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For part two of our preview for the 2000 USFL season we are looking at the Western Conference. Once dominated by the Houston Gamblers, the conference has now seen 3 different clubs take on the mantle of Western Champions in the past 3 years, Portland, St. Louis, and Denver. None have found success in the Summer Bowl, and aside from one lone Gambler win, the West has lost 6 of the last 7 title games. Without a clear frontrunner, and with many folks still dubious about the Express, once again it looks like this year’s field is wide open in the West. So many questions remain about LA’s rapid rise atop the Pacific. How will Denver rebound from a tough Summer Bowl loss? Can St. Louis get a full year from Todd Collins? Is Texas finally going to finish a season strong? And what do we make of clubs like Arizona, Michigan, and Houston, who can look so good one week and so bad the next? We will look at each team, but before we do, we want to look at the draft from each, finish our 3 Top 2 Bottom rankings by looking at defensive position groups, then look at each USFL Western Conference club and finish with our predictions (always dicey) for 2000 clubs, award winners, and the Summer Bowl in Tampa, Florida. ARIZONA WRANGLERS High Impact Rookie(s): OT Chad Clifton (Tennessee) may not be a day 1 starter, but we think that over time he will become a good one. Punter Shane Lechler has already won the job and safety Clifton Black (SW Texas State) has been a pleasant surprise. Others on the Roster: Guard Travis Claridge should make the final roster, while DT Jerry Johnson from FSU could end up on the practice squad as Arizona is deep at the position. The One that Got Away: The Wranglers try year after year to bring in a dynamic halfback and it seems that year after year they end up with Tim Lester as the starter. This year they used a 2nd round pick on U. of Arizona’s Trung Canidate, thinking the local connection would help, but he is off to the Rams of the NFL instead. So, once again they turn back to Lester to be their bell cow. It is an issue, to be sure. CHICAGO MACHINE High Impact Rookie(s): We love, love, love the signing of Brian Urlacher to be the next great Chicago linebacker. This New Mexico product is not exactly Butkis or Singletary, but the converted safety could be one of the fastest MLBs in the game. We expect the Bears are upset he chose the Machine over them, but ownership for the Machine was willing to lay out extra cash to make it happen after both Chicago clubs drafted the same player. Others on the Roster: In addition to Urlacher, expect to see guard Bobbie Williams on the field, and small, but speedy WR Dante Hall should immediately plug in on special teams and in the slot for a Chicago club that needs playmakers. The One that Got Away: Really not anyone they cannot do without. They would have liked to sign LB Isaiah Kacyvenski from Harvard (6th round) or K Paul Eddinger (9th round) but neither of those were essential. DENVER GOLD High Impact Rookie(s): DT Cornelious Griffin from Alabama will almost certainly be a big part of the Gold’s nickel packages as he is the fastest of their DTs from day 1. SS Matt Bowen and WR Danny Farmer will also get a shot to see the field, and look out for HB Rod Smart, not picked out of Western Kentucky until the 10th round. He has a chip on his shoulder. When asked about why other clubs did not draft him, he had only one thing to say, “He hate me. Man, he just hate me.” Others on the Roster: DEs Junior Ioane (ASU) and David Nugent (Purdue) are bubble players on the roster but might end up on the practice squad. The One that Got Away: This one likely hurts quite a bit. The Gold had visions of DE Erik Flowers lining up opposite Leslie O’Neal to create a 1-2 attack like the one we saw in Houston last year with Sinclair and Pittman. No such luck as Flowers opted to play in Buffalo, though the pick cost the Bills more than their #19 pick should have. HOUSTON GAMBLERS High Impact Rookie(s): No skill players most of you will see racing across the field, but Houston got good value from center Brad Meester of Northern Iowa and DT Alfonso Boone from tiny Mount San Antonio. Both look like solid contributors despite playing at small schools. Others on the Roster: We like DE Alvin McKinley, though he is unlikely to get much time behind Sinclair and Pittman. CB Hank Poteat could factor into nickel and dime packages. The One that Got Away: Houston wanted to add some depth to the run game but were not willing to use a top pick on it, so the one that got away is midround (5th) pick Paul Smith, a very productive back at UTEP. LOS ANGELES EXPRESS High Impact Rookie(s): The Express did not wow anyone with their draft, but they added depth to a few key positions. We like FS Tavares Tillman as a good passing down option and guard Mamula Savea should be part of their rotation. Not sure if 2nd round pick R. Jay Soward can crack a starting position. That seems optimistic at this point. Others on the Roster: LA also signed TE Aaron Shea from Michigan, DE John Millem from Lenoir-Rhyme, and LB Kelvin Moses of Wake Forest. The One that Got Away: First round receivers can often be among the hardest to sign, something about the position just creates inflated egos. Well, that seems to be what happened with Sylvester Morris of Jackson State. Coming out of a smaller school we did not expect it, or maybe LA is just not his style. He signed with the KC Chiefs, a very different club with a very different philosophy of offense. MICHIGAN PANTHERS High Impact Rookie(s): Ever since the retirement of Anthony Carter the Panthers have been looking for a gamebreaking receiver. They have Jeff Campbell catching all the short balls and earning first downs, but they just don’t take the roof off. They are hoping that Florida State’s Laverneus Coles is the man to do it. Michigan also snagged a very good strong safety in Nebraska’s Mike Brown. Others on the Roster: Add OT John St. Clair, QB Spergon Wynn, and LB Orantes Grant to the list of Panther signings almost certain to make the opening day 45-man roster. The One that Got Away: Not a huge deal, since Doug Flutie seems solidly entrenched at the #1 position, but Michigan had hopes of making the Wolverine faithful happy by signing QB Tom Brady. New Jersey slipped in ahead of them to pick the skinny QB just 4 picks before Michigan might have taken him, but it still feels like a missed opportunity. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS High Impact Rookie(s): New Orleans, still reeling from Mike Ditka’s draft swap to get Ricky Williams, had only 5 picks this year, but they hope they got good value with the signing of #1 pick, CB Ahmed Plummer from Ohio State. They may have also gotten lucky when Wisconsin tackle Mark Tauscher dropped into their laps in the 6th round. Others on the Roster: HB Troy Hambrick from Savannah State may make the squad just due to his hustle on special teams this camp. Other than that, we don’t see more rookies sticking. The One that Got Away: New Orleans had 5 picks, and signed them all, but it still does not produce much. OAKLAND INVADERS High Impact Rookie(s): Oakland wanted to give Ryan Leaf a big weapon, and as predicted they did. Plaxico Burress could be a beast in the red zone for the Invaders. He is tall, can leap, has great hands, and a lot of swagger. Oakland also got a pretty good slot receiver and return man in Troy Walters from Stanford. A good draft for Ryan Leaf’s options. Others on the Roster: Expect CB Dwayne Goodrich to see time in the nickel and dime packages. Another CB, Lloyd Harrison of NC State has struggled a bit more and may end up on the practice squad. Guard Jason Thomas is a good depth signing at the position. The One that Got Away: They got their #1 and # 2 picks in Burress and Goodrich, but #3 got away. LB Marcus Bell of Arizona signed with the Seahawks. PORTLAND THUNDER High Impact Rookie(s): Mark SImoneau, the rangy LB from Kansas State, is a perfect fit for a club that is hoping to be faster on defense and more aggressive against the run. WR JuJuan Dawson may be a future replacement for Portland’s older receivers and should be a return man as well. Others on the Roster: We like the look of DE Jabari Issa, but his on-field time will be limited this year. The One that Got Away: Simoneau is a solid pick, and with Portland having traded their first round pick away to New Jersey, they did well to land him, but they could have gone after Lavar Arrington had they retained that #1. Choices have impacts, and the Thunder hope that Simoneau proves they chose wisely. ST. LOUIS KNIGHTS High Impact Rookie(s): The Knights keep doubling down on defense. This draft they landed two linebackers who we expect to see on the field quite a bit. Tennessee’s Raynoch Thompson is a banger, and Na’il Diggs from Ohio State is a steal in the 3rd round. These two will have an impact. The Knights also landed a starter in the 5th with fullback Sammy Morris, a solid blocker and good receiver out of the backfield. Others on the Roster: WR Charles Lee, DT Ernest Grant, and TE Dustin Lyman should make the 45-man roster as rookies. The One that Got Away: When Alabama LT Chris Samuels fell into the 2nd round for St. Louis, they must have known something was up. Samuels bided his time, was picked by the NFL Redskins and signed within 24 hours. We all know his agent had a good idea that Washington would make him the pick at #3 in the NFL draft and that is certainly a better deal than being a 2nd rounder in the USFL. SEATTLE DRAGONS High Impact Rookie(s): We love the pick of South Carolina DE John Abraham. He should be a menace for the Dragons from day 1. Great pick. The pick that confuses us was 2nd round selection of QB Giovanni Carmazzi. Yes, he was rated the 2nd best QB in the draft, but with Jon Kitna and Brian Griese already expected to compete for the #1 spot, what role does Giovanni have? Unless the folks up in Seattle know something about the future of the position that we don’t know, this signing is a weird one. Others on the Roster: Sixth round pick Adalius Thomas, the LB out of Southern Miss, looks great in camp, and could be a rotational player right away. Other than that, we don’t see a lot of first year production out of this rookie class. The One that Got Away: Seattle’s pick of Carmazzi in the 2nd round means they passed on other players like CB Rashard Anderson, S Mark Roman, or LB Ian Gold, any of whom would have had a bigger impact. But, if we limit ourselves to players selected but not signed, the biggest miss would likely be the signing of Auburn LB Marcus Washington by the Colts of the NFL. TEXAS OUTLAWS High Impact Rookie(s): 2nd round pick Chris Hovan, the powerful DT from Boston College is a great signing. We also like the late round signing of Michigan LB Dhani Jones. Two good defensive additions for a club trying to rebuild a championship caliber defense. Others on the Roster: Guard Cosey Coleman and Punter John Baker will make the final 45. We are not so sure about DE Gillis Wilson. The One that Got Away: Got to be 1st round pick Chad Pennington of Marshall. Kelly Stouffer’s injury last year showed just how fragile that position is, and Stouffer is clearly only 1-2 seasons away from retirement. There are questions about Pennington’s arm, but he is a smart, accurate QB who will now be doomed to mediocrity by signing with the NY Jets (You know that is true.) 3 TOP 2 BOTTOM Defense wins titles, that is what they say. So who is well positioned to win a title based on their defensive fortitude and who may be playing catchup all season long. We look at 4 defensive positions as we explore the best position groups in the league and the worst, starting off on the D-Line. DEFENSIVE END #1 HOUSTON: Michael Sinclair & Kavika Pittman. Was their any doubt. These two monsters both finished 1999 among the top 5 in the league and either one could end up as the Sack Champion in 2000. Depth is adequate behind them, but these two rarely come off the field and have to be considered the best 1-2 punch in the league. #2 NEW JERSEY: We are putting a lot of faith in rookie Sean Ellis to elevate his game as he finds himself on the same line as Phil Hansen. If he plays like he did in college, this could be an offense-crushing combo. If he struggles, Albert Fontenot is more than capable of playing well in relief. #3 DENVER: Leslie O’Neil paired up with a punter would still be a top 5 defensive line. Now that Denver has brought in Marcellus Wiley, we think this combo could be special. Robert Porcher is also going to work into the rotation, so it is really a 3-fer on this one, and that hardly seems fair. #23 OAKLAND: The combo of J.J. Wierenga and Eric Curry has just never produced the way the Invaders had hoped they would. Neither is likely to eclipse 10-12 sacks per year, and against the run they are just not holding the edge. Bad news for the Invaders. #24 PITTSBURGH: Yup, despite being a very solid defense overall, the Maulers have this gaping weakness. Bob Kuberski’s best years are well behind him, and Jeff Howard has never had a strong pass rush, though he is above average on edge runs. Honestly, if the Maulers want to win a title, they might call up Denver and ask about Porcher as an option. DEFENSIVE TACKLE #1 LOS ANGELES: A 4-3 has to be #1 on our list, and the best 4-3 interior line has to belong to the combo of Chester McGlockton and David Rocker in LA. And even if one of them needs a rest, when you can bring in Cletidius Hunt off the bench, you are not losing much. This group makes guards and tackles nervous on every play. #2 WASHINGTON: Sure, a 3-4 means you really only need 1 DT, and in that formation Jerome Brown is hands-down the best in the business. His backup Reggie Rogers is more than capable, so we are calling Washington the best-suited for a 3-4 defense in the league. #3 BALTIMORE: Another killer 4-3 lineup with John Randle and Michael Dean Perry lined up next to each other. We doubt this pairing lasts more than a season or two, with Perry clearly headed towards the golf course pretty soon, but who is gonna run against these two? Add in Randle’s pass rush ability and this is just a nasty combo. #23 TEXAS: The Outlaws drafted Chris Hovan, and good thing they did. Without him their DL group might finish 25th in a 24-team league. Hovan is the start of something new, but he is untested and not helped out much by having Marc Campbell and Kimo Von Oelhoffen as part of his rotation. No Bueno. #24 NEW ORLEANS: Not a lot of teams avoid the inside run against a combo of Jim Wahler and Leon Bender. They brought in Chris Maumalanga, but we are still going to call this the least intimidating DT group in the league (just not to their faces.) LINEBACKER #1 ATLANTA: I know it seems weird to say that such a bad defense has such a good LB corps, but in the case of Atlanta it is all on them. Mo Lewis was the league’s leading tackler last year because he had to be. But he plays alongside London Fletcher, Johnny Holland and Randall Godfrey this year and we think that could make a huge difference. Now, if Bruce Smith helps the D-line maybe Atlanta starts to play up to the potential of their LB corps. #2 JACKSONVILLE: We might be jumping the gun on this, but we love the idea of LaVar Arrington lined up alongside Mike Vrabel, Jesse Armstead and John Solomon. Jacksonville will switch between 3 and 4 linebackers as they often play with a 5-DB look against the pass happy Southern Division foes. In a 3-LB formation there is nothing wrong with Vrabel-Armstead-Arrington as a sideline to sideline hunting party. #3 MICHIGAN: Depth is the reason we put Michigan this high. They don’t have one huge impact player, but they can rotate in 6 guys with ease. Katzenmoyer is a rising star, Cowart is solid, then you have Hardy Nickerson coming back to his old haunts and Ted Johnson. Sub in Frank Stams for veteran presence or Anthony Peterson for some speed and you can play hard all day. #23 PORTLAND: When a rookie is your best LB, you have issues. Marc Simoneau may turn out to be a solid draft pick, but Portland has to add so much more to this group. Bryce Paup is well past his prime and we just don’t see much coming from John Holocek or Joey Porter. #24 PHILADELPHIA: Once known for their LB play, the Stars have left the cupboard bare as the years progressed. You now have George Koonce and Robert Gooch inside. Sam Rogers and Mike Crawford outside. Swell guys all, but no one is gameplanning around them. SECONDARY #1 DENVER: The Gold brought in FS Joe King from Baltimore to be the last piece in this mosaic of mayhem. Not the biggest names in the league, but when you can line up Bruce Pickens and Deral Boykin outside, bring in Todd McMillon in the nickel and back that up with Sean Lumpkin and now Joe King at safety, you have a really nice group that will pose all kinds of issues for offensive coordinators. Pair that with a good pass rush and Denver’s defense should lead the league in interceptions. #2 BIRMINGHAM: Last year the Stallions would not have even sniffed the Top 10, but when you add Deion Sanders, the league takes notice. Deion will clearly match up against each club’s #1, leaving Torey James and Ken Irvin to deal with the next two. We also really like Darryl Williams at strong safety, and we are not put off by the relative inexperience at free safety. Deion changes everything for this group. #3 ATLANTA: How bad is the Atlanta D-line, well, they have a top 3 secondary and the best LBs in the league and they still rank as one of the league’s worst defenses. The 3 Tyrones, as they are called, Tyrone Legette, Tyrone Poole, and “Tyronde” Barber are the best 3-deep corner lineup in the league. SS Robert Blackmon is also top notch, while FS Tim Hauck still needs to prove himself, but this group could be really dangerous if the Fire could just pressure the passer. #23 MEMPHIS: The Showboats had some holes on defense last year, none more noticeable than in the secondary, and yet they did very little to address it in the offseason. Tebucky Jones is a solid FS, but he does not get much help. CBs James Fuller and Fred Weary far too often are out of position or fall too hard for double moves. In a division with Favre and Aikman, having a secondary this problematic, and now without Reggie White to rattle QB's, could be a disaster. #24 OAKLAND: The Invaders are showing up on the wrong side of this list far too often. A weak secondary can make the D-line look slow, and a weak passrush can make the secondary look bad, but what do you do if both are truly bad? You lose a lot of games, that is exactly what you do. TEAM PREVIEWS CENTRAL DIVISION Texas led the Central for most of the 1999 season, but as they do, they melted in the summer heat and the Knights snuck off with back to back division titles. Can they make it 3 in a row? Texas would seem to be the main contender, but Michigan and Houston both had moments last year and are hoping for more consistency in 2000. Chicago looks to have improved, while we are just not sure if Coach Ditka left anything in the cupboard for Mike Nolan to work with. ST. LOUIS KNIGHTS (10-6, 1st in 1999) COACH: Jim Johnson (6th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: A very good team had a very good offseason. That seems to be the feeling in the Gateway City. St. Louis had what appears to be an outstanding draft, signing potential starters in LB Na’il Diggs and Raynoch Thompson, a good receiving FB in Sammy Morris, and a wideout who could be dangerous right away in Charles Lee. Add to this an already stellar defense, and an up and coming halfback in Ahman Green and the Knights could be looking for another title shot. Now, if they could just get a better stadium deal, all would be golden in St. Louis. WHY CONCERN: Stadium deal issues aside, the main concern for the Knights is at QB. Todd Collins missed a huge chunk of last season, but the Knights persisted with Jim Miller at the helm. But, Miller is now gone and backup duties now belong to Rob Johnson. Yup, we would be nervous too with Johnson and untested Kris Kershaw as the backups to Collins. If he goes down again, the Knights may not be so lucky as we saw last year. OUR ASSESSMENT: Assuming Collins stays upright, we see good things for the Knights. Texas will pose a challenge, but we like the Knights to win their third division title in a row and make a run at Summer Bowl 2000 in Tampa Bay. 11-5 and a division crown is our pick. TEXAS OUTLAWS (10-6, 2nd in 1999) COACH: Jack Pardee (6th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Texas defense is the reason for optimism in San Antonio. They are strong at all 3 levels, made stronger by the additions of LB Tedi Bruschi, rookie DT Chris Hovan, and rookie LB Dhani Jones. The defense will carry the day for the Outlaws, while Reggie Cobb carries the ball. That is the plan, and it could be a good one. WHY CONCERN: And yet, we have our worries. Despite Shawn Collins’s breakout season last year, the receiving corps for Kelly Stouffer is one of the league’s weakest. Outside of Collins you have Jeff Query and free agent Darnay Scott wide, and the underwhelming combo of Kerry Cash and Frank Wainright inside. That is not exactly the Stallions’ receiving corps. Add to this some holes on the line and a less-than-elusive Kelly Stouffer and things could get dicey quickly for the Outlaws offense. OUR ASSESSMENT: Texas will live or die with defense, and in the Central that can work. It is what St. Louis does as well. We doubt they will finish below .500 or below 3rd in the division, but is that what Outlaw fans really want? We are going to say 9-7 and eking their way into the postseason. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (9-7, 3rd in 1999) COACH: Skip Holtz (7th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Panthers were a pleasant surprise last year, but are retooling a bit this year. We are not sure replacing Wheatley with Natrone Means is a net positive for them. We do like the addition of WR Laverneus Coles in the draft, and we love the return of fan favorite Hardy Nickerson to the LB Corps. Visions of Nickerson blitzing are likely keeping divisional QBs awake at night. WHY CONCERN: The corners remain a major concern for the Panthers, while rookie Mike Brown is now going to be asked to do a lot at the safety position. Add to this a 35-year old TE in Butch Rolle, and the usual worries about Doug Flutie’s erratic style, and you have a real mixed bag in Pontiac. OUR ASSESSMENT: We think the Panthers are repairing an airplane already in flight. While another 9-7 season is possible, we think 7-9 may be more realistic. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (8-8, 4th in 1999) COACH: Ray Willsey (11th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Houston started 1999 strong before slumping their way to 8-8 and a quick 1-and-done in the playoffs. As an optimist I would point to the immediate impact of HB Kevin Faulk, the depth at receiver with Perriman, Freeman and Dykes, and perhaps the scariest duo on defense in the league in defensive ends Michael Sinclair and Kavika Pittman. QB’s absolutely hate facing the Houston D-line, because aside from these two edge rushers they now have to face both Antonio London and Leonard Renfro inside. WHY CONCERN: The Houston LB corps is just not as good as their front 4, so teams can beat Houston by using play action to freeze the line and take advantage of weaker positions behind them. That is a pretty standard issue, but the bigger one may be that it seems that Coach Willsey is taking a gamble at QB. Chuck Hartlieb has been adequate, but not very daring at QB over his tenure, and it seems Coach Willsey wants to try for a bit more flare. He has announced that untested Matt Hasselbeck will be the starter on Week 1. Hasselbeck came into the league with Denver 2 seasons ago and has yet to throw a single regular season pass. That is a huge risk, despite how he has looked in camp. OUR ASSESSMENT: Even if Hasselbeck is the next coming of Jim Kelly, he will need time to get up to speed, so expect a slow start for the Gamblers. It will be up to the defense to make things happen, and we never like when a defense has that much pressure on them. We are going to say that Houston takes a step back. 6-10 and looking to add some offensive talent in the offseason is our vision for this year. