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You have to love divisional football. The rivalries, the high stakes, the animosity, and the history. It was 12 divisional games this week and what did we get? A lot of action, a lot of energy, and a lot of aggravation for half of the fans across the league. Philly got blasted by the Feds, Baltimore upended the Glory, Atlanta again played tough, and Birmingham came up with a big win when they needed it. We got Michigan making life hard for the Breakers, Denver making a case for the division, LA saying “not so fast” and Portland crushing Seattle’s chances to get back into the playoff mix. In other words, what we got was divisional football at its best. The matchup of the Maulers and Generals is not one of the biggest rivalry games in the league. Both clubs hold a lot more animosity towards the Philadelphia Stars than with each other, but you would not have known it from the game. It did not help that Andre Rison came out on Friday with some not so respectful words for the Generals. That got put up on the bulletin board in New Jersey to be sure, and it fired up a game that may have gone very differently without that moment. The Generals came in angry and it showed early, the Maulers got fired up in response, and by the game’s conclusion it was all the refs could do to keep the players in line. Despite the chippiness of the game (10 penalties on Pittsburgh as good evidence), it was a pretty well-played game between a playoff contender and a team that always seems to show up but rarely gets the results. Charlie Batch had his best game of the year, a 444-yard, 4 TD day that won him Offensive POTW, a rare feat for the QB of a losing team. New Jersey countered with an efficient offense that saw Tom Brady complete 20 of 25 passes for 334 yards and 2 scores. The Generals started things off in the 1st with a 13-play drive that concluded with Curtis Enis breaking tackles on his way to a 6-yard TD. The Generals would add 3 more in the 2nd, and Pittsburgh would get on the board in the final seconds of the half with a 37-yarder from Bill Grammatica. 10-3 at the half, but things got hotter in the 2nd half to be sure. New Jersey opened the 2nd half with a quick score from Terry Glenn, a 56-yard scoring play aided by two Mauler defenders essentially picking each other off trying to tackle the speedy General. Down 17-3, Pittsburgh shifted gears. After 15 carries for 70 yards in the first half, Terrell Davis would get only another 5 carries in the 2nd half as the Maulers put the ball in the hands of Charlie Batch. Batch responded, first hitting Andre Rison with a beautiful deep ball for a 69-yard TD. His touchdown dance, a clear taunt of the New Jersey bench, helped once again fuel the animosity between the two clubs, and cost Pittsburgh 15 yards on the kickoff due to unsportsmanlike conduct. New Jersey would go 3-and-out, and with the ball back, the Maulers quickly moved the ball, a 6-play drive that ended with Jay Riemersma catching Batch’s 2nd TD. The Grammatica PAT evened the score at 17, which is how it went into the final period. New Jersey would pull ahead in the 4th, first on a Neil Rackers FG and then on a huge play from the defense, with Jason Sehorn breaking up a Charlie Batch 3rd down toss, then snagging the ball in the air, and racing 54 yards for a Generals TD 27-17 New Jersey. Pittsburgh could have folded at this point, but they roared back. On their next possession Batch hit Eddie Kennison with a slant route that he took to the end zone. 5:30 left and Pittsburgh down by 3. They would get the ball back with 3:23 after New Jersey could not convert a 3rd and 8. Batch would again find an open receiver, this time Jake Reed, 27 yards out, and the Maulers had the lead, their first of the day, 31-27 with 1:22 left to play. The Generals took over and young QB Tom Brady, already building a reputation for himself as a 4th quarter comeback kid, did just that. Brady guided the Generals towards midfield, and with time ticking down, he hit on a huge play, a seam route to Anthony Becht as the Maulers sent the house. Becht had to tap the ball with one hand and then scoop it in on the run, but he made the catch and rumbled his way to pay dirt. Touchdown New Jersey with only 27 seconds on the clock. The fans in the Meadowlands were on their feet, screaming themselves hoarse, a kind of excitement we have not seen from Generals fans in a long time. If anyone doubted how the Generals could capture attention in the NY market, this game showed that with the combination of Coach Parcells on the sideline and a dynamic young QB with a knack for the dramatic, this club could become the darlings of Gotham. BAL 27 OHI 26 Baltimore needed this win and they scrapped for it. Despite giving up 110 yards to Eddie George, and a stellar 7 catch, 177 yard, 2 TD day from Joey Galloway, the Blitz hung around all day, never down by more than 7. They relied on Ron Dayne, who would rush for 151 and a score on the day, and they would get contributions from Rob Moore and Cam Cleeland in the passing game to stick close. They took the lead finally in the 4th when Martin Grammatica nailed a 45-yarder to go up 27-24. Ohio had a chance to pull it out, but Joey Galloway, on the end of a 27-yarder that nearly scored, got the ball popped out on the 2 yard line. Baltimore recovered, and rather than risk it with almost no time left, Jeff Garcia took a safety, gave up 2 points and Baltimore kicked the ball away as the clock wound down to double zeroes, win in hand. PHI 6 WSH 47 We are not sure if Washington is just that good or if something brought Philly in flat, because this one got ugly quickly. Washington scored on their first 4 possessions, leading to a 26-0 lead at the half Bobby Hebert would throw two picks and then get pulled for Will Furrer. Deuce McCallister scored 3 TDs, mostly in goal line situations, and add one more through the air to be the game MVP. BIR 35 MEM 25 Lawrence Dawsey picked a good week to come back from injury. Fans clamored to Liberty Bowl Stadium for this battle of 6-5 clubs. Over 52,000 in attendance as red jerseys from both fanbases rocked the bowl stadium. Dawsey would have a huge return in this one, going for 188 yards and a score, though Marcus Robinson would also have a good day with 2 TD catches. Garrison Hearst also returned from injury for Memphis and his 88 yards and a score helped keep it close until the 4th, when Favre hit Robinson for TDs on two consecutive drives to pull ahead for the win. ATL 19 ORL 24 This one was yet more evidence that the 1-10 Fire are playing hard despite their poor record. Down 21-9 at one point, the Fire came on late but just fell short against the 9-2 Renegades. Tiki Barber again looked good in Rick Neuheisel’s more run-dependent offense, rushing for 110 on 21 carries. Orlando got TD catches from Donald Driver and Terry Kirby on their way to a 10th win on the season. JAX 36 TBY 13 All good things have to end, and Jacksonville ended Tampa’s win streak in a definitive way. Despite being sacked 5 times, Chris Chandler was on fire, completing 25 of 26 passes (a league record 96.2% completion rate). Add in 97 yards for Kenny Bynum, who seems to have surplanted Sedrick Irvin as the lead back for the Bulls, and you get an ugly loss for the Bandits. Both Terrell Owens and Cedrick Tillman were over 100 yards receiving as Jacksonville quieted down the Bandit crowd early in this one. TEX 14 STL 30 The Knights got a much needed win after a rough couple of weeks. Ahman Green was at the center of an offense that gained 395. His 127 yards and 1 Td were key to the Knights win. It also helped that the Knights rediscovered run defense, holding Reggie Cobb to only 42 yards on 18 carries. NOR 14 MGN 38 Drew Brees seems to be learning quickly as he again helped the Panthers offense score a solid win. Brees went 19 of 22 for 197 and 5, yup, 5 touchdowns in this one as the Breakers defense just had nothing on Michigan. Muhsin Muhammad was Brees’s big target in this one, hauling in 4 TDs for himself. Trent Dilfer for New Orleans just could not keep up, especially with Ricky Williams slogging through a 46-yard day. HOU 3 CHI 27 A big day for the Chicago defense, which landed 5 sacks of Matt Hasselbeck, two by rookie Tommy Polley. Chicago also got 124 yards and a score from WR Curtis Conway and 107 yards and another score from Duce Staley to put away the Gamblers and hold court in the Central Division. DEN 20 ARZ 16 A big win for the Gold on the road as they now sit at 8-4. Peerless Price caught 6 for 97 yards and Kurt Gouveia, the old man in the middle, ran back a tipped ball for a TD in this one. Jake Plummer did leave the game in the 3rd with a possible concussion, and that all but ended Arizona’s shot. Craig Whelihan could not generate the one good drive Arizona needed at the end. OAK 17 LA 34 The Express won the California Derby and kept a game up on Denver with the win at home despite 115 yards from Oakland’s Rodney Thomas. Mike Pritchard nearly eclipsed 200 yards receiving, ending the day with 199 yards, including a 49-yarder that put fans on their feet. Tory Holt added another 104 in the air as LA kept the pressure on all day with big plays. SEA 20 POR 34 For all the preseason hype, Seattle just has not produced. It did not help that Brian Griese was out with an injury, leaving Giovanni Carmazzi as the Dragon QB. He could not stay upright as Portland got 5 sacks and 9 knockdowns on the backup. On offense, Akili Smith was both the teams leading passer (288 yards, 2 TD) and rusher (66 yards and a score) as he seemed to be channeling some Jake Plummer action. The win helps Portland eye a possible playoff spot, the loss makes Seattle’s path very tough. STATS YOU DON’T OFTEN SEE Our stats page tends to give you the biggies, QBR, Yards rushing, receiving yards, sacks, interceptions, etc. but there are many many more stats that the USFL tracks that we don’t focus on. Here are just a few stat leaders you may not have known about. RECEPTIONS: Terry Glenn is the yardage leader for receivers at 1,421, but he is only 5th in receptions. That title is currently in the hands of Seattle’s Eric Metcalf, whose 94 catches lead Andre Rison of Pittsburgh by 9. RUSHING BY QB: You probably could guess that Jake Plummer’s 474 yards is tops among quarterbacks. But would you guess that even with his benching in favor of Drew Brees, Doug Flutie is still 2nd with 225. Expect both Kordell Stewart and Akili Smith to catch up and pass Flutie by season’s end. HB RECEIVING: Who is the best receiving back this year? If you guessed Errict Rhett or Kevin Faulk you are wrong. It is a bit of a surprise, league leading rusher Terrell Davis with 37 receptions, 5 more than Corey Dillon in 2nd. Now, if we are looking at yardage, that goes to Eddie George in Ohio’s pass happy offense, with 466 yards on the season. Lamont Warren, also in Ohio, is second. How is that for utilizing your backs in the passing offense. TE RECEIVING: It is rare that a TE is in the Top 5 of our receiving list, so we are just not used to seeing them. But if you are looking for a good receiving TE, there are none better than Steve Johnson of New Orleans (66 receptions for 789 yards), Marco Battaglia in Denver (65 for 651), or Jim Kleinsasser in Chicago (61 for 541). None of these are putting up Shannon Sharpe or Keith Jackson numbers, but they are reliable short yardage and red zone targets to be sure. DEFENSE: If run stuffing is what you want, turn to Randall Godfrey in Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta!!. The Fire may be horrible in many ways but Godfrey is still leading the league with 24 tackles for loss, one ahead of Washington’s Al Wilson at 23. PUNTING: Hard to get excited about punting, but if you want booming kicks, look to the 48-yard average of Birmingham’s James Elmore. If you prefer the coffin corner, the best in the game this year is Oakland’s Andy Watkins, with 33 punts inside the 20. RETURNS: If we are going to cover punting, you know we have to give some love to the return men. Right now the best punt returner in the league is LA’s Barry Minter at 13 yards per return, though if you want scores, look no further than New Orleans CB/KR Walt Harris. He has a punt return and 2 kickoff returns for TDs this year, the only player with more than one return for a score this season. LOOK TO THE DRAFT Yes, we have only 1 club eliminated from the playoffs, but we feel pretty confident in saying that we see Michigan, Texas, and Oakland joining them at this point in the first 5 picks of the draft. Yes, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Houston, and Jacksonville could slip down a notch too, but let’s focus on the clubs with 3 wins or less. If you are them, who do you want to invest in for this year’s draft? A tough question for a team that has a lot of needs. ATLANTA: The easy pick for the #1 Draft spot. So what does Atlanta do? Easy to say QB, but is there really a QB worth spending this pick on? The two best options are Fresno’s David Carr and Oregon’s Joey Harrington. Fresno State may remain unclaimed as a territorial school but we fully expect Oregon to be in Portland’s selections when the choice of T-Draft schools are picked. Would Atlanta trade to get a territorial pick from Portland to sign him? We doubt Portland will after seeing Akili Smith develop this year. Nope, a better option would be for Atlanta to go with a big defensive stud like UNC’s Julius Peppers or Ryan Sims, two players who could be T-Draft picks if Atlanta picks UNC as one of their 3 protected schools. They could then look at QB in free agency or take a shot at someone like David Garrard of ECU later in the draft. MICHIGAN: They have their QB, but their run game is pathetic, so it has to be halfback with their first pick. They have an obvious choice in Michigan State’s T.J. Duckett, an almost guaranteed territorial pick. If they whiff on Duckett they could also go after someone like Ladell Betts of Iowa or Najeh Davenport of Miami if they want to stick with a power run game. Another position to look at would be wideout, and we could easily see an Andre Davis (Va Tech) or Reche Caldwell (Florida) being a good pick. OAKLAND: We just don’t see Ryan Leaf sticking in Oakland, despite his pretty good play after returning from a benching. So, it may all depend on if Oakland likes what they see in last year’s pick, Marques Tuiasosopo. If not, they could make a play for Fresno State’s David Carr, a local kid who could be a good option for them. If they do, then they will almost certainly look to the defense. A big DT like Tennessee’s John Henderson or Wisconsin’s Wendell Bryant makes a lot of sense here. TEXAS: The Outlaws may just stick with Jeff Lewis, despite some issues this year. They lack speed outside, so maybe a Donte Stallworth (Tennessee) or Javon Walker (Florida), but they also need to bulk up that line to keep the run game going, so don’t be surprised if they go big on the T-Draft to sign Texas tackle Mike Williams. They could also improve the D with another longhorn, CB Quentin Jammer. Yup, believe it or not, if the playoffs started today Portland would be in and the South would be represented by only 1 team, the 10-2 Renegades. Birmingham at 7-5 would be out, as would 6-6 Tampa and Memphis. Still 4 weeks to go, so nothing is settled, but a win this week would clinch the South for Orlando, and Chicago can wrap up the Central with a win and a St. Louis loss in New Jersey. One more headscratcher, with only 4 weeks left only Atlanta is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Despite being 3-9, Texas, Michigan, and Oakland are only 2 games out of the 6th playoff spot in the West. Anyone have that in mind when Michigan was 1-9? A week with no season-enders is a good week. We still have a lot of walking wounded, but at least that list did not get much longer this week. A few situations to watch for include WR Johnnie Morton of Chicago (Doubtful with hyperextended knee), Az-Zahir Hakeem in New Orleans (hamstring), tackle Zach Weigert in Pittsburgh (groin), HB Michael Pittman in LA (neck), QB Jake Plummer of Arizona (probable with a deep thigh bruise). Brian Griese is expected to return to action this week for Seattle, as is Matt Light for New Jersey, Matt Stinchcomb in Arizona, John Thierry in Chicago, and Fred Smoot, the league’s interception leader, in Arizona. The Atlanta Fire, needing anything they can get to restore fan enthusiasm in the middle of a very disappointing season, have become the third and final USFL club to reveal a new Reebok design for 2002. The Fire retained the essence of their primary look while still going full overhaul, developing with USFL league officials and Reebok designers a new primary logo, wordmark, and uniform. The new logo reimagines the "flaming A" secondary and incorporates the flame into the letter as a not very subtle homage to another former pro team in the city, the NHL's Atlanta Flames. The flames, no longer orange trimmed in gold, but now stand alone gold and orange elements, emerge from the lower right leg of the A and "burn" up to the upper left. The wordmark also features a more subtle element of this, with a small golden flame within the R of "Fire". So, it would appear that a mere 6 years after the Atlanta Olympics, the symbolism of the Olympic torch is gone, and we see the Fire now use a more generic reference to flames in its logo. While the stand alone logo will be the flaming A design, the helmet will retain its wraparound design of the flames alone. Here the flame pattern seen in the main logo is tilted so that the flames emerge from the front of the helmet and flare towards the back, similar to the original 1995 design but with a very different shape and, once again, without being piped in one color, with separate gold and orange elements. The new uniforms jump on a couple of big trends we are seeing in pro sports branding these days, the removal of stripes and the use of transitional colors. The pants are stripeless, available in white, navy, or orange, and with the team's primary logo on each hip. The jerseys retain the familiar look of either orange or white bodies with navy blue sleeves, but now an ombre (color-shifting) effect is seen in both the collar and in the numbers. On the darker orange jerseys the numbers shift from white to gold (with navy outlines) while on the white jersey the shift is from the fire orange to gold (again with navy outline). The team logo is retained on each sleeve (using a gold outline to allow the navy "A" to be visible. So, a new look for a new start in Atlanta. The club, in the middle of a brutal 1-11 season, and working with an interim coaching staff, is likely going to want to reinvent itself over the offseason, and now they have a look and a logo to use as a means of reimagining themselves after what has to be considered a very difficult startup. Seven years into the expansion club's existence and they are all but starting from scratch again. We follow an all-divisional week with an all-interconference week as the Central clubs head to the Atlantic and the Pacific clubs head South. Which games should you tune in for, well, how about a battle of 7-5 clubs when Arizona goes on a rare trip to Birmingham? How about 7-5 St. Louis in New Jersey to face the 8-4 Generals? And, of course, there is a big one as two division leaders clash in the Citrus Bowl. 9-3 Los Angeles heads to Orlando to face the 10-2 Renegades. Other games include New Orleans @ Baltimore, Texas visiting Ohio, Chicago in Pittsburgh, Houston traveling to Philadelphia, Michigan (winners of 2 straight) facing the Feds in RFK, Portland visiting Atlanta, Denver in Jacksonville, Seattle in Memphis, and the Tampa Bay Bandits hoping to start a new streak with a home game against Oakland.

