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Playoff Picture: With 5 weeks left in the regular season no teams have yet locked in a playoff berth or been eliminated. Week 10 could significantly impact both.

The pressure is on, the quest for a perfect season is showing some cracks as both Ohio and Memphis are feeling the heat. Every game is vital, every play essential, every mistake potentially catastrophic. Nine weeks, nine wins, but they are not all coming easy, as this week showed, with both the Showboats and the Glory pressed hard by quality opposition. Will one of them crack? Or could we see something unprecedented in pro football, two unbeaten teams headed into the playoffs with perfection as their trademark? And just a quick reminder that voting on the Boston USFL team's identity is live and will remain open until our Week 14 recap is posted. Click on "Boston Poll" on the main menu above, review the three options and pick your favorite on the poll at the bottom of the page. We had a slew of really close games this week, but when you have an unbeaten club trailing with less than 2 minutes to go and they find a way to win on an amazing late-game bomb, you have to go with that one as the game of the week. Add in that it was a divisional matchup and perhaps the only shot New Orleans had of getting back in the divisional race and this game was huge. The Breakers had a brilliant gameplan, rushing only 4 and forcing the Showboats to dink and dunk their way down the field on long drives with a smothering zone defense. It clearly frustrated Memphis all day, as Heath Shuler was simply unable to get the big play for 59 minutes of action. It was just 1 minute short, and one 1 play short. Shuler would complete only 11 of 21 passing attempts and Memphis would convert only 2 of 13 third downs, as New Orleans was simply committed to not allowing Memphis any big plays. The Breakers would outgain Memphis 405 to 261, but Memphis found a way to win. Memphis got two big plays in the game. The first came on their first drive as Garrison Heart burst through the line, juked the safety and sprinted 37 yards for the game’s opening score. He would be contained after that, rushing only for another 31 yards all day as New Orleans locked him down. The two clubs swapped some field goals after that and at the half it was Memphis up 13-6 in a frustrating game for Showboat fans, who expected fireworks and were getting a slog of a game. In the second half, after 2 more field goals made the score 16-9, New Orleans got their only big play of the game, a 30-yard touchdown pass from Trent Dilfer to Raynard Brown. Brown would finish the day as the game’s top receiver by a mile, catching 6 balls for 138 and this score. The second highest total was 66 yards from Adrian Cooper, but through 3 quarters he had only 1 reception for 5 yards. The Breakers and Showboats stayed tied at 16 throughout the rest of the 3rd and well into the final quarter. After a pass interference call against Memphis corner Fred Weary, who was stuck covering Brown all day, the Breakers ended the tie with a 30 yard Lin Elliott field goal. They now led 19-16 with only 1:25 on the clock. If they could keep up the pressure, they would knock Memphis from the ranks of the unbeaten and move within 1 game of the division. The problem with that scenario is that with only 1 minute left, Memphis is not going to run a standard offense, and with a 4-wide formation and no attempt to run at all, New Orleans has to respond with a defensive strategy change as well, meaning the close zones that had worked all day would not be as effective against an all-out 2-minute drill. New Orleans switched to a 3-deep zone, which allowed room underneath, but also created a seam that could be exploited if Memphis’s outside receivers could draw the deep safeties to the sidelines. And that is exactly what happened on a 2nd and 2 after an initial catch by Tydus Wynans on 1st down. Memphis stacked their outside receivers, and when both on either side ran a combination of flat and deep out patterns, the safeties had to follow them to the sidelines. That left TE Adrian Cooper alone against a single safety in the seam. Shuler found Cooper 12 yards downfield, and when the safety got brushed off on the tackle, Cooper had a clear path 61 yards down the field for the score. It was a stunner. The crowd in the Super Dome gasped, and then howled, and then just threw up their hands in exasperation at the defensive gaff. But, was it really a gaff or just a brilliant play call to take advantage of the inherent weakness of the called zone? Do we credit the Showboats or blame the DC for New Orleans? Honestly, after a brilliant defensive game from the Breakers, we think the best thing to say is that this Memphis squad is special, and that they found a way to win, a small defensive gap that they exploited. The final result is what it is. Memphis moves to 9-0 after yet another close call. New Orleans is still in a strong position at 6-3, but must resign themselves to likely hosting a Wild Card game as they trail Memphis by 3 games with only 5 left to play. OHI 20 WSH 18 Ohio too got a serious scare as they faced off against the Federals in DC. Up 20-9, the Glory saw Washington claw back, thanks to an 80-yard TD from rookie wideout Deion Branch, but a missed 2-point conversion turned out to be the difference in the game as Ohio held on to win by 2. Kerry Collins survived 5 sacks and 9 hurries to throw for 363 and 2 scores. Eddie George was on pace for 100 yards, but a minor ankle injury meant that Lamont Warren had to finish up the game for the now 9-0 Glory. TBY 29 CHI 27 Chicago, like New Orleans, also falls 3 games behind their undefeated division leader, as they too are the victims of a late score. In a back and forth game with Tampa Bay, Chicago took a 27-26 lead with 1:49 left to play as Jeff George hit WR Johnnie Morton from 47 yards out, but again a failed 2-pointer meant that their lead was only 1. Tampa stormed down the field, close enough for Mike Vanderjagt to kick the game winner with only 8 seconds left on the clock. ARZ 25 HOU 31 OVERTIME The Houston Gamblers stop their slide at 3 games, getting a huge divisional win against Arizona in overtime. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 378 and 3 scores, the most important being a short TD pass to Antonio Freeman on the opening possession of overtime, avoiding any chance for Jake Plummer to lead the Wranglers to victory in the extra period. Plummer had thrown for 2 scores and run for a third in regulation, but never saw the ball in the extra period as Houston took the W. DEN 21 TEX 24 Texas kept pace with Houston and handed Denver their 6th loss of the season thanks to 108 yards from backup HB Erric Pegram. Pegram had his biggest day in years, rushing for 2 scores as he subbed for the injured Kenny Bynum. The Texas defense also played its part, picking off Mark Brunell in the final seconds to preserve the win and send Denver to a third straight defeat. OAK 20 SEA 13 Believe it or not, the Oakland Invaders are in first place. They take the division lead at 4-5 with a win on the road against a rudderless Dragons squad. Craig Erickson again got the start and again had issues moving the ball. Oakland’s defense, which has come alive since a midseason trade brought SS Pearson Prioleau to town, limited Seattle to 1 field goal in the second half, and when Marques Tuiasosopo hit Donte Stallworth with a 19-yard TD in the 4th, the Invaders had a lead they would not relinquish. Oakland and Seattle are now tied atop the Pacific at 4-5, with Portland and LA a game back at 3-6. LA 20 POR 45 That’s right, the Thunder are also alive in the playoff hunt after they stun LA with 45 points at home. Napoleon Kaufmann rushed for 93 yards and 2 scores, with backup Blair Thomas also contributing another 45 yards and a score as Akili Smith only attempted 15 passes the entire game. For LA, the problem was drops, as LA receivers dropped 5 passes in the game, including 2 on third down that cost them possession. BIR 17 NSH 33 The Nashville Knights moved within range of a playoff spot at 4-5 thanks to a solid effort in their new home against divisional foe Birmingham. The Knights sacked Brett Favre 6 times, and limited Shaun Alexander to only 23 yards rushing on 11 attempts. It also was a big game for Ahman Green, after missing 2 weeks due to injury. Green rushed 31 times for 54 yards and 2 scores as Nashville did not ease him back in, but threw him in the deep end. ATL 10 NJ 20 New Jersey took over sole possession of first in the Northeast, improving their record to 5-4 with a 10 point win over Atlanta. A sack of Drew Bledsoe caused him to leave the game after only 5 pass attempts, and after that Atlanta got a dreadful performance from Mark Bulger, completing only 4 of 24 pass attempts. Tom Brady fared better for the Generals, completing 27 of 34 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns. JAX 20 BAL 10 The Bulls got just the bump they wanted after two rough home losses, doubling up Baltimore at Aetna Stadium. Rookie Javon Walker had a breakout game, catching 8 balls for 111 yards, but it was a pick-six by Terrell Buckley that sealed the win for the Bulls. ORL 38 MGN 10 Orlando got 108 yards and 2 TDs from Sedrick Irvin as they manhandled the Michigan Panthers. Drew Brees was sacked 5 times and Michigan went only 3 of 10 on third down as the Renegades coasted to an easy win to move to 5-4 and into a playoff eligible position. PIT 20 PHI 17 OVERTIME As hard as it is to believe, the Pittsburgh Maulers currently occupy the 6th playoff spot as they snag their 4th win of the year in a close overtime win against Philadelphia. Alge Crumpler’s late TD catch helped Pittsburgh get to overtime and Bill Grammatica kicked home the game winner to take the Keystone Clash this year. The win actually puts the Maulers ahead of several other 4-5 clubs in the playoff race, as bizarre as that sounds. Trouble in Tampa Things have begun to unravel in Tampa Bay, where Coach George Seifert is hearing it from fans and from players as the Bandits sit at 3-6 and in the basement of the Southern Division. The fans have been antsy about the former Summer Bowl winner as the Bandits have missed the playoffs both seasons since winning their 2nd title in 1999. A 9-7 finish last year, even without a playoff appearance, seemed to indicated that Seifert had solved the issues of 2000 and was back on the right course, but this year’s struggles have again sparked concern that Seifert rode his predecessor’s success in 1999 and has been unable to forge his own team as a winner. If this were just coming from fans, that would be one thing, but there is also grumbling in the lockerroom about everything from playing time to personnel decision and play calling. Two of the loudest voices, voices which have started to find outlets in the local press, have been two of the team’s bigger stars, wideout Randy Moss and DE Santana Dotson. Both Moss and Dotson have made some not-so-subtle suggestions to the press that Seifert is losing the lockerroom. We know that Moss is not happy with the offensive production of the club, particularly his lack of targets compared to other #1 receivers around the league. Moss is still a yardage leader, but has only 69 targets to date, well off the pace of past years. He had 19 touchdowns in 2001, but has only 5 this year. Very similar issues are the concern for Dotson, who has 8 sacks to lead the club but is also well off the pace that saw him snag 18 last season. Concern about depth and what they view as overly conservative playcalling seem to be the issues Tampa Bay players have with Seifert. Wins and losses seem to be the bigger issue, but if it is true that Seifert is beginning to lose his lockerroom, then ownership may need to look elsewhere to try to spark greater success for Tampa Bay, and all this only 3 years after they won it all in Troy Aikman’s last season. Yellow Flags We speak a lot of turnovers, yards gained, scoring average, and the like when discussing why teams are winning or losing, but we rarely talk about penalties. We all understand that penalties are a huge factor in the ability to sustain drives. One holding penalty can upend an very promising drive. Likewise, a poorly timed defensive penalty can turn a 3-and-out into a scoring drive for the opposition. So, why don’t we talk about this more? The main reason is this: it is not so much the number of penalties that matter but the type and timing of them. That makes penalties a hard number to align with success or failure. An aggressive defense may draw more offsides or defensive holding penalties, but may still shut down an offense. Likewise a strong offense can survive false starts or even holding calls to convert a 3rd down, especially if the penalty is in an early down. Just look at the numbers. The top 3 most penalized teams in the league are all in playoff position. Seattle leads the league with 73 penalties but is tied for 1st in the Pacific. They are followed by Houston and Orlando, two dominant defenses that occasionally draw penalties due to pure violence and aggression they exhibit, but those traits also impact the game, often preventing an offense from taking risks. Down at the bottom of the penalty list we have 5 clubs with losing records, though several are still in playoff contention. Washington is the most disciplined team, with only 31 penalties on the year, fewer than 4 per game. They are followed by Birmingham (34), Michigan (35), LA (36) and Baltimore (41). The fact that these teams are not called for many infractions does not seem to be translating to wins on Sunday. The fact may be that they are simply not as aggressive, or that they lack the ability to sustain drives even when penalties are not in play. Baltimore has one of the worst defenses in the league. Maybe they need a bit more aggression to be successful. Michigan’s offense certainly has trouble getting out of their own way, so the lack of offensive penalties has not translated into scoring for the Panthers. Simply put, we talk about yardage (gained or limited) and turnovers (taken away or given up) because we can make direct correlations between those numbers and the likelihood of a win, while penalties are more nuanced, depending on the situation, the timing, the type of penalty, and the ability of the opposition to take advantage. So, long story short, they just are not a good indicator of whether a team will be successful or not. No coach wants to see his players look sloppy, out of position, desperate, or undisciplined, but at the same time if they don’t push the boundaries a bit, are they really doing their all to win? With the USFL season shortened to 14 games, we thought it appropriate to move our usual Playoff Position Report from a Week 10 start to a Week 9 start. We immediately regretted that decision as we had to work with USFL officials in NY to figure out an insane number of tiebreakers and as we realized that this year, with only 9 teams in the league currently holding winning records, we would need to include teams with as few as 3 wins in our standings. Yes, we have 2 unbeaten teams, but after that everything is just a mishmash of mediocrity. No team in the Pacific Division has a winning record, which means Oakland at 4-5 is now the #3 seed in the playoffs. Seattle also makes the list of Wild Card teams at 4-5. Nashville, Birmingham, and Arizona are all right there as well at 4-5. The East is not much better, with Pittsburgh nabbing the 6th spot thanks to their tiebreaker advantages over Washington, and we have a group of 3-6 teams only 1 game out of that spot. It’s nuts!! In a year where we may all be sorely disappointed if we don’t get an Ohio-Memphis Summer Bowl, there are only 3 more teams with at least 6 wins (Jacksonville, Chicago, and New Orleans) and it seems no one is ready to step up and claim either the Northeastern or Pacific divisions. Or maybe we should have just waited another week before we tried to figure this out. A scary moment on Saturday as Baltimore wideout Lamar Thomas crashed to the ground after making contact with the safety and lay on the ground for several minutes. Team staff assisted medical staff to place Thomas on a backboard and to place him on the cart. He was rushed to a local hospital where it was reported that he was awake, able to respond to questions, and able to both sense and move his fingers and toes. The concern initially was a neck injury, but x-rays showed that Thomas had actually developed a fracture at the base of his skull. The injury is not expected to have significant longlasting impact on the wideout, but he will need time for the swelling to diminish and for the fracture to heal, so his season is done. We all feared much worse, so this news was met with relief around the league. Another season ending injury, but one with far less dramatic impact, was seen in Denver, where tackle Chris Terry suffered a torn quad, which will require a laproscopic surgery and will cost Terry the remainder of the season. In Texas, the concern was for center John Burch, who tore his MCL, again, another potential season ender. While in New Orleans, CB Ryan McNeill has been placed on IR after suffering a broken jaw not on the field, but in a motorcycle accident on Monday. Philadelphia’s young speedster Steve Smith will likely miss the rest of the year after suffering a high ankle sprain in this week’s game. In Seattle there is concern for Corey Dillon after he went down with what looks like a hip injury. Doctors ruled out a fracture and now believe it is a pinched nerve, but expect Dillon to be absent at least 1 week. In Atlanta it looks like Drew Bledsoe will miss Week 10, meaning that Mark Bulger will get the start. Blitz Get New Logo After 20 Seasons The Baltimore Blitz through 20 seasons have been the only 1 of the 12 founding franchises to use the same logo for every season. Even a move from Chicago to Baltimore in 1987 did not alter the familiar print “Blitz” logo with its lightning bolt double “z”. Well, that all changes for season 21 of the Blitz as Reebok this week unveiled the new look of the Baltimore Blitz. In place of the double-z design, the new logo features a lowercase “b” complete with a lightning bolt made of empty space. The Red initial b is surrounded by white and royal blue outlines that help give the lightning bolt its shape. This single letter logo will replace the “blitz” wordmark on the helmets and the sleeves of the uniform. The full name logo retains the thick lowercase font of the original but the trademark lightning symbols associated with the letter z are gone in favor of the emphasis on the B. Reebok also announced that while Billy Blitz, the logo/mascot of the Blitz, will be unchanged, his image will no longer appear on the uniforms. The uniforms are quite a bit simpler than past iterations of the Blitz design. While the royal, red, white, and silver color scheme is unchanged, the biggest difference between these uniforms and past versions is the reduction in the number of stripes which form the uniform. The helmet loses all striping, with only the new “B” logo on each side and a blue facemask. The pants also lack all striping, with only the new logo on each hip. There will be both metallic silver and royal blue pant options for the Blitz with this look. The jerseys in both white and royal blue feature a new angular number system, with 2 outlines: white letters with red and silver piping on the blue jersey, blue letters with silver then red outlines on the white jersey. The silver/grey sleeves are capped at each shoulder with a thick single-color stripe, red on the blue jersey and blue on the white jersey. The logo again appears on the sleeves. So, fewer stripes, but 6 appearances of the logo between helmet, jersey, and pants. Week 10 brings us another interconference clash, with all 24 clubs lining up foes from the opposite conference, a bit of a pause in the middle of what will be a bevvy of divisional matchups down the stretch. The best games include Washington, having just barely lost to Ohio, going to Memphis to face another unbeaten team. Ohio will face off against LA in LA, a game that could get us 80 points if both teams are on their offensive games. A good matchup in San Antonio, where the 5-3-1 Outlaws host the 6-3 Bulls. In Houston, the Gamblers play host to Atlanta, while in New Orleans we have another tough matchup for the Breakers as they host New Jersey. In other games we have Philly @ Birmingham, Baltimore visiting Nashville, Orlando in Arizona, Tampa Bay and Denver clashing at “New” Mile High, and Pittsburgh at Oakland with actual playoff position on the line. Chicago is in Portland to face the Thunder while Michigan travels to Seattle, where Brian Griese is expected back under center for the Dragons.