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (7-9, 5th in 1999) COACH: Mike Nolan (1st Season) WHY OPTIMISM: I guess if you believe that Mike Nolan is a true offensive genius then you can be optimistic about the situation in the Big Easy. Or maybe you think Ricky Williams is ready to run for 2,000 yards? They do have talent on the D-line with Reese, Ahanotu, Wahler, and Bender. We love Lamar Lathon, and the safety combo of Devin Bush and Darren Woodson is very solid. But… WHY CONCERN: Trent Dilfer? Really? We get that Coach Nolan was not a fan of Jamie Martin. A lot of dink and dunk from the former Breaker QB, but is the solution really to bring in Dilfer? Seems a huge risk for a player who most feel is a game manager at best. The Breakers are still paying for Ditka’s huge trade of almost 2 entire draft classes for Williams, so Nolan will be given time to turn things around, but we are not loving his first steps. OUR ASSESSMENT: Despite some talent on defense, the Breakers have a legit shot at being the worst club in the league this year. We are going to pick them to do just that, 4-12 and a shot at Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick in the 2001 draft. CHICAGO MACHINE (6-10, 6th in 1999) COACH: Marty Mornhinweg (2nd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Machine had a horrid first half of 1999, but started to come together for Coach Mornhinweg in the second half, pulling off several big upsets and playing tough on both sides of the ball. They have a good HB duo in Watters and Staley, really upgraded at receiver by signing Curtis Conway from the Bears, trading for Johnnie Morton, and drafting Dante Hall. They still have some good talent on defense, a defense that kept getting better throughout the 1999 season. We like Eric Allen and Alan Grant at corner. We love Simeon Rice at DE, and Sean Gilbert can eat up space at DT. If potential rookie phenom Brian Urlacher can live up to the hype he is getting in the Windy City, the defense could move from solid to elite really quickly. WHY CONCERN: Jeff George. There, we said it. If Coach Mornhinweg can make George a play action QB, the defense and run game could take this club far, but if he insists on being a gunslinger, they will again struggle with turnovers and 3-and-outs. That is it. The story in a nutshell. OUR ASSESSMENT: We like Chicago to keep playing hard, to win some close games, but also to blow a few that they should win. We think 8-8 under these circumstances makes a lot of sense. PACIFIC DIVISION No one saw LA coming last year. No one saw Denver going to a Summer Bowl. No one saw Oakland completely falling apart. What won’t we see coming this year? The Pacific has always felt like the weak sister of USFL divisions, and when we look at only 1 title in 18 seasons going to the Pacific, that sounds about right. But, there is optimism here, especially in LA, Denver, and Arizona, that there are some clubs who have turned a corner. Things look a bit bleaker in Portland, Seattle, and Oakland, but we expect to be surprised again, because if LA can go from basement to penthouse one year, who is to say someone else cannot make a move this season? LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (11-5, 1st in 1999) COACH: Galen Hall (2nd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: After the Cinderella season the Express put together this year, the problem is not a lack of optimism in SoCal, it is the risk of overconfidence. Cade McNown had a fantastic first year, but was it a fluke? Tory Holt and Mike Pritchard were dynamic. Antowain Smith had his best year as a pro. There were a lot of firsts, and a lot of stars seemed to align. But, if we want to remain optimistic, it is the defense that seems to be ready for the long haul, another thing no one saw coming before last year. Vince Buck joins the secondary to add some leadership. David Rocker and Chester McGlockton are as solid an interior D-line as you will see, and Donta Jones is ready to break out this year at LB. WHY CONCERN: What if it was all a fluke? I mean, look at the quick playoff exit. What was that? And while there is talent on the defense, the pass rush is mediocre, the safety slot is questionable with a rookie likely starting at FS (Tavares Tillman), and the rookie class has been underwhelming in camp and preseason. Is the clock about to strike 12 for Cinderella? OUR ASSESSMENT: LA in any other division might be picked to finish 3rd, but this is the Pacific, so we are going to say they repeat as champions. They have holes, but so does everyone out West. So, even though they are not scary on paper, we see 10 wins as a reasonable result. DENVER GOLD (10-6, 2nd in 1999) COACH: Dick Jauron (3rd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: So close, and yet, so far. That has been the story for the Gold since their inception in 1983. They are the perennial bridesmaids. Always good enough to win 9-11 games, never good enough to bring home a trophy. 0-3 in Summer Bowls so far, and yet, the fans remain optimistic. This is a club with a dynamic QB, an explosive HB, and a defense that can play lights out football when it wants to. We could easily pick them to win the Pacific and no one would think twice. But are we ready to call them a frontrunner for a title? WHY CONCERN: Denver has two big issues to face, one is self-confidence, but the other is perhaps the weakest receiving corps in the west. At both WR and TE they have issues getting open. They just lost their one big downfield threat in Odessa Turner, and they have not done a lot to add speed. Unless they feel that their secondary is impenetrable, and that pairing Leslie O’Neal with Marcellus Wiley will produce 40 sacks, the Gold should be concerned. OUR ASSESSMENT: Denver will miss Turner to be sure. They just don’t have much ability to score quickly, which in this league is a real issue. We think 9-10 wins is again possible, but then what? SEATTLE DRAGONS (8-8, 3rd in 1999) COACH: Joe Tiller (3rd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: If you ask most fans how many wins the Dragons got last year, they would likely say 5 or 6. It is hard to picture them as an 8-win team because there is just not much hype about anyone on their roster. And that is really not fair to them. Levon Kirkland is a beast. Lomas Brown may be the best LT in the game. Corey Dillon is severely underappreciated. Oh, and the Dragons just traded to get perhaps the hardest hitting safety in the game, John Lynch. Add to this the speed of David Boston, the savvy of Takeo Spikes, and the raw power of DT Don Sasa, and there is reason for optimism. WHY CONCERN: We have no idea who the starting QB is in Seattle. Is that reason enough to worry? We think so. Jon Kitna has not gotten the job done. Brian Griese appeared to be positioned to take over, but then why did the Dragons draft Giovanni Carmazzi (oh, and Tee Martin just for good measure too). You remember the old saying about a team with 2 QB’s not really having 1? What is the saying about a team with 3 QBs? OUR ASSESSMENT: Look, if they can pick a QB, and if that QB can finish somewhere in the Top 10 in QBR, then the Dragons look smart and maybe get over the hump. But that is a BIG if. We think 8-8 was a really good season for them, and would be again. We think 7-9 is a fair assessment until we know who their QB is. ARIZONA WRANGLERS (7-9, 4th in 1999) COACH: Art Shell (4th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: After a great run in 1998, everyone was jumping on the Wrangler bandwagon, including us. And that made last season really disappointing. But, there is so much to be excited about. The trio of Pickens, Ismael, and Hines Ward is very very good, and should be even better with two new TEs in the game in free agents O.J. Santiago and Mark Bruener. The LB Corps is terrifying, led by Broderick Thomas, but with Winfred Tubbs and Barney Bussey also playing great ball. They snagged Aeneas Williams to be their #1 CB, a great move, and they helped protect Jake Plummer with a new OT in the draft in Tennessee’s Chad Clifton. All good. WHY CONCERN: Well, after yet another attempt to get a star HB, we are looking at Tim Lester again as the starter. Lester’s best year was 1994 and it was only 695 yards. His BEST year!!! But does anyone think that either Kantroy Barber or Olandis Gary are going to overtake him? Honestly, if Arizona could just trade to get a true 1,000 yard threat, they would be a scary team. But it has not happened, and that is still a HUGE issue in Tempe. OUR ASSESSMENT: We make a big deal about the HB situation in Arizona, but they are a solid club. They could even win the division if they just throw on every down like Birmingham, but we don’t see Art Shell going for that. Without a change at HB, we think 9-7 and a Wild Card is the ceiling here. PORTLAND THUNDER (6-10, 5th in 1999) COACH: Ray Rhodes (1st Season) WHY OPTIMISM: With the retirement of Vince Tobin, Coach Ray Rhodes inherits a team clearly in transition. Robert Drummond is gone, a retirement in his prime. They have a 2nd year QB who has yet to truly shine in Akili Smith, a receiving corps that has trouble getting open, and a LB corps that has been totally revamped, with 3 new starters, one being a rookie. Oh, wait, this is the optimism section. OK, We like Napoleon Kaufmann to play a role in the passing game, something Drummond didn’t really do. We also like the signing of Clyde Simmons for the D-line. And while we are not sure why they did it, bringing in Rick Mirer could help push Akili Smith or provide an alternative if he struggles again. WHY CONCERN: You probably see the hints of why we worry in our optimism section. A lot is new, a lot is untested, a lot is shaky. It’s not a roster that inspires dreams of a dynasty. It is one that might offer some hope, or might need 1-2 years to find itself. OUR ASSESSMENT: We think Coach Rhodes will work these guys hard, and demand a lot from them, but we are firmly in the camp that the roster needs improvements for Portland to make a playoff run. We think 5-6 wins is where they will end up this year. OAKLAND INVADERS (4-12, 6th in 1999) COACH: Dom Capers (1st Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Like Atlanta, fans in Oakland see only one direction to go, up. Unlike fans in Atlanta, they feel they have a star to latch onto. Plaxico Burress has become a media darling in the Bay Area since signing with the Invaders. He could help Ryan Leaf turn around his image as a falling star, or he could flame out as well. We think the former is more likely. Dom Capers is already trying to change things up, trading away perhaps Oakland’s best defender, SS John Lynch, in order to beef up the D-line, Oakland still has a lot of defensive issues. They may have to go against Coach Capers’s reputation for defense and try to become a high-flying offense with Burress, Marty Booker, and Ed McCaffrey making up for defensive issues. It works in Birmingham, right? WHY CONCERN: Oakland is not Birmingham and Ryan Leaf is not Brett Favre. The Invaders need more from their running game, more from the TE position, more from Leaf himself, and they need a defense that can keep teams from scoring 30+ every game. It is early and Coach Capers will get 3-4 years to show progress. OUR ASSESSMENT: Progress may take 3-4 years. Oakland looks like a club that will need half a season just to learn new systems and how to play for Capers. Expect a long year but one that could lead somewhere better over time. 4-12 is our pick here. SEASON PREDICTIONS From our team projections you can certainly get a gist of what we think the season will bring. But let’s make it official. We begin with our projected division records and playoff teams, then we will stick our necks out and pick both a 2000 Summer Bowl winner and award winners for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, and both Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. Getting it started, here is our look at the divisions as we see them. This result for the regular season produces a very similar playoff pool as 1999, which means we are almost certainly wrong. Looking at the playoff matchups we expect to see Pittsburgh and Birmingham advance through to the Conference Title Game. There we are going to go with the underdog, expecting that Pittsburgh’s D is good enough to keep Birmingham from racing out to a big lead, and that means Terrell Davis can be a factor. We have Pittsburgh representing the East. In the West, we expect a more topsy-turvy playoff and we are picking Arizona and LA to be the final two, with the Wranglers using their passing game to bypass the Express defense and make it to the title game in Tampa Bay. For Summer Bowl 2000 we are going to revert back to the “defense wins championships” mindset, and we are going to pick the Pittsburgh Maulers to take the title over Arizona. Looking at the award winners, we think there will be some close competition, but in the end we see these as the favorites: MVP: Brett Favre (QB-BIR), followed closely by Heath Shuler and Jake Plummer. OPOTY: Let’s go outside the QB position and say Terrell Davis of Pittsburgh. It still may be a QB, but we want to give Davis props for his role in the Mauler offense. DPOTY: Sack masters tend to be the favorites, so we are going to go with Orlando’s Chris Doleman, with competition from Phil Hansen (always) and Birmingham’s Mike Rucker. Rookie Of The Year: The easy call would be to say Ron Dayne in Baltimore, sure to be a big part of their offense, but we are going to go for a more esoteric pick and go with a riskier pick, LB Na’il Diggs in St. Louis. Coach of the Year: Not a lot of big risers, teams moving from bad to good in one year, in our picks, which means that the COTY competition will be a tough one. We have Orlando’s George O’Leary getting some props as the Renegades continue to improve, but Art Shell in Arizona or Emmett Thomas in Pittsburgh could also be strong contenders.

February 27, 2000 While most of the country remains in the throes of winter, things are heating up in the USFL as the season is only 3 weeks away. It has been an eventful offseason and prospects for your favorite club may have shifted significantly. We have 5 new head coaches across the league, countless player movements, signings, trades, and rookies to evaluate, and, as always, a spirit of excitement and optimism has taken over USFL fans from coast to coast. We begin our report on the offseason and our season preview with a look at the Eastern Conference, home to the past 3 league champions (Washington, Tampa Bay, and the defending champion Memphis Showboats). Is this going to be a rebound year for the Bandits? A repeat for the Showboats? A resurgence for the Birmingham Stallions? And who will come out of the Atlantic? Can Baltimore repeat despite some big losses in the offseason? Is Pittsburgh ready to step up? Can Philly return to glory with a new Jim Mora at the helm? Lots of big questions, but before we look at each team, lets take a look at the offseason moves that have had the biggest impact across the conference over the past 6 weeks since our last report. While we know everyone is excited to talk about the 2000 rookie class or to hype up their favorite club, we should start with some basic housekeeping, a quick review of late roster moves that could impact the league this year. We had a couple of unusual events this January, including a spate of retirements after camp had begun and a flurry of last second signings during late free agency. We also saw a couple more trades that will certainly impact the season. We begin with the post-draft trades. Michigan sends DT Sam Adams to Jacksonville to acquire HB Natrone Means. We saw the writing on the wall on this one. Means wanted out of Jacksonville and the Bulls were not going to get much for him, but in Adams they get veteran leadership and a pretty big body in the middle of the D-line. Not a bad bargain for them to unload a player who clearly wanted another chance to prove he is a legit starter in the league, something he will certainly get in Michigan. In Memphis, the defending champions seem willing to trade defense for offensive line help, sending LB Al Wilson to Washington for guard Mike Hutson. We tend to think the Federals, who are trying to rebuild a killer D, came out a bit on top in this one. Denver sends FS Myron Guyton to Orlando for WR Tamarick Vanover, a solid slot receiver option. So, Orlando in addition to adding O-line depth, now tries to improve their secondary while Denver may be shifting to more of a short passing game after the departure of Odessa Turner. Finally, because we know you love O-line news, Seattle sent C Matt Birk to St. Louis in order to get DT Mike Lodish as the Dragons try to address an area of their club that definitely needed work. Birk will compete for the starting job in St. Louis and can also play swing at guard or right tackle if needed. We mentioned some in-camp retirements, something we rarely see, but also some Free Agent signings, which is typical, particularly after rookie draftees opt for the fall league instead of the USFL. Beginning with the retirements, we see two that have not really been dealt with by their clubs as of yet. Oakland lost out on Jon Carter, who retired only 1 month after signing with the club. In Baltimore, wideout Odessa Turner, who has had some injury concerns in recent years, also decided to call it a career after two-a-days had begun. As of yet, no free agents have been signed to replace them. Emory Yates, the long-term Stallion tackle had signed with Ohio, but recent medical findings helped make the decision to retire for him, as his ongoing hip injury is now believed to be chronic and possibly degenerative, forcing his hand. Ohio is still in the market for a new tackle. When LB Paul McGown told the Generals he would be retiring, they at least had some options, with several solid LBs left in free agency. They signed former Bandit Bobby Houston within 48 hours of the news. The Gamblers went one step better, cutting QB Chuck Clements 3 days into camp once they had signed former St. Louis Knight QB Jim Miller. Miller is expected to compete immediately with Chuck Hartlieb and untested Matt Hasselbeck, though it is Hasselbeck who was named the Week 1 starter. Other late free agent signings include veteran wideout Ricky Proehl in New Orleans, TE Mark Bruener by Arizona, LB Ricky Hamilton by Houston, tackle Mike Hayes by the Stallions, and QB Wally Richardson by Memphis. We might see a couple more go before the end of camp, as teams are still trying to find their ideal 45-man rosters, and as some younger players are placed in the practice squad. As always, the drafting of a rookie by any USFL club is only half the battle. Within 2 weeks of the USFL draft we have the NFL Draft, and once a player has been selected by both leagues the real battle begins. The USFL has tried to emphasize the draft over raiding NFL rosters for talent, but even so, the average is about 55% or higher of players opting for the NFL over the spring league, despite overall salary equivalency often achieved between the two leagues. So, for every big signing, there is also very often a coveted player who got away. Let’s look at the 12 Eastern clubs and see who could make an impact in 2000 and the big fish that got away. ATLANTA FIRE High Impact Rookie(s): Atlanta had a lot of picks this year, and signed 9 players from their 12 selections, a very good rate of return. They now have both J.R. Redmond of Arizona State and Mike Anderson of Utah ready to back up Tiki Barber at the HB spot, and DT Darwin Walker will likely join the D-line rotation as well. Others on the Roster: While OT Stockar McDougle may see some playing time, expect TE James Whelan and DE Chris Combs to alternate between active, inactive, and practice squad status. QB Mark Bulger from West Virginia has been retained as the #3 QB. The One that Got Away: Atlanta did as expected and swung for the fences with their first pick, DE Courtney Brown of Penn State, but Brown opted to go with Cleveland of the NFL, initially leaving some concern in Atlanta about the pass rush, a concern that was profoundly altered by the signing of former Buffalo Bill superstar Bruce Smith. Smith may not be a spring chicken anymore, but he can still put up those sack numbers and put the fear of Bruce into opposing QBs. BALTIMORE BLITZ High Impact Rookie(s): With the retirement of Derrick Fenner, it was essential that Baltimore find a back to run its power rush style, and in Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne they believe they have. Dayne should be the Week 1 starter at the position. Expect Baltimore to use more 3-wide formations and leave Dayne as a pounder on the inside. Others on the Roster: In addition to Dayne, Baltimore added depth to both lines with guard Kaulana Noa of Hawaii, tackle Blaine Saipaia of Colorado State, DT Brian Young of UTEP and DE Quinton Reese of Auburn. The One that Got Away: The Blitz got the back they needed, but missed on their 2nd round pick, wideout Todd Pinkston of Southern Miss. This hurt even more when recently signed WR Odessa Turner opted to retire after 2 weeks of Blitz training camp, one of several veterans to bow out in camp across the league this year. That leaves the Blitz a little shaky at receiver with Rob Moore and Tim Dwight the presumptive starters. Rumors have a trade in the works, but as of today, the Blitz have one of the weaker receiving corps in the league. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS High Impact Rookie(s): Another club looking for a back after Stephen Davis left in free agency. Birmingham got theirs from the second round, another local product, Alabama’s Shaun Alexander. He will be expected to get significant playing time, though we also think FB Mike Alstott and veteran Rodney Thomas, signed from Texas, will be the likely Week 1 starting combo. Others on the Roster: We like the look of LB Barrett Green from WVU, and that is about it. WR Darrell Jackson is most likely a special teams contributor, and OT Brad Bedell is buried deep on the depth chart. The One that Got Away: Wisconsin tackle Chris McIntosh opted to join the NFL Seahawks, so it looks like once again protecting Brett Favre will come down to a Richmond Webb, whose knees have been an issue in recent years. JACKSONVILLE BULLS High Impact Rookie(s): Jacksonville fans believe their club hit the jackpot with Penn State LB Lavar Arrington. Arrington is fast and decisive, and brings the hammer when he hits opposing backs. He will be a day 1 starter. Wideout Dez White, a 2nd round pick, is also looking solid for the Bulls, who needed to add talent after losing Brian Blades to the NFL. Others on the Roster: Expect to see both Troy State’s Michael Moore and Mississippi State’s Wes Shivers get some PT at guard. Safety Paris Lennon of Richmond also made the final 53, while several others are now on the Bulls practice squad. The One that Got Away: The Bulls other attempt at a rookie wideout, FSU’s Peter Warrick, did not materialize. Most around the league had a sense that he was leaning towards the NFL, and so did the Bulls, who did not select him until the 4th round, which all but guaranteed he would follow his first round selection by the Cincinnati Bengals. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS High Impact Rookie(s): Memphis did not have a lot of holes on the starting roster, so we are not surprised that most of their signed rookies will likely be backups. Guards Andrew Kline (SDSU) and Cooper Carlisle (Florida) are likely to see the field from time to time, but most of the rooks will likely see spotty action at best. Others on the Roster: TE Erron Kinney sits 3rd on the depth chart, while CB Lewis Sanders and LB Sekou Sanyika will likely see mostly special teams action. The One that Got Away: No huge losses here. Memphis took a shot at FSU’s Corey Simon in the 1st round, but that did not pan out. They have a solid line so it would have been a luxury pick, a BPA situation to be sure at the end of the first round. NEW JERSEY GENERALS High Impact Rookie(s): Phil Hansen has to be happy that Tennessee’s Shaun Ellis will now be lining up across from him on the NJ defensive line. Ellis’s speed and power combo will absolutely make it harder for offenses to double team one of the league’s most dangerous power rushers. New Jersey also thinks they found a gem with their pick from Portland in the first round, West Virginia TE Anthony Becht. And they may have gotten a steal in the 7th round with Michigan State DT Robaire Smith, who has been very impressive in camp. Others on the Roster: Kicker and 12th round pick Neil Rackers takes over after Adam Vinatieri left for the NFL, while wideout Ahmad Merritt may get some slot work and linemen Richard Mercier (Miami) and Leander Jordan (IUP) could rotate in as well. It looks like former Michigan QB Tom Brady may stick with the team as the 3rd QB behind Spence Fischer and Jeff Lewis. While there is a clear QB battle at the top, Brady should expect to hold a clipboard this season. The One that Got Away: Really the only Generals pick that feels like a lost opportunity is 4th round selection T.J. Slaughter, the linebacker out of Southern Miss, but landing Lorenzo Styles from the Stallions as a free agent feels like it fills the gap just fine. OHIO GLORY High Impact Rookie(s): Ohio needed a good draft, but whiffed on their top 2 picks, so the best we can say is that they have a good-looking backup QB in Chris Redman of Louisville, and a potential contributor in CB Jason Webster from Texas A&M. Others on the Roster: Guard Darnell Alford and WR Bryan Gilmore are likely to spend most of the season on the practice squad. The One that Got Away: Two actually got away, first round pick Julian Peterson, the linebacker from Michigan State, and 2nd round pick Deon Grant both opted to play in the fall, big hits for a club that desperately needs to upgrade their defense. ORLANDO RENEGADES High Impact Rookie(s): LB Rob Morris may not start at MLB, but he should see some action this year. The more immediate impact may come from safety Tyrone Carter of Minnesota, who has looked solid in camp. Others on the Roster: No big names, but some upside to players like DE John Engleberger, CB Ben Kelly, and LB Danny Clark. The One that Got Away: Easy, 1st round pick Thomas Jones. Chosen as a possible successor to Terry Kirby, who is not getting any younger. The whiff on Jones may be part of the reason why Moe Williams was signed from Memphis in the first place. Having Williams allowed Orlando to take a shot on Jones, and they did. PHILADELPHIA STARS High Impact Rookie(s): The Stars wanted defensive help in the draft and we think they may have as many as 3 starters coming out of this year’s haul. 1st round pick Deltha O’Neal looks ready to start off as a nickel back but could soon be a starter outside as well. DT Kendrick Clancy from Ole Miss will get snaps at DT, and SS Antwan Harris, despite being a 9th round pick, has looked really good in camp. Others on the Roster: Tackle Todd Wade (another Ole Miss Rebel) and TE Joe Dean Davenport will make the squad but are not expected to see the field much this year except on special teams. The One that Got Away: Philly did pretty well. Yes, they would like to have had 2nd round pick Jerry Porter, the speedy wideout from West Virginia, on the roster, but after adding Bobby Engram from the NFL Bears, they feel they have a decent WR room to start the year, even without All-USFL receiver Cris Carter suiting up anymore. PITTSBURGH MAULERS High Impact Rookie(s): A very strong draft for the Maulers. They got themselves a kicker (Rian Lindell from WSU), a corner (Kareem Larrimore), a speedy wideout (Dennis Northcutt) and a solid DE in Darren Howard. Others on the Roster: LB Nate Webster could also pan out after a solid career at Miami. The One that Got Away: Signing Jake Reed away from the NFL helps Pittsburgh also deal with the sting of missing out on their top pick, wideout Travis Taylor from Florida. Doubling back to WR in the 2nd round for Northcutt also seems smart in retrospect. TAMPA BAY BANDITS High Impact Rookie(s): OT Marvel Smith, chosen in the first round, should be a great addition to a Bandits line that was getting a little long in the tooth. Expect him to start out at RT. The big surprise is the performance of 5th round pick Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila at DE. He has a legitimate shot to start the year as a starter, which few saw coming. Others on the Roster: We like Travis Prentice, the back out of Miami of Ohio, as a relief player for Errict Rhett, a better fit than James Stewart was last year. LB Corey Moore from Va Tech could also see some snaps this season. The One that Got Away: Willee Bartee, the rangy CB from OU could have made an impact in the secondary, but he opted to stay closer to home with the KC Chiefs. WASHINGTON FEDERALS High Impact Rookie(s): We like TE Bubba Franks, the Federals surprise 1st round pick, but he is likely to need a year before he is ready to be a full time starter. HB Reuben Droughns from Oregon will be the change of pace back for Barry Word this year, and WR Drew Haddad is a good late round addition at WR. Others on the Roster: CB Jeff Harris (Georgia), and C Matt Johnson (BYU) may eventually get into the gameday roster but for now they are on the practice squad. The One that Got Away: 2nd round pick Keith Bullock would have been a nice addition to the Federals LB Corps, but he opted to become a Houston Oiler instead. TOP 3 BOTTOM 2 Before our team-by-team analysis, we want to offer an analysis of position groupings in the USFL. So we are going to identify which clubs we feel have the strongest, deepest, and most impactful groupings at different positions, while also providing the 2 clubs who we feel are weakest in each area, in a little section we call Top 3 Bottom 2. We start here with the offense and will conclude with defensive positions in our Western Conference Preview. QUARTERBACK #1 BIRMINGHAM: Brett Favre pretty much places Birmingham here all by himself. He is never hurt, so backup Danny Kannell only gets to see the field at the end of blowouts, but Kanell is a very capable backup, and Jay Barker looks very professional in a visor with a clipboard, so there is that too. #2 TAMPA BAY: It was between the Bandits and Showboats for #2, and we decided to reward Tampa Bay for having a more viable backup. Shuler and Aikman are both great QBs, but if either gets hurt, would you rather bring in Tampa’s Kent Graham or Memphis’s Gino Torretta? Graham, right? #3 PHILADELPHIA: Yes, we might be overvaluing Bobby Hebert at this point in his career, but we are also giving Philly credit for putting two very viable QBs behind him in the form of Will Furrer and Jake Delhomme. Any one of the three is capable of winning games. Hebert, while not his former self, is still capable of winning them against all odds, and that is still a hard skill to find. #23 NEW ORLEANS: To say that we do not trust Trent Dilfer to be a savior in the Crescent City is an understatement. Having Bobby Hoying and Gus Frerotte behind him is also not a big confidence booster. Say the Breakers are down by 17 with a quarter to play, do you think any of these 3 are bringing them back? We didn’t think so. #24 ATLANTA: Maybe Aaron Brooks is the second coming of Fran Tarkenton? Who knows? Pretty sure Atlanta does not know. Having Eric Zeier behind him and a rookie in Mark Bulger in 3rd means that Atlanta has very little available if Brooks flounders. Maybe we are wrong, but we think this combination is about as shaky as it gets in the USFL. RUNNING BACK #1 ORLANDO: Terry Kirby is not the best back in the league, but when you add in Moe Williams and Amos Zeroue at HB and then the devastating blocking of Chris Fuamata-Ma’afala at FB, you have the best RB group in the league. They can power run, outside run, catch the ball, block for the passing game. You won’t likely see Kirby lead the league in rushing, but you very well may see Orlando gain the most yards from scrimmage with these backs. #2 CHICAGO: We really wanted to give an award to a team with 1 huge back, like Denver with Salaam or Pittsburgh with Davis, but it just does not make sense. When a club like Chicago can bring in Ricky Watters, Duce Staley or Mario Bates on any play, and then have Jonathon Linton backside blocking or leading the counter tre, it just has to go to a team with a bevvy of backs, and Chicago has that. #3 LOS ANGELES: Another depth victory in the RB group. Combine Antowain Smith’s and Michael Pittman’s production and you will almost certainly outgain any 1 back in the league. That they can also bring in Maurice Smith to spell either back, and they can count on Shawn Bryson to open holes is just pure luxury for the Express, and a big reason they bolted to #1 in the Pacific last year. #23 PHILADELPHIA: Hard to know what Philly has in Stephen Davis, the new acquisition from Birmingham. He never fully got a chance with the Stallions, but he needs to prove himself with the Stars. Pat Chaffey and Mark Montgomery are not going to steal the job from him, that is for sure. Reinaldo Deal feels like just a warm body at FB, so expect Philly to use a lot of 1-back formations. #24 ARIZONA: We keep saying it, year in and year out Arizona tries to develop a run game and it never works. They always seem to end up with Tim Lester leading all backs with 500 yards. That is sad. Kantroy Barber did OK in Jacksonville and Olandis Gary can gain 2 on a 3rd and 1, but he can also gain 2 on a 3rd and 3, so not that helpful. Richie Anderson is a solid FB, but that is just not enough. WIDE RECEIVER #1 BIRMINGHAM: When Ernest Givens finally does decide to retire, this group may not even lose a beat. They have Lawrence Dawsey who is plan B only in that someone has to be B if Givens is A. Then you add in Marcus Robinson who broke out when Givens was injured last year, and that is not all. Tyree Davis and Darell Jackson can also fly, so the deep ball circus that Birmingham can put on is 3-rings of good. #2 ARIZONA: With a bad run game, they better have good receivers and, yes, Arizona does. Carl Pickens and Rocket Ismail bring the speed, while Hines Ward is a professional route runner and not afraid to block either. Curtis Duncan and Nate Jacquet don’t see the field often, but can provide good depth for this group. #3 HOUSTON: I don’t think we have seen the full potential of this group with Chuck Hartlieb at the helm, and we may not see it now that Houston has named Matt Hasselbeck the starter. You put these receivers on Memphis or even Baltimore and watch them fly. Antonio Freeman, Brett Perriman, Hart Lee Dykes, Derrick Mason and Willie Jackson provide depth and danger. Now if Houston could just get an elite QB. #23 BALTIMORE: The Blitz like to run a lot of 2 TE and heavy formations, and with a receiving corps like theirs, we see why. Rob Moore is a solid pro, but not a gamebreaker. Tim Dwight has straight line speed but not much else. Lamar Thomas and Malcom Floyd are not going to damage a defense. If it were not for solid TE play the Blitz might be in real trouble. #24 ATLANTA: Are you afraid of Lake Dawson, Terrance Mathis and Reggie Barlow? How about if we throw in Sanjay Beach and Chris Calloway? Yeah, we thought not. Dawson is above average but is unlikely to be a #1 on any other club, and he is clearly their best option. Mathis is dynamic on returns, but as a receiver he just is not consistent enough. TIGHT END #1 ARIZONA: The Wranglers have the #2 wide receiver group and we are giving them the #1 TE group based on depth. And we wonder why Jake Plummer throws so many passes. This is a group that has not worked together but the 3 pieces are all high grade. O.J. Santiago could be a breakout star this year. Matt Cushing and Mark Bruener are also both more than capable of making a defense play the whole field. #2 MEMPHIS: We are going to break our rule about depth as a key factor because with the departure of Keith Jackson to the NFL, Memphis’s Adrian Cooper is so far ahead of any other TE that it gives the Showboats an advantage no other team can claim. We feel that putting them at #1 would not be fair, but if you are going to play with only 1 TE on the field, you are going to want to be Memphis. #3 BALTIMORE: We are putting the Blitz here on depth alone. Cam Cleeland, Kyle Brady, and now they have added Keith McKeller. That is a lot of catches among these three. None of them have the dynamism of a Keith Jackson or Shannon Sharpe, but they all can block, all can catch, and all can make you pay in the Red Zone. #23 TAMPA BAY: If Ben Coates were still playing, the Bandits would be Top 5, but he is gone, and what they have now, Troy Drayton, Trumaine Bell, and Casey Crawford, will struggle to even gain half as many yards as Coates did all by himself. #24 DENVER: A sad state of affairs really. Denver went from the Gold Standard with Keith Jackson, to whatever is after bronze. Marco Battaglia is the best of a weak bunch. This is a clear position of need for the Gold, and it will hold them back. OFFENSIVE LINE #1 SEATTLE: The Dragons need better QB play if for no other reason than to showcase just how good this line is. Lomas Brown is a beast at LT, and Greg Skrepanak is no slouch on the right side. Then you get Jesse Sapolo, Paul Jetton, and Troy Sienkowicz and this is a line that should make Corey Dillon’s dreams of a rushing title come true. If only they could get a QB who could keep the defense honest. #2 TEXAS: Just ask Reggie Cobb how good his OL is. They are solid across the board, and while they excel at run blocking, their main task is to ensure that Kelly Stouffer never has to leave the game. Tackles Jermaine Mayberry and Ryan Tucker, guards John Burch and Jeffrey Fisher, and center Mike Arthur are never going to be media stars, but they are huge when it comes to the Outlaw offense. #3 PITTSBURGH: Terrell Davis was good in New Orleans, but once he got behind this line in Pittsburgh he became the league rushing champion. Best known for their run blocking, this group also helped make Charlie Batch’s transition to the starting position much easier. It is no wonder that as the group gelled last year, the Maulers went on a 9-game winning streak. #23 OAKLAND: Fans like to blame Ryan Leaf for the club’s offensive woes, but the man is running for his life. And things are not much better for Siran Stacy. The Oakland line has a penchant for missing incoming blitzers, making life miserable for Leaf and Stacy. Brendan Stai at LG is the best of the bunch, and we like the future for Jeff Saturday, but the two tackles consistently rate among the worst at their positions. #24 MICHIGAN: We like to call Doug Flutie a running QB, but we suspect he would be a lot more immobile if he were not trying to avoid getting crushed on every play. There is not a single starter in this group who rates 80/100 on the annual statistical analysis. LT Ross Verba has had decent games, but too few and too far between to really stay as a starting LT. Things are not any stronger on the right side of the line either. So, what we are saying is don’t count on Natrone Means, the new Panther HB, to become rushing champion this year, and pray a little for tiny Doug Flutie that his legs hold out. TEAM PREVIEWS ATLANTIC DIVISION Baltimore’s surprise rise along with Philadelphia’s sudden collapse turned the division upside down last year. Now we are not sure what to expect. We have a new coach in Jim Mora Jr. trying to resurrect the image of the Stars in Philly, Pittsburgh was very to end the season and may be a favorite this year, and there are rumblings that Marty Schottenheimer is looking to shake things up at QB. An interesting division to be sure, with 3, maybe 4 contenders among the 6 division rivals. BALTIMORE BLITZ (12-4, 1st in 1999) COACH: Lindy Infante (9th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Well, going 12-4 certainly helps with confidence. Adding the Heisman winner to your roster in the offseason also does not hurt. Coach Infante and the Blitz had one of their best seasons in a decade last year, and optimism is sure to run high. The defense was a huge strength and adding Michael Dean Perry alongside John Randle inside may make the Blitz impossible to run against. That will make life easier for the offense, which still relies a lot on a ground & pound philosophy. If Trent Green can stay healthy for 16 games, this team could again win the Atlantic. WHY CONCERN: Trent Green never seems to remain healthy for 16 games, and a receiving corps of Moore, Dwight, and Malcom Floyd is not going to intimidate anyone. Yes, adding TE Keith McKeller means that Baltimore now has two good receivers in a 2 TE formation, so play action should be tough to stop, but get ahead on this team by 10 or more and they may struggle to catch up. So, you live and die by the defense’s ability to keep teams behind. OUR ASSESSMENT: We think Baltimore will be challenged in the division, and 12 wins may be hard to come by without a more explosive offense. They are good, but not a complete team. We see them slipping to a Wild Card. Our best bet is 10-6 and 2nd place. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (10-6, 2ND in 1999) COACH: Emmitt Thomas (4th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Charlie Batch had a decent year as the new starter, and the Maulers went out and got him 2 new weapons in NFL vet Jake Reed and rookie Dennis Northcut. The O-line is solid, the run game has the 1999 USFL Rushing Champ in Terrell Davis. We think Coach Thomas is ready for a title run with this squad. WHY CONCERN: The starting secondary of Bobby Taylor, Quintin Jones, Jerome Woods and Sam Shade is one of the best in the league, and the 3 starters at LB (Dubose, Miles, Kumerow) are a scary bunch, but the front 4 of a near ancient Bob Kuberski, Moe Gardner, Shane Burton, and Jeff Cross is not going to rattle many QB’s or deter many running backs. Without a stronger front 4, Pittsburgh will have to blitz and that exposes the back end. That is the concern, that the Mauler defense is just not strong enough up front to maximize the potential of a strong secondary and LB corps. OUR ASSESSMENT: Despite the D-line concerns, we still see the Maulers as a team that can win in a variety of ways, especially if the new receivers can complement Terrell Davis’s run game. If Batch makes a good progression in his second year as the starter, we see the Maulers going far. We are saying 11-5 and a division title in Pittsburgh. WASHINGTON FEDERALS (8-8, 3rd in 1999) COACH: Paul Hackett (5th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The pieces are there, strong run game, athletic QB, high-pressure D-line, athletic LBs. The Federals, when they are at their best, can beat anyone. Reuben Droughns should help keep Barry Word fresh. Bubba Franks could be a factor in the passing game. Adding Dan Saleamua makes Jerome Brown’s job so much easier. A lot of positives in DC. WHY CONCERN: The slide to 8-8 last year has to worry fans in the DC area. Washington was erratic on offense, and their D was not as overpowering as in past seasons. Winston Moss and Michael Barrow are asked to do a lot to keep teams under 20 points, but when they cannot, the Feds have trouble playing catch up. They look a lot like the Blitz, honestly, except that they might have better receivers with Moore, Mike Williams, and newly acquired J.J. Stokes. OUR ASSESSMENT: We think the Feds will rebound, and could make a run at a division title, but we are still wary of Kordell Stewart’s accuracy, Word’s aging knees, and the defense’s ability to hold top offenses in check. We think 9-10 wins may be the ceiling, and that may not be high enough. We are going with 9-7 and a possible low seed Wild Card. OHIO GLORY (8-8, 4th in 1999) COACH: Al Luginbill (3rd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Ohio did well to win 8 games last year. Al Luginbill has to be happy with the progress seen in both Kerry Collins and Eddie George. Galloway is perhaps the best receiver in the league, and adding Qadry Ismail made his game even better. We like Stephen Alexander at TE as well. Ohio looks ready to become a well-rounded offense. WHY CONCERN: While Luginbill is improving the offense, the D is the big issue. The secondary did not get enough attention and the draft did not really help add much. We like John Copeland at LDE, and La’Roi Glover looks solid at DT, but beyond that, they don’t have much to fear. If they can’t get a top 10 or 12 ranking from the D, that improving offense won’t be enough, especially in this division where D is key. OUR ASSESSMENT: We like what Al Luginbill is doing with the offense, but Ohio needed to upgrade across the D and they simply didn’t. We see a step back here until they get that sorted out. Our best guess is 6-10 and another year of disappointment in Columbus. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (6-10, 5th in 1999) COACH: Marty Schottenheimer (3rd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Are NJ fans ever optimistic? Well, this year may be a hard one to find optimism in. They have a QB controversy with Coach Schottenheimer bringing in Jeff Lewis as a clear sign that he does not have faith in Spence Fischer. We do like the receiving corps of Glenn, Kevin Johnson and Wayne Chrebet, and the arrival of good-looking rookie Anthony Becht may even make that group more dangerous. That makes life easier for Curtis Enis, who can be a huge weapon if teams can’t load the box. Phil Hansen remains a beast and rookie Shaun Ellis may make him even more dangerous. Those are the positives. WHY CONCERN: DT remains a weak point for the Generals, and they have added 2 new starting LBs so that will take time to gel. The secondary is not great, and teams do seem to be willing to risk 2-3 Hansen sacks per game to take advantage of that. And, with uncertainty at QB, we are not sure what we will see out of the offense. That has to worry fans, who are already pretty cynical in NJ. OUR ASSESSMENT: 9-7 is not out of the question, but this roster does not look like one that will suddenly jump to 10 or more wins. We liked what we saw from Jeff Lewis in limited action in Denver, but is he ready to unseat Fischer? We are going to say another 7-9 finish seems likely. PHILADELPHIA STARS (5-11, 6th in 1999) COACH: Jim Mora Jr. (1st Season) WHY OPTIMISM: We have to remember that it has been only 1 bad season since the Stars were atop the division in 1998. And, of course, having a Mora back as the lead man in the coaching room certainly fills the Star fans with hope. Bobby Hebert still has a lot of fire in his belly and in his right arm. Stephen Davis arrives from Birmingham and both he and the Stars think it is a good fit for him to reach 1,000 yards. We like the signing of Bobby Engram from the NFL, and they have solid TEs in Eric Green and Marcus Pollard. WHY CONCERN: The biggest reason for the collapse to 5-11 last year was not Hebert or the run game, it was the D. It simply aged out of being effective. Adding rookies like Deltha O’Neal and Kendrick Clancy is a great long range boost, but they will need time to grow into the pro game. We think Philly is on the right path, but it likely won’t lead to a jump up the standings in year one of Jim Mora Jr’s tenure. OUR ASSESSMENT: We are going to keep the Stars in the basement at 6-10, but we think that in another year, with some shrewd signings, they could retool and be ready to make a move. SOUTHERN DIVISION This division is stacked, mostly with offensive powerhouses. You have the past two USFL Champions in Memphis and Tampa Bay, and you still have Brett Favre in Birmingham. Makes you feel kind of bad for poor Orlando, so close to being so good, and then Jacksonville and Atlanta. Can any of these three make strides like the one the Showboats made last season? MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (12-4, 1st in 1999) COACH: Jim Mora (4th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Showboats surprised everyone last year, shooting up the South standings and taking home their first league title. Fans in the Mid-South now think they could become the first USFL club to ever repeat. While we love what Coach Mora (Sr.) has done with the ‘Boats, repeating has not happened in the league’s 18 seasons because it is a very tough task. We love Heath Shuler’s growth last year and expect him to be an MVP candidate again. Joe Horn, Lawyer Tillman, and possibly now Tydus Wynans are all quality receivers and in Adrian Cooper they have a record-setting TE. All good signs for this club. WHY CONCERN: Reggie White has retired. Moe Williams has moved on. It feels like Memphis has lost more than they gained in the offseason. They also traded away Al Wilson (LB) and Montae Reager (DT), and while we like Dameaion Jeffries, he is no Reggie White. Memphis will have to win by outscoring opponents, and with the Stallions and Bandits also all in on offense, that could be tough. OUR ASSESSMENT: While fans think Memphis has a shot to repeat, we think they took their shot last year and are likely to step back this year under intense pressure from 3 other really good Southern teams, all aiming at them. 10-6 and a Wild Card may be more realistic for the Showboats. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (11-5, 2nd in 1999) COACH: Ron Erhardt (9th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Stallions were 1 game away from a Summer Bowl, have an elite QB, improved their run game with 2 solid backs (free agent Rodney Thomas and ‘Bama rookie Shaun Alexander, and have all 3 of their top receivers back. So, the offense is golden. WHY CONCERN: You know we are going to say defense, right? Other than Cornelius Bennett at LB and 1999 Defensive ROTY Mike Rucker, who do they have? Oh, that’s right, Deion Sanders. That actually is a significant addition. Of course, Sanders is not great against the run, so Birmingham may still struggle to stop the run, but if he can shut down each opponent’s #1 receiver, that makes life a lot easier. OUR ASSESSMENT: We have to say that we are excited to see Sanders go up against Tampa’s Randy Moss. That should be fun. Birmingham still has issues on defense, but they have an offense designed to get ahead in games and a D that can rush the passer and now, with Sanders, perhaps cut off the best receiver, making comebacks very hard. That is a pretty good combo, and so we are going to say 13-3 and a #1 seed for the Stallions this year. Our early favorite for the title. ORLANDO RENEGADES (9-7, 3rd in 1999) COACH: George O’Leary (7th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: The Renegades made a great run last year and look like a pretty well-rounded roster. Donald Driver had a great rookie year, going over 1,000 yards receiving, and should only improve. Terry Kirby was dynamic in both the run and pass game, and now gets a quality back-mate in Moe Williams. Rookie Tyrone Carter (SS) should help the secondary be more aggressive, and Chris Doleman may well be the best DE in the game right now, surpassing both the retired Reggie White and the older Phil Hansen. WHY CONCERN: We are just not sold on Scott Mitchell. He has thrown double digit picks each of the past 4 seasons and while his numbers are OK, they are not in the same ballpark as Aikman, Favre, and Shuler. Add to that a LB corps that struggles to cover receivers and you are putting all the pressure on Doleman to end drives. That is tricky business. OUR ASSESSMENT: We like Orlando, but we don’t love them. They could easily be 2nd in the division, or just as easily 4th or 5th. That smells like 9-7 again to us. TAMPA BAY BANDITS (7-9, 4th in 1999) COACH: George Seifert (4th Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Last year was a fluke. That is what the apologists are saying. After all this is a team with Aikman, Rhett, Moss, and Brooks on offense. They added Santana Dotson to help pressure the other big Southern Division QBs and may have found a gem in rookie DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. What is not to like? WHY CONCERN: Well, since you asked. They have not found a good replacement for Ben Coates, which really hampers their offensive efficiency. Other than Darien Gordon, their secondary is mediocre, and they have not been able to get Rhett to 1,000 yards rushing since 1995. OUR ASSESSMENT: We think 8-8 is too low for Tampa, but are they still as good as their 1998 title seemed to indicate? We don’t think so. Third place and 9 or 10 wins seems a good ceiling for the Bandits. JACKSONVILLE BULLS (6-10, 5th in 1999) COACH: Gunther Cunningham (2nd Season) WHY OPTIMISM: Coach Cunningham got good results out of a roster in flux last year. The club played hard all through the second half of a lost season, they may have found a runner in Sedrick Irvin, having traded away a disgruntled Natrone Means. They have one of the league’s best young receivers in Terrell Owens, and they added a jitterbug of a slot man in Dez White. Oh, and, yes, cover model LaVar Arrington is ready to become a star in North Florida. We love Arrington’s speed and aggression. Putting him alongside Jessie Armstead and newly acquired Mike Vrabel gives Jacksonville a murderer’s row at LB. WHY CONCERN: There are still some major issues on both sides of the ball. The loss of Brian Blades will be felt. The secondary has issues, especially with 3-4 WR formations, and the Bulls are still waiting for Jevon Kearse to have a breakout season at DE. OUR ASSESSMENT: The Bulls could make a big step up this year. We could see them possibly even competing for 2nd place behind Birmingham. But with Orlando, Memphis, and Tampa Bay ahead of them, they need to be at their best each week, something that has proved difficult, especially for Chris Chandler, in recent years. We are going to say 8-8 is a realistic year for them and a step in the right dimension. ATLANTA FIRE (2-14, 6th in 1999) COACH: Bobby Petrino (1st Season) WHY OPTIMISM: It can’t get any worse? I guess that is optimism. New head coach Bobby Petrino comes to Atlanta from the U. of Louisville, where he is used to going into games against clubs with more talent than his. That is going to be the case almost every week in the USFL as the Fire have simply failed in 5 years to build a strong roster. We think Tiki Barber is really good, but he cannot do it all himself. Atlanta is looking to 2nd year QB Aaron Brooks to add some energy to the QB position, but energy is not the same as skill. The WR corps is still a weakness and TE is even worse. And this is our optimism section. WHY CONCERN: The defense is the star of our concern section. They have been bad since the club was founded, and we think they will be pretty bad once again. They do have talent at CB with Tyrone Poole, Tyrone Legette, and “Tyronde” Barber forming a really solid 3-man depth there. We like Mo Lewis and London Fletcher, but are they fast enough at LB to do what needs to be done. Adding Johnny Holland could help. Up front, adding Bruce Smith looks great on paper, and if it were 1991 we would expect a lot, but Bruce’s best days are behind him. He may be good for 10+ sacks, but will he be a major factor in most games? OUR ASSESSMENT: Coach Petrino knew he was taking on a tough task in Atlanta. It is not just that the Fire have needs in several positions, it is that they are in what is undoubtedly the toughest division not only in the USFL, but in all of pro football. 5-6 wins would be a really strong first year for Petrino in Atlanta.

January 17, 2000 A lot has happened since we last reported on the USFL. We all survived Y2K to see a new millennium (don’t start on the 2000 vs. 2001 debate, we don’t care.) and while everyone was waiting for our computers to explode, across the USFL general managers and coaches were trying to put rosters together for the upcoming season and prepping for this week’s USFL Collegiate Draft. There have been some surprises along the way, and some teams look quite a bit different than they did just as recently as October. So, let’s review the trades, free agency acquisitions, and the moves made in just the last 2 weeks as the NFL-USFL transfer window opened back up. We will then take a look at the top prospects in this year’s draft and which USFL clubs might be good fits. As usual we saw a few trades as teams assessed their roster gaps leading up to the draft, but what was a bit surprising is that very few draft picks were swapped this past month. What we saw were basically player for player swaps as teams tried to fill a key gap in their rosters by means other than placing their faith in a rookie. Of the 10+ trades just in the last 14 days, these three stand out as potentially impactful ones. Memphis, who we all assumed would deal with the retirement of Reggie White by drafting a top edge rusher in the draft, was apparently impatient and opted to make a pretty sizable deal to bring in a USFL DE with a bit more experience but still a lot of upside. They sent two players, backup QB Rob Johnson and DT Montae Reager to the St. Louis Knights to acquire Dameaion Jeffries, the 26-year old 4th year edge rusher. Jeffries has shown potential when he has been able to avoid injuries. He had 14 sacks in 1998 and 11 this past year. Built more along the lines of a Santana Dotson than a Reggie White, Jeffries is a speed rusher that could have issues unless Memphis can find ways to break off the double teams that White faced. The move does allow Memphis to look at other priorities at the top of the draft, though we suspect they will still draft a DE somewhere in the mid rounds. For St. Louis, getting Johnson to replace Jim Miller behind their starter makes sense, and so does acquiring a solid DT to rotate in with two older veterans, 13-year vet Jerry Ball and 10-year vet John Jurkovic. Houston makes another move, acquiring LB Sam Cowart from the Arizona Wranglers for Free Safety David Arnold. Arnold was trapped behind Tyrone Drakeford in the lineup and the Gamblers definitely needed to add some athleticism in the LB corps. For Arizona, Arnold will be a likely starter after the loss of Roger Harper to free agency. Not a blockbuster trade by any stretch, but one likely to help both clubs. Seattle and Oakland pulled off one of the more surprising trades of the offseason in that both clubs were willing to part with established starters at one position to acquire another in a position of lesser depth. The Dragons needed help in the secondary, Oakland on the D-line, so both were willing to look at two of their deeper positions and trade away their starter, a rarity in any league. For Oakland, that starter was Strong Safety John Lynch, for Seattle it was defensive tackle Tim Johnson. Lynch has been a stalwart of the Invader secondary since coming into the league in 1993. He now becomes an immediate leader for the Dragon defense while Oakland will likely promote Torian Gray up to the starting spot. Johnson has been part of Seattle’s defensive line rotation since he entered the league in 1987. He is a bit of a risk as an older player, but Oakland needs leadership and experience as they build a new defense for Coach Capers. Johnson is a strong run-stuffer and space occupier, and Oakland absolutely needs to be able to shut down the run after a season as one of the worst in that department. Before looking at the recently re-opened NFL-USFL transfer window, we should take a look at the free agency signings within the USFL over the past couple of months. We start with the 10 most interesting signings and then a quick look at who is still available as the Draft and Training Camp approach. 10— LA signed CB Vince Buck away from Ohio, a solid move after losing both Aeneas Williams (ARZ) and Bobby Taylor (PIT) themselves. 9—Oakland added more line help in the form of Jon Carter, leaving a hole in Denver opposite Leslie O’Neill. 8—Tampa Bay also added a quality edge rusher, outbidding LA to acquire their speed rusher, Santana Dotson. 7—Philadelphia poaches a DT from a division rival, signing former Federal Chris Zorich. 6—Atlanta adds depth and a good pass catcher behind Tiki Barber by signing scatback Glyn Milburn away from the Federals. 5—Jacksonville gets their MLB, pulling Mike Vrabel away from the Portland Thunder to replace the departed Tedi Bruschi (now in Texas) 4—Three backup QB’s go off the board as Houston signs Tony Sacca, Tampa brings in Chuck Clements, and Denver lands Bill Musgrave from the Thunder. 3—Chicago tries to protect Jeff George by signing LT Jeff Wright away from division rival Michigan. 2—The WR market starts to shrink as Odessa Turner leaves Denver for Baltimore, Patrick Rowe departs St. Louis for the Bulls, and Tyree Davis moves from Pittsburgh to Arizona. 1—Philadelphia gets their replacement for Charlie Garner, signing former Stallion Stephen Davis, as predicted. Davis is a very different back from Garner, so expect a shift towards a power run game from Coach Mora. A lot of movement, but with nearly 2 months until the USFL season starts, there are still many players left waiting to be signed, here is our list of the best still on the board in key positions. WR: The WR pool is not great, but Orlando’s Reggie Rembert and veteran Ricky Proehl of Chicago are still out there if someone wants a slot guy. CB: This is a deeper pool. Within that pool we like Aaron Glenn (LA) and Harry Colon (PIT) to find work soon. DT: William Perry is clearly nearing the end of his career, but if you want a space-occupying DT, he is available. FS/SS: Safety is a strong position in the draft this year, which might explain why no Free Safeties have been signed yet. Looking at the pool you have Charles Mincy, Roy Harper, Mike Dumas, and stunningly, last year’s interception leader, Izell Reese, who is still trying to get a deal done to return to the Knights. Cory Chavous of Seattle is really the only potential starter among Strong Safeties in the pool, and we expect that as we get closer to draft day, someone will snap him up. HB: Among halfbacks, the best left on the table is clearly former Bull Natrone Means. He is demanding quite a lot, but with several clubs needing a new bell cow back, he may just get it from someone. Others available include Atlanta’s Blair Thomas, Oakland’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Washington’s Dino Philyaw. Not exactly a deep pool. LB: Bobby Hamilton, Cedric Figaro and Bobby Houston remain for teams looking for help at the LB position. We have to admit that Houston’s lack of offers remains something of a mystery to us. TE: Rumors had Pittsburgh TE Keith McKeller headed to Baltimore, but it has not happened yet, and it really is between him and former Steeler, current General Mark Bruener if a team wants a veteran TE. QB: Finally, if your team needs a QB upgrade, at starter or as a backup, they might want to look at raiding the NFL. The only player left at the position with any experience or upside would be Tampa Bay backup Mike Pawlowski. NFL-USFL TRANSFER WINDOW With that being the internal USFL roster of free agents, it is no wonder that the reopening of the NFL-USFL transfer window was met with a great deal of anticipation. It did not take long to see a flurry of moves as the window opened. Let’s start with the players brought into the USFL from the senior league. Portland takes a swing on an NFL veteran in their attempt to deal with the unexpected retirement of HB Robert Drummond, signing Napoleon Kaufmann of the Raiders. Kaufmann has had some durabilty issues of late, but still has some moves and speed left. He may be more of a bridge back until Portland can sign or develop a young talent. We still think the Thunder could be in the running for a top rookie back like a Ron Dayne or Jamal Lewis. Chicago does not go far to help fill their needs at WR, looking just across the halls of Soldier Field to find former Bear Chris Conway. Conway has had some issues with the Bears but is popular among fans, so this could be a good signing from a PR standpoint for the Machine, as well as a potential first-day starter. Jacksonville adds center Bubba Miller to their line. Miller, a solid player for the Philadelphia Eagles, will get a chance to be the full time starter in Jacksonville, where he only needs to beat out 3rd year player Chris Ramirez for the job. Philly was in the market for a new kicker after letting Chip Lohmiller walk (he walked over to the NFL Redskins). They dip into the NFL pool and pull out former Bear and Raider Jeff Jaeger to take over the kicking duties. Finally, what may be one of the weirdest interleague moments yet, as the two clubs, one from each league, basically created an interleague trade. Now, an official trade is not possible, the agreement between the two leagues simply does not allow for direct compensation back and forth across league lines, but what happened between the Breakers and the NFL Buccaneers is about as close as that can come. The Breakers, under new head coach Mike Nolan, were reassessing the QB position. Jamie Martin, who had been the full time starter under Mike Ditka since 1996, has a 4 season rating of 87.6, not horrible, but not impressive either. It appears that Coach Nolan thinks the Breakers can do better, and so one week ago the Breakers cut Martin, making him available, and the Bucs immediately snapped him up. Nothing weird there, Tampa Bay could use a veteran backup behind 2nd year QB Duante Culpepper. So, with Martin in the fold, New Orleans released embattled veteran Trent Dilfer. Within 6 hours, Dilfer was a member of the Breakers and the presumptive starter, though Coach Nolan has stated that it will be an open competition with Gus Frerotte and Bobby Hoying. Was this a case of collusion between two teams in different leagues or just quick thinking by both clubs’ managers? Probably somewhere in between. We suspect that both GMs had a very good idea what the other was thinking. It was well known that Dilfer was on the outs in Tampa Bay after being replaced by Culpepper midseason, and all it would take is a single phonecall for the Breakers to clue Tampa Bay in on the release date for Martin, a move the Bucs could reciprocate by releasing Dilfer on a scheduled date. It does not hurt that both QBs also have the same agent. So, is it illegal? Does not appear so, since both players went through the standard protocols for being released and joining the transfer window. Is it a new type of transaction that could alter how the two leagues work with each other? Possibly. Both leagues tend to be very big on imitation of what works, so this may not be the last we have seen of “virtual” trading. Martin to the Bucs was not the only USFL to NFL move in the transfer window this past two weeks. One of the reasons the USFL talent pool is a bit lighter today is because of some of the departures these past 2 weeks. The Stallions, after losing FS Blaine Bishop to the NFL also saw one of their best CBs depart, with Chris Dishman headed to the Minnesota Vikings. Looks like B’ham is going to have to start drafting DBs. LA’s signing of Frank Wycheck was pretty much a signal to TE Tony McGee that they would not be meeting his terms to resign. So, McGee, who had 33 receptions, including 6 TDs last year, will now be a Cincinnati Bengal. New Jersey will likely use a late round pick on a kicker after the New England Patriots signed Adam Vinatieri out from under them. Not exactly payback for Babe Ruth leaving Boston for NY, just another thorny moment between the two cities. LB John Roper will be leaving Seattle to play for Dallas next Fall. The cagey veteran signed a 2 year deal with the NFL Cowboys, leaving Seattle looking for an alternative. And finally, a big blow for a playoff team as Michigan fails to resign HB Tyrone Wheatley. The one-cut back who has led the Panthers’ rush attack since coming into the league in 1995 is off to the New York Giants. There had been friction between Wheatley and team management over the past 2 years, and apparently the low-ball bid from the Panthers when free agency first opened was enough to anger the 1,000-yard back and send him packing for the NFL. The departure leaves Michigan with Brock Olivo and Winslow Oliver in the backfield. Expect the Panthers to take a long look at Natrone Means, but also to decide if an early pick on a halfback in the draft makes sense for them. With all this movement, there remain a lot of holes on a lot of teams across the USFL, and as dicey as trying to outbid the NFL can be when it comes to top rookies, the draft is where the USFL has made most of its thunder, aside from the occasional big name signing of late career NFL players like Montana or Marcus Allen and players with concerns like Jeff George or Trent Dilfer. So, as we look at the top 15 players available in this year’s Collegiate Draft Pool for both leagues, it is not hard to imagine many of these players opting for the spring league, which does tend to average just under 50% signing success of players taken in the first 3 rounds of both the USFL and NFL draft. So, while not every player on this list will be headed to the USFL, a good number should, which makes the question one of where they would fit in best. Here is our look at the top 15 prospects and which USFL team makes the most sense for them. DE Courtney Brown (Penn State): Who does not need a disruptive force on the edge? Pretty much every USFL squad would love to have a player like Brown terrorizing opposing QBs. Memphis was thought to be an early option here, but with their trade for Dameaion Jeffries, that seems less likely. If we had to pick a landing spot for Brown, our best guess would be in Jacksonville, which recorded a league worst 23 sacks for the entire 1999 season. OT Chris Samuels (Alabama): Samuels should step in and be a starting LT as a rookie. His experience at a top end program like Alabama prepared him well for the rigors of pro football’s most technical position. But where should he go if he wants to try out spring ball? Our pick would be Oakland. They have a nice early draft position and a young QB who needs to feel safe in the pocket to be successful. HB Ron Dayne (Wisconsin): The big bruising back was this year’s Heisman Winner. He is best suited for a power run game, preferably one that will give him the ball 25 times a game. Look no further than the Michigan Panthers. They just lost Wheatley to the NFL, and they have a solid line in front of him. Dayne would do well to end up in Pontiac, but this will only happen if the Panther front office thinks him a better option than free agent Natrone Means, a very similar back to Dayne. LB LaVar Arrington (Penn State): Arrington is a difference maker, and what defense does not want that. There are several who not only want that but need it. We are looking at you Orlando, and you, Chicago, and we have not forgotten Birmingham in this group (though they also need secondary help, so they may prioritize that over the LB position.). Our bet is on the Renegades here, assuming Arrington drops to them in the second half of the first round. HB Jamal Lewis (Tennessee): If Ron Dayne is not the best back in the draft, then certainly Jamal Lewis is. He is very similar in style, big, pounding interior runs, but has more breakaway speed. We would have pegged him for Philadelphia for certain, but they signed Stephen Davis and cannot afford to shuffle two high cost backs in their offense. So, assuming Michigan goes with either Dayne or Means, who is left to take a look at Lewis? How about the Stallions? They lost Stephen Davis, and while they might opt for a speedier back like a Thomas Jones, we could easily picture Lewis as a Stallion. Again, they have some big holes to fill on defense, so if they go there first, we could see Lewis end up somewhere else, perhaps Arizona, who are definitely not happy with their run game. WR Peter Warrick (Florida State): A speedy receiver with good moves who should start out in the slot, we like him headed to Chicago, where Ricky Proehl wore out his welcome. Chicago just signed Chris Conway to play outside, but a rookie like Warrick could be a huge boost to the passing game for Jeff George and company. HB Thomas Jones (Virginia): Jones has potential to put up big numbers with the right club. He can catch the ball, runs well both inside and outside, and has the ability to run away from most linebackers. Not a prototypical big back like the other two top prospects, Jones fits better into a more wide open offense, like Birmingham or Tampa Bay, but our favorite fit would be in Washington, where the departure of Glyn Milburn leaves room for a back to spell Barry Word this year and step in full time very soon. WR Plaxico Burress (Michigan State): If Warrick is the perfect fit for a club looking for a slot receiver, Burress is what is needed if you need height, a guy who will go up and get those 50/50 balls in the endzone. Lots of clubs would love to add a player of his caliber to their receiving corps, and we don’t think he will drop too far in the first round. Look at Atlanta (#1), Oakland (#2), Philly (#4) or Chicago (#5) to go for the big outside threat. DT Corey Simon (Florida State): Interior D-line tends not to be a high value pick, so we could see Simon, who is clearly the best at the position in this year’s draft, slide a bit, possibly out of the top 10 or 12. The teams that could most use a big interior presence are a bit later in the draft, Denver or Texas in the draft’s second half. Perhaps one of them will move up. We could see Denver trying to get past Texas to get this pick, but where and with whom they would swap picks is hard to say. LB Brian Urlacher (New Mexico): Middle Linebacker can be the most important player on a defense, and when you look at Urlacher, who played both safety and LB at UNM, there is a lot to like in his game. This is a position that could rise up the boards if demand is there, and there are certainly some bad defensive teams at the front of the draft. We could see Atlanta possibly go here (though #1 seems a bit too high), or Chicago at #5, or New Jersey at #7, and if somehow he falls a bit, no way is he making it past Orlando at #15. DE Shaun Ellis (Tennessee): A bit more of a speed guy than Brown, Shaun Ellis would be great opposite a bigger, run & pass focused DE. And while it is easy to look at clubs like Jacksonville or Seattle, who need DE help right away, there are few clubs that would not take a shot at Ellis if he is available. The Wild Card for us is Coach Schottenhemer in New Jersey. He says he wants to get Phil Hansen more help, but picking a DE in the first round means adding to a position group that is solid rather than filling a more pressing need. DE John Abraham (South Carolina): Our third DE in the top 15, which goes to show how valued the position is (and how few “hands” players there are at the top of the draft board this year.) Abraham would be a great candidate for New Jersey if Ellis is gone, but might be a better fit in a 3-4 defense. Seattle, Orlando or Pittsburgh come to mind as good potential landing spots. QB Chad Pennington (Marshall): Do we really see Chad Pennington as one of the 15 best players in the draft? No. Is he likely to be chosen early just because QB is a need position across the league? Yup. That is why he is here. In a draft that does not have a clear future All-Pro at the position, and where the depth seems to drop quickly, Pennington is clearly ahead of others like Louisville’s Chris Redman or Hofstra’s Giovanni Carmazzi. If he goes in the top 15, the most likely landing spots are Atlanta (dropping down in a trade, no way they pick him #1), Chicago (possibly also if they opt to drop down), or New Jersey, who can afford a flier with 2 back to back picks in the round (#6 and #7 thanks to a trade with Portland.) LB Julian Peterson (Michigan State): A great run-stuffing LB, Peterson would be a great find for a club that wants to shut down the run and force teams to be one dimensional. That philosophy aligns well with Philadelphia’s Jim Mora, Arizona’s Art Shell, or Ohio’s Al Luginbill. Of those three, we think Philly or Ohio is a more likely option. Arizona has a solid LB corps and has needs elsewhere. CB Ahmed Plummer (Ohio State): Our last Top 15 prospect is the only DB in the group. It is a safety-heavy draft, but none really stand out as top 15 picks, more likely we will see a strong run on safeties in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Plummer, as the best pure coverage CB, and with a solid background covering Big 10 receivers like Plaxico Burress, could help out a lot of teams. Likely to go between picks 8-16, some options that make sense are New Orleans (#8), Ohio (#12), Washington (#14), and maybe, particularly if they can trade up to lock in the pick, St. Louis (currently at #19). So there you have it, our look at the top of the draft. A reminder that while USFL clubs often use the first 2 rounds to pick elite players, these are certainly not guaranteed to sign and some clubs will pick a slightly lower-graded player if that player has expressed openness and enthusiasm during pre-draft interviews. We get that they are all trained to do so, but a good GM can tell the difference between real interest and feigned interest. So, we shall see who ends up where and by the time we report back from camp in February, we will know just who is signed, sealed, and delivered for USFL play in 2000.

