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Playoff Picture: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Orlando and Memphis all clinch playoff spots this week, joining St. Louis, New Orleans, Denver, and Seattle. No division titles have yet been determined. Portland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Texas, Houston, Oakland, Birmingham, and Tampa Bay are now eliminated from playoff contention.

A huge week in the Eastern Conference, where 5 of 6 playoff spots were claimed. Philadelphia, Orlando, Memphis, Washington, and Baltimore all punched their tickets to the postseason this week, while Ohio hangs onto that last spot but is in precarious position. It's also a week that saw the departure of two head coaches, one resigning at the end of the year, one let go unceremoniously. Out West, the huge game was between the two division leaders, with a possible top seed tiebreakers at stake. The Gold seemed to have the game in hand, but let it slip away as St. Louis got the key road win that could mean homefield through the playoffs. Meanwhile New Orleans and Seattle are not ready to concede the divisions quite yet. It all could come down to a pivotal Week 16 as the USFL season races towards the postseason. The Denver Gold let one slip out of their hands. That is the way locals are portraying the game, a game in which Denver held a 17-11 lead after 3 quarters and watched as St. Louis scored the final 13 points of the game to take a key conference win and knock Denver down a game in the standings, though still on top of the conference. Many had viewed the game as a potential championship preview, with both division winners facing off at Mile High, and if so, then St. Louis has to be feeling pretty good after a solid comeback to take the W. The game started well for the Gold, with Mark Brunell connecting with Dedric Smith for one score and Rashaan Salaam, the league’s rushing leader, scoring on a 7-yard run, both in the first quarter as Denver took a 14-3 lead into the first break. But, while Salaam would have a solid day (83 yards on 21 carries) he would be outshone by St. Louis’s dynamic back, Ahman Green. Green would rush 165 yards on the same number of carries, a 7.9 YPC average. And while Green would not score in the game, his dependable yardage made it possible for St. Louis to stay in the game and eventually wear out the Denver defense. Down 14-3 after one quarter, St. Louis answered with a 12-play drive, ending when Todd Collins hit Kez McCorvey on a beautiful fade route for 6. The Knights went for 2 and on a bootleg, Collins faked a toss, freezing the linebacker, and ran the ball in himself to bring St. Louis within 3. Denver would finish the quarter with a field goal to punch the lead up to 6 at 11-17, but their offense was struggling against the Knights, and in the final period they would be held scoreless. St. Louis would have better luck with their offensive game plan, as Green’s running made it possible for Collins to hit on play action passes to TE Reggie Kelly and wideouts Amani Toomer and Bert Emmanuel. St. Louis would have 3 scoring drives in the final 15 minutes of play, two field goals and drive that ended with Karim Abdul-Jabbar muscling the ball across the end line for 6. The result, a 7 point win, 24-17, for the Knights, and only the 3rd loss of the season for the Denver Gold. Both clubs still remain atop their divisions, and Denver has a 1-game lead over St. Louis for the Western Conference’s top seed, but if they slip, St. Louis now holds the coveted tie-breaker with this head-to-head victory. NOR 28 ARZ 18 The Breakers celebrated the return of Trent Dilfer under center with a solid win over the Wranglers in Tempe. The Breaker defense held Arizona to only 60 yards rushing, including -10 yards for Plummer on scrambles and one ill-fated bootleg. Meanwhile Dilfer went 23 of 30 for 304 yards and 3 scores in his return to action for the Breakers, who remain tied with St. Louis but without the tiebreaker in hand. MGN 13 SEA 20 With Denver’s loss, Seattle took advantage of a home game against Michigan to move into a tie for first in the Pacific. Corey Dillon accounted for 111 yards rushing and a key TD in the Seattle win, but the big play of the day was a 62-yard TD pass from Griese to David Boston, who got behind the Michigan defense on a botched coverage and turned the tide towards the Dragons. CHI 26 OAK 10 Chicago got back to .500 and back in the Wild Card hunt thanks to a solid game from Duce Staley and an error free day for Jeff George. The Chicago D also helped, holding Oakland under 300 yards of total offense and sacking Ryan Leaf 3 times in the victory. TEX 21 LA 17 An upset in LA as the Express fall further from playoff contention. Texas got 3 TD passes from Kelly Stouffer and the defense sacked Cade McNown 6 times to earn the W. Los Angeles converted only 1 third down play all game as the Outlaw defense came up big on drive after drive. HOU 41 POR 7 Just days after Coach Ray Willsey announced his resignation at the end of the season, the Gamblers gave him a fitting tribute, a blowout win in Portland. The Thunder had nothing to offer as Rick Mirer was sacked 4 times and their defense allowed Matt Hasselbeck to have one of his better games, throwing 3 TDs. Houston even got the ground game going against the Thunder D, with Kantroy Barber rushing for 79 yards and 2 scores, while Mario Greer added 72 of his own, and Kevin Faulk another 44. JAX 10 ORL 35 Orlando moved one step closer to winning their first division title since 1991 with a thorough drubbing of Jacksonville, whose early season success has practically faded from memory. Craig Ericson, playing for the injured Scott Mitchell, outperformed Chris Chandler on the day, throwing for 3 scores and no picks, to Chandler’s 1 TD and 2 picks. Add in a combined 105 yards between Terry Kirby and Moe Williams and the Renegades coasted to an easy win at home. BIR 34 TBY 16 A game that in past years had far more prestige saw Birmingham, already eliminated from playoff contention, knock Tampa Bay practically out of contention as well. Tampa started with a 9-0 lead ona safety of Favre and an Errict Rhett TD run, but Birmingham would respond with 34 unanswered points over 3 quarters. Despite being sacked 9 times, Brett Favre managed to complete 15 of 27 passes for 287 yards and 2 scores. Troy Aikman also spent a lot of time in the grass, sacked 5 times himself as both defensive lines feasted on bad O-line play. WSH 19 OHI 10 The Federals deal another blow to Ohio’s playoff hopes with another division loss for the Glory. Rookie Reuben Droughns, on a late season tear, added another 161 yards as he dominated carries over veteran Barry Word. Ohio responded with 112 yards from Eddie George, but with Kerry Collins removed from the game in the 1st quarter, Koy Detmer struggled against the tough Washington front 7, completing only 5 passes all game. PHI 26 NJ 20 The Generals put up a good fight for interim head coach Mark Trestman, sending the game to overtime, but in the extra period a winded defense could not contain the Stars and a Pat Chaffey TD gave the win to the division-leading Stars. New Jersey outgained Philadelphia, had 8 more minutes of possession, but could not hold the lead late or score when given the ball in overtime, and that cost them their 11th loss of the season. PIT 14 BAL 31 The Maulers also fell to 3-11 with their loss in Baltimore as the Blitz dominated on offense. The defense struggled, giving up 405 yards of offense to the Maulers, but held Pittsburgh at bay when it came to scoring, stopping the go-for-broke Maulers on two key 4th down plays deep in Blitz territory. QB Jeff Garcia continued to impress for the Blitz, throwing 4 TDs and going 24 of 29 for 374 yards and Offensive POTW honors. A big loss for Michigan as they try to sneak their way into the Wild Card playoff. Wideout Jeff Campbell, the perennial leader in receptions in the league, will be out for the remainder of the season and any post season action with 3 broken ribs. Jacksonville will have to make its final push without DE Dan Brandenburg, who will miss the final two weeks of the season with an ankle injury. St. Louis also loses a DE for the remaining 2 games of the regular season as Chad Bradtske, the team’s sack leader, is expected to miss 2 weeks, though he could be back for a playoff run. Others listed as either Doubtful or Questionable for Week 15 action include Arizona WR Hines Ward (finger), Jacksonville LB Jesse Armstead (hip), Seattle wideout Eric Metcalf (hip), Philadelphia WR Bobby Engram (groin), Houston QB Matt Hasselbeck (elbow), New Orleans tackle Troy Auzene (foot), and New Orleans guard Benji Olson (ab). WILLSEY STEPS DOWN It became official this week, that Houston Gambler Head Coach Ray Willsey will step down from a position he has held in Houston for 11 years. Willsey who helped bring two titles to the Space City, has struggled to find success in the post-Jim Kelly era. Quarterback play has been a big part of the issues these past few seasons, as first Chuck Hartlieb, and now Matt Hasselbeck, have struggled to support the type of pass-heavy offense the Gamblers used to such great effect during the Kelly-Thomas years. After so many great years, Willsey’s Gamblers have not finished above .500 since 1996 and this season looks like it could be considerably worse than the 7-9 seasons we have seen twice in the past 3 years. Willsey will continue to coach for the final 3 weeks of the year, but a search for his replacement will begin in earnest once the season concludes. Among frontrunners are former Denver Gold head coach Wade Phillips, son of former Oilers head coach Bum Phillips, and current Gamblers DC Jim Washburn. SCHOTTENHEIMER SHOWN THE DOOR The patience of New Jersey ownership seems to have come to an end. This week, 3 days before the overtime loss to the Stars, New Jersey announced that Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer had been relieved of duties. OC Mark Trestman was given the interim position and will finish the year, though it is not expected that he will be a strong candidate for the position in 2001 due in large part to the offensive woes of the Generals under his leadership. After a 6-10 season in 1999, his first with the club, Marty looks to be having an even worse result this season, with his club earning only 3 wins to date. This comes after a career that saw him spend seven up and down years in Chicago with the Machine. After taking the Machine to a Summer Bowl in 1994, Schottenheimer struggled with an 8-8 season in 1996 and a disastrous 3-13 season, his last in Chicago, in 1998. New Jersey signed him quickly after his release from Chicago, banking on his past success in the NFL to turn around a club that had not seen a winning record since 1994. But, with his 6-win 1999 campaign now turning to a likely 3-4 win 2nd season, it seems the owners in New Jersey want to go a new direction. But what will that direction be? It has not taken long for the rumor mill in East Rutherford to start churning. The name on everyone’s lips is former NY Giants and NY Jets Head Coach Bill Parcells. Parcells currently serves as the GM for the Jets, but many expect that an offer that would give him both the GM and HC rolls might be enough to entice him to switch leagues while remaining in a market that clearly loves him. Parcells would be a major get for the USFL, and for the Generals, and he certainly has the coaching chops to build something in New Jersey, as he did with both NFL clubs in the market. Will we see this come to fruition or is this just wishful thinking from a Generals fanbase that is desperate to see their club do something big? GARCIA MAKES GOOD When Jeff Garcia came to the Baltimore Blitz, it was assumed that he would be little more than an insurance policy for Trent Green. His career to that point had not gone particularly well. In 3 years with LA he had started 18 games, but had a TD-INT ratio of 23-24 and a QB Rating under 80, neither of which pointed to success as a starter. In 1998 and 1999 he started another 18 games as Trent Green suffered significant injuries (a constant issue for the former Hoosier QB). Garcia saw improvement, throwing 18 TDs to 12 picks, but still had a QBR now hovering around 70, with a completion percentage under 50% over 2 seasons. So what is happening this year? Again Garcia came in for an injured Trent Green, but this season things seem to be clicking. Garcia has now won the starting gig and in his 9 games (8 starts) has a QBR of 118.8, completing 71.6% of his throws. His accuracy and decision making has risen to All-USFL levels, with 17 touchdowns and only 1 pick on the season. Were he eligible for the QB Rating leaderboard, he would currently be in first place, a solid 6 points ahead of Brett Favre. More importantly, the Blitz have won 5 in a row and now are poised to make a late run for the division title, with a key game against the Philadelphia Stars in the season’s final week. A victory there could make Garcia one of the breakout stars of the season, something that simply did not seem possible in his first 5 years in the league. A wave of playoff spots filled in the East this week, as Jacksonville’s loss means that not only Philadelphia, but Orlando, Baltimore, Memphis, and Washington have clinched spots. Ohio is 2 games back and can only garner the #6 seed, but they still have 2 games left and Jacksonville is still in a position to possibly catch them if they falter. In the West, nothing really changed this week, except that the odds for Los Angeles and Michigan, both at 6-8, have gotten worse. Chicago is back in the mix at 7-7, as is Arizona. The top 4 spots are locked in, though Denver and Seattle in the Pacific, and St. Louis and New Orleans in the Central are still caught up in heated battles for the division title. The Arizona Wranglers are the third of three clubs to reveal their new Reebok looks for 2001 and by far are creating the biggest stir. While the uniforms do not look radically different, using the same copper, red, gold, and royal blue combo (with slight darkening of the blue), flames on the pants, and red jerseys, the new logo is all the talk in Phoenix. The Wrangler’s familiar flame spouting branding iron is updated in a big way with a new “W” replacing the encircled W logo the club has sported since the league began in 1983. The new W, now in red with a blue outline, still contains the cattle horn theme at each end, but now sports a central “loop” that ties the W together. No longer encircled and without the branding iron handle, the new W logo is not immediately recognizable as an iron at all. The new “brand” (pun intended) will be used in two formats, with a red and blue version wreathed in gold and white flames, and a simpler single-color blue version used as a secondary. The “Cool Brand” secondary is more akin to the actual branded flesh than the iron itself. The flaming brand will still adorn the copper helmets of the Wranglers, and is also found on both sleeves. The simpler “cool brand” logo is found on the collar of the jerseys and will be used throughout the stadium and promotional materials starting with the 2001 season ticket order forms released this week. A new font is also in place, though primarily used in team name depictions, with the number font on the jersey remaining unchanged. The only real deviation from the team’s prior uniform look is the incorporation of the new logo and the introduction of a second pant set, a royal blue set which will be worn mostly with the white jersey a few times a year during road games (likely against teams like Oakland, Philly or Birmingham who also sport yellow or metallic gold pants) Two weeks left, and a lot of divisional action to wrap up the year. This week it is the Western Conference who will battle in division before Week 16’s fully divisional schedule. In the divisional games this week we find St. Louis in Michigan, where a 9th loss will sink any hopes for the Panthers. Chciago is alive at 7-7, but they host the very tough New Orleans Breakers, with Trent Dilfer back under center. Houston and Texas, both 4-10, will battle in Houston, though the stakes are little more than pride at this point. In the Pacific, we don’t have any match ups of clubs with winning records as Arizona (7-7) hosts the 1-win Thunder, Denver hosts the 4-win Invaders, and the Seattle Dragons travel to LA to face the 6-8 Express, who still have a mathematical chance to get in the playoffs but need losses from Chicago or Arizona to have a shot. In the East it is the Atlantic clubs headed to the South, with the biggest game being the matchup of the Blitz and the Showboats, a game to watch for sure as the Liberty Bow will be rocking. Ohio can wrap up a playoff spot if they can get a W in Tampa Bay on Saturday. Jacksonville needs a win to stay alive, but they face a tough Washington club in the Gator Bowl. Orlando hosts New Jersey and hopes the games fall the right way for them to clinch the Southern title. Philly is in a similar situation, though they get a pretty good matchup as they head to Atlanta to face the Fire. Finally, Pittsburgh is in Birmingham in a game of two clubs likely looking at young talent over the season’s final two weeks.