That is the question everyone is asking as we complete 8 weeks of a 14-week season and we still have two unbeaten teams in the league. Memphis has been tested the past few weeks, as they were this week by a Jacksonville squad that took them to the limit. Ohio has had it a bit easier, but they have a few tough games on the horizon. Can one, or even both of these teams reach 14-0? The pressure will mount each week, and all it takes is one bad day to end the dream for either club. Meanwhile, 22 other clubs are just struggling for relevance, and maybe a shot at a playoff spot. Week 8 did not shake up the standings very much, but it did kick off the 2nd half of the season with some really solid games. For the second straight Week Jacksonville hosted a killer game, our Game of the Week, and for the second consecutive week they fall as again they cannot hold on at the end. This time it was unbeaten Memphis, who have had their own share of close calls, who once again find a way to win. The Bulls have been winning with defense, but Memphis is a tough team to defend, as Jacksonville learned in the final minutes of a great back and forth game. The Bulls got off to a quick start, much as they did the week before, scoring 10 points in the first quarter before Memphis got on the board. Heath Shuler recovered from a shaky start (throwing a pick-6 to John Solomon of Jacksonville) and late in the 1st he connected with Adrian Cooper for the big TE’s 5th touchdown of the season. He would get his sixth just minutes later. Up 10-7 after one quarter, Jacksonville added 3 more early in the 2nd, but then Cooper struck again, this time from 46 yards as the big man just would not go down. Jacksonville finished out the half with two consecutive field goal drives, and led 19-14 after two, but settling for field goals was not going to get it done against the Showboats. The key to Jacksonville’s success was the ability to eat up clock with their run game. The Bulls would outrun Memphis 144-50, with Kenny Bynum having a strong day with 23 carries for 106 yards. But, what hurt Jacksonville all day was the quick strike capacity of the Showboats. In addition to Cooper’s two scores, they would hit on several big plays, including a 3rd down 38-yarder to Joe Horn, a 33-yarder to Tydus Wynans, and a 20 yarder on 3rd and 17 to FB Larry Centers. The inability of Jacksonville to close out third downs was a huge reason for the loss, as were these quick strike plays from Memphis. Down 22-14 after yet another Jacksonville kick, Memphis opened the 4th quarter with a field goal of their own, but then quickly got the ball back and scored again as Shuler found Justin McCaerins from 16 yards out to go up 25-22 at the halfway point of the final quarter. Jacksonville responded as they had all game, using the run to slowly march down the field. But, to their dismay, once again they got bogged down, this time stuck with a 4th and goal on the 5 after a 3rd down pass to Terrell Owens was swatted away. They settled for 3, tying the game at 25 with 1:27 left on the clock. That was, as we have learned, way too much time to give Heath Shuler. He did what he has done all year, connected on big plays for chunks of yardage, and with all 3 timeouts at his disposal, it was not long before he had the Showboats in the Red Zone. 1st and 10 at the 17 with 33 seconds left to play. Memphis could have settled for a field goal, but when a Garrison Hearst run on 1st down got them all the way to the 4-yard line, the temptation to go for 7 was too great. Shuler faked to Hearst and found Centers open in the flat. Centers strolled into the endzone and with 23 seconds to play, Memphis had a 7-point lead. Jacksonville had once again fallen in the final minute, and once again at home. Memphis remained unbeaten, though again certainly tested. HOU 20 OHI 23 The league’s other unbeaten team handed Houston their 3rd consecutive loss (after a 4-0-1 start) to remain unblemished for the season. It was a close one as Houston found some answers to the Ohio offense, but could not fully contain Chad Johnson, who finished with 121 yards receiving. Collins had to look to others to break through the Houston offense, taking 5 sacks along the way. With TD passes to Robert Ferguson and Eddie George, Ohio got the job done, winning on a late Don Silvestri field goal. NSH 12 ORL 7 The Knights showed a bit of that old-school defense once again, and with Joey Harrington dealing with back spasms after a tough hit early in the game, it fell on Gus Frerotte to lead the Renegades. It did not go well. He completed only 11 of 26 and threw two picks as Nashville shut down the Orlando offense. They got their own offense from the defense, scoring on a safety and a pick-six of Frerotte, as the offense without Ahman Green could not do much. So the defense came to the rescue for the Knights, as they have so often in the past. NOR 23 TBY 19 The Breakers managed to control the line of scrimmage against Tampa Bay, playing field position and using the right foot of kicker Lin Elliott to do just enough to outlast the Bandits in Tampa. Errict Rhett had a good game, rushing for 120 yards and a score, but it was not enough as New Orleans held the Bandits to a 4 of 11 third down conversion rate. ARZ 45 CHI 31 Chicago limited the damage Jake Plummer could do on the ground, but he still burnt them, throwing for 312 yards and 2 scores as Arizona put up 45 points on the #1 defense in the league . Jeff George helped them a bit, throwing 2 bad picks that both led to Arizona sores (one on a pick-six from Broderick Thomas). Add in a fumble on the goal line from Adrian Murell and you have a solid road win for the Wranglers. DEN 3 MGN 14 Despite completing 71% of his passes, Mark Brunell could not connect when it mattered most and Denver was held to their lowest offensive output in years. Michigan held the ball for almost 37 minutes, using T.J. Duckett and Winslow Oliver to control the clock. In a game that saw no points in the second half, both clubs seemed punchy, unable to string together plays to get into scoring range. TEX 10 PIT 31 The Maulers shocked Texas, playing some true smashmouth football as they sacked Ryan Leaf 5 times and held the run game of the Outlaws to only 51 yards. Terrell Davis had a solid day, rushing for 77 yards and 2 scores, but it was Charlie Batch’s accuracy, connecting on 18 of 22 passes, that helped the Maulers overcome the favored Outlaws. LA 35 BAL 14 It may be a bit late, but the Express seem to have rediscovered their offensive personality. Cade McNown threw for 231 and 3 scores in only 3 quarters of action (he was pulled with LA up 35-7 late.) Jeff Garcia did not look good for Baltimore, throwing 3 picks and throwing for only 143 on the day for Baltimore. The Express looked solid on both sides of the ball, a potential threat for the rest of their division even at 3-5. OAK 19 NJ 17 Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week as the Oakland defense seems to be coming around late in the year. They limited New Jersey to only 291 total yards, including only 51 for Curtis Enis. And while the Oakland defense was holding their own, the offense did just enough to earn the W. A touchdown from Freddie Solomon and 4 Joe Nedney field goals proved to be enough as fans in the Meadowlands left for home grumbling and visibly disappointed in their club’s effort. POR 15 PHI 23 The Stars get their second win as they outlasted the Portland Thunder in a sloppy game at the Vet. The two teams combined for 17 penalties, but in the end the Stars got the better of the deal, scoring on a Stephen Davis run and a Steve Smith TD catch to overtake the Thunder. Davis would finish with 114 yards and a 6.7 YPC average in one of his better games this season. SEA 5 WSH 27 With Brian Griese nursing a sore hamstring, Coach Tiller opted to go with Craig Erickson, and the Federals feasted on the longtime backup. Erickson was sacked 5 times, and threw a costly pick-six right into the hands of Charles Woodson. Kordell Stewart struggled through the air for Washington, but scored on a 59-yard touchdown run late in the 2nd quarter. Yes, the Feds did give up a safety, but it was an intentional one late in the game as they hoped to avoid a blocked punt from their own 1 yard line. All in all a solid win for the home team against a depleted Dragon squad. Eight weeks into the USFL’s new 14-week season, and one thing is for sure, our preseason picks are once again proving useless. To say this is par for the course is accurate, but that still does not let us off the hook. So, as always, we demand a 2nd chance to get it right. Here is our look at the preseason standings we predicted, and our revisions, with commentary, of course. NORTHEAST Predicted: 1-NJ, 2-Washington, 3-Philadelphia, 4-Baltimore Revised: 1-Washington, 2-New Jersey, 3-Baltimore, 4-Philadelphia Thoughts: The Feds and Generals seem the two best teams in the division, as we predicted, and neither is clearly superior to the other or supremely consistent in their play. We just like the greater use of Kordell Stewart as a rusher, so we go with the Feds. What we clearly missed is the rapid collapse of the Stars without Bobby Hebert. Probably should have seen that coming. SOUTHEAST Predicted: 1-Tampa Bay, 2-Orlando, 3-Jacksonville, 4-Atlanta Revised: 1-Jacksonville, 2-Orlando, 3-Atlanta, 4-Tampa Bay Thoughts: We still feel blindsided by the utter chaos in Tampa Bay. We still see a lot of talent on this team, so the fact that they are sitting at 2-6 right now is just a real mystery to us. The kind of mystery that could well cost Coach Seifert his job. We also did not see Jacksonville’s defense improving as much as it has in one year. Good work there from that group to be sure. And for what may be the first time ever, we don’t see Atlanta finishing in last place. Coach Fox has gotten the most out of a shorthanded roster. CENTRAL Predicted: 1-Ohio, 2-Chicago, 3-Michigan, 4-Pittsburgh Revised: 1-Ohio, 2-Chicago, 3-Michigan, 4-Pittsburgh Thoughts: Hey, look, we got one right! Sure, we would never have predicted Ohio to be unbeaten after 8 games, but at least we recognized that they and Chicago have the stronger squads this year. Pittsburgh and Michigan will likely finish close to the same record, but the question is whether either is actually headed in a good direction as the season winds down for them. SOUTHERN Predicted: 1-Memphis, 2-Nashville, 3-Birmingham, 4-New Orleans Revised: 1-Memphis, 2-New Orleans, 3-Birmingham, 4-Nashville Thoughts: We got 1 out of 4, acknowledging Memphis as the strongest club in the division. What we did not see coming was the stress the move to Nashville has put on the Knights. Not sure why, but the Knights are just not the same club. They did not have huge losses this offseason, but the defense is just not what it has been under Coach Jim Johnson this year. The other surprise is the quality of the Breaker defense, which has really gelled this season and is helping a mediocre offense get a lot of short fields to work with. SOUTHWEST Predicted: 1-Denver, 2-Arizona, 3-Houston, 4 Texas Revised: 1-Houston, 2-Arizona, 3-Texas, 4-Denver Thoughts: This one is still so hard to pick. Denver has been up and down all year, losing 3, winning 3, losing 2, hard to make sense of the Gold. We like Houston only because they have the best defense, but honestly any one of the 4 could make a late run, so this is the division we are least confident about even after 8 weeks of play. PACIFIC Predicted: 1-LA, 2-Seattle, 3-Portland, 4-Oakland Revised: 1-Seattle, 2-LA, 3-Oakland, 4-Portland Thoughts: We are not giving up on LA just yet. They have had some really strong games but not nearly enough to trust them fully. Seattle are a bit more boring, but you know what the formula is and it is one that can win games. We did not think Portland would regress as much as they did after a 7-win season, but they are playing better under interim HC Joe Vitt. Oakland have also showed some signs of life after a really bad start to the year. SUMMER BOWL PICK We went with Denver v. Ohio, so maybe half right. At this point in the season, with two unbeatens still in play, you would have to be nuts not to go with Memphis v. Ohio. We also think that the over-under on the number of punts in a Glory-Showboat Summer Bowl should be 1. This could easily be a 49-48 thriller, with both clubs still unbeaten. That would be wild. Or we could have just now jinxed both teams and they will lose in Week 9. MVP We originally said a battle between Kerry Collins (Ohio) and Cade McNown (LA), and again we were about half right. Collins is indeed the frontrunner, but it is Heath Shuler of Memphis in second place. We are leaning to Collins just because he has the lead in TD passes. Shuler has more yards, but scoring always impresses the voters. With only 6 weeks left, the reality is that even a short-term injury can have major impact on a franchise making a playoff run. We have a lot of 2-4 weeks knocks this week, and that could be enough to derail a team. Of all the teams impacted this week, Chicago should be the most nervous. Not only do they lose their starting center, Greg Huntington, for the year with an ACL injury, but DE Simeon Rice, a big part of their pass rush will miss at least another 2 weeks with his groin injury (always hurts us to think about a groin injury, doesn’t it?). Jacksonville also loses a key player in DE Kenny Mixon, would could be back just in time for the playoffs if all works out as planned. Other injuries that could impact late runs around the league include a knee injury that will keep Denver guard Evan Pilgrim sidelined 2-4 weeks, an issue with meniscus tissue for Houston DT Mua Tunavasa. The big man may be out 1-3 weeks, depending on rehab. Baltimore HB Ron Dayne got his hand stepped on this week, and that has proven problematic as he could miss 1-2 weeks before his dominant hand is fully able to grip the ball as it should. LA has listed veteran wideout Mike Pritchard as doubtful after suffering a high ankle sprain, while another Houston player, captain Pat Swilling, was diagnosed with a fracture to his jaw. It won’t be wired shut, and he may be able to play in Week 10, but he is doubtful this week. USFL in Boston Gaining Momentum Good news out of Boston, where fans seem to be embracing the return of USFL football. Not only has the Boston Globe reported nearly 38,000 votes for their team name in just one week of action, but the team’s management has also reported early demand for season tickets has been higher than expected. The team’s mailing list is already over 20,000. Officially tickets will go on sale for the 2003 season in October, but the mailing list offers fans a chance to get priority position for the 7-game season passes and having 20k already on board is a great sign that the as-of-now-nameless Boston club will exceed their goal of 25,000 season ticket holders. Not So Fast Things not as peachy in Portland where stadium negotiations seem to have hit a snag. No official word on what led to the cessation of talks, but rumors out of the Rose City seem to indicate that there are concerns about Bernard Ebbers’ financials. This is somewhat surprising since the USFL has already reviewed both Ebbers and co-owner Phil Ruffin as part of the agreement to the sale of the Thunder. We are hearing that there are concerns related to both the funding of the Thunder and the finances of Worldcom, the nation’s second largest long-distance carrier, led by Mr. Ebbers. Just what these concerns are is as of yet unknown, but what is known is that while the site for a new Portland football stadium has been decided, and it appears that Portland State is ready to get on board as well, possibly considering a move from Division 1-AA to Division 1-A as an option, the contracts are not in place and city funding has not been cleared. Without the city’s funding and appropriate permits in place, the