October 15, 1999 It has been 2 months since the Memphis Showboats held aloft the John Bassett Trophy after winning their first USFL Championship, a month since the NFL-USFL Transfer Window closed, and three days since the jaw-dropping news that one of the league’s best players was retiring in his prime after another stellar season. So, here we are, early USFL offseason and there is so much to report. We have player movement, retirements, coaching hires, and a few intriguing trades for you as the offseason has truly been a hot stove this year. Time to figure out where your team stands and what they need to do to dethrone or retain the crown in the new millennium, assuming, of course, that Y2K does not end the world. We start with the news that the last of the head coaching vacancies has been filled. Oakland joins Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Portland among the ranks of the “restarts” with a new coach. It appears that the reason the Invaders needed to delay their decision was that the man they wanted still had work to do with his old team. One week after the Summer Bowl, the Invaders announced that Denver Gold defensive coordinator Dom Capers would be the new leader of the franchise. Capers, who had helped to build up the Carolina Panthers in the NFL and whose defense helped Denver reach their third Summer Bowl, comes to Oakland with a big task to achieve, to rebuild a team that fell from 9-7 to 4-12 last season, a defense that ranked 23rd in the league in points allowed and dead last against the rush, while also rebuilding the ego of hot-headed QB Ryan Leaf, who also saw a huge drop-off in production, from 5,432 yards, 43 TDs and a 97.6 rating in his rookie year to an injury-plagued 1,892 yards, 11 TDs and 59.2 rating last year. Capers has some talent on the Invaders squad, including Leaf, HB Siran Stacy, wideouts Ed McCaffrey and Marty Booker, and defensive stalwarts such as DE Eric Curry, backers Chris Spielman and Kailee Wong, CB Bobby Taylor and SS John Lynch, but he also has major holes to fill and a team culture to get back on track after a season pretty much everyone wants to forget. Capers is no stranger to building a team up after serving as the first head coach of an expansion club in the NFL. He will have to take that same approach here, making some moves and some risks to bring Oakland back after a truly bad decline in 1999. Capers joins fellow new hires Bobby Petrino (ATL), Mike Nolan (NOR), Jim Mora Jr. (PHI), and Ray Rhodes (POR) on the hotseat that is the USFL head coaching stage. Which of these coaches is in the best positioned for a speedy turnaround? That is a tough question to answer. In Oakland and Philly we have two clubs that were in the playoffs in 1998, only to collapse in 1999, so there may be enough in the pantry there to mix up something good. While in Atlanta the cupboard has been bare ever since the club came into the league in ’95. New Orleans has a potential superstar in HB Ricky Williams, but what else do the Breakers bring to the table? While in Portland, it looks like a total overhaul may be in the works as the Thunder lose the face of their franchise and now look at a 2nd year QB to lead them to a new identity. THUNDEROUS NEWS! Every offseason brings with it a wave of retirements as players reach that point in their lives where either their bodies or their hearts tell them that it is time to move on. Ordinarilly these are decisions we see coming from a mile away, a player whose talents are diminishing or who essentially tells us that a season will be their swan song, but every once in a while we are shocked, and that is what happened this past September, when Portland Thunder halfback and 3-time league rushing leader Robert Drummond announced that he was leaving the game. Drummond, who had come back from a devastating ACL injury in 1997 to provide 1,000 yard seasons for the Thunder in both 1998 and 1999, against all the predictions, has opted to call it a career after 11 seasons in the USFL. The Syracuse product is leaving the game despite coming out of 1999 with a very strong 1,150 yards, 9 TDs and 4.8 YPC season. Yes, he had seen his work load reduced from an average of nearly 300 carries a season down to 233 in 1998 and 241 in 1999, but he was still the driving force in the Portland offense. Perhaps the loss of Vince Tobin at the helm was a piece of the puzzle, perhaps his 32 year old ankles, knees, and hips were a factor as well. The surefire first-ballot HOF back leaves Portland with a huge hole to fill. Over his career with the Thunder, Drummond has rushed for 12,824 yards, 91 touchdowns, and a 4.6 yards per carry average, all among the best in league history. He finishes his career 6th all time in rush attempts, 4th in rushing yards, 4th in touchdowns, and holds the 4th and 6th best rushing seasons in league history. His departure leaves Portland with only Darius Turner and June Henley in the backfield, two backs who combined for only 209 yards rushing and 51 attempts in 1999. He also leaves the club without a face for the franchise. Rookie Akili Smith did not wow fans in the Pacific Northwest with his rookie campaign (2,792 yards, 13-15 TD-INT ratio), and the defense has been mediocre even in its best years. A tough opening month for new head coach Ray Rhodes, but a chance to start from scratch it would seem. RETIREMENT ROSTER While Robert Drummond’s announcement was the biggest shock in the retiremen roster this year, it certainly is not going to be the only departure that deeply impacts a USFL club. Let’s run through the most impactful retirements of the offseason and how their club might try to deal with the absence. DE Reggie White (MEM): Not really a shocker that with his first title in hand, and after a record-setting 16-season career, the Minister of Defense would go out on top. White retires with 259 sacks in his illustrious career, a per season average of 16 per season over a decade and a half. The total has him standing all alone among USFL passrushers, over 70 sacks ahead of Phil Hansen in 2nd. White came to the USFL in the league’s 2nd year of existence and the first year for the expansion Showboats. He would play his entire career in Memphis, beginning with an 18-sack debut season. A model of consistency, his only season without double-digit sacks would be an injury-shortened 1991 campaign. His high mark was 21 sacks in a season, achieved in both 1990 and 1992, bracketing the injury. He is a certain HOF first-ballot entrant and will almost certainly remain a frequently-seen face in and around Memphis as he serves the community and has several local spokesperson deals in place. So how does Memphis deal with the loss? That is not an easy question. Over the years the Showboats have tried to put someone opposite White to draw off some blockers, but rarely has this worked. Their current bench depth is not ideal. Without White, Tony Hill, with 6 sacks, is the next best member of the D-line, but he is more naturally on the other side of the line from White. They have Raylee Johnson and Sedrick Clark on the bench as well, but neither of them have been able to acquire significant playing time over their short careers. So it looks like Memphis will either have to ply the Free Agency waters in search of a pressure edge rusher, or look to the draft. This year’s rookie crop does offer a few potential starting points in Penn State’s Courtney Brown, Tennessee’s Shaun Ellis, and South Carolina’s John Abraham. Ellis, coming from not only Memphis’s back yard, but the same school as White, seems a natural fit, but he would risk the immediate comparisons to White, which seems unfair from the start. Free agency, at least within the USFL, does not seem to hold the answer either, with the best prospects being Denver’s Jon Carter, LA’s Santana Dotson, and New Jersey’s Marcellus Wiley, good players all, but not the production monsters like White. So, we shall see what we see, but the loss in Memphis will be felt both on the field and in the locker room as White was a giant in the league and certainly for the league champion Showboats. WR Cris Carter (PHI): Another likely future HOF performer, Carter split his time in the USFL between the Portland Thunder (1990-1993) and the Stars (93-99), after starting his career in the NFL with the Eagles. He retires with 12,024 yards receiving and 66 touchdowns on 1,019 career receptions, and he leaves on top, at least statistically, with career highs in receptions (125) and yards (1,374) in his final campaign, a frustrating one that saw the Stars drop from the top of their division to the basement. Carter, like White, was a locker room leader and a mentor for younger players. Those players are now going to have to step up to fill a pretty big void in the passing game. Carter’s retirement likely means that Troy Brown will step into the #1 receiver spot in his 6th season. Kevin Dyson, Alex Van Dyke, Stepfret Williams, and Na Brown sit behind Brown on the roster, but Philly is already looking to do more. They have made two signings at the position in hopes of replicating a fraction of Carter’s production. During the transfer window the Stars reached into the NFL ranks to sign former Bear wideout Bobby Engram, and within the USFL free agent pool they stepped up and signed Seattle wideout Courtney Hawkins. Neither one of these receivers has the production of Carter, but perhaps by spreading the ball around, QB Bobby Hebert can find a way to replicate the results. LB Andre Collins (PHI): In what is clearly a rebuilding year, Philadelphia, and their new head coach Jim Mora Jr., also loses LB Andre Collins to retirement. A leader on the defensive side since coming to the Stars in 1990, Collins was known as a sideline to sideline player and a smart defender who was particularly good in coverage and run pursuit. He retires with 646 tackles (85 behind the line of scrimmage), 31 sacks and 9 interceptions in 156 games played. The Stars have already made a move to try to replace Collins, signing LA Express linebacker George Koonce, though it is unknown if Koonce will take over Collins’s slot or replace fellow backer Bryce Paup, who left to Portland in free agency. LB Dino Hacket (NJ): Just up I-95 another USFL club is dealing with the retirement of their defensive playcaller as Dino Hacket announced his retirement after 14 seasons roaming the field, with his first 6 in Pittsburgh and then 8 more in the Meadowlands. Hacket was a punishing hitter and a wiley field marshal for the Generals’ defense. He retires with 966 tackles (169 for a loss), 41 sacks, 9 picks, two All-USFL nods, the 1986 Defensive ROTY award and the 1993 Defensive Player of the Year award, a year in which he made 118 tackles and 8 sacks. New Jersey has already dipped into free agency to sign a linebacker, but interestingly they signed outside backer Lorenzo Styles, which likely means that they are looking for Paul McGown to step into the MLB role, likely with Styles and Bobby Howard outside him. The ageless Kevin Greene will likely remain a 3rd down entrant into the lineup, specializing in pass rush. LB Mike Junkin (JAX): Staying with the linebacker run, Jacksonville will say goodbye to Mike Junkin, the 35-year old longtime member of the Memphis Showboats. Junkin came to Jacksonville on a one year deal, after short stints in Portland, Baltimore, and Orlando. He played in all 16 games this year, but started only 5, producing 12 tackles. In his career, mostly with Memphis, he amassed 677 tackles, 47 sacks and 10 interceptions. Jacksonville used Junkin mostly in spot play to deal with injuries or fatigue among their 3 starting backers (Bruschi, Brandon, and Armstead). While Junkin will be missed in that role, the larger issue for Jacksonville is the departure of Tedi Bruschi via free agency. With Bruschi headed to Texas to play for the Outlaws, Jacksonville needs to find a new MLB to run their 4-3 defense. There are several options out there in free agency still, though we think there is really only 1 top choice, Portland’s Mike Vrabel would be a perfect fit for the Bulls. CB Robert Massey (OHI): We finish with one more defender, Ohio’s top corner, Robert Massey. Massey leaves the Glory after only 1 season in Columbus. The former Chicago Machine and Seattle Dragons star retires with 174 games played (163 starts), in which he amassed 870 tackles, 234 passes defended and 31 picks. In his final season, his only year with the Glory, he had 79 tackles and 5 picks, leading the team in takeaways. With his departure Vince Buck is likely to take over the #1 spot, opposite each team’s best receiver, with Corey Raymond or Ty Howard battling for the 2nd spot. Expect Ohio to use an early draft pick to try to fill in behind these three. Other retirements of note include Washington CB Derrick Beasley, Portland DE Anthony Pleasant, Chicago guard Mike Zordich, Baltimore HB Derrick Fenner, Chicago LB Michael Brooks, Arizona TE Keith Cash, and St. Louis WR/KR Anthony Miller. OFF TO THE FALL As if retirements were not a big enough impact on the USFL each year, there is also the inevitable give and take across the NFL-USFL divide, and this offseason saw quite a few notable names heading from Spring to Fall or vice versa. Let’s start with the departures from the USFL first, and there are several which are sure to cause USFL coaches and GM’s some white hairs. We start on the offensive line where two elite tackles are jumping to the NFL. Atlanta’s Eugene Chung and Baltimore’s Jumbo Elliott are both headed straight from a USFL season into the NFL fall season. That means big trouble for both the QBs who had counted on them for protection. On the interior of the line the two biggest defections are center Kevin Mawae from the Renegades and guard Larry Allen from the Texas Outlaws. Allen is staying in state with the Cowboys while Mawae also heads to Texas, playing for the Oilers in Houston. Among offensive skill positions, we saw no notable QBs switch from USFL to NFL, but the same cannot be said for the halfback, tight end, and wideout position, in which 4 players of significant impact are leaving for the fall league. We start with the biggest departure, TE Keith Jackson of Denver. The Gold’s best receiver by far, and a favorite target of Mark Brunell, Jackson led all tight ends (and most wideouts) with 125 receptions in 1999, helping Denver reach the Summer Bowl. He leaves the USFL after 12 seasons (6 each in Memphis and Denver) and will now likely finish his career with the NFL Eagles. Another pass catcher, Brian Blades, long the top receiver for Jacksonville, is headed to the Seattle Seahawks, while HB Charlie Garner, Philadelphia’s leading rusher since the 1995 season, is off to the LA Raiders. Blades had been overtaken as the #1 target in Jacksonville by Terrell Owens these past 2 years, but still was a huge part of the Bulls’ offense, bringing in 82 receptions for 973 yards and 8 TDs this season. Garner, who suffered a major knee injury and missed most of this year, is a bit of a surprise, as the Raiders are taking a big chance that he can have a Robert Drummond-like recovery. Philadelphia had brought in Darrell Thompson to replace Garner, but he is off to Ohio in free agency, so the Stars will need to think HB either in the draft or free agency. Rumors have the Stars in negotiations with free agent Stephen Davis, the Stallions’ primary back. The other back to leave for the NFL was Tampa Bay’s James Stewart. Stewart was never able to get a lot of carries in the Tampa Bay pass-first offense, and was usually only a change of pace when Errict Rhett was winded from all the screens and swing passes he caught. He heads to the Detroit Lions after a 5-year career in Tampa that saw him rush for only 497 yards. Looking at the defensive side of the ball, the big names no longer roaming the USFL include Birmingham free safety Blaine Bishop, Houston defensive tackle Luther Ellis, and St. Louis backer Trev Alberts. It was well known that Ellis was likely to be a salary cap victim in Houston as the Gamblers need funds to resign DE Michael Sinclair, but it had been hoped that he would remain a USFL talent. However, the offer from the Detroit Lions was too lucrative for most USFL teams to match in a year when the salary cap is tight for many clubs. Bishop and Alberts are also players whose departures will be felt, however, this is a good draft for the safety position, and Birmingham has already boosted their secondary with an NFL signing that shook both leagues (see below for the exciting details). In St. Louis, the departure of Alberts was met with consternation, but the Knights are looking at several prospects in the draft, and are also likely to provide more playing time to Mike Caldwell at the position. SPRING FORWARD Before fans of the USFL get too depressed about the players headed to the senior league in the fall, we should remind you all that the NFL-USFL Transfer Window is a 2 way street. Just as the USFL lost several big name players to the fall, the NFL saw several of their highly-coveted free agents bolt to the spring league. No name shifting leagues was bigger than the acquisition the Birmingham Stallions made for their defense. Prime Time!!! Neon Deion is headed to Legion Field!! That’s right, Deion Sanders, arguably one of the best corners to ever play the game is the newest member of the Birmingham Stallions. After a stunning debut with the Atlanta Falcons and a career that saw him delight fans in San Francisco and Dallas, the wettest Gerry curl in pro football heads to the USFL on a 3-year deal that will likely see him finish his career as a Stallion. This is a huge get for Birmingham, who have lived on offensive firepower over the past half decade. Sanders is a true shut down corner, capable of cutting the field in half for opposing QBs. He instantly upgrades a secondary that needs upgrading. Sure, he may not still be the dynamic return man he once was, but he still terrorizes QBs with his ballhawking style. A huge get for a small city team in the USFL. A second big get on the defensive side of the ball is more of a homecoming as LB Hardy Nickerson is returning to the Michigan Panthers after a 2-year hiatus in the NFL. Nickerson, who became a star in Pontiac after arriving as a rookie in 1987, already has over 900 tackles and 41 sacks for the Panthers. After leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998, he is back in Panther burgundy, champagne and blue. He has signed a 3-year deal, but most expect him to perhaps play 1-2 years into that contract. That is a short term solution for the Panthers’ D, but it is a welcome one nonetheless. Pittsburgh hoped to provide Charlie Batch with some weapons this offseason and it looks like they have done that, signing WR Jake Reed away from the Minnesota Vikings. Reed will line up opposite Andre Rison in the Mauler formation and is expected to serve as a key 3rd down and possession receiver, though he is also more than capable of going deep. Portland too looked to help out its offense, though we are not exactly sure if they succeeded. Coach Rhodes was only on the job for 2 weeks when the Thunder signed QB Rick Mirer, last seen in a NY Jets uniform in the NFL. Mirer, who was a big star for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, started off well in his first few years with the Seattle Seahawks, but his pro career seemed to fizzle, leading to a move to New York, where he also struggled. We still expect Akili Smith to be the starter in Portland, and Mirer’s skill set parallels that of the mobile Smith, so the Thunder now have a viable backup, but is Mirer the type of mentor who can bring the best out of Smith? That seems a tall order to us. OK, our last highlighted NFL player jumping to the USFL is just one of about 35 who made the leap, but the only other player we would consider immediately impactful. With starting free safety Joe King likely headed elsewhere in free agency, Baltimore needed to find a solid replacement, and one who would come at a lower cost. They believe they have done this by signing former 49er and current Cleveland Brown Marquez Pope. Pope started his career as a corner with the Chargers before transitioning to safety in his final years in San Francisco and then last year, on a 1 year deal with Cleveland. He comes to Baltimore with a chance to win the starting job at the position, with only backup Leomont Evans to beat out. Even with the signing, don’t be surprised if the Blitz also use a mid-round pick to sign a potential heir at the position. Once the NFL-USFL Transfer window closed (another will open in January), the action around the USFL turned to the internal free agent market and the trading block. While we typically do not see a lot of major trades until the weeks right before the late-January draft, this year we did get a few that could be substantial for the clubs involved. Houston worked to deal with issues they had at center by making a deal with the New Jersey Generals. It was a costly deal, sending CB Merlon Kerner plus a 3rd round draft pick to the Generals, but they got the man they wanted, big roadgrater Olin Kreutz. Kreutz will immediately be pencilled in at the pivot position and will be a significant upgade for the Gamblers, while New Jersey gets much-needed speed at the