While New Orleans struggles, Ohio gets back in the game with another win. Orlando stumbles on a cross country trip to LA, a win the Express sorely needed, while Tampa’s trip out west is far more successful. Denver ekes out a win at Jacksonville’s expense, while Washington gets pushed to the limit by Michigan before edging the Panthers to get a win that helps them step closer to a playoff berth. Philly gets their ticket punched to the postseason thanks to a strong day for a rejuvenated Bobby Hebert, while Chicago loses a game they could not afford to let slip away, falling to Pittsburgh at home. A big home stretch week of interconference play as the USFL starts to prepare for the postseason. A battle of defensive stalwarts impacted by an early injury as Bobby Hoying’s departure limited offensive options for the Breaker offense. Gus Frerotte had a strong first half, but started to struggle after the Blitz made some halftime adjustments, allowing Baltimore to climb back into the game and eventually win, thanks to 19 unanswered points. The game started with a stunning moment as on the third play of the game Bobby Hoying took a hard hit, got to his feet, walked 2 steps and wobbled to the ground. He would be diagnosed with a concussion and would spend the rest of the game in the locker room with a towel over his head to reduce the light that bothered his eyes. Gus Frerotte, who saw very few snaps in practice, would be called upon to lead the Breakers. He would rely heavily on the run game, with Ricky Williams getting 21 carries on the day, and Eric Pegram adding another 8. Despite the setback, New Orleans would rack up 16 points in the first 22 minutes of the game, first on a short TD pass from Frerotte to Ricky Proehl, and then a short Pegram TD run. A missed PAT meant that the lead was only 13-0, then 16-0 after Lin Elliott hit on a 42-yard field goal. But, all was not well. Baltimore had begun to make adjustments to Frerotte’s style. They would come out at halftime and shift from man to man to a 2-deep zone, forcing Frerotte to hold the ball and force throws into traffic. New Orleans, despite some solid running from Williams, would not score again. Baltimore, however, would begin to chip into the Breaker lead as Jeff Garcia would complete 63% of his passes, including going 17 or 23 in the second half, and Ron Dayne would rack up a solid 64 yards against the tough Breaker Defense. From 16-0, it became 16-3, then 16-6, then Garcia hit Cleeland for a 1-yard TD toss, and it was 16-13. Grammatica would tie up the game with 26 seconds to play, sending the match to extra time, but New Orleans had nothing in the tank. Baltimore would win the game on Grammatica’s longest kick of the day, a 40-yarder, to give the visiting Blitz the win and keep them only 1 game back of Philadelphia. The loss had a huge impact on the Breakers as they now fall into a tie with the Knights atop the Central Division, but lose out to St. Louis on divisional record, with a 6-2 mark to St. Louis’s 5-1 mark. Despite the loss, New Orleans clinches a playoff spot, 3 games up on several 6-7 clubs, but their bid for the league title will now depend on them running the table in their remaining division games or hoping that St. Louis loses one of its last 3 games. OHI 31 TEX 28 When Kerry Collins had to rush home to deal with a death in his family, it meant the Glory would go into their road game at Texas with Koy Detmer under center. The Glory team rallied behind Detmer, with Eddie George rushing for 114 yards and 2 scores as Ohio barely edged the 3-win Outlaws. Joey Galloway came up big as well, catching 5 balls from Detmer for 130 yards, while Texas relied on a reinvigorated Reggie Cobb (17 carries for 127 yards and 3 TDs) in their bid to upset the Glory. WSH 24 MGN 23 A nailbiter in Pontiac as the Federals scored 10 points in the final 5 minutes to upend the Panthers. Zolak got the start in a gametime decision, and hit Herman Moore with 4:42 to play. The defense then did their job, forcing a quick punt and getting Zolak the ball with time to move into field goal position. Doug Pelfrey connected on a 47-yarder and the Federals moved to 9-4. ORL 24 LA 33 In a key game for both clubs, LA got a much-needed win, with Cade McNown throwing for 311 yards and 4 scores to lead the Express. Tory Holt scored twice and caught 5 balls for 124 yards to help LA get the home win over a tough Orlando squad. MEM 38 SEA 23 Seattle stumbled at home against a very tough Memphis squad as Garrison Hearst had a rare 100-yard game (103, to be exact) and Heath Shuler hit on 3 touchdown tosses, two to Joe Horn. Brian Griese could not overcome a rough day for Corey Dillon, tossing two picks and losing a fumble as well. TBY 48 OAK 29 The Bandits feasted on a troubled Oakland defense as Errict Rhett had a career day with 18 carries for 146 yards and 3 scores. The Invaders racked up 24 first downs, thanks largely to a solid day for Siran Stacy (90 yards) and Troy Davis (49 yards), but they could not turn yards into points, whereas Tampa Bay got scores from Rhett, Moss, Drayton and Doering to pull away. ATL 21 POR 13 In another battle of teams at the bottom of the standings, Portland again falls at home. Atlanta got 2 long TD passes from Aaron Brooks to Terrance Mathis (a 54-yarder and a 73-yarder) as the Portland defense gives up several big plays. Napoleon Kauffman rushes for 141 yards against the Fire’s poor rush defense, but they cannot overcome the scores from Mathis, and a late TD from Tiki Barber. BIR 24 ARZ 38 The Stallions are eliminated from the playoff picture as they cannot contain Jake Plummer, who rushes for 3 scores and 85 yards on 12 carries. Dorsey Levins also has a strong day, rushing for 84 yards on 16 carries as Arizona keeps the ball out of Brett Favre’s hands for most of the game. Long TDs to Lawrence Dawsey and Marcus Robinson are fluke plays against a Wrangler defense that plays well on the day, moving Arizona above .500 once again. JAX 10 DEN 18 Rashaan Salaam carries the ball 34 times in a workhorse performance, gaining 124 yards as Denver wins the possession game. Kudos as well to the Gold pass rush, who sack Chris Chandler 5 times and force 2 picks in the Denver win. Marvcus Patton scores a safety as well to help Denver build on their lead and hold on for a tough win. PHI 38 HOU 24 Bobby Hebert has a superb game for the Stars as he throws for 3 scores and leads Philly to a convincing win against the Gamblers. Troy Brown would catch 2 of the scoring tosses, with Bobby Engram nabbing the other. Houston’s Matt Hasselbeck throws 2 picks as the Stars defense holds Houston at arm’s length the entire game. PIT 38 CHI 21 A loss the Machine could not afford as they let one slip past them against a motivated Pittsburgh squad. Charlie Batch had his best game of the year, completing nearly 86% of his throws (18 of 21) and tossing 5 TDs, including 2 each to Terrell Davis and Andre Rison. Davis would also rush for 91 yards on 21 carries as the Maulers come alive against a Machine defense that had been improving. NJ 7 STL 37 Another bad loss for Marty Schottenheimer in New Jersey as the Knights roll over the Generals. Ahman Green torched the New Jersey defense for 176 yards rushing and 3 scores to lead the Knights’ attack. Jeff Lewis struggles for New Jersey, with 3 picks and only 41% of his passes completed. A rough week around the league as 3 starters are now lost for the season. Philly loses a defensive leader in LB George Koonce, after a knee injury was examined and ACL tear was the verdict. The LA Express lose a focal point of their defense as free safety Martin Bayless goes down with a broken wrist, an injury that could even impact his 2001` season. Finally, Texas, who have had their issues with injuries all season long, get another bit of bad news as wideout Eugene Baker is diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon, one of the toughest injuries to return from. Three more injuries of note impacting teams in the playoff hunt. Memphis will be without DT James Von Der Boeck for at least 1 week, perhaps 2, with a groin injury. New Orleans will be without backup HB James Bostic, who suffered a hyper-extended knee in the loss to Baltimore. And, finally, Arizona has listed starting cornerback Kevin Minnifield as “questionable” due to a pinched nerve that impacts his left leg and lower back. All three are expected to be back by the opening week of the playoffs, but will their teams still be alive at that point? A TIMELY RETURN? The Breakers certainly hope that QB Trent Dilfer can return soon, with 3 weeks left in the regular season and the club slipping below St. Louis in the division thanks to back-to-back losses. Dilfer, who was among the league leaders in QBR when he was hit with an MCL tear that has had him sidelined. The Breakers managed to get by thanks to their defense and a solid run game with Ricky Williams, but clubs have begun to wear down the Breakers and with a playoff spot on the line, New Orleans could certainly use their NFL signee back under center. Bobby Hoying has not played poorly, (106.3 Rating, 1188 yards and 10 TDs to 2 Ints), but the offense has simply not been able to pull away, putting more and more pressure on that defense. Of course, we saw a very similar pattern emerge last year when Texas burst out to the division lead only to have St. Louis slowly draw them back into range and take the division in the season’s final week. Looks like the Knights are trying to repeat history, but can Dilfer come in and salvage a possible division title for the upstart Breakers? Will he play this week, or are we looking at Week 15 as the earliest option for him? Is Bobby Hebert a Dark Horse MVP Candidate? Sounds wild, but with Brett Favre on a losing club, and with Philadelphia making a push for a division title, Hebert is getting more and more attention. He may not be leading the league but Hebert is getting results. The 2000 Stars are certainly not the Michigan Panthers of the late 1980’s, and Hebert is no longer the young, athletic gunslinger he was back then, but at least this year we are seeing a lot of what fans loved about Hebert as a Panther. He is playing smarter, keeping himself out of harm’s way, and finding ways to win, despite not throwing for huge numbers each week. If the Stars can capture a division title in a year they were picked to finish last, and if the top defenders do not set league records, we could very well be looking at Hebert as a prime candidate for MVP. FOUR MAN RACE FOR RUSHING TITLE The 2000 season has certainly seen a resurgence for the running back position, with more backs getting more carries, and more backs finding success in the pass-happy USFL. We easily could have 10, maybe 12 backs reach the coveted 1,000 yard mark, and at the head of the class we have 4 potential contenders for the rushing title. In the hunt this year we have 1999 leader, Terrell Davis, Seattle’s long awaited breakout star Corey Dillon, St. Louis workhorse Ahman Green, and Denver’s perennial 1,000-yard man, Rashaan Salaam. Any one of these four could take the title, and honestly Natrone Means in Michigan and Tampa’s Errict Rhett could even find themselves in the conversation before the year is out. What is interesting is that all 4 of the frontrunners are solid inside runners, not just guys who swing out wide to rack up yards on screens and sweeps. Green is the lightest of the 4 heavy hitters, but all 4 are capable of trucking over a defender when called upon. Davis and Dillon in particular are “lower the pads” rushers, with Green and Salaam being a bit more juke, spin, and slash runners. With 3 games left to play, the title really could belong to any of the 4 (maybe 6) contenders, and with Seattle and Denver likely vying for a division title all the way through Week 16, there is little chance that Dillon or Salaam will be rested in Week 17, so this could truly be a nail biter for the title. WHO IS FRED WEARY? When you look atop the defensive league leader stats you see a lot of well-known names, and one oddball. In tackles you have mainstay linebackers like DuBose, Thomas, and Mitchell. Among Sack Leaders we see Phil Hansen, Chris Doleman, and Kavika Pittman, none of whom are a surprise. But when we look at the league’s interception leaders, we have to do some quick research to learn about Fred Weary, the league leader with 7 picks. Sure, Charles Woodson of Washington is right there as well, but Weary, who plays for the Memphis Showboats if you were wondering, is atop the leaderboard well into the season. So who is the ball hawking corner? Fred Weary is a Florida-born, Florida-bred cornerback. He was a late round pick of the Showboats in 1998, and has largely been sitting on the bench for 2 seasons before getting called up to be a starter for the Boats this year. He had won a title with the Gators at UF, and he did earn All-American honors as a senior, so we should not be totally surprised that he has some talent, and maybe it just took time to develop, or for Coach Mora to trust him with a starting gig, but regardless of the reason, Weary has certainly arrived this year, and that is making believers out of the Memphis faithful. The thing is, as an unknown quantity, teams have been throwing at Weary, something they try to avoid when facing someone like Washington’s Charles Woodson or Birmingham’s NFL import, Deion Sanders. So Weary is getting opportunities to show what he can do in coverage, especially Memphis’s man coverage scheme, and he is proving that a throw to his side of the field is a risky proposition. Philadelphia, St. Louis and New Orleans punch their tickets to the postseason, joining Denver and Seattle in the dance. Five spaces taken, five yet to be decided, but we also saw some position shifting this week as the Knights are doing it again. They have won 4 in a row, and with New Orleans dropping their second in a row, it is now St. Louis that is atop the Central Division with 3 weeks left to play. Denver also took advantage of the Seattle loss to take a 1 game lead in the Pacific. Philadelphia got their third straight win to take a 1 game lead in the Atlantic, with Baltimore rising quickly thanks to 4 consecutive wins. We have 4 clubs at 9-4 in the East, with Orlando and Memphis vying for a bye and a division title, while Washington and Baltimore are hoping to catch up with the Stars. Ohio has the 6th slot at 8-5, with Jacksonville 1 game back and Tampa 2 back. Out West, Arizona and Michigan have the final two spots, with the Wranglers 1 game up, while Michigan, at 6-7 holds tiebreakers over LA and Chicago, all three a game under .500. Those are basically all the teams that are still alive, with Houston, Texas, and Birmingham now eliminated from playoff contention. Oakland, at 4-9 is still mathematically alive, but the odds are heavily stacked against them to overtake all 3 clubs at 6-7. A lot of stadium news to discuss, with good news as the USFL continues to work with local partners and the NFL on stadium projects, and some bad news as well. Starting off, a reminder that in either 2001 or 2002 three USFL clubs are expected to relocated to new shared NFL-USFL stadiums. Pittsburgh’s newly named Heinz Field will be home to both the Maulers and the Steelers, with the Maulers making the jump to the new facility for Spring 2002. In Houston, the Gamblers get first crack at the new stadium, opening in March for the USFL season, while the Denver Gold will spend 2001 playing up the road in Boulder at the University of Colorado before moving into a new Mile High Stadium, still seeking a corporate sponsor for naming rights, to be completed in time for the 2001 Broncos fall season. News of another 2002 move as the Michigan Panthers have announced a deal with the Detroit Lions and the City of Detroit to relocate from the Pontiac Silverdome to the new Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Seattle may be close to a similar deal with the new CenturyLink Stadium, set to open in Fall of 2002, so the 2002 season may be the last for the Dragons at Husky Stadium. Details and final approval on that deal are still pending, but look promising. In Philadelphia, the buzz is about a new stadium downtown that will be home to the Eagles and Stars and should be completed in Fall of 2003, with the Stars calling it home for the 2004 season. The construction timeline may require the Stars to relocate to Franklin Field in 2003, although that has not yet been confirmed. The City of Chicago hopes to have renovations completed on Soldier Field in time for the 2003 USFL season, with both the Machine and the Bears contributing to the expenditure. Initial designs call for a somewhat futuristic structure to be built within the skeleton of the venerable stonework frame of the current stadium. The news is not so good in Memphis, where voters rejected a $150 million bond initiative to renovate the Liberty Bowl. One of the older stadiums in the league, the Liberty Bowl plan called for expanded endzone seating as well as addition of 20 luxury suites. The measure fell by a 52-47 vote, leaving the future of the Showboat’s stadium situation in some doubt and prompting concerns that Memphis could be a team targeted by investment groups from other cities, particularly Nashville, for relocation. In Jacksonville, a bond vote similar to the Memphis vote, is on the ballot for the fall, and could lead to a complete demolition and redesign of the Gator Bowl. The USFL has promised the city a Summer Bowl between 2005-2009 if a new stadium is approved, and the University of Florida has even agreed to host 1 showcase game per year in the stadium if constructed. Early polling has the measure likely to pass as the city and county embrace their USFL franchise like few markets do. Orlando has recently renewed their stadium deal with the Citrus Bowl, and will share the venue with the University of Central Florida for at least the next 10 years according to sources within the team. The new deal will list the Renegades as the primary tenant from January through August, with UCF taking on primary position from September through December, an early sticking point in negotiations that seems to have been worked out. Finally, a grass roots initiative in Portland to build a new stadium seems to be struggling to get support. Local organizers are using the threat of Phil Knight’s anticipated sale of his minority shares, and potential majority sale of the Thunder to an external buyer as a tactic to drum up local support for a new stadium, but the movement seems to be struggling to gain ground with local politicians and residents, many of whom see the expense of a new stadium as unwelcome, particularly for a club whose ownership includes some of the wealthiest residents of the state. Should Thunder fans be nervous that their 34,000 seat stadium and lack of local support for a new facility could cost them their club altogether? It seems reasonable for these fears to develop as Portland joins Memphis and perhaps St. Louis as teams with considerable stadium hurdles and ownership groups likely to be open to conversations about sale and relocation. Week 14 could be decisive for some clubs on the fringe of the playoff. We have divisional games in the Eastern Conference and inter-divisional play in the West. In the Atlantic, the big game is Washington at Ohio, with both clubs hoping to clinch a spot with a win and some losses in the South. Philadelphia is in New Jersey with the Generals hoping to play spoilers against their rivals. Pittsburgh is in Baltimore, where the Blitz are hoping they can still make a run at the division crown. In the South, Jacksonville and Orlando clash in the Citrus Bowl, with the Bulls very much needing a win to stave off the Bandits and hoping Ohio stumbles, as right now both the Bulls and Bandits are out of the playoff picture. Tampa Bay hosts Birmingham, who were eliminated this week. Can they avoid an upset and get back to .500? Memphis hosts Atlanta, which won the “Draft Bowl” against Portland this week, and by doing so, assured that they are not getting the #1 pick for a second straight year. A great game in Denver this week, though likely a low-scoring one as the Knights and Gold clash at Mile High. Both clubs sport top 5 defenses and both want this win to help secure their divisional leads. Meanwhile, New Orleans, losers of 2 straight, are in Arizona, where the inconsistent Wranglers need to show they are gearing up for playoff football. LA hopes they stumble as the Express sit a game back at 6-7 and are at home against 3-win Texas. Also at 6-7 we find the Chicago Machine, facing off against Oakland this week by the bay, and Michigan, who have a very tough game at Seattle on Saturday. Finally, in what looks like another “Draft Bowl” the 3-10 Houston Gamblers visit Portland to face the 1-win Thunder as rumors of Coach Roy Willsey’s possible resignation in the air.