stadium is not moving forward just yet, putting a 2005 goal for completion in doubt. Atlanta Organizes In Atlanta, where the die is cast and the Fire are soon to be just a memory, some fans are fighting back. A group dubbing themselves the “Firebrands” has begun organizing an effort to retain the Fire identity for the city of Atlanta, something not really needed since we know that the soon-to-be-Boston club will have a new name, but also apparently this is an effort to bring together the community to push for a return of the club to Atlanta in the future, not as a new team or a relocated team with its own identity intact, but as a new Atlanta Fire. Honestly, the enthusiasm behind this grassroots effort is quite surprising, considering that the Fire never truly seemed to grab the full attention of the city. Attendance was not horrible, but it was never at the levels of other Southern clubs like the Bulls, Bandit, Stallions, or Showboats. The Braves routinely outdrew the Fire, and yet for some reason losing the club to Boston seems to have captured the attention of Atlantans, particularly in the city’s prominent African-American community. In addition to pushing for league recognition of the Fire as Atlanta’s USFL legacy, the leaders of the Firebrands are also calling for the city to assist in enticing a team back through tax incentives, and is actively reaching out to the city’s elite to try to find the core of a new, locally based, ownership group, particularly an African-American led ownership group. It is an interesting strategy, one that feels a bit late in the game, but if the USFL is considering possible expansion after 2005, this could be the beginning of a serious effort to include Atlanta in the mix for consideration. We already know that St. Louis has a similar effort in place and that the league is partial to the idea of “restoration” as opposed to prioritizing new markets. We shall have to see where this leads, if it leads anywhere, and if this grassroots group can maintain the passion once the club is gone and many fans move on. LA Going Back to the Future? On a quirky note, it appears that the LA Express have heard it from the fans that their new “Mercury” logo is just not what LA fans want to see. The new look which replaced the LA monogram on the side of the helmet with a stylized image of the Greek messenger god, has simply not been selling. Since its introduction in 2000, merchandise with the new logo has lagged in sales, with shirts, hats, and other items featuring the monogram continuing to outpace the sale of the other gear. Apparently the ownership in LA has heard the message as this week they petitioned the league for a minor uniform adjustment, allowing them to replace their current helmet sticker (the Mercury figure) with the new LA monogram that was released as a secondary logo at the same time as the introduction of the new logo. The change would not require a new uniform design from Reebok, as the only adjustment would be to replace the sticker on team helmets. The league is expected to approve the change, but not to go in effect until the 2023 season. Seems like fans voted with their wallets and the team got the message. LA is in and Greek mythology is out. Week 9 features the Western Conference engaged in divisional play, while the East has 6 inter-division matchups. We are all waiting to see in New Orleans, where the 6-2 Breakers may be the most likely opponent to prevent Memphis from running the table. This game will be huge. In Houston, the Gamblers have lost 3 in a row, and now face a 4-4 Arizona team that looked really dynamic in blowing past Chicago this week. Birmingham is hoping they have turned the corner, but have a tough matchup against a 3-5 Nashville club that cannot afford more losses. The same is true for Denver, who travel to Texas hoping to regain their winning ways after dropping their last 2. Oakland, surprisingly alive in the playoff hunt is at 4-4 Seattle, while LA, making a late push themselves, is at 2-6 Portland, hoping it is not too late to make a push for a Pacific Division that could have a 7-7 champion. In the East, the best game is likely the Ohio Glory traveling to Washington, where pride in their defense is a way of life for a 4-4 Federals team. Jacksonville is hoping to shake off two straight home losses with a road game to Baltimore. At 4-4, New Jersey is hoping to avoid a letdown against an Atlanta squad that has been coming on since the shift to Drew Bledsoe at QB. Orlando, also at 4-4, hopes that a trip to Michigan keeps them on pace to compete in the Southeast. Tampa Bay is at Chicago in a tough matchup for a Bandit squad that is slipping further behind their division rivals. Finally, both Pittsburgh and Philly scored upset wins in Week 8, and hope that Week 9 gives them another chance to improve their standing as they face off in a Keystone Clash in Philadelphia.

A week of upsets as some of the league’s supposed weaker sisters rose up and took a bite out of some playoff contenders. Oakland stifled Houston just a week after their first loss of the year, Portland stunned New Orleans in the Super Dome, Atlanta upended Tampa Bay, and Los Angeles exploded for 40 against a Texas team that had lived off its defense. A week to show that on any given Sunday any team can find the right formula to knock off an opponent, and yet, despite this, we are looking at two clubs who have made it 7 weeks without a blemish on their records and wondering if either Memphis or Ohio have what it takes to go 14-0 and complete the league’s first ever unbeaten regular season. All this plus Boston reveals the three candidates for their new team name and lets fans vote on which will be the newest entry into the USFL. But we start with a mild upset, and a big game in the Southeastern Division as Orlando went into Jacksonville and earned a win against the division leader. Orlando’s three wins this year had all come on even-numbered weeks, with losses each odd week, so a Week 7 matchup against division-leading Jacksonville did not bode well for the rebuilding league champions. And yet, they relished the chance to go up against a Bulls team who had racked up 5 wins, but only 1 against a team at or above .500. An earlier loss to the Oakland Invaders had raised eyebrows across the league, and the Bulls were still fielding questions about their 19th ranked offense. This was a chance for the Renegades to break their win-loss alternating schedule and make a statement that the defending league champions, for as much as they look like a different team this year, are still a team to merit attention. But the game did not start off the way the Renegades would have liked. The much-criticized Jacksonville offense started strong with a gameplan that alternated Kenny Bynum runs with Jake Delhomme’s short passing game. The Bulls scored on their opening, first a 2 yard pass from Delhomme to rookie TE Jeb Putzier. Just 21 seconds later the Bulls defense also answered the critics, picking off Joey Harrington on an ill-conceived pass play from the Orlando 7 yard line. Mike Echols, last week’s Rookie of the Week, made a play on 2 in a row by snagging Harrington’s throw away from Keenan McKardell and sprinting the short 7 yards to paydirt to put Jacksonville up 14-0 as the 1st quarter wound down. To his credit, Harrington recovered well after that shocking play, and Orlando would fight their way back into the game over the next quarter. On their first drive after the pick, Harrington would lead the Renegades down the field, eventually hitting his favorite target, John Henry Mills, with a 9-yard score. After an Owen Pochman kick made the score 14-10 Bulls, Orlando got payback on Jacksonville with a pick six of their own. Delhomme had the ball tipped at the line and Ryan McNeill was in the right spot at the right time to return it 27 yards for a score and Orlando’s first lead of the game. Jacksonville would also rebound, and a late Kris Brown field goal meant that the two Florida rivals would enter the half knotted up at 17 apiece. This score would remain intact throughout the third quarter as both teams made effective halftime adjustments to the defense. Neither team had much success with their run games as each defense played conservatively to protect against the run. Jacksonville’s Bynum would lead all rushers with 78 yards, while Sedrick Irvin, the former Bull, logged only 57 yards on 23 carries for Orlando. It would b up to the quarterbacks to determine this one. Jacksonville retook the lead 6 minutes into the final period, when a short drive allowed Jacksonville to get into field goal range and Kris Brown connected on a 51-yarder to go up 20-17. After Orlando went 3-and-out on their next possession, Jacksonville had a shot at putting the game away, and it looked like they were headed that direction as they moved the ball into the red zone on an effective drive against the Orlando defense, but just as they looked like at least another 3 was coming their way, the Renegade D stepped up. LB Dexter Coakley was sent on a blitz, and as he burst past Irvin, he was able to clip Jake Delhomme’s arm, causing his pass to flutter just enough for CB Fernando Bryant to not only catch up to Donnell Bennett, but to step in front of the Bulls’ receiver, picking Delhomme off and keeping Orlando within 3. Joey Harrington would do the rest, connecting with 4 different receivers on a 9 play drive that ended when he found Donald Driver in the back of the endzone for a touchdown with 2:32 left to play. Bulls defenders pleaded with the ref to see what appeared in replay to be a clear pick by TE Rickey Dudley, freeing Driver, but no call came. Orlando kicked the ball off to Jacksonville with 2:32 left to play and now it would be up to Delhomme to earn the Bulls’ 6th win. Jacksonville started the drive with a 6-yard swing pass to Bynum. Delhomme then hit Javon Walker for 14 yards on 2nd down and it seemed Jacksonville was in business. But, after failing to connect with Dez White on first down, Delhomme saw a pass to Terrell Owens fall to the ground when safety Todd Franz clipped Owens’s arms just as the ball arrived. Third and ten and Chris Doleman pressured Delhomme into an errant throw that sailed well over Owens and out of bounds. It was 4th and 10 on their own 37. Orlando showed blitz, but dropped 7 into coverage, rushing only 4. Despite this both Chris Doleman and DT Pat Williams were quickly pressuring Delhomme, and the immobile QB was forced into an early throw, tryin to find Donnell Bennett on an out route. The ball was off target and Bennett dove unsuccessfully to reach it. A turnover on downs with only 1:03 left to play led to 2 straight kneeldowns for Harrington and a much deserved win over the Bulls. Orlando was now 4-3 and above .500 for the first time all year. Jacksonville falls to 5-2, only 1 game up on the Renegades and Birmingham in a tightening Southeastern Division. HOU 7 OAK 14 Perhaps the most surprising of the Week 7 upsets, not because Oakland won at home, but because their usually sieve-like defense played like worldbeaters against a Houston team that struggled to get anything going. Houston was held to only 218 total yards, including a sad 40-yard rushing day as Oakland played in the nickel formation for most of the game. Rodney Thomas was all the offense Oakland needed as he rushed for 141 yards against the Gamblers, keeping the 1-2 punch of edge rushers out of their element. POR 24 NOR 7 The Thunder are 2-0 under interim head coach Joe Vitt, a surprise to be sure, but not as much of a surprise as the way they handled the Breakers in New Orleans. New Orleans converted only 2 of 13 third downs and Ricky Williams was limited to 60 yards rushing as Portland won in all 3 phases of the game. Akili Smith helped his own cause with a 54-yard scramble turned TD run, while Correll Buckhalter and Napoleon Kaufmann combined for 117 yards rushing for a revived Portland club. TBY 10 ATL 16 Tampa Bay’s offensive resurgence came to a crashing halt in Atlanta as the Fire held them scoreless for nearly 40 minutes. Tiki Barber rushed for 107 and the game’s deciding score as Atlanta contained Trent Green and the Bandit passing game through a well-designed 2-deep zone scheme. Coach Fox limited Randy Moss to 2 catches on 4 targets by shading a safety over to help CB Tyrone Poole with Moss. TEX 13 LA 40 The Express found their offense against one of the better defenses in the league as Tory Holt had a monster game with 6 catches for 174 yards and 2 scores. Add in a combined 28 carries for 116 yards and 2 scores by the combo of rookie DeShaun Foster and veteran Antowain Smith and you have the makings of an upset at Farmers Insurance Field. It did not help that Ryan Leaf completed only 14 of 32 passes, including 2 picks, or that Carl Pickens had a game high 3 drops for Texas. An ugly loss for the 4-2-1 Outlaws. SEA 29 NSH 18 The Dragons are making their case as a potential dark horse, knocking off the Knights despite the return of Todd Collins at QB. Brian Griese was efficient, going 20 of 29 with a lone TD to David Boston, but the key was Corey Dillon’s 105 yards despite frequent 8 or 9 man boxes on early downs. The Dragon D also did its part, forcing, and we are not kidding here, 6 turnovers in the game. Todd Collins threw 3 picks, but there were also fumbles, one each from Bert Emmanuel, Todd Collins, and TE Reggie Kelly. All things considered, it is amazing this game was as close as it was. DEN 14 BIR 20 Denver’s win streak ends at 3 as Birmingham edge closer to Jacksonville thanks to a big day for the defense on a rainy summer afternoon at Legion Field. The game had to be stopped for almost 40 minutes as a lightning storm rolled through Central Alabama, but the delay only seemed to help Birmingham, who came back from a 14-7 deficit after the delay, scoring the game’s final 13 points to take the home win to move to 4-3 at the season’s midway point. ARZ 28 MEM 31 A really good game at the Liberty Bowl on Saturday night as Arizona challenged the unbeaten Showboats all evening. Jake Plummer got loose several times, rushing for 2 scores and throwing for a third. But, in the end, the Showboats proved their quality, scoring the final 21 points of the night as they fought back form a 28-17 deficit to take the 31-28 win. Two late Adrian Cooper TD’s including the game winner at 1:33 left were what it took, but Memphis moved to 7-0. OHI 49 MGN 27 Ohio joined the Showboats as they notched their 7th win of the season, though theirs was hardly as close as the Memphis game. Kerry Collins went 21 of 26 for 430 yards and 5 scores against a Michigan secondary that had no answers. Joey Galloway scored 3 times and racked up 101 yards, but it was Chad Johnson, with 126 yards on 5 receptions who broke the back of the Panthers. PIT 14 CHI 16 Chicago kept pace one game behind Ohio with another defensive gem as they limited Pittsburgh to only 45 yards rushing and 259 total yards. Chicago got one Duce Staley TD run and then relied on the foot of Tim Seder to build up a 16-7 lead before a late Batch to Davis TD toss made the game close at the end. WSH 17 BAL 20 A modest upset as Baltimore got the win at home against their rivals thanks to 99 yards and 2 TDs from Ron Dayne. Kordell Stewart ended up as the leading rusher for Washington as neither Deuce McCallister nor Reuben Droughns could find much room against a re-energized Baltimore defense. PHI 9 NJ 34 New Jersey was all over backup Chuck Hartlieb in his first start in 3 years, sacking the former Gambler 4 times and snagging a pick-six as well. Philly’s onlyTD was a pick six as well as a tipped ball fell to DB Corey Fuller. The offense was 0 for 12 on third down and mustered only 70 yards passing as New Jersey dominated throughout the day. PHILADELPHIA QB CONCERNS While starter Will Fuller could return to action next week after a 1-game hiatus, that does not solve the