dillon still out, the run game just was not there and Seattle struggled to move the ball. They are still only 1 game behind Oakland for the Pacific title, but a Wild Card seems unlikely if they cannot overtake the Invaders. MEM 26 POR 21 The Showboats escaped Portland with a win, rebounding from their first loss of the season, but it was not easy. Garrison Hearst found no room to run, limited to only 29 yards on 17 carries, and Portland picked off Heath Shuler 3 times in a surprisingly inaccurate game for the MVP candidate. Six penalties for 53 yards also hindered Memphis, but they were able to pull it out thanks to two late Jeff Hall field goals. Portland, now 4-7, like Seattle, is a game behind Oakland and their only real hope of a playoff spot is to overtake the Invaders and win the division. Hidden Gems With the season coming down the home stretch a lot of attention is, rightfully, paid to the teams at the top of the standings, those competing for playoff spots, and the players who have made those team successful, but even on teams that are struggling, there are players who are bringing their best every week, and we felt it was appropriate to highlight these gems on teams that may not be very shiny as a whole. These are our Diamonds-in-the-Rough-Year players: Rob Moore is having a career year for a Baltimore Blitz squad that is just not coming together. Moore has been a solid performer for Baltimore for years, with 2002 looking like it will be his 6th consecutive 1,000 yard season. He sits at 992 yards after 11 games and he leads the league with 86 receptions, both impressive when you consider the rough year that Jeff Garcia has had at QB. With three games left to play, don’t be surprised if Moore ends the season with over 100 receptions, which would be the 3rd time he has accomplished that feat, but this time in only 14 games. He is not a flashy receiver but Rob Moore is one of Baltimore’s only consistent weapons. The same could be said of Tiki Barber, the little engine that keeps plugging along for bad Atlanta team after bad Atlanta team. Barber currently sits in 2nd place on the rushing leader board, about 110 yards behind Ahman Green, but what makes his accomplishments so amazing is just how bad the rest of the offense is. Barber’s 927 yards on the ground represent 90% of all rush yards (until his absence this week for injury he was closer to 97% of all rush yards. That he is looking at yet another 1,000 season for a team that again seems mired in mediocrity is quite a testament to his professionalism. It has not been a good year for the Pittsburgh defense, currently ranked 22nd in points against an d17th in yards against, but don’t lay that on 2nd year DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. Foloowing a 12-sack rookie campaign, Vanden Bosch has 10 sacks already this year and is likely to reach or exceed his 2001 total even with 2 fewer weeks in the season. Vanden Bosch is also making an impact against the run, with 38 total tackles and 11 tackles for loss. Pittsburgh could use more players with the motor that Vanden Bosch has shown. We all saw how good Mo Lewis was when he was with Atlanta. Moving over to the LA Express has not changed that. While LA still struggles on defense (20th in PPG Allowed) Lewis is on pace to potentially lead the league in tackles, with 96 already on the books. Add to that 3 sacks and Lewis is quickly becoming a leader for the Express. He needs more help around him for the Express to regain some of their swagger, but this year’s struggles are certainly not due to a lack of effort or results on his part. ROOKIES COMING ON LATE Late in the year is often when we see rookies start to blossom, and get more chances as either injury or strategy dictates. This year is no different. We are seeing more opportunities and more first year players stepping up to take on a new role. Here are 4 that we have taken note over during the past few weeks. Javon Walker-JAX-WR: Walker has been named Rookie of the Week twice this past month as he becomes more and more a part of the Bulls’ offensive gameplan. His last 4 games he has logged 5, 8, 6 and 8 receptions, with 111 yards in Week 9 and 95 yards with a score this week. He currently sits second in receptions on the team, behind only Terrell Owens, and could finish the year with 800 yards or more. TJ Duckett-MGN-HB: Duckett started Week 1 as the bell cow back for the Panthers, but it has taken time for him to adapt. In his first 5 games he rushed for 11, 35, 19, 70, and 30 yards. Not what Michigan needed, but in his last 5 we have seen significant growth, with yardage totals of 87, 61, 61, 111, and 76 yards. He also has 5 TDs in the same span. As he grows into his role, expect more and more of Michigan’s offense to take advantage of his bruising style and the play action opportunities it creates for Drew Brees. Anthony Weaver-CHI-DE: Chicago’s rookie end started the year very strong, with 3 sacks in his first 3 games. He then suffered a drought before reemerging in Week 8 with a 9 tackle, sack, fumble and recovery against Arizona. Still working in rotation rather than being a clear starter, Weaver is contributing more and more, and could end the year with double digit sacks. Josh Reed-WR-NOR: Reed is another player who started strong (22 catches in weeks 1-5) then had a midseason slump (3 games