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Midseason is here and while there are a lot of questions to go around, some things seem sure. Denver has a pretty good defense, evident in their shut out win over Pittsburgh. New Orleans may do just fine without Dilfer, especially with the D they are putting out there. Portland is not going to score on anyone. New Jersey is going to play hard but to no avail. And, don’t count out the Stallions or the Bandits as long as they have those offensive weapons. But, the first thing we have learned is that the USFL is damn near impossible to predict. Whether that is the sudden rise of clubs like New Orleans or Ohio, or the upset games, like the one we saw this week, where an angry Oakland squad just vented all their frustration on the usually tough Baltimore Blitz. We did not see that coming. Not the closest game of the week, we had overtime in Chicago for that, but one of the most dramatic, and most unanticipated shootouts in a long time. Baltimore came in as a prohibitive favorite, 8 points despite playing on the road. Their defense appeared well-suited to shut down a floundering Invader offense. Meanwhile Oakland seemed a team on the brink of disaster. Infighting had appeared to divide the locker room, Coach Capers had not yet been able to bring discipline to the squad, and the signing of a potential rival for QB Ryan Leaf could either motivate the temperamental 3rd year starter or lead him right off the cliff. It is no surprise that many people expected a bloodbath. What we got instead was a game where Oakland stayed close, then got huge plays from their defense to take a late lead, but had to hang on for dear life in the game’s final minutes. What we got was a game that Baltimore could not afford to lose, but one Oakland needed to win, and in the end the Invaders pulled off the big upset. The game started much as anticipated, Baltimore took the opening kickoff and in only 7 plays had a score on the board with Ron Dayne running it in from 6 yards out. After two short drives ending in punts, Oakland found an answer, with Ryan Leaf connecting with rookie Plaxico Burress for an Invader TD to take the game into the 2nd quarter tied at 7. Baltimore again took the lead, this time thanks to the right foot of Martin Grammatica, and again we saw both defenses play well, leading to several fruitless drives before Oakland got the ball back with 2:02 left and put a no huddle offense into motion for the 2-minute drill. The lack of substitutions hurt Baltimore, and when Leaf hit Ed McCaffrey for a score, the Invaders went into the locker room up 4, a surprise 14-10 leader at the half. The third quarter saw both clubs trade scores, and again 2 lead changes as Baltimore got on the board thanks to a Mike Cloud run, followed almost immediately with Leaf hitting on his third and final TD of the day, a 21 yard beauty to TE Carlester Crumpler. Baltimore was shocked to find themselves down 21-17 after 3 quarters. Oakland added to that lead with a Nedney Field Goal, and Baltimore, which had seen good success running the ball with Ron Dayne (21 carries for 129 yards) now started to shift gears, trying to score quickly. They did on their next drive, one almost completely based on Trent Green throws, as Green hit speedy Tim Dwight for the game tying score. Oakland could do nothing in response and after a 3-and-out, punted the ball back to Baltimore. But things were about to go south for the Blitz in a big way. On his first play from scrimmage on their next drive, Trent Green tried to hit Cam Cleeland with a short crosser but it was tipped at the line and Oakland’s Kailee Wong snatched it out of the air, rushing to the corner and crossing into the endzone to put Oakland up by 7. The Green mistake was compounded on the next drive, when the Blitz QB tried to force a ball to Tim Dwight and CB Aaron Beasley was there. He jumped the route, caught the errant pass, and raced 45 yards for the second consecutive pick-six for the Invader defense. Baltimore was now down 14 with only 4:41 left to play. They would need to play some desperate ball. After the kickoff, Baltimore tried to move the ball quickly, but a holding penalty forced them into a 3rd and 18, and they could not convert, choosing to punt rather than try a long 4th down play. The punt was shanked and only traveled 23 yards, giving Oakland the ball in Baltimore territory. Rather than sit on the lead, they went deep right away, and Leaf found a willing and able target in Plaxico Burress. In one play they made it to the Baltimore 2 yard line. One play later Siran Stacy had boosted the lead to 21. A stunned Blitz club could be seen just jaws agape on the sideline. They were down 21 to a team that had proven an easy W for so many other clubs. The offense came back onto the field trying to do the impossible. Oakland went to a soft zone defense and that allowed Baltimore to move the ball and eventually get a Tim Dwight TD to pull within 14. A successful onside kick put some fear in the Invaders, who tightened up the coverages and forced Baltimore to move the ball more slowly, burning timeouts along the way. The Blitz would score again with just a few ticks on the clock, but it was too little too late. Oakland had on a home game in front of a semi-hostile crowd of only 21,827, but it was a win. Baltimore had let one get away from them, and now fell out of a 3-way tie for first in the Atlantic. It would not take long for fans to blame Green and start clamoring on sports talk radio for Jeff Garcia to return to action. We doubt Coach Infante hears them as he has clearly stuck with Green whenever the IU grad has been healthy, but the Blitz cannot afford more of what they got this week. PIT 0 DEN 31 What Pittsburgh got this week was humiliated. They ran into an absolute buzzsaw at Mile High as the Gold limited them to only 229 total yards while racking up 425 themselves. Rashaan Salaam rushed 21 times for 96 yards and Mark Brunell completed 15 of his 17 pass attempts as Denver controlled the clock, the ball, the field position, and the scoreboard in an embarrassing game for the Maulers. PHI 26 ARZ 24 A good game in the desert as the Stars needed a final minute field goal to upend the homestanding Wranglers. New Wrangler Dorsey Levins got the bulk of the carries for Arizona, gaining 41 yards on 12 carries, while Jake Plummer contributed only 4 rushes but threw for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. Philly had a strong day from backup Pat Chaffey as Stephen Davis was dinged up after only a couple of carries. Chaffey gained 84 yards on 24 carries, about 3 times his normal load, but a huge help to the 6-2 Stars. NJ 16 SEA 19 I think we are all beginning to feel bad for the Generals. Every week they are so close and every week they come up short. Curtis Enis was able to match Corey Dillon, 113 yards to 119, and Jeff Lewis played about as well as Brian Griese, but the kicking game failed the Generals. Neil Rackers, the new Generals kicker after Vinatieri bolted to the NFL, missed on a 51-yarder early and a 38 yarder late in agonizing fashion, while Seattle’s Mike Hollis was good on 4 field goal attempts for the Dragons, and that got them the win at home. MEM 26 TEX 23 Another hard luck team, Texas once again fell in a game they had kept close throughout. Memphis got a late field goal form Jeff Hall to go up 26-15, and while Texas was able to get a final minute TD, they still trailed and could not recover the onside kick. The star for Memphis was CB Fred Weary, who ties the league lead with a pick of Kelly Stouffer in this one. TBY 43 STL 22 Tampa Bay took their show on the road and the change of pace seems to have helped them as they got their offense looking a lot like the 1998 league title squad, scoring 5 TDs on the Knights’ defense. Aikman threw only 19 passes, completing 11, but 3 were for scores, including a 46-yarder to Moss and a 48-yarder to Brooks as the deep ball was a huge part of the gameplan for the Bandits. St. Louis kept pace at first, but when Todd Collins went out with a possible concussion, Rob Johnson struggled to keep the offense on the field. The result was a 21 point loss and a big road win for the Bandits. BIR 35 HOU 21 Houston did a decent job of pressuring Favre (4 sacks, 8 hurries) and Matt Hasselbeck did not play poorly (18 of 37 for 230 yards and a score) but it was just not enough as Favre was able to play pitch and catch with Lawrence Dawsey (7 for 143 and a score) and rookie Shaun Alexander looked good, rushing for 72 yards and a score as Birmingham pulled away late. ORL 24 MGN 20 Orlando had the Panthers’ number on this date, forcing 2 turnovers and holding Natrone Means to a reasonable 64 yards on 25 carries. Scott Mitchell threw for 307 and three scores, including 2 to wideout Keenan McCardell as the Renegades win the close one to move to 5-3. ATL 3 NOR 37 We don’t know what to tell Coach Petrino in Atlanta. It is just not working out, and certainly not when they face a defense that has still not allowed 100 total points this season. Atlanta gained only 160 total yards as Tiki Barber was held to 2.6 yards per carry, Marc Bulger was sacked 4 times, and New Orleans needed very little form Bobby Hoying to win this one. Az-Zahir Hakeem’s 102-yard kickoff return for a score would have been enough. JAX 23 CHI 20 OT The only overtime game of the week saw Chicago take Jacksonville to the limit before the Bulls pulled out the 3-point win with a Kris Brown kick in the extra period. Sedrick Irvin returned to action, but looked tentative, rushing for only 20 yards on the day. That forced Chris Chandler to carry the load, and his 2 TD- 2 Int game helped Chicago stay in it. The Bulls needed a Brown FG to send the game to overtime, and they added another to win the game, but this one was a close call for the Southern Division leaders. WSH 17 POR 10 The Federals got wet in the Portland rain, but got the win they needed, thanks mostly to a combined 134 yards rushing from Barry Word and rookie Reuben Droughns. Portland’s D played well, picking off Scott Zolak twice, but Akili Smith again struggled to move the ball or put points on the board. Webster Slaughter left the game early with an apparent hip injury, and Napoleon Kaufmann rushed for only 35 yards as the Federals shut down Portland’s attempt for a late comeback. OHI 38 LA 14 A big win for the Glory in this battle of 1995 expansion clubs. Eddie George had a monster day, rushing for 162 and a score as Ohio just kept pounding the ball and using play action to keep Kerry Collins upright against the LA pass rush. Cade McNown struggled a bit, completing only 13 of 31 passes and suffering 2 picks in the game. The loss pushes LA to 4-4, while Ohio is still co-leading the Atlantic at 6-2. A better week across the league, but not without some impactful injuries. Seattle took the biggest hit as they may be without QB Brian Griese for up to 6-8 weeks (the entire regular season) after Griese injured his ankle as he ran out of bounds and into a bench. Seattle is expected to promote Giovanni Carmazzi to starter and will likely move their other rookie QB, Tee Martin, from the practice squad to have 3 active (along with John Walsh), but with the Dragons in the heat of a playoff hunt, what if Carmazzi struggles? Will they seek another option, a Spence Fisher or Chuck Hartlieb perhaps? Texas will be shorthanded on defense as starting corner Jerome Henderson is out for the year after suffering a torn posterior cruciate on his left knee. In Atlanta, wideout Hart Lee Dikes could be out 1-3 weeks after separating his shoulder, while in Jacksonville Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Lavar Arrington, will likely be out this week as he is listed as Questionable with a wrist injury. Finally, as we mentioned earlier, Webster Slaughter, the venerable receiver in Portland, looks to be out only a week, maybe two, with a hip stinger. For the Midseason Report we thought we would bypass our usual division between game-related stories and other “Around the League” news, to really focus on where each team stands at the halfway point of they year. We will take a brief peak at each club, what is working well, what is not going as planned, and what they might do in the second half. This will be followed by our revised picks for the 12 playoff teams and the eventual champion. ATLANTIC OHIO GLORY (6-2, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: The Glory have been outperforming expectations to be sure. Thei offense in particular has been much stronger than anticipated (2nd in the league in points per game). This is mostly due to the success of Eddie George, who is on pace for 1,400 yards this year, by far his best season. Joey Galloway has become king of the deep ball, averaging nearly 30 yards per catch. The defense has also been better than advertised (5th in the league) including 5th against the pass. NEGATIVES: The rush defense still struggles, 22nd in the league at nearly 134 yards a game. That could play a factor as teams try to keep the ball away from the Glory offense. Kerry Collins is playing well, but his reliance on the deep ball means a lot of 3rd downs end up in 4th down punts. WHAT’S AHEAD?: We don’t see Ohio changing much of what has worked so far, though it would not hurt if they could be more effective against the run, especially with Terrell Davis, Ron Dayne, Stephen Davis, Curtis Enis, and Barry Word all in their division. REVISED PICK: They are tied for first right now, but we see Baltimore coming on, so we are going to say 11-5 and 2nd place. PHILADELPHIA STARS (6-2, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: So much has gone right for the Stars this year, but we think the big win was with Jim Mora Jr.. He wanted to bring a new culture to the Stars and it seems that he has everyone on board, from newly acquired players to old veterans, the Stars are playing like a team. They are not the best in the league in anything, but they are playing well in all three phases. NEGATIVES: The Stars’ defense is middle-of-the-pack, and that could be a problem down the stretch as the intensity increases. They have a good balance of run & pass but are not truly explosive on offense, so beware of shootouts late in the year. WHAT’S AHEAD?: If Philly could add 1 more piece on defense, a true cover corner, they could be very dangerous, but getting a high quality corner out of another squad mid-year seems unlikely. REVISED PICK: We like what we see building in Philly, but we are not fully sold that they can keep up this run of good performances. We pick them to finish 3rd at 10-6 and earn a Wild Card. BALTIMORE BLITZ (5-3, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: The Blitz live and die with defensive strength and a clock-killing offense. They currently rank 4th in yards allowed, including a 2nd place rating against the run, and they are one of the best clubs in time of possession, so the formula is working. NEGATIVES: That loss to Oakland is troubling because everything we say about Balitmore failed to appear in that game. It represents a 2nd straight loss and a 2nd straight game in which they have given up more than 30 points. That is worrisome, to say the least. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Baltimore needs to settle on a QB. We think Coach Infante is satisfied with Trent Green, but his 3-pick game against Oakland is making the fanbase antsy. Expect them to turn up their blitzing as well after seeing what Ryan Leaf did to their defense this week. REVISED PICK: We still like Baltimore’s depth, or maybe we are just stubborn. We see them going 6-2 in the second half, tying Ohio at 11-5 and winning the division as originally predicted. WASHINGTON FEDERALS (5-3, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: The Federals have regained some swagger on defense this year, having kept 6 of 8 opponents under 20 points. They rank 2nd in the league in both points and yards allowed. That has been the formula that has won them titles in the past. NEGATIVES: Losing Kordell Stewart early in the year has been rough. He is expected back for a lat season playoff run, but how ready will he be? While Scott Zolak has not been a disaster, his game is not as dynamic as Stewart’s and that puts more on Barry Word and rookie Reuben Droughns to carry the offense. WHAT’S AHEAD?: A lot depends on when Stewart can return and how he will perform when he does. The pieces are there to possibly make a late bid for the division if Stewart can be 100% when he gets back on the field. REVISED PICK: In another division, we could see Washington coming all the way back but even only 1 game back right now, we think a 4-4 finish could be about what Washington might expect, putting them at 9-7 and on the bubble for a playoff spot. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (2-6, 0-4 in division) POSITIVES: For a team seen as a championship darkhorse, not a lot has gone as planned. Despite an offense designed around 1999 rushing champion Terrell Davis, Pittsburgh is currently 20th in the league in rush yards. So, a positive, well, the run defense is still very solid (4th in the league) so that is a good place to start. NEGATIVES: A longer list. The offense has not been scoring (19th in the league), and Terrell Davis is facing 8 or 9-man fronts every down since few teams respect Charlie Batch to get the job done. The defense, while good against the run, is giving up 330 yards a game passing. That is worst in the league and that means teams don’t need to run to win against the Maulers. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Pittsburgh was simply not the club we expected, and Charlie Batch may not be the long term answer for the offense. The Maulers need to get more pressure against the passer, and need to do a better job protecting Batch or they will continue to flounder. REVISED PICK: At 2-6, and without a divisional win, things look bleak. We think a 3 or 4 win second half is about all they can hope for, putting them around 6-10 for the year. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (1-7, 0-4 in division) POSITIVES: Curtis Enis is having a solid season, on pace for 1,200-1,300 yards, so you have that. You also have a club that is playing hard for Coach Schottenheimer. They have lost games by 3, 5, 2, 3, 7 and 8 points. All were within range, but all slipped away. So a few breaks their way and they could be in a much different situation. NEGATIVES: Despite playing hard, the Generals are currently the worst team in the league in points allowed, roughly 30 per game. You are not going to win many games that way. Coach Schottenheimer recently took over defensive play calling, which we think could help a little, but what the Generals need is to boost the talent level on the defensive side of the ball. WHAT’S AHEAD?: New Jersey has a brutal schedule the rest of the way, with LA, Jacksonville, St. Louis, and Orlando on the schedule along with tough divisional games. That is going to make things look bad for them. REVISED PICK: Honestly, if they can get to 4 wins this year, that would be a major accomplishment. Fans are already eyeing over Class of 2001 draftees in search of the next Lawrence Taylor or Reggie White. SOUTHERN JACKSONVILLE BULLS (6-2, 4-0 in division) POSITIVES: The Bulls were picked to maybe go 8-8 and be a longshot for a Wild Card, but Coach Cunningham has found some magic with this squad. They have gone 4-0 in division including impressive wins against Tampa, Orlando and Memphis. They have 2 losses, a 3 pointer to Arizona on opening week, and a weird 3 point loss to Pittsburgh. This could easily be an 8-0 squad at this point. They are top 6 in both scoring and scoring defense and have looked very much a contender in each game. NEGATIVES: Sedrick Irvin continues to struggle with nagging injuries (currently a groin) and while Kenny Bynum’s 391 yards rushing in relief has been great, he is not a long term answer. 