issue at the QB position for the 1-6 Stars. Philly did not expect to be in this position even with the retirement of Bobby Hebert, but it seems clear that they have weaknesses that Hebert’s arm helped to hide. A power run game with Stephen Davis and Ladell Betts relies on a solid passing game to keep defenses honest. With teams crowding the box, neither back is able to make much hay. The defense too is dealing with too many 3-and-outs and too much time on the field as Philadelphia cannot sustain drives and provide respite for the defense. So, what options does Philadelphia have? If they continue to flounder, we would not be shocked to see Coach Mora test out what he has in mid-round signee David Garrard of ECU. If Garrard shows potential, the Stars could look in free agency for a solid backup, as it seems neither Furrer or Hartlieb is an answer. There are several potential candidates among the QB’s whose conract is up this year, including A.J. Feely in Arizona, Mark Bulger in Atlanta, Kris Kershaw in Houston, Jim Miller in Pittsburgh, and Kent Graham in Tampa Bay. But, assuming Garrard plays as we would expect a mid-round rookie QB to play, Philadelphia may need to search elsewhere. There are a couple of starters unsigned across the league, but we don’t expect Trent Green, Kerry Collins, or Heath Shuler to remain unsigned until Free Agency. All three are too vital to their teams to let them test the waters. Over in the NFL, there is one QB who is currently unsigned and who may be attractive to the Stars. Jeff Blake, the one-time starter for both the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints became a free agent this past spring. He has been holding out for a possible starting job but is only receiving NFL offers as a backup. Could the Stars swoop in during the next NFL-USFL transfer window? And if they can, do they want to? Blake is not exactly the type of star-caliber starting QB that teams often shoot for in the NFL transfer window. He is serviceable, but has a lifetime QB Rating of only 83.3, not exactly an immediate winner. The other option is to go for a solid backup, keep Garrard in development, but sign a top level rookie QB. What does the 2003 crop of potential rookie QB’s offer? Actually quite a bit. There are 4 QB’s who are getting 1st or 2nd round evaluations at this point, though we will have to see how their 2002 seasons go before any true evaluation is possible. The best of the bunch, and a player that the NFL certainly covets, is USC signal caller Carson Palmer. Palmer is the picture of a classic pocket passer, poised and accurate. He seems the early frontrunner to be a top pick in both leagues. With his rights held by the LA Express, Philly might have to consider trading what will almost certainly be a Top 3 position in the open draft to acquire LA’s first T-Draft selection spot. The second option will be available in the open draft as no one holds Marshall University as a protected school. Marshall’s Byron Leftwich is a bit more of a physical talent, more athletic than Palmer but also less polished. In many ways he is similar to Garrard as a QB with physical tools and a strong arm but less experience against top flight opponents. The other two potential QB picks are slightly lower on the ratings list, with Florida’s Rex Grossman and Cal’s Kyle Boller both showing potential but also showing some issues that might have them drop into the 2nd round in either the NFL or USFL Draft. Both are also protected players in the T-Draft, with Oakland holding the rights to Cal-Berkely and Tampa Bay having first crack at Florida players. UNSIGNED, BUT FOR HOW LONG Our midseason look at players who in their contract year may be a bit premature, as surely a good number of these players will resign before Free Agency kicks in after Week 14, but there are certainly some intriguing names, and not just the two starting QB’s of our 2 unbeaten clubs (Collins of Ohio and Shuler of Memphis). Among the names to watch over the next two months, these potential free agents are the ones GM’s across the league are hoping to see available for the taking: Washington DT Jerome Brown has to be a priority signing for the Feds. But does that mean that CB Charles Woodson will be on the market? Texas has both starting wideouts on their final year, Lake Dawson and 31-year old Carl Pickens. Tampa Bay needs to resign both Errict Rhett and Randy Moss, but do they have the cap room to do it, especially with Trent Green also at the end of his contract? Seattle signed Godfrey Miles last offseason, but does that leave enough under the cap to resign his LB mate Levon Kirkland? Pittsburgh has one job this offseason, resign Terrell Davis. We cannot imagine him leaving since the Maulers have a ton of cap room. Orlando DE Chris Doleman is another must-sign player, which means that others on the roster may have to be allowed to leave, others like DE Israel Ifeanyi or SS Tyrone Carter. Ohio will resign Kerry Collins, we know that, but when they do will they have room to resign others like DE Vonnie Holliday or G Chuck Johnson? New Orleans got Clyde Simmons from Portland in a contract year, so it is a great chance for the DE to prove himself and either get a good deal from the Breakers or test the waters. With Hines Ward in the fold, will Michigan pay out the big money to retain Muhsin Muhammad? Heath Shuler is the one guy Memphis must resign, which means WR Joe Horn, CB Darrien Gordon, and DT Barron Tanner may slip through into the market. LT Jonathan Ogden says he wants to remain on the Express, but he could easily become the highest paid lineman ever if he goes into the market. Houston went right up to the cap limit to secure their defense, which may mean they cannot compete to retain Antonio Freeman this offseason. LB Brian Urlacher is the top priority for the Chicago Machine. Expect them to spend the money to keep him happy. Birmingham has never developed the run game they hoped for, and that may mean that FB Mike Alstott could be looking elsewhere this offseason. Atlanta’s Bruce Smith sees his contract run out this year, and many speculate he will retire, so will Atlanta take the risk to resign him or look for youth? MIDSEASON PLAYOFF PICTURE It is too early to seriously rank teams for the postseason. We will start that in Week 10 as always, but just looking at the standings, here is our quick evaluation: ALMOST CERTAIN Ohio & Memphis: They are both undefeated and when we look ahead, the question isn’t whether or not they can qualify for the playoffs. The question is if they can go unbeaten. Chicago: The Machine have only 1 loss this year, and a killer defense. We don’t see them missing out, but unless they can catch Ohio, they may just be the best team ever to get stuck playing a Wild Card game. LOOKING GOOD Jacksonville, New Orleans, Texas, Houston: All 3 have only 2 losses, though Houston’s last 2 games are troubling, and the blowout Texas suffered this week makes us a bit nervous as well. Still, going into the halfway point with only 2 losses is a strong sign that they are solidly in play. ON THE CUSP New Jersey, Seattle, Birmingham, Orlando, Baltimore, Washington, Arizona, and Denver: All of these clubs are either 4-3 or 3-4, so squarely in the middle of the pack. So, what do we think about them? Seattle may have the easiest path, since the rest of the Pacific is so down this year. Arizona and Denver are not both likely to get in as both are chasing the 2 Texas teams, and we think that at most the Southwest Division will be able to produce 3 playoff teams. New Jersey has a shot at the Northeast Title, as do both Baltimore and Washington, but we could easily see only the division winner get a playoff nod, so this will be a battle to watch. SLIM CHANCES The entire cluster of 2-5 teams. Are there any who could emerge? Well, LA is in a weak division and their explosion this week showed they still have some offensive talent to deal with. Tampa Bay has also had some strong offensive games, but is that enough? And we are still trying to figure out what has caused the Knights to decline from a Summer Bowl contender to a 2-5 club in just one year. NO SHOT We hate the idea of putting 1-6 Philadelphia here by themselves, so we are also going to categorize a few of the 2-5 clubs here too. Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Portland have just not shown enough to make us believe that a 5-2 second half and a total of 7-7 is really realistic, much less the 8-wins that it likely would take to make the playoffs. We knew these 4 teams were rebuilding, and that is what we see this season. No season enders this week, which is a good thing, but still several issues to deal with across the league. Nashville will likely be without Ahman Green this week (deep thigh bruise) which is tough for the Knights, but he could be back by Week 9. In Chicago the big concern is the right leg of DE Simeon Rice, a big part of their defensive success. He could be back in as few as 2 weeks, but 3-4 seems more likely. Similarly, New Orleans’s Clyde Simmons is looking at 1-2 weeks with a hyperextended knee, but Breaker faithful are hoping it is just 1. A third DE is also out this upcoming week as Atlanta will be without Greg Ellis, possibly for as long as a month, with a wrist injury that makes it hard for him to grasp with his right hand. In Arizona, the concern is for DT Kenard Lang, whose knee was evaluated and there is strong indication of an ACL injury which could be 4-6 weeks if not longer. Finally, Texas will also be without DT Mark Campbell for at least a month after a fracture in his right arm was detected. BOSTON GIVES THREE OPTIONS FOR A “BC” IDENTITY The Boston Football Group (recently renamed to remove the prevalence of Colonials as a name option), has released the three choices for fans to vote on for their new team’s identity. Under pressure from USFL leadership to develop options should the NFL and NE Patriot owner Robert Kraft not sign a proposed agreement to allow “Colonials” as an untested infringement on the Patriots identity, Boston has complied, and gone a step further. The club has announced a deal with the Boston Globe to host a name the team contest on the Globe’s online platform, and supported by their sports section in the print edition. They are offering fans three choices, complete with logos and helmet mockups. One of these three will be the new identity for USFL football in Boston, and ownership of the recently-purchased and soon-to-relocate Atlanta Fire, are stating that they will abide by the will of the fans in Boston regardless of the NFL negotiations. The first option made available is the obvious one, the Colonials identity the Boston Football Group has held since its inception. The only change from the original group design is a color shift, with gunmetal grey replacing sky blue as one of the team’s colors. Paired with navy blue and metallic gold, the logo features a stylized eagle as part of a “medallion” format which resembles early Continental Army medals worn by generals such as George Washington or Massachusett’s own William Heath (of Lexington & Concord fame). The theme will be revolutionary Massachusetts, a winner in the region, but a clear concern when it comes to the identity clash with the New England Patriots of the NFL. The second option is also a military reference, but far less specific in nature. Ownership released images of a logo and helmet for the Boston Cannons as a possible identity. Cannons, of course, is a nice double meaning, as the reference not only to military artillery, but to the strong arm of a winning QB, much like that of future Boston starter Drew Bledsoe. The logo for the cannons also resembles a military emblem, two cannons crossed with a cannonball at the base. It also feature two “explosion” indicators with flashes of athletic gold behind the grey and navy cannons. It seems clear that Boston ownership is set on navy, grey and gold as the team colors despite the name, but the difference is that this logo, and the logo for the 3rd name option, use a bright athletic gold (yellow) and not the more metallic and less-saturated gold of the Colonials option. The Cannon’s helmet is also navy, not gold, as the Colonials present. It would feature the logo on either side, and have a grey stripe that finishes at the back bumper with a repeat of the gold and white flash of the cannon. Finally, Boston completes their trio of “BC” names again with a military theme, but this one paying tribute to the rich naval history of the city. Home to the famous Charlestown/Bston Naval Shipyard. The Boston Commanders celebrate naval leadership with a logo depicting the bow of a destroyer, cannons at the ready. The sea is depicted not with curved waves but as a series of chevrons, while the sky behind the ship is cast in bright yellow, as if at dawn, to form a shield-shaped logo. The helmet for the Commanders features a single thick yellow stripe, with chevrons in grey and white at the front bumper, all on another navy helmet. All three designs will share a secondary logo as Boston revealed a “BC” monogram that will accompany whichever name is chosen. Ownership has stated that they are happy with all three options, all of which celebrate local history, as well as support for the military (past and present). They will abide with the fan vote (assuming the USFL leadership agrees, which early indications seem to indicate. So how do fans vote? Well, we have made it easy. We have added a webpage to our site which directly links to the Boston Globe vote. You can see all three primary logos and helmet mockups there, cast your vote for which identity you would like to see Boston adopt, and participate in the final decision for USFL in Boston. The link to our Boston Poll is above in our main menu. The vote will take place between now and Week 14, with results being posted during the Wild Card Weekend recap. One last note, due to concerns related to disgruntled Atlanta Fire fans, no write in option or comments section will be provided with the vote, simply 3 options to select from. That seems smart considering the significant pushback the sale of the Fire has generated among a fanbase that seems to have gained more energy from losing their club than from having them for the past 7 seasons. The season’s second half kicks off much as the season began, with all 24 USFL clubs in inter-conference play. That does not diminish the stakes as we have several really intriguing clashes between teams battling for potential playoff position, as well as some potential spoilers hoping to make news with a surprise win. The best game of the week may well be the matchup of 7-0 Memphis at 5-2 Jacksonville. The Bulls are hot after letting their game with Orlando slip away, and Memphis has been tested lately. This one should be a good one on Sunday night. The other unbeaten team, the Ohio Glory, hope to get win #8 as they host the Houston Gamblers. Can the Gamblers’ D hold up against the furious attack of the Glory? Another intruging cross-country battle will take place at RFK, where the Federals (3-4) will host the Seattle Dragons (4-3), with both clubs in hot pursuit of a playoff spot. Chicago has a tough defensive challenge as they try to contain Jake Plummer and the Wranglers at Soldier Field. In Atlanta, it is a regional rivalry that never really took off as the Fire host the Birmingham Stallions. Other games to check out include 4-3 Orlando hoping to get a 5th W as they host the Nashville Knights. The Breakers are in Tampa Bay to face the Bandits, while Denver heads to Ford Field to take on the Michigan Panthers. Texas takes their division-leading 4-2-1 record to Pittsburgh, where the Maulers are hoping they can edge back to respectability with a win. Oakland will travel to New Jersey, Baltimore hosts LA, and Portland flies cross country to Philadelphia in a game that may impact draft order more than any playoff hunt.