with no catches) but has come on strong these past 3 weeks, with 11 receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown for the Breakers. Expect to see Reed continue to fight for time behind Raynard Brown as he rotates with Kevin Dyson and Az-Zahir Hakeem in the Breaker’s 3-receiver sets. PHILLY TO LOOK AT YOUTH Philadelphia is the first team eliminated from playoff contention, and, as we often see, that also means that they will be the first team to rest older starters and put rookies in positions to show their value over the final weeks of the year. Coach Jim Mora Jr. has all but confirmed this by announcing that his week 12 starters will include halfback Ladell Betts over Stephen Davis, and QB David Garrard, a mid-draft pick from East Carolina, will take over, jumping over both Chuck Hartlieb and Will Furrer to get the start. Garrard is a bit raw, but showed good accuracy at ECU. Philadelphia knows that Furrer and Hartlieb are not a long term answer at the vital QB spot, so this is Garrard’s chance to impress Coach Mora before he starts looking for other options in the offseason. For Betts it is a chance to secure his spot on the roster and perhaps push Coach Mora towards a platoon HB role next year instead of depending on Davis as the dominant ballcarrier for the club. Another tough week for some clubs still fighting for their playoff lives. LA may be out of contention realistically, and losing HB DeShaun Foster to a quad tear certainly will not help. In Orlando, LB Anthony Jordan had to be put on IR this week with a broken leg, while in Baltimore, wideout Lamar Thomas is out the rest of the regular season with 3 broken ribs. Tampa Bay, if they are going to make a push, will do so without Randy moss, sidelined with a foot injury for the next 2 weeks. Seattle could be without John Abraham for the remainder of the regular season due to a hamstring injury, and Pittsburgh will miss LB Kendrell Bell at least that long after he broke 2 bones in his right hand. Chicago has placed Brian Urlacher on the injury list as Doubtful for their big game against Ohio this week. Urlacher is dealing with a hamstring injury and Chicago does not want that to extend to the postseason. In LA, Cade McNown returns to action this week, which is good considering that backup Quincy Carter is out with a shoulder injury. Finally, don’t expect to see Tiki Barber running for Atlanta this week as his hand is still an issue. No need to risk further injury in what is already a lost season for the Fire. Let’s start with what we know. Ohio and Memphis are both division winners and both #1 seeds guaranteed for the playoffs. No shock there. Philadelphia at 2-9 is out, no shock there. That’s it. The rest is all mutable. Jacksonville looks solid at 7-4, but are only up 1 game on Orlando. Houston also looks good at 7-3-1, but are up only 1 game on Texas. New Jersey and Washington are tied at 6-5 in the Northeast, Oakland leads the Pacific at 5-6, and a ton of teams are within a game of a playoff spot. We also can see that there are 6 teams in the Eastern Conference with at least 6 wins, and the clubs at 4-7 behind them are fading fast, and need a lot of help to get back in this with only 3 weeks left. That is good news for Jacksonville, Orlando, New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington. In the West, we have Oakland, Texas, New Orleans, Nashville, Birmingham, Arizona and Denver all with either 6 or 5 wins, and all fighting for 3 wildcard spots, with Oakland only 1 game up over Seattle and Portland for what looks like it will be the only playoff spot out of the Pacific, the division winner. So, basically it’s a mess. Portland Inquiry Begins Internal Audit for Thunder Owner Things are getting serious for Portland Thunder lead owner, Bernard Ebbers. It appears that the concerns raised by the City of Portland’s due diligence investigation into team finances and those of Ebbers and Phil Ruffin have now sparked an internal investigation within Worldcom, Ebbers’ primary holding. It appears that the internal audit is finding irregularities within Worldcom valuation and earnings. That could be a real problem not only for the proposed stadium project in Portland, but for Ebbers’s role as the lead figure in the Portland ownership group. It also raises significant questions about the USFL’s own audit capacity, as the irregularities under investigation date back as far as 1999, and should have been evident to USFL financial reviewers had they fully vetted Ebbers as was their charge. So, what does this mean for the Thunder and Portland’s new stadium. It is very early to say for sure, but if the audit within Worldcom points to Ebbers as a principle actor in any malfeasance, it could force a reshuffling of the Thunder ownership, just as we saw with St. Louis. Minority owner Phil Ruffin, is generally not viewed as having sufficient resources to sustain the club should Ebbers be forced out, which means that additional resources and potential owners would need to be brought into the Portland group. That could be good for the long term or it could once again mean that Portland’s franchise could once again be at risk. At minimum the unsettled situation during the investigation stalls any plans to begin a construction project for the proposed east side stadium. If Ebbers is in deep legal or financial