Playoff Picture: Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis, and New Orleans have clinched playoff spots. Portland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Houston, Texas, Oakland, and Birmingham have been eliminated from contention.

Playoff Picture: Denver and Seattle have clinched playoff spots. Portland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, and New Jersey are eliminated from playoff contention.

So, what did week 12 bring us? Well, Philadelphia again asserted their claim on the Atlantic by knocking off Washington as Coach Hackett opted not to play Kordell Stewart after all. Baltimore got back in the mix by upending Ohio. Memphis stumbled as Birmingham pulled themselves away from the pit of playoff elimination with a home win, Jacksonville broke their 3-game losing streak with a statement win against the Bandits, and Orlando took care of business, shutting down and shutting out the Fire in Atlanta. In the Western Conference we saw Chicago return to .500 and playoff relevance with a win in Houston. St. Louis needed 19 points in the final quarter to edge past a game Texas Outlaw Squad, and New Orleans was snakebit at home, falling to a feisty Michigan Panther squad. Finally, in the Pacific, Denver used home field advantage and a stifling defense to shut down the Wranglers, Oakland upset the Express and put a huge crimp in their playoff plans, and the Portland Thunder, well, yes, lost again, this time in Seattle as the Dragons clinched a playoff spot with a win. Let’s run through it all, starting with our game of the week, a surprising uprising in Oakland. As surprising as the sudden rise of the LA Express was last season, their decline this year has been equally perplexing. The loss this week to Oakland drops them to 5-7 and very likely out of any playoff contention, though mathematically they are still in the mix. The explosive offense and solid, aggressive defense that had propelled them to a division title in 1999 have simply not been as effective or as consistent this year. This week’s game against arch rival Oakland proved that. The Express converted only 2 of 11 third down opportunities against a defense that has been unable to get off the field all season, while the LA defense allowed Oakland to convert 8 of 17 similar chances, a stat that led to a lopsided time of possession advantage for the Invaders. The Express held the lead at three different times in this game yet could not keep Oakland off the board and needed a last minute Doug Brien field goal to send the game to overtime, but that was not enough. They got 166 combined rushing yards and 2 TDs from Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman, but that too was not enough. A big part of the problem was lack of consistency from last year’s Rookie of the Year, QB Cade McNown, who completed 11 of 19 passes, but missed on too many key downs. When your leading receiver for the game has only 3 receptions for 59 yards, you are going to have trouble winning. It also does not help when the opposing QB, in this case Ryan Leaf, completes 20 of 36 and throws 3 scoring passes. Leaf found Ed McCaffrey twice for scores, Marty Booker once, and also completed 6 throws for 108 yards to rookie Plaxico Burress. But it was not an all-out aerial assault for the Invaders, they too found success on the ground, with Troy Davis and Siran Stacy combining for 33 carreis and 134 yards. It also helped that the defense found its way through, around, and over the LA offensive line, to the tune of 6 sacks of McNown. Pressure definitely made it a long day for the former UCLA signal caller, but so did unforced errors. Eight penalties did not help the Express cause. And so, with the loss, the Express find themselves in 8th position after 12 weeks, a game behind the battle of Michigan, Chicago, and Arizona for the final Wild Card spot. And for their part, Oakland, after a horrendous 1-6 start, have won 3 of their last 5, including high scoring wins over Baltimore and Michigan, and a solid performance this week vs. LA. At 4-8 we don’t see the Invaders making a late playoff run, but it is good to see that the team is beginning to improve under Coach Capers, on both sides of the ball. ARZ 13 DEN 26 Arizona’s up and down season again finds them at .500, though a loss at Denver is hardly unexpected. The Gold have been one of the most consistent clubs all season. Rashaan Salaam’s 97 yards rushing helped overcome a rough day for Mark Brunell (2 picks and only 185 yards passing), while the defense tormented Jake Plummer all game (4 sacks, 3 picks). Craig Whelihan was also forced into action in the final period when Plummer went out of the game after failing to opt for a slide at the end of a run and taking a big hit from Marvcus Patton. With the win, Denver’s 10th, they lock up a playoff berth. POR 16 SEA 27 Seattle too punched their ticket to the postseason with a home victory. It will be the Dragons’ first franchise trip to the playoffs and they are still knotted up with Denver in the battle for the Pacific title. Timm Rosenbach saw his first action for Portland as Rick Mirer had to leave the game early. He would only complete 8 of 15 throws as Portland tried to grind the game out on the ground. Gio Carmazzi would throw for 3 scores and complete 24 of 31 as he makes his claim to be the starter even after Brian Griese is able to return from injury. That decision will have to come soon as Griese is getting close to clearing the medical requirements for a return. MGN 31 NOR 28 A huge win for the Panthers as they get back to .500 and knock off the division leading Breakers in New Orleans. Chris Canty’s pick six of Breaker backup Bobby Hoying was the key play that gave the Panthers a 31-13 lead early in the 4th. New Orleans battled back, but it was too little too late as the Panthers took advantage of Ricky Williams’s absence and focused on shutting down Hoying to earn a much-needed divisional win. CHI 13 HOU 3 Chicago also returned to .500 and the Wild Card chase with a divisional win, this time against the offensively challenged Houston Gamblers. Both teams struggled to score, but Chicago also slowed down the game by relying heavily on their 2-back offense. Ricky Watters got stronger as the game progressed, turning 50 yards at the half into 134 by the game’s conclusion. He also scored the only 2 touchdowns of the game as Chicago did not allow Houston any room to breathe. STL 24 TEX 21 The Knights also got an important win, moving within 1 game of New Orleans thanks to a comeback from a 21-5 deficit in the final period. St. Louis got TDs from Kez McCorvey and Reggie Kelley in the final period, converted two 2-point conversions, and got the winning kick from Ryan Longwell with 23 seconds to play to upend the feisty Texas Outlaws and move to 8-4 on the year. Last year St. Louis overcame the Outlaws to claim the division title on the season’s final week. This year it looks like they are going to try the same with New Orleans. OHI 14 BAL 24 A big win for the Blitz, a tough loss for the Glory as Balitmore gets the only points of the 4th quarter to pull past the Glory on a hot, humid day in Baltimore. Ron Dayne had one of his best games of the year, rushing for 110 and 2 scores as he wore down the Glory defense. Add in 227 yards passing from Jeff Garcia and a defense that sacked Kerry Collins 6 times and you have a Blitz victory at home. WSH 21 PHI 30 Philadelphia took over the driver’s seat in the race for the Atlantic Division title with a huge win over Washington at Veterans Stadium. Despite getting only 33 yards rushing from Stephen Davis, Philadelphia fond ways to score on the Feds, thanks in large part to 330 yards and 4 TD passes from veteran QB Bobby Hebert. Scott Zolak struggled against the Philadelphia zone defense in what should be his last start before Kordell Stewart returns, and Washington now finds themselves tied for second with arch rival Baltimore. NJ 26 PIT 24 In the battle of disappointing squads this year, New Jersey eked out a win against the Maulers, a win that most likely delayed the firing of Coach Marty Schottenheimer by another week. Rumors of Marty’s departure even before the season concluded have been running rampant in local media, and even this win may not keep away the wolves at the door for long. MEM 24 BIR 28 The Stallions continue to fight in what seemed a lost season, this time dealing a major blow to the Showboats’ division title hopes. Brett Favre connected with Lawrence Dawsey for 2 scores and Marcus Robinson for the decisive third score, the only TD of the final period, as the Stallions upend the Showboats in front of a raucous Legion Field crowd. TBY 21 JAX 41 The Bulls needed to show up big in this one after 3 straight losses moved them from 1st place to a non-playoff position, and boy did they. Chris Chandler threw for 3 TDs and the combo of Irvin and Bynum combine for 151 yards rushing as the Bulls manhandled the Bandits in front of an appreciative home crowd. Four Bandit turnovers, all fumbles, proved the downfall for Tampa Bay as it just seemed like every time they got something going, someone would cough the ball up. With the win the Bulls edge Ohio and find themselves in the 6th position with 4 games left to play. ORL 17 ATL 0 Atlanta looked completely spent as the Orlando Renegades shut them out and shut them down. Aaron Brooks completed only 18 of 42 pass attempts and Tiki Barber was held to only 42 yards as the Orlando defense owned the day. Craig Ericson got some snaps as an ankle concern for Scott Mitchell led Coach O’Leary to take him out with the game still in the 3rd quarter but the Renegades very much in control. As the season reaches its final weeks, the one thing no playoff contender wants to see are key injuries that will cost them important players. Of course, no team wants to see injuries, but for some losing a key player at this time of the season can alter the entire trajectory of a team. For Chicago, hoping to climb back into the playoff field, losing WR Curtis Conway could be a big blow. The former NFL wideout suffered an abdominal tear, a nasty injury to recover from, and was placed on IR this week. Chicago did not have a very dynamic or a very deep receiving corps, so losing Conway could really be a big blow. Arizona also lost a top receiver, though there is hope that Carl Pickens, and his ankle, will be back for the season closer in Week 16. His absence puts more pressure on Rocket Ismail to continue to be the focal point of the Wrangler passing game. In Orlando the news about Scott Mitchell’s foot is better than first thought. Mitchell had to be assisted off the field on Sunday, but x-rays came back negative for any breaks, prompting Orlando to list him as Doubtful for this week, but that makes it very likely that he could be back by Week 14 or 15 at the latest. In St. Louis, another receiver, the irreplaceable Bert Emmanuel, is listed as Questionable for this week’s game and could be a game time decision as he deals with a hip pointer. Others who may be out this week include Texas LB Dhani Jones (placed on IR), Birmingham DE Mike Rucker (1-2 weeks with broken finger), Portland DE Clyde Simmons (1-2 weeks with knee issue), and Texas WR Jeff Query (Doubtful with elbow injury). DENVER & SEATTLE CLINCH BUT BATTLE ENDURES In what looks like a battle that will come to a head in the seasons’ final week, the Denver Gold and Seattle Dragons both clinch a playoff spot but are also knotted up atop the Pacific Division. The two face off in Seattle on the final week of the year, and from the look of things that game will determine who gets the top seed in the Western Conference, home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and a much desired bye week. On paper these two clubs actually look very similar, Seattle and Denver differ by only 10 points (307 to 297) in points scored, and only 17 (217 to 201) in points allowed. Both have Top 10 defenses against the pass, with Seattle having the edge against the run. Seattle leads the league in rushing with 1,620 yards, mostly thanks to Corey Dillon’s breakout season, but Denver is right behind, 3rd in the league with 1,472 yards, most of theirs from Rashaan Salaam. In fact, you might say that Coach Tiller in Seattle has built a club very much using the model of Denver, solid defense, strong run game, QB play designed first and foremost to protect the ball. It is surprising, considering the reputation that Tiller brought with him from the college game for wide open offenses, but this formula has certainly worked this year, a year which has seen Seattle have to adapt from Brian Griese to rookie Gio Carmazzi at QB. Both clubs are certain of a playoff berth this year, but keep your eyes out for that Week 16 game, it should be an epic battle with a lot on the line. TEAMS ON LIFE SUPPORT On the other end of the playoff spectrum we are seeing several teams who are on playoff life support. Ohio has all but played themselves out of a shot, and certainly out of any chance for a division title, with three straight losses. Admittedly, losing to Memphis, Seattle, and Baltimore is not really that shocking, but with 2 of those 3 games at home, a team with playoff aspirations has to do better. The Glory face only one more team with a winning record in their final 4, so they could rally, but right now they are on the outside looking up at the top 6 positions. Tampa Bay is another club that is on the outside looking in. The Bandits are now 2 games outside of the 6th place slot, with only 4 to play. Back to back losses to New Orleans and Jacksonville have