Denver wins their third in a row as they seek to reenter the playoff hunt with a huge win over Houston. Seattle also makes a statement, possibly ending any hopes LA had to salvage the season. Portland gets their first win of the year as interim coach Joe Vitt gets the defensive performance his club has lacked all season. Nashville and Memphis start off their new rivalry with an overtime thriller, and both New Orleans and Chicago make sure that everyone knows they are in their divisional battles with undefeated Memphis and Ohio. A big week around the league, let’s get to it. After their 0-3 start to the year there were voices, some quite loud, saying that Denver was done, that their window had shut. The loss of Rashaan Salaam, for at least a year if not longer, the weight of two straight Summer Bowl runs, and the defeat at the hands of Orlando were all reasons why Denver was being exposed, was failing to deliver this year. Well, if this game is any indication, the Gold are not ready to hear that just yet. In defeating the Houston Gamblers, and in winning the way they did, this Denver squad not only returned to .500 at 3-3, but also sent a message to the league that reports of their demise were premature. The Gold had knocked off New Jersey and Oakland in the two weeks prior, but that was not exactly considered a demonstration that they were back in form. Defeating the 4-0-1 Houston Gamblers, and breaking through the Gambler’s rock solid defense, would show us something entirely different. So just how did Denver pull it off? Well, first off we have to note that the game was in Denver, where the Gold are always tough, but more importantly the Gold dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball. The D-line was impressive, proving almost impossible against the inside run (Mike Anderson, Houston’s big back, had 14 carries for a measly 21 yards). The linebackers cleaned up the outside game too, with Kevin Faulk only averaging 2.2 yards per carry. On offense, Denver found ways to work their own inside-outside game, with Robert Holcombe averaging 5.1 yards per carry on his way to a 61-yard performance, while Rod Smart handled the outside runs, and did so to the tune of 103 yards on 13 carries, a 7.9 YPC average. Denver also limited the success of the Gambler passing game, though Matt Hasselbeck did finish with a respectable 227 yards on an 18/25 day. While Hasselbeck found receivers, what he did not find were big plays, with the Gamblers’ two top receivers, Antonio Freeman and Koren Robinson combining for only 5 receptions and 75 total yards. And yet, despite the success of the Gold defense, when Kevin Faulk plunged in from the 1 yard line with 7:03 left in the game, Houston still held a solid 24-13 lead. It would come down to Mark Brunell standing in against the vaunted Gambler pass rush to make plays during the final half of the 4th quarter. Brunell did just that. He led Denver on a 5-minute drive and found little-used wideout Danny Farmer for a score with just over 1:50 left to play to draw within 3. After converting 2, Denver did the unexpected and kidcked the ball deep. Pinning Houston on their own 10-yard line. The decision to skip the onside kick and depend on their defense (and their 3 time outs) to get them the ball back proved to be a really judicious call from Coach Jauron. Houston rushed the ball 3 times, but gained only 6 yards, and with only 18 seconds run off the clock, the Gamblers found themselves punting the ball back to Denver from their 16 yard line with 1:36 left, up only 3. Denver could have played for the tie, but opted instead to take a shot, and that decision also proved quite providential. After a poor punt from the Gamblers, a 6-yard return got Denver the ball on the Houston 42. Their first play from scrimmage would be the game-winner, as Brunell faked the ball to Smart, bootlegged to the left, and found TE Greg Clark wide open. The play had been designed to get the Gold between 10-12 yards, but Clark did much better than that, executing a perfect stiff arm against the Gambler safety and racing to the corner of the endzone. Houston’s Jamar Fletcher tried to bump the big TE out of bounds at the 3, but Clark maintained his balance and found the endzone to give Denver the lead, and eventually the win as Houston could do nothing in response. Denver not only knocked Houston from the ranks of the unbeaten, but pulled within 1.5 games, just 1 game down in the win column at 3-3 to Houston’s 4-1-1. They silenced a lot of the critics as well, looking very much like the ball control team that has made two straight title games, but also showing a flare for the big play. Look out world, the window for this Gold squad may not be quite so closed as you had thought. TEX 16 ARZ 13 OVERTIME Texas rejoined Houston atop the division thanks to a late Jeff Query TD from Ryan Leaf and an overtime fieldgoal as they knock Arizona back to .500 at 3-3. Leaf completed less than 50% of his passes but got the late TD to pull Texas even in a game marred by penalties and unforced errors for both clubs. Jake Plummer was under constant pressure, leading to a stunning 20 rush attempts (of these only 6 were planned runs), but Texas spied him all game and that meant that the 20 attempts led to only 19 total yards as Arizona just could not get consistent offense going. SEA 34 LA 31 Another great game that came down to the final minute as Seattle got a late Jay Feely field goal to take over the Pacific Division and send the Express to a desperate 1-5. Corey Dillon and Brian Mitchell combined for 145 yards rushing and Brian Griese went 22 of 28 on his way to a 3 TD day for Seattle. David Boston was his primary target, hauling in 7 passes for 93 yards and 2 of the 3 Griese touchdown throws. POR 17 OAK 7 Interim HC Joe Vitt gets a win in his first game at the helm, thanks largely to the schedule pitting the Thunder against the equally downtrodden Invaders. Akili Smith threw for only 168 yards, but his 2 TD passes were enough to get the Thunder their firs twin. Neither team could run the ball despite both playing against poor run defenses. Portland finished with 35 yards rushing while Oakland totalled 34 in a game neither coach should be proud of. NSH 24 MEM 27 OVERTIME Memphis’s unbeaten run was put under serious pressure by their new in-state rival, who scored 17 points in the final period to even the score at 24 as time ran out. The effort, which included 2 late TDs from backup QB Craig Whelihan (playing for a concussed Todd Collins) was all Nashville had to give and in the extra period Jeff Hall’s field goal held up for the Showboat win. NOR 22 BIR 15 The Breakers stay one game back of first place as they get a tough road win in Legion Field. Two Troy Davis TD runs and a 2-point conversion gave New Orleans the 7 point win over a Birmingham squad that is just not moving the ball the way they would hope, despite 116 yards from NFL import James Thrash. CHI 20 ATL 17 The Fire proved a more formidable foe for Chicago than most anticipated, but in the end the Machine got what they needed, a late George to Conway connection to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Drew Bledsoe went 20 of 31 for Atlanta and Tiki Barber rushed for 2 scores, but as time ran down, the Fire could not mount a final drive to tie or win the game and Chicago moved to 5-1 on the year. BAL 13 OHI 38 Jeff Garcia played, despite some concerns about his ankle, but was clearly hampered by the injury, throwing 3 picks as he avoided his usual late-play scrambles. Ohio’s offense did as it usually does, with Collins throwing for 391 yards and 4 scores, 157 of them to Joey Galloway as both he and Chad Johnson found their way to the endzone for Ohio. The Glory remain unbeaten with Chicago hot on their heels. MGN 17 JAX 23 The Bulls improve to a surprising 5-1 thanks to their defense, which limited Drew Brees, despite the Panther QB throwing the pall 51 times in the game. The Bulls were aided by Michigan penalties, nine of them for nearly 100 yards, more than the Panther run game produced despite T.J. Duckett averaging 5.7 yards per carry on limited opportunities. PHI 21 ORL 28 The Renegades improved to .500 with a home win as Philly remains shockingly out of synch at 1-5. They started off well with an Anthony Jordan pick-six of Will Furrer on the 3rd play of the game. Furrer would be pulled later in the half as former Gambler Chuck Hartlieb was given the reins of the Stars offense. He would connect with 3 different receivers for scores, but Orlando also found success with John Henry Mills adding 2 more TDs to his season total and the Renegades’ other TE, Rickey Dudley scoring as well as Joey Harrington continues to dink and dunk his way to Orlando victories. WSH 35 TBY 34 Both Federal and Bandit offenses looked unstoppable on a sunny day by the bay. Trent Green threw for 308 and 3 scores, but was outdone by Kordell Stewart who threw 4 TD passes and amassed 347 through the air. Bubba Franks came up big for Washington with 2 scoring catches, while J.J. Stokes caught 6 passes for 122, the same yardage as Randy Moss on his 7 receptions. The difference in the game turned out to be two drives where the Federal D tightened up in the redzone, forcing Tampa Bay to go for 3 instead of 7. That allowed Washington the narrow 1-point margin of victory. NJ 45 PIT 24 Talk about an offense on fire, the Generals torched the Maulers thanks to a 4 TD day from Tom Brady. It did not always look that way as Brady’s first TD pass was actually a pick-six for the Maulers, but after that, the young QB found his stride, connecting with Terry Glenn for 109 yards and 2 scores and with Donald Hayes 4 times for 106 and a score as New Jersey romped. Five sacks of Charlie Batch certainly helped as Phil Hansen nabbed him twice to get back in the hunt for the sack lead with 7. MIDSEASON RANKINGS SHOW HAVE AND HAVE NOTS We thought that as we approach midseason it would be a good time to use the statistics available on U.com to try to explain some of the success stories and unexpected flops this year. As usual, stats cannot tell the full story, but they can point us in the right direction. What we see in the team numbers typically aligns with what we see in the standings and that is certainly the case this year. OFFENSES (scoring) 1. Ohio 33.3 PPG 2. New Orleans 26.8 PPG 3. Seattle 26.7 PPG 23. Portland 15.3 PPG 24. Michigan 15.0 PPG OFFENSES (yards) 1. New Orleans 388.5 YPG 2. Memphis 388.5 YPG 3. Ohio 384.3 YPG 23. Michigan 282.7 YPG 24. Portland 270.7 YPG No shock that Ohio is doing it with offense. I think we all expected that to be the case this year. But when we ask how New Orleans has made such a strong start, we have to give praise to Coach Nolan and how he has balanced the offense with solid leadership from Trent Dilfer and a good 1-2 punch at the halfback position with big Ricky Williams and scatback Troy Davis (a new addition to the squad.). Wonder why the Thunder went 0-5 to start the year, well, look no further. They just don’t score enough points. Add Michigan to that list as the Panthers are still trying to build an offense around the talents of 2nd year QB Drew Brees. DEFENSES (scoring) 1. Chicago 14.7 PPG 2. Jacksonville 15.7 PPG 3. Houston 16.8 PPG 23. Pittsburgh 27.5 PPG 24. Philadelphia 29.5 PPG DEFENSES (yards) 1. Washington 287.8 YPG 2. Denver 298.5 YPG 3. Texas 299.0 YPG 23. Tampa Bay 360.2 YPG 24. Baltimore 369.7 YPG Chicago is not blowing out teams, but what they are doing is holding them down. The Machine are better than all other USFL clubs in limiting scoring chances and keeping teams out of the red zone and it shows in these numbers. Want to understand Denver’s comeback after an 0-3 start, just look at how effective they are in controlling the ball and limiting opponent drives. If you just looked at the last 3 weeks, they would shoot to the top for certain. Now, if you cannot figure out why Philly is struggling this year, it is right here for you. They are allowing nearly 28 points a game. You will not win many games with that average. As much as fans in the City of Brotherly Love want to yell at management about the lackluster QB play this year, they probably should be paying more attention to the issues on the defensive side of the ball. TURNOVER MARGIN 1. Orlando +11 2. New Orleans +10 3. Arizona +10 23. Atlanta -4 24. Portland -5 Orlando’s defense is solid, though not as dominant as it was last season. But where they are excelling is in takeaways, a huge reason why they have the best turnover margin in the league. We can also see here another solid reason for New Orleans’s success this year as well as the just horrible results Portland and Atlanta are showing. You cannot win if you are weak on one entire side of the ball and if you cannot limit turnovers. Both the Fire and the Thunder are having trouble scoring and both are committing way too many unforced errors. TEXAS TWO STEP? So, can we now say the QB battle is over in San Antonio? After 6 games the breakdown is Ryan Leaf 4 starts, Jeff Lewis 1 start, and a Week 1 game where both got about equal snaps. Leaf has started consistently since Week 4, three starts in a row, and with pretty good results as the Outlaws have regained a share of 1st place at 4-1-1. Leaf has not been playing All-League football, but his 86.5 QBR and 6-4 TD-INT ratio are certainly good enough with that tough Texas defense to get W’s on the board. The question is just how long or short the leash is on the fiery QB. Jeff Lewis in basically 1.5 games has a higher completion percentage (62.7 vs. 60.3 for Leaf) and a higher QBR (87.8 vs. 86.5), but Leaf is getting the job done. So for now it appears that Leaf has the starts if he continues to produce wins, and that also has the added effect of limiting his tantrums to those against the refs or his OC, but will there come a game where his play suffers and Lewis gets another shot? That is one of the key questions Texas fans have as the Outlaws make a case for a divisional title. UNSUNG HERO? Jacksonville’s defense has been one of the revelations of this year and a big piece of their success has been the unheralded play of an unsung rookie, cornerback Mike Echols. The rookie out of Wisconsin finally got some recognition this week, earning the Rookie of the Week award for his 11 tackle performance with the exclamation point of a pick-six on it. But this is not the first big game for the former Badger turned Bull. Echols had a big 7-tackle game against New Jersey, earned his first pick of the year against Tampa Bay, and forced and recovered a key fumble in the surprising Bulls loss to Oakland. He is averaging nearly 85 snaps per game, and coaches cannot praise him enough in Jacksonville. He may not have been a big name on draft day, not selected until the 4th round with a pick the Bulls got from Orlando, but he is getting his day in the sun on the field with the Bulls, and is a big part of a defense that has helped Jacksonville start strong at 5-1. Midseason means rosters start to look a bit frayed as injuries start to mount. This week a few more names were added to the injury lists and roster depth charts around the league. Perhaps most troubling is the loss of LT Bernard Williams of Chicago, likely to be out the rest of the regular season, but targeting a playoff return after x-rays revealed a fracture in the tibia of his left leg. Arizona got hit twice in the defensive backfield in their game as both FS Tyrone Drakeford and CB Jimmy Williams are likely out several weeks, Drakeford with a neck injury and Williams with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Oakland loses a defensive leader as Roosevelt Colvin will be out at least 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, while Memphis could be without LT Anthony Clement due to a sprained wrist that could cost him at least 2 weeks. Atlanta DT Anthony McFarland will miss 2 weeks thanks to a dislocated knee that looked nasty on the replay, but does not appear to have any ligament damage. Hosuton DT Richard Seymour is also potentially out 2 weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his foot against Denver. The decision whether to bench Will Furrer in Philadelphia seems to have been made by the injury report, as the Stars’ starting QB is expected to miss at least 1 game, perhaps more, with a pulled hamstring. Philly will also be without their best D-lineman, as Regan Upshaw is out at least this week with a dislocated finger. Bobby Engram is also added to a long injury list in Philadelphia with his own hamstring injury, listed as Doubtful for this week. Expected back in action this week we have Portland LT Kenyatta Walker, Michigan TE Roland Williams, Oakland DT Tim Johnson, Houston G Todd Kalis, and Nashville QB Todd Collins, who will not appear to miss any games after being in concussion protocols this week. NEW LOOK DRAGONS The Seattle Dragons are the first of the three clubs getting Reebok redesigns to reveal their look for 2003 as they unveiled a new look dragon on Wednesday at an event at the exclusive Rainier Club. The Club was open for a press conference as the team revealed their new look, which includes a brand new dragon logo as well as more futuristic uniforms utilizing side panels, thin piping, and blocks of color. The team’s colors remain the same—forest green, flame red, and a deep yellow—but the look is quite different. The gold dragon head is now replaced by a curving dragon body, forming a subtle “S” shape while also focusing on the writhing body of an Asian-inspired dragon. In their primary logo the dragon is now depicted in green and red, with a yellow outline, rather than the gold dragon with black outlines of the former. However, when shown against the forest green helmet, the upper body of the dragon returns to yellow and the black outline returns. The red lower body and the flame emerging from the dragon’s mouth remain the same on all backgrounds. The helmet remains stripeless, with the new dragon taking up more of the vertical space on each side. The new jerseys feature green side panels, piped in yellow, with red shoulder stripes and red color blocks at the waist. These color blocks align with the red pant stripe which is cut off about mid-hip. The yellow piping also extends to the pants, where it outlines the pant stripe, moving from front to back when the color shifts from red to green. On the white jersey and pants these stripes are quite prominent, while on the green jersey and pants the green stripe is absorbed into the background color, producing more emphasis on the red and yellow elements. Seattle is expected to primarily pair the white pants with the green jersey and vice versa, though fully white uniforms or a fully green look is not impossible. The final touch to the new look is a new wordmark, moving away from the thin, almost Times New Roman look of their original font, the new Dragons wordmark features a thicker but more vertically oriented font with accent points at the vertical midpoint, creating a more angular and “spikey” look, just as the dragon’s back and neck ridges create an almost sawblade look. Dragons officials have stated that they are in negotiations with the league office to allow the club to wear the new uniforms this season should Seattle appear in the post-season, and since the league allowed such a concession to the new Nashville Knights for their first post-St. Louis look, it seems likely that Seattle will also be allowed this concession. Week seven is the new half-way point of the season, and what we have at the half-way point is a lot of tight races at the top of each division and a lot of teams in desperate shape trying to stay relevant or turn around a horrible start to the year. We wrap up the first half of the league’s 14-game season with divisional matchups for the entire Eastern Conference, including a fascinating clash between Orlando and Jacksonville as the Bulls try to put more space between themselves and a very new-look Renegades squad. A win by the Bulls would give them a 3-game lead in the division at the midway point, ensuring that they remain the only club in the division with a winning record. Tampa Bay has disappointed this year, but a game against a lame duck Fire squad could be just what they need to jumpstart the second half oftheir year. In the Northeast, Washington and New Jersey share the division lead and both are facing division foes who have disappointed their fans this year. The 1-5 Stars come to the Meadowlands hoping that a win over their arch rival can help save their season, but they may be without Will Furrer, which puts the target on Chuck Hartlieb’s back. Washington faces their arch rival as well, and with Baltimore sitting at 2-4, only 1 game back of the Federals, the pressure will be on for the Blitz to take advantage of what should be a very loud Baltimore crowd. In the Central, Ohio and Chicago are dueling atop the division, but both face 2-4 clubs this week as Ohio travels to Ford Field to face the Panthers while Chicago enjoys some home cooking as the Maulers come to Soldier Field to face the league’s top scoring defense. The Western Conference has some interesting inter-divisional matchups as clubs try to put the right foot forward as we head into the league’s second half. Arizona sits at 3-3 and would love to get well above .500, but have a herculean task as they travel to Memphis to face the unbeaten Showboats. They also must deal with the fact that both of the 4-1-1 teams that lead their division are facing much easier competition as Houston travels to Oakland and Texas is in LA. We are still trying to figure out just what is wrong with the Express, but the Outlaws hope that whatever the issue is, the Express don’t choose this week to remedy it. An intriguing battle of 3-3 clubs will take place in Birmingham, where the Stallions host a Denver Gold club that lost their first 3 games but seems to have found their way, winning the next 3. Another 3-3 club, Seattle, hopes to get a bump this week, but has a tough road game in Nashville to contend with. Meanwhile, Portland, fresh after their first win of the year, has a much tougher task as they head to 5-1 New Orleans, with the Breakers hoping to stay within 1 game of Memphis with another win.