It was Las Vegas's worst nightmare as we saw five major upsets all in one week. Not only did Atlanta get a shocking first win of the year against a clearly fading St. Louis Knights squad, in St. Louis, but Michigan earned their second win of the year by knocking off Memphis, Washington once again failed against a West Coast team, falling to Oakland, Arizona fell to Pittsburgh, and the Houston Gamblers lost to the Jacksonville Bulls. Just about the only favorites to win were Orlando, regaining their form, and Tampa Bay, who landed their fifth in a row. Safe to say that no one saw this coming. Also safe to say that it may officially be time to panic about the St. Louis defense. The Knights’ usually much heralded defense has been struggling all season, but to give up 31 to the Fire? That seemed completely impossible just a few days ago. But, that is what happened as the Fire stayed within their game, avoided big mistakes, and just kept finding ways to score, eventually sending the game to overtime on a last second Jason Elam field goal, and then getting the game winner on their first possession in the extra period. St. Louis fans were distraught and you could see on the players as well a sense of disbelief as the Knights fall to the last winless club in the league. Tiki Barber was the hero of the day (perhaps along with the Fire defense) as he rushed the ball 28 times for 163 yards. He would also score, but it was backup Mario Greer who got the biggest points of the game, the overtime TD to end it. St. Louis had its usual cast of stars, with Ahman Green rushing for 90 yards and Bert Emmanuel catching 9 balls for 128 yards, but the pieces just did not fit together for the Knights on this day. After trading field goals in the 1st quarter, Atlanta got the first big break, a Todd Collins pick deep in St. Louis territory. It was Tim Hauck nabbing the ball intended for Amani Toomer and returning it to the St. Louis 14-yard line. One play later, Tiki Barber made a great cutback move, lost the linebacker and scored from the 14. St. Louis would narrow the gap with a 2nd field goal, this one from only 23 yards out as the Knights opted not to go for 4th and goal from the 4. That might have been a mistake as Atlanta took their next drive the length of the field, scoring on a Mario Greer run from the 10 after an 11-play drive. It was 17-6 Atlanta at the half, but most fans seemed to be feeling comfortable that their Knights would find a way back. When the third quarter ended with only 1 score, an Atlanta field goal to make it 20-6, the St. Louis fans started to get nervous. It got better for them in the 4th, as the Knights scored on a George Layne dive over the pile to make it 20-13. This was followed by an Atlanta fumble that gave St. Louis the ball back in short order. They would score again, a Jabari Holloway TD reception, but somehow Ryan Longwell doinked the PAT off the right upright. 20-19 Atlanta. The Fire would add a field goal with 3:58 left to play, but that only pushed the lead up to 4 at 23-19. St. Louis needed a TD to go up, and they would get it with 1:26 left on the clock, an Amani Toomer catch over the shoulder from Collins. But, with 1:26 left and only needing a field goal, the win was not secured. Atlanta moved the ball down field with one of the better drives we have seen out of Mark Bulger, and with 28 seconds to play, Jason Elam put the ball between the uprights to tie the game and send it to overtime. In overtime, St. Louis got the ball first but failed to cross the 50. They gave it up to Atlanta and the Fire, seeing their first win in almost a full calendar year, drove the ball down the field with precision and perseverance. When Mario Greer sprinted left and dove for the pylon to give the Fire the win, you could see the collective monkey get off the backs of every Fire player. They would not go 0-16, an ignominious honor that is still held only by the 1991 Baltimore Blitz. Atlanta had found a way to win, and now St. Louis has to head back to the film room and try to figure out just what has caused their defense to fall flat so frequently this year. WSH 30 OAK 35 While Atlanta’s upset was the most shocking it was hardly the only one this week. Oakland got a monster game from Ryan Leaf, coming out of the doghouse, as the QB threw for 324 yards and 4 scores to upend the Federals. Ed McCaffrey caught 2 scoring tosses and Plaxico Burress another as the Invaders just kept going deep on the Federal secondary. MEM 28 MGN 33 The Panthers also got into the upset parade, winning their 2nd of the year by surprising the Showboats in the Silverdome. Drew Brees kept his composure, going 36 of 47 for 373 yards and3 scores, and Siran Stacy actually had a good game, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Memphis actually had the lead with 5 minutes to play, but Brees hit Laverneous Coles with the winning score with only 1:12 left on the clock. PIT 37 ARZ 20 The Maulers round out the upset weekend with a big road win over the Wranglers. Terrell Davis rushed for 114 and Andre Rison caught 10 of 12 targets for 119 and a score. Eddie Kennison returned from injury and also had a good day, catching 6 balls for 44 yards and a score. Jake Plummer was contained all game, throwing 2 picks and rushing for -8 yards as the Maulers found a way to shut down the Wrangler QB. ORL 27 TEX 24 For three quarters it looked like Orlando would also fall victim to the weekend of upsets, but the Renegades rallied for 13 points in the 4th quarter to avoid a 3rd straight loss as Keenan McCardell was unstoppable. The Orlando receiver caught 8 passes, 3 for scores, and racked up 121 yards in the process. Reggie Cobb was Texas’s main weapon, rushing 21 times for 126 yards in the defeat. TBY 31 NOR 26 The Bandit resurgence now sits at 5 straight wins after Tampa Bay went into the Super Dome and knocked off the Breakers. Trent Green threw for 300 yards and 3 scores, including 118 to Randy Moss. The Bandits also forced 4 turnovers, including 3 picks of Trent Dilfer, with Samari Rolle returning one for a score to boost the Bandits to 6-5 on the year. JAX 26 HOU 12 Houston blows their chance for a home win as they come out flat against the Bulls. Matt Hasselbeck left the game at the half with a stomach flu and that did not help the Gamblers as backup Brock Huard completed only 11 of 23 passes in the second half. Jacksonville turned to HB Kenny Bynum, who rushed for 130 and a score. Terrell Owens also played a pivotal role in the Bulls’ win, catching 7 balls for 153 yards and a score. BIR 31 CHI 38 Chicago was down 31-28 with 7 minutes to play but got a Duce Staley TD run and a late John Carney field goal to take the home win in front of one of the bigger crowds we have seen for the Machine, 42,073 in Soldier Field on a beautiful summer afternoon. Staley had 2 TDs on the day and WR Curtis Conway caught 7 passes for 117 yards and a score. Birmingham, playing without the injured Lawrence Dawsey, struggled to make big plays against Chicago deep zones. Brett Favre would have 366 yards passing, but it was not enough on this day. OHI 24 SEA 13 The Dragons struggled all game without Corey Dillon, and it did not get better for them when Brian Griese went out in the 3rd with a possible concussion. And while the Dragon defense did much better than most against the Glory, limiting Kerry Collins to 225 yards passing and Eddie George to only 23 yards rushing, mistakes cost them as Ohio scored on a pick-six and a punt return touchdown to take the win. BAL 28 POR 10 Another QB knocked out of the game as Akili Smith left just before the half. Rick Mirer came in and threw 1 TD and 1 pick. Baltimore got much better results from Jeff Garcia, throwing for 234 and 3 TDs on the day. Seven penalties and a 3 for 15 third down conversion rate also hurt any chances Portland had to earn the win. NJ 21 LA 29 A really fun game in LA as the Generals and Express squared off. New Jersey got 2 TDs from TE Anthony Becht and another from halfback Olandis Gary, but LA kept pace all day long, thanks to dual 93-yard days from Tory Holt and Brandon Manumaleuna, both of whom also nabbed a TD along the way. While Curtis Enis was the game’s top rusher with 81 yards, the combo of Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman for LA racked up a combined 123 yards rushing. PHI 10 DEN 31 The Denver D was in synch on Sunday as they collected 3 takeaways against a sloppy Stars club. Rod Smart, in 5 fewer carries, outgained Rashaan Salaam 122 to 75, but that was a total of 197 rushing yards between them as Denver just owned the clock in this game. Add in TDs from Peerless Price and Dedric Smith and Denver rolled to an easier than expected win at Mile High. CHUTES & LADDERS Let’s take a quick look at who is trending up and who is trending down over the past few weeks. Some of these are obvious, others perhaps not. GOING UP: Tampa Bay’s Offense, after a bumpy start to the season, the Bandits offense and new QB Trent Green seem to have found a rhythm, helping the club win their last 5 games. After averaging only 20.3 points per game the first 6 weeks, the Bandits have scored 28, 31, 26, 42, and 31 points during their win streak, a sign that they have found an identity and it is back to Banditball for this club. GOING DOWN: St. Louis Knights’ Defense. One of the more feared defensive units the past few years, this season’s Knight D has simply not held up well. They started the year giving up 38 points in each of their first 2 games, but that was ignored because the O came through and they won those games. But this Knight defense has given up over 30 points in 7 of 11 games so far, an average of 29 points per game over the season. If they believe that Todd Collins and the offense is going to be able to compensate for that, they may be sorely disappointed. GOING UP: Terrell Davis. Not that he ever was too far down, but in a tough year for the Maulers, Terrell Davis is clearing a path for himself to win the rushing title. He has gone over 100 yards in 3 of the past 4 games, including this week’s 114 in the upset of Arizona. He is averaging 99.3 yards a game on the ground, his highest average ever, and he currently stands as the only back over 1,000 yards for the year, with 1092, 118 yards ahead of Ahman Green for the title. Not a bad season for one of the best backs in the league and perhaps the centerpiece of the entire Mauler roster. GOING DOWN: Chris Chandler. Yes, things have been rough for Jacksonville all around, but Chandler in particular has had a rough go of it. His 18 interceptions this year have him well on pace for his 3rd consecutive 20 pick season, and that is not a good thing, especially when we consider that he is off the pace on touchdowns as well, so the balance is not there. With Jacksonville recently trading for Jake Delhomme, this may be a sign that the Bulls are looking to move on from Chandler, which could be a retirement on the horizon or it could mean he is looking for work. GOING UP: Denver’s receiving corps. The Gold have never really been a flashy team, and while Mark Brunell has always been efficient, the Gold simply don’t air it out much, but in their three game win streak, helping them get deep into the playoff mix at 7-4, the Gold seem to have opened things up a bit. Their primary receivers, Dedric Smith, Peerless Price, and TE Marco Battaglia have been finding openings in defenses and making plays. The YAC is still not perhaps what you see in Tampa Bay or Ohio, but the first downs are getting there. And what Denver is doing is also about balance. They don’t have a single target dominating the targets, with Price at 94, Battaglia at 86 and Dedric Smith (who missed two games with injury) at 67, they are spreading the ball around. They could still use some depth behind these three (Danny Farmer and Lloyd Hill are not really scaring anyone) but at the least they are beginning to use the passing game to open up defenses, making life easier for Brunell, but also for Salaam and Rod Smart. GOING DOWN: The Breakers, in general. Sure, we could pinpoint one aspect of the club, or point out that Trent Dilfer’s injury was a major hurdle for them, but he has been back for a few weeks now and the Breakers continue to slump, losing their last 3 games. The defense is a shadow of last year, giving up 28.5 points per game and having difficulty putting together a pass rush. In the past 3 weeks they have given up 35, 48, and 31 points, not good. They also rank in the bottom 5 in rush defense, which means they are having trouble making the opposition one-dimensional. The offense is still top 10 in most categories, but that is yardage primarily, and if the D cannot keep teams under 20 the now 5-6 Breakers could see themselves fall even further behind in the playoff hunt. GOING UP: Coach Marty Mornhinweg’s job security. After lackuster 6-10 and 7-9 seasons his first two years in Chicago, the curve of improvement seems to have taken a sharp upward turn for Coach Mornhinweg and the Machine. The Machine currently sit at 8-3, with a solid 2-game lead over a fading Knights squad. They have a defense that is forcing turnovers and stifling third downs, and an offense that may not be blowing away opponents, is controlling the clock and shortening games. The Machine have won 5 of their past 6 games, and could very easily become the first team to clinch their division. For those who had this as a make or break year for Mornhinweg, it looks like “make” is the verdict. GOING DOWN: Jacksonville Bulls’ Head Coach Gunther Cunningham. After improving from 6-10 to 8-8 in his second season, this year’s current 3-8 record does not bode well for the Bulls’ coach. At best they could get to 8-8, but we don’t think anyone sees the Bulls going 5-0 down the stretch, which means a losing season, and very likely a 10-loss season in Jacksonville. And while many are pointing at the offense and QB Chris Chandler, the bigger issue by far for Coach Cunningham is the Bulls’ defense. Jacksonville is ranked dead last in points allowed, giving up 359 points in their first 11 games, nearly 33 per game. For a coach who came in with a reputation as a defensive guru, that is not good at all. Add to the fact that this is a club that has drafted for defense over Cunningham’s tenure, landing LB Lavar Arrington last year, DE Jevon Kearse in 1999, and both safety Ifeanyi Ohalele and DE Derrick Burgess this year, and you have to wonder what the issue is. The talent is there but the scheme clearly does not work. We are calling Coach Cunningham a coach on the way down, but more than likely he is now a coach on the way out. Taking a look at the playoff standings after 11 weeks, we see that Orlando has regained their spot atop the East while the surprising Chicago Machine are in first on a tie breaker over LA in the West. Ohio and Tampa Bay are both on hot streaks with the Glory winning their last 6 and Tampa their last 5. Headed in the wrong direction are the Breakers, losers of 3 in a row, and both Memphis and Birmingham, losers of 2 straight. From the looks of it, the East is likely to have some teams out of the playoff picture despite having better records than the last couple of Western Division Wild Cards, as Portland and Houston are still right in the hunt at only 4-7, while 6-5 Birmingham, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay are currently on the outside looking in. As teams make the final push with 5 weeks left in the season, injuries continue to be a concern around the league. This week Birmingham had to put their starting center on IR with a torn bicep, Pittsburgh DT Roderick Coleman also on IR with a hamstring, and Oakland made it official, putting Jon Kitna on IR, which means it will be Ryan Leaf for the remainder of the season. Add to this a lot of shorter impact injuries, and you have a lot of teams testing their depth. Among the 1 week, Doubtful and Questionable list this week we find Philadelphia LB Mike Crawford, Orlando safety Myron Guyton, Denver guard Tony Semple, Seattle QB Brian Griese, Portland tackle Kenyatta Walker, and Atlanta safety Adrian Wilson. Expected back in action are Chicago guard Solomon Page, Memphis HB Garrison Hearst, Washington tackle Melvin Tuten, and Michigan LB Andy Katzenmoyer. We have spoken quite a bit in the past year or so about stadium deals, ownership issues, and potential relocation, but we really have not talked about attendance in quite a while, and since that is a big piece of the puzzle, we really ought to. So, first a quick chart showing each team’s stadium, capacity, average attendance from 2000 and through home games this year, and the percentage of capacity for each. I will then follow up with some commentary. (There is one mistake here. Memphis should be listed as a Top 5 attendance leader in place of Tampa Bay) So, what do we see here? Well, a lot of patterns we expected. Teams that have been solid performers over the past few years have better overall attendance than those that have been at or near the bottom of the standings. Teams in the south continue to dominate the top of the attendance leader boards. And a few teams may well be in stadia they will never fill. The USFL has been pretty consistently at or near 40,000 attendees on average for the past 4-5 years, so that is not likely to change any time soon. Playing in 60,000 seat stadia, as most teams do, means that most weeks most games have a pretty good crowd with some open spaces in the upper decks and in both endzones, but for clubs that play in cavernous stadiums like the Glory at Ohio State or Michigan at the Silverdome, the place can look a bit empty even when there is a solid crowd. I think we all understand why Portland, Atlanta, and Oakland are lagging in attendance. In Portland even a bad average of 29,536 provides more coverage (87% full) at PGE Park than at most stadia, but the fact that the club is only pulling about 5,000 more than the league required 25,000 a year is a problem. The bigger problem is in Atlanta, where the Fire have one of the few stadia that actually is matched well to league average attendance, but the lack of quality football put out by the Fire means they cannot take advantage of Bobby Dowd’s size. So, what are the solutions? Well, for one, the pressure has to be put on some underperforming clubs to improve the quality of their teams, get some wins, and build up a fan base. Even a 1983 original 12 club like Oakland cannot draw fans if they are going to lose 10 or more games every year. Second, the league needs to work with partners when new stadiums are on the table to ensure that they are not building 80,000 seat monsters, but 60,000 seat venues that have amenities, suites, and other revenue-generating options. This is not so hard when it comes to cities that share clubs with the NFL, but for others it is a tough sell. Ohio, in particular, but also Portland, Memphis, and Orlando, are not going to have an easy time getting stadiums built, at least not with public money. Finally, we should recognize the good news we have seen in recent years, that more and more often we are seeing the USFL and NFL teaming up to get a new facility built. Just in the next couple of years we will see the Gold move into a “New” Mile High in Denver, the Stars finally get an option other than the simply horrible venue that is Veterans Stadium, the Panthers move downtown into Ford Field, and the Dragons join the Seahawks in a new downtown stadium. Washington is still an issue because the Redskins are simply intransigent about sharing their facility, so RFK will have to remain the venue for the Federals for the foreseeable future. Portland is a problem we already know about, as is Memphis, and St. Louis is still not getting any love when it comes to stadium contracts now that the Rams are in town, but for clubs like Houston, where a new retractable roof stadium will support both the Oilers and Gamblers, the future looks bright from a revenue, and, we hope, an attendance standpoint. Week 12 brings us another of our favorite scheduling gems, an all-divisional week full of regional rivalries. Let’s start in the Atlantic where all 3 games have major playoff implications. Philly (7-4) travels to Washington (8-3) in a battle of clubs still hoping for a division title. The other 8-3 club, Ohio, is home to the Baltimore Blitz, who do not want to slip back to .500 with another loss. In New Jersey, the 7-4 Generals are hoping to knock off Pittsburgh and possibly gain ground on either Ohio, Washington, or both. In the South, the big game is between two clubs on the fringe of the playoff hunt. Memphis and Birmingham are both 6-5 and a win here would be a huge boost for one of them. They face off in the Liberty Bowl, so expect a very rowdy crowd in Memphis for this one. Atlanta, fresh off their first win, are in Orlando, where the Renegades have no desire to slip again. Finally, Tampa Bay can win their 6th in a row if they can get past Jacksonville. Expect a big crowd in Tampa for this one. The matchups in the Central are not quite as engaging, as no two teams with winning records match up. 8-3 Chicago is at home to 4-7 Houston, 5-6 New Orleans visits 2-9 Michigan, and 3-8 Texas is in the dome in St. Louis to face the 6-5 Knights. An upset there and Chicago could have a 3 game lead in the division with 4 games to play. Finally, out West we get a couple of interesting rivalry games. Both Denver and Arizona are 1 game back of LA at 7-4, and they face off in SunDevil Stadium in what could be a truly meaningful pre-playoff game. LA is at home this week against Oakland, who would love nothing better than to knock off their California rivals. Meanwhile the Thunder and Dragons face off in Portland. Both clubs are 4-7 but actually still in the mix for the playoffs. Consider this one a potential elimination game for the loser.