them at 5-7, but they too have a favorable schedule, with Oakland, Birmingham, and Atlanta still to play. That game in week 14 against the Stallions will all but certainly eliminate one of the two Southern squads from contention. Yes, Birmingham is in contention. We know it has not felt like it for most of the season, but at 5-7, tied with Tampa Bay, the Stallions could get lucky and find themselves positioned well for a late run. Their schedule is not the easiest, with back to back trips to Arizona and Tampa up next, and they likely need to run the table and go 4-0 over the final month of the season to have any shot, but it is feasible. As we said, the Tampa Bay game will be vital, as will a week 16 clash at home against the Bulls. Out West, we have a 3-way tie at 6-6, with only 2 of the 3 able to earn Wild Card slots. Michigan and Chicago currently occupy those 2 spots, with Arizona on the outs due to tiebreakers. LA at 5-7 is still also in this mix, but they need to get a lot of help to move up in the standings. Michigan’s path may be the hardest as their next 3 games are home against the Federals, at Seattle, and then home to St. Louis. If they can win 2 of those 3, a tough challenge, they may be in good shape with a Week 16 game against Texas. Chicago’s path to the playoffs is somewhat easier, with their next two games against 2-10 Pittsburgh and 4-8 Oakland before a tougher final 2 against the Breakers and the Knights. They too think 3 of 4 is the key to a playoff spot. For Arizona, 3 of the 4 games are against team with losing records, starting with Birmingham at home this week, then a tough one against New Orleans before finishing with Portland and Oakland. Winning 3 of 4 also looks very good for them. Finally, LA, looking at a schedule that includes Orlando and Seattle, may need to win all 4 to jump over the three 6-6 clubs. Even games against Portland and Texas may not be enough if they cannot upset the Renegades and Dragons, though both games are in LA. AWARD ODDS Is this the year for a defender to take some of the league’s top awards? It very well may be. When we look at the MVP race, there is no clear frontrunner, and some of the top potential vote getters on offense are likely to be on non-playoff teams, so will that cost them votes? Jake Plummer has had an amazing season, mostly thanks to his rushing stats, but the Wranglers are only 6-6 and could easily miss the post-season. Brett Favre is on a 5-7 Birmingham squad. Heath Shuler has not had the kind of season likely to make him an MVP repeat winner, and Scott Mitchell, who has played very well, is outshone by a defender on his own club, DE Chris Doleman. Doleman could very well win MVP this year if Orlando can hold on to win the South. His 17 sacks lead the league, and he has been a terror all around, producing 4 forced fumbles as well. Another potential MVP could be Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, who trails Doleman by 3 sacks, but is equally strong against the run and is a big reason why Denver is 10-2. When we look at Rookie of the Year, the argument is likely to come down to a battle between HB Ron Dayne of Baltimore and DE John Abraham of Seattle. Both are worthy of recognition, with Dayne closing in on 1,000 yards, while Abraham, with 14 sacks, is only 3 behind Doleman for the league title. If it is even, the tie almost always goes to the offensive player, but this year, with Seattle challenging Denver out west, and Dayne easily trailing several other halfbacks, this may be the year for a defender to get the nod, much as Phil Hansen did in his outstanding rookie year. With 4 games left, if Abraham can squeak out 6 sacks to reach 20, we think the title will be his, but fall short of that and Dayne could get the nod. We have our first locked in playoff spots as both the Denver Gold and Seattle Dragons, both 10-2, have clinched a spot in the postseason. Of course, with both in the same division, the battle for the division title, and its very sought-after bye week, could last all the way until a Week 16 clash. Both teams hope to run the table and lock up a week of rest and home field throughout the playoffs. New Orleans is at least a week away from locking up a spot but hold a 3-game lead over the team in 17th place, with only 4 left to play. A win this week could wrap it up. In the Eastern Conference it is a bit more muddled, with 5 teams sporting either 9 or 8 wins and one 7-win club on the outside looking in. Right now the club in that most hated 7th position is Ohio, but, as we have seen recently, standings can change quickly as tiebreakers are influenced by every win or loss, even in games pitting non-playoff teams. This week Orlando has its turn at #1, with Philly in 2nd, and Baltimore, Memphis, and Washington a game behind. But each week there has been movement on the standings, and we expect some of the key aspects of the playoff hunt, particularly seeding to last the rest of the regular season. Right now, only 3 teams are truly mathematically eliminated, Portland, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. New Jersey is about as close to elimination as a team can get and yet still have a mathematically viable path to a playoff spot. Houston and Texas are close behind. Losses this week by any of these three would likely spell elimination in next week’s calculations. As we anticipated, after the league owners moved to table any expansion talk until 2005 at the earliest, we have started to receive reports of ownership groups, hoping to obtain a USFL franchise, reaching out to various USFL owners to explore the possibility of sale and relocation. This is something the league was hoping to avoid, certainly during the season itself, but also in general, as this kind of disruption can affect not only league integrity, but the day to day functioning of a franchise, and can be death to ticket sales. If a fanbase starts to become concerned that their franchise may be seeking greener pastures, it is easy to tune the team out and certainly spend less on their fandom. So far we have heard from representatives of the franchises in Oakland, Portland, St. Louis, Memphis, and Texas, reporting that they have been approached by a variety of bidders and potential investors who are hoping that the topic of sale and relocation is on the table. The case of the Texas Outlaws is an interesting one. This is a team with a pretty solid fanbase in San Antonio, a good contract with the Alamo Dome and no direct competition for football dollars, with no NFL franchise or major college program in the city. And yet, they seem to be the target of a pretty well-heeled ownership group based out of Dallas and hoping to bring a team to “Big D”. The good news, if there is good news for the folks in San Antonio, is that this group is not affiliated with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, they seem to be pitching SMU’s Gerald Ford Stadium as a potential Dallas venue for a relocated Outlaws squad. The group interested in the Outlaws is led by Michael Dell. Dell is the owner and Chairman of the computer company that bears his name and leads a well-financed group, but the Outlaws are not exactly a team screaming for greater revenue or a change of venue. Despite some rough seasons, the Outlaws draw well and have a solid fanbase. Dallas, long dominated by the NFL Cowboys, seems a city that does not have a deep pool of disaffected football fans crying out for an alternative. The move to bring a USFL team to the city seems more an ego grab by Dell and his minority owners than a proposal fully backed by the city or any potential fanbase in the city. The same is not true in Boston, where an ownership group led by John W. Henry and Les Otten. Henry, a high-end financial manager, has already gotten involved with minor league baseball, the NBA (Orlando Magic) and has made noise about potentially making a bid on the Boston Red Sox. Otten is most known as one of the movers and shakers in the skiing industry nationwide, owning several of the top ski resorts across the Northeast as well as in the Rockies. Another well-financed group, the big issue for the Boston area is stadium access. This group, like others before it, have been unable to make headway on landing a deal with either Foxboro Stadium or the new Gillette Stadium (planned completion in 2002). Without that modern suburban stadium, a Boston ownership group has to work with the somewhat intransigent officials at Boston College or Harvard. We all know the issues that the Boston Breakers had, first resigned to playing in tiny Nickerson Field at Boston U., and then a very poor deal to play at Harvard Stadium, before relocating to New Orleans. While a Boston ownership group has reached out to the Portland Thunder, St. Louis Knights and Memphis Showboats, and a sale could be beneficial for the ownership of those three franchises, USFL leadership would certainly not approve a sale without a strong stadium deal in place, and we just don’t see that happening unless Robert Kraft, owner of the new Foxboro-placed Gillette Stadium changes his strong anti-USFL stance. Finally, we have a new player in the game, one who has also reached out to several franchises, including, oddly enough, Orlando, who do not seem in any position to abandon a good deal in Central Florida. An ownership group led by Cal Turner (Chairman of Dollar General) and Ray Danner (Former head of the Shoney’s restaurant chain), have an agreement for a potential spring football lease of the newly constructed Adelphia Stadium, home to the NFL Tennessee Copperheads. That is certainly a good start if a sale were proposed. The issue we see with Nashville is the immediate complaints from 3 USFL franchises, Memphis, Birmingham, and Atlanta. Adding a 4th franchise to the region seems a challenge, and one that would almost certainly damage the value of the Memphis Showboats in particular. Atlanta has done themselves no favors in building a fanbase by having a perennial loser in the city, but is a large enough market that a Nashville franchise may not be a major hinderance. Birmingham has the opposite situation, a smaller market but one with a rabid fanbase that is fully committed to the Stallions. But Memphis, a city that has major financial issues, and which is losing the race to be Tennessee’s flagship city to Nashville, would almost certainly suffer if a franchise were to locate in Nashville. Of course, Memphis is one of the franchises being wooed by the Turner-Danner ownership group, along with St. Louis and Orlando. Were the Showboats to be sold and relocated to Nashville, it would not be an additional southern team, and that might make the sale more palatable for all owners, but particularly those in Atlanta and Birmingham. That said, the owners of the Showboats, despite their concerns about the long-term viability of the Liberty Bowl Stadium, have a lot of reasons to retain the Showboats. They have a strong revenue stream, a rabid fanbase of their own, success on the field, and enough corporate presence in the region to sell the few luxury boxes available at the Liberty Bowl. So the question becomes one of priorities. Can Turner and Danner produce an offer that is so enticing to Memphis ownership that they would give up their nearly 20-year relationship with the city and its fans. That may be the key to whether or not the Showboats remain a staple of Memphis sports culture or whether Nashville, already a player in the NFL, gets a second team. Week 13 brings us to the final quarter of the season, and so much on the line as the first playoff spots have been claimed, with 10 more slots yet to be decided, and, of course byes, division titles, home field, a lot of cherished playoff advantages still out there to be won. We are in interconference play this week, the last pure interconference week of the season. The Eastern clubs travel to the middle of the country to face Central Division foes while the Southern Division is out on the Pacific Coast. One of the most intriguing matchups pits two defensive stalwarts against each other as the Baltimore Blitz head down to New Orleans to face the Breakers. A win could clinch a playoff spot for New Orleans, something very few saw in their future this past offseason. In another big matchup Michigan, sitting on the cusp at 6-6 is hosting Washington in what we now know will be Kordell Stewart’s return to action. In several other games we have teams looking to play spoiler as New Jersey is in St. Louis, Ohio visits Texas, Pittsburgh is in Chicago, and Philadelphia heads down to Houston. In the Southern-Pacific clashes, the ones to watch are Jacksonville, fresh off a much-needed win, heading to Denver to face the Gold and the attitude, and 8-4 Memphis heading to the Pacific Northwest to face the 10-2 Seattle Dragons, who clinched their first playoff appearance ever this past week. LA hosts Orlando at Farmers Insurance Field, and they absolutely must win if they have any hope of a repeat playoff appearance. Tampa Bay and Oakland also face off in a game that is vital for Tampa Bay if they too want to make the postseason. In Arizona, the Wranglers sit at .500 but 5-7 Birmingham has been coming on, so this is a tough one for the home team. Finally, we have 2-10 Atlanta visiting 1-11 Portland in a game that could well determine who has the top pick in next year’s draft. Should we just call this one the Michael Vick Bowl?

Playoff Picture: No team has clinched a berth yet, however, Portland, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh are mathematically eliminated from contention for a spot.