trouble, it could be stalled indefinitely, and that is not good for the Thunder or the city. BOSTON'S IMPACT ON LEAGUE ALIGNMENT COULD BE BIG? Reports out of NYC have the league offices proposing a major shakeup to the new 6-division format after only 1 year. The shakeup could be related to the sale of the Fire and the club’s relocation to Boston, as the proposal looks to shake up regional divisions. Reports state that the proposal would have two new conferences, as of yet unnamed, which would each have a Northern, Southern, and Western Division. What is more shocking is that clubs would be placed into pairings and then each conference (represented by a team of league officials, would select 6 pairings of teams to join their 3 new divisions. This could, for example, put Tampa Bay and Orlando, or Denver and Arizona, not only in different divisions, but in different conferences. That seems somewhat unlikely as teams are almost certainly to be paired with key rivals, but it could break up some of the divisions we have known for years. While we don’t have any official word on the “pairings” concepts, we certainly can envision what some would naturally be. If the league owners approve the leaked plan, expect to see the two conferences (which likely would not have names based on geography) fighting over pairs of teams such as New Jersey-Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore, Tampa Bay-Orlando, Birmingham-Memphis, Houston-Texas, Denver-Arizona, Portland-Seattle, Chicago-Michigan, or Oakland-LA. But what happens to the teams that do not have natural pairings? Where does Boston fit in this? They have no rivalry to align with, no natural partner unless New Jersey is not paired with Philadelphia, which seems ludicrous considering their history together. We all expected that Boston’s purchase of the Atlanta franchise would produce some ripple in alignment, but this seems extreme. Perhaps it is just an idea to be floated to the owners, perhaps just one of several realignment plans, but for fans of some of the great regional rivalries in the league, this does not seem like a good direction for the league to head. Week 12 is our first of two season-ending all-divisional game weekends. This one could go a long way to straightening out who is in and who is out of playoff contention. Games to keep an eye on: Washington @ New Jersey: The winner holds all the cards for the Northeast title. This one could be ugly. Ohio @ Chicago: Yes, Ohio has it all wrapped up, but Chicago wants to win this one in their house, and it may be the last chance if anyone is going to stop Ohio from a 14-0 season Nashville @ Birmingham: It seems unlikely that both can make the playoffs behind Memphis, so the winner of this game takes a clear advantage and may just win themselves a Wild Card berth. New Orleans @ Memphis: Can the Breakers keep pace with the Knights-Stallions winner? To do so they need to knock off a Memphis squad that really does not have more than pride to play for as they have the top seed all wrapped up. Houston @ Arizona: This is the Wranglers’ shot to get right in the thick of things. A win and they are at .500 with 2 weeks left. A loss and it may be time to rest Jake Plummer. Texas @ Denver: Another key matchup, with Texas hoping to catch the Gamblers for the division and Denver hoping to get back in the mix by reaching .500. Seattle @ Oakland: Win and the Dragons are right back in the Pacific hunt, pulling Oakland down, while an Invader win and they are in command, with 2 games up on Seattle and only Portland to worry about. Other games this week: Portland needs to knock off LA to stay alive in the Pacific. The two face off in Cali. Pittsburgh is at Michigan with both clubs 4-7 and 2 games back of the last Wild Card spot. Tampa Bay is in Jacksonville, where the Bulls hope to lock up the division with a win. Orlando is in Atlanta, where a win, plus a Bandit upset of the Bulls would put them right back in the hunt. And finally, Philadelphia will start both David Garrard and Ladell Betts to get a look at the future as they visit Baltimore, who may well start some rookies as well.

We all said it was coming, that for a team to go unbeaten even in a 14-game season was nearly impossible, and for two to achieve the feat in the same season was practically unthinkable. The weekly pressure can be too much and the opposition too tough. Well, one of our two unbeatens discovered just how tough it can be to run the table as Memphis fell at home to the Washington Federals. Ohio had an easier time this week, but needs to be on the lookout as now all the pressure fall on them. In a week with a lot of close, competitive games, we start with the clear game of the week, Washington knocking off the Showboats. There is a reason why an undefeated season in pro football is such a rare occurrence. Unlike college where tough games can be balanced out with some cupcakes, in pro ball every week is a challenge. Add to that the pressure and attention that comes with being unbeaten, especially in the final weeks of the season, and you can see why we have only seen it once in the modern NFL and not at all in the first 19 seasons of USFL play. We started the week with two unbeaten teams, but end it with one, as Memphis struggled against the vaunted Washington pass rush. They were unable to fully unleash their high