Playoff Picture: With 5 games left, no team has clinched a playoff spot and none is eliminated. The results of Week 12 could alter both situations significantly.

It was a week that saw two huge offensive displays, with the Knights and Breakers combining for 88 points while Ohio and Memphis went 2 better and put up a combined 90 points. It appears that defense is no longer the strong suit for several clubs that made their name on shutdown defenses. We also got a big win for the Blitz, hoping their playoff push is not over, and the Atlanta Fire came close as a team can come to pulling off an upset win, but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the Federals. Orlando fell for a second straight week, and LA made their claim on the Pacific with a commanding win over preseason favorites Seattle. All this plus our first playoff race tally of the season in this week's recap. For two clubs that were planning on a playoff run spearheaded by top level defenses, this one got offensive early and never looked back. This game saw 27 points scored in the 1st quarter, 31 in the 2nd, 13 in the third and 17 in the 4th as the lead kept going back and forth. Neither defense seemed particularly honed in on the other club as everything seemed to work for the two offenses. Trent Dilfer would have his first 400-yard game, throwing for 420 and 4 scores, while Todd Collins would also hit 400, throwing for 404 and 3 touchdowns himself. The running backs also found success, with Ricky Williams just barely losing out to Ahman Green 116-118 yards. Add in 160 yards for Raynard Brown, 130 for Bert Emmanuel, and 163 for Amani Toomer, and you have yourself a true shootout in the Central Division. And for all the shootout elements of the game, neither team was able to fully take control. The score was 14-13 St. Louis after one quarter, with scores from Knights Bert Emmanuel and Ahman Green offset by a Hakeem TD (with missed PAT) and a Ricky Williams score, all in the first 15 minutes. The second quarter saw both clubs go back and forth again, with St. Louis holding the lead once again at the break. Toomer opened the scoring with a 5-yard reception, followed by Hakeem’s 2nd of the day for New Orleans. Toomer then added a 2nd, this time a 78-yard bomb on a busted coverage, but New Orleans returned the favor, with Dilfer hitting Raynard Brown from 17 yards out. Ryan Longwell’s 21-yarder as time ran out in the half was the difference in the game. Third quarter saw New Orleans take the lead after both clubs traded field goals. The Breakers got up by 3 when Steve Johnson caught the period’s only TD from 3 yards out. The 4th quarter opened with St. Louis regaining the lead, going up 41-37 thanks to an Ahman Green TD run. New Orleans got within 1 at 41-40 thanks to Lin Elliott’s 27-yard field goal. But, the deathblow would come 4 minutes later with the Breakers driving. Rookie CB Bhawoh Juh made the huge play, stepping in front of a ball headed for Andre Coleman and it was off to the races. Juh’ dove into the end zone and St. Louis had the largest lead of the game at 8 points. That would be the final score as New Orleans did not have enough in the tank to get an equalizer. With the heartbreaking home loss, the Breakers fall to 5-5 while St. Louis gets a slight leg up, finishing the week at 6-4. OHI 49 MEM 41 Hard to believe that the Knights-Breakers game was not the highest scoring of the weekend, but the combined 90 points in this matchup beat that game by 2 points. Both Kerry Collins and Heath Shuler went off in this game, Collins with 491 yards and 5 Touchdowns, while Shuler threw for 465 in what was simply a ridiculous game for both. Adrian Cooper caught 6 balls for 175 yards and all 3 Shuler TDs while Collins spread his wealth around, with both Galloway and Johnson going for over 100 yards and 4 different receivers catching scoring tosses. BAL 31 BIR 24 Not quite as fast-paced, but still a very good game as Baltimore got two scores in the final period to knock off the Stallions at Legion Field. Ron Dayne rushed for 102 and a score, but it was Jeff Garcia’s 2nd TD pass, a 3 yarder to Rob Moore that got the W for the Blitz. James Thrash was the star for Birmingham, catching 6 balls for 140 as Lawrence Dawsey sat the game out with an injury. NJ 31 JAX 23 The Bulls put a scare into New Jersey before a late Curtis Enis TD and a Neil Rackers field goal gave the visiting Generals the lead and the win. Enis would finish with 99 yards rushing and 2 scores, while both Terry Glenn and TE Anthony Becht scored on Brady TD passes. Jacksonville struggled to run the ball with Kenny Bynum and Sedrick Irvin combining for only 33 yards. WSH 20 ATL 19 The Fire again proved a tough out, but fell for the 10th time this season as they held a 19-14 lead until the waning moments of the game. Having picked off Kordell Stewart twice and sacked him 3 times, the Fire were on the verge of victory, but Stewart would find TE Bubba Franks with 35 seconds to go to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. PIT 20 TBY 42 The resurgence of the Bandits continued as they scored on Pittsburgh from every angle. Five different Bandits got on the board in this one, with Rhett (2), Prentice, Moss, Doering, and Lonzell Hill all finding pay dirt against the Maulers’ defense. The win is Tampa Bay’s 4th in a row and has them at 5-5 and thinking about a playoff spot. PHI 31 ORL 20 The Stars hand Orlando their second consecutive loss as the Renegade defense struggled without Chris Doleman I the game. Davis and Chaffey combined for 127 yards and 2 scores while Bobby Hebert threw for 2 more in the Stars’ road win. Orlando drops to 8-2, while Philadelphia moves to 7-3 in the Atlantic. SEA 21 LA 49 Another offensive showcase for the Express as Cade McNown wins Offensive POTW with his 364-yard, 6 TD game. Corey Dillon went down in this game after only 1 carry and that sunk the Dragons on a day when they needed every weapon possible. Mike Pritchard caught 5 for 132 and 2 scores and Brandon Manumaleuna added 2 scores of his own as the Expressed cruised to win number 7. OAK 25 DEN 32 Oakland gave the Gold a fight, but in the end the home team had enough to hold on and win a close one. Rashaan Salaam (90) and Rod Smart (44) combined for 134 on the ground, but it came down to a late Peerless Price TD reception to give this game to the Gold. Ryan Leaf returned to action as Jon Kitna went down with an injury. Leaf went 12 of 20 for 125 and a TD, and for once kept his mouth shut after the game. POR 11 ARZ 20 Oppressive heat on Saturday made this game a marathon for both clubs, but in the end it was Portland who wilted in Tempe. Arizona rushed for only 8 yards in the game (with Plummer not helping with 10 carries for -15 yards), but Plummer’s passing game was good enough to outlast the heat-impacted Thunder. MGN 17 HOU 37 Houston bounced back against the Panthers with a solid run game for once. Kevin Faulk and Mike Anderson (back from injury) combined for 137 yards rushing as Houston kept the ball away from Drew Brees. The Gambler D also got to Brees, sacking him 5 times, Kavika Pittman getting 3 of the 5. TEX 13 CHI 24 It was close through three quarters as Texas held a slim 13-10 lead going into the final period, but a Duce Staley 12-yard TD run and a Johnnie Morton TD reception were the only scores of the final period, and that propelled Chicago to the W at home and a 7-3 record in the Windy City. BACKUPS WHO DESERVE A SHOT Last week we spoke about Atlanta’s QB conundrum as the Fire simply don’t feel great about any of the signal callers on their roster (Bulger, Brooks, or Fisher). And yet there are teams out there with some top quality talent on their bench. Usually somewhat untested behind established starters, these backups deserve a chance to shine, and we wonder if there is not a chance that someone will make a move to sign or trade for one of these potential starters this offseason. Here is our pick of the 10 best backup QBs in the USFL right now. Ryan Leaf (OAK): With Leaf in the doghouse in Oakland, there is a real shot that the Invaders will not resign the young and cocky QB. That would make him available this offseason. He shown as a rookie, but has seemingly been coming apart at the seams since then. Would someone, seeing that $1M arm, be willing to deal with the $1 head? Doug Flutie (MGN): With Drew Brees clearly the favorite to remain the starter in Michigan, it seems only fair for Flutie to get a shot somewhere else as he wraps up his USFL career. You know what we want, for Flutie to end up in New Jersey, but the Generals are certainly enamored of young Tom Brady, so perhaps the Generals are not the best location if we actually want to see Flutie on the field. Bobby Hoying (NOR): Filling in for an injured Trent Dilfer, Hoying had decent success this year, throwing for 9 TDs to only 3 picks. He is not the strong-armed gunslinger that so many teams seem to crave, but he is a smart player with good accuracy. Craig Whelihan (ARZ): Tall, athletic, capable, but simply unable to get any snaps. That is the story of Whelihan as a Wrangler, trapped behind Jake Plummer. The lanky QB deserves a shot to compete, but he won’t get that if he remains Plummer’s understudy. Craig Erickson (ORL): For years now Erickson has been coming into games when Scott Mitchell gets hurt, and when he does, he plays well. He will never be a 4,000 yard QB, but some clubs just need a steady hand and his experience and skill set would be a good fit for several clubs that have tried the flashy athlete and maybe need to go with more of a game manager. Kent Graham (TBY): Another player who just never gets a chance to start. For a brief period it looked like he might be the guy after Troy Aikman signed with New Jersey, but the Bandits went and traded for Trent Green and Graham again finds himself riding the pine. Bill Musgrave (MEM): He saw quite a bit of action in Denver, where he subbed for Mark Brunell, but in Memphis he is stuck behind Heath Shuler. While he is a great insurance policy for the Showboats, it feels like a lost opportunity that he is not getting a chance to compete for a starting job. Alex Van Pelt (PIT): Van Pelt was a phenomenon for a short while in Chicago. Traded to Pittsburgh the thought was he could unseat Charlie Batch, but Coach Thomas has been solidly in the Batch camp all season. With the Maulers struggling for wins, perhaps the time is now to see what they have in Van Pelt. Danny Wuerffel (JAX): This is a former Heisman winner who simply has never gotten a true shot to be a USFL starter. He may get that shot soon as many expect Chris Chandler to retire after what has been a very frustrating year. If that is the case, then we want to see Wuerffel get his shot to continue his story in Florida. Will Furrer (PHI): No pomp, no circumstance, just a solid performer. We have seen Furrer in action very sparingly as Bobby Hebert’s backup, but he has shown a steady hand and a good grasp of Coach Mora’s offense when he has gotten into games. We could see him as a solid plug-and-play guy for a team that is just one piece short of a solid playoff run. OK, one more, just to mix things up a bit. We have only seen 1 rookie QB get any playing time, Drew Brees in Michigan. With Oakland’s season all but over, and with Jon Kitna now out for several weeks, we think rookie Marques Tuiasosopo deserves a shot to show us what he has. This is especially true if the Invaders are done with Ryan Leaf. Yes, they want some good games from Leaf to possibly deal him with a sign-and-swap contract, but you do not want to do that at the expense of giving the young Tuiasosopo a few games to show if he can be the answer for the Invaders. DEFENDERS WORTH DEFENDING We spend a lot of time here discussing offensive playmakers. So much so that it may seem we don’t value defensive monsters who bring it to the opposition each and every week. So, to remedy that, we are going to highlight this week 5 defenders who are showing us grit, ferocity, and game-changing skills this year. These are guys who don’t just excel in one area but who are making plays all over the field. Broderick Thomas (LB-Wranglers): A regular near the top of the leaderboard for tackles, we often forget how nasty Thomas is behind the line of scrimmage. Not only does this disruptive force currently sit third with 74 tackles, but he has 7 sacks and 13 tackles for loss as well. Thomas is one of the best pass-rushing linebackers in the league, and his run blitz can devastate an offensive game plan. Allen Aldridge (LB-Gamblers): A bit of an under-the-radar player, Aldridge is used to Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair getting all the attention, but this year, with Sinclair on IR, Aldridge has really stepped up. He has 6 sacks on the season, 16 tackles for loss, and 71 tackles (4th in the league after 10 weeks). That has truly helped Houston deal with the loss of Sinclair and still produce one of the league’s best pass rush defenses. James Fuller (CB-MEM): Another “no glamour” player, Fuller currently leads the league with 24 passes defended. If he had better hands he could easily be an interception leader, but he tends to go for the swat or the punch out instead of the pick. He has 2 picks this season, but he still remains one of the most effective man-to-man coverage guys in the league. Rodney Harrison (SS-STL): A sledgehammer waiting to strike in the secondary. Harrison Is third among safeties with 58 tackles, but he may be leading the league in “decleaters”, hits that separate the player from the ball or from his shoes. Add in 4 picks and Harrison is a guy you do not want to lose in the defense. Pat Williams (DT-ORL): We tend to talk a lot about Jerome Brown in Washington, and he deserves every word we say about him, but while Brown is a pass rushing disruptor at DT, Pat Williams is the quintessential “brick wall” at the nose. The man is huge, he is impossible to move off his position, and he just takes up space, making the run game impossible up the middle. Add to this his tendency to occupy both the center and the guard and you can see how Chris Doleman is able to get the better of tackles and make all the sacks he does. Williams is actually second behind Jerome Brown with 4 sacks (2nd among DTs) but his game is not penetration, it is filling space and holding the line. Our first playoff preview of the season and a lot to talk about here. Orlando, thanks to two consecutive losses, has actually dropped to 2nd in the East, with the 8-2 Federals holding a tiebreaker edge on them, thanks to a 7-1 record in conference play. Ohio, Philly, and New Jersey are only 1 game back at 7-3, while Memphis and Birmingham round out the top 7 with 6-4 records. In the West, it is Arizona sitting atop the playoff standings, with Chicago in 2nd despite a 5-0 division record in the Central. LA is right there as well, with all 3 at 7-3. Denver and St. Louis are the only other clubs with winning records in the conference, while New Orleans currently holds the 6th spot at 5-5. On the outside looking in, but still very much in the hunt, we have Tampa Bay and Baltimore at 5-5 in the East, and, believe it or not Houston, Portland, and Seattle all at 4-6 with Portland actually holding the tiebreaker and only 1 game behind New Orleans for the final spot. Still 6 weeks of action to go, but this season’s playoff race could just now be heating up. A bad week for Orlando on lots of fronts. Without Chris Doleman, they relied on Israel Ifeanyi to pick up the baton, but he went out midway through the game with a knee injury and post-game we learned that it was an ACL tear, ending the young DE’s season. Doleman is expected back in Week 11, but this certainly hurts the D-line rotation for the Renegades. A big hit in Chicago as well, as CB Jimmy Hitchcock could be out for 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. In Oakland it looks like Ryan Leaf gets a second chance as Jon Kitna’s injury was diagnosed as a significant knee sprain. He could be out a month or longer even without ligament damage. Portland will be shorthanded in the secondary as cornerback Corey Sawyer could miss 4-6 weeks thanks to a stress fracture in his right foot. Birmingham WR Lawrence Dawsey had more tests done and we are still looking at 2-3 weeks before he could return. Seattle could be without David Boston this week as a patella issue might hold him out. Expect a game time decision there. Garrison Hearst in Memphis is hoping to return to action, but again a likely game time decision. Others likely to return to action include Michigan LB Andy Katzenmoyer, Birmingham tackle Todd Steussie, Tampa guard Craig Novitsky, Michigan TE Butch Rolle, and Seattle tackle Willie Anderson. The Philadelphia Stars become the next club to reveal their new look for 2002, holding a posh “reveal” event at the Union League on South Street for a select group of fans (mostly suite holders, as you would imagine) this past Thursday