2nd year DE Jevon Kearse was expected to produce a lot of QB pressure, but has only 3 sacks at the halfway point of the year. More from him would be a huge help down the stretch. WHAT’S AHEAD?: A huge game with Memphis next week, and then an up and down end to the year, but the Bulls seem ready for all takers. REVISED PICK: We are going to admit that we did not see this coming, but that we are getting on the Bull bandwagon. We will say 12-4 and the #1 seed for this solid club. ORLANDO RENEGADES (5-3, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: Orlando has grown into the season thanks to a solid defense and a surprisingly effective passing game. It surprises many to see that Orlando is #2 in the league in passing yards, but 2nd year wideout Donald Driver is becoming one of the toughest receivers in the game to cover. Add in effective receiving backs and solid TE play and you have a pretty balanced offense. NEGATIVES: Orlando has a solid defense, and Chris Doleman has to be gameplanned every week, but they still give up nearly 330 yards a game on defense. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Orlando faces both Jacksonville and Memphis in the season’s final 3 weeks, and those 2 games are likely to determine their final position both in the division and the playoff race. REVISED PICK: We like Orlando, but we don’t love them to do something like run the table. Another 5-3 half seems possible, so we put them at 10-6 and a Wild Card. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (5-3, 2-2 in division) POSITIVES: Don’t look now, but the Showboats have won 3 in a row, including a huge win in Tampa. Top 10 in both scoring and points against, this is not a one-dimensional club any more. Heath Shuler is not putting up MVP numbers, but he is doing what the club needs to win. In a similar vein, without Reggie White, the pass rush is not the same, but the defense is finding ways to get to the QB in new ways. NEGATIVES: While things look good for the Showboats, they are dead last in rushing per game, with Garrison Hearst averaging only slightly better than 60 yards a game. Depth may also be an issue as Memphis seems to depend very heavily on just a few playmakers. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Next week’s clash with Jacksonville will tell us a lot. The Showboats also travel to both Birmingham and Seattle, and also face Orlando and Baltimore in the final 2 weeks, so their path to a division title is not an easy one. REVISED PICK: That tough schedule is why we have Memphis finishing 10-6 and nabbing a Wild Card. TAMPA BAY BANDITS (4-4, 1-3 in division) POSITIVES: A lot of the positives for Tampa Bay are potential positives. They have so much talent on offense, we just cannot figure out where the magic of 1998 has gone (It cannot all be the loss of TE Ben Coates). Tampa Bay has solid talent at all the skill positions, at least on offense. NEGATIVES: The defense is a concern. They are 18th in points allowed, 19th in yards allowed, and 23rd in passing yards allowed. Santana Dotson has a solid 8 sacks, but seems to be on an island with a defense that simply does not get off the field quickly enough. WHAT’S AHEAD?: We think anything beyond another 4-4 half is tough to see. Tampa should be looking to trade for more defensive playmakers, but that may not happen until the offseason. REVISED PICK: We are going to say 4-4 again, so an 8-8 finish, which will not make fans happy along the Gulf Coast. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (3-5, 0-4 in division) POSITIVES: Brett Favre is still Brett Favre, and there is a lot of talent in that receiving corps. Rodney Thomas has been a great free agent acquisition, and the offense is more balanced than in past seasons with him in the game. NEGATIVES: Well, first off, Thomas is now out for the year, and Birmingham is not sure what they have in rookie Shaun Alexander. The offense is fine, but the defense continues to struggle despite the arrival of Deion Sanders. Birmingham is 17th in points allowed, in large part due to far too many short or fast drives leading to a tired defense at the end of games. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Road games against Baltimore, Arizona and Tampa will not be easy for this club, andthen you add home tilts against Memphis and Jacksonville and that could easily be another 5 losses in the 2nd half. REVISED PICK: 7-9 may be the best we can expect unless that defense finds its way quickly. ATLANTA FIRE (2-6, 2-2 in division) POSITIVES: Um, well…I guess…not a lot. Is that fair to say? We can say that the defense is not horrid, 12th in points allowed and 12th in rushing, so midling. NEGATIVES: Ugh, that offense!! 24th in points, in yards, and in passing yards at 148.9 per game. Yup, less than 150 yards a game passing. That, in this league in particular, is not going to get the job done. Coach Petrino has alternated between Bulger and Brooks, but neither seems to show enough to merit starting full time. Add in a mediocre season from Tiki Barber and this offense is in big trouble. WHAT’S AHEAD?: More pain and more losses, we expect. A big week 13 showdown with Portland could go a long way to determining draft order, if that is something you want to talk about. REVISED PICK: 5 wins would be a boon right now. But when we look at their schedule, the game against Portland may be their only solid chance to get another W this year. CENTRAL NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (7-1, 4-0 in division) POSITIVES: What can we say? We were wrong about this club. What Mike Nolan has done is astounding. The Breakers enter midseason with both the #1 scoring offense and the #1 defense. They are first in both points allowed at a measly 10.5 per game, and in yards, with an equally impressive 228.2 allowed. They have been dominant on both sides of the ball. NEGATIVES: The injury to Trent Dilfer is hugely deflating. While we expect the defense to continue to excel, the Breakers now have a lot less firepower on offense (Who would have thought we would be talking about Dilfer as a dynamic offensive weapon?) If the offense falters the Breakers could slip a notch, and in this division, that could give St. Louis a shot. WHAT’S AHEAD?: The Breakers play the Knights in a couple of weeks. We should get a good idea where they stand in that game. After that Michigan and Arizona may be the only real obstacles to a division title and top seed. REVISED PICK: Just forget what we said about the Breakers in preseason. We, like everyone else, were so used to the ineffective Ditka years that we just did not see the potential here for a quick turnaround. Right now the Breakers look like a potential #1 or #2 seed. ST. LOUIS KNIGHTS (5-3, 4-1 in division) POSITIVES: What was the famous Dennis Green quote? They are who we thought they were. That sums up the Knights. Defensive pressure and conservative offense is their game. They are currently 3rd in rushing thanks in large part to Ahman Green’s steady development. Bert Emmanuel continues to be a dangerous target, and the defense, while not as dominant as in past years, is certainly formidable. NEGATIVES: Pass rush has been an issue for St. Louis, and that could mean trouble against some of the better quarterbacks in the league. Fortunately the Central Division is perhaps the league’s worst at the QB position. WHAT’S AHEAD?: That big game against New Orleans. Lose that and the division is lost, win and the Knights have a chance to do what they did last year and steal the title in the season’s final weeks. REVISED PICK: We think New Orleans is still too good this year, so it is a solid 10-6 and a Wild Card for the Knights. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (4-4, 3-1 I division) POSITIVES: In their 4 wins, the Panthers have beaten some good teams, Baltimore, St. Louis, and (maybe) Chicago). But in their 4 losses, we find a lot of inconsistency. When Natrone Means can get 25 carries or come close to 100 yards on the ground, the Panthers have a shot against nearly anyone, but if he is held in check, they struggle. NEGATIVES: Michigan is middle of the pack in so many categories it is hard to identify strengths and weaknesses. They need to blitz to get pressure on QB’s, but their secondary is not stury enough to protect them when they do blitz. Not a great combo. WHAT’S AHEAD?: A schedule with some potential wins (Oakland, Houston, Texas) but also some brutal games (at New Orleans, at Seattle, at Memphis). This could be just more of the same 4-4 football. REVISED PICK: We think the schedule is not going to make life easy for Michigan, so we are going to say 7-9 is what looks most likely. CHICAGO MACHINE (4-4, 1-3 in division) POSITIVES: The Machine have overperformed, at least when you look at their stats. Their 3-1 start included good wins against Philly and Arizona, but their 1-3 streak in the 2nd quarter of the season showed they struggle against the better clubs, losing to St. Louis, New Orleans and Jacksonville. NEGATIVES: The Machine are an enigma. They are in the bottom 5 clubs in passing and total yards, as well as in yards allowed and pass defense. That they are 4-4 may be a bit of a fluke. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Life does not get easier with Denver, followed by a 3-game road trip. They do have a nice lineup of 5 straight games against sub-500 clubs (Texas, Birmingham, Houston, Pittsburgh, Oakland) but we are not saying that this will create a 5-game win streak either. REVISED PICK: Honestly, 4-4 is a good possibility here, leading to an 8-8 season which is still better than we expected from this club. TEXAS OUTLAWS (2-6, 1-3 in division) POSITIVES: This is not the season the Outlaws expected, and they seem to be struggling across the board. The most positive thing we can say about this year is that at least Texas is not the Houston Gamblers. NEGATIVES: The passing game is inefficient and not explosive enough, the run game is slow and the loss of Rodney Thomas has hurt their depth there. The defense, which helped them so much in 1999 seems overworked and too prone to giving up big plays. Other than that, they are just fine. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Their 2nd half lineup of games is not a murderer’s row, with a lot of mediocre clubs there. They could steal a couple of upset wins in this lineup of games. REVISED PICK: We think 5-11 or 6-10 is perhaps the most the Outlaws can expect unless things start to change quickly. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (1-7, 0-4 in division) POSITIVES: The Gamblers play in a dome, so Houston’s humidity is not an issue for fans. There, that is a positive. Ooh, wait, Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair are still dangerous, that is 2 positives. Good for you, Houston. NEGATIVES: Pretty much everything else. You name it. If it were not for Portland’s utter futility we would be really shaking our head at the Gamblers. Bottom 4 in pretty much every major team statistic. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Misery we expect. Another potential draft-impacting game in Week 14 when the Gamblers travel to Portland. Lose there and the top pick may be yours. Could that be Michael Vick? REVISED PICK: Honestly, while finishing 1 game ahead of Portland would be something, it is not really a good thing. PACIFIC DENVER GOLD (7-1, 4-0 in division) POSITIVES: This may be the best Denver team we have seen. Are they finally ready to shake off their reputation as also-rans? The defense is Top 5 in several key categories, including a dynamic season so far from Leslie O’Neil. The offense is Top 3 in points and 4th in rushing, a tough combo. NEGATIVES: We are a bit concerned that the Gold are overworking Rashaan Salaam. He is 2nd in the league in rushing but averages less than 4 yards per carry. If he wears out, that could deeply impact the Gold’s entire offensive scheme. WHAT’S AHEAD?: We think the entire division comes down to that final Week 16 game at Seattle. The winner of that could be all set up for a long and deep playoff run. REVISED PICK: We don’t see Denver catching New Orleans for the #1 seed, the Pacific is too balanced for them to run the table. But, #2 with a bye and a home playoff game is very possible, again, if they can win in Seattle in Week 16. SEATTLE DRAGONS (6-2, 2-2 in division) POSITIVES: Seattle is yet another of the upstart clubs overperforming expectations. Corey Dillon is on fire, leading the #1 rush offense in the league, and Brian Griese has been a solid playcaller and game manager. The Defense is looking good, ranked 10th in the league and 2nd against the pass. Kudos to rookie John Abraham for a very strong start to his career with 10 sacks in his first 8 games. NEGATIVES: It feels a bit like the talents of Eric Metcalf and David Boston to play the deep ball are being wasted with Griese at QB, and the trade of Jon Kitna means that Seattle is not exactly deep at the position. Now that they are likely to be without Griese for at least a month, that could be a real issue for the Dragons. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Just as we said with Denver, that Week 16 game is vital to their potential playoff success. The next 3 weeks are also vital with St. Louis, LA, and Ohio all on the schedule. Not an easy run of games. REVISED PICK: We like the Dragons, but not as much as Denver. Wild Card would still be a very good season in the evergreen state. LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (4-4, 3-1 in division) POSITIVES: When they play well together, the Express are a very solid team. They can run the ball, can win in the air, can step up on defense, and they have a very good ballhawking secondary. NEGATIVES: But. When you are 4-4 there is always a “but”. For LA that but has been consistency. They just have not had it. They have yet to beat a team with a winning record (losing to Denver, St. Louis and Ohio), so we are just not sure how good they can be. WHAT’S AHEAD?: LA needs to win the games they are expected to win, and a couple where they are not favored. It may already be too late to catch up to Denver and Seattle, but they absolutely could make a Wild Card slot with just a bit more consistency. REVISED PICK: We like LA to go 5-3 over the final 8, which puts them in solid Wild Card standing at 9-7. ARIZONA WRANGLERS (4-4, 2-2 in division) POSITIVES: Jake Plummer. That is all we need to say. He has been at his best all year, a dual threat to run or pass the club to a victory. NEGATIVES: Jake Plummer is having to do it all because others have not stepped up. The defense is 15th in scoring and 20th against the run, the run game is, as always with Arizona, a non-factor. We like the acquisition of Dorsey Levins, but unless he suddenly becomes Mike Rozier we are not sure he is the answer. WHAT’S AHEAD?: Arizona needs to sweep their next 3 against weaker clubs (Texas, Portland, Pittsburgh) because things get tough after that. If they can be in range of the playoffs, finishing the season against Portland and Oakland could be enough to propel them to the playoffs. REVISED PICK: Yup, 5 games against weak teams may bode well for the Wranglers. They also have a winnable game against Birmingham in the mix, so we are going to say 9-7 and they edge out the Express. OAKLAND INVADERS (2-6, 1-3 in division) POSITIVES: Despite all the chaos, there have been a couple of bright spots for Oakland. The run game is surprisingly effective, ranked #10 despite not having a true stud at halfback. The defense is adequate against the pass, but… NEGATIVES: But, that may be because they are the worst run defense in football. 153 yards a game means teams don’t need to pass to beat you. That is negative #1, but the one getting all the press is Ryan Leaf. It is not that he is playing horribly, he is decent at least, but his attitude, and his hysterics every time Oakland loses are beginning to wear very thin with everyone, teammates, coaches, ownership, fans. It is not good when your leader is not leading but turning people away. WHAT’S AHEAD?: No team on their remaining schedule is worse than 4-4, so if they want to win, they are going to have to play spoiler as they did this week. We expect a couple of upsets are in their future, but 2-3 at the most. REVISED PICK: We think 4-12 is about right for this club. Top 5 draft pick but not Top 3. PORTLAND THUNDER (0-8, 0-4 in division) POSITIVES: It can’t get any worse, can it? Nowhere to go but up? Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes? That is the best we can do. NEGATIVES: This team has a legitimate chance to go 0-16. That is where things stand. WHAT’S AHEAD?: They have a two game stretch at home against 2-6 Atlanta and 1-7 Houston. If they are going to win a game this year, those are their best opportunities. REVISED PICK: What if they win the game against Houston but lose out on Michael Vick by doing so? And if they draft Vick what are the odds he does not join the NFL instead? So maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe picking 2nd and taking a solid DT would actually be better for them in the long run. A team doesn’t really need a QB, right? The second half of the season starts off with a bang as several rivalry games within the Eastern Conference are on tap, along with a couple of very intriguing matchups out West. We start in the East where Baltimore and Washington both sit at 5-3 as they renew the War of I-95 in RFK, both 1 game behind Philadelphia. The Stars are also in a rivalry game as they head out to western PA to face the Pittsburgh Maulers. Pittsburgh was a preseason favorite to win the Atlantic, while most of us picked Philly for 6th place. Oh, how the times have changed. Finally, New Jersey hopes they can finally break through after several weeks of nailbiting losses, but they face Atlantic Co-Leaders, the 6-2 Ohio Glory, who are likely in no mood for charity this week. In the South we have another 2 matchups that likely have significant playoff importance (even in Week 9) as Orlando heads down to Tampa Bay with both clubs hoping to gain ground with a win. Jacksonville, leading the division at 6-2, is in Memphis, where the Showboats are hoping they are on their way back to the top of the division. A win by Memphis would get them right there with the Bulls. In the Western Conference, where the Central teams are hosting the Pacific Division, we have a really nice matchup of styles as Seattle (6-2) visits St. Louis (5-3). Will the Dragons and league leading rusher Corey Dillon be able to build up a ground game against that Knights defense? Hey, Dragons v. Knights, that is classic already!! Also worth a watch is Denver, taking their Conference-leading 7-1 record to Chicago to face a Machine club that started the season white hot but has faded of late. Arizona, sitting at 4-4, is hoping to get back over .500 with a win in San Antonio against the Texas Outlaws, while Michigan, also 4-4, has similar hopes as they host the Oakland Invaders. LA, the last of our Western 4-4 clubs, is in Houston, where the Gamblers are struggling through a 1-7 first half of the season. Finally, in a game that has potential to be a disaster, the 7-1 New Orleans Breakers, with their top-rated defense, are hosting an 0-8 Portland squad that cannot seem to score points on anyone. Could this be a huge blowout? Likely. The greatest upset in league history? Far less likely, but you never know.