flying offense, and in the end Washington was able to make the plays to drop Memphis from the unbeatens. The key was that Washington D, as Heath Shuler was held to only 188 yards passing and the leading receiver for the Showboats had only 3 receptions. We even saw Bill Musgrave in the game as Shuler was knocked out late in the game on one of 7 sacks recorded by the Federals in the game. The game started well for Memphis as they scored on their opening drive, a 2 yard run by FB Larry Centers seven minutes into the game. Washington responded with what has become something of a trend this year, Kordell Stewart on a planned QB run. Washington executed a perfect naked bootleg, and when the Memphis defenders bit and pursued Steven Davis it left Stewart in the clear for a 57-yard touchdown run. The two would trade scores most of the game, but not at the pace we are used to seeing Memphis operate. By the half, after additional scores from Yatil Green (WSH) and Tony Carter (MEM), the score was 17-10 Federals. What the scoreboard did not show was that Heath Shuler was taking a beating. Only 3 official sacks in the first half, but the Tennessee product was hit countless times, seemingly every time he dropped back. Memphis seemed capable of trading scores with Washington, as they retook the lead, 21-17, after a long drive ended with Garrison Hearst dashing into the endzone from the six yard line. But, Kordell Stewart quickly got Washington back on top, finding a gap in the defense as Memphis played man coverage, backs turned to the elusive QB. Stewart ran the gap and again found paydirt, a 13-yard TD. As the fourth quarter began, Washington expanded the lead to 27-21 on a Doug Pelfrey field goal, but most in the Liberty Bowl felt confident that Shuler could lead them back. But, on a 2nd and 7, Shuler rolled right on a bootleg, but right into a blitzing Ed Reed, who took down the Showboat QB with authority. Shuler was slow to get up and looked a bit wobbly. He was taken out of the game for 3rd down, tried to return on the next drive, but missed on 2 straight passes, seemingly having issues with his focus, so Coach Mora pulled him. That change meant that Memphis had little chance to rebound and overcome the 6-point Washington lead. Coach Mora made it clear in the postgame press conference that the decision was his. Shuler wanted to play but Mora felt it was more important to protect his QB and have him healthy for a playoff run, more important than striving to stay unbeaten. Memphis fell to the Federals, but in his strategy Mora chose the long game. There is no benefit of winning today if it means risking a title run later on. Pulling Shuler may have cost them this game, or maybe it did not, but if Shuler is able to start next week, as has been indicated, the bigger goal for the Showboats is still very much intact. OHI 34 LA 17 There were some who felt that LA was in as good a position to upset Ohio as Washington had been with the Showboats, but even after taking a 14-7 lead after 1 quarter, LA was unable to hold. Ohio scored twice in the 2nd to take the lead at 21-14 and never looked back. They got 109 yards from Eddie George and 3 TDs from Kerry Collins and LA, who were forced to play Quincy Carter at QB after McCown pulled up with what appeared to be a groin injury after a scramble, and that hampered any attempt by LA to keep pace with Ohio’s explosive offense. BAL 17 NSH 34 The Knights reached .500 thanks to a 3rd straight win as they doubled up the score on Baltimore despite being outgained 427-309. The key were the turnovers, 4 for the Blitz, none for the Knights. Jeff Garcia threw three picks as DeShea Townsend had a career game. The 5th year CB had 2 picks, running both back for scores in a game basically decided by those two big plays. NJ 28 NOR 24 New Jersey took one step closer to a division title as they eked past New Orleans on the road. Tom Brady went 14 of 20 and threw for 2 TDs to help the Generals get the W. The defense also played a big role, sacking Trent Dilfer 5 times and limiting the Breakers to only 2 of 12 on third down. Both clubs now sit at 6-4 and remain in solid playoff contention. JAX 24 TEX 34 Another good matchup of playoff contenders saw Texas hold off the Jacksonville Bulls, thanks in part to Ryan Leaf’s first 4-TD day as an Outlaw. Leaf completed 21 of 30 passes for only 197 yards, and he did throw 2 picks, but his 4 scoring plays were the difference for the Outlaws. Jacksonville got 125 yards and a score from Kenny Bynum as well as 132 through the air for WR Terrell Owens, but it was not enough in the end to get the W. ORL 21 ARZ 14 With Jacksonville losing on Saturday, the Renegades knew they could take over 1st place on a tiebreaker with a win in Arizona on Sunday afternoon. It was not easy, but the ‘Gades did what was needed, building up a 19-7 lead and following up a Plummer to Dwight score in the 4th with a safety to boost their lead to 7, a lead they did not relinquish. Gus Frerotte got the start for Orlando, but relied heavily on the D to secure the win. TBY 20 DEN 21 Any hopes the Bandits had at a late Wild Card run might have been crushed as they watched a 20-12 lead disappear in the 4th. Denver added 9 points in the final period, including a last minute TD from Brunell to Greg Clark to steal a win at home. Denver is still alive at 4-6, while