evening. With players Stephen Davis, Regan Upshaw, Bobby Engram and Bobby Hebert on hand and in uniform, the Stars presented the new Reebok designs for the 2002 season. While not a radical departure from past and present looks, the design does come with an updated “shooting star” logo and a new color added to the palette. The new look Stars logo still features a series of stars creating a shooting or fading effect from the primary red star, now through orange, and into gold. Orange is new to the Stars look, and acts as a transitional color in the logo and uniforms. The team will still primarily be decked out in a bright red and metallic gold look, though the gold is slightly richer, with more yellow tones, helping to distinguish Philly’s look from that of Birmingham (with a darker, more grey-rich gold tone). The logo now has four stars, starting with a solid red star and progressively fading to a light gold star. The Stars wordmark remains at the top of the primary star and the secondary logo, the Liberty Bell, remains unchanged. The uniform features the familiar metallic gold helmet with white facemask and the red-over-gold jersey and pants combo. The primary gold pants now are stripeless, with only the secondary Liberty Bell logo on each hip. There is also a secondary set of white pants, likely added to help with extreme heat days in midsummer. The white set features a wide red stripe, similar to past Stars’ looks, with the Liberty Bell also on the hip. The two jerseys, white and red, are mirror images of each other, both with a new, more rounded block font, both with tri-color colors fading from red to gold through orange, and both feature a 3 stripe pattern on the sleeves: thick red to thinner orange and gold on the white jerseys and thick white with thinner orange and gold stripes above it. The home jersey numbers are gold with white trim, the road whites have red numbers with gold trip. It is a look that will be very familiar to Stars fans, not straying far from the original look of the club while adding subtle elements to update the look. Honestly, other than the addition of orange, and the adjustments to the logo, which are only truly noticeable from quite close up to the helmets, the changes to the look could go largely unnoticed by most casual fans. After all, this is a club with a proud history and 3 titles, so it seems clear that a total overhaul was both unnecessary, and unwelcome. One interesting note about the Stars; with the logo update the Stars still remain the only team in the league that does not have a logo set that includes the city name. We guess the Liberty Bell is identifier enough for the City of Brotherly Love. It’s another inter-conference showdown week with the Atlantic Teams headed to the Pacific Coast while the southern clubs head north to face their Central Division foes. Among quality games we expect a lot of folks to tune in to the matchup of New Jersey and LA out at Farmers Insurance Field. Both clubs enter the game 7-3 in this coast to coast showdown. Philly @ Denver also looks like a good one between Eastern and Western clubs. Ohio is in Seattle in a battle of two 1995 expansion clubs hoping to make the playoffs in 2001, while Baltimore is in Portland, Washington heads out to Oakland, and Pittsburgh will face the Wranglers in the desert. In our North-South battles, the best game is likely to be the Birmingham-Chicago clash at Soldier Field. Two very different styles on display there. Another to catch is Tampa Bay, winners of 4 in a row, as they head to New Orleans to face the Breakers. Orlando hopes to end their short losing streak as they head to San Antonio to face the Texas Outlaws, while Houston welcomes the Jacksonville Bulls to town in a game that has potential to be a wild one. Atlanta has a rough game if they want their first win, heading to St. Louis to face the Knights. Finally, Memphis will be in Michigan, hoping to pick up a win against the offensively challenged Panthers.

Playoff Picture: No teams have clinched a playoff spot or been eliminated at this juncture.

It’s the kind of week that just makes you love year-round football. Orlando had the win in hand, but a backup QB does the impossible and an undervalued kicker comes up huge as Tampa Bay wins their third in a row and knocks off the undefeated in-state rival. As if that were not enough, we had a shootout win in New Jersey, a truly classic Keystone Clash, a defensive slugfest in Denver, a big upset in Portland and even a win for the previously hapless Michigan Panthers. It was a really good week of football for all you USFL fans, but we have to start with one of the greatest and most improbable comeback wins in league history. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. That’s the famous quote often attributed to Yogi Berra (though of somewhat dubious origin), but that is absolutely the message on the lips of all of America as the Tampa Bay Bandits, with only 34 seconds on the clock, and facing one of the league’s best defenses with a backup QB got the job done and won the game on an improbably last second field goal. Orlando was the scene, and the 51,002 who showed up to watch their Renegades take on their rival from just down the road, the Tampa Bay Bandits got their money’s worth on this date. The unbeaten Renegades were taking on a Bandits club that had already upset Memphis and St. Louis the past two weeks. Few were really sure that Tampa had found the formula to win, but when two rivals clash you simply cannot trust the records, so even with Orlando unbeaten, this game was always going to be a battle. After a relatively calm first quarter that saw both teams feel each other out and only a 45-yarder from Mike Vanderjagt on the board, things heated up in the 2nd quarter with Tampa Bay showing some teeth in this dogfight. Orlando scored first, a Zeroue 1-yard dive to go up 7-3, but the Bandits responded with a good drive ending in an Errict Rhett TD run. After a poor pass from Scott Mitchell was picked off by Tampa’s LeRoy Butler, the Bandits expanded their lead, with Trent Green hitting Chris Doering for a 14-yard score. Tampa would finish the half with another Vanderjagt field goal to go in at the half up 20-7 to a shocked Orlando crowd. The tone of the game would change in the second half, where it appeared Orlando was taking the game over. Mitchell hit Keenan McCardell to pull within 6, and on Tampa’s next drive, a big hit from DE Israel Ifeanyi forced Tampa to go for 3, but also forced Trent Green out of the game with what appeared to be a neck or shoulder injury. Kent Graham would have to take command for the Bandits. Graham would struggle through most of the half, and bit by bit Orlando would chip away at the Tampa Bay lead. 23-14, then 23-17, then, and in a drive that started with 4:27 on the clock in the 4th, Orlando thought they had taken this game by the skin of their teeth. Mitchell hit Donald Driver in the endzone with only 34 seconds on the clock. Charlie Baumann’s PAT put Orlando up 24-23 with only seconds left and an ineffective Kent Graham under center for Tampa Bay. A decent return got Graham the ball at the 31 with 29 seconds left. Tampa had 2 time outs left, and they would need both. On 1st and 10, Graham found Randy Moss over the middle for 17 and the Bandits called their first time out. He would miss on a pass to Moss on his second attempt of the drive, but on 2nd and 10 found Chris Doering on the wide side of the field. Doering avoided the initial tackle and was able to get out of bounds, 18 yards downfield at the Tampa Bay 38, 7 seconds left. It would be a 55-yard kick from here, so the offense tried for a quick out to get 4-6 yards closer, but Graham missed on a connection with Bobby Shaw. Vanderjagt would have to try from 55. As he lined up the kick, Coach O’Leary called Orlando’s final time out to try to ice the Tampa kicker. He would regroup and Graham, who also acts as the holder for kicks, lined up on the left hashmark. Vanderjagt would hit the ball low but straight and it just kept ascending. Some believe the kick would have been good from 60, but it was certainly good from 55 and the Bandits sideline erupted with joy not seen since Summer Bowl 1998. They had not only won their third in a row, and against a third highly regarded team, they had beaten their rival and knocked Orlando from the ranks of the unbeaten. The win moves Tampa Bay to 4-5 and very much a potential playoff contender, especially if they can keep their heads about them as they did on this drive. There would be good news later as well with a positive prognosis for Trent Green meaning he likely will be in action next week. For Orlando it was a bitter defeat to a team they were confident they had beaten. The lesson learned is that, as Yogi may have said, it ain’t over until it is over. A hard lesson to learn for sure. OHI 37 NJ 31 Ohio got 428 yards and 2 scores form Kerry Collins, who dealt with the pressure from New Jersey (3 Phil Hansen sacks) all day long. Both Joey Galloway and Chad Johnson went over 100 yards receiving, as did both Terry Glenn and Kevin Johnson for the Generals, in a game that saw both offenses move up and down the field on each other. WSH 37 BAL 14 The Federals bounced back from their home loss to Portland and knocked off a fading Baltimore squad to take over sole possession of first place in the Atlantic. The Federals got solid run game contributions from their QB and both halfbacks as Stewart scrambled for 43 yards, McCallister rushed for 70 and Droughns gained 99 on the day. PIT 24 PHI 29 The Maulers again proved a tough out but again failed to close the deal as Philadelphia came back from 24-13 to win in the final quarter on a bizarre play, a botched field goal in which holder Will Furrer was able to find little-used backup TE Mondriel Fulcher open, not only for a first down, but for the score, giving Philly the 5-point win as time expired. MEM 48 JAX 27 Memphis exploited the Bulls’ defense for 533 yards, 429 on the arm of Heath Shuler, who threw for 4 scores and completed 20 of 29 throws. Touchdown runs from Aaron Stecker and Tony Carter helped put the game away for Memphis despite starting HB Garrison Hearst sitting the game out due to injury. BIR 31 ATL 17 Atlanta remains the only winless club in the league after Birmingham took an early 14-0 lead and never looked back. Brett Favre would throw 2 picks, but the game was well in hand by the half and Atlanta simply could not mount a response. MGN 28 OAK 17 Drew Brees had his best game as a pro, throwing for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns against a troubled Oakland team. Siran Stacy added 82 yards on 10 carries as the Panthers got their first win of the season. Jon Kitna threw two picks, costing the Invaders two potential scores, but the backbreaker was a 4th and inches that the Invaders could not convert, giving momentum and field position to the Panthers. HOU 6 LA 28 This one was close (14-6 after 3 quarters) until Cade McNown hit Tory Holt with a 75-yard bomb to open the final period. That sucked all the air out of Houston’s sails and the Express would go on to win handily. LA got a combined 23 carries and 101 yards from their duo of Michael Pittman and Antowain Smith but hurt Houston more through the air with Cade McNown connecting on 3 scoring plays. CHI 12 DEN 23 We expected a defensive struggle in this one and that is what we got, with the score 10-6 Denver at the half. With no one scoring in the 3rd, Denver took control in the 4th, scoring 2 touchdowns, both passes from Brunell (47 yards to Price and 12 to Dedric Smith). Rashaan Salaam seems to have returned to form, rushing 21 times for 101 yards on the day. NOR 17 POR 35 This game looked very different through 3 quarters as it was a 14-10 game until the final period, when three straight drives ended with Portland rushing TDs (Smith for 1, Kaufmann the other two). The key play was a Trent Dilfer TD that gave Portland the ball on the Breaker 11-yard line. They punched it in to take a 28-10 lead and that was all she wrote for the Breakers. Portland wins a second game in a row and is now a very respectable 4-5. STL 24 SEA 31 The Dragons, particularly Brian Griese, found holes in the Knights’ defense in this medieval clash of familiar foes (Dragons v. Knights, right?) Briese threw for 4 scores, including a 68-yarder to David Boston right before the half to upend the favored Knights. It was 24-24 into the 4th, but Seattle had the final blow, a Griese to John Embree pas swith 1:23 left to take the home win and move to 4-5. TEX 24 ARZ 44 Jake Plummer threw for 2 scores and ran for 3 more in a game that felt like one of last year’s MVP games. Texas simply did not have a good plan to shadow the Arizona QB, who shredded the Outlaw defense every time he got out of the pocket. Santana Moss gathered a TD catch, and we even had a Craig Whelihan sighting as the backup got into the game midway through the 4th quarter. ROOKIE RECEIVER CLASS OF 2001 We mentioned in our midseason review that wideout has been the clear impact position so far with the class of 2001 rookies, and that is certainly the case when we look a both playing time and impact on the league. This year’s crop of rookie receivers has had an immediate impact and have shown that they are ready for prime time. While not every selection has become a breakout star, there is clearly a mark being made by some of the cream of this year’s receiver crop. Chad Johnson (OHIO) is the leader statistically of the group. He is currently 8th in the league with 840 yards receiving despite having only 38 catches for the Glory. His 8 touchdowns also have him on pace for a rookie record. Koren Robinson (HOU) has helped to revive the Gambler passing offense, and has helped pull coverage from Antonio Freeman, allowing the veteran to become the league’s top receiver in yardage. Robinson’s totals so far have also been outstanding, 42 receptions for 558 yards and 5 touchdowns. Steve Smith (PHI) has moved from the slot into a starting WR position opposite Bobby Engram, and has shown a penchance for the acrobatic catch and the 50/50 ball. Smith has 37 receptoins for 544 yards and 4 touchdowns this year. Justin McCaerins (MEM) has not had quite as much attention in Memphis, where he shares targets with WR Joe Horn and All-USFL TE Adrian Cooper, but he has still managed a very strong 495 yards and 7 touchdowns on only 24 receptions. Santana Moss (ARZ) was expected to be the most immediate starter, replacing Rocket Ismail as the speed demon on the Wrangler roster, and while he has not had quite the impact some fans hoped for, his 403 yards and 4 touchdowns are well on pace for a solid first season in the desert. The only significant disappointment among early round receiver picks in the USFL Draft this year has to be Drew Bennett in Jacksonville, who has barely seen the field except on special teams and has only 1 reception for 8 yards to date. Bennett currently sits 4th on the depth chart, behind Terrell Owens, Cedric Tillman, and Dez White, but even veteran possession receiver Brian Stablein, technically the 5th receiver in Jacksonville, has seen more targets. HANSEN ON PACE FOR RECORD Phil Hansen is loving life in East Rutherford this year. For the first time in his stellar career, the Generals have a defense around him that is backing him up and the club is seeing the benefits. That is not to say that Hansen is resting on his laurels and letting others around him step up. The big man already has 18 sacks, a pace that could challenge Chris Doleman’s record of 29 sacks in a season. But what may be even more impressive for the Generals’ all-time sack leader, is that Hansen is also becoming a force in the run game, with 50 tackles already this season. Thanks in part to offensive lines having to compensate for the stronger presence across the line, with DE Shaun Ellis and DT Darwin Walker pulling away double teams from Hansen, but an improved LB corps means that 4th pass rusher and run disruptor is disrupting blocking schemes. New Jersey is mixing up their run and pass blitzes, with Dwayne Rudd the principal blitzer, but with blitzes alternatively coming from Bobby Houston, Bobby Howard and even safety Jason Sehorn. It is a formula that is making life easier for Hansen, who in turn, is making life tougher for opposing quarterbacks. TAMPA TURNAROUND The Bandits were the big story this week, knocking off Orlando, but fans in Tampa are pointing to the past 3 weeks as a trend rather than a fluke. Tampa has seemingly found a rhythm and a scheme that makes sense for their personnel, and that has helped them knock off three quality teams in three weeks, Memphis, St. Louis, and now Orlando. At the center of the newfound success is QB Trent Green. Traded from the Baltimore Blitz after Coach Infante opted to go with Jeff Garcia as the full time starter in Baltimore, Green struggled early to pick up Coach George Seifert’s vertical passing game in