Week 7 was a week of divisional matchups that could have a huge impact on the future playoff runs of most of the USFL’s 24 clubs. We saw a battle for the top of the Atlantic Division, a showdown of two unexpected 3-3 clubs in the South, a preseason favorite assert their claim in the Central, and a showdown of 5-1 clubs trying to lay claim to the Pacific Division title out West. We also saw every single 0 or 1-win team go down to defeat again as the battle of haves and have-nots seems to be pushing away from league parity this season. We start our coverage with a real shootout in the South as two clubs who did not expect to be at .500 this late in the season fought to get above that line and start a push for the playoffs. For the second consecutive week the Bandits find themselves in our Game of the Week, again at home, and again a nailbiter, though the folks in Tampa Bay are certainly not going to be as happy with this one as they were with last week's win against New Jersey. This one did not look like a game that would go to overtime, much less one that would see the trailing club score 20 unanswered points to take the win, but that is exactly what happened as Tampa Bay blew a 14 point lead in the final 6 minutes of their home game against Memphis. It was an epic comeback led by Heath Shuler as the Showboats came all the way back, tying the game with only seconds to play, and then taking that momentum into the extra period to stun the crowd at Tampa Stadium. The Bandits looked like a team on a mission early, scoring 24 points to Memphis’s 3 over the first 22 minutes of play, but slowly and surely the Showboats pulled themselves back into this one and Tampa faded down the stretch. The Bandits went up 14-0 in the first as Errict Rhett rushed for a TD on his 3rd carry of the game, a game that would see him touch the ball 26 times (3 receptions included) and score 2 TDs. His game-opening score was quickly followed by a Randy Moss deep ball that went for a 43-yard TD. After a Showboat field goal, Tampa came bac with a Vanderjagt kick and Errict Rhett’s second score, this time a 4-yard reception from Aikman. But, despite trailing by 21, the Showboats would not go away. Memphis added a Garrison Hearst TD run and a Bobby Olive TD reception to pull within 7 at the half. For Hearst it was part of a rare 100-yard game as he carried 23 times for exactly 100 yards. For Olive it was one of only 3 catches on the day, but it would foretell a much more important catch later on. Despite a pretty raucous first half, there was no scoring in the 3rd and Tampa retained their 7 point lead. They added to it at the start of the 4th with another Vanderjagt kick, but Memphis would respond with a field goal of their own, a 41-yarder from Jeff Hall. Tampa would then put up what most in the stadium certainly saw as the game clincher, an Aikman to Doering 48-yard TD play that sent the crowd into hysterics. With only 6:44 left to play, Memphis was down 14. The Showboats used a full 4 minutes on their next drive, but it was a drive that ended with a score as little-used TE Dennis Ransom caught a short TD pass from Shuler. 2:24 left to play and Memphis would try the onside kick. After a high bounce, the ball was touched by Tampa LB Ron Moten, but he could not fully grasp the ball and it was recovered by Memphis’s Summer Bowl hero, Tydus Wynans on the 50. Memphis wasted no time, moving down the field on only 3 plays before Shuler again found the former Seattle Dragon, Bobby Olive, this time from the 5 yard line, and with only 21 seconds left the Showboats had tied the game. Tampa Bay, rattled by the quick 14 points put up by Memphis played it safe and took a knee to go to overtime. That proved to be a mistake as Memphis won the toss and never gave Tampa Bay’s offense a chance to touch the ball. The Showboats used 7 plays to move the ball once again inside the 10 yard line, and when Aaron Stecker, the 2nd year scatback who had only touched the ball 2 times all day, took a pitch out right, the Tampa defenders were not well positioned and the speedy back found the pylon for 6, ending the game and sending the dejected Bandit faithful home with a sour taste in their mouths. The win moved Memphis to 4-3, only 1 game behind 1st place Jacksonville, while Tampa fell into a 3-4 rut and 4th place in the division. BIR 17 ORL 24 Despite 132 yards from HB Rodney Thomas, who would have to leave the game in the 4th, Birmingham could not hold a lead against Orlando as the Renegades came back from a 17-7 deficit to upend the Stallions. Scott Mitchell hit Donald Driver for one 4th quarter TD and, in a rare feat, ran in another to end the game with an Orlando W. Chris Doleman was the defensive star for Orlando, sacking Brett Favre twice and forcing a key fumble late in the game to secure the win for the ‘Gades. ATL 13 JAX 23 The final game in the South was a bit less dramatic, as Atlanta’s only TD came on defense (a Tyrone Legette pick six). Coach Petrino had given rookie Marc Bulger the start as once again Akili Smith was not 100%. Bulger would complete only 11 of 34 pass attempts for a miserable 29.3 QB Rating. Meanwhile Jacksonville, playing without Sedrick Irvin, turned to backup Kenny Bynum, who came up big as this week’s Offensive POTW with his 25 carry, 125 yard, 2 TD performance to move the Bulls to 5-2 on the year. PHI 37 BAL 21 The big game in the Atlantic saw the upstart Stars upend the Blitz in Baltimore. Philly got 88 yards and 2 scores from their new bell cow, Stephen Davis, and with Bobby Hebert using the short game to perfection, he completed 26 of 32 passes (81.2%) for 284 yards and 2 scores as well. Baltimore rookie HB Ron Dayne did not fare as well, rushing for only 59 yards, and Trent Green struggled to a 16 of 36 day with two picks. At the end of the game you could hear some fans chanting for backup Jeff Garcia, but Coach Infante kept Green in until the very last play as Philly bested the Blitz. WSH 29 NJ 24 The Generals’ “close but no cigar” streak continued again on Saturday as a late Herman Moore TD catch once again pulled defeat from the jaws of victory for the homestanding New Jersey Squad. Jeff Lewis threw for 3 TDs and hit Terry Glenn for 131 yards receiving, but in the end it was Scott Zolak’s 295 yards and 2 TD tosses that did in the generals. Rookie HB Reuben Droughns got 2 more carries than Barry Word as the Generals struggled to contain the outside run, Droughns rushing for 81 yards to Word’s 36. PIT 17 OHI 30 Ohio took a share of 1st place as well, thanks to a solid day on both sides of the ball against a Pittsburgh club that is struggling to score. Terrell Davis had 111 yards and a score for the Maulers, but balance was the key for Ohio, who got 2 scores in the air from the Collins to Qadry Ismail connection, and another from Eddie George as the Glory moved to 5-2. STL 38 CHI 35 The game of the week in the Central was St. Louis at Chicago, a budding rivalry in the USFL to match the baseball rivalry of Cardinals-Cubs. Chicago proved their mettle, but in the end the experience of St. Louis paid off as they scored the game’s final 17 points to come back from a 35-20 deficit in the 4th. Bert Emmanuel was the hero with 3 second half TD receptions. Ahman Green and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar combined for 131 yards rushing to lead St. Louis, and even a stunning 240 yards rushing between Watters (140), Staley (75) and Bates (23) could not help Chicago as their defense simply wore out in the final quarter. NOR 27 HOU 13 New Orleans’s defensive domination and Houston’s offensive woes were an ugly matchup on paper, and that proved to be the case on the field as well, with the Breakers outgaining Houston 415-202 on the day. Ricky Williams was dominant with 141 yards on 23 carries, but it was backup James Bostic who got the goalline plunges, 2 scores on the day. Houston started Matt Hasselbeck, back from injury, but he struggled to only 12 completions on the day as Houston fell for the 6th straight week. The win was a costly one for New Orleans as QB Trent Dilfer is likely out for 4-6 weeks after a poorly-executed slide led to an MCL tear. TEX 20 MGN 27 The Outlaws looked better than their 2-win record would indicate, but it was a moral victory only as Michigan got 139 yards from Natrone Means, including a 4th quarter TD that put the game in the Panthers’ pockets. Doug Flutie also played well, throwing for 288 yards and a score to help Michigan over the .500 mark at 4-3 in the brutally tough Central Division. SEA 7 DEN 26 Denver held the league’s leading rusher to only 3 yards a carry and 66 total yards as the Gold wore down Seattle at home in the altitude. Neither team would gain even 200 yards passing on a day that saw high winds and intermittent rain, but it was Denver’s defense that seemed the most dangerous condition on the field. LB Chris Cowart scored 2 sacks and a forced fumble against Brian Griese, while Bruce Pickens nabbed a wayward Griese throw late to secure the win for the Gold, giving them sole possession of first place in the division. POR 10 LA 30 The Express continue to rise, now at 4-3 after a pretty lackluster win over the 0-6, now 0-7 Portland Thunder. LA ran the ball 38 times on the day, with Michael Pittman getting 19 carries for 117 yards and Antowain Smith adding another 51 yards on 17 carries, but it was the defense that kept this game from getting close. Akili Smith was picked off three times by an LA secondary that now boasts the top two interception leaders in the league, FS Martin Bayless and CB Ray Crockett (who landed 2 picks in this game alone.) OAK 10 ARZ 17 It wasn’t pretty, but the Wranglers are also back over .500 as they knocked off the Invaders with 10 points in the final period. In a big day for TE O.J. Santiago, the big target finished with 5 receptions for 74 yards, but it was Rocket Ismail’s 4th quarter TD from Plummer that gave Arizona the win over an Oakland club that simply could not get it done on offense. Horrible news out of Birmingham as the Stallions’ lead rusher, former Outlaw Rodney Thomas is lost for the season when it was discovered that he was not simply suffering from a concussion at the end of the game against Orlando, but that he had actually suffered a skull fracture. Thomas complained of dizziness and double vision when taken from the field, and as the impact area began to show swelling, the medical staff for the Stallions sent Thomas to a local hospital where X-rays showed the fracture. It is not sure when in the game Thomas suffered the injury, though he did have back-to-back plays with significant helmet-to-helmet contact. Team officials did not want to mess around with questions of a possible return and placed Thomas on the IR, ending his season and allowing him extensive time to recover. It is expected that rookie back Shaun Alexander will take over as the lead back in Birmingham. Texas also saw a key player go down for the year when linebacker Tedi Bruschi left the game against Michigan with a knee injury. Tests showed that it was the much-feared ACL tear, and that means Bruschi will be out for several months as he rehabs post-surgery. A third huge loss this week as New Orleans could be without their new star, QB Trent Dilfer for as much as 6 weeks after the QB suffered a torn MCL on a poorly executed baseball slide. Dilfer, not know as fleet of foot, got his right foot caught in the turf and it led to his knee twisting awkwardly. Team officials hope he can return within the month, but a 5 or 6 week absence is not out of the question. New Orleans will now have to decide if they go with Gus Frerotte or Bobby Hoying at QB for the next month or longer. Other notable injuries include STL Punter Mark Whittaker, who apparently tore an ab muscle on an awkward kick. Tampa Bay guard William Boatwright could miss 1-2 weeks with a torn meniscus. Chicago SS Anthony Prior is expected to be out at least 1 week with a similar injury, and Michigan CB Chris Canty could miss a week or longer with a fracture in his jaw. QB Rick Mirer is expected to be out again, listed as doubtful this week, and while Jake Plummer is expected to start in Week 8, he did make the list as “probable” with a hip stinger. TRANSACTIONS ARZ: Trades HB K. Barber and 4th Round 2001 pick to Houston for HB Dorsey Levins BIR: Placed HB Rodney Thomas on IR and signed HB Terry Battle. NOR: Moved FS Robert Stevens to the practice squad, signed QB Jason Maher. STL: Moved WR Sean Morey to the practice squad, signed P Andrew Jones TEX: Placed LB Tedi Bruschi on IR, moved LB Dhani Jones to active roster from practice squad BREAKERS MUST WEATHER THE STORM Breakers’ fans must feel jinxed. After several seasons of disappointment, the Breakers get off to a fantastic start, thanks in large part to imported QB Trent Dilfer’s steady hand at the till of the offense, but just as the club builds up a 2-game lead in the division, and with only 9 weeks left to play, Dilfer goes down with what could be a long term concern, an MCL injury. Likely to miss at least a month, and perhaps as much as two full months, Dilfer is now resigned to holding a clipboard and coaching up his replacements. New Orleans’s coaching staff must now decide between two very untested players, long term backup Gus Frerotte, who has thrown a total of 91 passes in 7 seasons, or even less-tested 3rd stringer Bobby Hoyer, who has thrown only 69 passes in his 5 year career with the Breakers. The silver lining, if there is one, is that both backups have been with the club for years, but as this is the first year with a new coach in Mike Nolan, that may not be much help as his offensive schemes look very little like those of his predecessor, Mike Ditka. It is an open competition in practice this week, but if we are going purely on athletic ability the better option may be Hoying, the Ohio State product, who is the more mobile of the two. The truth is that what we need to expect is that New Orleans will rely even more heavily on their top rated defense, a defense that is currently the only one in the league not to give up 100 total points. Expect the Breakers to use Ricky Williams and the run game to slow down games and keep scores low. If Williams can find yardage against stacked defenses, then either Frerotte or Hoying could have some success with play action passes. But that is the best case scenario for the Breakers. They do have a 2 game lead, so as long as they can play even .500 ball until Dilfer’s return, they may have a good shot at retaining their first place position in the division, but for fans who are used to seeing the Breakers disappoint them, the loss of Dilfer at this key juncture in the season does not bode well. A CHANGE IN COMMAND With their defense currently ranked dead last in points allowed (nearly 30 a game) and in the bottom 5 against the pass, something had to give in New Jersey, and what gave was the Defensive Coordinator position. Marty Schottenheimer this week, and likely under pressure from ownership, released DC Dave Adolph. Adolph, a longtime assistant under Schottenheimer since their days in the NFL with Cleveland, has simply not been able to get coherent play from a defense that features one of the league’s premier pass rushers in Phil Hansen. For the short term, which may well be the rest of the season, Schottenheimer will take on defensive play calling, though he did promote Linebackers Coach Greg Manusky to the position of Defensive Assistant, but that is no guarantee that Manusky, an NFL player up through the 1998 season, will have a shot at the DC position when a decision is made to hire a permanent replacement. For now the pressure is on Schottenheimer, known for his defensive schemes, to get better production from a defense that has given up far too many big plays and far too many third down conversions. TRY TRY AGAIN We have long watched as the Arizona Wranglers attempted to replace Tim Lester as their primary back, bringing in rookies with each draft, signing free agents and even trading for players like former General Leeland MacElroy, but to no avail. Year after year Lester ends up as the lead rusher for the Wranglers, and year after year that finds the Wranglers as one of the league’s worst rushing teams. While we feel bad for Lester, who gives it his all each week, it is clear that Arizona needs to rethink their run game in a big way, starting with line play and then consider a retool at HB. Well, that is a long and hard process, and for a club that is trying to get back to a Summer Bowl, and which has a limited window of opportunity with its defense and its star QB, slow and steady does not seem the chosen path. And that explains why the Wranglers have again reached out to nab another potential suitor for the lead back position. This week Arizona dealt former Renegade back Kantroy Barber and a 4th round pick to the 1-7 Houston Gamblers for the rights to HB Dorsey Levins. Levins has some talent, but has never been able to put together a full season or take on the lead back roll completely. He started his career as the heir apparent to Mike Rozier in Pittsburgh, but managed to only start 14 games in 5 seasons with the Maulers. Pittsburgh eventually moved Levins on to Houston, where he works as part of Coach Willsey’s preferred halfback rotation, gaining 9 official starts in 1999, but only averaging 3.5 yards per carry for the Gamblers. This season with Houston he has 282 yards on 71 carries, which is a slightly better 4.0 YPC, but now moves on to Arizona. Expect the Wranglers to give Levins a few starts to see if they have a solution at the position, but you know as well as we do that somehow, some way, Tim Lester will end up getting more carries and will finish the year as the Wranglers’ rushing leader once again. MY KINGDOM FOR A QB Quarterback is universally acclaimed as the most important position on any football team, and while football is the ultimate team sport, this cliché seems to bear itself out year after year in both the NFL and the USFL. Just look at the bottom of the standings across the USFL and you will see teams with serious QB confusion. 0-7 Portland: Akili Smith has struggled to transition to the pro game. While athletic, his decision-making and nervous feet in the pocket have led to far too many mistakes. Cue the veteran presence with Portland signing NFL journeyman Rick Mirer, but no sooner does Mirer get his first start than he gets hurt and the Thunder are back to Smith at QB. 1-6 Houston: After several years of up and down play from QB Chuck Hartlieb, the Gamblers were ready to go in a new direction. They signed Jim Miller away from St. Louis after a few good relief performances by Miller put him in the free agent spotlight. But after a 3-way competition in camp, the starting job was given to untested former BC quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck struggled in his starts, then got hurt, leading to Hartlieb being the replacement, but not the starter as Miller was given that opportunity. This week it was back to Hasselbeck as Coach Willsey seems lost as to who to trust at the position. 