Tampa, at 3-7, may be done. PHI 10 BIR 23 The Stallions are back to .500 thanks to a solid defensive performance against the Will Furrer-led Stars. Shaun Alexander rushed for 88 yards and Marcus Robinson scored twice for the Stallions as they outpaced the struggling Stars. ATL 6 HOU 40 With Drew Bledsoe out, the Fire reverted to their early season sad play, failing to score a TD and getting dominated by the Houston D-line. Mark Bulger spent a good part of the game on the ground looking up at Kavika Pittman and company. Meanwhile, Matt Hasselbeck completed 20 of 33 for 246 and 3 touchdowns as Houston cruised to the win and kept a share of first place in the Southwest Division. PIT 20 OAK 27 The Invaders continue to impress, winning their 4th in a row to reach an unexpected 5-5 and first place in the Pacific Division despite losing Marques Tuiasosopo to injury. Jon Kitna came in midway through the 2nd quarter and helped lead Oakland to 20 points, including a TD pass to Plaxico Burress and a Rodney Thomas TD run. Pittsburgh were in the game the whole way, but a late fumble from TE Jay Riemersma doomed them to the 7-point loss. CHI 20 POR 24 The upset of the week (other than Memphis losing, right?) was in Portland, where the Thunder stunned the Machine. Akili Smith had one of his best outings of the year, throwing for 307 yards and 3 scores against the best D in the league. Matthew Hatchette shone in this one, catching 6 balls for 123 and 2 scores as Portland stunned the visitors and stayed alive in the Wild Card hunt at 4-6. MGN 31 SEA 21 Michigan had one of their best offensive games against an injury-riddled Seattle defense. T.J. Duckett rushed 24 times for 111 and 2 scores, and the Panthers also got a late scoop & score TD from Andy Katzenmoyer that was later called an interception because the ball never hit the ground, bouncing off the chest of a prone receiver into Katzenmoyer’s hands. OAKLAND ON THE RISE Don’t look now, but after rattling off 4 straight wins, the Oakland Invaders are legitimate playoff contenders and stand alone atop the Pacific Division at 5-5. In a season that saw Oakland start the year 1-5, it is a shocking turnaround that has them back at .500 and leading their division. This is a team that has gone 4-12 each of the past 3 seasons and now they have a very legitimate chance at hosting a playoff game. How are they doing it? The answer, much to the surprise to many of us, is defense. One of the worst defenses in the league the past 4 seasons has turned into one of the best, seemingly overnight. What changed? Two things seem to have sparked the shift. First, after their Week 3 loss, a 41-13 drubbing by the LA Express, Head Coach Gunther Cunningham stepped in and opted to take over gameday defensive playcalling from his defensive coordinator. That shift showed immediate results as Oakland scored a huge upset of Jacksonville the next week, holding the Bulls to only 6 points in the game. One week later a trade was made to bring safety Pearson Prioleau to the Bay Area. He was immediately placed in the starting positoin at strong safety and again results were seen. After a loss to Denver 26-6 in Week 5, Oakland has not allowed more than 20 points in any game. And it is not that they have been beating up on bad teams. In addition to knocking off Jacksonville, the Invaders have defeated (in their 4 game streak) the Gamblers, Generals, and Dragons. Oakland will not face another team that currently has a winning record, and that could spell not only a division title for the long-downtrodden Invaders, but possibly a top 2 seed and a bye, if you can believe it. Oakland faces 4-6 Arizona, 4-6 Seattle (at home), 3-7 LA, and 4-6 Portland to finish out the season. Now, we have to recognize that both Seattle and Portland sit at 4-6, only 1 game back, so they may prove tough competition and certainly are motivated to knock Oakland out of 1st place. But, let’s not go there right now, let’s just revel in the fact that the Invaders have been one of this season’s most pleasant surprises. BREAKING OUT Let’s keep the positivity flowing by looking at 5 breakout players or squads for this year. Oakland’s newfound defensive fortitude is certainly one big story, but there are others that deserve our attention. Matt Hasselbeck (QB-HOU): The former BC quarterback has stepped up over the last 2 seasons really, but is getting noticed this year because he has the Gamblers playing very solid football. After a rough first year as a starter in the league, Hasselbeck has continued to improve over the past 2 seasons. He currently has a 96.6 QB rating, just outside the top 5, and has 18 touchdowns to only 6 picks. He is on pace for a 3,000 yard season for the second year in a row, and most importantly, he has Houston believing they can win their division and do some realy damage in the postseason. He has found a real connection with wideouts Antonio Freeman and Koren Robinson, and has maximized the ball skills of HB Kevin Faulk as well. Hasselbeck is no gunslinger like Favre or Shuler, but he is proving to be just what Houston needed. Kenny Bynum is finding success as the bell cow in Jacksonville. After 4 seasons sitting behind other backs, Bynum has been given the lead role for the Bulls and he is leaping into the roll. Bynum has spent the past 3 seasons sharing time with Sedrick Irvin, and despite