Tampa, but the past three weeks seem to indicate that he is now on the same page as his coach and his arm talent is a good fit for Bandit Ball. Against three of the league’s top defenses, Green has managed to go 41 of 66 (63%) for 850 yards, with 7 TDs and only 1 pick. He has also formed a bond with Tampa’s top receiver, Randy Moss, who has 13 touchdowns on the year to lead all receivers. Chris Doering has also had a strong year with 571 yards and 4 scores. Pundits are now beginning to take the Bandits seriously, and to realize that this club has had one of the toughest schedules in the league, with early games @ LA, New Jersey, and Memphis, and home losses to Orlando< Washington, and Birmingham. In fact, Tampa Bay is the only team to face 8 teams in their first 9 games thatall currently have winning records (only a Week 4 win at Jacksonville breaks the run.) To be 4-5 with that schedule is impressive, and with a much better final 7 weeks ahead, with games against Pittsburgh (3-6), Jacksonville (2-7), Oakland (2-7) and Atlanta (0-9) on the docket, the Bandits could well be a darling to make the type of late playoff run that Seifert needs and that fans want to see. If they can make a run over the season’s second half, expect Trent Green to be at the center of it as he has begun to make some fans among the Bandit brigade. ATLANTA’S QB QUANDRY What to do if you are the Atlanta Fire? The team is winless after 9 games, Coach Petrino has been fired, and they have a temporary coaching tandem of former defensive coordinator John Pease and consultant-turned-Assistant Head Coach Rick Neuheisel in charge. The club is 24th in passing, and the only team in the league with fewer than 200 yards per game passing. Coach Petrino named Mark Bulger the starter over the more athletic Aaron Brooks and former New Jersey starter Spence Fisher, and he did not waiver from that decision over the first 7 weeks of the season, but now, after 9 weeks, Bulger’s numbers are just not good. He is one of the league’s worst rated quarterbacks, with a 64.1 QBR, has 8 picks for his 9 TDs and has completed only 52.3% of his passes. Compare that with the 2000 stats from Aaron Brooks (47.2% completion, 12 TDs to 11 picks, 60.8 QBR) and there is not a lot of hope that a QB switch can make a difference. Spence Fisher seems a longshot as he simply has not been given much attention since arriving from New Jersey, this despite a pretty solid 1998 season as a General in his resume. Fisher threw 25 TDs to only 3 picks in 1998 for New Jersey. So, if you are Neuheisel, who seems to be leading the offense, what do you do? The trade deadline is next week, and it is not as if starting QB’s grow on trees or on trading blocks. The Fire seem stuck with a bad situation, and quite frankly, issues with the offensive line and a weak receiving corps don’t make prospects look good no matter who is at QB. To make matters worse, the run of games coming up for the Fire includes Washington (7-2), St. Louis (5-4), Orlando (8-1), Memphis (6-3), Philadelphia (6-3) and the now dangerous Tampa Bay Bandits. The Fire are in real danger of going 0-16 this year, a true embarrassment for the club. You know it is getting deep into the season when you start seeing backup players on the injury list, and that is what we have seen in a big way this week. While not all household names, these players contribute each week and provide much-needed depth for their clubs, so now we start to see just how deep the benches of some clubs are. In Philadelphia, the concern is at safety after Larry Wigham went on IR with a torn bicep muscle. In Pittsburgh it is DT Roderick Coleman, out for the year with a broken collarbone. Baltimore will be without WR Malcolm Floyd (neck) while Washington will lose TE Travis McNeal (PCL), both placed on IR. St. Louis is looking at 6 weeks for DE Mike Ulufale (torn hamstring) while Memphis is likely without CB Terrance Shaw for 2-4 weeks. The only starter who could miss significant action after an injury this week is LA cornerback Aeneas Williams, whose sprained knee is a 2-4 week diagnosis. Birmingham’s Lawrence Dawsey went out with a dislocated shoulder but is expected back in 1-2 weeks. Portland backup HB Blair Thomas could miss the same amount after spraining his wrist, and Orlando’s Chris Doleman is expected to be out just this upcoming week as he deals with a hip stinger. Garrison Hearst remains questionable to return for Memphis, as does kicker Tim Seder in Texas. Expected to return to action this week are Houston WR Koren Robinson, St. Louis CB Steve Israel, Denver SS Sean Lumpkin, Seattle TE Ken Dilger, and Atlanta wideout Terrance Mathis. We have wondered for weeks now whether it would be the courts or the league that would be pushing St. Louis owner James Orthwein to sell off his controlling share of the Knights and this week we got our answer. League officials, including the commissioner, met with Orthwein in St. Louis this week, and the decision has come down. Regardless of any decision by the court in his tax and insurance fraud case, Orthwein will have until May 15, 2002 to divest himself of the Knights. In a statement on Thursday, Commissioner Ebersol made it clear that the preference of the league is for Orthwein to sell to a local group or individual so that the Knights could remain in St. Louis, but that it is not out of the question for the club to be purchased and relocated if local ownership could not be identified. The news did not go over well in St. Louis, where the St. Louis Dispatch reported on local opinion. While most recognize the financial issues surrounding Orthwein are serious, there is significant fear that the team will relocate, and the lack of an obvious alternative within local businessmen has the fanbase nervous. There has been a grassroots effort to develop a public option, similar to what we see in Green Bay with the NFL Packers, but that is both unlikely to organize in time to meet the league’s 1 year deadline, or to be seen favorably by other league owners, who would have to vote to approve any such plan. A potential hybrid plan, similar to what we see with the controlled sale of shares to a local public in Birmingham might have a better shot at league approval, but only works if the effort can lock in a local investor to act as the principal owner and executive for the sale, and that is where the issue lies. Meanwhile, in Portland, the sale of the Thunder has attracted the attention of at least two out-of-town investment groups, with both the Boston Colonials Football Club (a group led by East Coast investors interested in a franchise for the Boston area) and the USFL DFW group (a similar group seeking to bring the league to Dallas) have engaged in high level talks with the attorneys for the Thunder’s current ownership. As reported in local media, it appears that no local group or investor has come forward, putting the future of the Thunder in Portland in significant doubt. Unlike in St. Louis, where the concept of community ownership has gained some traction, in Portland there is no significant community effort on the horizon. It appears that either the Thunder will attract a local investor or, perhaps more likely, we may be looking at relocation for the 2002 or 2003 season. Week 10 and the Playoff Position Tracker are just around the corner, and, with the Eastern Conference in divisional play this week, we get the West doing the same in Week 10. In the Central the big game is between St. Louis and New Orleans in the Super Dome, with the loser dropping to 5-5. Chicago hosts Texas and Houston hosts Michigan in the other two central games. In the Pacific, the surprising Portland Thunder are going to be tested as they head down to Tempe to face the Wranglers and QB Jake Plummer. LA has a huge game as well, hosting the Seattle Dragons, while Denver is back at Mile High and hoping to get the W against the 2-7 Oakland Invaders. In the East, it is the Atlantic catching some Southern hospitality. Orlando, fresh off their home loss to Tampa Bay, will try to rebound as they face the 6-3 Philadelphia Stars. Ohio and Memphis battle in the Liberty Bowl with both entering the game at 6-3. Baltimore needs a win, but they head to Birmingham, where the Stallion faithful will be anything but welcoming. Washington, the Atlantic leader, gets a bye week, by which we mean they are facing Atlanta. New Jersey hopes to get their 7th win as they visit Jacksonville, and the Bandits, winners of 3 in a row, will host the Pittsburgh Maulers.

INTRO Never let it be said we cannot admit when we are wrong. We put the Portland-Washington game in our "do not watch" category last week, stating that there was no chance for the beleaguered Thunder to go into RFK and knock off a 6-1 Federals team. I guess that is why they play the games. In what can only be called a weather-assisted win, the Thunder proved us wrong. Let's get right to our Week 8 game recaps with the big upset in DC. What did we just witness? That was a result no one saw coming, the Thunder getting a road win at Washington? How did that happen? Well, it was a conspiracy of happenstance, at least that is the best answer we can find. First off, a bit of a fluky weather day, with winds gusting up to 35mph and on and off again rain. Not unusual for Portland, Oregon, but not your typical early May weather in Washington D.C.. Now, we throw in a still not 100% Deuce McCallister, and what has to be considered a really bad day from the Federal’s offensive line and what you get is a truly unforeseeable upset. A look at the numbers and you would have guessed the Feds took this one by 10 or more points. They outgained Portland 414 to 268, were better on 3rd down (6 for 15 vs. 4 for 14), had only 1 turnover, and controlled the clock for 41:15 over Portland’s 30:30 (remember extra time for the overtime period. And yet, the Federals only put up 10 points, and needed a late Stewart to Herman Moore TD to tie at 10 in the waning minutes of the game. So what did Portland do to make this a game? First, they did not produce any self-inflicted wounds, zero turnovers, and while 7 penalties in the game is not great, they were mostly penalties of aggressiveness (offsides, encroachment, defensive holding) not confusion. Secondly, they were modestly efficient on offense. Akili Smith completed 19 of 31 passes, mostly short dump offs, though he did have 1 long play to Lonnie Johnson. The Thunder also got rookie HB Correll Buckhalter into the game early and he got a lot of touches: 23 carries and 4 receptions. Finally, the Thunder found a pass rush. They got six sacks of Kordell Stewart. Now, 2 of those were clearly coverage sacks with Stewart holding the ball too long, but the other 4 were straight up defenders taking it to the offensive line. Both Clyde Simmons and Hugh Douglas garnered 2 sacks each,with Simmons’s final sack being the game-winning safety in overtime. And, we really should give credit as well to the Portland special teams. Punter Aaron Broome averaged 48.4 yards per punt, and his 58-yarder in overtime dinked out of bounds at the 2-yard line, setting up the Thunder for the safety and the win as Simmons found Stewart in the endzone on an ill-advised attempt to use play action to fake out the Thunder defense. Was this a masterfully-played game? No, absolutely not. Was it pretty to watch? Not even close. What it was, in this case, is evidence that on any given Sunday a game can go sideways and fool everyone. Portland moves to 3-5 with an unexpected road win and Washington gets their second L of the year. ARZ 38 PHI 20 Folks are beginning to take the Wrangler offense seriously after another high total against another supposedly solid defense. Jake Plummer again was a one-man show, throwing for 3 scores and running one in himself as the Wranglers got good games from WR Hines Ward and TE Matt Cushing to upend the Stars in Veterans Stadium. DEN 13 PIT 17 The Maulers get their third win and drop Denver to 4-4 as Rashaan Salaam sees only limited action and the Mauler D confines Rod Smart to only 26 yards on 10 carries. Charlie Batch was shaky, throwing 2 picks, one of which could have given Denver a late opportunity to score, but he also threw for 2 scores, one each to Rison and Jake Reed. LA 30 OHI 38 In the shootout we all expected, Ohio got the edge on LA by building a 38-23 lead early in the 4th on a Joey Galloway TD. It was Galloway’s first game back after injury cost him several weeks and he responded with 3 receptions for 75 yards and the late score. Shaun Alexander was a good target for Kerry Collins all day, catching 5, with 3 going for scores. LA got 174 yards from Tory Holt as they had to abandon the run to play catchup, but it was too little too late for the Express as Ohio takes it. OAK 10 BAL 13 Baltimore was on upset alert, but a late Martin Grammatica field goal helped them pull out a tough one in the same bad conditions we saw in DC. Oakland actually outgained the Blitz, thanks in large part to the scrambling and out-of-pocket throws of Jon Kitna, who remains the starter while Ryan Leaf pouts to the media. Ron Dayne was held to only 39 yards on a day when most would have expected him to get 39 carries. SEA 10 NJ 34 The Dragons came out flat after weather delayed their flights to Newark. New Jersey took advantage, with breakout player Tom Brady throwing for 272 and 3 scores. Phil Hansen added 2 more sacks to his league lead, and Geno Atkins returned a pick for a score as the Generals won in all three phases of the game. NOR 17 ATL 13 Well, the Fire played hard. At least we can say that. Outgained by New Orleans 471-187, this game could have easily gotten out of hand, but the Fire defenders went for the ball and that produced 4 Breaker turnovers to keep the game close. A touchdown from Tiki Barber and a pick six from Tyrone Poole were Atlanta’s only scores, while New Orleans managed 2 Raynard Brown TDs and a 37-yard field goal from Lin Elliott with 2:10 left to play that helped them win the game. HOU 24 BIR 27 Close but no cigar for the Gamblers as the Stallions got just enough to hold them at bay. Brett Favre threw two costly picks that helped Houston stay close, but Shaun Alexander had a good game, rushing 12 times for 65 yards and two scores to help spur on the Stallions. Kevin Faulk had to leave the game with an ankle issue for Houston, so it was backup Kantroy Barber who had to step in. Matt Hasselbeck threw for all 3 Houston touchdowns, but it was one short for what they needed. CHI 27 JAX 24 The Machine move to 6-2 with a nice road win, spurred by a game opening pick six from Eric Allen. They would add scores from Adrian Murrell and Michael Ricks on their way to a win. Jacksonville was without Sedrick Irvin, who had to step away due to a family crisis, but Kenny Bynum stepped in and helped the Bulls’ run game with 139 yards and 2 scores as Jacksonville kept it close. TEX 10 MEM 41 The Showboats left little doubt that they had no intention of dropping to 4-4. After falling behind 7-0, the Showboats rattled off the next 34 points in the game, spurred on by the return of TE Adrian Cooper (2 TDs). Garrison Hearst was hurt in the game, and may be out next week, so Tony Carter and Larry Centers took up the slack as Memphis cruised to another home win. MGN 3 ORL 43 As predicted, this one was ugly from the start. Orlando put up 23 points in the 1st quarter alone, 2 Amos Zeroue short touchdown runs, a Mitchell to Driver TD pass, and a safety as Michigan’s center got called for holding in the endzone. It did not get better from there as Drew Brees was sacked 6 times and Siran Stacey rushed for only 32 yards on the day. STL 20 TBY 31 Don’t look now, but that is 2 in a row for the Bandits, and this was against a pretty good defense. Yes, Knights’ CB#1 Steve Israel was out, and that showed as Randy Moss and Chris Doering combined for 261 yards receiving and 2 scores. Errict Rhett added 2 TD runs as well as the Bandit offense came to life for Coach Seifert this week. Eight Weeks in and time for our Midseason Report Card of where teams are compared with expectations. This year we are going to return to a standard A-F scale and see which teams are living up to the preseason hype, surpassing it, or failing to meet expectations. We will also take a look at the breakout players of the season’s first half and make some altered predictions for the end of the season. Let’s get started with the cream of the crop, the A students. GRADE A: Surpassing expectations, excelling, impressing us. ARIZONA: Sitting at 5-3 is good, having the 5th best scoring defense (despite a quasi-porous pass defense) is even better. They still need to develop a run game, but that is less urgent when you are at the top of your division. CHICAGO: A 6-2 start is more than Chicago fans could have hoped for. Jeff George is over 2,000 yards passing and Duce Staley is on pace for a possible 1,00 yard season, but the igger story is the Machine defense, which has been shaky