corner and an extra pick to boot. New Orleans also looked to improve in the secondary while Chicago hoped to upgrade their notabley weak receiving corps with a player for player swap. The Breakers send Johnnie Morton off to the Windy City and in return they get Latin Berry, Chicago’s designated nickel back. Berry comes to New Orleans likely to be moved outside as either the #1 or #2 alongside Mike Riley. Chicago will likely continue to build their receiving corps, which was an issue all year for Alex Van Pelt and then Jeff George. Morton was targeted 77 times by Jamie Martin in New Orleans but finished the year with only 35 receptions for 372 yards. Whether or not George and the Machine offense under Marty Mornhinweg will be able to get more out of the 7th year receiver is the big question among Machine fans, but with Ricky Proehl also likely gone to free agency and neither Floyd Turner or David Dunn looking like a true starter, Morton will certainly get a shot, but don’t be surprised if Chicago looks to add a true #1 either through the draft or free agency. Could Odessa Turner fit the bill or will Chicago look at rookie options like Peter Warrick (FSU) or Plaxico Burress (Michigan State)? Oakland’s new head coach Dom Capers wasted no time trying to upgrade a defense deeply in need of interior strength. His 24th ranked run defense will certainly be upgraded with the addition of former Orlando Renegade DT Tracy Rocker. Rocker, who rotated with Pat Williams and Joel Steed in the Orlando 4-3, will be an immediate upgrade, and will likely take over a nose tackle position if we get the 3-4 alignment we expect from Capers. In return for the physical Rocker, Orlando receives offensive line help in the form of center Mike Devlin and a 4th round pick from the Invaders, who hold the #2 position each round. Devlin was expendable thanks to the emergence of 2nd year player Jeff Saturday as an All-USFL candidate. Devlin, demoted to a swing lineman, will once again get a chance to start in Orlando, while Rucker will step in as the clear #1 at DT for Oakland. Unlike the 1 month limit of the August and January NFL-USFL free agency periods, the internal market for free agents is open all offseason, and we have already seen some pretty strong action as clubs work to deal with likely salary cap issues, departures, and needs. We have already mentioned several of the players changing uniforms this year, players like HB Darrell Thompson to Ohio, Linebackers Lorenzo Styles to New Jersey, Ted Bruschi to Texas, and George Koonce to Philly, and Bryce Paup to Portland. We also saw wideout Courtney Hawkins move from Seattle to Philly. These are certainly not the only moves. Here are several more that we think could have a big impact on the 2000 season. CB Aeneas Williams moves from Oakland to Arizona. Williams is a ballhawk who could fit well with Art Shell’s aggressive style on defense. Portland continues to enhance their defense by signing Clyde Simmons away from the Bandits. Simmons has been largely ineffective in Tampa Bay, but the powerful pass rusher could see a lot of the defensive line play in Portland designed to free him up to be more of a force. Ray Rhodes should know how to get the big man matched up without the double teams he so often saw in Tampa Bay. Washington looks to return their defense to its former glory and a big step in that direction was the signing of nose tackle Dan Saleamua. Put him alongside Jerome Brown and you may have the best interior DL in the league. Baltimore also gets into the DT market, signing Michael Dean Perry away from the Bulls. Perry is clearly on the downside of his career arc, but can still be effective as a 1st and 2nd down run stuffer. Orlando not only provide Terry Kirby with a breather, but takes away a key weapon from a division rival as they sign Moe Williams away from league champion Memphis. Williams will likely be more of a short yardage and change of pace back behind Kirby in Orlando. Another back changing zip codes is Rodney Thomas, who likely goes from being the clear #2 behind Reggie Cobb in Texas to a potential #1 in Birmingham. This move almost certainly means that Stephen Davis’s time in Birmingham is over, and with rumors having him headed to Philly, it makes sense that the Stallions would invest in a back with a lot of untapped potential like Rodney. The question now is whether or not the Stallions will also make a run at a local star in Alabama star HB Shaun Alexander. While several teams are looking for linebackers, including the moves we cited above, Seattle thinks they have found who they need in former Texas outside linebacker Levon Kirkland. They inked him to a 4-year deal. The QB market has been slow, with few potential starters among the bunch. The best option right now may be Jim Miller of St. Louis, who looked very good filling in for an injured Todd Collins this year. Outside of him, you have players like Bill Musgrave, Mike Pawlowski, Tony Sacca, and Chuck Clements. The only one signed so far, and an interesting signing at that, is Jeff Lewis, the Denver backup to Mark Brunell, who goes to New Jersey. There is significant noise in New Jersey that Coach Schottenheimer is not enamored of starter Spence Fischer, and bringing in Lewis, an athletic if somewhat untested option, could be a sign that Schottenheimer might be looking to challenge Fischer. We honestly would not be surprised as well if the Generals took a shot at one of the early-round QB options in the draft. There is no sure fire starter in this year’s rookie QB class, but someone like Chad Pennington, Gionvannie Carmazzi, or Chris Redman could be another pressure point to try to get the best out of Fischer or provide insurance if he buckles under the pressure. Ohio snagged a big name among tackles by signing Emory Yates away from Philadelphia. Yates’s days as an All-USFL starting LT may be over, but he could be a very valuable swing tackle or potentially move over to the right side for Ohio, allowing Jerry Wunsch or Rome Oben to take over the LT position. With Keith Jackson surprisingly jumping to the NFL, the two best tight ends on the board were Atlanta’s Frank Wycheck and Memphis’s O.J. Santiago. Both have now found new homes. Wycheck will take his special teams prowess and swiss army knife skill set to LA to pair with Rookie of the Year Cade McNown. Santiago also heads out west. He will step into the role which had been filled for so long by the ageless Terry Orr, who apparently has age after all, retiring this year. Santiago is a big target and a step or 5 faster than Orr these last few years. This could be a very good option for Jake Plummer as he scrambles out of pressure. Looking at the wideout slot, we have seen some movement, mostly among potential slot or 2nd receivers. Washington added Houston’s J.J. Stokes, a speedster who was simply unable to use his talents well in Houston. Texas added depth in Arizona’s Darnay Scott, and Ohio did the same, still trying to find someone to take pressure off of Joey Galloway. The Glory added Cedrick Tillman, last of Michigan but better known for his time in St. Louis and Birmingham. Finally, we don’t want to forget about special teams, so a shout out to the Pittsburgh Maulers who upgraded by signing punter Tom Rouen from the Wranglers. It is rare for a punter to get a decent payday from free agency, but the Maulers signed the 9-year veteran as the highest paid punter in the league. A lot happening among the front offices of the league’s 24 clubs, but player personnel decisions were not the only news coming out of the league during these past 2 months. We have news from the league owner’s meeting as well. The news was not good for those groups seeking to join the USFL as the owners, by a 19-4 vote, with New Jersey mysteriously abstaining, voted to delay any expansion to 2005 at the earliest. We all expect that this will lead to several groups likely making inquiries into the purchase and relocation of a current franchise, and this will certainly be an issue for the league, but it seems clear that with this decision the league is primarily considering the issue of alignment, scheduling and their TV contracts. The other big piece of news that ties into this decision is the creation of a select committee of 6 owners who are tasked with doing a viability study of a potential realignment and schedule adjustment for the 2002 season. This is the same issue that ripped the league apart only a couple of years ago when issues of contract negation and fair compensation led the USFLPA to push a strike that caused the owners to buckle and retain a 16-game season. Once again momentum seems to be building to shorten the season to 14 games to allow for larger buffers between the NFL and USFL seasons. This would be paired with a realignment from 4 divisions of 6 teams to one with 6 divisions each with 4 teams. With TV negotiations likely to produce contracts that run through 2003 or later well underway, it seems an odd time to push this agenda, but clearly this is still very much an unresolved issue among ownership. Finally, the USFL Competition Committee proposed an interesting flashback, a proposition to return to a territorial draft in which each team would have exclusive rights to players from a select pool of local colleges. This style of draft was eliminated prior to the 1995 expansion based on concerns about inequity about the regional markets. A return to expanding the draft with a territorial selection phase would have to address that issue if it wants votes from owners in regions where college talent is not as plentiful. After all, New Jersey and Philadelphia are certainly not going to be pulling the same talent pool as a Birmingham, Los Angeles, or Houston can use, at least not if all schools in the T-Draft are geographically tied to the USFL franchise. That is it for this month’s report. Join us in December as we look ahead to the draft and update you on USFL trades and free agency.

Hi everyone. Hard to believe but with Summer Bowl 1999 in the books, we have now completed 17 seasons of USFL history. Happy you have been following along as we head into the new milennium. A quick word about timing. As with most years of this simulation, there is actually more behind the scenes work to be done with the game itself in the offseason than during the simulation of the season, so I may need a few days to get ready for 2000 and the offseason moves. Typically in the offseason mode I need to: Fire coaches. Create new coaches and/or sign coaches from within the game. Decide which players with contracts up will resign, which will be USFL free agents and which may jump to the NFL. Process the retirements. Create the custom schedule for the next season on excel and then upload into the game. Research what NFL players changed teams between 1999-2000 to see who might possibly leave for the USFL. Assess team needs for each of the 24 squads. Determine early Free Agent signings Create the first offseason report for you all. Scout and then run the collegiate draft. Run a second round of free agency. Create the NFL players coming into the league (custom players) Add those players to the appropriate teams. Remove/set aside any USFL players headed to the NFL. Fill rosters to 60 players each. Simulate the preseason game (still only 1 preseason game) Finalize rosters with cuts down to 53. Set depth charts for the regular season. Adjust or update coaching styles to match personnel and the coach in question. Write the post-draft offseason report. Write the season preview report. Start simulating Week 1 of the next season. So, as you might guess, this can take a bit of time. I hope to have something ready this weekend (offseason report 1 at least) and be ready to kick off the 2000 season by next weekend. It should be a pretty interesting offseason, and I am intrigued as to whether the big star of the 2000 draft (a 6th round QB out of Michigan that no one expects much from) ends up in the USFL or not, and if so, where? Please check back soon as I hope to have new posts up, but we hope to be back with season 18 by next weekend. Have a great weekend and thanks for following along on this alt history vision of the USFL.

Jim Mora made a name for himself with the Philadelphia Stars, helping the USFL to become a major force in American sports and the Stars a major force in the USFL. His success eventually led to a call from the NFL, where he helped the New Orleans Saints reach their first postseason action in over 25 years of play, but when he returned to the USFL, success was not immediate. Mora had three utterly forgettable years in Oakland before being unceremoniously let go by the Invaders. He found himself quickly snatched up by William Dunavant, the flamboyant owner of the Memphis Showboats, and in only his second season in the Mid-South he once again had his squad playing championship football. For as much as this week’s Summer Bowl victory by the Showboats was the result of the play of Reggie White, Heath Shuler, Adrian Cooper, Al Wilson, and the unheralded Tydus Wynans, it was equally a testament to the genius of Jim Mora and his ability to see the game from every angle. Denver had the Showboats caught in a slug fest for the first 30 minutes of the game, taking a 17-10 lead that nearly held until halftime before Mora noticed a pattern in the Denver defense and began to exploit it. Denver had limited Heath Shuler to only 89 yards passing in the first half, and while the Showboats had scored first, a Larry Centers 3-yard run on their first possession, Denver’s combination of slow, methodical offense focused on Rashaan Salaam and a low pressure, heavy zone defense had limited the opportunities and the success of Memphis. When Mark Brunell connected with TE Marco Battaglia to put the Gold up by 7 with time winding down in the 2nd quarter, it was clear the Showboats were off their game, and needed a spark. Jim Mora provided that spark. It may sound odd to have a coach provide the spark, but as the Showboats received the kickoff at the 2-minute warning, Mora gathered the offense and laid out a gameplan that would lead the favorites to 4 consecutive scoring drives, turning a 7-point deficit into an insurmountable 21 point lead. The strategy was simple. He would line up Joe Horn in the slot, forcing the Gold to recenter their zone defense and play more to the center of the field, and with that he would place his faith, and that of his quarterback, in the unheralded slot receiver he would move outside to a more open sideline. Tydus Wynans would become the new focus of the offense, something that no one outside of Mora and his QB would believe. The strategy paid immediate dividends as the Denver defense did exactly as Mora imagined, moving the safeties closer to the hashmarks to provide additional support against Joe Horn. In doing so, it put pressure on either the free safety or the nickel to cover the elusive Wynans. After only 4 plays, including two runs by Garrison Hearst, the gambit paid off as Heath Shuler faked an out pass and Wynans turned upfield gaining a solid 2-3 steps on the safety. Shuler, the recently named League MVP hit Wynans in stride, and the speedy, but not always surehanded, little man caught the ball in stride on his way to a 40-yard touchdown. Mora had found the formula. The game went to the half tied at 17, but with one team now looking ready to start again and the other looking blindsided. When the second half opened, the Showboats struck again, this time on the first play from scrimmage. This time they lined Horn up on the same side of the field as both Bobby Olive and TE Adrian Cooper. When first Cooper and then Wynans shifted, suddenly the Showboats had 3 speed receivers on the left side of the line and only Cooper split to the right. When all 3 receivers crossed to the right on short routes, it created a wall of bodies that the Denver defenders could not avoid. The result was Cooper angling to the center of the field and finding himself wide open. Shuler again threw a perfect ball and with an open field in front of him, Cooper did the rest, racing 74 yards downfield to score the go-ahead touchdown. Denver, now frazzled on defense, needed to respond, but when Salaam came up one yard short on a third and 4 in Denver territory, Coach Jauron played it safe and punted the ball away. Memphis, now fully feeling their momentum rising, responded with another scoring drive. This time it was short passes with Wynans on out patterns or criss-crossing with Horn on the right side of the field. Bobby Olive, alone on the left was more decoy than actual threat as he would not catch a ball all game while Wynans and Horn would combine for 8 receptions. But in this new strategy it was Horn who would take the short routes from the inside and Wynans who would head upfield. After 8 plays this Memphis drive also ended with a touchdown, Wynans’s second, a 13-yarder on an out patter where again the defender took an inside position and paid dearly for it. Denver again struggled to move the ball, though on their next drive they did get the ball to midfield. Memphis was in full form by this point, and on their next drive, the last of the 3rd quarter, Shuler connected with Adrian Cooper three times, Horn once, OJ Santiago once, and then, in the red zone, again found Wynans for his 3rd TD of the game. Memphis was now in full command, up 38-17. Denver would have no choice but to abandon the methodical running game with Salaam. He would have only 2 carries in the final period as Denver had to play from behind and turn to the passing game. This second shift, now from Denver, was also fully understood by Mora, who, no longer fearing the inside run game of Denver, spread his d-line, giving Reggie White a wider angle on his path to the QB. The result? White recorded all three of his sacks in the final period of the game. Two of those sacks essentially ended Denver drives (though on one occasion they would try and fail to complete a 4th and 8 pass.) While White and Memphis’s blitzing linebackers focused all their attention on pressuring Brunell, Memphis’s offense was content to use their 2 possessions in the 4th quarter to slow down their play, hand the ball to Hearst and Centers, take what the defense gave them, and watch time tick off the clock. Denver would score once more, another Battaglia TD reception, but it was far too little and far too late (only 1:04 left to play). Memphis would take the 14 point victory and their first league title. Denver would fall for the third time in a league final. The MVP award went to Shuler, to go along with his league MVP crown, and Reggie White would be named the Defensive POTG for his fierce final quarter, but both were quick to give credit to their coach, for the insight provided in this game, the inspiration provided all season, and the freedom for each player to maximize his talents. Memphis was picked to finish 4th or 5th in the South in most preseason polls. Their 1998 campaign had produced an 8-8 season, better than in the year before Mora’s arrival, but in no way an indication that this was a club that was headed to a #1 seed in the playoffs, especially not in a division that had the defending league champion in Tampa Bay, the always explosive Birmingham Stallions, and an up and coming Orlando Renegade squad. What Mora accomplished this year is to turn a largely underachieving squad into a juggernaut that ripped through the second half of the season and the playoffs to raise up the John Bassett Trophy and lay claim to the title of USFL Champions. While the game represented Jim Mora’s fourth trip to the Summer Bowl, with 3 appearances and 2 titles in Philadelphia (1985-1987), this year’s title is made more incredible by the fact that so many had begun to doubt him. After failing to advance in the NFL playoffs with New Orleans, then his short-lived stint in Oakland, there were doubters. We suspect that they are eating some humble pie today as Jim Mora sits atop the Spring Football world with his third title in hand. Congratulations to Coach Mora, and to the entire Memphis Showboats squad for bringing a title to the Mid-South. FINAL STATISTICS PASSING Shuler (MEM) 18/30, 302 Yards, 4 TD, 0 Int, 2 Sacks, 133.6 Rating Brunell (DEN) 27/34, 225 Yards, 2 TD, 0 Int, 4 Sacks, 113.8 Rating RUSHING Salaam (DEN) 15-98, 1 TD, 6,8 YPC Hearst (MEM) 15-66, 0 TD, 4.4 YPC Whittle (DEN) 2-12, 0 TD, 6.0 YPC Centers (MEM) 4-10, 1 TD, 2.5 YPC RECEIVING Jackson (DEN) 8-55, 0 TD Turner (DEN) 6-65, 0 TD Wynans (MEM) 5-121, 3 TD Battaglia (DEN) 5-25, 2 TD Smith (DEN) 5-61, 0 TD Cooper (MEM) 4-106, 1 TD Horn (MEM) 3-39, 0 TD Centers (MEM) 3-27, 0 TD DEFENSE Cowart (DEN) 9 Tackles, 1 FF Walton (MEM) 7 Tackles, 1 Pass Def White (MEM) 3 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 1 FF O’Neill (DEN) 3 Tackles, 1 Sack

Four teams battling for a ticket to the biggest game of the summer. Four franchises hoping that this is their year. A past champion, itching for another ring. Two sets of division rivals meeting again in the postseason with everything on the line. A two time Summer Bowl loser wondering if this is their year. A Cinderella story, rising from the cellar and looking to end up in the penthouse, and a surprise powerhouse led by a coach with championship pedigree. That was the setting for this week’s title games in the east, with Denver @ Los Angeles and Birmingham @ Memphis. So who is moving on for a shot at the title and who came so close only to be sent home? Let’s find out. We expected fireworks in Memphis when the Stallions and Showboats clashed for the Eastern Conference title, and we got them. How does 1021 combined yards and 75 combined points sound? Sounds like a rough day for the defenses and yet there were 8 sacks in the game. We also saw a 100-yard day from Memphis’s Garrison Hearst and 99 yards on the ground from a totally unexpected source, Birmingham’s Charlie Rogers. Stallion wideout Lawrence Dawsey gained 148 and on the other side of the formation Ernest Givens had 113, but the high total of the day went to Memphis’s Adrian Cooper, who finished the day with 161 receiving yards, including a monster of an 85-yard TD catch and run. Reggie White found the QB twice, and Mike Rucker found his once, but there were no picks in the game, no turnovers at all, in fact. It was a show, a major spectacle from beginning to end, and when it was all said and done the astonishing season of the Memphis Showboats continued, with Jim Mora and his squad heading to LA for the league title. Here is how it happened. The game started as many do with both clubs probing and testing each defense out. We only saw 6 points scored in the first quarter, a pair of field goals from Birmingham’s Olindo Mare. But, this cautious approach would quickly give way in a 2nd quarte that saw 4 TDs scored. The first was a short rub route completion from Shuler to wideout Lawyer Tillman, the first of six, yes six, touchdowns on the day for Shuler. The score gave Memphis a short-lived 1-point lead. Short-lived because only 6 plays later Stephen Davis broke through the line and rumbled for 17 yards to put Birmingham back up 13-7. Memphis would counterpunch the Stallion score, with Shuler finding FB Larry Centers open on a goalline swing pass as Memphis again went up by 1 point with the PAT. It appeared the scoring for the half had ended as the two clubs stepped up on defense over the final 6 minutes of the half, but, just as it looked like the Stallions would hand the ball to Alstott to end the half, Brett Favre saw something in the Memphis defense and went deep. He found Lawrence Dawsey in single coverage and exploited it with a perfectly thrown lob that led Dawsey down the left sideline and into the end zone, a 75 yard TD to close out the half with Birmngham up 20-14. When they came out for the second half Memphis was fired up about the mistake that had let Birmingham take the halftime lead. They showed their displeasure by linking up on 3 consecutive first down pass plays, the final one being a nicely thrown Shuler to Joe Horn TD pass to once again regain the lead. After a sack of Favre forced a Birmingham punt, Memphis again pressed their advantage, this time Shuler hitting Tydus Wynans from 17 yards out to increase the lead to 28-20. Birmingham could not let the game get out of hand, and their response was a quick drive of 7 plays, including a 37-yard run by backup Charlie Rogers, who got more carries in the half after Stephen Davis proved largely ineffective in the first half. Rogers would finish the day with 99 yards on only 8 carries, but this drive would stall at the Memphis 17, forcing Birmingham