always having a YPC over 4.0, he simply did not get the attention he deserves. But the coaching staff in Jacksonville certainly noticed, and when Irvin was traded away it was clear that they trusted Bynum to carry the load at halfback. He has done just that, already with career highs in carries with 203 and a career high of 812 yards after only 10 games. As Jacksonville has improved to a true division contender, we have given a lot of credit to the defense, but it has been Bynum’s ability to grind down opposition defenses and kill clock at the end of the game that has made a lot of those defensive numbers possible. David Boston had big shoes to fill when Eric Metcalf retired. Seattle had long been able to use Boston mostly as a deep threat, living with single coverage as teams tried to defend against Metcalf, but this year, now as the clear #1 in Seattle, Boston has stepped up. He is on pace to set personal bests in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He is averaging 81 yards per game and leading the club with 9 receiving scores, all this despite now being the one drawing double coverage. Yes, it helps that teams often key on Corey Dillon and the run game, but with only O.J. McDuffie even over 20 catches as a wideout, the passing game has gone through Boston and TE Jeramy Stevens all year. Boston has more TDs than all other receivers combined, a stat that Seattle would like to fix, but for now David Boston is stepping up. The Federals pass rush. Yes, we know, saying the Feds have a tough defensive front seems redundant, and not exactly news, but we want to emphasize just how good this defense has been when it comes to rushing the passer. Ask anyone around football who is leading the USFL in sacks and they are likely to say Houston, after all, the Gamblers have the dynamic duo of Pittman and Sinclair, but they would b ewrong. Washington has a full 12 sacks more than the Gamblers this season (48 to 36), and lead the league by 8 sacks over Chicago. How do they do it? Well, it helps to have one of the best penetrating defensive tackles in the game in Jerome Brown. Brown’s 10 sacks are far and away the most by a DT in the game this year. But it is not just Brown. DE Tony Brackens has grown into his role as an edge rusher and is among league leaders with 12 sacks. His opposite, Bobby Hamilton, has a respectable 6 sacks as well, and then you add in the blitzes that the Feds have added to their repertoire and you get a deadly combo. Both Michael Barrow (4 sacks) and Dwayne Rudd (also 4 sacks) have gotten into the act, and even rookie FS Ed Reed has become a blitzer as he has proven to be a great addition as not only a run-stuffing safety, but a force in blitz schemes. All in all, the Feds are proving that rumors of their defense losing a step are clearly wrong. This is a team no QB wants to face, as we saw this week. The Chicago run defense. Yes, the USFL is a passing league, but the passing game often relies on a solid balance to free up receivers and close out games. Chicago is winning in large part because they keep games close and shut down the run. The Machine have allowed only 674 yards in 10 games (that’s an average under 70 yards a game), and that has kept them close in pretty much every game. The key to the Chicago run defense is their LB corps, led by MLB Brian Urlacher. Urlacher has been near the top of the tackle leaders all season, roving the field to take down ballcarriers who try to go off-tackle or out wide. But he is not alone. Paired with the athletic Tommy Polley and a rotation of Keith Brooking and Carlos Emmons in Coach Mornhinweg’s 4-3, the Machine have made it difficult for any back to get the better of them. NOT SO MUCH GOOD If we are going to celebrate 5 breakout players/squads, we also should look to our disappointments this year. Here are five nominees for the most disappointing turnout after high preseason expectations. Trent Green (QB, TBY): Tampa Bay’s 2nd season with Trent Green has not produced what all in the Gulf Coast had hoped for. Yes, Green is 4th in the league with 2,637 yards passing, but a QB Rating of only 89.8 and a completion rate of only 52.2 are not getting the job done for the Bandits. Add in the propensity for Green to take sacks by holding onto the ball too long and you have a talented QB who is simply not playing intuitive ball. He is trying to not lose, not playing to win, and it is showing. Sedrick Irvin (HB, ORL): Orlando thought they had landed a gem in Irvin, let go by Jacksonville after three pretty solid years, but it seems the Bulls had a reason to let the big back go. Irvin’s highest YPC average in the league was last year in Jacksonville and it barely hit 4.0. This year with Orlando he is down to 3.4 yards per carry and his 629 yards are not likely to lead to a 1,000 yard season. Add in the fact that on runs from inside the 5 he has only crossed the endline twice. That is 2 TDs from 17 runs. Not what you want to see from a back known as a bruiser and a bulldozer. Jeff Garcia (QB, BAL): When the only QB in the league who has thrown at least 100 passes and ranks below you in passing, is clearly a backup who only saw action due to injury, you know your starting QB is not playing well. That is the case with Baltimore’s Jeff Garcia. Only Mark Bulger has a worse QBR than his 64.2. Garcia has thrown only 3 TDs