in recent years but which is holding most opponents under 20 points per game, and that is a good start for a potential division title battle with St. Louis. LOS ANGELES: A 5-3 start is good,reviving a Top 5 offense is better, but having the 2nd best run game is a sign of good things to come. Add to this a Top 10 scoring defense and the ability to both pressure the QB and limit big plays and we have a team that could be looking at a division title if not more. NEW JERSEY: A 6-2 start is far better than even the most rosey General fans would have predicted for Coach Parcells’s first season, and when Aikman went down in Week 2 the tone certainly turned darker, but Tom Brady has come up big in his first pro action, Curtis Enis has been solid all through the season, and Parcells has had a huge impact on the defense, which now ranks 2nd against the run and 3rd in points allowed. This club is a surprise contender and the tri-state area is catching “General hysteria”. ORLANDO: 8-0 pretty much says all you need to know. Well, one more item to put fear in other clubs, they are averaging 33.6 PPG and giving up only 10.2. That is a 21 point per game margin for error. Their closest game so far was a 23-16 win over Tampa Bay. They shut out Jacksonville’s offense, and have given up 14 or more only 3 times. This team is clearly the odds-on favorite for the title this year. WASHINGTON: We are going to forget that this week’s rain-soaked, wind-affected loss to Portland did not happen. If we ignore that glitch of a game, the Federals have been impressive. They have allowed 18.6 points per game, and they have found an offense based on the rushing duo of Rueben Droughns and rookie Deuce McCallister. The Federals are a dangerous club, especially if they can get consistency from Kordell Stewart. GRADE B: About where we thought they should be, maybe better in some areas and worse in others than expected. BIRMINGHAM: The defense has shown improvement (15th) and the passing game is its usual dynamic self (2nd in yards), but we still cannot help but think that the Stallions are wasting the career of yet another HB as Shaun Alexander is just not getting enough touches. OHIO: We picked the Glory to win the division, so we cannot give them an A for meeting expectations. The defense is a concern, giving up 29.4 ppg, which is not good at all. They are outscoring people because they have the #1 pass offense and have found a viable top tier receiver in Chad Johnson. They now have 2 very dangerous deep ball experts in Johnson and Galloway, but they need to still give Eddie George his touches, and learn to work the clock a bit better so that their defense is not on the field for 40 minutes a game. PHILADELPHIA: The Stars likely would have ended up as an A, except we were scared off a bit by the mistakes and blown opportunities we have seen. They are not Top 5 in any category except rushing, but they are solid across the board. Their losses have been to Ohio (a shootout), Birminghma (another shootout), and Arizona (giving up 38 points). If they can just keep teams from getting big plays that send the score skyrocketing, they could be a top tier team. PITTSBURGH: This one we are chalking up to how they play. This is a club that in most games is competitive, and 3-5 is honestly better than we thought we would see. They are strongest in the run game and in run defense, and weakest against pass-heavy offenses, but we gave Pittsburgh a B because they are solidly on an upward path and may have what it takes to square things up at 8-8 by year’s end. ST. LOUIS: Yes, a 5-3 start is solid, equating to 10-6 at year’s end, but the Knights’ big issue is that their stellar defense has not be shining at all. They currently rank 16th in the league in both points allowed and yards allowed. That is not a championship defense, that is a defense that is showing its age and missing some pieces. Ahman Green is still a dominant player for the Knights, but he cannot do it alone. They need more on offense and they need to find more consistency on the defense if they hope to claim a 4th straight Central title. GRADE C: Just getting by, doing enough but not impressing. BALTIMORE: We considered a D here if only because expectations were high in the preseason. 4-4 is not where this group wanted to be, but we have to give credit where it is due and the Blitz still score as Top 5 in both yards allowed and pass defense. They need more from Jeff Garcia as they are 21st in passing and 22nd in scoring, but the D keeps them out of detention. HOUSTON: The Gamblers are definitely a much better club than they were last year, and Matt Hasselbeck in particular seems to be growing into a quality starter, placing Houston 4th in the league in passing yards per game at 297.6, but the run game is still MIA, and the defense, while solid (12th in PPG Allowed) does give up the occasional big momentum-shifting play. MEMPHIS: Hear us out here. It is not like 5-3 is a bad record for the Showboats, it is that they have lost three games when they were favored. We can forgive the loss at Washington, but losing at home to both Philly and Tampa is tough to take. Maybe we are being harsh here. After all the Showboats are Top 5 in both scoring and points allowed, so they are very likely to be able to finish with double-digit wins, but something still does not feel right. NEW ORLEANS: Sure, 5-3 is good, but look closer. The combined record of the 5 teams New Orleans has beaten is 8-32, including wins over both Atlanta and Michigan. They have lost to Washington, Denver, and Chicago, the only .500 or better teams they have faced. That is a sobering bit of info for a club that is not Top 10 in any category. PORTLAND: We will confess that we pictured the Thunder being 0-8 or 1-7 at this point, so 3-5 is a bit of a shocker. The fact that those three wins are against Chicago, Washington, and Seattle is also a big plus in their column. Akili Smith is outperforming expectations, and while they are not a playoff club, they could reach a respectable win total this year, which moves them to a B because we did not see that as even a faint possibility when the year started. TEXAS: We are giving the Outlaws credit for exceeding pretty low expectations. They have had at least one good win (vs. St. Louis) and they have been in some games where they had a shot late. They need more from their defense, especially in the pass rush, and they need Jeff Lewis to stay healthy (Tommy Maddox did not shine in relief). Maybe, just maybe, they can get to .500. GRADE D: Headed in the wrong direction and causing growing concern among fans. DENVER: For any other team, a 4-4 start is not that bad. Some clubs would love to be where Denver is, but these are the defending league champions, so a drop to .500 is a concern. The hope, of course, is that this is largely due to the suspension of Rashaan Salaam, and now that he is back they will go on a streak. Our concern is that the defense is not as solid as it needs to be to keep Denver at or near the top of the conference. JACKSONVILLE: The Bulls seem to be fading fast after seeming like a popular darkhorse club as recently as 1999. The defense is the worst in football, which is surprising considering they have players like Lavar Arrington, Sam Adams, Jessie Armstead and Mike Vrabel on defense. We are 8 weeks into the season and the secondary does not have a single interception yet. That is insane, and not in a good way. SEATTLE: This is a team that has been letting victory slip from their fingers all year. On their resume is a 1-point loss to Portland, a 7-pointer to Arizona, 3 to Denver, and two bad blowouts. Their wins have come against Atlanta, Oakland, and Texas, not exactly knocking off the big boys. They still have time to turn it around, but if 10 wins is what is needed to make the playoffs, which is very possible, that means they need a 7-1 second half. We don’t see this team pulling off that kind of run. TAMPA BAY: This may actually be a D-. We seriously considered giving the club an F, and had it not been for back to back impressive and gutsy wins against Memphis and St. Louis the past 2 weeks, an F would have almost certainly been in the cards. If the Bandits of these past 2 game remain active all season, Tampa could actually rally to a respectable finish, but if they play like they did in weeks 1-6, it could be the end for George Seifert, 1998 Summer Bowl ring or not. GRADE F: Nothing is working, this season is already a lost cause and it is time to clean house and look to the future. ATLANTA: No surprise here. 23rd in scoring, 24th in total yards, 24th in yards allowed and they fired their head coach 7 games into a season. The Fire are becoming the model of how not to run an expansion club and the empty seats each week at Bobby Dowd are becoming a big concern. MICHIGAN: The Mike Martz era has not started off well in Pontiac. The Panthers are averaging only 9 points per game, and rookie QB Drew Brees appears to be getting no help at all. Siran Stacy leads all rushers with 207 yards, yes, that is an average of 26 yards per game. That is pathetic! Add in the 23rd scoring defense and the worst run defense in the league. I wish we could say we see improvement in the 2nd half, but this club has a legit shot at 0-16. OAKLAND: Expectations were not high to begin the year in Oakland, and the Invaders have been somewhat competitive even in games they have lost, but there are two big issues here that push them into the F category. The first is the inability to win close games. They lost by 2 to New Orleans and LA, and by 3 to Baltimore. They need to learn how to pull those games out. The other issue is Ryan Leaf. He was first suspended by the team, then benched, and now he is just making the rounds being a petulant child on sports radio and local tv. This is not going to end well for anyone. REVISITING THE PRESEASON PICKS As usual, our preseason prognostications were not exactly 100% accurate. That's football, folks. So, with 8 weeks down, let's take a second shot at this as we compare the preseason picks with our revised projections for the playoffs, title and season awards. While we were not completely off the wall with our earlier picks, there definitely were some changes needed. We called it that Orlando would be very good, but overestimated Ohio's run, at least so far. We did not see New Jersey's rise being quite so quick, nor Baltimore slipping as much as they have. We also did not foresee Denver sliding quite so far back to the pack, and, as with the Generals, the Chicago Machine have surprised many this year. We are still sticking with front-runners for our Summer Bowl picks, but now instead of Seattle and Ohio we are going with Orlando over LA. We are still going to go with Kerry Collins as the MVP, since he remains a top-rated QB on the league's top offense. Salaam's suspension kills any chance for Offensive POTY, so we are giving it to Houston's breakout star, Antonio Freeman. We still love Chris Doleman and this Renegades defense, but he cannot win Defensive POTY if Phil Hansen is 2-3 sacks ahead of him, and if New Jersey is a legitimate contender. Rookie of the year was always going to be a wideout. While Santana Moss has been great for the Wranglers, Chad Johnson in Ohio has been even better. Finally, our coach of the year, barring a total collapse, has to be Bill Parcells, proving he is still the king of the Meadowlands by turning around the Generals and doing it with an unproven commodity at QB. A tough week with several players now concerned about a lost second half to the season. Texas is likely now without Shawn Collins for at least 6 weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, only days after the Outlaws traded to get Carl Pickens. In Washington, TE Travis McNeal is likely lost for the year with a broken jaw, while in Arizona, tackle Matt Stinchomb could miss 4-8 weeks with a fractured tibia. Baltimore will likely be without DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilia at least 2-3 weeks with a wrist injury and Ohio guard Lester Holmes is dealing with a hip injury that could cost him the same length of time. The weirdest item on the injury list is Texas kicker Tim Seder, who had to be taken to a local San Antonio hospital on Wednesday where he was diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. The Outlaws signed free agent Ryan Lindell as a short term replacement. Finally, Houston’s rookie wideout Koren Robinson is likely out 1-2 weeks as he deals with a bulging disk in his mid-back. (A quick note before this section. In light of what has happened the past week with Dolphins' QB Tua Tagovailoa the story about Troy Aikman being forced out of the 2001 season by back to back concussion games seems a bit insensitive. I apologize for that, but, as you can see by checking the dates I published the earlier stories, this was a plotline in no way resulting from Tua's medical situation. Aikman actually did leave the game IRL due to concussions, and I wanted to present this in a dramatic way in the USFL. I am sticking with the original design for the story, and, of course, will be having the USFL deal with concussions and player health as we move through the 2000's into the present, because that is appropriate to the period.) All the speculation about Tampa Bay’s announcement on Monday was a bit off topic, but then, who could have predicted this. Yes, the new logo and uniforms were revealed on Monday, but the surprise was the player who came out wearing #8 in the new gear, quarterback Troy Aikman. Apparently about 2 weeks ago, Aikman announced to the New Jersey Generals that he would be retiring from the game, but that he wanted to retire as a member of the Bandits. It took a bit of work, but this past week Tampa Bay and New Jersey came to an agreement whereby the Generals would trade Aikman back to Tampa Bay and the Bandits would agree to pay the Generals a sum equivalent to the signing bonus given to Aikman when he jumped ship, approximately $1.7M. In the press conference, representatives of the league announced the trade, introduced Aikman, in new Tampa gear, and then announced that the entire amount Tampa Bay had negotiated with New Jersey was being donated by New Jersey to the Boston University Alzheimer’s Research team, helping them to form a special division focusing on cerebral trauma in athletes. Commissioner Ebersol and Tampa Bay CEO Carling Bassett announced that 1,000 special edition #8 jerseys, all to be signed by Troy Aikman were going to go up for auction and that all proceeds would also be donated to the BU center, to be matched dollar for dollar from the league as a whole. The auction is expected to raise between $500k-$100k in total, with minimum bids on the jerseys’ starting at $300 apiece. Aikman will be on the roster, though not active for the game this week in Orlando, and then will be activated for Tampa Bay’s next home game, in two weeks, when they host the Pittsburgh Maulers. Expect tickets for that game to skyrocket in price as Bandit fans don’t want to miss a chance to say goodbye to their golden armed QB. Week 9 starts the long 2nd half run towards the playoffs, and it starts with the Eastern Conference in divisional play, while the Central and Pacific teams clash out West. In the Atlantic there are two big games, the first a major rivalry between Washington and Baltimore, as the two clash at Aetna Stadium. Baltimore lost the first clash at RFK 17-13, and cannot afford another loss in division as they currently sit at 1-3 in divisional play. Another interesting matchup has Ohio headed to New Jersey in a battle of high speed offense vs. stout defense. The week also includes the latest in the Keystone Clash, with Pittsburgh headed to Philadelphia. The best watch in the South will almost certainly be Tampa Bay at Orlando. The Bandits have looked much better in recent weeks, but the Renegades have simply been outclassing opponents each week. Memphis travels to Jacksonville and Birmingham visits Atlanta in the other southern clashes. Of the inter-divisional games out West, the best game Is likely going to be the showdown between Chicago and Denver. The Gold are back home and not happy to be mired at 4-4, but Chicago (6-2) is on a roll and hoping to take over the division where they currently hold a 1-game lead over St. Louis and New Orleans. The Knights are in Seattle in a game that many Dragon fans point to as the bellwether for the year. At 3-5, a win puts them right back in the hunt, while a loss could be devastating. New Orleans is at Portland, and hoping to avoid the kind of upset we saw the Thunder pull off this week. Texas travels to Arizona, so a bit of a homecoming for Carl Perkins only 2 weeks after being traded. Houston heads to LA in hopes of pulling themselves back into a playoff hunt, and in a game that may be one of Michigan’s best shots to avoid an 0-16 season, the Panthers have a late afternoon game in Oakland on Saturday.