Big wins for the Stars, Dragons and Machine highlight a week of action and a cluster of clubs at the top of each conference. We also got a tough upset as Houston shocked the Jacksonville Bulls, their third loss in a row after such a strong start. We also got another ridiculous game from Jake Plummer, the Offensive POTW after Pittsburgh simply could not replicate the success Portland found in containing the Wrangler QB. Another strong game for Jeff Garcia as Baltimore wins again, and Tiki Barber comes close to helping Atlanta pull of a major upset but falls just short. Let’s get to it with that game, as the Fire prove they are still playing hard, putting a real scare into the St. Louis Knights. A game that most expected to be a lopsided affair actually turned out to be a fun watch as Atlanta put a scare into the St. Louis Knights. Tiki Barber returned to All-USFL form and the Fire defense, led by NFL veteran Bruce Smith, proved a challenge to the Knights, at least through the first half. And this was a game of halves, with Atlanta building a 21-7 lead in the first and St. Louis slowly grinding their way out of the hole in the second. Atlanta took a note from Arizona, allowing Aaron Brooks to run a bit, and on their first drive he did just that, scoring on a 6-yard scramble when no receivers were open. After a solid defensive stand on the Knights’ first drive, Atlanta scored again, this time Tiki Barber capping off a drive in which he carried the ball 6 times with a 1-yard TD run to put Atlanta up 14-0. St. Louis would get a score back on an Ahman Green run to pull back within 7, but when the half ended, Atlanta had put up a third score, a Brooks t o James Whalen 9-yard TD toss. Atlanta seemed to have something cooking, but would need to hold onto the intensity of the first half as the game resumed in the second, a task that proved quite difficult. The Knights moved the ball well on their first drive of the half, with Todd Collins finding Amani Toomer on a key 3rd and 7 to keep the drive alive. It would end with a Knights fieldgoal, but points are points and these pulled them within 2 scores. 5 minutes later, after Atlanta failed to convert a 4th and 1 on the St. Louis 40, St. Louis put the ball up and got back to within 3 points as Todd Collins found TE Reggie Kelly wide open on a blown coverage. The turnover on downs, combined with the quick score seemed to enliven the Knights, who had seemed sluggish all game in the Atlanta heat & humidity. Atlanta was fading, and while their defense played well, they eventually tired and on St. Louis’s 3rd drive in the final period, they got what they needed, Atlanta mistakes that provided 2nd chances and an eventual score. Twice on the drive, Atlanta bailed St. Louis out of a whole, once with a defensive holding call that nullified a good 3rd down play, and again when an offsides penalty immediately offset the 5-yard false start penalty one play earlier. St. Louis took the gifts and when Ahman Green burst through the line on a 2nd and goal, the Knights had their first lead of the day, a lead that would hold for the game’s final 3 minutes, giving St. Louis a much-needed win, and once again disappointing the Fire faithful. DEN 14 PHI 31 An offensive explosion from the Stars as Bobby Hebert goes 21 of 24 and throws for 3 scores. Stephen Davis also rushes for 116 and 5.0 YPC as the Stars just simply had Denver’s number all day. Rashaan Salam gained 119 on 15 carries, but with Denver converting only 3 of 11 third downs, they simply could not keep pace and fall for only the 2nd time all year. SEA 35 OHI 13 Seattle takes advantage of Denver’s slip to even their record with the Gold by dominating the Ohio Glory. Seattle built up a 28-0 lead by the 12 minute mark of the 2nd quarter and never looked back. All 3 Seattle backs, Dillon (83 yards), Loville (36) and Joe Montgomery (45) got carries as the Dragons played keepaway for the better part of 3 quarters. NOR 24 TBY 10 New Orleans also caught up to Denver in their hunt for a top seed, shutting down the Bandits offense by holding Errict Rhett to 2.9 yards per carry. With Ricky Williams out, New Orleans used a rotating HB corps to carry the ball, with Erric Pegram getting 20 carries, while James Bostic carried the ball 26 times in a run-dominated offense that allowed Bobby Hoying to hand the ball off more than he threw it (47 runs to only 25 pass attempts). HOU 24 JAX 13 It is officially panic time in Jacksonville as the Bulls fall at home to the 2-9 Houston Gamblers. Mario Greer was Houston’s secret weapon, rushing for 81 yards on only 11 carries. Jacksonville struggled to run the ball, with Irvin getting only 59 yards on 19 carries. Houston was 0 for 10 on third down, but got enough big plays to upend the favored Bulls. ARZ 36 PIT 24 The Wranglers get back to .500 thanks to another ludicrous rushing game for Jake Plummer. 122 yards on 16 carries, nearly as much as his 181 yards passing. Plummer also added 3 rushing TDs to his totals. He is now over 500 yards rushing on the season, with 10 rushing TDs, numbers some teams would love to get from their halfback, much less their QB. LA 26 NJ 20 The Express struggle to pull away from New Jersey, but get two field goals to break a 20-20 tie in the final period. For New Jersey the hero was Anthony Becht, the rookie TE, who bailed Jeff Lewis out time and again, catching 7 balls for 101 yards. For LA it was Tory Holt and Michael Pritchard, who combined for 194 yards receiving as the Express cling to fading playoff hopes. OAK 10 WSH 26 Ryan Leaf’s 2 picks help Washington pull away from the Invaders at home. Oakland actually limited the Feds to only 63 yards rushing, but Scott Zolak, in what may be his last game before Kordell Stewart returns, survived 6 sacks and still completed 14 of 25 for 188 and 2 scores for Washington. POR 10 BAL 27 Baltimore’s defense held Napoleon Kaufmann to only 9 carries before a tender ankle forced him out. Darius Turner could only average 2.5 yards per carry in relief and Rick Mirer completed only 16 of 33 passes as the Baltimore defense stymied the Thunder all game. Jeff Garcia looked good again, with 3 TD passes and 334 against Portland’s porous D. CHI 17 BIR 14 Chicago’s losing streak ends at 5 as something is seriously wrong in Birmingham. For the Stallions to lose at home, and to only score 14 points, is not a good sign. Lawrence Dawsey looked like a one-man show, catching 6 balls for 121 yards and a score, but he got no help as Chicago held the Stallions to only 2 scoring drives. Two short Duce Staley runs and a late Carney field goal were enough for the Machine to get their 5th win and stay alive in the Wild Card hunt. MGN 17 MEM 33 Memphis limited the Michigan offense and pulled ahead by scoring the final 19 points of the game, including 4 Jeff Hall field goals in the second half. Michigan could not find holes for Natrone Means (only 40 yards rushing), while Memphis got 88 from Garrison Hearst and 3 TDs from Heath Shuler to pick up their 8th win. TEX 13 ORL 27 Scott Mitchell looked solid, completing 15 of 24 and throwing for 3 scores as Orlando managed the Outlaws and won comfortably. Terry Kirby had his first 100-yard game of the year, getting 120 on only 14 carries as he split touches with Moe Williams. No season-ending or long-term injuries this week, which is always good to hear. We have quite a few players between Probable and Doubtful and just a few confirmed to be out for certain. Among those who will miss Week 12 and possibly 13 are Atlanta FB Zach Crockett, Ohio DT Jonathan Brown, and Michigan DT Tony Garbarczyk. Players listed as doubtful include Ricky Williams, who likely misses his 2nd game, WR Rob Moore in Baltimore, Generals’ CB Gene Atkins, and Tampa LB Keith McCants. The biggest potential return this week is that of Washington QB Kordell Stewart though with how well Scott Zolak has played, the Feds feel confident even if Stewart’s return is delayed another week. FEDS QB DECISION We start with the Federals’ QB situation in this week’s rundown. The good news for the Feds is that Stewart is almost certainly back next week, and could play this week if Friday and Saturday’s walkthrough go well. The question is whether or not to start him as long as Scott Zolak is producing wins. The cagey vet has produced 5 straight wins for Washington, and while it is pretty common to give the credit to Washington’s 2nd ranked defense and not the 18th ranked offense, the fact remains that Zolak is not costing the Feds games. Since taking over as the starter after Stewart’s injury in Week 1 of the season, Zolak has led Washington to 7 wins to 4 losses, and his stats, while not All-USFL quality, are not bad at all. Zolak has thrown 17 touchdowns to 9 picks and completed nearly 63% of his passes. We all expect Stewart to be under center as soon as he is at 100%, but having such success with their backup means that the Feds don’t have to rush him, or put him in at 80%. That said, if Washington struggles at Philadelphia, a key divisional game this week, the temptation will be there to see if Kordell can spark the offense. Washington finishes up with Michigan, Ohio, Jacksonville, and New Jersey, and a division title is absolutely the target for the Feds, so the pressure will be there to put the best possible team on the field, and that means getting Kordell Stewart ready to play as soon as the coaching staff and trainers believe he gives the team a better chance to win than Zolak can. BULLS LOSE THE MAGIC It is not just that Jacksonville has lost 3 games in a row, or that they have slipped from first place down to a tenuous third place. It is that two of those losses came against teams they were expected to manage easily, New Jersey and Houston. Their first loss, a 4-point squeeker at Memphis, was not really a shock. The Showboats are the defending league champions, playing in their home stadium, and playing very well after a bit of a shaky opening month. The Bulls played well in that game, but not well enough to win. The next week, losing by 3 to the Generals, was a bit worse. Jacksonville’s defense allowed Jeff Lewis to throw for over 300 yards and 2 scores and Curtis Enis to rush for 98, numbers that have to concern Coach Cunningham. The Bulls lost despite getting a combined 221 yards rushing from Irvin, Bynum and FB Edgar Bennett. They needed a 2-minute drill to score a game-tying TD, and then with under a minute left could not keep New Jersey out of field goal range. That is troubling. And then this week, Houston, a 2-win club, with the game at the Gator Bowl and everything to play for as they worked to stay on pace with Orlando and Memphis, the Bulls came out flat. No other way to explain it. Again the run defense failed them, with the combo of Mario Greer and Kevin Faulk gaining 141 yards and scoring twice. The offense also struggled, with Sedrick Irvin gaining only 59 yards on the ground and Chris Chandler unable to lead the club to any 2nd half points. The Bulls had better figure out where the issues are because it does not get much easier down the stretch. J’ville is again at home this week, but against a dangerous Tampa Bay team on the cusp of Wild Card contention. Then it is a brutal 3 game stretch, at 10-2 Denver, at 9-3 Orlando, and home to 8-4 Washington before finishing with another potentially tough divisional game at Birmingham. We expect that the Bulls need to win 3 of 5 just to have a chance at a Wild Card, and if they have any hope left of winning the division, they will need to run the table, and likely get some help since both Orlando and Memphis are ahead of them. What was a brilliant first half of the season could be turning south quickly for the Bulls. CHICAGO BREAKS OUT OF SLUMP After a long and painful 5 game stretch that saw Chicago winless in over a month, the Chicago Machine have finally found their way back to the win column. The Machine started the season strong, much to the surprise of pundits who predicted a last place finish in the division. The defense was playing well and the Machine rattled off early wins against Philly, Arizona, Houston and Portland, not allowing more than 17 points in any of those games. But Week 6 brought a brutal awakening as another surprise club, the Breakers, manhandled Chicago on their way to a 33-7 win. A loss the next week to St. Louis, one in which the machine gave up 38 points, drove home the concerns that the quick start might be a mirage. The defense continued to struggle through losses to Jacksonville and Denver, though each week they gave up fewer points, 23 to the Bulls, 20 to the Gold, and then last week they barely missed out on a win as they lost 16-13 to the Outlaws. The defense was coming around again, but the offense was still an issue. This week, in their 17-14 victory over Birmingham, the defense came up big, shutting down the usually high-flying Stallion passing game and limiting Shaun Alexander to only 32 yards rushing. The offense, however, still remains a big concern if Chicago is going to make a push for a playoff berth. In this week’s game Duce Staley and Ricky Watters combined for 29 carries, but only managed 58 total rushing yards. Yes, Staley accounted for both Chicago touchdowns, but both were goallline plunges. Jeff George has yet to show us that his arm and his head are in the game. Coach Mornihnweg has the big-armed QB throwing short routes to protect him from a suspect front line and the pass rush that always seems to find him, but that means that the talent George possesses is not being used to its fullest. He is a deep ball thrower, so the constant slants, outs, and hooks is not taking advantage of what he can do. But, that of course is predicated on the immobile QB staying upright, and therein lies Chicago’s main issue. Their line, while occasionally strong for the run game, is just not capable of dealing with 7-step drops and delayed routes. The Machine have a favorable finish to the year, at least for the next 3 weeks. They get Houston this week, then a home game against Pittsburgh and a trip to Oakland. All 3 are winnable games, which would put the Machine at 8-6. But then they face those two divisional opponents who ripped their D apart, first the Breakers at Soldier Field in Week 15 and then the Knights in St. Louis in Week 18. They will need to win one of those two games to reach 9-7, which looks like a bare minimum to reach the postseason in the Eastern Conference. So while the club has to be happy that they broke the streak and are back at .500, the road ahead is a tough one. ARIZONA YO YO SEASON CONCERNING We finish our round up of teams looking to make a push with the Arizona Wranglers. Two years ago they surprised everyone with a deep playoff run, and that made many of us predict great things for the Wranglers, but last year they slipped a bit and the unforeseen rise of the LA Express meant that they simply were not in contention. This year they have been the model of inconsistent play. Over the past 7 weeks they have alternated wins and losses, never getting 2 solid results back to back. A week after losing to the Portland Thunder, a shocking upset and a humiliating result for the Wranglers, they came back this week with a solid 12-point win in Pittsburgh. They sit at 6-5, and have some winnable games ahead of them (Birmingham at home in Week 13, Portland again in Week 15, and a visit to Oakland in Week 16), but they also have to face Denver this week, in Denver, a tough game for sure. They also face the New Orleans Breakers in Week 14. So, are the Wranglers destined to an 8-8 season? The answer almost certainly lies with the offense. The team’s defense is pretty solid, 7th in yards allowed, and one of the better pass defenses, though the loss of Winfred Tubbs to injury is a concern. The issue, as it seems we say each year, is the rushing offense. Yes, Arizona ranks 15th of 24 clubs, which is not horrible, but if we remove Jake Plummer’s 521 yards, they drop to a clear dead last in the league. Dorsey Levins, at 415 yards, is the leading back, but we have to remember that most of those yards came when he was playing in Houston, not as a Wrangler. Tim Lester has only 294, Leeland MacElroy, the offseason acquisition from New Jersey, has 204. This is not good for a club that has playoff aspirations. When the Wranglers win, it is often because Plummer makes plays with his legs. In the weeks where the shadow defender strategy works, as it did for Portland, the Wranglers struggle. Even against Portland, when Jake Plummer had great success in the air (336 yards passing), the lack of a run game led to a Wrangler defeat. The weirdest part of this tendency for the Wranglers is that their head coach, Art Shell, is a former All-Pro NFL left tackle, yet it is often run blocking that is seen as the biggest issue. The Wrangles simply do not block well for whichever back is in the game. Plummer has success because he scrambles, or bootlegs on designed plays, and the line play is less essential. That the club cannot put together an effective gameplan of inside and outside runs for the backs is truly puzzling. And if they cannot figure that out, and quickly, the odds that they find themselves in the playoffs, and winning what would almost certainly be road playoff games, are not good at all. Weird how tie breakers can shift things. Washington at 7-3 was atop the Eastern Conference, but despite winning this week they slip down to 4th thanks to wins from Orlando, Philly and Memphis, which impacts strength of schedule, a tiebreaker pretty far down the list but one still very relevant right now. Philly takes over first, while Orlando edges Memphis in the South. Five games to play and we need to expect that this muddle at the top will continue. Baltimore is back in play for a Wild card at 7-4, but Ohio, with 2 straight losses has now dropped back. Both are still in the running, of course, while Jacksonville, with 3 straight defeats, has slid to 7th place, just out of a position at present. They will need to turn it around. Out West, Denver holds the tie breakers against New Orleans and Seattle, though all three look pretty good at 9-2. St. Louis gains one on the Breakers, now at 7-4, 2 games back, and Arizona’s win puts them in 5th as the only other team over .500 in the conference. Sitting at 5-6 we have Michigan, LA, and Chicago, after a much needed win. It seems unlikely that any new player will emerge, though a 5-game win streak can help almost anyone get into play. We do have our first eliminations as 1-10 Portland, and the trio of 2-9 clubs in the East (Atlanta, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh) are now officially playing for pride. The second of our three Reebok redesigns was released this week. The Houston Gamblers, in the midst of one of their worst seasons as a franchise, will retool their look for 2001, perhaps in the hope of recapturing some of the glory of past years. The popular Texas G logo remains unchanged, though a new wordmark treatment, with both vertical and horizontal options is on tap for the Gamblers. The color scheme and most of the uniform elements remain largely unchanged as well, with a black helmet, black and white jerseys and black and white pants, all with red features. The helmet will no longer feature stripes as it will be a glossy black shell with the familiar Texas G on either side. The pants are largely the same, though the black pant set no longer has white stripes outside of the center red stripe. It is the jersey’s where we see the biggest shift as Houston joins the popular shoulder yoke and side panel trend. Both the white and black jerseys now feature a thick red side panel, designed to align with the pant stripe and paired with red sleeve caps. The black jerseys also feature a thin white piping line surrounding the shoulder panels, while the white jerseys have a solid black shoulder section, ending at each sleeve seem. The blockish black shoulders contain a single red stripe on the collar. The numbers on both jerseys remain a standard block font with red piping. The look is basic and yet something of a departure from the traditional sleeve stripes the Gamblers have worn since 1984. Week 12 is another barn burner with 12 divisional games as we head into the home stretch, and with so many games looming large for playoff chases, you may have to spend all weekend in front of the TV just to not miss anything. Let’s start in the Pacific where Saturday Night’s game in Denver could be a huge one for both clubs. The Gold need a win to hold onto that #1 position, while Arizona is hoping to move 2-games over .500 and gain an upper hand over all the current 5-6 clubs. LA is one of those clubs hoping to scrap back to .500, and they have a good shot if they can avoid the upset at in-state rival Oakland. Seattle is also in a rivalry game, but with 1-10 Portland in town, they could fall into a trap if they are looking past the Thunder. In the Central, Chicago hopes to make it 2 games in a row to get back on track as they visit the Houston Gamblers. Michigan has a huge task ahead of them as they visit New Orleans needing a win to reach .500 and stay in contention. St. Louis is in Texas on Sunday in a game that they hope positions them for a late run to catch the Breakers as they caught the Outlaws last year. In the South we do not want to miss the Tampa Bay @ Jacksonville game. The Bulls have lost 3 straight, and a 4th would dump them at 6-6. Tampa is hoping to get to 6-6 by knocking off their in-state rival. Memphis is in Birmingham, where the struggling Stallion defense will be tested by Heath Shuler and the Showboats. Orlando travels to Atlanta in the division’s final game.