all year, compared to 12 picks. And while we admit that Bill Schroeder, Rob Moore, and Darneriaen McCants are not exactly the most explosive receiver group, a lot of the blame is on Garcia himself. He is not seeing the field well, throwing into coverages, or giving up on receivers before their window even hits. Simply put, he is playing more like a backup thrown into action unprepared than like a season-opening starter. With only Billy Joe Tolliver and Shaun Hill behind him, Garcia is likely to run out the year at QB, but we fully expect Baltimore to look for new options in the offseason. The entire Philadelphia defense: No need to pick out individuals here. The whole squad has been ugly to watch. The Stars are last in the league in points allowed at nearly 27 PPG on average. They are 2nd in yards allowed, and last in rush defense as well, giving up nearly 130 yards per game on the ground. Add to this the fact that they are tied for last in the league with only 3 picks as a team this season, and you can see why they are on this list. We expected more from Jim Mora Jr’s defense, as I am sure fans did too. Just last season, when they won the Atlantic Division at 9-7, they were not in the bottom 10 in any defensive categories. Yes, there have been a couple of injuries over the course of the year, but they have no one on IR. But this is a defense that lost zero players in the offseason, zero. They retain the same roster as last year, and even added some talent in rookie SS Takne Williams and LB Ryan Nece, and yet they are just getting run all over the field. Regan Upshaw needs help on the D-line as Derrick Burgess and Seth Payne are just not getting it done, and when the 3-man line in a 3-4 cannot hold up it puts a ton of pressure on the linebackers. Philly’s LB corps of George Koonce, Mike Crawford, Sam Rogers, and Quinton Caver is just not talented enough to pick up the slack. Looks like Coach Mora is going to need to spend some of Myles Tanenbaum’s money to get some new blood into this squad. The Breaker’s pass rush: We stick with defense one more time, this time for a team that has a lot going for it, and yet, the pass rush is just not there for the Breakers. They traded for Clyde Simmons, and he has 7 sacks in a short season in the Big Easy, but as a team the Breakers are just not getting it done. The next highest sack total is for Jim Wahler, the DT, with only 3. Chidi Ahanotu has not fared well after switching over to the right side, and swing end Michael McCrary has been almost invisible on the field. New Orleans does not want to blitz, relying on LBs like Lamar Lathon and DeWayne Dotson to be in coverage, but if they want to put pressure on passers, especially come playoff time, they may have to start blitzing more because Simmons is not enough to consistently rush passes or get drive-killing sacks. With their 10th win, Ohio becomes the first club to lock up a playoff spot. Technically they have not yet won the Central Division, but they are 4 games up on Chicago so either 1 win or 1 Chicago loss and the title is theirs. Memphis is also essentially 1 win away as they have a 3-game lead on New Orleans, but also hold the tie-breakers. If they can rebound this week after suffering their first loss, they will clinch the Southern Division. Currently the 4 other division leaders are Orlando (Southeast), New Jersey (Northeast), Texas (Southwest) and Oakland (Pacific), but in each case the division leader is either tied with another club or only 1 game up, so it may be several weeks before we know who else wins their division. A lot of clustering between 6-4, 5-5, and 4-6 means we may not know the Wild Card situation until Week 14 either. Right now Washington and Nashville have the final 2 spots, both at 5-5, but they have a ton of teams right behind them, and tiebreakers can shift as teams change their conference, or divisional records in the season’s final weeks. This could be a rough year for those of us who have to figure out how ties are broken. A bad week for injuries across the USFL, with several players who will be unavailable for the final push and for any playoff games. Among the big hits we find Arizona WR Santana Moss, placed on IR with a quad tear. Orlando will be without LB Anthony Jordan after he broke his fibia in a nasty pileup. Chicago will be down a top corner as R.W. McQuarters suffered a ruptured disc, and Michigan placed CB Deltha O’Neill on IR with a hip injury. Texas will have to make a playoff run without receiver and return man Kirby Dar Dar, who has an elbow injury that will cost him at least 4 weeks. Philadelphia’s best receiver, 2nd year player Steve Smith, is done with a back issue, and Oakland will likely finish the season with Jon Kitna at QB, as starter Marques Tuiasosopo is out with a ruptured bicep in his throwing arm. With only a 1 game lead over Denver and Arizona, that could be huge. Other injuries include LA defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt (1-2 weeks with a bicep as well), LA QB Cade McNown (likely only 1 week with a groin injury), Jacksonville WR Brian Stablein (doubtful, hip), Atlanta HB Tiki Barber (Doubtful, finger), and Tampa Bay guard Steve Hutchinson (Questionable after a concussion suffered this week.) Some significant news out of the NYC USFL league offices this week as we got an update on future Summer Bowl