1-6 New Jersey: This one is a bit of a puzzler. Coach Schottenheimer, feeling that while veteran starter Spence Fischer was not the reason for declining production, still opted to sign former Denver backup Jeff Lewis, and Lewis has played well, with 12 TDs to only 3 picks and a solid QB Rating of 89.8 in his first 7 games as a full time starter, and yet, New Jersey is not winning games. Fans have started grumbling about Fischer but even they seem to recognize that there are more pressing issues on the club. 1-6 Oakland: The Invaders did not think they had a QB controversy when the season started, expecting to see growth from 3rd year QB Ryan Leaf, but the results this year have not been great. Yes, he has cut back on his picks, and he has his completion percentage back over the 50% line, but what has been new is the frequency of emotional outbursts, profane tirades, and tantrums as the losses have mounted. The Invaders recently made a deal with Seattle to bring in the cool head of veteran QB Jon Kitna, and many fans are wondering if this marks a turning point for Leaf. Will he shape up, act like a pro, or burn out and get benched for the Seattle import? It is amazing how far we have come from a very promising 44 touchdown rookie year for the highly touted Leaf. 2-5 Atlanta: Many expected the Fire to go after a big name free agent QB from either the NFL or USFL this offseason, but apparently having been burned by the Jeff George signing, they held off, retaining Aaron Brooks as the season starter, with former Bulldog Eric Zeier and rookie Marc Bulger in reserve. Brooks has struggled, throwing 3 picks to only 3 TDs and completing only 46.6% of his passes. And when Brooks went out with a minor injury, Coach Petrino bypassed Eric Zeier completely and has started rookie Bulger, the U. of West Virginia product. As expected, Bulger has had some early issues, throwing 4 picks and only 2 scores in his starts for the Fire. So what is the answer in Atlanta? Do they try to groom either Brooks or Bulger, or do they try to go fishing for a third option since Zeier seems to be a non-factor this year? Could Atlanta make a deal by the trade deadline to bring in someone like Spence Fisher or Chuck Hartlieb? Would that really help? The situation is not quite as explosive for 2-5 Pittsburgh or 2-5 Texas, but questions of QB play have begun to arise. After a solid season last year left the Maulers with a pretty good feeling about Charlie Batch as the starter, he has struggled this season. Batch has some talented receivers, and he is above .500 with a 10-6 TD-INT ratio, but he is missing too many open receivers to keep fans satisfied. But, with only Mike Cherry and Sean King behind him, we don’t see Coach Emmitt Thomas making a move to replace him, at least not during the season. In Texas, Kelly Stouffer has been the undisputed starter since coming to the Outlaws in 1990, and over a decade of play with Texas he has had some very strong seasons, racking up a QBR over 100 three times. But, this year, we are seeing a clear decline. Now part of that may be a lack of top grade receivers (Shawn Collins gets a lot of catches but does little with them, Jeff Query and Darnay Scott are not scaring anyone either), but a big concern seems to be the decline in Stouffer’s power. His arm simply is not what it was in 1990. Texas is another team that really does not have a lot of depth behind Stouffer. Tommy Maddox can come in for relief for a game or two, but has never proven to be a consistent starter, and no one expects to see 3rd stringer Tony Graziani on the field. So what are these teams to do? Each one has a different issue to deal with, and there are few midseason options for these clubs. We do think that a club like Pittsburgh or Texas would be wise to pursue a good second option, like a Spence Fischer or Chuck Hartlieb, but that is not going to turn them to an elite team. For many others it may be the 2001 draft that is their best hope to upgrade the position as it is rare that a truly elite QB ends up as a free agent. If the draft is the route, then Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick is the clear target. But Vick is a unique talent, just as likely to run for 100 as throw for 300. Not many coaches want to try to groom a running QB into a reliable passer, but Vick’s clear talent makes him an interesting pick. Atlanta certainly would be a solid location for Vick, but we could see his star quality also playing well in New Jersey, but not for Schottenheimer, who would never give him the type of offense he would need to excel. Of all the clubs that might be best suited to a talent like Vick, it might be Portland that makes the most sense, but would Vick want to play in the Pacific Northwest in the USFL’s smallest stadium? For the others, after Vick, we look at prospects like Purdue’s Drew Brees, a shorter QB, but in a league that gives us Doug Flutie, Charlie Batch and Jon Kitna, that might not be an issue. There is also Georgia’s Quincy Carter or Washington’s Marques Tuiasosopo, but are either the type to come in and play at an elite level in year one? Not likely. Like we said, QB is a key to any team, and the reason why top QB’s are so coveted is because they are simply rare commodities. For every Jim Kelly or Brett Favre, who can put a team on their shoulders, there are always 10 or more teams each year struggling just to get a confident game manager who won’t lose games for you. Lets continue our exploration of the QB position with a bit of a league-by-league comparison. The USFL has made a name for itself as a more wide open, freewheeling league, one predicated on the excitement of the passing game, and yet, the NFL still has some of the biggest name signal callers in the game. Just how does the USFL stack up against its fall rival? We are going to look at what we consider the 10 best quarterbacks playing pro ball today and see just how the two leagues stack up against each other. 10) Steve McNair (Houston-NFL): McNair’s style is a bit unorthodox, but he has a cannon for an arm and has helped restore some energy to “Love Ya, Blue” in Houston. The Oilers are a perennial playoff contender with McNair at the helm. 9) Cade McNown (Los Angeles-USFL): Perhaps one and a half seasons should not be enough to put a player on this list, but when those 22 games produce nearly 50 touchdowns and turn a flailing franchise into a Summer Bowl contender you have to give respect where it is due. McNown threw 34 TDs to only 6 picks as a rookie and appears to be on pace for over 30 TDs again this year. He is a bright light for the future of the USFL. 8) Jim Harbaugh (San Diego-NFL): Never really given the respect he deserves, and having played in some shaky situations in both Chicago and Indianapolis, Harbaugh is a student of the game and a pretty dynamic comeback kid kind of player. He is famous for his 4th quarter heroics, and yet he is now on his 4th team, which says something about the fickle nature of NFL quarterbacking. 7) Heath Shuler (Memphis-USFL): Yes, 1999 was an amazing year, but it has not been the only time that Shuler showed up big for the Showboats, it may just be the first time that the rest of the team was there to support him. The former Tennessee Volunteer has a legitimate claim to be the best in the USFL right now, but we are going to put a couple of longer-term performers ahead of him. 6) Randall Cunningham (Minnesota-NFL): Exactly the kind of player the USFL would love, Cunningham can run, thrown, and win. His Super Bowl victory in 1998 with the Vikings was a thing of beauty. That entire season was dynamic and even with what many consider a mid-level receiving corps that year (Jake Reed, Eric Moulds, and Frank Sanders), Cunningham managed to lead the Viking to their first title. 5) Troy Aikman (Tampa Bay-USFL): While many might argue that Heath Shuler should be in this place, we have to honor the consistently high play of Aikman over a decade rather than the recent success of Shuler. Aikman’s 1998 season was a masterpiece that few ever achieve, and the decline of the Bandits last season was hardly his fault as he still threw a solid 31 touchdowns. One of the most accurate passers in the game, we have no doubt he would succeed wherever he played. 4) Drew Bledsoe (New England-NFL): A true pocket passer, Bledsoe’s arm and his vision have helped the Patriots reach 2 Super Bowls in his 6-year career. His performance against the Packers in 1996 garnered the franchise its first NFL title, and many expect more before his career is done. 3) Peyton Manning (Indianapolis-NFL): In just 2 seasons the former Volunteer has turned the Colts’ fortunes completely around, from 3-13 as a rookie to 13-3 in his sophomore season, there is no denying Manning’s talent. He looks like the real deal, and certainly is winning the debate that started before the 1998 draft between his upside and that of current Oakland Invader QB Ryan Leaf. 2) Brett Favre (Birmingham-USFL): Despite finishing 2nd in the QB Ratings last season, there is little doubt that most consider Favre to be the best QB in the USFL and perhaps the best USFL signal caller since Jim Kelly. He is a bit of a maverick and will throw some ill-advised passes, but he is also one of the fiercest competitors in the game and a true wild card on any given Sunday. 1) Dan Marino (Miami-NFL): Yes, he is nearing the end of his career (and may retire this offseason) but there is no doubt that Marino is the best QB of his generation. He has shattered so many NFL records and helped his Dolphins to so many playoff appearances (despite no titles) that it is hard to argue that Marino be #1 on this list. A 6-4 split in favor of the NFL, which seems about fair, but certainly enough talent in both leagues to keep fans riveted to football year-round. What the future holds, especially with several top-level QB’s getting close to retirement, is anyone’s guess. While we may see Marino, Favre or Aikman soon leave the game, perhaps in Manning, McNown, and others who are just starting out, we will continue to see heroic QB play far into this new century. Week 8 marks the halfway point of the season, and it offers us a slate of 12 inter-conference games as the Atlantic and Southern Divisions head out on the road to face the Pacific and Central Divisions respectively. Among the more interesting matchups we have Philadelphia at Arizona, Ohio at LA, Jacksonville at Chicago, Orlando at Michigan, and Tampa Bay at St. Louis. We also have what appear to be mismatches in other games, but beware the desperate and unfamiliar opponent as this is often prime upset territory. Among the underdogs hoping to pull off the upset we have Texas hosting Memphis, Houston hosting Birmingham, Atlanta visiting New Orleans (now with a QB issue), New Jersey in Seattle, Oakland hosting Baltimore, Pittsburgh traveling to Denver, and the winless Portland Thunder hosting the Washington Federals. We don’t expect all of these games to go to the underdog, but 1 or 2 would not be a shock.

Six weeks in and the USFL is as hard to predict as ever. Are we finally ready to believe in the Breakers, Machine, or Stars? Are we ready to give up on Texas, Pittsburgh, and Birmingham? And will Portland ever win a game? Still 10 weeks left to play, but the storyline so far in the USFL this spring is expect the unexpected. For the second time in 3 week s the New Jersey Generals went on the road and played a favored opponent tough until the last second, and for the 5th game in a row they have lost. If any team seems to be snakebitten this year it is Coach Schottenheimer’s Generals. In this one it all came down to one play, and that one play did not go their way. Tampa Bay had held a 10-point lead until the final 3:15 of the game, but the Generals scored twice in that span, helped significantly by their defense, but the offense could not do their part to send the game to overtime and once again the Generals tasted defeat. New Jersey played well, particularly along the defensive line, in a game where Phil Hansen recorded two sacks, and achieved the rare trifecta, a sack-fumble-scoop & score. Rookie Sean Ellis had a key play in the 4th, tackling Travis Prentice in the endzone for a safety that helped get New Jersey back in the game, and combined the Generals’ front 7 held Errict Rhett to only 41 yards rushing, but in the end it was not enough. Troy Aikman would have only 1 TD pass on the day, and would complete only 9 of 17 passes as the Bandits tried to keep New Jersey off balance by running the ball with Rhett and Prentice, a combined 35 carries for the two. Rhett would score twice, both on short plunges, and Aikman would hit Randy Moss for a 3rd TD, which, when combined with 3 Vanderjagt field goals had the homestanding Bandits up 30-20 with only 3:15 left. But then things got a bit shakey for the home team. On a 2nd and 12 from their own 2 yard line, the Bandits tried to run off guard with Prentice but the rookie Ellis shook off his block and crushed Prentice still 2 steps inside the endzone. The safety not only pulled New Jersey to within one score, down 8, but also forced Tampa Bay to kick the ball back to the Generals. New Jersey, led by QB Jeff Lewis, who has played well despite the team’s losing streak, moved the ball well, and when Lewis hit wideout Terry Glenn with a 5 yard fade with only seconds left, many in Tampa Stadium felt the game was certainly headed to overtime. But a 2-point PAT is by no means an automatic score in the USFL. In fact the scoring rate is just about 50/50, and New Jersey would need to call the perfect play to get the two points they needed to take the game to extra time. Coach Schottenheimer, often criticized for excessive conservatism in his calls, did it again. With Curtis Enis nursing a knee injury, he had Olandis Gary in the game. Gary had scored a TD earlier in the game on a counter tre call, and rather than add any extra flourishes like a presnap motion, Marty called the same play again. Tampa clearly recognized the playcall and when Gary got the ball 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage Keith McCants was already bearing down on him. Gary did not even make it back to the 2-yard line where the play had originated. New Jersey missed their chance to equalize and once again came up short, falling to defeat for the 5th straight week. For Tampa the close call pulled them to 3-3, and while certainly not a confidence builder, it does mark a 2nd straight close win after starting the year 1-3. PHI 26 BIR 24 Another big game in the Atlantic v. Southern clashes this week saw Philadelphia edge Birmingham to move to 4-2. The upstart Stars, who many predicted to finish last in their division this year, took advantage of a revenge game by HB Stephen Davis, the former Stallion. Davis would run the ball 25 times for 102 yards to help Philly take the W. Add in 2 scores from Bobby Hebert and a defense that held Brett Favre to only 44% completions and you have a rough loss for the Stallions at home. OHI 24 ATL 10 Ohio also moved to 4-2 as their offense again showed up big, with Joey Galloway accounting for 123 yards in the air and a key touchdown. Qadry Ismail contributed 2 more and Ohio moved past an Atlanta club that still struggles to put points on the board, despite a 106-yard day from Tiki Barber. Aaron Brooks gave way to Marc Bulger in the 3rd quarter and Atlanta responded with their 10 points, but It was not enough to catch up in this one. PIT 34 JAX 31 We finally saw the Maulers that most expected this year as the visitors upset the Bulls thanks to three 1st quarter TDs from Andre Rison. The 21-0 hole that Jacksonville found themselves in was too much to come back from as Chris Chandler’s 4 picks doomed the Bulls to defeat. Pittsburgh fed the ball to Terrell Davis in the second half, finishing the gam with 110 yards on the ground, and Andre Rison racked up 111 yards to go with his three early scores as the Maulers end their losing streak and move to 2-4. BAL 23 ORL 16 A good, tough game between two quality teams as Baltimore edged Orlando thanks primarily to a defense that held Orlando below .500 on third down attempts, and an offense led by QB Trent Green, back from injury. Green went 17 of 29 for 278 yards and his late TD toss to TE Cam Cleeland broke open a 16-all tie to give the Blitz the win and move them to 5-1 on the year. MEM 23 WSH 19 Memphis moved their record back up to .500 and knocked Washington down to 3-3 with a hard-fought win at the Liberty Bowl. A key defensive score from FS Tebucky Jones sparked the Showboats to victory, though it would take a late TD toss from Shuler to Lawyer Tillman to give Memphis the win. CHI 7 NOR 33 The Breakers won “Cinderella Bowl 2000” in convincing fashion over the Chicago Machine to move to 5-1. Ricky Williams was the star with 108 yards rushing and 2 scoring plays. TE Austin Wheatley was the surprise of the game, catching 5 balls for 95 yards and a score for the Breakers as they took over sole possession of first place in the Central. HOU 20 TEX 23 Jim Miller was knocked out of the game and Chuck Hartlieb could not get anything going for the Gamblers, who saw their two defensive ends have great games (4 combined sacks), but the offense simply was not there as Texas won their second in a row. Reggie Cobb had a monster day, rushing for 160 yards on 20 carries to lead the Outlaws to their 2nd win of the season. For Houston the question now is whether they return to Matt Hasselbeck at QB or bring in Hartlieb once again. MGN 14 STL 10 A good game for fans of defensive football as the Panthers came back from a 10-0 hole to upend the Knights in St. Louis. Neither offense was particularly effective as the defenses dominated, but a late Flutie to Muhsin Muhammad TD was enough to give the visitors the win and move them up to .500 on the season. ARZ 14 LA 24 The Express reached .500 with their win in Tempe, led by a run game that saw Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman combine for 193 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Jake Plummer was held in check (rushing for -11 yards) and the Wranglers simply had no other run game to fall back on, making their offense one-dimensional. DEN 31 POR 10 Rick Mirer did not survive his first start in the USFL, knocked out of the game after only 9 pass attempts, and Akili Smith was ill-prepared to come in against a tough Denver defense. Rashaan Salaam added 108 yards rushing and Mark Brunell threw for 3 scores as the Gold won this one going away. OAK 7 SEA 24 Another poor offensive performance from the Invaders, another locker room blowup from Ryan Leaf after the game. It appears to be getting ugly by the Bay. Corey Dillon led the Dragons with 110 yards on 23 carries and the defense held Oakland to only 3 of 11 on third down as Seattle moved to 5-1 and dropped Oakland to 1-5 on the year. The game, and the tirade by Leaf, may be a reason why Oakland set up a trade for a potential challenger to the 3rd year QB (see below). A lot of potentially impactful injuries this week, though fortunately most are short term concerns. The most serious injury was to Tampa Bay defensive tackle Pat Riley, who was placed on IR after suffering a neck injury in this week’s game. Fortunately Riley did not suffer any paralysis, but the injury is severe enough that it could impact his ability to return to football in 2001. In Arizona, the concern was for LB Winfred Tubbs, who is now expected to miss 6-8 weeks with his own neck injury. Again, no paralysis, which is always good to hear, but compression of two discs will require some traction for the short term and rehab after that. We think a return for the playoffs is even in doubt should Arizona qualify. On the short term injury list, we find Rick Mirer, who did not last 2 quarters into his first start with the Portland Thunder. The diminutive QB suffered a wrist injury to his throwing hand, which has led to some swelling and tenderness but no significant ligament or tendon damage. Team physicians say he could be back as soon as Week 8. A similar recovery timeframe for Jacksonville HB Sedrick Irvin, who suffered a groin injury in this week’s game. He pulled up midway through a sweep play and hobbled to the sideline. It is believed to be a strain, not a tear, which means 1-2 weeks is likely, though he certainly will not want to rush it as a strain can lead to later damage if he comes back too soon. Houston got more bad news in an already bad season as CB Ashley Ambrose fractured his jaw during a head-to-head collision on Saturday. Ambrose