Hi all, my apologies, but I messed up my order of tasks and simulated Week 11 not realizing that I had not yet created the League Leaders tables for Week 10, so there will not be a Week 10 League Leaders tables, but I will give you enhanced Week 11 tables when I post the recap of that week. Sorry. Sometimes I get ahead of myself.

What, indeed. This week we saw two results that no one saw coming, and while two out of 12 games being hard to predict is not that out of the ordinary in the world of pro football, these two were still odd enough to make us wonder just what is in the water this week. Sure, New Jersey has been close in seemingly every game, but for them to upset the Bulls just did not seem likely. And for Portland to finally get a win just seemed near impossible after weeks of futility, though having a healthy QB with NFL experience might just have been the catalyst the Thunder needed. Let’s look at these two surprising results and all the rest of the action around the league this week. This one was wild, and for once the Generals managed to pull out the close game and get a long-overdue W. In a game that came down to a last minute drive, it was New Jersey snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and not the other way around. Both the Generals and the Bulls had success on the ground, with New Jersey racking up 152 yards and Jacksonville an even more impressive 221. But it was the New Jersey defense, much maligned and often rightly so, that helped the Generals win their first game since opening week. It all began with Jacksonville’s first possession, an ominous start as kick returner Tyrone Shavers muffed the punt at the end of New Jersey’s first drive, forcing the Bulls to start at their own 3. After an Irvin run got them nowhere, Phil Hansen did what he always does, brought down the QB, only this time Chandler was in the endzone. New Jersey started off with a 2-0 lead. The joy in Jersey did not last long as on their next two possessions the Bulls got a 27-yard TD pass from Chandler to Steve Johnson and a 41-yard TD run from big man Edgar Bennett, his only carry of the game. New Jersey would get a late Neil Rackers field goal but headed into the halftime locker room down 14-5. The second half saw New Jersey get even more production out of their defense as a rushed Chandler threw the ball right to LB Lorenzo Styles, and the lanky defender took the ball all the way back for 6, helping New Jersey get back to 14-12. After another solid defensive stand by the Generals produced a 3-and-out, Jeff Lewis guided New Jersey into Bulls’ territory, eventually hitting Terry Glenn with a scoring toss to give the Generals a 19-14 lead. The lead would be short-lived as Jacksonville countered, Chandler to Terrell Owens for 6, but a failed 2-point conversion meant it was a slim 20-19 lead for the Bulls. And that lead too would not last long as the 4th quarter opened with Jeff Lewis finding Terry Glenn for a second time, this one a 25-yard scoring strike on a seam route. With the successful 2-point conversion, New Jersey now lead by 7. That lead would hold until the final minutes of the game, but with 1:30 left on the clock it once again seemed like the Generals were finding a way to lose a game they should win. A defensive holding call kept a desperate drive alive for the Bulls and 2 plays later Chandler found Dez White for the game-tying score. 1:30 left to play and all on the line for a club that had seen so many close games break against them. New Jersey needed 33 yards to get to the outer range of Neil Racker’s ability, but they would get nearly 50 on only 4 plays. Completions to Kevin Johnson, Terry Glenn and rookie TE Anthony Becht got the ball well inside a comfort zone for Rackers, and with only 12 seconds left to play, New Jersey brought out the kicker on 3rd down, just in case something were to go wrong. Nothing did. The kick went right through the uprights and for once the Generals eked out a win in a down to the wire game. The loss was a big one for Jacksonville, their 2nd loss in a row, and one which dropped them from 1st place all the way to 3rd in the South, with both Memphis and Orlando leapfrogging them. For New Jersey it was both a real and a moral victory, proof that their effort would eventually bring results. ARZ 21 POR 24 Can you be considered a hero if you have a sub-par game but still get a W? That is the question many are asking about Rick Mirer’s first full game as the Portland starter. The NFL import completed only 9 of 20 passes for only 100 yards, but he avoided turnovers and he got the W, Portland’s first of the year. Most of the credit should probably go to Napoleon Kaufmann, who shredded Arizona’s defense for 140 yards and a score. That and a defensive scheme that left a spy on Jake Plummer all game long, a spy who held Plummer to -1 yards rushing on 11 attempts. Arizona was frustrated and flustered all game, with Plummer throwing 2 picks and no run game to support him. A bad loss for a club hoping to move into safe playoff position. NOR 10 STL 17 It was a defensive battle of attrition in St. Louis, where both clubs shut down nearly everything the opposing offenses wanted to do. Neither club accumulated 100 yards on the ground. Neither QB threw the ball well, Todd Collins only threw for 84 yards in a truly bizarre day for him. And in the end it was simply field position that allowed the homestanding Knights to get the win, sending New Orleans to defeat for only the 2nd time all year. CHI 13 TEX 16 Another defensive battle in the Central Division, though in this case it may be more that both offenses failed to find a rhythm. The shocker in this one was that backup HB Autrey Detson ended up having a huge game, racking up 190 yards on 25 carries as Reggie Cobb dealt with injury. Nothing else worked for Texas, but Detson’s monster game was enough. With the loss, the once 4-1 Machine now drop to 4-6, five losses in a row. DEN 20 OAK 18 Oakland nearly pulled off another amazing upset in this one, but Denver got a last minute Jeff Wilkens field goal to just get by the Invaders. Rashaan Salaam’s 113 yards helped, but in the end it was Brunell to Peerless Price that got the Gold in position for the winning kick. The win puts Denver in the driver’s seat for a #1 seed, theirs to lose. LA 17 SEA 34 Seattle got solid play from both Corey Dillon and backup Joe Montgomery, combining for 140 yards rushing, and rookie QB Gio Carmazzi went 22 of 29 to upend the Express and win at home. LA struggled with protection as Seattle got 7 sacks of McNown, including 2 from Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite, John Abraham as the Dragons move to 8-2 on the season. BIR 24 BAL 33 The big plays were not there for Favre on this game, perhaps due to the loss of Ernest Givens. Baltimore sacked the prolific Stallion QB 5 times as the Blitz got a much-needed win. As expected, Coach Infante made the move and called up Jeff Garcia to start after several poor outings from Trent Green. Garcia responded with 256 yards passing and 3 touchdowns as the Blitz gain ground in the Atlantic. MEM 31 OHI 21 Ohio got good games from Eddie George and Joey Galloway but it was not enough as Memphis HB Garrison Hearst had one of his best games of the year, rushing for 116 yards and a score. 3 Heath Shuler TD passes more than made up for 3 picks from the defending league MVP. The key play was a 49-yarder to Adrian Cooper that busted open a 21-21 tie and gave the W to the visiting Showboats. ORL 15 PHI 8 Philly struggled to find running room for Stephen Davis, while Orlando’s Moe Williams shared carries with Terry Kirby to produce a combined 125 yards rushing as the Renegades won a tough battle of field position and limited opportunities. In a game where each team scored a safety, a rare occurrence indeed, the Renegades came out on top as Philadelphia only crossed the 50 3 times, and got only 2 field goals in those trips. TBY 27 PIT 13 A good day for Troy Aikman until a late hit produced a possible concussion. He threw for 3 TDs against a failing Mauler defense, and with Errict Rhett adding 78 yards on the ground, Tampa pulled away from the Maulers. Terrell Davis was the one consistent threat for Pittsburgh, rushing the ball 26 times for 133 yards, but failing to score on a key goal line 3rd down run. ATL 10 WSH 40 Aaron Brooks returned under center for Atlanta but little seemed to improve as he completed only 14 of 39 throws (35.9%) and threw three picks against the brutal Federal defense. The combo of Word and Droughns for Washington racked up 116 yards rushing, and Scott Zolak threw 3 TDs to lead Washington to an easy victory, their 4th in a row, and with losses by Philly and Ohio, it is now Washington atop the Atlantic Division at 7-3. HOU 7 MGN 37 We finish with another bad showing from the Houston offense. Houston went 4 for 16 on third down as Matt Hasselbeck completed only 16 of 41 passes. Doug Flutie, on the other hand, went 18 for 20 (90%) and connected on 3 scoring tosses for the Panthers. Jeff Campbell got heavy use in the red zone, scoring twice and catching 8 balls for 120 in total. With the win, Michigan evens its record at 5-5. GARCIA STARTS AND WINS Sometimes it might just be the fans who have the better idea. When Trent Green came back from injury to resume starting duties, many fans thought it a mistake to remove Garcia, who had filled in so well. After 3 straight losses, Coach Infante went back to Garcia and got back on a winning path again. When we look at the stats, we might see why the fans were right about this. Trent Green has thrown more TDs in his action (9 to 8), but he has also thrown 7 picks, while Garcia has tossed only 1 in all his action. Garcia is also completing about 71% of his throws to Green’s 58.2%. That disparity represents a considerably better third down conversion rate for Garcia. For now it looks like Garcia will remain the starter for the rest of the season. Just what this means for Green is yet to be decided but getting demoted is never a good sign for a veteran QB. But this may just be a situation of the right man in the right moment. After all, in past seasons as a starter (With LA and Baltimore during other Green injuries), Garcia has never surpassed a 57% completion rate and his TD-INT ratio was never anything like the current 8-1 ratio we have seen this year. Maybe he is just a better fit for the Blitz system this year, or maybe the game is finally slowing down for him. Either way, Baltimore is happy to have an option like Garcia to call on. HOW DID THEY DO IT? We thought Portland's surprising win over Arizona required a little more analysis, because we honestly did not see this coming. The Thunder defense has been among the worst in the league, 22nd in scoring defense and allowing nearly 360 yards of offense a game, but against the Wranglers they may have found the formula to handcuffing the Arizona offense. Portland went with an unorthodox 3-3-5 alignment, basically daring the Wranglers to run the ball. The 3 man line (Hugh Douglas, Clyde Simmons, and Kelvin Pritchett) were, on most plays, assisted by at least one blitizing linebacker or D-back. They also kept a spy on Plummer, but varied it between LB Bryce Paup and Safety Jerod Cherry, with Cherry playing the role on most passing downs, aided by the 5th, and occasionally a 6th DB in coverage. The impact of Coach Rhodes's unorthodox strategy was that Jake Plummer, while not facing intense D-line pressure, was constantly having to adjust to potential blitzers, and also was hemmed in by the spy shadowing his lateral movement. The result? Plummer scrambled or rushed the ball (designed) 11 times for a grand total of -7 yards. It likely would have been even less, but 4 of the times he was captured behind the lines were designated as sacks as he was still within the hashmarks and protection pocket. What has to be particularly gauling for Wrangler Coach Art Shell is that even despite this unique defense, one predicated on containing Plummer and the short pass, the Wranglers were still unable to mount a credible rushing attack. When seeing essentially a skewed nickel on most downs, you would expect a heavy dose of the running game, but despite carries by Levins, Lester, FB Richie Anderson, and Leeland MacElroy, the Wranglers could only muster 27 total yards rushing. That is embarrassingly bad for a pro football team, particularly against a 3-man line with only 3 backers in the game. Admitedly, the three linemen Portland has are solid, and did a great job of keeping the run blocking off kilter all day, but with only 3 linebackers, one would expect the sheer numbers game of O-line to defenders to do the job for the run game, but it did not. The other piece of the puzzle was Portland's ability to score enough points to take advantage of a good defensive plan. Rick Mirer got his second start after an injury-shortened first game earlier this year. And, as noted above, while his 9 of 20, 100 yard day, was hardly the thing of legend, he was a calm presence in the huddle, and helped lead to 4 scoring drives in the first 2 quarters, putting Arizona in a 24-7 hole that also helped diminish the chances of the Wranglers relying on the run. Napoleon Kaufmann had his second really big game of the season, with 140 yards rushing, and Darius Turner also found room, rushing for 57. Once in front, Portland was able to essentially dink, dunk, and run the ball to kill time and keep building drives that limited Arizona's ability to come back. Essentially, Ray Rhodes outcoached Art Shell in this one. He had an insight on how to slow down Arizona, got enough support from the offense to force Arizona into a pass-first mentality, and he contained Jake Plummer's athleticism. Is this a formula others will try to emulate? Almost certainly. But can Rhodes continue to find weaknesses in opposition schemes, or was this simply a perfect alignment of scheme and circumstance for a Portland squad that has struggled to make plays all year? That is still to be seen. MAULER MISSTEPS While many of us could have (or had) predicted rough seasons in places like Atlanta, Portland, or Houston, the collapse of the Pittsburgh Maulers from last year to this is a bit of a