Five weeks in, just around 1/3 of a season, and some patterns are emerging. Ohio and Memphis remain unbeaten, though it took the Showboats a frenzied final minute to get it done. Houston looks legit as they outmuscle the Knights in a good defensive game, and don’t count out Tampa Bay, New Jersey, or Denver just yet as all three looked like they may have found their groove on the way to wins this week. All this plus stadium news from around the league. It’s U.com’s weekly recap of all the news that you need. A truly wild game and a see-it-to-believe-it finish in Seattle as Memphis gets a miracle to outlast the very game Seattle Dragons. In a game that saw the Showboats outgain the Dragons 501-214 it should not have come as close as it did, and yet it took final second heroics for the Showboats to pull this one out. Six field goals from Jeff Hall are testament to Memphis’s ability to move the ball but not to put it in the endzone, something they did only twice, while Seattle got 4 TDs, including 3 Brian Griese TD passes in what has to be a heartbreaking loss. The game started slowly, with the only score in the first quarter being the first of what would be 6 Jeff Hall field goals. Seattle countered to open the 2nd, when Griese hit David Boston, for a quick score to go up 7-3. Memphis again moved the ball well and again stalled just outside the red zone. Another Hall kick was the result. Seattle then rode Corey Dillon’s run game down to the 5 before Griese found Boston again, and the lead is now 14-6 Dragons. Add yet one more Hall field goal and we go into the half at 14-9. Seattle opened the second half by extending their lead. This time Dillon got the call and he plunged into the endzone from 1 yard out to extend the Dragon lead to 21-9. But, the score seemed to spark Memphis to action as they would get touchdowns on their next two possessions, first thanks to a nicely-thrown ball from Shuler to Joe Horn and then with a Tony Carter TD run. Memphis went for 2 after the Carter TD, and that gave them a 24-21 lead as the third quarter wound down. In the fourth the Showboats reverted to their earlier form, moving the ball easily between the 20’s but bogging down when Seattle got their redzone defense out. Hall would hit from 42 and 45 to extend the Memphis lead to 30-21. Seattle now felt the pressure to act, and they did, with Griese leading a quick fire 8-play drive that ended with an O.J. McDuffie TD catch. 30-28 was the score and Seattle, with just over 1:30 left to play, would use the onside kick to try to get the ball back. It worked as CB Ray Mickens fell o the oddly-bouncing ball for the Dragons. 61 seconds later it was Jay Feely’s turn for a kick, his first field goal attempt of the day, and he drilled the 49-yarder to retake the lead for Seattle with only 29 seconds left to play. 30-31 Dragons. And here is where the game went from exciting to just plain chaos. Memphis’s Tony Jones tried to return the ball out of the endzone, but only reached the 19 yard line before being corralled and bumped out of bounds. Memphis was at their own 19 with only 23 seconds left to play, but the Seattle defense had been ineffective against Shuler all game, as the QB had already thrown the ball for nearly 380 yards on the day. On their first play from scrimmage he would burn the Dragon secondary again, finding Tydus Wynans, the slot receiver, over the middle for 13 yards, but Seattle’s Chris Hayes whiffed on the tackle, and Wynans was off to the races. He would gain a total of 42 yards before John Lynch finally dragged him down by the ankle. Memphis tried to rush up to the line, but seconds were ticking away. With the ball at the 37 yard line, they wanted another play, but finally had to call their last timeout when the clock got to 4 seconds and they had not yet been able to spike the ball. There was clear frustration on the face of Coach Mora, who clearly was hoping to get the spike then connect on a quick pass on 2nd down to get the ball closer for Hall, but that was not an option any longer, so Hall lined up for what would be a 55-yard attempt. The man who had already connected 5 times made good on his 6th kick as well, sending the ball just above the crossbar and through to give Memphis a 33-31 victory as time clicked down. Fans in Seattle were stunned, while the bars in Memphis exploded with jubilation. The Showboats remain unbeaten after 5 weeks, but it does not get much closer than this one. BAL 17 NJ 20 A huge game in the Northeast as the Generals contained Ron Dayne (31 yards rushing) and got contributions from Curtis Enis (76 yards), Olandis Gary (55) and newly acquired Amos Zeroue (23) to outlast the Blitz and move up to 2-3 on the year, good enough for a tie atop the division. PHI 8 WSH 34 Washington also moved to 2-3 with a win at home against a listless Stars offense. Coach Jim Mora Jr. cannot be happy with his offense as Will Furrer was picked off 3 times and Stephen Davis had an embarrassingly bad 8 yards on 14 carries. The final insult was when Louis Oliver of the Feds picked off Furrer late in the 4th and ran it back for 6 to end the very one-sided Philly defeat. ATL 14 JAX 30 Terrell Owens caught 6 balls for 117 and a score, while Kenny Bynum rushed for a respectable 85 yards on the day as Jacksonville took advantage of Atlanta’s misfortune. Bledsoe, the hero of Week 4, got clocked by a passing elbow on a near-sack and had to leave the game midway through the 2nd. Mark Bulger came in and looked ill-prepared to play, completing only 11 of 28 passes against the Bulls’ defense. ORL 14 TBY 31 The Bandits look ready to make a run as they manhandled the Renegades in front of 49,000 at Tampa Stadium. Trent Green went 25 of 36 for 329 yards and 3 TDs as the Bandits’ vertical passing game was finding openings throughout the day. Yes, Orlando got pressure on Green (5 sacks) but he was still able to make big plays when needed. Meanwhile, Sedrick Irvin only touched the ball 7 times, which feels like a bad gameplan for Orlando. CHI 17 MGN 7 Michigan continues to struggle on offense as T.J. Duckett can only gain 32 yards on 13 carries and Drew Brees suffers through 4 sacks and a pick against the tough Chicago defense. Jeff George had an easier day, sacked only once, and completing 66.7% of his passes on his way to a 2 TD game. Chicago got the ball in Duce Staley’s hands often, with 17 carries and 3 receptions for a combined 102 yards, while Curtis Conway made the most of his 2 receptions, with both going for scores. OHI 42 PIT 28 It was close early, but Ohio slowly pulled away as the game wore on in this one. Kerry Collins would throw for 299 yards and 3 scores, while Eddie George added 2 touchdowns of his own to the mix. Joey Galloway was the player of the game with 176 yards receiving and 2 scores on only 7 receptions. For Pittsburgh, Charlie Batch had 3 TD passes, but also threw 3 to the other team, including a pick-six to Glory CB Mike Riley as the Glory stay unbeaten at 5-0. LA 24 ARZ 28 A huge game from Jake Plummer helps Arizona fend off the LA Express and move to 3-2. Plummer would throw for 289 and run for another 101 as he did it all for Arizona. Add in 2 passing touchdowns and 2 more rushing scores and you can see how he won the Offensive Player of the Week. LA got 91 yards from Antowain Smith and Cade McNown had a solid 288 yards passing with 3 TDs but it was not enough to topple Arizona in Tempe. OAK 21 DEN 28 Denver jumped out to a 14-0 lead early but the Invaders would not go away, keeping the pressure on Brunell and the Gold all game. Brunell would prove up to the challenged, throwing for 273 and 3 scores, but it was not the easy home win that the Gold were hoping to get from the 1-win Invaders. NSH 21 HOU 24 Houston stays unbeaten at 4-0-1 thanks to a solid defensive game against Todd Collins and the Knights. It was the defense, particularly a pick-six from Houston’s Robert Lombard, that gave them the edge, as both QB’s had similar games and both run games struggled. The game was within 3 points when Houston got a huge 4th down stop to stymie the Knights’ late comeback attempt and secure the win. NOR 34 TEX 21 The Outlaws could not keep pace with Houston, as they struggled against the 3-1 Breakers. New Orleans QB Trent Dilfer had a banner day, completing 21 of 27 passes for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns against a Texas defense that clearly did not have answers on this day. Add in 112 yards from Ricky Williams and you get a decisive win for the road team. BIR 28 POR 7 A big win for the Stallions, a job-costing loss for Portland, as ownership simply lost faith in Ray Rhodes after another embarrassing loss, letting the 3rd year coach go on Monday. Portland had 5 turnovers in a sloppy game that saw Correll Buckhalter fumble twice and Akili Smith throw two bad picks. Rhodes was let go on Monday and DC Joe Vitt was appointed interim head coach for a franchise in search of any signs of life. RHODES SHOWN THE DOOR Being a coach on a losing team is never a good long term security plan, and when the team has recently changed ownership the plank you walk gets even shorter. That was the situation for Ray Rhodes in Portland. After a 1-15 opening season, Rhodes was given a chance to build up the Portland roster under their prior ownership. Portland improved to 7-9 thanks mostly to a late season run of luck, but now, with a new ownership group for the Thunder, Rhodes opens the year with a 5-game losing streak and that was apparently all the owners needed to see. He was relieved of duty after 5 games, and now Portland again is looking to rebuild. There are certainly lots of fingers to point in the Rose City. Portland currently ranks 23rd of 24 clubs in both yards allowed and points allowed, and with Rhodes seen as a defensive coach, that is not a good place to be. The offense is no better, also ranked 23rd in scoring and in yards. Akili Smith seems to have regressed after a promising second half of 2001. The run game is two-headed but neither Kaufmann nor Buckhalter is putting up strong numbers consistently. The receiving corps, headed up by Matthew Hatchette and Patrick Rowe is simply not scaring anyone. Portland seems destined for a high draft pick. The question is whether they go after an offensive talent like USC QB Carson Palmer or Michigan State wideout Charles Rogers, or do they go for a big defensive force like Georgia DT Jonathan Sullivan or ASU edge rusher Terrell Suggs. Perhaps the best option for the Thunder at this point is to lay low, and wait for trade value to rise for what will certainly be a top pick in next year’s draft. COACHES ON THE HOTSEAT With Ray Rhodes now out in Portland the hot seat turns elsewhere. The two most prominent options for a potential coaching change are also in the suddenly problematic Pacific Division. Seattle sits atop the division at 2-3, but even with that Joe Tiller is certainly not safe. Plenty of folks blame him for blowing the lead against Memphis, and 2-3 is hardly a world-beating record. But, if there is one more seat that is feeling the heat this season it has to be the Oakland Invaders. Coach Gunther Cunningham was brought in to build a culture of defensive toughness, and the Invaders have just never shown any movement in that direction. They are in the bottom half of the league in pretty much every defensive category, and what is worse is that the offense seems to be equally as bad. Were it not for a truly shocking win against Jacksonville last week, we might also be talking about Coach Cunningham on the chopping block. Oakland plays Portland this week, and if Cunningham’s Invaders lose to the winless Thunder and their new interim head coach, you can bet the drumbeat of complaints and calls for Cunningham to be let go will get very loud in the East Bay. EARLY AWARD TALK Turning to more positive thoughts, we are at the 5th week of the year, about 1/3rd of the way through the 14-week season, and it seems a good time to look at the year’s big individual awards and who has made an early case for them. MVP could be a race between QB’s this year with Jake Plummer, Heath Shuler, and Trent Dilfer all making strong early season cases, but we are going to go in another direction. Eddie George of Ohio is on an unbeaten team, is on pace for 1,400 yards or more, and is proving that the halfback position is still vital for a truly unstoppable offense. We like his chances to challenge the usual QB suspects for the potential MVP. Among defenders looking at the Defensive POTY, there are three who stand out right now. The first is Houston’s Kavika Pitmann, who already has 7 sacks, but we should not only look at one category. Another strong contender is Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, who not only has a competitive 5 sacks, but has also recorded a safety, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Strong numbers, indeed. Finally, Mike Vrabel in Jacksonville is making a good case for himself, with 38 tackles, 2 sacks, and real ballhawking with 4 forced fumbles and 3 recoveries through 5 games. For rookie of the year, all roads lead through Joey Harrington in Orlando. If the Renegades can reach .500 and stay in the playoff race, Harrington may be a shoe-in, but if not, the next best candidates appear to be New Jersey LB James Harrison and Washington WR Deion Branch, both of whom have put up strong numbers so far. A strong dark horse is New Orleans receiver Josh Reed, who is only 3 catches and 12 yards behind Branch right now among rookie receivers. Coach of the Year is so hard to figure this early in a season. We still have 3 undefeated teams, but if we had to throw a name in, we think the bigger surprise of the 3 is Houston, and the success of Wade Phillips in his first year in Space City is not going to go unnoticed. He has the Houston defense playing top caliber ball and the fact that Matt Hasselbeck is maturing into a solid starter certainly is helping as well. A much lighter week on the injury front, good news for all, but not a week without injuries. The biggest blow is to Washington and the depth on their D-line as rotational player Dan Footman is lost for the year with an ACL tear. It came on a play in which he was rolled up on by another lineman while trying to recover a fumble, and it will mean that the veteran lineman will likely not be available until training camp next January. Others who will miss significant time include Tampa halfback Tony Vinson, Seattle corner Al Harris, and Pittsburgh safety Sam Shade, all of whom are looking at 4-6 weeks before they can return to action. LB Roosevelt Colvin in Okalnad could miss 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, while Pittsburgh is still looking at up to a month before Andre Rison can return to action. The good news for Atlanta is that Drew Bledsoe avoided major injury this week and is listed only as questionable for week 6. Orlando QB Gus Frerotte was also upgraded from out to doubtful, which is a good sign. Potentially back on the field this week we have Ohio TE Stephen Alexander, Portland tackle Kenyatta Walker, LA corner Irv Smith, Denver guard Evan Pilgrim, and Michigan WR Laverneus Coles. Lots of news this week on the stadium front. We start with a review of the new stadia in play this season. NEW STADIUMS IMPRESS USFL FANS The USFL has seen a flurry of stadium activity over the past few years, and the reviews are in on some of the new stadiums around the league. 