(Quick editorial note: I am in the process of fleshing out more of the history page. I have added league leaders from 1983-2000 and I am hoping to add short "top stories" for several years this weekend, and more after that, so check in periodically. I have also recently updated the teams page with the new uniforms created over the past 2-3 years, including new "figures" showing off the look.) Orlando faced a big challenge and came out looking like the league’s best team. Atlanta faced an ultimatum, failed to rise to the occasion, and Fire ownership did what they promised to do, letting Bobby Petrino go after only 23 games as head coach. Washington, Philly, and Ohio won big games in a tough division, Tampa got a huge upset win on the road, and Oakland shocked the Arizona Wranglers. All this in a wild Week 7 of USFL action. We get started with the game of the week, Tampa’s big win in Memphis. Bandit fans did not go into this weekend feeling good about their chances. The Bandits were a miserable 1-5 and were on the road in a very tough place to win, Memphis’s Liberty Bowl, against a pretty good 4-2 Showboats team and one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the league, Heath Shuler. What the few Bandit faithful who made the trip got to see was just a hint of the old Bandit Ball, going deep early and often, and a bit of dramatics at the finish as the Bandits stole this win. The Bandits came into this game talking quite a bit about how they had to find their offensive identity. Even before the departure of Troy Aikman, Tampa Bay’s offense had seen significant drops in their long-ball vertical game, had relied more on HB Errict Rhett, and had simply not produced the big plays that had made their 1999 squad so deadly. All of that changed in this game, and it changed quickly. Tampa Bay failed to move the ball on their first drive, but their second, third, and fourth drives (if you want to call them drives) were each punctuated by long TD tosses from Trent Green. Green hit Randy Moss from 30 yards out to open scoring midway through the 1st quarter, then Chris Doering on a 3-play drive for a 2nd, and then back to Moss on a backbreaking 69-yard TD toss in the 2nd quarter to take a commanding 21-0 lead, shocking the Memphis faithful. Midway through the 2nd quarter and Errict Rhett had only touched the ball 4 times, with one of those being a swing pass. Randy Moss had over 100 yards at the half, and Memphis found itself reconsidering the run game at all. But the Showboats are a plucky team, and Heath Shuler was not going to let a 21-0 deficit end the story. Before the half he rallied the Showboats to their first score, a 4-yard Tony Carter run. When the 3rd quarter began with a Memphis possession, they used the opportunity to double their score and pull the game to within 1, with Shuler hitting Justin McCaerins with his own deep ball, a 45-yard TD reception. McCaerins would end the game with 140 yards on only 4 receptions as Memphis tried to match Tampa Bay’s early deep ball success. Tampa, for their part, would seemingly play into Memphis’s hand, trying to slow down the game by switching to the run, a strategy that would get Rhett 100 yards rushing, but would drive Bandit fans crazy as Memphis continued to draw closer. The Showboats would tie the score as the 3rd quarter drew to a close, Shuler hitting TE Erron Kinney with the equalizer on the last play of the period, an 8-yard seam route for 6. Tampa had squandered a 21-point lead, and it was about to get worse. Whether from Memphis adjustments or simple lack of execution, the Bandits had failed to hit on any chunk plays for the entire quarter, and as the 4th began, two consecutive 3-and-outs gave Memphis plenty of time on the ball. The Showboats responded, moving into field goal range for Jeff Hall twice, and taking the lead, 27-21. Memphis could not get in the endzone, which we have to call a win for the Bandit defense, an oft-maligned defense. That minor victory for Tampa would allow for the full victory of the club in the final minutes. Following Hall’s 2nd field goal, Tampa Bay got the ball back with 3:34 left on the clock. On a drive that lasted nearly the full time, the Bandits looked deep but connected short, slowly moving the ball down the field. They were helped by a bad encroachment call on a 3rd and 3, but for the most part it was Trent Green making the smart call and dumping the ball off to Chris Doering, Bradford Banta, and Lonzell Hill rather than trying to force the ball to Moss. When Moss did get open, it was on hitch routes or hooks, making use of the cushion the Memphis defenders were giving him. That is until the Bandits were on the 11 yard line with 39 seconds to play. On a first and 10 from the 11, Moss hit the fade route, Green kept the ball high, where only his lanky wideout could reach it, and Moss went up in an almost slam-dunk-contest style and snatched the ball out of the air, just barely getting his right foot down in time before falling out of the back of the endzone. For the Bandits it was only their 2nd win of the season, but it was a win that seemed to indicate that the club might just be returning to the big play style that had won them a title 2 years ago. They still have a lot to work on with their defense, but if the Bandits can revive the deep ball, they have weapons to attack with. For Memphis, now trailing the Orlando Renegades by 2 games, it was a tough home loss. They had come back from a 21-0 deficit to take a 6-point lead, but the day was simply not theirs. ORL 35 BIR 14 We stay in the South with a game that may just end the doubt anyone had about Orlando’s legitimacy. The Renegades utterly dominated the Stallions in Birmingham, scoring the first 28 points in the game and easily coasting to a divisional road win against a solid 4-2 Stallion squad. Scott Mitchell threw for 265 and a score, Terry Kirby just missed on a 100-yard game, finishing with 99, and the defense just manhandled Stallion QB Brett Favre, recording 8 sacks of the frustrated signal caller. It was a solid team victory that demonstrated just how tough the Renegades were going to be as they remained unbeaten. JAX 42 ATL 13 If the Renegades proved their legitimacy this weekend, the Fire proved their utter incompetency. With Coach Petrino’s job on the line, Atlanta showed absolutely nothing, giving up 466 yards on defense, while mustering only 13 points in an utterly unimpressive showing to save their coach’s job. Chris Chandler threw for 4 scores and Sedrick Irvin had his best game of the year, rushing for 122 on a Fire defense that simply did not play with any fire. Atlanta ownership kept their end of the bargain and by the next morning Petrino was out. BAL 13 PHI 34 Jeff Garcia struggled against a fired up Philly defense and the Stars got a solid 1-2 punch from running backs Stephen Davis and Pat Chaffey as they outpaced the Blitz to take a commanding win at home. A 91-yard pick six from Stars DB Anthony Dorsett highlighted a solid three-phases game for the Stars as they moved to 5-2 and dropped Baltimore below .500 with the win at Veterans Stadium. NJ 14 WSH 27 Tom Brady threw for 327, but it was not enough as the Federals got early scores from Herman Moore and Rueben Droughns to build a 17-0 lead. A crutial pick-six by Clarence Love, taking advantage of a ball deflected at the line, was the nail in the coffin for the plucky Generals as Washington’s defense turned up the heat in the second half to take the division win and move to 6-1, atop the Atlantic. OHI 48 PIT 38 It was not easy, but the Ohio Glory moved above .500 with a shootout win against a feisty Pittsburgh Maulers team at Three Rivers. Both clubs gained over 500 yards as Ohio barely edged Pittsburgh 531-517. Among the many offensive stars of the game Kerry Collins, with 3 TD tosses and Eddie George with 2 TD runs were essential. Pittsburgh got 115 yards and 2 scores from Terrell Davis and their top receiver, Andre Rison, finished with 10 catches for 144 in a back and forth game that stayed within 1 score until the final minutes. ARZ 14 OAK 24 A clear case of a team looking past an opponent they did not respect as the Wranglers fell into a trap in Oakland. Jon Kitna was back under center and went 32 of 44 for 313 yards and 2 scores in the upset win for Oakland. Jake Plummer was limited to 20 of 36, was sacked twice and got no help from his run game (a familiar refrain) as the Wranglers’ top flight offense looked flat and out of synch. DEN 16 SEA 13 A rare sunny gameday in Seattle highlighted a defensive war of attrition between two clubs sitting precariously at 3-3. Seattle held the lead going into the final 3 minutes, having limited Denver to only 3 field goals all day, but in a classic late game drive, the Gold found victory in a Brunell to Peerless Price TD toss. With Salaam still on suspension, Rod Smart led the Denver ground game with 92 yards on 17 carries, while the Gold defense limited Corey Dillon to 82 yards and the Dragons’ lone touchdown. LA 42 POR 22 The Express rediscovered their offense this week as Antonwain Smith (105) and Michael Pittman (71) combined for 176 yards on the ground. Pittman would also notch 3 touchdowns, with Smith adding a 4th as the Express manhandled the Thunder run defense and made it an easy day for Cade Mcnown. The win puts LA right at the top of the division at 5-2. MGN 7 TEX 19 No ultimatum for first year Panther coach Mike Martz, but it is not looking good for the winless and listless Panthers. Drew Brees struggled to find open receivers, completing only 19 of 40 passes, and the run game was utterly lost as the Panthers again failed to cross 10 points on the day. Texas, starting Tommy Maddox for the injured Drew Brees, was not exactly an offensive juggernaut, but a 101-yard game from Reggie Cobb helped them control the tempo and take the home win, their 3rd. HOU 31 NOR 47 Bobby Hoying got one more start before Trent Dilfer returns this week, and he went out with a bang, throwing for 2 scores as a New Orleans squad missing injured HB Ricky Williams, found inventive ways to get on the scoreboard. The defense helped with a pick 6, one of 3 interceptions of Matt Hasselbeck, and the Gamblers were limited on the ground as an early injury to Kevin Faulk left Kantroy Barber as their only viable option. The win boosts the Breakers to 4-3 while Houston falls a game under .500 at 3-4. CHI 24 STL 21 The Sunday Night game did not disappoint as the Machine outlasted the Knights in a tough slugfest of a game. Jeff George found Johnny Morton twice for scores and the Machine defense loaded the box to limit Ahman Green to only 54 yards rushing as Chicago held off the Knights in the Trans World Dome. It came down to an onsides kick after a Collins to Emmanuel scoring play got St. Louis within 3, but sure-handed Jim Kliensasser recovered the kick and the Machine moved to 5-2 along with St. Louis. ATLANTA PULLS THE TRIGGER William Shivers Morris laid down the ultimatum, and when the Fire could not respond with a win for Coach Petrino, he carried through on his threat to remove the coach after only 7 weeks. The Fire certainly did not help Petrino with their play. In the 2 weeks since the ultimatum was made they lost both games by a combined score of 80-23, that is just plain ugly. So, Petrino will probably find himself back in the college game, not really having had a shot in the USFL. The Fire now turn to something of a coaching combo. Morris promoted Defensive Coordinator John Pease, but they are also shifting duties for former USFL QB and LA Express Head Coach Rick Neuheisel, who had been serving as an offensive consultant. Neuheisel will now be the official QB coach and Assistant Head Coach. That does not mean he will be calling plays, but likely will assist the inexperienced Pease with game management (clock, penalty decisions, gameplan preparation, etc.). So what do we expect from the club under this pair of coaches? Honestly, not much. The big question is whether the change can really impact play at all. We expect Neuheisel will want to stick with Bulger at QB, he is a player very much of Neuheisel’s style. We cannot imagine that the 24th ranked defense gets any better when the DC now takes on the head coaching duties. Honestly, we don’t know what the Fire can do this year except try to minimize self-inflicted wounds such as turnovers and penalties. Tiki Barber is a quality back, so maybe focus more on his skillset, with more of a screen and short passing game. On defense, perhaps more shell zone defenses to minimize big plays and hope that teams commit mistakes of their own. Atlanta’s strength on defense is their LB corps with Mo Lewis, Randall Godfrey, Johnny Holland, London Fletcher, and Roman Phifer rotating into the 3 LB spots, but that only helps them if the line and the secondary can at least do a marginally adequate job, which we just have not seen this year. So, big picture, don’t expect either Pease or Neuheisel to earn the full-time job at seasons’ end. We expect a full national search, and the Fire may want to consider a new GM along with a new coach, because they simply have not done enough to bring in talent on either side of the ball. Aside from hitting on Bruce Smith, who may well retire after this year, they just haven’t made a lot of successful moves these past few years. NEXT ON THE HOT SEAT? I think we all know the next team to watch on the coaching “firing” pool. Michigan is equally horrible, actually worse in both points scored, though slightly better than Atlanta on defense (17th in the league). And yet, pretty much everyone believes that only a winless season could cost Mike Martz his position in his first year. Even 1 win is enough for Martz to get a second year and start transforming a roster that has gotten both old and thin in recent years. Brees is a talent and they can build a team around him, but they need to improve the line, the run game, the receiving corps, and the defense as a whole. So, a lot of moves need to be made to bring them up to respectability. So, if not Martz, who is the most likely casualty of their team’s poor play? There are several candidates whose teams have not been meeting expectations. In Jacksonville patience is growing thin for Gunther Cunningham, whose 3rd year in the league now features the league’s worst defense in points allowed. An 8-8 season in 2000 spared him last year, but the 2-5 start does not bode well for him hanging on for year 4. Another prime candidate is Emmitt Thomas in Pittsburgh. Thomas inherited a playoff club, only 1 year removed from a league title in 1997. Since then he has had seasons with 9, 7, 8, 10, and 3 wins. That 3-win season was viewed as a fluke, but a 2-5 start has everyone wondering if that was really the case. We don’t see Thomas surviving a 4-12 season, and even 5 or 6 wins may not be enough, which means, in the toughest division in the league, Thomas has to start winning games. Finally, as weird as it may sound to some, we have to look at the precipitous decline of the Tampa Bay Bandits since their 1998 league title. Just one season later Tampa fell to 7-9 and out of playoff contention. Last year it was 6-10 and even further from contending. This year they have started 2-5 and all indications are that the magic that made the Bandits all but unstoppable on offense in 1998 is now thoroughly depleted. Those who say that George Seifert inherited a championship team from Jerry Glanville, used to seem silly, after all, the Bandits were 8-8 in Glanville’s final year, but something went right in 1998 and more and more evidence seems to be pointing out that it was not Seifert’s arrival that got Tampa Bay over the hump. SALAAM SET TO RETURN It has been 4 weeks since the league put Rashaan Salaam on suspension, meaning he is due to return next week when Denver takes on Pittsburgh. What has happened to the Gold in the meantime? Well, it started off rough, with the Gold getting slaughtered by the LA Express, 45-17 and having no run game at all. But, the Gold rebounded, showing some grit and some ability to adapt as Rod Smart took over rushing duties. They have won three straight, knocking off New Orleans, Portland, and Seattle without their star back. Smart, who is certainly a very different style of runner from Salaam, has found ways to be effective, mostly on outside runs. The past three weeks, all wins, Smart has been the primary back, gaining 76 yards (with 2 TDs) against the Breakers, a really solid 123 yards (1 TD) against Portland’s punchless run defense, and then 92 yards against Seattle. Those are solid starting HB numbers. So, what this may mean is that Denver does not need to push Salaam for 25 carries this week, or possibly for the season. The Gold could well become yet another team using a thunder & lightning combo, though in this case it is more like thunder and little thunder as Smart is not exactly a track star, he is clearly good at finding the hole and making opposing players miss, but speed is not his top quality. Regardless, Denver may come out of the suspension in better shape than they went in, having learned how to use Smart effectively. Well, Texas must believe that their 3-4 start is a sign of good things to come, because they went out and added made a deal to improve the one aspect of their club that has proven the most problematic, the receiving corps. The Outlaws made a deal with Arizona for veteran receiver Carl Pickens. Pickens, one time the #1 receiver for the Wranglers, has slipped to platoon duty as Arizona has opted to go with rookie Santana Moss and possession man Hines Ward as their two primary receivers. So what does Arizona get out of the deal, how about a real thumper at MLB with Zach Thomas coming over from Texas. The two clubs also swapped bench players at each position with Arizona adding Texas wideout and special teams gunner Scotty Anderson while Texas gets backup MLB Mike Stonebreaker from the Wranglers. Texas also sends a 3rd round pick in next year’s draft to Arizona. The second big swap of the week was between two teams in better shape, with Philadelphia hoping to improve their pass rush in a tough division while Jacksonville, perhaps looking to the future, added a quality backup QB. The Stars sent little-used Jake Delhomme to the Bulls, who may just have some inside new on Chris Chandler’s 2002 plans. Delhomme has been a preseason hero in Philly, but he sits behind both Bobby Hebert and Will Furrer on the depth chart. In Jacksonville he immediately gets in the running to be the #2 with Danny Wuerfel, and could have a shot at the starting gig if Chandler does, as suspected, hang it up after this season. For their part, the Stars get a more dynamic edge rusher in Jacksonville’s Derrick Burgess. Burgess, who has played the swing position, rotating with Aaron Wallace opposite Jevon Kearse, will be an immediate upgrade for the Stars. Jacksonville also adds Philly DE Ta’ase Faumui, while Philly gets a true 3rd stringer in Bulls QB Stoney Case in another swap of equal positions but unequal talent. We still have 3 weeks in the trade window, and it looks like we may get a few more moves before the window closes for the final run of the season. A rough week for cornerbacks across the league, with the biggest blow in a place that cannot afford to lose any defenders, Oakland. Nickel back Clayton Holmes is lost for the year, placed on IR this week after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament on an awkward landing as he went up to defend a pass. The Invaders estimate an 8 week recovery as a minimum expectation and opted to place Holmes on IR rather than rush the process. In addition to Holmes, two other starting corners are now expected to miss multiple weeks. Darrien Gordon, New Jersey’s top pass defender, could be out up to a month due to a partial hamstring tear, while St. Louis’s #1 corner, Steve Israel is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a diagnosed stress fracture in his left foot. Tackle was another position that saw a couple of noteworthy injuries, though fortunately both may be of the 1-2 week variety. Birmingham’s LT Todd Steussie suffered an elbow injury with dislocation and hyperextension but could return in Week 10. Likewise, Jacksonville’s Todd Runyan is expected back in either Week 10 or 11 after getting his ankle rolled up in this week’s game. Players listed as doubtful this week include Ohio DT La’Roi Glover (wrist) and Michigan TE Butch Rolle (knee). New Orleans is hoping to have HB Ricky Williams back in the lineup but he is still listed as questionable. MYSTERY PRESSER IN TAMPA BAY The Tampa Bay Bandits have scheduled a press conference for Monday, following their game against the Knights, and speculation is somewhat rampant about what they could be announcing. It certainly is not a midseason firing of their coach George Seifert, as a team would never schedule that this far in advance, nor want to set it up as a full press conference. The prevalent theory is that the timeline has been sped up on their release of their updated Reebok uniforms for 2002. Leaked photos seem to show the design scheme for the uniforms and logo, both of which go through significant changes, and it may simply be that the Bandits are going to release the uniforms earlier than expected due to the leak. This image (below), obtained from the St. Petersburg Times, appears to be an official Reebok design scheme much like the ones we have seen with previous releases. It indicates a modification to the masked rider logo of the club, adding silver highlights to the horse and an updated wordmark. The uniform design itself removes the “slashing” piping and side panels and replaces them with a consistent pant & side panel stripe with a thin red line bordered by two thick black lines and those bordered by thin silver lines (which do not appear on the silver pants. The secondary logo (TB monogram with Stetson hat) remains on the sleeves, and there is a modified number font. The helmet also uses the striping pattern of two thick black lines with an almost pencil-thin red line at the center. And yet, while it is not inconceivable that the presser on Monday is to reveal the new look for the club for next year, that too seems insufficient cause to push the event as much as team representatives have with local, and even national media. There have even been hints that league commissioner Dick Ebersol will be in attendance, which certainly seems out of the norm for a simple uniform or logo reveal. If these rumors are true, we suspect that something far larger is to be announced, and that has spawned theories of every shape and size, from a leaguewide announcement (normally made in New York) to some panicked Tampa residents claiming the Bandits are relocating to Boston, which seems very unlikely due to the quite profitable and stadium-secure position of the club in the Gulf Coast region. So, a few days to wait and ponder, but on Monday we should know. Week Eight, the halfway point of the season and so much to play for. It’s an inter-conference weekend with the Atlantic teams hosting the Pacific and the Central visiting the South. That means unfamiliar foes and potential mismatches, upsets, and blowouts. Looking at the week, several games stand out as potential slugfests, while others might just be trap games as team focus on upcoming divisional matchups. Our picks for the games to watch and avoid: 5-STAR, Must Watch Arizona @ Philadelphia. Two teams in the heart of divisional races, both trying to prove that they deserve to be taken seriously. Los Angeles & Ohio. Offense against offense with two of the highest scoring clubs in the league facing off. 4-Star: Lots of potential Seattle @ New Jersey: Can Seattle right the ship or will New Jersey’s defense help them reach a lofty 6-2 mark at the midway point in what has been something of an unexpeted gem of a season so far. Houston @ Birmingham: With both clubs hovering around .500, Houston can get right back into the mix with a win, but a loss here means they may begin to fade from view. For Birmingham, any hope of catching up to Memphis means a win here is vital. Texas @ Memphis: The Outlaws have clawed their way to 3-4, a win here would be huge, but Memphis cannot afford to lose and drop to .500 themselves. Not with Orlando already 2 games up. 2-Star: If you love football. St. Louis @ Tampa Bay. This game will only be a good watch if Tampa Bay truly has found an offensive rhythm. If not, then St. Louis might make this one ugly pretty quickly. Oakland @ Baltimore. The Blitz are stunned to be a game under .500 at Week 8, and they do not want to lose to the Invaders. Oakland may just stick with Jon Kitna instead of returning to Leaf, and that means Baltimore has to plan for either one, advantage Oakland. Denver @ Pittsburgh. The Maulers can score points, which makes this one more interesting. Can Denver win on the road or can Terrell Davis help Pittsburgh get the home upset. Chicago @ Jacksonville. Chicago should win this one, but Jacksonville has shown they can put up points, if the Machine are not careful, this is the kind of game that could get away from them. 0-Star: You could not pay me. Portland @ Washington. I know we said Akili Smith was looking better, but this feels like a lamb to the slaughter situation with Washington’s defense just licking its lips for the mistake-prone Smith. New Orleans @ Atlanta. Sure, it is the first game for a new coach in Atlanta, but does anyone really think the Fire are going to immediately turn it around and make it tough for the Breakers? We didn’t think so. Michigan @ Orlando. Yup, a winless club at an unbeaten one. That is not a big deal in week 2, but by this point in the season we have a pretty good idea who is who, and this one just looks ugly on every level. We actually feel bad for Drew Brees here. He is going to get to know Chris Doleman in a very personal and painful way.