is expected to wear a special compression mask on his face when he returns to action, which is timed out for 2 weeks from now. In LA guard Manuia Saveea will be out for 1-2 weeks with a displaced patella in his left knee, while in Atlanta LB Johnny Holland is doubtful for this week with a hamstring pull. We mentioned that Matt Hasselbeck was removed from the game this week due to injury. It is a nerve pinch in his hip, which means he is Questionable for next week, but with Jim Miller being named the starter, expect Hasselbeck to get time to recover. Finally, Orlando TE Dante Whittaker will miss at least one week after dislocating his shoulder on an awkward landing this week. TRANSACTIONS SEA: Trades QB J. Kitna to Oakland for WR/KR Troy Walters and a 5th round pick. OAK: Cuts QB Dave Brown and signs WR Roell Preston SEA: Signs QB John Walsh & Moves SS Alec Walters to Practice Squad KITNA TRADED TO OAKLAND Well, that did not take long. We reported last week that Jon Kitna was unhappy in Seattle after being dropped to 3rd on the depth chart behind starter Brian Griese and rookie Giovanni Carmazzi. Kitna made it clear that if his services were no longer needed in Seattle, he would like the chance to compete to start elsewhere. Seattle clearly listened, and almost certainly heard from several clubs who were concerned about their QB situations, but they surprised many by taking an early bid from a division rival. Jon Kitna was sent to Oakland, a club with a clear starter in the fiery Ryan Leaf, but a team that needs to push Leaf and potentially have a backup plan if the young QB continues to publicly criticize the team and its coach. Coach Dom Capers is not one to take lip from a player, and Leaf has been offering a lot of it. Oakland gave up their primary kick and punt returner, Troy Walters, along with a 5th round pick to bring in the athletic but erratic Kitna. It is certainly not an ideal placement for the veteran, who would almost certainly have preferred a transfer to Houston, Atlanta, or Portland, but in Oakland he will serve two functions. He will put pressure on Leaf to perform and he will serve as a potential Plan B if Leaf continues to attract too much attention through his post-game rants and off-color commentary to the media. FIRST YEAR COACHES We start our Week 6 recap of the league’s top stories with a very early grade report on the league’s 5 new head coaches. Some have certainly exceeded expectations while others are learning just how bad the situation they stepped into is. We never expect a coach to be out after just 1 year, but the situation is not looking good 6 weeks in for a couple of our first-year head coaches. Mike Nolan (NOR): No coach has had more instant and surprising success than Mike Nolan in New Orleans. Coach Nolan has taken the pieces left him by Mike Ditka and has turned them into the #1 overall scoring defense and the #2 scoring offense. That is impressive considering how poorly this same roster performed a year ago. Trent Dilfer has been a huge boost for the Breakers, something we simply did not see coming. Ricky Williams is on pace for 1,300 yards, and the Breakers are just murder on opposing offenses, #1 against the pass (183 yards per game) and #2 against the run (61 yards per game). If Mike Nolan can keep the pressure on he is a shoe in for Coach of the Year. Grade: A+ Jim Mora Jr. (PHI): If anyone is going to catch Nolan for Coach of the Year, Philadelphia’s Jim Mora Jr. may be the one. The numbers for the Stars are not as gaudy (17th in points per game allowed, 13th in points scored), but Mora has the Stars winning. 4-2 so far this year and winners of 4 in a row. Philly is doing it with a balanced offense, led by veteran Bobby Hebert at QB and former Stallion Stephen Davis in the backfield. The defense is not overpowering, but they play smart and rarely get hit with a big play. That Philly is this successful while currently sitting at -3 in turnover margin is astounding. The question is whether it is a fluke or not. Could this team fade down the stretch? GRADE: A- because we want to revisit this in 4-6 weeks. Bobby Petrino (ATL): Atlanta was a tough spot to come into and expect success quickly. 2-4 may be about as good as Petrino should expect at this point. The fact that the two wins were against Birmingham and Memphis speaks to the ability of this club to play good football when they are focused. The offense is the issue here, ranked 24th of 24 clubs in both points and yardage. The defense is improved, 8th in the league, but they cannot do it all alone. The signing of Bruce Smith is likely a short-term solution, but it is a definite positive so far this year. Now, if they could just get better play from their QB position, maybe they could win 6 or 7 games this year and then build for 2001. GRADE: B, we are giving Atlanta a B because we are seeing growth, just not a lot of wins yet. Dom Capers (OAK): The Invaders provide more drama than an episode of ER. Whether it is the tantrums of QB Ryan Leaf, the defensive meltdowns, or the back-and-forth debate between halfbacks Troy Davis and Siran Stacy, there is just a lot of chaos in Oakland. We like that the defense is currently #6 against the pass, but worry that it is only that highly ranked because they are so bad against the run (24th). The offense has been able to run the ball effectively, whether with Davis or Stacy, but they lack consistency and commit far too many drive-killing penalties. Believe it or not, the 1-5 Invaders are actually +9 in turnovers, thanks to a ballhawking secondary, but that is not enough to put W’s on the scoreboard. GRADE: C, there is a lot to sort out, but Coach Capers is getting some good performances out of key players. Ray Rhodes (POR): What can we say about the 0-6 Thunder? They are 21st in scoring, 23rd in points allowed, and the only major category where they are in the top 12 in the league is in rushing, thanks to Napoleon Kaufmann’s 399 yards so far this year. They have lost close games (19-13 to Chicago, 22-20 to St. Louis) but they have also been obliterated at times (47-28 vs. Oakland, 24-8 vs. Seattle). We don’t see a coherent offensive plan, as Coach Rhodes tried to put in Rick Mirer only to see him get injured this week. Akili Smith is floundering, the receivers are not getting open, and the defense is still just so very bad. We think Coach Rhodes will get at least 1 more year to show growth, but fans in Portland are already impatient after dropping from 13-2-1 in 1997 to 10-6 in ’98, 6-10 last year and now an 0-6 start this year. GRADE: D, we won’t fail Coach Rhodes so quickly, but something has to improve and soon for the Thunder. DID WE DO THAT? Clearly our little weekly review of the USFL has some readers, at least in Houston. After a story last week questioning whether Houston’s lack of offensive production and iffy run defense was essentially wasting the talents of Michael Sinclair and Kavika Pittman as pass rushers, the two came out fuming. The two combined for 4 sacks this week, along with 8 hurries and at least 2 forced throws that led to issues for Kelly Stouffer. And while the offensive woes continued, leading to yet another Houston loss, we are not going to question the motors or the motivation of Pittman and Sinclair. Pittman now has 8 sacks on the year, placing him in 2nd, while Sinclair is still in the top 8 in the league. We suspect that if Houston could just get some semblance of an offense going this deadly combo would be set loose in an even more devastating way. QB Question in Baltimore Baltimore has a problem, the kind of problem a lot of other clubs wished they had. They have an established starting QB in Trent Green, a pocket passer who has the respect of the locker room and who helped lead them to a division title in 1999. They also have a backup in Jeff Garcia, a scrambler and gunslinger, who has seen considerable action this year. With Green injured, Garcia stepped in and outperformed all expectations, leading Baltimore to 3 consecutive wins and currently standing 4th in the league QB Ratings at 110.0. Garcia has yet to throw a pick and is completing 71.4% of his passes. So, what do you do when Trent Green comes back from injury? Do you take out the hot hand of Garcia and go with the Week 1 starter? Lindy Infante is a pretty traditional guy, which means we expect that Green has his job back (he did start this week), but what happens if he struggles? How short is the leash if you know you have a quality player behind him? Do you even provide some series for the more athletic and mobile Garcia? Maybe some sets in the red zone to take advantage of his legs? Infante is old school, but he is also an offensive-minded coach leading a defensive-minded team. The chance to use Garcia to confuse the opposition or even to force them to prep for both QB’s is a tempting proposition. It’s a problem to have two QB’s that play very different styles, but with both winning games, it is a problem some folks in Portland, Houston, Texas, and New Jersey would love to have. Over the past couple of years we have discussed several elements of USFL financing, from stadium deals to TV revenue, but we have never really discussed the big picture. So, this week we offer a basic rundown of how things stand across the league. While certainly trailing the NFL in annual revenue, the USFL is on a par with several of the other major sports leagues, including the NBA, and just slightly below Major League Baseball. Total reported revenue for the league and its 24 franchises in 1999 was a healthy $2.7B, just under the total for MLB but still well behind the $4.1B brought in by the NFL. The USFL’s main sources of revenue were television contracts (roughly 57% of all revenue), sponsorship deals (23%) and stadium sales (tickets, concessions, merchandise) which was roughly 13% of revenue. The league had a shared revenue pool of roughly $900 milliion dollars, roughly $39 million per club, which covered the majority of the $50M salary cap number for each club. On the salary front, while many players are paid at comparable rates to the NFL, the overall salary structure is a bit more modest, with the USFL having a $50M cap per team, compared to the NFL’s $62.1M in 2000. But, this can be a bit deceiving because of the USFL’s unique “Territorial Rights” allowance, which treats any player from each team’s 5 university pool of “territorial schools” as valuing only 50% towards the salary cap. This allows a top tier player like LA’s Cade McNown (UCLA) or Birmingham’s Shaun Alexander (Alabama) to earn an NFL-sized salary while counting only 50% against the cap. Shrewd USFL clubs have long spent more freely on territorial talent at key positions to maximize value on the salary cap. It is one of the reasons we may not see as many trades compared with the NFL because a player like Rodney Thomas costs Birmingham far more than he had cost the Texas Outlaws due to the Outlaw’s territorial waiver for Texas A&M players. The other big piece of the shared revenue in the league is from the gate receipts. Each club retains gate receipts from the first 25,000 ticket sales at their stadia for each game. The actual formula is not quite that simple as season ticket holders and suite sales are treated differently from single game tickets, but essentially the ticket sales generated for the first 25,000 patrons in regular stadium seating is retained by each club while any ticket revenue generated when a team surpasses 25,000 is part of the shared revenue pool. If the number seems low to you, it is. The 25k number was set up when only about half of the league’s teams reached or surpassed that number, but now, with leaguewide attendance typically well above 40k it seems high time to raise that floor. But the truth is that this system, with the low floor, helps keep some clubs afloat. Whether it is Portland, with their smaller 34k capacity stadium or clubs which are struggling with attendance, such as LA (always a battle), Chicago, or Arizona. Even clubs with good fanbases see numbers drop when they have rough seasons or poor weather, so the incentive is not really there to tie too much revenue to any individual team’s ticket sales. We expect the league will eventually push their floor up to 30k but don’t expect it to go much beyond that, at least not until we see attendance hit 50,000 leaguewide (hard to do with Portland still in the mix.) Ticket prices remain a key point of differentiation with the NFL, and one fans certainly appreciate. While we are certainly no longer in the stage where ticket giveaways are common (there are still occasional mass ticket giveaways to boost attendance in some situations, but these are far rarer than in the 80’s), but ticket prices remain low compared to the NFL and even some big time college programs. In 1999 the average NFL ticket price was around $65 (with wide variation between clubs) and the average USFL ticket price was in the range of $25-$40, with New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago and LA at the top of the spectrum and Jacksonville, Atlanta, Denver, and Memphis near the bottom. Season ticket rates show a parallel disparity between the two leagues, though one big distinction is that the USFL has been very hesitant to move into the territory of Personal Seat Licenses when moving to a new stadium. This often sets up the USFL as a secondary tenant, as the NFL’s use of PSL’s often gives them priority within new stadiums, but it keeps the cost of season tickets far more affordable for local fans. Variation among teams depends basically on three factors. The first is the agreement between the club and the stadium. This can greatly impact the amount of revenue a club brings in from concessions, parking, and the cost of staffing the stadium for gamedays. Some clubs, like Birmingham, Memphis, Michigan, and Ohio have strong deals because they are either the primary tenant of the stadium or the main revenue generator, so they get a higher cut of all stadium revenue than clubs such as St. Louis, Oakland, Pittsburgh, or Chicago, which are either viewed as secondary tenants or because they simply don’t have a good position of strength to negotiate with the city or stadium ownership. This is obviously a concern for the league, as we have already seen. Teams in non-NFL cities, such as Memphis, Portland, or Ohio, have one issue, which is that they have less leverage to negotiate new stadium construction, but teams in strong NFL cities, like New Jersey, Chicago, St. Louis, or Houston, have a different issue, which is that while a new or renovated stadium is possible, they have to battle to be treated with the same reverence and the same benefits as their NFL counterpart. A few clubs, most notably Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, have had great success partnering with the NFL club in their town and getting fair treatment. Others, such as Atlanta or Washington, have opted for use of a secondary stadium rather than compete with the NFL. In the case of Washington, this was largely not their decision as the Cooke family simply would not include them in any deal to play at their new stadium, something the Feds hope will change with new Redskins ownership. So, looking at all issues, who are the winners and losers in the USFL’s financial model. Well, the first thing we have to say is that even the losers typically are seeing profits. This is not the early 1980’s when we saw some rough finances and shaky owners. The USFL is solid, but there are some clear disparities when it comes to revenue. Star power can boost a club, as can winning, but some simply have better revenue capacity than others. At the top of USFL profitability we find a lot of southern clubs, with Birmingham, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Orlando all in the Top 5, along with Denver. Philadelphia is the top club in the Atlantic Division, New Orleans in the Central. At the bottom of the revenue chart we find LA (high expenses, low attendance, shared stadium with the Raiders), Oakland, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Portland. Stadium issues are the main reason for concerns in places like St. Louis and Portland, on field performance has certainly not helped Atlanta, and Oakland as well, though their deal with the A’s is also no help. So, what does the future hold? Well, the new TV deal looks like a good one for the league, with revenue from TV expected to continue to rise over the next 5 years. We are also expecting more revenue for clubs like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Denver, Detroit, and Houston, where new stadiums are in the works and new deals to split revenue may better support the USFL tenants along with their NFL “partners”. Issues still remain for clubs like Portland, Memphis, St. Louis, and Birmingham, where stadium deals or outdates stadia limit revenue options. Washington has a question before it as well, take an almost certain smaller payout by moving play to Landover as a second tenant to the Redskins in a stadium owned by the club, or stay in an aging RFK with little hope of major renovation. Similarly, Seattle must decide whether to continue to play in Husky Stadium or move in with the Seahawks at the cost of secondary tenant status. Atlanta could also go this route as the Georgia Dome is an appealing option for fans getting tired of watching a bad team play outdoors in the heat and humidity of July in Atlanta. The overall picture is very sunny for the USFL, but this does not mean that there are not clubs that are lagging behind, and when that is paired with cities and ownership groups hoping to bring the USFL to new locations, it can mean instability for the league. Not financial ruin as many feared back in the days when the league actually considered a move to the Fall to compete with the NFL, but potential for club movement certainly. Week 7 could be our favorite week of the entire season, with all 24 clubs in divisional play and nearly all of them still with dreams of a playoff run (ok, maybe not all clubs but certainly more than we will see in position by the final weeks of the year.) Let’s start with the Central Division, which is fully topsy turvy from our predictions. In a huge midseason game 4-2 St. Louis is at 4-2 Chicago. The loser could well fall 2 games behind New Orleans as the Breakers head to Houston to face the offensively-challenged Gamblers. The final game of the week in the Central has 2-4 Texas at 3-3 Michigan. A win by the Outlaws and they may just be in position to make a run, a loss and it may be time to build for the future. In the Pacific Division we have another tasty midseason treat, Denver hosts Seattle with both clubs at 5-1 and atop the division. The winner has the inside track on the division title. 3-3 LA and 3-3 Arizona both hope to win home games against weaker opponents as the Express welcome the winless Thunder to town while Arizona hosts 1-5 Oakland. The best game in the South may be the game in Tampa between the Showboats and Bandits, both coming in at 3-3 and hoping to not fall any further behind Jacksonville . The Bulls are hosting the 2-4 Fire, but should be careful as Atlanta has already upset both Memphis and Birmingham. The Stallions are stuck at 2-4, and life won’t be easier for them as they visit the Orlando Renegades. Finally, the Atlantic provides another solid game with the surprising Philadelphia Stars at 4-2 visiting the Baltimore Blitz (5-1). If Philly can get the road win, they take the advantage in the division, at least for now. In the other games, Washington at 3-3 is trying to stay relevant as they visit New Jersey. Pittsburgh at 2-4 needs to win the Border War with Ohio (4-2) if they want any shot at getting back into the playoff mix. A big week in all 4 divisions with midseason pressure mounting.