mystery. If you recall, the Maulers were one of the hottest teams in the league at the end of last year, rattling off a streak of wins to end the year that landed them a home playoff game, leading the league in rushing with Terrell Davis, and holding teams down with a well-coached, hard hitting defense. So what happened that has led Pittsburgh to a 2-8 record after 10 games this year? Looking at the numbers the answers are not immediately clear. Terrell Davis, while not as dominant as last year, is still closing in on 1,000 yards, though the periferal rushing of others is not really there (Pittsburgh ranks 19th in rushing). The passing game was not expected to be high flying, but currently ranks 14th, which is average at worst. The Defense remains tough against the run, allowing only 99 yards a game, good enough for a Top 10 status. If we are going to point to anything statistically it has to be pass defense. Pittsburgh ranks dead last, allowing 294 yards a game, and when you allow a 300-yard passing game nearly every week, you will have some difficulties. But it is actually more than that. The three facets you want to see in pass defense are pass rush, third down defense, and takeaways. Pittsburgh is not making the grade in any of these areas. They are tied for last in the league with only 17 team sacks, their leading sacker being LB Godfrey Miles with only 4 on the year. The Maulers are also one of the worst teams (22nd) in getting off the field on third down, meaning more drives continue into scoring territory and more points are put on the board. It also means that teams can dominate time of possession, helping to explain why Pittsburgh, which has never been a fast-moving, quick drive, big play offense, is one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. The offense gets yards when it gets the ball, but it is getting the ball less than other teams because the D cannot get off the field. Finally, the takeaways are not coming as they did last year. Pittsburgh is middle-of-the-pack with 8 picks in 10 games, but is not forcing fumbles, and so they find themselves not getting short drives, easy points, or more opportunities. Not to lay all the team's worries on the defense, but when we look at Charlie Batch, Terrell Davis or Andre Rison we are not seeing issues there. When we look at the D, the same cannot be said. The D-Line of Moe gardner, Bob Kuberski, and Jeff Cross is just not keeping blockers off the linebackers. Erik Kumerow, Godfrey Miles, and Nate Webster are not getting any younger and are certainly not the type of speedy pursuers that a 3-4 needs. We think DeMetrius DuBose is still a top flight linebacker, but there is just not enough happening around him. Losing Bobby Taylor from the secondary has also not helped at all. Quintin Jones is not a true #1 corner, and Kareem Larrimore is best suited as a slot/nickel defender, rather than a #2. But, what perhaps is handcuffing Pittsburgh the most is that Patrick Surtain, who was so good last year, is just not playing with his head in the game this year. Far too many blown coverages, too few big plays, and too many short passes leading to broken tackles and longer gains. It is no one player's fault that Pittsburgh is at 2-8, but Coach Thomas has got to look at what he has, what he is trying to do defensively, and make some adjustments, because while it is not immediately apparent in the stats, the chain of cause and effect between a lackluster defensive showing, a lack of scoring, and a losing record is pretty clear. Our first official playoff standings for the year and just in time the Federals have jumped all the way up to the #1 seed. Their 4 game win streak has given them some tiebreakers that put them atop the pack of 7-3 clubs, just ahead of Orlando, with Ohio and Philadelphia trailing. In the West Denver is in prime position to snatch a #1 seed, while New Orleans and Seattle sit a game back. Right now 5-5 will get a Western team into the playoffs while at 6-4 Baltimore is currently out of the picture in the East. With 6 weeks left we expect a lot of change in these standings, but for now things are quite muddled, with even some 3-7 clubs having hope (though not much, really). Ten weeks into the season, so just 6 weeks left for teams to get all their contracts in order for those players about to become free agents. Of course, with a hard salary cap not every player on every team can be resigned. Some tough decisions will have to happen. Veterans let go to make room for younger players, underperforming stars possibly let go, young talent with potential simply squeezed out because other positions are a priority. It is a messy business, and so, as with each offseason, we can expect a good number of players, quality players, to change teams, often to change leagues, as teams must negotiate the cap, decide on priorities, and make tough choices. Looking at the positions and players that are currently in their contract years we see some big names and some budding talent. Which of these players will change locations, teams, or leagues? Which will be resigned over the next 6 weeks? For each club’s personnel departments, this is their playoffs, determining the future of their squads. Let’s take a look at the big names and big decisions ahead. Here is our round up of current contract year players yet to be extended. SECONDARY A lot of corners worth investing in, but not always a position that gets the respect it deserves, especially when there are 2 or more solid players on one squad. The big names potentially looking at the free agent market include Darrien Gordon (TBY), Bobby Taylor (PIT), Tyronne Legette (ATL), Vince Buck (LA), Ashley Ambrose (HOU), Aeneas Williams (ARZ) and Samari Rolle (TBY). Tampa cannot sign both of their top corners, so expect at least one to hit the market. Among safeties there are fewer big names coming up this year, but a few who could prove difficult to resign. Among the top names are Strong Safeties LeRoy Butler (ORL), Jason Sehorn (NJ), Sam Shade (PIT), and Eric McMillian (NJ). Again, with 2 very talented players at the same position, New Jersey will likely have to choose one over the other. In the Free Safety pool we find Darren Woodson (NOR), Joe King (DEN), Jerome Woods (PIT), Mike Prior (MGN), and Mark Carrier (JAX). Carrier, at 34, is a potential cap space victim, but we also see that Pittsburgh has a lot of players to sign and they may downplay the position, sending Woods into the pool. LINEBACKER As usual we see a lot of potential players over 30 in this pool, including Levon Kirkland in Seattle, Lamar Lathon in New Orleans, Cornelius Bennett in Birmingham, and Pat Swilling in Houston. Kirkland and Lathon will be top priorities for resigning, but we could see Bennett or Swilling being let go, especially if there is a change at the top of the organization in either city. Among the younger linebackers who could be squeezed out due to cap restrictions, we have some very talented players, including Kevin Mitchell (TBY), Kailee Wong (OAK), Randall Godfrey (ATL), and Chris Cowart (DEN). Youth often gets some priority, so it will be interesting to see if these clubs let up and coming players go. DEFENSIVE LINE While pass rushing DE’s are often a top priority to resign, in some cases it is the player who wants out. Will that be the case with some very talented edge rushers this year? Well, there are plenty on our list, and some are certainly not feeling the love with their current teams. Hugh Douglas may want out of Portland, and Santana Dotson never seems well-utilized in Tampa Bay, despite earning a ring with the Bandits. Chris Doleman will likely resign in Orlando (They would be fools to let him walk), but Renaldo Turnbull in Michigan, Mike Piel in Baltimore, or Simeon Rice in Chicago may opt to test the market. Defensive Tackle is a position where we often see teams try to just throw bodies at the position, letting top players go to afford other positions. That may mean that several of these players could relocate in 2001: Leon Lett (PHI), Sean Gilbert (CHI), Joel Steed (ORL), Jerry Ball (STL), Leonard Renfro (HOU), or Tim Johnson (OAK). Both Jerome Brown in Washington and John Randall in Baltimore are also on contract years, but we cannot imagine their clubs will let them test the waters. They are far to central to their clubs’ defensive schemes to let them go. OFFENSIVE LINE Other than left tackle, this is always a low priority for resigning, just the nature of the game. So, that means there may be guards, centers and even some right tackles on the market this year. Among Centers the biggest names are Bubba Miller (JAX), Mike Flanagan (BIR), Matt Elliott (BAL), and Brian Brauninger (NOR). There are even more guards potentially let loose, including Corbin Lacina (NJ), Todd Kaliss (HOU), Jesse Sapolo (SEA), and Matt O’Dwyer (JAX). When we look at the tackle position, we expect a lot of resignings, so don’t be surprised if Jermaine Mayberry is locked up by Texas, Herb Webster by the Portland Thunder, or Leon Searcy by Chicago. There may be a few mid-level guys available, such as LA’s Brian Williams, Denver’s Adam Meadows, and Birmingham’s Melvin Hayes, but as always we expect the RT’s to outpace the LT’s as far as free agent finds go. WIDE RECEIVER Always a big pool simply because each club has 6 or more and cannot resign everyone. Some may not be good fits for a new coach, or a new system, others may simply have worn out their welcome. Among the top level receivers potentially joining the free agent market we find Rocket Ismail (ARZ), Ed McCaffrey (OAK), Az Zahir-Hakeem (NOR), Brett Perriman (HOU), Keenan McCardell (ORL), and Robert Brooks (TBY). Others hope a relocation can provide them with more playing time or a move from the 3rd position to a starting job. Among those in this boat we find Kevin Dyson (PHI), Tamarick Vanover (DEN), Cedric Tillman (OHI), Patrick Rowe (JAX), and Darnay Scott (TEX). TIGHT END A tricky pool to predict. Will Philly really let Eric Green go? Will LA double down on Frank Wycheck? Can Dante Whittaker (ORL), Keth McKeller (BAL), or Steve Johnson (JAX) get a new deal despite all being in their 30’s? That all depends on how good the coaches and GMs feel about depth at the position. Tight End is a hard position to evaluate, and a lot depends on whether a coach wants a blocker who occasionally catches, or a receiver who will block on occasion. Get the wrong fit and even a top flight player can be let go. RUNNING BACK This is one where it is as often the player as the team who decides to forestall a contract and look for work elsewhere. We don’t expect Corey Dillon to look outside of Seattle, not now that the Dragons appear to be on a winning track, but can the same be said for Siran Stacy in Oakland, Ricky Watters in Chicago (where Duce Staley also needs to be resigned), or Reggie Cobb in Texas? Others who are far more likely to resign include Ahman Green (STL), Stephen Davis (PHI), and Dorsey Levins (ARZ), but we are not so sure about Darrell Thompson (stuck behind Eddie George in Ohio) or Rodney Thomas (challenged by rookie Shaun Alexander in Birmingham). QUARTERBACK A cavalcade of All-USFL players on this list. Doug Flutie, Bobby Hebert, Troy Aikman, Mark Brunell, Jake Plummer, Todd Collins, and Kelly Stouffer. Do we really expect any to move? That is very hard to picture, and yet it seems that every year we are surprised by at least one player who changes things up. With QB it is all about the coaching and the potential to maximize exposure, since the payscale is going to be solid whether the player stays or moves on. Look to the middle of the pack for more likely movement. Backups who want a shot at starting or players in unsettled positions. In that group we have Cary Conklin (OAK), Matt Hasselbeck (HOU), Bill Musgrave (DEN), Ray Lucas (CHI), Elvis Grbac (MGN) and Danny Wuerfel (JAX). We would not be surprised, with all the QB issues in the league, for someone to overpay based solely on potential with one of these signal callers. KICKERS & PUNTERS Never a high profile position, but one that can win or lose games for you. Among the kickers who may get a look from another team we find Ryan Longwell in St. Louis, John Carney in Chicago, and Brett Conway in Michigan (What is it about the Central Division?). The only punters likely to foster any type of market are Chris Moorman from Atlanta and Chris Hanson from LA. So, a lot of talent there, but, as always, expect at least 50% of these players to be signed by week 16, another group to resign in free agency, and maybe 30%-40% to shift around. Of course, with the NFL transfer window also a factor, you never know if the temptation will be too great for some players to resist taking a swim in the free agent market just to see if competition can increase their value. Week 11 is an interconference week with the coast-to-coast battle of Pacific clubs visiting the Atlantic while the Central Division travels to face Southern teams. Among the better matchups we see 8-2 New Orleans hoping to rebound but facing a feisty 5-5 Tampa Bay squad in Tampa. Another 5-5 club, Michigan, has a tough matchup as they head to Memphis to play the Showboats. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the week is Ohio hosting Seattle in a battle of 1995 expansion clubs that finally seem to have found their sea legs. In Philadelphia, the Stars will host the Denver Gold, with hopes of moving back into first place in the Atlantic. Could be a tough task, especially with Washington at home against a struggling Oakland squad. Baltimore hopes they can gain ground, but have to beware the upset as Portland has now tasted victory. In New Jersey the Generals hope to make it 2 wins in a row as they host the LA Express. Pittsburgh is at home against Arizona in a game the Wranglers certainly cannot afford to lose. We will also see two 4-6 clubs battle as Chicago, losers of 5 straight, visit Birmingham. Houston will be in Jacksonville to face an angry Bulls team after this week’s loss, and St. Louis will be the next team hoping to successfully put out the Fire as they head to Atlanta. Finally, Texas will visit Orlando, where the 7-3 Renegades are hoping to get one step closer to a division title.