sites as well as the official announcement of the Hall of Fame Class of 2002. Let’s start there. HOF Class of 2022 Announced Five more USFL greats have been selected to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and we have history as the first offensive lineman is taken, a wait that for many was too long in coming. The five players entering the hall this year are all outstanding in their own ways, some are record-holders, some vital pieces of championship squads, but all of them the best at what they do. Mike Rozier (HB) enters the Hall as the only unanimous first-ballot vote getter in this year’s class. Not surprising when we consider his career with the Maulers. Rozier was a force, and enters the Hall as one of the greats at the position. Thurman Thomas (HB) helped redefine the halfback position as a three-skill position, with blocking and pass receiving as much a part of his game as running between the tackles. He won 3 titles with the Houston Gamblers and was one of the most feared receivers out ot the backfield in the game, thanks in large part to Houston’s wide open Run & Shoot offense. Howard Ballard (T) was another huge piece of the Run & Shoot for the Gamblers, protecting QB Jim Kelly’s blindside and pulling on both run plays and the system’s countless screens. Ballard is the first offensive lineman to make the hall, but we expect to see more in upcoming years to be sure. Dexter Manley (DE) led one of the most feared pass rushing combos in pro football history. Manley was relentless in his pursuit of the QB, and helped Washington to build a reputation that lives on to this day as one of the best defenses in pro football. Brian Bosworth (LB) came into the league with a lot of hype, leaving Oklahoma to join the local Outlaws. In his rookie year he led the league in tackles (a bright star on a pretty bad Oklahoma Outlaws roster). He was always among the league leaders in tackles, and prominent in highlight reels as well, due to his extravagan style and love of the camera. Five players who helped define the early 90’s in the USFL, and who all richly deserve their place in Canton. But for every player inducted, there is one who came close but has not made the cut, at least this year. Among those who were close but did not make the final five we have Portland tackle Bruce Armstrong, Wideouts Louis Lipps and Bill Brooks, QBs Cliff Stoudt and Chuck Long, and Manley’s teammate in DC, Charles Haley. There is, of course, next year, but once again we expect a stacked list of newly eligible candidates as we get the pool of players who left the game after the 1998 season. SUMMER BOWL NEWS The second bit of news coming out of New York was an update on upcoming Summer Bowls. As expected, Orlando, the 2002 league champion, has been granted a Summer Bowl for the Citrus Bowl. Orlando will host the 2004 Summer Bowl, and we all hope the humidity of Florida in late July or early August will not be an issue. Following Orlando, we will see two new stadiums on display as Houston hosts the 2005 edition of the league championship game in their newly-opened retractable roof domed stadium, while in 2006 it will be Philadelphia’s new stadium, built in partnership with the NFL Eagles, which will host the title game. Finally, we were gifted the first look at the logo for Seattle’s 2003 Summer Bowl, the first to be held in that city. Logos for both the 2002 Pittsburgh-hosted game and the 2003 Seattle game can be seen below. We have our first clinched playoff spot. Will Week 11 bring more? It seems likely as we will see divisional battles across the Eastern Conference and inter-divisional matchups in the West. New Jersey hopes to take command of the Northeast and a win on the road in Baltimore would be a big step in that direction. Washington is just a game behind and they visit 2-8 Philadelphia with plans to stay right in the hunt. In the Southeast we have two 6-4 teams atop the division and both facing 3-win foes as Jacksonville heads up the road to Atlanta while Orlando hosts the Tampa Bay Bandits for an in-state rivalry game. Ohio remains unbeaten and face a local rival as they host the Pittsburgh Maulers at Ohio Stadium. Chicago, now 4 games back of the Glory at 6-4, are hosting Michigan and now have their sights set on a top Wild Card seed, which would give them at least their first game at home. Of the Western inter-divisional games, the most intriguing may well be the 5-5 Invaders visiting the 4-6 Wranglers. Both teams are riding the cusp of the playoff bubble, so a win for either would be huge. The same could be said for 5-5 Nashville, who have ridden a nice win streak to get back in the hunt. They will visit Texas, who sit at 6-3-1, tied with Houston atop the Southwestern Division. Houston has a tough matchup but will get some home cooking when they host the New Orleans Breakers. Memphis, having just suffered their first loss, will visit Portland, who are another cusp team at 4-6. In Seatle, two more teams that cannot afford to lose as Birmingham visits the Dragons. And finally, out at Mile High, two of the seasons’ bigger disappointments meet as the LA Express at 3-7 face off against the 4-6 Gold.

Playoff Picture: Ohio, sitting at a perfect 10-0, becomes the first team to clinch a palyoff berth. They can win the division with 1 more win or a Chicago loss over the next 4 weeks.