Two overtime games, another settled on the last second of regulation, offensive fireworks, defensive battles, this week had a lot of drama and a lot to go over. Philadelphia for a 2nd week in a row edges a division opponent in our Game of the Week, Jake Plummer’s legs help power Arizona to a win, Denver and New Orleans get defensive, while LA and St. Louis combine for 70 points. Comebacks, blowouts, wild finishes. Quite a week in the USFL. Another thriller featuring the resurgent Philadelphia Stars, this one not decided until overtime. In a game that saw Bobby Hebert throw for 393 without throwing a single touchdown and saw Terrell Davis rush for 142 without a single rushing TD, this game was an odd one, but a really fun watch. Charlie Batch threw for 3 scores and it was Philly’s run game that kept them in this one, scoring 4 TDs on the day despite their two big backs averaging only 2.5 and 1.8 yards per carry all game. Pittsburgh started things off with their first drive of the game, using Davis runs to set up an eventual TD on play action as Charlie Batch hit Andre Rison for 6 from the 22-yard line. Philly responded in an almost mirror version, with Hebert’s passing moving the ball down the field before Stephen Davis scored the TD on the ground, a rumbling 17-yard run on 3rd and 2. Pittsburgh rounded out the first quarter with a Rian Lindell field goal, but on their very next drive the Stars took their first lead of the game as Davis ran in a 2nd TD, this time a plunge from 1 yard out. With both defenses struggling to deal with their opponent’s offenses, Pittsburgh stormed right back, Batch hitting Rison for his 2nd score of the day. Add a Jeff Jaeger field goal with 17 seconds left and you go to the half with a very entertaining 17-17 tie game. Stephen Davis added his 3rd TD, a 9-yard run, on Philadelphia’s first drive of the second half, and after trading field goals, the Stars took a 27-20 lead into the 4th. It would take Pittsburgh 3 drives before they finally got in scoring position with just under 2 minutes left to play. Charlie Batch would again connect with his top receiver Andre Rison (6 catches for 93 yards) and Rison would produce his third TD of the game as Pittsburgh tied the score at 27. Philadelphia would try to kick a game winning 56-yard field goal as time expired but the ball tailed off to the right and the game went to an extra period. Pittsburgh got the ball first in the extra period, but a good play on a 3rd and 5 throw by CB Reggie Givens forced the Maulers to punt. The Stars got the ball on their own 17 and proceeded to pick apart the Mauler defense, mostly on short passes from Hebert to Troy Brown (7 catches for 130 yards), Eric Green, and Marcus Pollard. The winning play was a quick draw to backup HB Pat Chaffey, who raced into the Mauler secondary and just edged the ball over the endline as he was tackled. It took a couple of minutes of review, but eventually the referee raised his hands to signal touchdown and the game was over, much to the delight of the Stars faithful. With the win, Coach Mora has the Stars at 3-2 and a surprise contender in the Atlantic. The loss drops the Maulers to a very disappointing 1-4, with all eyes pointed to the Mauler defense, which was expected to be among the league elites this year, but which is currently 14th in points allowed and a woeful 24th of 24 clubs in yards allowed. Coach Thomas is going to have to make some adjustments if the Maulers have any shot at recovering from this poor start. CHI 19 POR 13 OT The second overtime game of the week saw Portland almost pull out their first win of the season in dreary conditions, only to allow a game-tying score with 20 seconds to play and then a huge George to Johnnie Morton TD pass in overtime to secure their 5th consecutive loss to open the season. Neither team looked good in the steady rain in Portland, with Jeff George throwing 3 picks and Portland’s Akili Smith completing only 13 passes for 157. The backs too struggled to keep their footing, but when it counted, George found one of Chicago’s new receivers and stole a win on the road to move to 4-1. TEX 17 OAK 16 The Outlaws managed to earn their first win of the season as a last second Tim Seder field goal was enough to edge the homestanding Invaders. Ryan Leaf had found success throwing to Plaxico Burress (5 for 112) and Ed McCaffrey (7 for 92) but every time they got to the redzone things fell apart. For Texas, starter Reggie Cobb struggled (18 carries for 46 yards) but when spelled by Audrey Detson they found more success (10 carries for 62 yards). Not a pretty win, but Texas will take the W all the same. ORL 24 JAX 29 The Bulls raced out to a 29-10 lead and then withstood a 4th quarter comeback attempt from Orlando to earn their 4th win of the season. Kenny Bynum came on in relief of a dinged-up Sedrick Irvin and rushed 19 times for 95 yards and 2 Jacksonville touchdowns. For Orlando, Keenan McCardell’s 2 scores were too little too late as the Bulls move into first place in the South. TBY 23 BIR 21 In a tight rivalry game, the Bandits got back into winning ways as Troy Aikman hit Tai Streets for the winning score in the 4th to upend the homestanding Stallions. Errict Rhett carried the ball 24 times for 74 yards on the day and Streets stepped up with 92 yards receiving as the Stallions double covered Randy Moss all day, limiting him to 3 catches for only 27 yards. Two stallion turnovers, including a late Rodney Thomas fumble, helped Tampa Bay hold the lead and take the win. MEM 10 ATL 13 Five sacks of Heath Shuler and a defense that held Garrison Hearst to only 30 yards rushing were huge factors in Atlanta’s second upset home win of the season. Rookie Marc Bulger came up huge, getting the start when Aaron Brooks went down in practice this week. The former Mountaineer went 20 of 33 for 191 yards and the Fire’s only touchdown, a 25-yarder to Mathis. The result leaves both Atlanta and Memphis at 2-3, part of a 4-club clump with that record in the division. MGN 24 ARZ 31 Another huge day for Jake Plummer running the ball. The Wrangler QB threw for only 228 and 1 score but ran in 3 more touchdowns on a combination of scrambles and bootlegs. He finished the day with 12 carries, leading the club. Is this sustainable? Probably not, but it got Arizona a win over the Panthers, despite 103 yards from Natrone Means and a 316-yard passing day from Doug Flutie. NOR 14 DEN 17 It was a clash of top defenses as the Gold edged the Breakers on a late 4th quarter Jimmie Johnson TD. Denver limited Ricky Williams to 69 yards rushing, but New Orleans did the same, holding Rashaan Salaam to only 42 yards as both clubs cued in on the run all day. The key play in the game was a 3rd and 9 late in the 4th when the Breakers thought they got off the field on a missed pass to Marco Battaglia, but a flag on the field brought the Gold a first down thanks to a questionable Roughing call against LB Robert Hinkley for a low hit on Brunell. Two plays later Brunell hit Johnson for the winning score. HOU 17 SEA 30 Matt Hasselbeck continued to struggle as the Gamblers’ starter and was pulled for Chuck Hartlieb in the final period as Seattle, starting rookie Giovannie Carmazzi for an ill Brian Griese, played conservatively, and leaned heavily on Corey Dillon (26 carries for 108 yards) and their defense to get the job done against a pretty anemic Houston offense. STL 40 LA 30 The offenses were both way ahead of the defenses in this one as the two clubs went back and forth all day. Cade McNown threw for 3 scores, as did Todd Collins. LA’s Mike Pritchard racked up 154 yards receiving while Collins spread the ball to 9 different receivers as the Knights did just enough on defense to earn the win. WSH 3 BAL 14 In a game that saw only 580 combined yards between two defensive clubs, Baltimore made more of their few chances, getting touchdowns from Mike Cloud and a pick six from Tyrone Bell to knock off the Federals. Scott Zolak struggled with the Blitz’s, well, blitzes, sacked 5 times and picked off on 3 plays, including the key defensive score. Meanwhile, both Ron Dayne and Barry Word struggled to get yards against two tough front sevens. OHI 47 NJ 23 The Glory got back to their early season scoring form against a Generals’ defense that has struggled all year. Ohio had over 500 yards of offense as Kerry Collins threw for 339 and 3 scores while Darrell Thompson, who played most of the 2nd half after Eddie George tweaked an ankle, rushed for 104 yards on only 12 carries. Add in 185 and 2 scores from Joey Galloway, 118 from Qadry Ismail and you can see how this game got away from New Jersey. Pittsburgh not only lost a heartbreaker this week, but also lost one of their best defenders when CB Bobby Taylor ruptured his achilles tendon. He will be placed on IR and will be out indefinitely. Memphis’s star TE Adrian Cooper could miss 2 weeks or more with a hip injury that took him out of the game this week. Sedrick Irvin was pulled from the Bulls’ game and could miss 1-2 more with a groin pull (ouch!). Natrone Means is listed as doubtful for Michigan after his heavy work load led to some concerns about his hamstring. Houston may have to go with Chuck Hartlieb for a 2nd week after Matt Hasselbeck’s pull from the game turned out to not be entirely a coach’s decision. Hasselbeck had a pinched nerve in his shoulder which has still not fully resolved. Denver could be without LB Kurt Gouveia as the veteran pulled up short on a pursuit with an apparent hamstring injury. And finally, New Orleans’s veteran DE Jerry Reese is likely to miss 1-2 weeks thanks to a fractured collarbone. TRANSACTIONS PIT: Placed CB Bobby Taylor on IR, Signed CB Chris Watson QB SHUFFLE Well, it has begun, the annual shuffling of the quarterbacks among the league’s struggling teams. The first move came where we expected it to, the 0-5 Thunder, when Portland promoted veteran Rick Mirer to start over struggling 2nd year player Akili Smith on Tuesday. We also saw a shift in Houston, where former Todd Collins understudy Jim Miller will get the Week 6 start for the 1-5 Gamblers. Miller will replace Matt Hasselbeck who started the first 5 games, but who was knocked out of this week’s game. Chuck Hartlieb took over for Hasselbeck, but appears to be on the outs with Coach Willsey, and may soon be trade material. Speaking of potential trade bait, Jon Kitna is none too happy about being benched for Brian Griese in Seattle, and is pushing for a trade to have a shot at starting again. Other players who should be worried about getting the hook include Aaron Brooks in Atlanta (58.1 QBR and only 46.6% completion rate), Scott Zolak in Washington (79 QBR and a 4-5 TD-INT ratio), and possibly even Kelly Stouffer in Texas, who is suffering through an uncharacteristic spell in which he has thrown 6 picks to 5 TDs this year and completed only 56.8% of his throws. A veteran like Jon Kitna, or even displaced former starters like Eric Zeier, Spence Fischer, or Chuck Hartlieb could be seen as a midseason replacement for any of these struggling starters if the terms are right. RUNNING TO GLORY Nope, not another article about the surge in carries and success among USFL running backs, this is a story about QB Jake Plummer of the Arizona Wranglers, who, for the 3rd time this year was the leading rusher for his Wrangler squad. It is certainly not entirely desired by Plummer or his head coach Art Shell, but with Tim Lester and Leeland MacElroy not producing a consistent run game, and with Plummer often opting to scramble, it has become a reality for the Wranglers. Plummer is the leading rusher for the Wranglers with 266 yards over 5 games, which also includes 5 TDs. Compare that with a 5-game total of only 190 for Lester and 89 yards for MacElroy, and you can see why the Wranglers are not ready to give up on the plays Plummer is making with his feet. The good news for the Wranglers is that the tendency to run to daylight has not made Plummer a less effective passer, actually quite the opposite. Plummer’s current 107.2 rating is his highest of any season to date and includes a 9-1 TD-INT ratio, far better than what we are accustomed to seeing from the former ASU Sun Devil. So, for Coach Shell, and for Jake the Snake himself, perhaps the constant bootlegs, waggles, and scrambles are actually working to his favor. The question, of course, is whether this puts him at higher risk for injury, and the jury is still out on that. WHITHER THE PASS RUSH? Not as an overall trend but as the forte of the Houston Gamblers, the pass rush is not what we saw last year. Yes, Kavika Pittman is back from injury, and yes, the combo with Michael Sinclair is still something that offensive coordinators have to game plan for, but so far this year the combo has a reasonable 10 combined sacks, not bad overall, but not the numbers they put up last year. The problem seems to be twofold. First, the offense is not performing well at all (21st in both the run and the pass) and that means that the Houston defense is being asked to spend a lot of time on the field, and deal with a lot of plays, something that always leads to a wearing down of the pass rush. Secondly, the Gambler defense has not been as effective against the run, 18th in the league with a 122 yards per game average. What that means is that neither Sinclair nor Pittman can pin back their ears and go 100% for the QB. They have to deal with the run game because they are seeing a lot more of it. This combination of more plays on the field and more run calls against them means that the pure pass rush strength of this defense is not manifesting. That could be a real issue for Houston all year, especially if they allow teams to build up leads on them and use the run even more in later stages of games. BAD ATTITUDE Following this week’s loss to the winless Outlaws, a clearly upset Ryan Leaf went a bit far in a post-game tirade, to the tune of $30,000. The USFL fined Leaf for a profanity-laced tirade that sounded like a festival of bleeps when it aired on ESPN. Leaf is apparently upset at everything from the play calling of Coach Capers, to the protection (or lack thereof) from his line, and even to the ability of his receivers to get open. This last one seems particularly odd as both veteran Ed McCaffrey and rookie Plaxico Burress have had back to back strong games, the two combining for 204 yards this week against Texas. The only person Leaf does not seem to blame is himself, despite the fact that even in his best season (his rookie year) he completed only 55.6% of his passes. Of course, in that first season he threw 43 TDs to only 17 picks, while last year, in an injury-shortened 10-game season, Leaf threw 11 picks to 11 TDs. This year his ratio stands at 5-2, but overall the Invader offense has been less than stellar, ranked 18th in passing. Coach Capers has stressed the run game (currently 2nd in the league at 127 yards per game) and we have seen much better numbers for the combo of Siran Stacy and Troy Davis, who have combined for 596 yards in 5 games, but this does not seem to be of interest to Leaf, who seems far more concerned that he is facing criticism not only for his on-field decision making, but for some of his extracurricular activities in the Bay Area. It seems that the limited media focus which playing for the Invaders requires may be getting to the young QB. Tirades in the locker room are not winning him much loyalty among his teammates, and not making him any friends either in the media or among an already unsatisfied Invader fan base. It took a little longer than expected, but the TV arrangements for the next 5 years are finally set. As anticipated there will be a 4th broadcast partner for the league as NBC joins the existing arrangements with FOX, ABC, and ESPN as broadcasting partners. The league carved out a 1-game per week option for the new network by reducing the ABC/ESPN deal and restructuring to allow for greater exposure across all platforms. They did this by moving a game from the Saturday afternoon slot to create a unique Friday Night game for NBC. In the new arrangement NBC will broadcast a weekly “Friday Night Lights” game each week at 8pm Eastern time, ESPN will retain its “Saturday Night Football” broadcast, ABC will have the rights to a 5 game slate on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and FOX will have both a 4-game slate on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and the weekly finale, their “Fox Football Night in America” game at 7pm Eastern Time each Sunday. That gives NBC and ESPN one game each week and ABC and FOX 5 games each week. The rights to the Summer Bowl will remain with ABC for the next 3 seasons, before an alternating format between ABC and FOX is put into place beginning with FOX carrying their first Summer Bowl in 2004. NBC will have rights to air 1 game in both the Wild Card and Divisional rounds, while ABC/ESPN and Fox will split the remaining Wild Card, Divisional, and Conference Championship games. The combined 3 deals are expected to bring the USFL nearly $3 Billion in revenue over the 5 year contract, roughly $600 million per year, not quite in the same category as the NFL but second only to the fall league among sports broadcasting revenue, surpassing Major League Baseball and the NBA for the first time. An intriguing aspect of the contracts is that in the event that the USFL would reduce its regular season from 16 to 14 games, as has been proposed in the past and as is being considered by a subcommittee of ownership, the contract would not show a 1/8th contraction in value as one might expect, but only a 1/15th contraction in value, meaning that the revenue per game broadcast would actually go up in the 14 game format while the overall revenue would shrink. Competition for night games and for the highly-watched playoff games seems to have driven this advantageous aspect of the deal for the league. The deal goes into effect for the 2001 season, meaning the opening game of the regular season will be the first NBC broadcast in league history. No news on broadcast teams from NBC yet, but most fans expect the broadcasters to come out of the network’s NFL pool, though do not rule out the league bringing in members of their Notre Dame and other college football broadcast teams. From our perspective, we would love to see the team of Greg Gumbell and Phil Simms, or perhaps Dick Enberg and Verne Lundquist call games, but with NBC also having former USFL head coach Sam Wyche, former QB Todd Blackledge, and former USFL Special Teams ace Steve Tasker available, we may see a new combo on the broadcasts. They could also bring in former Bandit Chris Collinsworth from their Notre Dame and college broadcasts, or former LA Express TE Todd Christensen. Week 6 brings us back out West for divisional games as Chicago and New Orleans will face off in the Super Dome in one of the most unanticipated battles of 4-1 clubs we may have ever seen. It’s a clash to see who is the bigger Cinderella story between these two clubs. In other Central Division action, desperation is the name of the game when 1-4 Houston visits their in-state rival, the 1-4 Texas Outlaws. Michigan will be in St. Louis in a pivotal game for both clubs trying to keep pace with the surprising Machine and Breakers squads. A good Pacific clash as Arizona heads to the coast to play LA. A bit less drama when Denver heads to Portland and Seattle hosts Oakland as both the Gold and Dragons are 7-point favorites to take those games. In the Eastern Conference it is the Atlantic visiting the South, with some intriguing matchups on the docket. Baltimore clashes with 3-2 Orlando in a big game in the Citrus Bow, while Memphis hopes that home cooking can help them even their record at 3-3 when they face the Federals. Birmingham is in a similar boat, facing the surprising Philadelphia Stars at Legion Field. Ohio hopes they can move to 4-2 with a win in Atlanta when these two 1995 expansion clubs meet. Tampa Bay hopes their home game against the Generals leads to a win and a 3-3 record, while Pittsburgh is reeling and now has to head to 4-1 Jacksonville to face a red hot Bulls team.