Call it a changing of the guard, or just the cycle of success in a league with pretty frequent shifts of power, but what we are seeing this year is a movement. From Seattle to Philadelphia, with stops in New Orleans, Orlando, and Columbus, the balance of power appears to be shifting. Will it hold up all season, or will the predicted league leaders step up as the season draws to a close? Can the upstart Dragons, Breakers, and Glory really run away with their divisions or will clubs like Denver, St. Louis, Baltimore and Memphis retain their positions of power? This week's games seem to hint at a new era in the USFL, but is it all a mirage? Big games produce big performances, and that is what we got when the Seattle Dragons faced off against the St. Louis Knights on Saturday. Both defenses got a score on the day, both offenses put up plenty of points as well, and both clubs had a shot to win the game in the final minutes, but it was Seattle who eked out a road win to consolidate their position as a potential top seed in this year’s Western Conference playoffs. The game actually began with the home team looking formidable, shutting rookie QB Giovanni Carmazzi down on 3 drives while scoring twice in the opening period. It was the usual suspects, with Todd Collins hitting Bert Emmanuel for one score and then repeating with Amani Toomer on the end of his second TD toss. But, Seattle shifted gears in the 2nd period, scoring 20 points in the quarter. They started with a Mike Hollis field goal before two consecutive drives ended with Corey Dillon bulldozing the line for a short TD run. Dillon would not have his most productive day against the St. Louis front 7, but his 62 yards did include the scores that got Seattle back in the game. Seattle had a short-lived lead after Dillon’s second, but on their next possession Carmazzi made a fatal mistake, throwing in the middle of the field late in the play, a standard pro ball no-no. The ball was picked by Jerome Watkins and the speedy safety raced into the endzone to put St. Louis back on top. The quarter ended with another successful Seattle drive as Hollis got them back to within 1 at 21-20. In the third quarter the Dragon defense would pay back the earlier takeaway be St. Louis, with DE Steve Bates clipping Todd Collins as he threw. The lame duck fluttered in the air before being snatched up by Seattle’s Stephen Boyd, who followed a caravan of Dragons to the end zone. Seattle was back on top 26-21 as the 2-point conversion failed. In the 4th, St. Louis would again take the lead, with Collins finding Toomer a second time. Toomer would finish the day with receptions for 83 yards and the two scores as Todd Collins went 27 of 40 for 336. With 8:38 left to play the Knights held a slim 3-point lead. Seattle would take their next drive nice and slow, using 14 plays to get the ball into the endzone, this time faking the ball to Dillon, Carmazzi found WR David Boston in the back of the endzone for the score. Two minutes exactly on the clock and St. Louis now down by 4. The Knights would get the ball on a touchback, and with Collins alternating throws to Emmanuel, TE Reggie Kelly and HB Ahman Green, soon the Knights were in Seattle territory. 1:15 left and only 27 yards from paydirt. Collins hit FB Sammy Morris on a swing pass, but Morris slipped and could not get out of bounds. With only 1 TO left, Collins raced the team to the line, and while what he did was not a spike, the incompletion on 2nd down served the same purpose, stopping the clock with 38 seconds to play. Third down saw Collins try for Kelly in the middle of the field. He would overthrow the big man and bring up a desperate 4th and 4. On the key play the Knights isolated Emmanuel one-on-one with 3 receivers on the opposite side of the field. Collins looked immediately for Emamnuel, but the short hook was not there so he turned to Kelly again. The big TE had a step on the coverage, but the ball glanced off his hands and harmlessly to the turf. Seattle had survived and would go home with a vital conference win, their 7th win in 9 games. For St. Louis, the loss, paired New Orleans’s easy victory over Portland meant that the Knights were now 3 games behind the Breakers in the division, a division they had expected to win once again. ARZ 35 TEX 31 Another example of Jake Plummer taking a team on his back in what may well be an MVP year for the Wrangler signal caller. Texas had this game won at 31-14 after 3 quarters, but Jake Plummer ran in his 2nd rushing TD and threw for two more scores in the final period to upend the Outlaws in the AlamoDome. He would finish with Player of the Week numbers, only 195 yards passing (with 2 TDs), but 127 yards rushing on 10 carries, including 2 scores and a 68 yard crazy scramble that just had to drive Outlaws fans out of their minds. DEN 20 CHI 14 Chicago loses another tight one as they fell behind 20-7 and just could not come back on that solid Denver defense. Rashaan Salaam was held to only 65 yards rushing before leaving the game with a sore ankle. Duce Staley outgained him with 71 yards and a score for Chicago but Denver still got the W. JAX 20 MEM 24 A great battle between two very good Southern Division squads, with Heath Shuler throwing for 3 scores in the 2nd quarter to help the Showboats take over the game. Jacksonville was game but even Sedrick Irvin’s 99 yards rushing could not get them all the way back as Chris Chandler threw a costly INT in the game’s final moments. ORL 20 TBY 9 Another big Southern rivalry game as Orlando held Tampa Bay to only 3 field goals, sacking Troy Aikman a painful 7 times, 3 from Chris Doleman. Aikman still managed to throw for 306 yards, but no touchdowns as Orlando kept the deep ball from hurting them. ATL 17 BIR 30 The Fire continued to struggle with Marc Bulger under center and Birmingham just spend the day slowly building a lead and expanding it over the course of 4 quarters. Atlanta’s D kept the game close for a while, but they just could not generate much on offense and Birmingham wore them down, with Marcus Robinson the pivotal target for Favre, with 108 yards and a score. OAK 41 MGN 13 Oakland backs up their upset of Baltimore by going to Michigan and just laying it to the Panthers. Apparently the anger that recent games have produced in Oakland is being directed to the opposition now. Troy Davis scored the first 3 TDs of the game as Oakland flew out of the gate to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. Stacy and Davis combined for 137 yards rushing and Leaf threw for 329 as the Invaders won their second in a row despite Natrone Means shredding them for 132 yards rushing. LA 17 HOU 40 Another huge upset, this time in Houston, where the Gamblers finally found some offense, much to LA’s chagrin. Mario Greer, stepping in for a dinged up Kevin Faulk, found all kinds of holes on his way to a 121 yard rushing day, adding 2 scores along the way. Matt Hasselbeck also had his best game, completing 14 of 26 for 220 and 2 scores before bowing out late in the blowout. Tory Holt had 4 catches for 134 yards but it was not nearly enough as LA got smoked in the Dome. POR 3 NOR 27 No upset magic for the Thunder, who fall to 0-9. Akili Smith got knocked out of the game and that sent John Stark in to play. Needless to say, not much happened for the Portland offense. Meanwhile Ricky Williams had a solid 20 carry, 101 yard day and Bobby Hoying used play action to complete 14 of 22 for 167 and 2 scores as New Orleans just keeps rolling along. BAL 6 WSH 24 Both defenses came after the opposing QBs, but despite suffering 7 sacks, Scott Zolak got the better of the matchup with Trent Green. Green was picked off twice while Zolak threw for 2 scores. This may just be the game that forces Coach Infante to go with Garcia as Baltimore loses their third in a row since Green’s return from injury. NJ 23 OHI 59 Well, at least it was not a nailbiter as Ohio simply lays the lumber to the Generals. Both Eddie George and Darrell Thompson scored 2 TDs as the two combined for 170 yards rushing and 4 scores against the completely pliant General defense. Kerry Collins played only 3 quarters and threw for 3 scores in this blowout win for Ohio. PHI 27 PIT 14 Philly kept pace with the Glory by knocking off the Maulers in Three Rivers. Stephen Davis had a solid day with 21 carries for 91 yards while both Troy Brown and Bobby Engram scored on Hebert TD throws. Andre Rison had a good day for Pittsburgh with 147 yards and 2 scores, but it was not enough as the Maulers fall to 2-7. Some significant injuries this week, one which could be a career ending situation. Well, that may be a bit dramatic, but Ernest Givens being placed on IR with a Posterior Cruciate tear is quite possibly the last he will play in the USFL. We have been expecting a retirement notification honestly for the past 2 years, and this injury, with its lengthy recovery time, could just be the thing to push Ernest into retirement. No official word yet, and likely not until training camp next February, but we would not be shocked if he calls it a career. Only one other player who is likely out for the rest of the year, Orlando fullback Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afalu has a broken arm that will require a cast and rehab. There are positions where a player could play with an arm cast, especially lower arm as Chris F-M needs, but fullback is not one of them. While it is not officially a season-ender, Akili Smith’s collarbone injury is almost certainly going to be 4-6 weeks, and we simply don’t expect the young QB to come back and assume a starting role. Rick Mirer is healthy again and will likely start the rest of the year, though Portland did bring in a veteran backup as well (see below) so Smith is almost certainly done for the year and the club will have to re-evaluate for next year. Other injuries of note include Birmingham HB Charlie Rogers, lost for at least a month with an elbow injury, Texas HB Reggie Cobb, who could miss 2 to 4 weeks with a foot injury that is proving difficult to isolate. Arizona DT Jason Peter cracked his jaw in some post-play shenanigans and could miss 1, maybe 2 weeks (and will likely get fined as well). Washington will be without Herman Moore, who is dealing with back spasms. They hope to have him back in 2 weeks after taking this next week off. Finally, New Jersey wideout Wayne Chrebet is dealing with some tendon damage in his meniscus, and that could cost him a game or two. TRANSACTIONS POR: place QB Akili Smith on IR, sign QB Timm Rosenbach BIR: places WR E. Givens on IR, sign J. Armour ORL: places FB on IR, sign FB Tim. Johnson TEX: signs CB Rickey Parker NJ: trades QB Spence Fischer & TE Chris Gedney to ATL ATL: trades QB Eric Zeier and DT Darwin Walker to NJ. NJ: signs TE Patrick Hape ATL: signs DT Tim Morabito FISCHER OUT IN NEW JERSEY Desperate to make some moves and do something to improve the defense, the Generals did finally trade away a pretty solid QB in Spence Fischer, along with TE Chris Gedney. The pair will be heading to Atlanta, who also sends a disgruntled QB back to New Jersey in the form of UGA alum Eric Zeier, but the big prize for New Jersey is defensive tackle Darwin Walker, who is expected to move into the starting lineup almost immediately. Zeier has been languishing in the 3rd QB slot, inactive in most games, behind Aaron Brooks and rookie Marc Bulger, while Spence Fischer has been listed as the backup in New Jersey behind Jeff Lewis. This is likely a swap-in-kind deal in that Zeier is unlikely to challenge Lewis, who has played well for New Jersey despite their woeful record on the year. He may also find himself with a 3rd string designation again as Coach Schottenheimer has liked the development of rookie QB Tom Brady from Michigan. Walker is the big win for New Jersey, and should help their last-rated defense. For Atlanta, they get a veteran who can bring some calm to the quarterback room, and they also nab a solid contributor in TE Chris Gedney, who could move into the 2-TE formations right away. A solid trade for both parties as New Jersey needed offensive help and Atlanta was desperate to get help on offense. In the wake of the trade, both clubs also backfilled their roster, with New Jersey signing TE Patrick Hape to replace the traded Chris Gedney, and Atlanta adding veteran DT Tom Morabito to add depth to their defensive line rotation. Neither player is expected to start, but both should participate in some formations or rotations within their position groups. ERNEST GIVENS MAY BE DONE FOR GOOD We mentioned it above, but it deserves noting that if things play out as many expect, Ernest Givens may have played his last game in the USFL. Givens has had several injury plagued years in his last few seasons, having not played in a full 16 games since the 1997 season. Givens’s season ends with only 5 games played, 32 receptions for 512 yards. If this is the end of his storied 15-year career, he will retire as one of the league’s most prolific receivers with over 1,500 receptions and 16,250 yards. A near certain Hall of Fame candidate who just a year ago had his 8th 1,000 yard season, gainin 1,177 yards with 6 TDs in only 12 games. In the short term, Birmingham has signed receiver Justin Armour, but expect to see the primary impact being a shift for Marcus Robinson outside to Givens’s position, while Lawrence Dawsey maintains his usual spot as the flanker. Long term, don’t be surprised to see Birmingham hit WR hard in the draft or sign a potential slot receiver, moving Robinson outside permanently. AKILI SMITH TO IR, PORTLAND SIGNS ROSENBACH OUT OF RETIREMENT Well, never let it be said that the Thunder are not inventive in how they deal with team roster needs. With Akili Smith likely done for the season with a broken collarbone, and with Rick Mirer also having some injury issues, the Thunder needed an answer at QB, a 2nd option just in case Mirer went down again. They could have tried to make a deal for Fischer, or asked in Houston about Hartlieb. They could have found a young free agent, but they went the opposite way, bringing a player back from retirement. Timm Rosenbach, who has played for 4 USFL franchises over his career, was out of football for the past 16 months, but answered the call when Portland rang him up. Rosenbach has always been a bit of a loose cannon, but he does have arm talent, and a lot of experience. Of course the Thunder hope that Rick Mirer, who has been with the club all season since signing from the NFL, will be healthy and ready to go, but if he needs to be subbed at any time, bringing in a veteran presence like Rosenbach may not be a bad deal. Well, we have hit midseason, which means we start to see rollouts from the league’s uniform providers of looks that will be in place for the following year. The first team to roll out a new look is a team that seems to be in an optimistic upswing altogether, the Ohio Glory. Reebok and the Glory released the team’s new look this week as part of a midweek pep rally preceding their big game against Jacksonville. While a lot will remain the same with the Glory, there are a few interesting tweaks for the 2001 look. Ohio is adding a secondary logo to go with their “eagle & banner” primary, it is a map of the state of Ohio, with a draped blue, red & white banner that places a star right about where Columbus lies in the state. This new secondary does not appear on the uniform itself, but the banner pattern of star and striping is a prominent feature of the uniform. The uniform will feature the same blue helmet, blue and white jerseys and blue and white pant sets, but with some new elements. Firstly, the jersey will have a shoulder and sleeve yoke that is predominantly blue, with white piping, which means the yoke appears as only two thin blue lines on the dark jersey, while it has a full blue shoulder/sleeve treatment on the away whites. Mid-sleeve there will be a series of three stripes, red-white-red, to break up the yoke. This is the same pattern as we see on the new secondary logo and in the ribbon of the primary. The pants do something a bit innovative, eschewing the traditional vertical striping of most teams and going with a star and 3-stripe angled horizontal stripe at mid-thigh. Again, this pattern of a star above 3 stripes parallels the new secondary logo. On the White pants, this is contained within a wide blue vertical stripe, while on the blue pants the angled horizontal stripes stand alone on the blue background. The team is also changing fonts, with a more “Colonial” font being used for the lettering and a more rounded, smoother font for the numbers. The new-ish “U” logo for the league will be included as a patch on the front of the left shoulder, and the Reebok symbol, as with all teams, appears on the sleeve cuffs and the right front hip, with the USFL logo on the left front hip. Here, below, is the new uniform design sheet. A sharp look if you ask me. Week 10 brings the Western Conference into divisional play with some big games that will start to impact our first playoff board next week. New Orleans has a 3-game lead on the field as they face the St. Louis Knights. A win and they all but guarantee themselves the division title. Michigan and Chicago are both 4-5 and cannot afford to lose as they face off against Texas and Houston respectively. In the Pacific, the upstart Oakland Invaders face a tough test as the Denver Gold are in town. Seattle is hosting LA and a loss by the Express could be fatal as it would drop them to 4-6. Arizona is hoping they can take advantage of the Portland Thunder’s hospitality to move to 6-4 and solidly in playoff contention. In the Eastern Conference it is time for the Southern teams to head north to face the Atlantic. Memphis will be tested as they face that explosive Ohio offense in front of what may be the biggest crowd in the Glory’s short history. Orlando also has a tough task as they face the 7-2 Stars and that rowdy Philadelphia crowd. Birmingham is not out of It at 4-5, but need to pull off a win in Baltimore, and we are still waiting to hear who the QB will be for the Blitz. Jacksonville has what looks like an easier task, going to New Jersey to face the 1-8 Generals, while Tampa Bay is in Pittsburgh to face the Maulers and the Atlanta Fire will face that brutal Washington defense in RFK.