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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.