We are down to one undefeated club, one no one saw coming, at the 1/4 mark of the season. Chicago and Seattle both fall from grace, while a couple of clubs sneak into the 3-1 club, including a revived Jacksonville Bulls squad. In a week that saw the running backs take center stage, Michigan used their former Bull to upend the rival Machine, while in Florida the new look Bulls took it to their downstate rivals from Tampa Bay. But, any discussion of USFL rivalry games has to start with Stars-Generals, our Game of the Week. It does not take much to turn any Generals-Stars game into a full on steel cage match. These two clubs just love to hate each other. So when you get a back and forth game that sees the momentum swing as much as it did on Sunday, well, that is just going to whip up a crowd frenzy, and that is just what we got. With a crowd of approximately 47,000 on hand at Veterans stadium, with a good number of those present visiting Generals fans, things got pretty exciting, both on the field and in the stands, where numerous fights broke out, and at one point a flurry of plastic cups got tossed all over the stadium. According to Stadium security, no fewer than 33 people were detained over the course of the game, not a record, of course, in the home of the Eagles, but still a pretty high total for a game between two clubs not predicted to be in the playoff mix this year. But, as interesting as the action was in the stands, the game itself was better. Both Jeff Lewis and Bobby Hebert played well, with 5 TDs and no picks between them. Both Curtis Enis and Stephen Davis rushed for just about the same yardage (86 and 88 respectively) and both clubs saw their tight ends play a key role as rookie Anthony Becht caught 5 for 59 yards while veteran Eric Green caught 6 for 36 and a score for Philly. It was a balanced game, a well played game, though New Jersey did have 9 penalties on the day, but also a chippy game with both clubs getting in shots where they could. Philadelphia looked the better team early on, scoring on their first two possessions of the game, a Pat Chaffey 2-yard reception and then a nice ball from Hebert to newly acquired wideout Bobby Engram. New Jersey responded in the 2nd quarter with two drives of their own, a Kevin Johnson TD reception and a 1-yard dive from their new acquisition, HB Olandis Gary. With 50 seconds left in the half, Philadelphia retook the lead on a Jeff Jaeger field goal and we had a 17-14 Stars advantage at the break. The 3rd quarter saw the defenses dominate, with neither club able to advance to the other end of the field and plenty of action for the punters. Another Jeff Jaeger field goal opened the 4th as the Stars built up a 6-point lead, but that was short lived as New Jersey mounted their first solid drive of the half, and got a huge 23-yard scoring run by Enis to retake the lead 21-20. Philadelphia immediately responded, driving the length of the field, with Hebert hitting his TE, Green, for the score, and, after a short toss to Marcus Pollard for the 2 point PAT, the Stars were back up 7 with 3:18 left to play. New Jersey moved the ball well on the next drive, getting big chunks against a Philly defense that had clearly tired. The pass rush was not getting to Lewis, and that let the young signal caller look at deeper routes. The score would come on a 46-yarder that was slow to develop, an out & up that broke open the Stars’ secondary. With the game tied, the concern was that leaving 1:46 on the clock for the Stars was too much time. Those fears proved to be well-founded. The Stars took their time, used their 2 timeouts, and got Jeff Jaeger into position. The former NFL kicker lined up the winning kick and with 10 seconds on the clock, Philly did not allow New Jersey any shot at an equalizer. The home crowd was happy, the visitors from Jersey not so much, and the local police and stadium security stayed busy as they cleared the stadium and the parking lot of a lot of drunk guys in gold chains and mesh shirts. In other words, it was a Philly-Jersey game. BAL 29 PIT 18 Baltimore leaned on their rookie halfback again, and Ron Dayne came up with a solid game, rushing for 98 yards on 24 carries. Backup Mike Cloud added another 36 and the Blitz kept Terrell Davis in check (64 yards on 22 carries) to win a tough defensive battle. Jeff Garcia continues to look good in relief of Trent Green, who may be ready to return to action either this week or next. OHI 9 WSH 29 The Ohio offense which was so strong in the first two weeks of the season is now struggling for rhythm. Washington’s strong defense held them to only 207 total yards as Eddie George was limited to 3.2 yards per carry and Kerry Collins was sacked 4 times in the defeat. Meanwhile, Barry Word had his best game of the year, racking up 126 yards on 19 carries for the homestanding Federals. ATL 7 ORL 24 When Tiki Barber came up lame in pregame warmups you had a feeling Atlanta would struggle in this one. He may return next week, but rookie R.J. Redmond struggled to fill his shoes, rushing for only 2.2 yards per carry. Meanwhile Scott Mitchell balanced 3 picks with 3 scoring tosses as the Renegades outgained Atlanta 386 to 148 on a day dominated by the Orlando defense. BIR 28 MEM 38 A great rivalry and a shootout as Memphis gets the job done at home against the hated Stallions. Four picks of Brett Favre, including pick sixesby both Rahim Abdullah and Fred Weary highlighted the day for the Showboats. Favre did throw 4 touchdowns, but those two defensive scores were the difference in an otherwise tight game. JAX 30 TBY 17 Don’t look now but Jacksonville seems to have found the quality of 2 years ago as they move to 3-1 with a convincing win over the Bandits. Despite allowing 156 yards rushing to Errict Rhett, Jacksonville pulled away in this game, one in which Patrick Rowe had a career game with 133 yards receiving, including a gorgeous 79 yard bomb from Chandler. MGN 34 CHI 25 The Chicago-Detroit rivalry was renewed once again as the Panthers knocked Chicago from the ranks of the unbeaten. The star of the game was the Michigan run offense, which clearly figured something out about Chicago’s inexperienced defense. Not only did Natrone Means come up huge with 181 yards and 2 TDs on 32 carries, but backup Winslow Oliver broke several big runs as he gained 73 yards on only 6 carries. STL 34 HOU 23 Houston played the Knights tough for 3 quarters, but Ahman Green eventually wore down the Gambler D to the tune of 120 yards and a score. Bert Emmanuel also had a big game with 139 yards and 2 scores on the day as the Knights move to 3-1, tied with Chicago and only 1 game behind the undefeated Breakers. TEX 13 NOR 41 New Orleans is the last of the unbeatens as once again their defense held a club under 20 points. The offense also had a stand out game, with Trent Dilfer going 25 of 28 for 338 yards and 5 scores against a Texas defense that was supposed to be much better than what we have seen this season. Raynard Brown led all receivers with 160 yards through the air and 3 of Dilfer’s 5 touchdown tosses as New Orleans rolled at home. SEA 27 ARZ 33 Arizona was efficient and effective on both sides of the ball as they edged past Seattle, sending the Dragons to their first loss of the season on a hot Tempe afternoon. Jake Plummer was again both the leading passer and the leading rusher for the Wranglers, while Rocket Ismail had yet another 100 yard receiving game. Former Invader Aeneas Williams had a big game on defense, with 8 tackles and the game’s only pick. LA 12 DEN 17 Denver pounded the ball with Salaam, the big back getting 26 carries for 131 yards and 2 scores, and the defense hounded LA quarterback Cade McNown, sacking the Express signal caller 4 times. LA countered with their own run game, with the combo of Pittman and Smith rushing for 155 yards on the day, but it was not enough as LA fell to 2-2 and Denver took over a share of first at 3-1. POR 28 OAK 47 In a battle of winless clubs, something had to give, and it appears it was the Portland defense as Oakland seemed to score at will in this one. Ryan leaf only completed 47% of his throws, but it was good enough for 2 scores, and another 2 were added by HB Siran Stacy, who had his best game in nearly 3 years against the Portland run defense, rushing for 131 yards on 19 carries. Portland QB Akili Smith spent most of the day scrambling, and was the leading rusher for the Thunder, which is never a good sign. TRANSACTIONS NOR: Placed TE D. Lafleur on IR. NOR: Traded a 4th round pick in 2001 to Atlanta for TE Deems May SEA: Placed T Lomas Brown on IR. Signed T Tobey Miles. RETURN OF THE RUN GAME Two trends have dominated the early part of the USFL season, the first being the rise of some unexpected clubs like Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Jacksonville to early success. The other, and perhaps more intriguing change we have seen is a significant return to the run game. Several clubs seem to be shifting away from the pass happy offenses that have brought success to teams like Birmingham and Tampa Bay, and are shifting to a run-first philosophy. This has produced more carries for bellcow backs and more games with totals over 120 yards. We even saw Corey Dillon go over 200 earlier this season. Looking at Week 4 this is clearly the case. In this week alone we had 24 carries from Ron Dayne, 22 from Terrell Davis, 25 from Errict Rhett, 20 from Garrison Hearst, 23 from Terry Kirby, 27 from Ahman Green, 20 from Troy Davis (along with 19 from Siran Stacy), 26 from Rashaan Salaam, a whopping 32 from Michigan’s Natrone Means and a combined 34 from the duo of Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman of LA. We also saw more 100-yard rushers in one week than at any point in the past 3 seasons. Does this mean we are looking at a return to 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust? No, not likely, but what it clearly is saying is that teams, especially in the early stages of the season, when the weather and the field conditions can be a bit dicey, are seeing the value in establishing the run game. As the weather heats up we fully expect the passing game which has become synonymous with the USFL to once again assert its dominance in league offenses, but for right now, those of you would enjoy a good counter tre, or a big back shrugging off defenders, this is your time. Pick your favorite back and enjoy a mini-Renaissance of smash mouth football this spring. TRENT DILFER PROVING HIMSELF After a 5-Td game, we need to talk more about Trent Dilfer. We were pretty quick to question New Orleans’s decision to sign the former Buccaneer. After all, his 6 years in Tampa Bay with the NFL Buccaneers were not exactly All Pro seasons. He never passed for more than 3,000 yards and in 3 of 6 years had as many, if not more, picks than touchdowns. His best year saw him complete only 56.2% of his passes and throw only 21 touchdowns. Now, we understand that the rules and the style of play of the NFL mean that QB numbers are not necessarily comparable to the more wide open USFL, but these numbers in the NFL did not indicate that this was a QB who would come to the spring and become a major factor. And, yes, it is only 4 weeks into a long 16-game season, but what we have seen so far has been very encouraging for the 4-0 Breakers. Dilfer currently sits at #1 in QB Rating, with a score of 126.7. His 11-2 TD-INT ratio is among the league best, with only Brett Favre having thrown more scoring tosses so far this season. He is completing nearly 72% of his throws in New Orleans’s short passing game structure, and his 961 yards, while not Top 10 in the USFL, is certainly enough to help the Breakers take pressure off of Ricky Williams to do it all, and enough to help them reach a totally unexpected 4-0 start. The early results certainly make it look like the move to the USFL was a good one for Dilfer, and the pick of Dilfer was a good one for the Breaker franchise. MEANS MEANS BUSINESS We had gotten so used to Natrone Means underperforming in Jacksonville, and the bemoaning the way the Bulls were using him, that I think most of us were willing to believe that Means himself was the issue. A bigger guy, without breakaway speed, Means always said his goal was to wear defenses down. Well, it seems Michigan is giving him that chance. The big man is averaging 92 yards a game so far this season, with an average of 20.5 carries a game. Compare that to his last year as the starter in Jacksonville, when he only averaged 11 attempts a game, and 48 yards. Michigan is feeding him the ball consistently and what we are seeing is that teams simply cannot keep up the energy level needed to tackle him for 4 quarters. In this week’s game against Chicago, Means carried the ball 32 times, including 13 in the 4th quarter, where he gained 92 of his 181 yards for the day. He simply wore down the Machine defense over time. That is a very good weapon for a club like Michigan to have, the ability to just pound the ball, run the clock, and eat up yards at the end of a game. If Means can hold up for the entire season we may see him reach the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career, and we may see Michigan right in the thick of the Central Division playoff race. EARLY ROOKIE WATCH Four weeks in, a quarter of the season, and time to recognize 5 rookies who are making their GM’s look pretty smart. We start with HB Ron Dayne, who is racking up 18 carries and 80.5 yards per game. He has also shown that, while not exactly a wideout, he is capable in the passing game. Dayne currently sits 7th in the league with 322 yards (a pace that would put him above 1,200 for the year), but more importantly, his success has made it easier for backup QB Jeff Garcia in the absence of Trent Green, and that has made life better for Coach Infante and the Blitz, who sit at 3-1 and are looking very solid on both sides of the ball. Plaxico Burress has not been able to produce wins for the 1-3 Oakland Invaders, but he has at least shown clear signs that he could be a player to build around. He currently leads the Invaders with 33 targets, 19 catches, and 224 yards. This week he added 2 touchdowns, his first as a pro, and one which was an instant classic, a toe tap along the sideline of the endzone that seemed to defy gravity. John Abraham has been making waves in Seattle as a defensive disruptor. He has 5 sacks in only 4 games and has helped the Dragons start the year as a top 10 defense in both scoring and yardage defense. Lining up alongside Gilbert Brown means Abraham sees few doubleteams, and that is freeing him up to use his speed on the outside. Good for Seattle, bad for opposing QBs. Mike Brown has stepped into the Michigan defense and made an immediate impact. A big hitter who is unafraid to get up into the run game, Brown already has 24 tackles and 2 sacks for the Panthers. Lined up alongside Chris Canty and Thomas Pittman outside, and with the guidance of veteran free safety Mike Prior, Brown is quickly adjusting to the pro game and becoming a player opposing offenses want to account for. Finally, the Portland Thunder are suffering through a brutal 0-4 start to the year, and their defense has been a huge disappointment, currently 23rd in points allowed, but the one bright spot has been the play of rookie LB Mark Simoneau. Simoneau leads the team with 36 tackles so far this season. He is ranging across the field, allowing Bryce Paup to focus on pass rush. The Thunder certainly have issues on defense (21st in the league with only 6 sacks, last in picks with only 1, and allowing 30 points a game), but Simoneau is certainly not the problem. A rough week across the league as we saw 2 more players join the IR and several more who could miss as much as 2 months before a late season return. The biggest blow was for the Seattle Dragons, who saw their All-USFL left tackle, Lomas Brown placed on IR after suffering a significant issue with his left shoulder. As the outside shoulder, lack of mobility and strength here makes it impossible for a tackle to do his job, and with Brown out, Seattle has to scramble to find protection for Brian Griese. New Orleans suffered a less-dramatic loss, with backup TE David LaFleur out for the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon. They moved immediately, sending a draft pick to Atlanta to land veteran Deems May, who will likely be limited to big formations as Scott Gailbraith is expected to remain the starter. In LA the concern is for DT Chester McGlockton, who suffered a compression of a disk in his mid-back. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks in recovery. A similar timeframe for Washington DE Bobby Hamilton, who suffered a dislocated elbow and hairline fracture in his upper arm after an awkward fall and pile up this week. Baltimore will also be without a key player due to an arm injury, as guard Hayward Haynes had his wrist severely strained, with possible ligament damage, during a fumble scrum. Others expected to miss at least one game this next week include Birmingham wideout Ernest Givens (hamstring) who always seems to miss 3-4 games a season, Denver CB Bruce Pickens (Finger), Portland LB Joey Porter (knee), Orlando center Mike Devlin (knee) and New Jersey CB Gene Atkins (tendonitis). The status of Tampa Bay WR Chris Doering (concussion), Breakers DT Chidi Ahonotu (neck), Michigan tackle Ross Verba (ankle), Atlanta HB Tiki Barber (hamstring) and LA linebacker Donta Jones (quad) are expected to be game time decisions, all are listed as either Questionable or Probable. Last year we told you about an investigation being led by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch into the financial dealings of Knights owner James Orthwein and issues of over/under reporting ticket sales to various investors, insurance providers and the IRS. It appears that this has taken a turn for the serious, now with other aspects of Mr. Orthwein’s finances being called into question not just by the paper but by state and federal authorities. The ticket concern seems to now be part of a major concern about overvaluation of assets for insurance purposes and undervalue for tax purposes, a relatively common bit of financial voo doo, but one which can get someone into serious hot water if proven. This practice can lead to both insurance fraud and tax fraud charges, and after 2 years of investigation by local media, it appears that a grand jury may be hearing evidence on both of those possible charges. Should Orthwein be found guilty, or potentially should he plea out to a settlement, it could have major implications for his ownership of the Knights. Since the finances of the franchise are directly tied to the investigation and potential charges, it seems unlikely that Mr. Orthwein could maintain principal ownership of the club, and may have to abandon all ownership claims as part of a plea agreement. If that were to happen, the most likely scenario would be that the club would be put up for sale, which is exactly what the USFL has dreaded, a club potentially going on the open market, with well-funded groups from several other cities ready to pounce on a chance to acquire and relocate not only an existing club, but one with a pretty solid squad in place. Of course it would be expected that were the Knights to go up for sale, there would be an ownership group representing St. Louis looking to keep the club in the Gateway City, but at present no such alternative group exists, whereas the groups representing Boston, Dallas, Nashville, Miami, and several other cities are already incorporated, funded, structured, and ready to jump at the chance to bring spring football to their town. We will continue to monitor the situation as it now falls into the hands of various legal teams. Seems the Eastern Conference is hell bent on getting their divisional games done early, as once again we find the Atlantic and Southern divisions in divisional play while out west all 6 Central clubs head off to face Pacific foes. Looking first at the Atlantic, the big game is the rivalry game between the 3-1 Blitz and the 3-1 Federals. With both clubs looking very formidable on defense, this one could be a very low scoring affair. In other games, the Glory, who have lost 2 in a row after a surprising 2-0 start are in New Jersey, where the Generals have dropped to 1-3. Pittsburgh, also disappointed to be at 1-3, travels across the state to visit the Stars, who have won two in a row. In the South we are looking forward to 3-1 Orlando visiting upstate rival Jacksonville, also sitting pretty at 3-1. Tampa Bay has a tough game to get back in the win column as they head to Birmingham to face the Stallions. Memphis is hoping to go over .500 if they can get a win in Atlanta against the Fire. We are down to one undefeated team in the Western Conference, the surprising defensive might of the Breakers. They will be sorely tested as they travel to Mile High to face the 3-1 Denver Gold. Another good matchup has the 3-1 St. Louis Knights facing off against the Express in LA. Michigan, after their big win against Chicago, will be in the desert to face off against the 2-2 Arizona Wranglers. Texas may have their best shot so far this season to get a W as they visit 1-3 Oakland. Chicago is hoping Portland does not score their first win as the Machine visit Civic Stadium to face the Thunder. Finally, Houston is in Seattle to take on the 3-1 Dragons.