to add only 3 from the foot of Mare. It was at this point of the game when Memphis found its own trick play, a flea-flicker that saw TE Adrian Cooper totally unguarded down the middle of the field. Shuler was almost clipped by Reggie White as he threw the ball, but it found Cooper and 85 yards later Cooper found the endzone, putting Memphis up 35-23, it’s largest lead of the day. Once again Birmingham responded with a drive of their own. Aided by a costly offsides penalty on 3rd and 2, the drive ended with Favre finding Dawsey for a second time, cutting the lead to 5, 35-30. As the game entered the 4th quarter, Birmingham needed to find a way to stop the Showboats from building the lead back up. They switched to a nickel base to deal with Heath Shuler, but Jim Mora countered by using draw plays to Hearst and Centers to throw Birmingham off. Hearst gained 52 of his 107 yards on this one drive, carrying the ball 7 times in the process. Hearst would get the ball to the Stallion 8-yard line, and from there the playfake allowed TE O.J. Santiago to come off the line unguarded and Shuler hit him for a club record 6th TD pass on the day, all six to different receivers. Back up by 12, the game was now one of frantic efforts by the Stallions and slow, plodding time management by the Showboats. Birmingham would add a field goal at the 5 minute mark, but that still kept it a 2-score game, and the Stallions would not get any closer. The game ended with Memphis up that same nine points. The crowd, a mix of Showboat and Stallion fans, had a few moments of tension but was largely celebratory after the game, the first sellout in Showboats history, a full 62,921 on hand, including at least 15,000 Stallion fans, maybe more. The crowd got what they wanted, an amazingly entertaining game, and for the home fans, a huge win that sends them to a title clash next week. The crowd was not quite as large (around 41,000) at Farmers Insurance Field for the clash between the Express and the Denver Gold, but there was plenty of enthusiasm from the home fans and a contingent of 6,000-7,000 who wore Denver black and gold. The game, while not quite as high flying, had plenty of fireworks as well, and required an extra period to find a winner. It was a game that saw Denver use both their QB’s, with Lewis closing out the game after Brunell once again had to sit with an injury, this time his knee. For LA, the focus was the passing game, with Cade McNown finding 8 different receivers on the day. Antowain Smith as moderately successful against the Denver D, while Rashaan Salaam carried the ball 20 times for 96 yards, a very solid 4.8 YPC. It was a game where Denver made more mistakes but LA was unable to cash in on them, including a heart breaking final second field goal attempt that would have given the win to the home squad. The game started off slowly, with 20 total points in the first half. Both LA and Denver seemed to want to get the run game going, and both ended up with more long third down attempts than they may have wanted. After a Rashaan salaam TD opened up the scoring, Galen Hall and the Express started to bring their Strong Safety down to the line, a strategy that proved effective for the rest of the half. On offense, LA managed two field goals from Doug Brien and added a Tory Holt TD catch in the second quarter to go into halftime up 13-7. With visions of playing in a title game right in their own stadium LA was playing well, but with some nerves clearly on display. These nerves led to a significant error as the Express lined up for the 2nd half kickoff with only 10 men. That error helped Denver return the kick all the way back to the Express 47 yard line. From their it only took them 4 plays before they took their first lead since the opening score. Brunell hit Odessa Turner from 14 yards out and Denver was now up 1 at 14-13. LA responded to the short Denver drive with one of their own as their returner Aaron Glenn returned the kickoff 39 yards up to the 49 yard line. McNown would find Mike Pritchard for a score 8 plays later and once again LA had the lead, though it was now 19-14 as the attempt to go up by 7 with a 2 point play failed. After a Gold field goal closed the gap to 2 points, Denver got the ball back after a solid 3-play defensive stand. This was their chance to take the lead once again, and they started a drive that would lead them to that result. 7 plays in 3:33 led to a Salaam 1-yard plunge to put Denver up 24-19 as with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. They would add to that score on the very next play. Kicking off, Denver’s Jeff Wilkens got the ball to the 10 yard line, where it took a high bounce that apparently confused LA returner Fred Lester. Lester caught the ball at the 1 just as defenders were closing in. Rather than fall down and give LA the ball on the 1 or 2, he tried to spin out of the initial tackle, a spin that took him into the endzone, where he was wrapped up. Initially placed at the 1, the play was challenged by Denver coach Dick Jauron. The call was overturned, with the result being a Denver safety and now a 7 point lead. That would prove pivotal as those 2 points saved Denver. LA responded on their next drive, with McNown hitting Rob Carpenter for a score with just over 3:20 to play. The ensuing PAT tied the game up rather than putting LA ahead (due to the earlier safety). But neither team was looking forward to overtime. Denver came out aggressively, but on a 2nd and 7, Mark Brunell was hit by LA linebacker Barry Minter. He was injured on the play, but the ball also popped up into the air and right into the hands of SS Carnell Lake, who had also been blitzing on the play. Lake caught the ball just above the turf, falling to the ground, but it gave LA the ball at midfield with just under 1 minute to play. The Express would move the ball to the Denver 30 before sending out Doug Brien to attempt a game winning 47-yarder. A hush fell over the largely vocal LA crowd as the ball was snapped and the kick left the tee. A collective grown went out when the ball sliced to the left and just missed on the outside of the goal posts. Denver was still alive, and overtime was now an inevitability. As so often happens, the toss decided the fate of the two teams, with Denver choosing tails and getting the result they wanted. Jeff Lewis trotted out to lead the Gold for the extra period, a gimpy Mark Brunell trying to walk off his knee pain on the sideline. Lewis would do exactly what he did the week before, outperform expectations and lead Denver to a playoff win. He completed his first 3 passes, interrupted only by a single Salaam run. On 1st and 10 from the LA 31, a holding call put the drive in jeopardy and moved the Gold out of field goal range. Lewis, unflapped, completed a quick 5-yard out to Jacquez Green on 1st and 20, then a 9 yarder to Keith Jackson on 2nd and 15, leading to a third and 6 just outside of comfortable field goal range. The called play was a crossing pattern that should free up Green again, but the play quickly deteriorated as LA blitzed both LB George Koonce and safety Rich Coady, a strategy that had proven effective against Brunell all day. But Lewis is more mobile than Brunell, and he sprinted out to his left, eventually finding TE Marco Battaglia on what would end up as a 23 yard catch and run. One play later Lewis hit Keith Jackson for the game winner and the Denver fans in attendance erupted in joy. LA would not host their own title game. The clock had struck midnight and the Cinderella Story of the 1999 Express was over. It was an amazing finish to an amazing year, but a Summer Bowl spot would elude the grasp of Angelino football fans again. Denver would be returning to LA in one week to face the Memphis Showboats. They would enter the game with a potential QB controversy, and with a penchant for pulling off surprises. Coach Jauron would praise Jeff Lewis, and the entire offense for how they played the overtime period. But deep down we have to wonder if he now has to consider benching Brunell in favor of the unheralded QB that has pulled their fat out of the fire twice this playoff season. COACHING CAROUSEL SPINS INTO HIGH GEAR Two more USFL coaching hires this week, both surprises as Portland and Atlanta make their selections. Portland went back to their first interview, announcing this week that Ray Rhodes, the Defensive Coordinator of the Texas Outlaws would be their next head coach, continuing a legacy of defensive-minded head coaches after the departure of Vince Tobin. Rhodes inherits a team with a rookie QB in Akili Smith and a defense that was 22nd of 24 teams in yardage allowed yet somehow was only 12th in the league in points allowed. Rhodes was also considered a frontrunner for the Oakland position, now the lone open position remaining in the league. While Portland stayed within the USFL, Atlanta, after failing to develop a winning club under former NFL coaches Dan Reeves and Sherm Lewis, went a totally different way, announcing this week that young hotshot playcaller from the U. of Louisville, Bobby Petrino, would be the new head coach of the Fire. Petrino, who developed as a QB coach bothat Idaho and Arizona before taking on OC duties at Louisville, is considered a QB specialist, and now goes to a club that has to decide if they have their QB of the future in either Eric Zeier or 1999 rookie Aaron Brooks. He also takes over a club with a truly horrible defense, so he will need to bring in some defensive help this offseason, both on field and in the coaching rooms. RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS As we expected, this week was a pretty big week for announcements of retirement from pro football. Across the league, players began filing officially and that brings leaks, which brings press conferences. No real surprises yet, and we are still waiting to hear from several big name players who have been rumored to be considering the option, but that does not mean that this week’s announcements will not influence teams as we head into the full offseason. Here is our list of the 8 biggest retirement announcements to date: CB Robert Massey (OHI): Massey retires after 1 season in Ohio in which he played as both a kick returner (518 yards on 21 returns) and in the secondary (79 tackles, 5 picks). Massey came into the league in 1989 with Chicago, moved to Seattle in 1995 in the expansion draft and then opted into a 1-year deal in Ohio. WR Anthony Miller (STL): While Anthony Miller never really caught on as a receiver in the league in his 12 seasons with Baltimore and St. Louis, he certainly made his mark as a return man. He retires with a grand total of 105 career receptions for 1,122 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns, but he also retires with 237 returned kicks for 5,873 yards, a 24.8 average and 1 TD along with 275 punt returns for 2,297 yards (8.4 YPR average) and 2 punt return touchdowns. St. Louis will certainly miss the field position advantage Miller provided. DE Terry Crews (HOU): A bit player in several strong seasons for the Houston Gamblers, Crews became famous due to his addictive TV commercials in the Houston area. Always entertaining, Crews, who retires with only 27 career tackles and 8 sacks, is very likely to remain in media focus as both a local commercial actor and personality. LB Michael Brooks (CHI): One of the oldest defenders still playing in the league, Brooks came into the USFL with New Orleans in 1987. He started 15 games his rookie season. Always injury plagued, Brooks played in 154 league games but started only 60. He retires with 370 tackles, 17 sacks, 5 picks, and 13 years of professional football under his cap. LB Mike Junkin (JAX): Mike Junkin retires a Jacksonville Bull after 1 season there, one in Baltimore, 2 in Portland, but he will always be remembered for his early years in Memphis. The versatile LB retires with 677 tackles in 170 games. He forced 20 fumbles in his long career, accrued 47 sacks and 10 picks. He was named to All-USFL teams in 1988 and 1989, both with Memphis. DE Anthony Pleasant (POR): The leader of Portland’s pass rush since coming to the team from Birmingham in 1994, the 10-year veteran retires with 60 career sacks. He played for the 1993 USFL Champion Stallions and started 143 games for Birmingham and Portland. The Thunder will now have to rely on younger edge players like Hugh Douglas, Jomo Cousins, Cyron Brown and possibly an early draft pick to enhance the pass rush wit Pleasant’s departure. LB Andre Collins (PHI): Since starting 11 games for the Philadelphia Stars in 1990, Collins has been a mainstay of the Stars’ defense. In his 10 seasons with the club, Collins amassed 646 tackles, with his high point being an 88 tackle season in 1997. He also added 31 sacks and 9 picks in his career. His MLB position in the Stars 4-3 will likely be taken up by Robert Gooch or Mike Peterson, as this is a position the Stars are not likely to draft for, though a mid-range free agent is a possibility. WR Cris Carter (PHI): Philadelphia loses another starter and this one will certainly hurt. Cris Carter came to the USFL after starting his career in the fall with the Philadelphia Eagles. Carter began in Portland, where he racked up over 100 receptions in each of his first three seasons, but grew disenchanted with the Portland coaching and gameplanning. In 1994 he jumped ship and through free agency found himself back in Philadelphia with the Stars. Once again his value was easy to recognize as Carter caught 100+ receptions 5 times in 6 years with the Stars, including a career high 125 receptions for 1,374 yards this season. Known for his tightrope sideline catches and impeccable hands, Carter’s USFL totals include 1,019 receptions for 12,024 yards and 66 career touchdowns. A 4 time All USFL selection, Carter’s lone championship came with the Stars in his first season since moving over from Portland, a season in which he caught112 balls for 1,257 and 9 touchdowns. The Stars will be hard pressed to find a receiver either in free agency or the draft who can match the potential Hall of Fame career of Carter. On the roster right now they have Troy Brown, Kevin Dyson, Edward Stinnett, Alex Van Dyke, and Na Brown, so do not be surprised if they go for a wideout early in this year’s draft. MEANWHILE IN NEW YORK With the Summer Bowl scheduled for LA this week, the focus is certainly there, but we should remember that in the week following the title clash between Memphis and Denver, the 24 league owners will be meeting in NYC, and there are some big issues expected to be on the table. First up is the television deal with ABC/ESPN. We know already that both NBC and CBS are very interested in adding the USFL to their sports offering, but ABC/ESPN still have the inside track, and with Fox’s contract not due to expire for another 2 years, there may be little room for a third major partner, though certainly the league owners will consider what the other two large networks have to say. The second item, and we cannot believe we are saying this, is that once again the owners seem to be considering a shift to a 14-game schedule and a new alignment of teams. The same concerns about overlap with the NFL, particularly for free agency, seems to be driving the discussion again. At least this time the owners have a sense of what happened the last time and will not assume an acquiescent union. If they want o move ahead with any change to the format of the season they will have to deal with the CBA and the expectations that contracts will retain their full value despite any adjustments to the season. Finally, there is an item up for discussion that could profoundly impact both the TV discussions and any realignment or schedule adjustments, the topic of expansion. While there does not appear to be much energy behind another expansion, particularly with the difficulties we have seen among the 4 franchises from the 1995 addition. Only this year, and only LA have been able to crack .500 and make a playoff appearance, but perhaps the success of the Express might indicate that the league is finally seeing progress among the expansion class of 1995. Does that translate into a desire to add more teams? It seems unlikely but we know that outside of the league there is demand. There are well-funded groups in at least 5 cities that are hoping to see a new wave of expansion bidding come to the spring league. We know of groups in Dallas, Boston, Miami, the Twin Cities, and Indianapolis that remain very interested, and with new stadia to finance in both Charlotte and Nashville, it seems those cities are also looking to see if they can double their pro-football dates by adding spring football to their NFL offerings. The concern for the USFL has to be if they do not look to expand some of these ownership groups may start wooing clubs in the league with a hope for relocation. We know that there are clubs unhappy either with their stadia or with the terms of their contracts in those cities, so it may just be possible to peel off a club like Portland, Atlanta, St. Louis, Columbus (Ohio Glory), or Oakland. With that possibility looming as a possible backup plan for these ownership bidding groups, the league has to tread lightly and provide at least a glimmer of hope for expansion or we may see a wave of relocation efforts which can only hurt current franchises trying to build a case for their product in cities across the country. The injury spotlight for this week’s league title game will likely be on Mark Brunell. He is listed as probable, which is good, but the fact that he is listed at all is still a concern. Of course, the bigger issue is what the Gold decide to do with Jeff Lewis even if Brunell is 100%. Do they gameplan a series or two with Lewis in the game? After all, he has led them to two victories in the postseason and he does add a level of unpredictability that Brunell is unlikely to add. We know that Leslie O’Neill is not on the injury list, so other than Brunell, the only other concern is T Larry Odom (Out) and safety Myron Guyton who had been upgraded to probable. For Memphis we know that Rob Johnson is out, which seems to be fine with everyone. The other two names on the injury list are WR Tydus Wynans and center Charles Wilson, both of whom are listed as questionable, but are likely to see some action. Memphis is in good shape on the injury front, as is Denver, which means a good game between two pretty healthy clubs. So what do we make of this unexpected matchup in LA? The folks at the Las Vegas sports book seem to be pretty convinced that the money is leaning towards Memphis. The opening line was Memphis -6, but that has risen to -8 in the last 24 hours. That means that Vegas is trying to find takers for the Gold, and that means that the public is also skeptical of Denver’s ability to slow down Heath Shuler and the offense that just put away Brett Favre and the Stallions. The two clubs did not meet this year, so we have no track record to go on. We know that Denver won 3 of their last 4 games to finish 10-6, and then won three playoff games to get here. Memphis got the bye before knocking off Pittsburgh and Birmingham to make their first Summer Bowl appearance since 1988, but they were also very hot at the end of the year, winning 6 of 7 to finish out the year. So, what do we think? Well, if we look position by position, we might get a better sense of where things lie. Quarterback: Clear advantage to Memphis, who has the likely MVP as their QB. Heath Shuler broke out this year with a monster season, while Mark Brunell was his usual reliable self, but has been knocked out of games twice in the last month. This one goes heavily to Memphis. Running Backs: Rashaan Salaam gives this one to the Gold. He will be the key to their offense. His 1,191 yards rushing clearly outshine Garrison Hearst’s 905, though that is actually a solid total for Hearst considering that Moe Williams was given 70 carries and gained over 250 yards as well. Hearst is a better receiver, but neither club uses that position too much for the passing game, Denver preferring to keep a back in for pass protection and Memphis more likely to throw the ball to FB Larry Centers than Hearst or Williams. We give a marginal edge here to Denver. Receivers: Memphis’s offense relies heavily on a very aggressive passing game, and they have a diverse receiving corps to get it done. Their top 5 receivers include Joe Horn (WR), Adrian Cooper (TE), Lawyer Tillman (WR), Larry Centers (FB) and O.J. Santiago (TE). You rarely see them in 3-wide formations, preferring to work the pass and the run from either standard pro formations or a 1-back, 2 TE formation. Denver is far more likely to focus their passing attack on a wider range of outside threats. Keith Jackson at TE is their top receiver and tops in the league with 125 catches, but Odessa Turner leads the club in yardage with 1,192 and Dedric Smith, the former LA Express wideout, who leads in TDs with 11. Add in occasional tosses to TE Marco Battaglia and rookie receiver Peerless Price and Denver too can spread the ball around. The numbers favor Memphis in this matchup, and so do we. O-Line: We are going to call this one a toss up because, quite frankly, how you measure the line is what makes one look better than the other. Denver clearly has the better run-blocking line, while Memphis’s hogs are used to providing Heath Shuler with time. So, it is a bit of a wash really. D-Line: We have two great pass rushers in this matchup with Reggie White of Memphis and Leslie O’Neill of Denver. What gives Denver the slight edge here is that outside of White, Memphis does not have a lot to crow about. DE Tony Hill has 10 fewer sacks than White (16 to 6) and no DT scored a sack this season, while in Denver, Leslie O’Neill’s 24 sacks were followed by 10 more from DE Jon Carter, and 9 more from the rotation of Dan Saleaumua, Mark Bouette, and James Manley inside, each with 3 sacks on the year. That is a big factor in favor of Denver. Linebackers: We like the veteran leadership of Kurt Gouveia and Tracy Rogers for Denver, but when it comes to pure athleticism and pursuit, Memphis’s Joe Mott, Jim Schwartz, and Al Wilson have an edge. Unlike Denver, who may be forced to play a nickel formation most of the game to slow down Heath Shuler, Memphis will be able to use their standard 3-4 all day, and that favors them against the run. We like Memphis here. Secondary: Memphis will line up CBs Rodney Young and Fred Weary alongside safeties Tebucky Jones and Alvin Walton. This is not an intimidating group, but it is solid, with Jones leading the group with 6 picks this season. For Denver the picks were hard to come by, but they have solid hitters in the secondary with CBs Anthony Tuggle and Bruce Pickens, FS Myron Guyton (likely to play despite his injuries) and SS Corey Gaines. If Guyton cannot play, Jamel Williams will shift into his position. This one looks about even when we look at their impact, but we expect Denver’s group to be tested more than Memphis’s, so edge to Memphis. Special Teams: Memphis’s Jeff Hall is somewhat less experienced than Denver’s Jeff Wilkens, but this year Hall led the league in PAT’s, hitting 63 of 65, and also connected on 79.3% of his field goal tries, while Wilkens landed at only 69%, with 9 missed field goals this year, though he was a perfect 44 of 44 on PATs. The returners, Peerless Price for Denver and Rodney Young of Memphis have been adequate, but neither is setting the league on fire. And, when it comes to coverage, Memphis has better numbers, but that may be due to the propensity for touchbacks on both the punt and kickoff teams. Coaching: Honestly, this is where we see the biggest potential advantage, and it leans towards Memphis. This will be Jim Mora’s 4th Summer Bowl, though it is his first since departing the Stars. He has been here before and he knows how to get the most out of his team. This is Dick Jauron’s 2nd season with Denver, and while he got them to the playoffs in both seasons, the experience with championship football is just not there. We have to give the advantage to the Showboats here. FINAL ANALYSIS: I think we will know early how competitive Denver can be. If they can run the ball early and slow down the game, and if they can avoid the big play from the Showboats’ offense, they have a chance to hang around and flip the scoreboard at the end. That is a bit of a tall order honestly, and we think the better odds are with Coach Mora and the Showboats. We are picking Memphis to win their first title, and Mora’s third, with a final score prediction of Memphis 28 Denver 20.