Orlando remains undefeated, Michigan and Atlanta winless, and Bobby Petrino feeling the heat. A huge win for the Arizona Wranglers as they knock off LA, and a big win for Chicago as well as they try to move up in the Central. Our game of the week was a great one between two teams with very different futures in front of them. Tom Brady continues to impress as the unheralded QB from Michigan helps the Generals upend the Bandits with a last minute drive. It’s a tale of two teams going in very different directions. It was planned as a “homecoming” game for Troy Aikman, with the Bandits coming to town to face their former All-USFL QB, but back-to-back concussions landed Aikman on IR and his future in football very much in question, so what we got was a team that dominated the league, racing to a title only 2 years ago thanks to an unstoppable offense, but now seemingly flailing to find an identity. Across the field we get a team in New Jersey in what appears to be an ascendency, sitting at 4-1 and looking very much like a contender under Bill Parcells and with the unexpected quality of an unheralded late round draft pick at QB in former Wolverine Tom Brady. Tampa seemingly on their way down the standings while New Jersey is surging. The game too was a tale of different trajectories. New Jersey started off strong, bolstered by a crowd of nearly 55,000 in the Meadowlands. New Jersey, after giving up a field goal on Tampa’s first drive, would score 7 on two consecutive drives, the first thanks to a Brady to Terry Glenn 20-yarder, and the second with Brady hitting the diminutive slot receiver Wayne Chrebet from the 3. In the second quarter Tampa Bay, led by veteran Trent Green, could only add a second field goal, while New Jersey got both a Neil Rackers kick and a third TD, this time on the ground as Curtis Enis burst to the pylon from the 5-yard line. Down 24-6 at the half, things did not look good for Tampa Bay, but Coach Seifert was not ready to concede the game quite yet. He changed up his defense at the half, spreading the linemen to provide better angles to Brady. The strategy led to a few solid runs from Enis and backup Olandis Gary, but also kept Brady under pressure. The result, along with a shift away from a run game that only averaged 1.3 yards per carry, was some quick success. Tampa added a 3rd field goal, and then followed that up with three consecutive TD drives, all the while containing the Generals offense. Trent Green first hit backup HB Travis Prentice on a short pass that ended up going 55 yards for a score. He then turned to the best player on the Bandit offensive roster, hitting Randy Moss with a TD to bring the Bandits back to within 22-24. Tampa again stymied Brady and the Generals, getting the ball back with just over 2:20 on the clock. Only 5 plays later, Randy Moss again found the endzone and suddenly the Generals’ faithful were silenced, sitting in stunned silence as Mike Vanderjagt kicked the PAT to put Tampa Bay up 29-24 with only 1 minute left on the clock. The Bandits kicked the ball deep, but New Jersey got a good return from Ahmad Merrit, placing the ball at the 31 with just under 1 minute to play and 69 yards from paydirt. While some fans seemed resigned to the loss, the same was not felt on the sideline as Tom Brady took the offense out on the field. On first and 10 he found Chrebet over the middle for 11. Time Out. 1st and 10 again, 49 seconds. Brady finds Terry Glenn 17 yards downfield, but the defender whiffs on the tackle and Glenn adds another 20 yards before the safety pushes him out. 40 seconds left, and New Jersey is now on the Tampa Bay 20, time for some shots in the endzone. On first down Brady tries for Chrebet on an out pattern, but the ball is just a little too far outside. On 2nd down he is forced to scramble and throw the ball away. 29 seconds left. 3rd and 10 from just outside the 20. Brady stares down the safety, pushing him towards Glenn, then shifts his attention to Kevin Johnson, in single coverage, and lofts a perfect laser to the speedy receiver. Touchdown New Jersey!!! The Generals go for 2, and fail, but the damage is done. 23 seconds to play and the Generals have pulled out a stunning comeback. Tampa would handle the squib kick from Rackers, but the drive never had a chance. New Jersey moved to 5-1, Tampa fell to 1-5, and Coach Parcells may have just answered his QB question as the 2nd year Brady, in only his 3rd start as a pro led New Jersey to a miracle comeback and first place in the Atlantic Division. NOR 24 CHI 31 A really fun game at Soldier Field on Friday night kicked off the weekend of USFL action. Jeff George throws for 301 and 2 scores but Bobby Hoying of the Breakers has his best game of the season in relief of Trent Dilfer, throwing for 3 scores and nearly pulling off the road win. Chicago got a late TD from HB Adrian Murrell, and a game-ending sack of Hoying by LB Keith Brooking helps the machine move to 4-2. TEX 14 HOU 32 The new look offense of the Houston Gamblers once again proves fatal as Houston takes the home game in their rivalry series with Texas. Matt Hasselbeck continues to show growth, throwing for 319 and 3 scores, which Houston needed as their run game managed only 25 total yards. Texas struggled largely because Jeff Lewis was knocked out of the game with what looked like a shoulder injury early in the 3rd. Tommy Maddox simply could not do much after coming in for Lewis. STL 34 MGN 13 The St. Louis defense feasts on the inexperienced Drew Brees, sacking the rookie 4 times and limiting Michigan to only 37 yards rushing. Ahman Green supplied all the offense the Knights needed, rushing for 124 and 3 scores as Michigan simply did not have an answer and fall to a woeful 0-6. LA 14 ARZ 41 The Wranglers remain red hot, scoring 40 yet again as they manhandle the LA defense. Jake Plummer was all over the field, throwing for 201 and 2 scores and then rushing for 2 more TDs as the Wranglers blew past the Express. In defeat, Tory Holt continued to shine for LA, catching 4 passes for 121, but it was not near enough as the Wranglers move to 4-2. POR 31 DEN 41 The Thunder offense looked solid, but the defense let them down as Denver got 3 TDs from Mark Brunell and another 2 from their backup HBs. Rod Smart found plenty of holes in the Thunder run defense, rushing for 123 on 22 carries, including a 34-yard touchdown run that electrified the Gold faithful. SEA 31 OAK 21 The Dragons move to 3-3 thanks to a very solid 328 yard, 4 TD game from Brian Griese. Jon Kitna got the start for Oakland and was 6 of 8, but went down to injury, and that meant Ryan Leaf came in. Leaf again looked shaky, throwing 2 picks and completing only 46.7% of his passes. The Oakland defense just did not have a good game either, letting up not only Griese’s big yards but also 118 yards to Corey Dillon. ATL 10 OHI 38 Eddie George came back for the Glory and while he was limited to only 36 yards, it opened up the game for Kerry Collins and the Glory offense. Chad Johnson and Qadry Ismael combined for 187 yards receiving on the day. Atlanta’s offense continued to struggle with Mark Bulger at the helm, and now Coach Petrino is 1 game away from the ultimatum. A win against Jacksonville next week is said to be the only way that Petrino finishes out a 2nd season in Atlanta, a team that simply does not look ready to compete each week. BIR 36 PHI 29 Brett Favre hit Lawrence Dawsey for two long TD’s in the first quarter, but Philly came back on them before a late Shaun Alexander TD helped Birmingham get the big time win and move to 4-2. Philly falls to 4-2 with the home loss, but got a great game from Stephen Davis (117 yards). Three Bobby Hebert picks may just have cost the Stars the comeback win in this one. Tory James nabbed 2 of them, both on throws seeking Bobby Engram. JAX 28 PIT 48 The Jacksonville defense continues to be a disaster, perhaps giving Atlanta and Bobby Petrino hope for next week. The Bulls gave up 408 yards to the Maulers, including 2 scoring runs by Terrell Davis and 3 TDs to Charlie Batch. TE Alge Crumpler was the big target for Batch, catching 4 balls for 108 yards and 2 TDs for the Maulers, who move to 2-4 with the home win. MEM 21 WSH 31 This battle of top flight clubs was a Sunday Night cherry on the top of this week’s USFL sundae. The game was 24-21 Washington with Memphis driving, but a fumble by Tony Carter gave the ball to Washington with just over 1:30 to play. The Feds faked out everyone, with Stewart faking the ball to Tim Lester (playing for the injured McCallister and playing well with 72 yards rushing). Stewart kept the ball, bootlegged right and was all alone, racing down the field for a 67 yard TD run that put the game out of reach and earned Washington their 5th win on the year. ORL 36 BAL 10 We expected a close defensive battle in this one, but the Renegades jumped on the Blitz early and made Baltimore one dimensional. Scott Mitchell connected with Ricky Dudley and Donald Driver for scores and the run game added 2 more as the Renegades put the Blitz away early, causing them to give up on the run (Ron Dayne held to 11 yards). Orlando remains unbeaten and has a big game next week against a pretty good Birmingham squad in Legion Field. TEAM RANKINGS Six weeks into the season and we thought it would be a good time to explore some of the team rankings and see what stands out. We looked at some of the most commonly-cited stats on a per-game basis and here is what we see: Points per game: 1-Arizona 34 2-Ohio 32 3-Orlando 31.8 4-Memphis 31… …22-Oakland 16.3 23-Atlanta 11.3 24-Michigan 10.3 First thing to note, that is a huge disparity between Arizona and Michigan, nearly 24 points per game of difference. And, as one would expect, all 4 of the top offenses have winning records while the bottom 3 are among the worst teams in the league, including two winless teams. Now, let’s take a look at defenses. Points Allowed: 1-Orlando 10.8 2-Memphis 16.5 3-New Jersey 17.2 4-Arizona 18.3 … … 22-Atlanta 31.5 23-Michigan 32.2 24-Jacksonville 38. No shocker here, the one undefeated team in the league is not only a Top 3 offense but the league’s #1 scoring defense, creating a very comfortable 20 point margin of victory for the Renegades. Meanwhile, Atlanta and Michigan struggle on this side of the ball also and Jacksonville’s poor start is clearly the fault of a truly miserable defensive showing. One more Turnovers. Turnover Difference: 1-Los Angeles +12 2-New Orleans +11 3-Orlando +9 4-Pittsburgh +9 … … 22-Memphis -5 23-Jacksonville -6 24-Baltimore -6. Orlando again at the top of the rankings, and we also see how LA has managed to have a successful start to their season. We see Jacksonville again struggling, and we get a hint as to why Memphis and Baltimore have fallen a bit behind the leaders in their respective divisions. An interesting portrait of where things stand, and we will leave you with just a few more items to mull over. Top Rushing Clubs: 1-WSH 2-LA 3-DEN 4-SEA 5-NJ Top Passing Clubs: 1-OHIO 2-BIR 3-JAX 4-MEM 5-DEN Top Rush Defense: 1-ORL 2-NJ 3-BAL 4-PIT 5-ARZ Top Pass Defense: 1-ORL 2-LA 3-HOU 4-MEM 5-OAK Based on all the statistics, it seems Orlando is very much going to make a serious run at a title this year. Hard to argue with their success on both sides of the ball. Baltimore loses one of their best pass rushers, potentially for the year as Andre Wadsworth suffered a pretty gruesome wrist injury. His hand was bent underneath him and it was visually apparent that he was unable to move his hand afterwards as it hung limply. There is certain tendon and ligament damage and we expect Wadsworth to be placed on IR as soon as the imaging results and diagnosis are complete. Outside of the Wadsworth injury, the week was relatively good one from an injury perspective. Several players are expected to miss a game or two, but no other season-ending injuries. Among those with short term issues we see Atlanta wideout Terrance Mathis (1-2 weeks, jaw), Michigan LB Andy Katzenmoyer (1-2 weeks, finger), Chicago LB Tommy Polly (1-2 weeks, knee), and Oakland QB Ryan Leaf (1-2 weeks, deep thigh bruise). Santana Dotson, Tampa’s best pass rusher is likely out this week only with a nerve pinch in his lower back, while Portland will be without Napoleon Kaufmann due to a displaced thumb. It’s an all divisional week in Week 7 and you know we love that. Let’s look at each game in turn. Friday Night Denver (3-3) @ Seattle (3-3): Two teams expected to compete for the title but both trailing LA and Arizona. Neither can afford to lose this one. Saturday Afternoon New Jersey (5-1) @ Washington (5-1): A game no one expected to be a division title clash, but that is what we have. Two very aggressive pass rushes and two teams hoping to put their mark on the Atlantic right now. Jacksonville (1-5) @ Atlanta (0-6): The Petrino Bowl. Win and he gets 9 more weeks. Lose and he is out. How is that for pressure? Jacksonville has a horrible defense, Atlanta an incompetent offense. Which will prove to be worse? Michigan (0-6) @ Texas (2-4): A game the Outlaws should win, but Michigan is a cornered animal and that could be a problem. Of course, they are more of a cornered bunny than a wolverine, so perhaps not a problem after all. Houston (3-3) @ New Orleans (3-3): A big match for both clubs. Will Dilfer be back? We expected him this week but he was a game time scratch. Will Houston find offensive success against a Breaker D that has not been as tough as last year after several free agency losses. Saturday Night Orlando (6-0) @ Birmingham (4-2): If anyone is going to slow down the Renegades it might be these Stallions and QB Brett Favre, backed by potentially 60,000 rowdy Alabamians (Alabamers? Alabama-ites?) Sunday Afternoon Baltimore (3-3) @ Philadelphia (4-2): A game worthy of a prime time slot, but stuck at 12pm on Sunday, it is the afternoon game to watch as the Stars and Blitz will certainly slug it out in this battle of divisional rivals. Ohio (3-3) @ Pittsburgh (2-4): If the Glory are going to get into the fight in the Atlantic, they have to win this one. Eddie George says he is now close to 100%, and that could be exactly what the Glory need. Tampa Bay (1-5) @ Memphis (4-2): The Showboats are hoping that home cooking will help them get the W, and that Orlando finally slips. Tampa Bay is just hoping to find a defensive strategy that works after another tough loss this week. Arizona (4-2) @ Oakland (1-5): We are not sure yet if Jon Kitna will get the start again or if rookie Marques Tuiasosopo gets his first start with Leaf out due to a deep thigh bruise. Does it really matter? Jake Plummer and the Wranglers have got their offense humming along even without Dorsey Levins. Los Angeles (4-2) @ Portland (2-4): Life does not get easier for the Thunder as they get crushed by Denver and now face an angry Express club trying to keep pace atop the Pacific Division. Sunday Night Chicago (4-2) @ St. Louis (5-1): This one is bitter even when the two clubs are not playing well, now, with both of them looking very solid, this could be epic. Brian Urlacher and Keith Brooking vs. Kevin Hardy and Na’il Diggs in a battle of dynamic linebackers.