2001 saw new homes for the Pittsburgh Maulers (Heinz Field) and Denver (New Mile High), while this season the Michigan Panthers, Houston Gamblers, and Seattle Dragons all moved to joint NFL/USFL stadiums this season. Pretty much in every case, fans are excited about the technology and sight lines in the new stadiums. Also important is that in all five cases the new stadia are located in the heart of the city, either downtown or near downtown, making for a truly energized experience. Parking has been cited as an issue in some locations, less of an issue in others, while fans still express some nostalgia and sense of loss with the destruction or decommission of such landmarks as Three Rivers, Mile High, and the AstroDome. Plans for the Silverdome are yet to be revealed, while Husky Stadium in Seattle now reverts back to being purely the home of UW football. Some interesting quirks we have seen so far this year, the first open-air game in Houston in quite a while as the Gamblers played with the roof open at Reliant Stadium for their game against Texas in Week 3. They closed the roof due to rain in Week 4 but hope to have it open again for a sunny day game against the Wranglers in Week 9. Seattle has been able to add about 2,000 season tickets to their fanbase thanks to the capacity of the new stadium just south of downtown, but has also created a program with Soundtransit, the Seattle mass transit organization, to provide gameday shuttles from the campus area north of the city to the stadium for all the fans who were comfortable traveling to the UW campus but may not want to deal with downtown pre and post game traffic. Finally, the Panthers are still using the Silverdome, but only as a practice facility for simulating gameday scenarios, pumping in sound and music at loud volume to prepare for road games. It is an expensive perk of having the Silverdome available, so we are not sure if this can continue as the facilty will be seeking new tenants or uses. But, when it comes to the new facilities, the word right now is that fans are very happy with the new home of USFL football in their towns. Next up will be Philadelphia, who hope to move into a new shared facility with the Eagles in spring 2023. PORTLAND STADIUM IN NEGOTIATIONS With the sale of the Portland Thunder, one of the biggest draws for the current ownership over other groups was not only the option to keep the Thunder in Portland, but the plans to develop a stadium facilty on the eastern side of town. That work has begun with Thunder personnel, particularly minority owner and real estate developer Phil Ruffin, opening talks with the city and the county to determine a potential site as well as lock in both for their share of the cost for the new facility. Early word is that the ownership group headed by Worldcom CEO Bernard Ebbers is hoping for a stadium with a capacity between 45,000 and 50,000, with a partial roof (similar to those seen in many soccer stadia) that would allow fans to stay largely dry during Portland’s rainy season (most of the USFL season, honestly). Adding roofing could increase the cost, of course, but at this stage the main concern is locating a spot that does not require massive relocation of businesses or residents, and which has a minimal negative environmental impact, this is green Portland after all. The hope is to have a new stadium ready as soon as the 2006 season. MEMPHIS TO TRY AGAIN FOR MAJOR LIBERTY BOWL RENOVATIONS Memphis Showboats ownership have all but abandoned the hope of getting a new stadium for their franchise, but now are again working with local organizations, the University of Memphis, and the city government in hopes of acquiring a deal to renovate Liberty Bowl Stadium to expand capacity and increase the potential revenue from suites and luxury boxes. Prior efforts to get either major renovation funds or a new stadium have failed both within committees of the city government and as a ballot initiative, but one thing working in Memphis’s favor right now is the growing fear that the city could actually lose the Showboats if no movement is made. This is a fear that Showboat officials are, if not promoting, are at least acknowledging. The recent relocations of both St. Louis and Atlanta franchises prove that franchises can be lost, and the revenue of a team with them for cities and local businesses. With both St. Louis and Atlanta now feeling the sting of the loss, there is concern that both cities will move from “poachees” to “poachers” very quickly. Both cities have stadiums ready and waiting for a new team, and if ownership groups can be developed, a faster path to a franchise may well be to make inroads with teams like the Showboats, who are struggling to get stadium improvements in a tough market. It appears that the potential concern of a future move to St. Louis or Atlanta could be just the motivator for the city of Memphis to appreciate the Showboats in a new way, at least that is what the team’s ownership hopes to be the case. OAKLAND’S STADIUM A CONCERN Another franchise with significant stadium concerns is Oakland, where Oakland-Alameda Stadium has two primary issues that do not sit at all well with ownership. The first is the shared venue with Major League Baseball’s A’s, forcing the team to play most of the season with a dirt diamond on the field, and with limited scheduling options. The second is the state of the stadium in general. It is one of the fields within the league that has the most immediate repair and maintenance needs. On top of that, and particularly when compared with new facilities like those in Houston or Seattle, the amenities of the Invaders’ home field are woefully lacking. Yes, there is ample parking, always a big issue for fans, but once you are inside the stadium what you encounter is an older, more bare-bones, and less engaging gameday experience. But, as we consider options Oakland may have, the question is asked, what options do the Invaders have? Any deal to renovate the stadium in Oakland will require cooperation with the Oakland A’s franchise, which means the issue of sharing the stadium with a baseball club, and the field alterations that requires, would not be going away. The two franchises have not exactly been collaborators in the past, so it also seems doubtful that they will form a strong united front when trying to pry resources out of a somewhat depleted city budget. The other option is to play the relocation card. We still have not heard from the Dallas-Ft. Worth group when it comes to relocation bids, which could be a card the Invaders might play. The other potential option is to reach out to the NFL 49ers, who also have made waves about the state of Candlestick Park (We know the official name is 3Com Park @ Candlestick Point, but no one calls it that.) If the Invaders and 49ers could work together, we may see Oakland become more of a Bay Area franchise, perhaps even changing their name depending on where they find themselves playing. We know that the new money in the region is south of both Oakland and San Francisco, in Silicon Valley, and that one or both of the region’s pro football teams could be swayed to make the move to the South Bay if a stadium is being offered. We have already seen the NHL move to the South Bay, with the San Jose Sharks doing quite well for themselves. Could one or both football clubs find happiness in Silicon Valley as well? ST. LOUIS NOT SITTING STILL Finally, we want to check back in with St. Louis. The Knights are now gone, playing to enthusiastic crowds in Nashville, but what about the city they used to call home? While the city government has been somewhat slow to react to the loss of a major sports franchise, doubling down on their support for the NFL Rams and MLB Cardinals, fans in the Gateway City have been more vocal, calling on the league, the city, the state, and the stadium authority to bring USFL football back to their city. It will take time to put together either a grassroots movement or a strong ownership coalition to truly enter the competition for USFL franchises, and with the sales of both Atlanta and Portland finalized, there is not a clear target franchise for a purchase-and-move bid on the market right now. We mentioned that Memphis might use St. Louis as a means to an end, but ownership in Memphis is both well-entrenched and local, so the realistic odds of the Showboats moving up river does not seem very promising. Other teams with stadium issues, like Oakland and Birmingham, also have longstanding local ownership that has expressed no interest in selling their franchises. So, even if St. Louis can build a viable ownership group that could contend with Dallas, Miami and Kansas City groups, their best option may be to lobby enough USFL owners towards a mid-decade expansion, in hopes that cities like theirs (and Atlanta) that have recently lost teams would have a viable shot at acquiring a new team. It seems a longshot, but crazier things have happened. Week six has us looking at divisional play in the West and interdivisional matchups in the East. Houston will take their unbeaten record to a tough place, Mile High, to face the Gold on Sunday. On Saturday, Texas will be in Arizona in a battle of 3-win clubs hoping to catch the Gamblers. In the Pacific Division we have the already-highlighted matchup of teams in trouble as 0-5 Portland visits 1-4 Oakland. Seattle at 2-3 leads the division but heads to LA (1-4), who are hoping a win gets them right back into play for the division. In the Southern Division the 5-0 Memphis Showboats are at home for their first matchup against their new in-state rivals, Nashville. Expect bad blood and chippiness in this one, and that is just among the fans who attend. In the other game 4-1 New Orleans heads to 3-2 Birmingham in a game that could be vital within the division. The best matchup among the Eastern Conference teams is likely one of the matchups of 2-3 teams, as all 4 teams in these 2 games are fighting to get back to .500. Washington is at Tampa Bay, who certainly showed some firepower this week, while New Jersey visits former divisional foe Pittsburgh. In other games, we have 2-3 Baltimore headed for a tough matchup at unbeaten Ohio. We also see the 2-3 Panthers hoping to steal a win and get to .500 in Jacksonville against the 4-1 Bulls. Chicago takes their 4-1 record to Atlanta, where Drew Bledsoe is expected back under center. In Orlando, the Renegades can get to .500 with a win against a Philadelphia team that looks like they have lost their edge.

A rough week for Atlanta Fans as they get the news that their team is indeed a lame duck franchise, just as the club debuts their new QB and gets their first win of the year. It is official, the club is moving to Boston in 1993, name still to be decided, but it means that this season is it for fans in Atlanta, at least for the next few seasons. On the field, the big news was a huge win for Joey Harrington as the new QB of the league champion Renegades, and the first wins of the year for not only Atlanta, but Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Denver as well. While it certainly was not in Coach George O’Leary’s original plans to have his rookie QB as his starter as early as Week 2 this season, if this week’s performance on the road in Portland is any indication, Joey Harrington being forced into playing may not be that bad an option after all. Harrington put together a performance against the Portland Thunder that feels like the start of something special. In a game in which Orlando trailed throughout the game, Harrington again and again led the Renegades to scores when they were essential, including the game winner as time ran out. For Portland the story is one of continued disappointment, as a team that fought their way to 7-9 and the cusp of the playoffs last season dropped to 0-4 despite putting together a strong offensive performance (436 total yards, including 178 on the ground). The Thunder found success in the run game for the first time this year, with Napoleon Kaufmann gaining 102 yards on 13 carries, with 2 touchdown runs, while Correll Buckhalter also fared well, gaining 60 yards on his 13 carries. But in the end, it was not enough as the Portland defense could not get the stop when it was needed most. On a rare clear and sunny Portland day in April the Thunder started the game on the right foot, scoring on their first possession, a Kaufmann 5-yard sprint to the corner pylon. They would add a field goal as the 2nd quarter began to go up 10, having forced 3-and-outs on the first three Orlando drives. On their fourth drive, the Renegades began to find a rhythm, with Sedrick Irvin gaining 20 yards on 3 carries and Joey Harrington connecting with 3 different receivers, the final connection being a 34-yard seam route for a score to his favorite target, TE John Henry Mills. Up 10-7, Portland again moved the ball well, relying mostly on the run game, but with intermittent throws from Akili Smith mixed in. They would add another 3 points at the 2:36 point of the 2nd quarter, but their lead would quickly be wiped out as Harrington led the Renegades on a no-huddle, quick-paced 2-minute drill. Harrington connected with Keenan McCardell, Donald Driver, Rickey Dudley and then John Henry Mills again (his 2nd TD of the day) on the drive, giving the ‘Gades their first lead of the day at 14-13 with 1:02 left in the half. Portland caught a break after the Orlando score when David Gibson got a 44-yard return on the kickoff, putting the Thunder at their 48 yard line with just under a minute to play. A short drive and a Carlos Huerta FG allowed Portland to go into the half with the lead. When the 2nd half opened, that lead would again be wiped out. Harrington hit Mills for a third time as Portland simply did not gameplan effectively to stop the big TE. The Mills TD gave Orlando a 21-16 lead, but Portland would respond. On their next possession, Portland held the ball for just under 8 minutes, and after 13 plays Kaufmann had his second TD on the day and the Thunder had the lead back at 24-21 (thanks to a 2 point conversion). They increased that lead to 27-21 in the 4th with another Huerta field goal. After a failed drive forced Orlando to punt with 5:20 left in the game, the defense came up big, with Chris Doleman sacking Smith on 2nd down to create what would be an unmakeable 3rd and 15. Portland punted and Orlando got the ball back with 3:33 left to play. Once again Harrington was asked to lead a no huddle drive, and once again he came through. Consecutive passes to Reidel Anthony, Donald Driver, and a swing pass to R.J. Redmond got the ball into Portland territory. Following an ill-conceived draw play that forced Orlando to use their last time out, Harrington had just over 1 minute left and 44 yards to go to get in the endzone. He found Jabar Gaffney for 7, then Keenan McCardell for 13, missed on a pass to Dudley, but then hit McCardell again to get the ball all the way to the 3 yard line. Racing up to the line, Harrington spiked the ball with 17 seconds to play. The Renegades would have 2, maybe 3 chances to get the ball in the endzone. Would they dare run it? The answer was no. On 2nd and 10 after the spike Harrington faked the ball to Sedrick Irvin and found his fullback, Chris Fuamau-Ma’afala out to the right, uncovered. The big Samoan fullback hauled in the Harrington pass and plunged across the goal line for his first TD catch in 3 years. It was a heartbreaking loss for the winless Portland Thunder, but for Harrington it was a triumphant drive that Orlando hopes is a sign of things to come. Their rookie QB finished the day with 364 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and a rating of 122.0, all his best to date in 3 starts. Orlando may still be considered a longshot to repeat as champions after a tumultuous offseason, but the future does look bright for the Renegades. CHI 23 BIR 14 To look at the stat line, where Birmingham controlled the clock for 33 minutes and outgained Chicago 369-263, you would think this a Stallion victory, but the Machine held the Stallions to only two Marcus Robinson TD receptions, while Chicago would score on 5 possessions (3 FG and 2 TD) to take the win. Deuce Staley had a huge game, rushing for 126 to pace the Machine to the victory. MGN 12 MEM 19 Michigan played conservatively and held Memphis to only 291 total yards, but could not muster enough offense late in the game when they needed it and Memphis held on to win by 7. Joe Horn and Garrison Hearst scored for the Showboats, who struggled to make big plays against a protective zone Michigan employed. OHI 24 NSH 22 Ohio raced out to a 24-9 halftime lead but sputtered in the second half as the Knights slowly clawed back into the game. Eddie George was held to only 33 rushing yards by the Nashville defense, while Ahman Green rushed for 104 in the loss. Red Zone defense proved the key for Ohio as they forced Nashville to kick field goals in the 4th quarter instead of getting touchdowns. That difference helped Ohio cling to the 2-point victory. PIT 16 NOR 28 The Breakers racked up nearly 500 yards of offense against a well-regarded Mauler defense. Ricky Williams had his best game of the year, rushing for 132, while Trent Dilfer threw for 327 and 3 scores. Dilfer’s main target was tight end Steve Johnson, who caught 6 passes for 126 and 2 scores, one of them a 61-yard backbreaker when the game was within 1 score. BAL 24 ARZ 19 The Blitz find themselves atop the Northeastern Division at 2-2 thanks to a solid win on the road in Tempe. Jake Plummer threw two picks, and despite 86 yards rushing, could not outpace the Blitz, despite Jeff Garcia being out. Billy Joe Tolliver relied heavily