The surprising 2000 season continued with Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Texas all providing surprising results, and while three of these clubs are more than happy to surprise the pundits and race out to a 3-0 start to the year, the Outlaws are reeling at 0-3 and will need to right the ship quickly. We saw Prime Time hit it big with a dramatic pick six, Ron Dayne come up big, Tim Lester silence his critics, Reuben Droughns flash starter potential, and Charlie Batch lead a huge comeback victory. We start there, with Pittsburgh’s comeback as this week’s game of the week. It did not look good for the 0-2 Maulers at home as the Orlando Renegades used two third quarter scores to change a 10-10 tie into a 20-10 lead with three quarters down, but the Maulers dug deep and, with the full throated support of nearly 45,000 in Three Rivers Stadium, the home squad scored 14 unanswered to upend the Renegades and score their first win of the season. While Batch is certainly not the only hero for the Maulers, he will get the accolades, because on a day when Orlando held last season’s leading rusher, Terrell Davis, to only 32 yards on 18 carries (a 1.8 YPC average), it was up to Batch to rally Pittsburgh back into the game. Orlando had taken what seemed to be a commanding lead thanks to 2 Moe Williams touchdown runs and a pair of Charlie Bauman field goals. Pittsburgh had gotten a 1 yard TD run from Davis, but had been able to do little else through three quarters. But in the 4th, Batch put the team on his shoulders and carried them to victory. He had help in the effort, of course. Andre Rison caught 4 of his 6 receptions in the final period, including a 59-yarder that put Pittsburgh in position for its first of 2 TDs in the quarter. Rison would come up big on several occasions, ending the game with 145 yards on only 6 receptions. In the first drive of their rally, his long reception put the Maulers into the red zone, and led to a Batch to Terrell Davis TD pass on a play action fake. Davis faked receiving the handoff and swung out to the left, where Batch found him for the 1 yard scoring toss. Only 2 minutes later, after a failed Orlando drive, Batch was back in business. Hitting Rison twice, Jake Reed once, another to Jay Riemersma, and then another short TD toss to Freddie Solomon with only 57 seconds left on the clock, the stadium erupted and Batch took a moment to soak it all in. The Maulers would contain Keenan McCardell on Orlando’s desperation final drive, something they had failed to do all day. McCardell had caught 7 balls for 155 yards, but went catchless in 5 plays for Orlando in the game’s final minute. The game ended on a Hail Mary that could not find a receiver, and the Maulers had their first win, a dramatic come-from-behind classic led by a QB who appears to be growing into his role as a team leader. MEM 16 PHI 17 Pittsburgh wasn’t the only winless Atlantic club to use home field to garner their first W. Philadelphia used a stout defense and a bit of luck to send Memphis to their second defeat. LB George Koonce was big, scoring 6 tackles and a pick for the Stars, while both Stephen Davis and Pat Chaffey scored on the ground for the home squad as they edged Memphis by 1. JAX 32 OHI 10 The 2-0 Glory were not so fortunate at home as the Bulls won convincingly thanks to 2 TDs from Chris Chandler and a dynamic 47-yard run from backup HB Kenny Bynum. The Bulls outgained Ohio on the day 423-233 as the Ohio offense which had exploded in weeks 1 and 2 was a lot less potent in the season’s third week. Eddie George faced 8- and 9-man fronts all game, and despite this Kerry Colins could only complete 35% of his passes as Ohio went down to defeat at home. TBY 0 WSH 19 Once again Bandit fans are stunned by the lack of offensive production as Tampa Bay is stunningly shut out by the Federals. Troy Aikman completed 24 of 38 passes but managed only 187 yards as the Federals made deep balls nearly impossible with a complex blitz scheme. They sacked the Tampa quarterback 4 times but pressured him on nearly every passing down. Add to this a surprising day for Reuben Droughns, whose 19 carries produced 101 yards. Washington would run the ball 39 times as they slowed things down for Scott Zolak and won their second in a row with the veteran backup at the helm. ATL 7 BAL 20 The Blitz go ta big game from rookie Ron Dayne to shut down the Fire and earn a home win. Baltimore controlled the clock with Dayne and a very efficient game from Jeff Garcia as they ran off nearly 36 minutes of game time on offense. Dayne would rush for 123 yards and a score to help pace the Blitz on offense, while 3rd year LB Tarek Salah forced two fumbles, recovering one, to keep Atlanta from a comeback. BIR 31 NJ 21 The Generals were solid for 3 quarters, building up a 21-14 lead, but could not contain the Stallions during the final period, when Brett Favre put them up top 24-21. New Jersey looked like they would tie the game, moving into scoring position, but on a truly bad decision, Jeff Lewis tried to force a ball to Terry Glenn and future NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders scored not only his first pick of the young season, but his first USFL pick six, racing the ball back the length of the field and giving Birmingham a commanding 10-point lead with only 1:15 left in the game. NOR 21 MGN 14 In divisional play the New Orleans Breakers continued their unanticipated run of victories, moving to 3-0 with a solid game in Pontiac. Once again it was the defense leading the way as New Orleans held Michigan to only 5 of 15 conversions on third down. Ricky Williams rushed for 86 yards and a score and Trent Dilfer survived two early picks and finished with 2 touchdowns to help the Breakers score their 3rd win to open the season. HOU 14 CHI 25 Chicago also moved to 3-0 to share first with the Breakers, and they too used defense to get the job done. Limiting Matt Hasselbeck to only 14 of 36 passing for a paltry 119 yards, Chicago also grabbed 3 picks to stymie the Gamblers. The Machine, like the Breakers, used the run to control the tempo of the game. They rushed the ball 41 times in the game, including 16 for 74 by Duce Staley and 14 for 97 from Ricky Watters. TEX 6 STL 27 Finishing up the trio of defensive wins in the Central Division, St. Louis thoroughly dismantled the Texas attack, limiting Reggie Cobb to only 50 yards rushing and picking off Kelly Stouffer 3 times to move to 2-1 and try to keep pace with the two surprise teams in first place. Ahman Green added 108 yards rushing and Amani Toomer scored on a fingertip grab to help St. Louis outpace Texas in this key divisional game. DEN 38 ARZ 30 Offense was the order of the day when the Gold visited the Wranglers. Mark Brunell and Jake Plummer both threw for 3 TDs, but the huge surprise was the rushing game of both teams. Denver had 2 100-yard rushers with Rashaan Salaam gaining a respectable 120 yards on 25 carries, while backup Ricky Whittle hit a couple of long TD runs helping him finish the game with 156 yards on only 8 touches. For Arizona Tim Lester had his biggest game in 2 years as he finished with 157 yards in a game that felt more like 1970’s NFL than 2000’s USFL action. OAK 17 LA 31 In a game that was only 10-9 LA at the half, the second half belonged to the Express as Tory Holt scored twice and Mike Pritchard a third time to help LA pull away late. The defense also played a big part, keeping Oakland at bay most of the game, converting only 4 of 13 third downs. SEA 24 POR 8 The battle of Cascadia went to the Dragons who got a very efficient 25 of 27 from Brian Griese and a solid defensive game to upend the homestanding Thunder. Napoleon Kaufmann, who had done so well in Week 2, was stymied, gaining only 29 yards on 16 carries against the rebuilt Dragon defense. The win moves Seattle to a surprising 3-0 atop the Pacific. ROSTER MOVES MGN: Placed K Brett Conway on IR. Signed K Shayne Graham ARZ: Placed LB Winfred Tubbs on IR. Signed LB Anthony McGovern BIR: Placed DT Mike Wells on IR. Signed DT Daryl Gardiner OHI: Placed SS Harlon Barnett on IR. Signed SS Lloyd Lee. LOOKING FOR ANSWERS Three weeks into the season and we have three undefeateds left, none of them playoff teams from 1999, so how is this happening. We already mentioned defense, and that is certainly a big part of what Seattle, Chicago, and New Orleans have accomplished. Over the first three games, these clubs, in order, have allowed 44, 44, and 31 points. They, along with 2-1 Washington, are the top 4 teams in points allowed with these totals under 20 points a game. What else do they have in common? The easy answer is that all three are slowing games down, controlling the tempo and forcing teams to play with fewer opportunities to touch the ball. Let’s take a quick look at how each is accomplishing this. CHICAGO is using a 2-back rotation to keep their backs fresh and provide different styles for defenses to adjust to. Ricky Watters and Duce Staley are almost exactly even in carries, and while Staley has had the bigger gains, both have consistently been able to keep Chicago in short third down scenarios, which certainly makes life easier for Jeff George. George, for his part, has been efficient, not going for the home run ball, but dumping down more often, taking the first downs and sustaining drives. His yards per attempt is down to 7.1, well below past years, and his completion rate is 63.2, one of his better seasons in the USFL or NFL. Controlled, slow, long drives seem to be the key for the Machine. NEW ORLEANS: A skewed run/pass balance seems to be the focus in New Orleans, where not only has Ricky Williams been fed the ball on a regular basis, but Eric Pegram has also been given a chance to make plays. The result is fewer passing plays, fewer clock stoppages, and a lot of time of possession. Trent Dilfer is 21st in the league in pass attempts, with most of the QBs behind him being ones who have simply not played as much because of injuries. When he is throwing, it is usually play action, which has allowed him to garner a 71.4% completion percentage, 2nd only to Jeff Garcia in Baltimore. That combination of high completion percentage and low attempt numbers means New Orleans’s defense is not being asked to play their best 60-70 plays per game, but only 45-55. SEATTLE: Here the story is Corey Dillon. After three weeks he is second only to Ohio’s Eddie George, with 286 rushing yards, and he has 7 more carries, at 69, an average of 23 per game. That is by far the best start to a season in the back’s 4 seasons with Seattle. Coach Tiller is providing Dillon with more help up front, FB Stephen Dobbins has stepped in as the starter after 2 seasons mostly on the practice squad, and is opening holes, and the playcalling, now with Brian Griese as the starter, has certainly shifted. It also helps that teams are focused very much on the dangerous duo of Eric Metcalf and David Boston. With the deep ball ability of both receivers it is hard for defenses to stack the box without risking a play action fly pattern over the top. The threat there means Dillon is seeing more 7-man fronts, and he is taking advantage. All three clubs essentially need to use this similar formula. George, Dlfer, and Griese are at their best when they are not under heavy pressure and when they can deal with 3rd and 3 or 4 instead of 3rd and 10 or more. While Seattle has good talent outside, Chicago and New Orleans rely on the run game to set up the pass, which can be effective, but also means that these teams are built on keeping games to low play counts and low scores. Fall behind too soon and the formula goes out the window. Can these three keep the field tilted their way for the full season? That is a big question, and one which fans in all 3 cities hope to see answered with a resounding “yes”. STEPPING IT UP Yes, it is only 3 weeks into the season, but one of the highlights of the early season this Spring has been the emergence of some players who have been good in the past, but not great. We already highlighted Corey Dillon’s strong start to the year. We should also acknowledge that Eddie George has taken a huge step up, currently leading the league with 322 yards rushing. Among receivers Rocket Ismail in Arizona has seemingly found another gear, leading the league with 369 yards receiving on only 15 receptions, while Rob Moore in Baltimore is among league leaders in both receptions and yards, rare air for this veteran slogger. The success of the run game in Ohio has also helped QB Kerry Collins get off to his best start in the USFL. Currently third in QBR at 112.8, Collins has thrown 6 TDs and no picks in three games and is now getting the ball to more receivers than ever, not focusing exclusively on Joey Galloway each play. Galloway is still getting his targets, but we are also seeing TE Stephen Alexander and former Breaker Qadry Ismail getting a lot of looks. Even Eddie George is getting involved in the passing game, though, admittedly this is mostly through screen plays on longer third down calls. The other big news story is of course the immediate impact of some of the NFL transfers this offseason. Bruce Smith has proven he still has a lot of motor, taking an early lead in sacks and now right there with Phil Hansen. Deion Sanders has also demonstrated that he has not lost a step and can still make an entire side of the field a danger zone for quarterbacks. Trent Dilfer has certainly outperformed expectations in New Orleans, and Baltimore’s Marquez Pope has become an instant leader on the Blitz defense. In Portland, Napoleon Kaufmann has been the one bright spot in a rough 0-3 start for the Thunder, while in Philadelphia Bobby Engram is quickly becoming one of Bobby Hebert’s favorite targets. Despite the trend of the USFL of focusing their financial resources on the college draft and signing NFL players who are largely considered either disappointments or stars on the downward slope of their career, the influx of NFL talent has, at least so far, proven quite advantageous for the USFL clubs willing to make the investment. Not a great week for the league when it comes to player safety as three players end up on IR after season-ending injuries and several others will miss multiple weeks. Concern particularly for Ohio safety Harlon Barnett, who had a helmet-to-helmet collision on the field, leaving him lying motionless for over a minute before staff were able to revive him. He was taken off the field on a back board for precautionary measures. Barnett was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered a significant spinal compression, leading to a ruptured disk. He is expected to have a full recovery, but the question remains as to whether he will be advised to return to the sport he loves or retire. Arizona got their worst news of the season as starting LB Winfred Tubbs is lost for the year due to a severe tear of the ACL and MCL ligaments in his left knee. The rehab process can take a year or longer, so the Wranglers and Winfred will be looking very much at 2001 as the earliest possible return. In Birmingham, DT Mike Wells also suffered a leg injury, this time a partial tear of his quad muscle in the thigh. This too could take several months to fully heal, and so the Stallions placed Wells on the IR for the remainder of the season. Not quite a severe, though certainly scary for Washington DE Bobby Hamilton, who suffered a neck injury in the game this week. He is expected to recover in time for potential late season action, as the team is estimating 6-8 weeks for full recovery. And finally, Texas lost a very promising rookie for the next 4-6 weeks as DT Chris Hovan suffered a broken collarbone. Fortunately the bone is not displaced, so the recovery will allow Hovan to return for the final month of the season. Injuries are a major concern for any sports league, and this week the USFL announced a major initiative in hopes of reducing the injury rate of its players, particularly focusing on brain injuries. We all understand that football is a violent, collision sport, and that head-to-head contact, which is one of the leading causes of football brain injury, is a significant danger. To help curb the number of significant helmet-to-helmet contact plays and to minimize the impact of those that will occur, the USFL has partnered with Riddell on a three-part platform to protect their players. The first piece of the puzzle will be some rule changes to be reviewed by the Competition Committee. Potential adjustments include a possible addition of an unsportsmanlike conduct foul for deliberate use of the crown of the helmet to lay hits on opposing players. Another could include adjustments to the legal alignments on kickoffs, to reduce the space between receiving and defending lines, thus reducing the speed of initial contact when the two meet. And finally, it is expected that a greater emphasis on late hits, diving tackles, and hits on players surrendering by sliding or stepping out of bounds will be a part of upcoming discussions. The goal in all these cases is to reduce the use of the helmet as a weapon, and to reduce the number of both intentional and unintentional helmet-to-helmet collisions. The second element of this new safety guideline will be the introduction of a new helmet style into the USFL. Riddell has been developing a new helmet, one with a unique shock absorption pattern, longer side panels (ear and chin), and a more rigidly affixed facemask system. This new helmet, called the “Revolution” is expected to be approved by the USFL for immediate use in the league, and we can expect that by the Spring 2001 season it will be seen on the field. Several notable players have been involved in beta testing the helmet during offseason camps and Riddell-sponsored testing programs, including QB’s Ryan Leaf, Spence Fischer, Brian Griese, and Jim Miller. Halfback Eddie George, wideout Lawrence Dawsey, linebacker Mo Lewis, and a range of linemen have also taken part in the testing led by Riddell. Finally, the USFL has aligned with Riddell and with the University of Pittsburgh, to engage in a 2-year study of football-related head injuries as well as the impact dynamics of various types of collision. This study is expected to inform both the USFL’s player safety protocols as well as rules adjustments and helmet design going into the future. It is a first step in what appears to be a very welcome movement within the USFL to value player safety as much as gameplay and profit are valued within the league. After this week’s injury to Harlon Barnett of the Glory, the timing could not be better. Week Four is a full divisional weekend, with all four divisions going to war. In the Pacific that means Seattle putting their 3-0 record up against the homestanding Arizona Wranglers while two 2-1 clubs try to keep pace as Denver hosts LA. Oakland and Portland round out the weekend with both 0-3 clubs looking for their first wins of the season. In the Central we have 2 undefeated teams with good chances to move to 4-0 as the Chicago Blitz host rival Michigan and the New Orleans Breakers host the winless Texas Outlaws. St. Louis is at Houston in another important early season clash. In the South the big game is Birmingham at Memphis. The Showboats cannot afford to fall to 1-3 if they want to defend their title, while Birmingham is hoping to take over the division with a win. Jacksonville is at Tampa Bay with both clubs hoping to get something started while Atlanta visits Orlando with their eyes on a statement win on the road. Finally, in the Atlantic, we have 2-1 Ohio headed for a big test at 2-1 Washington. Another key matchup has the Baltimore Blitz visiting the Pittsburgh Maulers, while in Veterans Stadium one of the league’s best rivalries is on tap when the Generals travel down the turnpike to face the Stars in Philly.