on Ron Dayne’s rushing (101 yards on 23 carries) to set up play action, but found both Kyle Brady and Bill Schroeder for touchdowns in the Blitz victory. NJ 13 DEN 33 Denver’s offense finally came alive in this strong home performance against the Generals. Robert Holcombe rushed for 90 yards and 2 scores and Rod Smart added another 53 on the ground as Denver rediscovered their power run game. The defense also came up big, picking off Tom Brady 3 times on their way to a convincing win, their first of the year. PHI 21 HOU 38 Houston remained unbeaten by surprising the Stars with an inside-outside run game. Mike Anderson handled the inside game, rushing for 41 yards on 10 carries, but the bigger success came from Kevin Faulk, who had an impressive 162 yards on only 13 carries to pace the Gamblers. His 61-yard TD scamper in the opening quarter set the tone for the game. WSH 3 TEX 20 The Outlaws also stayed unbeaten as they knocked off a listless Washington club, keeping the Federals out of the endzone and scoring on defense as CB Jimmy Hitchcock returned a Kordell Stewart pick for a touchdown. The Federals only averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the ground, against the Outlaws. Sticking to their QB rotation, Ryan Leaf won the start in practice and performed well, going 17 of 30 for 152 with no picks. ATL 23 LA 7 Maybe all the Fire did need was a new QB, as they played inspired football in Drew Bledsoe’s first start. Bledsoe would go 18 of 31 for only 168, but his presence forced the LA defense to respect the passing game, which allowed Tiki Barber to rack up 161 on the ground. Meanwhile, the usually soft Atlanta defense showed up in force, limiting LA to only 54 yards on the ground in a surprisingly complete game for the visitors. JAX 6 OAK 26 Another big upset on the West Coast as the undefeated Bulls were shocked by the Invaders. Jackonville converted only 1 third down all game, as Oakland’s D gave up some big plays but kept from allowing drives to develop. On offense, it was Rodney Thomas, in his best game so far as an Invader, who stole the show, rushing 28 times for 133 yards, including a 42-yard TD to pace the Invader offense. Plaxico Burress aided the cause with 2 touchdown receptions as Oakland shocked the bookmakers, winning by 20 when they had been a 2 touchdown underdog. TBY 24 SEA 19 The Bandits get their first win of the season thanks to a 67-yard pick-six from Greg Jeffries, and a mistake free game from Trent Green (11 of 20 for 204 and no picks). Seattle got 122 on the ground from Corey Dillon, but it was not enough in the end to catch up to the Bandits. THE MIDSEASON TRADE WINDOW OPENS EARLY Maybe it’s the new 14-game season, or perhaps just that desperation has started early for some clubs, but this week, following Sunday’ games, we saw an early start to the mid-year trading block. Normally we would expect to see some action in Week 6 or 7, but to see teams make significant moves after Week 4 is unusual, and yet, we got 5 teams on the block, making deals to either get some much needed help, or in one team’s case, to try to turn a good start to the year into a potential playoff run. New Orleans was the big mover and shaker, making two trades to shore up areas of concern. First, following the news that Bobby Hoying’s foot injury was significantly worse than first diagnosed (moving from turf toe to a fracture with possible staff infection in his toe), the Breakers felt the need to add a QB who could actually step in if something happened to Trent Dilfer. They found a willing partner in Atlanta, who was sitting on three pretty hefty QB salaries with Drew Bledsoe now added to a QB room that had Mark Bulger and Aaron Brooks in it. Atlanta was more than willing to send Brooks (a healthy inactive this past week) to New Orleans and get some value for the move. New Orleans got their solid backup, and Atlanta picked up a quality cornerback from the Breakers in Allen Rossum as well as a 6th round pick in the 2003 draft. But, the Breakers were not done yet. Viewing pass rush as the main weak area for a defense that has had some issues this year, the Breakers were on the lookout for a potential upgrade on the edge. They again found a willing partner in Portland, who, after taking their 4th loss of the year, were hoping to shore up the run defense by adding a space-occupying DT. So, the Thunder and Breakers made a deal to swap outside D-line for inside D-line in hopes that both could solve what they saw as their primary defensive concern. Portland would add big-bodied Leon Bender (as well as a 4th round pick in the draft) to help them against the run, while veteran DE Clyde Simmons would get a new opportunity to harass QB’s as a member of the Breakers. Trading away 2 draft picks and 2 solid defensive contributors (Rossum and Bender) to land Simmons and Brooks sure seems to indicate that the Breakers see this year as an opportunity to redefine expectations, with their eyes squarely set on competing with Memphis for the division title. The third move this week saw the New Jersey Generals add a needed weapon on offense, while the Oakland Invaders tried to deal with one of their defense’s many weak spots. Oakland has been atrocious in the secondary, an area where New Jersey had depth to offer, so they made a case to acquire backup strong safety Pearson Prioleau from the Generals. The deal, offer New Jersey a solid 3rd down back, one with receiving skills that neither Curtis Enis nor Olandis Gary really possess. The deal sounded good to New Jersey, who have struggled getting their backs involved in the passing game. So, Prioleau goes to Oakland, while the Generals pick up elusive HB Amos Zeroue and a 5th rounder to boot. A good move for New Jersey, but very likely a stronger move for Oakland, who simply needed more skill in the DB room. Will these three moves profoundly impact the teams involved? Hard to say, though certainly if Trent Dilfer were to miss any time the Breakers would feel more comfortable with Aaron Brooks as the backup than their third stringer, Jesse Palmer. And we expect that Coach Parcells will find a way to make use of Amos Zeroue’s skills. The real question is whether Atlanta, Portland, or Oakland will see much benefit from these moves, or if more holistic change is needed. LEAF HAPPY FOR A CHANGE Challenged to step up during practice, Ryan Leaf earned the start for the Outlaws and was not replaced during his game against Washington. And while his 17 of 30, 152 yard day was hardly anything to write home about, the simple fact that Coach Gailey did not pull him for Jeff Lewis seemed to have the tantrum-prone former top draft pick in a better mood after the game. In his post-game interview he managed to both commend his teammates for stepping up, admit that he has areas for improvement, and declare that his goal each week is to prove to the coaches that he is the best option at QB. Awfully mature for a player often criticized as being a man-child. Of course, those of us who have dealt with his prior outbursts still wonder what will happen should Coach Gailey opt for Lewis in future weeks. Will the mature new Leaf disposition hold or will we see more of what we saw when he was in Oakland? ROOKIE MAKING WAVES It is unusual for a rookie to come from nowhere to lead his team. You see it occasionally with a high round draft pick, perhaps at positions like HB or CB, where individual talent can often trump knowledge of the pro game, but what we are seeing in New Jersey is certainly unexpected. James Harrison, a bit of a wild card pick in the mid rounds of the draft, has defied the odds. Not only did he win a starting position as the weak side LB in New Jersey’s 4-3, but he currently leads the team with 32 tackles, good enough for 5th in the entire league. Harrison is a big hitter, that is for sure, and he seems to relish taking on running backs, as he showed this week with a huge hit against Robert Holcombe of Denver, knocking the back right off his feet. It is early, but this little-heralded LB out of Kent State could be a serious candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Run & Shoot Yourself In the Foot Concern in Michigan where Coach Martz seems to be leaning very heavily into the Shoot part of Run & Shoot. His offense after 4 games is not exactly what you would call balanced, with 78% of all plays being pass plays. The fact that the leading number of rush attempts by far is from Drew Brees scrambling (and he is not a scrambler by nature) is not a good sign. Brees has officially rushed the ball 60 times in 4 games, while the big acquisition at HB, Michigan State rookie T.J. Duckett, has only 39 rushing attempts on the year. Folks in Detroit are beginning to question the logic of asking Brees to throw the ball as much as he has. The success throwing nearly every down has not been there. Brees has 4 TDs but also 3 picks and is only at a 64.5% completion rate. For a QB known for his accuracy, that is not good. Yes, a lot of the blame could go to an offensive line that has simply not gelled yet, but the playcalling is also a big question. You signed Duckett, a top-rated draft pick, with the intention to run him and make life easier for Brees, but so far Martz is not calling a game that takes advantage of the big back. It seems time is right for the 2-2 Panthers to reevaluate whether their wide open offense makes sense with the personnel they have. The big story this week was that of Bobby Hoying’s new diagnosis. Not only was his turf toe not turf toe, but when doctors discovered the radial fracture in the toe, they also realized that infection had set in, so what was expected to be a 1-2 week minor issue became a pretty serious season-ending concerns. Hoying is expected to recover fully but will be unable to contribute to the Breakers’ 3-1 season, one of the big reasons the Breakers traded for Aaron Brooks. Hoying was not the only player who got bad news this week as Washington DE Dan Footman is also out for the year with an ACL tear. Seattle CB Al Harris is likely out for the season as well after injuring his back this week. In Pittsburgh the concern is for SS Sam Shade, whose torn MCL likely means 6-8 weeks on the bench. Pittsburgh got hit with a double whammy as their top receiver, Andre Rison, will also be out at least 2 weeks after fracturing his lower arm. It is not a displaced fracture, so he is expected to return quickly, but 2 weeks without Rison could be an issue for the Maulers. Another important receiver, Michigan’s Laverneus Coles, is likely out at least this week with a sprained ankle. Ohio will be without their star TE Stephen Alexander who sprained his knee this week, while in Texas, rookie TE Matt Schobel is also questionable with a foot injury. Jeff Garcia, the starter for Baltimore may miss another game as his hamstring continues to be a problem. Expected back in action this week are Denver WR Germaine Crowell, Tampa WR Chris Doering, Pittsburgh TE Jay Riemersma, Nashville tackle Jason Fabini, Portland LB Joey Porter, Philly backer Sam Rogers, and Washington DE Bobby Hamilton. IT IS OFFICIAL, ATLANTA IS OUT, BOSTON IS IN. Following several leaks that pointed to a relocation for the Atlanta Fire franchise, the USFL this week officially announced that an agreement had been reached with the Fire and the Boston Colonials Football Group to sell the club, an agreement that allows the club to relocate to Boston for the 2003 season. The league had certainly hoped to get further into the season before breaking this news, knowing full well that this will likely cause a backlash in Atlanta and would very likely negatively impact the rest of the season for the Fire, both on field and in the ticket office. The details of the sale have not been disclosed, though our sources tell us that the asking price for the Fire was not as high as that obtained for either the Portland Thunder or St. Louis Knights. Quite simply put, the Fire had just not built up enough value in Atlanta to ask for more than the other two older franchises. Among the details that were released during the USFL league office’s announcement were that the club will play their games at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium starting with preseason 2003, that the ownership group would be headed by current Boston Bruins owner and CEO Jeremy Jacobs, though the group is truly a consortium of several significant figures and not a part of the holdings of Jabobs’s Delaware North consortium, owners of the Bruins. Finally, the league announced that as part of the agreement to sell the Fire to the Boston-based group, the league would pursue an agreement with the NFL and New England Patriots to allow for the potential use of the Colonials name, but that in the intermim the Boston ownership group must develop alternative options for a team identity should the NFL or Patriots refuse to relinquish their rights to a trademark infringement case against the club or the USFL. This was apparently one of very few contingencies built into the sale and it appears that the Boston group has agreed to explore alternative team identities over the upcoming months. In Atlanta the news was met with some degree of frustration, but also an overwhelming sense of resignation. The Fire have not been able to develop a strong and vehement fan presence like those seen with several other Southern franchises such as Birmingham, Memphis, New Orleans, or Jacksonville. While there is certainly a sense of loss with the franchise being sold and relocated, the general sense is that this was seen from a mile away, there is no shock, no disbelief, and while football fans in Georgia are certainly not happy to lose their USFL franchise, we are simply not seeing a reaction similar to the ones witnessed in St. Louis after the announced move to Nashville was made, or in Portland when the franchise was looking at multiple bids, including one by the very same Boston group. In Boston the move was met with enthusiasm, fans gathering downtown to celebrate the arrival of a new football team, the first to play in the city since the Boston Breakers departed for New Orleans (since the Patriots have been well outside the city in Foxboro for years). While the fans cannot be sure that their club will be the Colonials, or have some other identity, enthusiasm seems high for the city to rejoin the spring football world next season. It certainly does not hurt that among those coming to Boston will be Drew Bledsoe, longtime Patriot QB and the first QB to lead the Patriots to an NFL title. So now the big questions remaining, with all 3 franchises on the market now claimed, are different. First, just what will this new Boston club be named? And second, will the USFL’s Southeastern Division truly be three Florida teams and a Boston franchise, or will 2003 see another realignment, and just who moves out of their current division? We shall have to wait and see, though we know already that neither Washington nor Baltimore has any desire to split up their rivalry between two divisions, which does not leave a lot of options. If Boston goes to their logical place in the Northeast, one of the 4 current teams will have to move out. An intriguing issue to follow as we move ahead with the relocation process. Week five brings us divisional play in the East once again, with some big matchups as teams try to move their way to the top of some tight divisional races. Baltimore leads the Northeast at 2-2 and heads to New Jersey hoping to put more space between themselves and the competition. Philly and Washington are both mired at 1-3 but face off at RFK, with both hoping to get win #2. In the Southeast, Atlanta, fresh off their surprise win in LA, must now face Jacksonville, who just suffered their first defeat. Tampa Bay will be in Orlando as well, with both hoping they are now headed in the right direction after Week 4 wins. In the Central we have two good rivalry games, with Chicago visiting Michigan and Ohio headed to Pittsburgh. Out West it is interdivisional play this week, with the big game being 3-1 New Orleans headed to 3-0-1 Texas in what used to be a divisional rivalry. Houston shares the top spot in the Southwest at 3-0-1 and prepare to host the Nashville Knights. Denver and Oakland just scored their first wins of the year and now face off at Mile High. LA, surprisingly at 1-3, heads to Arizona, where the Wranglers hope to build up a divisional lead with a win. Birmigham travels to winless Portland hoping to avoid an upset, while Memphis, at 4-0, hopes to stay unbeaten as they visit 2-2 Seattle.