Three games that went just about how most folks predicted, and one that no one could have foreseen. That is the story of this week’s USFL Divisional Playoffs as the Denver Gold, playing with their 3rd string QB upend the St. Louis Knights in a wild shootout. These are two clubs known for their defense and slow, stable offenses, but what we got in this game was two backups just cutting loose. A wild game, but not the only one that kept audiences engaged and excited about USFL football. Playoff football as we get to the last four clubs alive for a chance to play for a title in LA at Summer Bowl 1999. The Memphis Showboats demonstrated to the nation how they had won 12 games and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference by rattling off 33 unanswered points to crush the upset hopes of the Pittsburgh Maulers. The Maulers had come into this game as a hot pick for an upset, having won 7 straight to get to the playoffs at 10-6, but Memphis put on a show against the Pittsburgh D and by the half the game was looking like a rout. The Showboats slowed things down in the second half or this could have gotten truly ugly. Pittsburgh started the game well, moving the ball effectively after the opening kickoff and finishing with a Scott Blanton field goal to open the scoring, but after that it just got ugly for the Maulers. Memphis opened their first possession with a signature play, the slant & go by TE Adrian Cooper. Pittsburgh was caught flat-footed, and Cooper raced 65 yards to the endzone on Memphis’s first play from scrimmage. It did not get much better for Pittsburgh after that, as Memphis scored on 5 consecutive drives, ranging from the 1st quarter into the 3rd. First a Garrison Hearst TD run, then a Joe Horn TD pass from Shuler, two Jeff Hall field goals, and finally a Lawyer Tillman bomb, a 60-yard score from Shuler. All the while Pittsburgh kept shooting itself in the foot: two fumbles lost, 9 penalties, 2 of 11 on third down, and a Charlie Batch pick that looked like he was playing catch with Memphis DB Tebucky Jones. It was a complete meltdown as Memphis dominated every aspect of the game. The Maulers would eventually get a TD in garbage time, but this game was truly over just as it began. Heath Shuler gave way to Gino Torretta with 8 minutes left in the 4th, having completed 14 of 25 passes for 304 yards and 3 scores. Moe Williams and Garrison Hearst combined for 104 yards and Lawyer Tillman ended the game as the top receiver with 122 yards and a score on 5 receptions. For Pittsburgh a good season ended badly. They will lick their wounds and head back to the three rivers to regroup for 2000, having accomplished a lot more than most predicted for them, but with a sour taste left by this game. For Memphis, it is back to the Liberty Bowl again next week, 1 game away from the Summer Bowl and with a familiar foe on the opposing sideline. Saturday’s night game was viewed pre-game as the least likely to be a close match, or to be an exciting showdown, but boy, were we way off on that. Denver had announced on Friday that it would be the athletic but largely untested Jeff Lewis who would get the start against St. Louis’s intimidating defense. That drove the line for the game up to an 8 point buffer for the Knights. Most expected this to be a game of field position, ground game, and eventual St. Louis dominance. What we got was an old-fashioned shootout, with both teams passing the ball against defenses designed to shut down the power run. Ahman Green ended the day with only 27 yards for St. Louis, and Rashaan Salaam fared only slightly better, carrying the ball only 12 times but gaining 62 yards (and 1 score). What no one saw coming was that unheralded Jeff Lewis would survive 6 sacks to complete 30 of 41 passes for 376 yards and 4 TDs. Yes, he was picked twice, but overall this was a star-making performance from a player that up until this week had been considered only the emergency quarterback. A free agent after the season, Lewis’s performance may have just shot his value through the roof. Jim Miller, on the St. Louis side, also had a phenomenal game, completing 33 of 55 passes for 329 yards and 5 scores, but one short of what he needed. The game went back and forth all night, with swings of momentum that made most fans dizzy. The game opened with a Knights’ field goal, but was quickly followed by Lewis connecting with Odessa Turner for a 75-yard bomb that shook the Knight fans to their core. St. Louis responded with a Miller to Lockett TD pass and we were at 10-7 St. Louis at the end of 1. In the second quarter, Denver started to find a rhythm. After another St. Louis field goal, Denver got another TD from Odessa Turner, though this one was from only 1 yard out on a quick outcut route. Just as in the first quarter, St. Louis responded and Kevin Lockett again caught a short TD pass to bring the lead back up to 6, 20-14. Denver then moved the ball down the field until Lewis found TE Marco Battaglia from 8 yards out to put Denver on top 21-20. St. Louis tried to respond in their 2-minute drill, but suffered from the worst possible outcome, a forced ball that was picked off by Denver’s Anthony Tuggle and returned for a score with only seconds left in the half. 28-20 Denver at the half and a stunned crowd in the dome. Denver stayed hot into the 3rd quarter, scoring 17 more points in the period. First was a 34-yard Rashaan Salaam run for a score, by far his longest of the day. That was followed by Odessa Turner’s third TD catch of the game, and then Jeff Wilkens’s first field goal. Denver had pulled out to a 45-20 lead and for many in St. Louis it seemed hope was lost. But in the 4th the game began to turn St. Louis’s way. After Miller combined with Bert Emmanuel on a long play, a 53-yard TD, they immediately got the ball back off a Jeff Lewis pick. With the ball and momentum on their side, the Knights moved the ball into the Red Zone and Miller again found Emmanuel, this time form 12 yards out. 45-34 and this game was not yet over. After a quick 3-and-out that had to make Denver fans nervous, St. Louis again moved the ball well, this time it was Miller to Ahman Green for the score, and after the successful 2 point conversion it was 45-42 with 6 minutes left to play. It was at this point that Denver did what their fans had been hoping for all half, they slowed the game down. Runs from Salaam and Ricky Whittle, short passes, nothing out of bounds, and 4 minutes later, Jeff Wilkensexpanded the lead up to 6 points. St. Louis would have to score a TD on their final drive to pull this game out. The Knights looked to do just that, moving the ball well, but also using a lot of time up in doing so. They found themselves on the Denver 17 with just 23 seconds to play, first and 10. On first down Jim Miller missed on a corner route to Emmanuel. 17 seconds left. Second down and Miller dumped the ball down to Etheridge. It gained 8 yards, but Etheridge was unable to get out of bounds. By the time Miller spiked the ball, there were only 3 seconds left. Fourth and 2 from the 9 yard line, but only one play left. After consulting with Coach Johnson, Miller looked for Amani Toomer crossing the back of the endzone, but Denver SS Sean Lumpkin was there and tipped the ball out of the endzone. Game over. Denver had won in a fashion no one could have predicted. Jeff Lewis was an instant celebrity, and the Gold were moving on to the Western Conference title game. The Michigan Panthers kept this game even through three quarters, but in the end the Cinderella story continued for the LA Express. At this point last year the Express were wallowing in a 2-14 season and looking ahead to the draft. Now they are one game away from a title, a truly amazing story of rebirth. For Michigan, a good showing fell short as the Express were the only team to score in the final period, and that was all the difference it took to earn the win. Michigan kept the game close by putting the ball into the hands of Tyrone Wheatley and Winslow Oliver. Wheatley would finish with 111 yards rushing and Michigan would win the time of possession battle 33:10 to 26:50, but after scoring 3 touchdowns in the first 3 quarters, the Panthers could not get points on the board in the 4th, while LA kicked three Doug Brien field goals in the final quarter to pull out of a 21-21 tie and take the win. Cade McNown was pursued by the Michigan defense, but still connected with both Tory Holt and Mike Pritchard for touchdowns on the day. Add in a TD run from FB Fred Lester and they were even with Michigan after 3. Michigan had gotten scores from Muhsin Muhammad, Desmond Clark, and Cedrick Tillman as Doug Flutie finished with 294 yards passing and the 3 touchdowns. But, in the final quarter, Flutie’s magic failed him. A pick on his first drive led to LA’s first of 3 field goals, and, down 6 late, he failed on a 4th and 3 from his own 33, leading to LA’s final score, and a 9 point lead that would hold up until the final whistle. The Express are now one home game, against a division foe they know well, from making an astonishing run to a Summer Bowl. While Denver is expected to have Mark Brunell back under center for the game, the Express have to feel good about pulling this game out and having the home field advantage against the Gold next week. The final game of the weekend pitted the Birmingham Stallions against the Baltimore Blitz. The story on this one was that Baltimore would try to keep the score down and win with defense while Birmingham wanted to force Baltimore to play catchup. In the end, it seems safe to say that things went Birmingham’s way, even if they scored 27, a low total for this offense. It was still 3 more than Baltimore had by game’s end. Baltimore took the opening kickoff, a bit of a surprise as most expected them to defer, but it paid off as a long drive ended with Jeff Garcia connecting with Rob Moore to put the Blitz up early. Birmingham immediately responded, with Favre hitting Tyree Davis for a short TD pass to even up the game. Birmingham would add an Olindo Mare field goal at the end of the quarter to take a 10-7 lead. In the second quarter, both defenses played well, but Birmingham’s made the big play. The only score of the quarter was a poorly timed ball from Garcia that was picked off by Stallions’ DB Blaine Bishop. Bishop sprinted the 41 yards to the endzone and suddenly the Stallion lead was 10. Baltimore regrouped at the half, and in their first possession of the 3rd quarter they took the ball down the field before Garcia found Moore again, 17-14 Birmingham. Birmingham, happy to slow down the game with a lead, used up most of the rest of the quarter on their next drive, ending the possession with Favre hitting Lawrence Dawsey on a 3-yard slant that put them back up by 10 at 24-14. A field goal to open the 4th quarter expanded the lead to 27-10 and put some desperation into Baltimore’s offense. The Blitz would get back to within 10 points with a Martin Grammatica field goal to open the 4th, but they would be stymied on their next two possessions. Birmingham had the upper hand, up by two scores. Baltimore would bring the game to within 3 with just seconds left, but their attempt at an onside kick failed and Birmingham was able to wrap up a road win. The Stallions will need to be road warriors again as they will now head up to Memphis to face their arch rival. This game could easily draw 80,000 fans in the stadium could hold that many. We expect a sellout with huge turnout from Memphis but also an enormous contingent of Stallion fans making the drive from Birmingham. New Orleans Finds Their Man We have our second coaching hire of the offseason as the New Orleans Breakers have announced that their new head coach will be former NY Giants and Washington Redskins DC Mike Nolan. Nolan, who began his coaching career at Oregon and Stanford before a short stint with the Arizona Wranglers and then the NFL, takes over a club built by Mike Ditka but never able to obtain the type of punishing D that made Ditka a household name in the NFL. Nolan’s style is very different from that of Ditka, preferring to wear suits and not team apparel on the sideline, and preferring a defense predicated on speed and mixed coverages rather than aggressive line play and blitzing. Nolan’s choice for offensive coordinator will say a lot about his plans for the Breakers. While everyone expects an offense focused on HB Ricky Wiliams, the question of whether or not Jamie Martin remains the preferred choice at QB is very much up for debate. The hire of Nolan leaves 3 positions still open in the USFL: Portland, Atlanta and Oakland may be biding their time to have a chance to speak with coaches involved in the playoffs, or they may opt to play the long game and wait for the window at the end of the NFL season to add on a coach just before camp. We have seen both strategies work in recent years, and all three front offices are being pretty quiet about their preferences at this point. USFL REVEALS 2000 SUMMER BOWL LOGO A week after announcing that Chicago and Pittsburgh will host the 2001 and 2002 Summer Bowls, the USFL revealed the logo for next year’s contest in Tampa Bay. The logo features the familiar blend of images from the world of football and the season of summer, with a golden sun rising over a football goalpost. The style and colors also nod towards the home team, with black and crimson taking a larger role than they usually do in Summer Bowl iconography, which tends to lean towards summery colors such as orange, gold, and pastels. The familiar Bandits script is also used in the logo, which also features 3 footballs as zeroes, perhaps a nod from the host team that they hope to seek a 3rd title in 2000 after a disappointing 1999 campaign. NO WORD YET FROM VETS It is not unusual for the playoff weeks to be a time when several players will announce their plans to retire. Fans in Philly have been dreading that they would get such an announcement from Bobby Hebert after a year where his personal on-field success did not lead to team success. But, Hebert, and several other big name veterans such as Webster Slaughter in Portland, Kevin Greene in New Jersey, Cris Carter also in Philly, Terry Orr in Arizona, and Troy Aikman in Tampa Bay, are all silence at this point. Perhaps they are wrapped up in rooting for friends on current playoff teams, or focused on healing after a long season, or perhaps they simply don’t know what they want to do. We expect we will start to hear some rumblings soon, as the need to begin training again usually does not hit until early October, and that is when the body of some veteran players informs the mind that it might be time to step away. Great news on the injury front for our 4 remaining clubs. No new injuries to report from this week’s games. Sure, there is some soreness and some bruises to go around, but no one added to the injury list. Better news in Denver where both Leslie O’Neill and Mark Brunell are expected back on the field for the Conference Championships. While there are some fans who are still reveling in Jeff Lewis’s performance this week for Denver, there are very few who will not be happy to see Brunell back under center. #3 BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (11-5) @ #1 MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (12-4) Sunday, July 25 @ 3pm ET (FOX) Liberty Bowl Stadium This is the game everyone wanted to see, the two top QB’s in the league battling it out in what will almost certainly be a shootout. These two clubs essentially look like mirror images of each other. Both use a 2-back format with Memphis backing up Garrison Hearst with Moe Williams, while Birmingham often shifts Mike Alstott to HB to spell Stephen Davis. Both clubs have receiving corps with lots of weapons, and while the combo of Givens, Dawsey, and Robinson in Birmingham is certainly more prolific than Horn, Tillman and Olive, Memphis has a clear advantage at TE with Adrian Cooper, and out of the backfield with Larry Centers as a pass-catching fullback. On defense Memphis also has an edge, ranked 7th in PPG allowed and 8th in yards allowed, while Birmingham ranks 18th in both categories. The wild card may be pass rush, with veteran Reggie White in Memphis vs. rookie Mike Rucker in Birmingham. If either one of these edge rushers can put pressure on the opposing QB, it could turn this game. OUR PICK: We love Brett Favre’s veteran leadership, but he is also know as a big game gambler, and those gambles can lead to big issues for the Stallions. Heath Shuler is not as playoff tested, but he is also more cautious with the ball, and we like that. Our pick, in a wild west shootout, is Memphis 38-35. #3 DENVER GOLD (10-6) @ #1 LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (11-5) Sunday, July 25 @ 7pm ET (ABC) Farmers Insurance Field After getting a heroic performance from Jeff Lewis to get them here, Denver has Mark Brunell back, and that could be a huge difference maker. With all the success the Express have had this year, they still have a rookie at QB. He is likely the Rookie of the Year, but still you would prefer more experience there. Denver clearly has the advantage in the run game with Salaam being several notches better than Antowain Smith. LA has the deper receiving corps with Mike Pritchard, rookie Tory Holt, Curtis Mayfield and TE Tony McGee available. Both clubs have solid defenses, with Denver ranking higher (#2 in points allowed and #4 in yards allowed) while LA lives and dies by takeaways, leading the league at +26 in turnover margin. Denver is actually second from last at -6. That is huge. Turnovers can absolutely decide a close matchup of otherwise even teams. Add to that the potential that a slow start for Brunell could lead to Lewis making an appearance, and we think the slight edge goes to the Express in this one. OUR PICK: We are going to keep the glass slipper on Cinderella and pick the Express to reach the Summer Bowl as the greatest team turnaround in league, and perhaps pro football, history. We pick LA to get 2-3 takeaways and edge the Gold 21-20.

Wild Card Weekend provided us with a bit of everything, big performances, close contests, a blowout, an MVP performance, and an upset (though hardly a major one). Across the country we saw excitement for USFL Football in July, and in the 4 stadia we saw huge crowds, with the 4 games averaging 51,300 fans, including nearly over 60,000 in Birmingham on a muggy July afternoon and 55,000 who sat through a rain delay (lightning) in Denver). TV ratings were outstanding, and the games themselves were a lot of fun (well, 3 of 4, and it depends who you were rooting for). Let’s get to the action in the order of games this weekend, starting in B’Ham with a big win for the Stallions. In the eternal battle between unstoppable offense and unbreakable defense, this one went hands down to the offense. Brett Favre put in an MVP performance with 432 yards passing and 5 TDs as the Stallions manhandled the Federals and put this one away by the half. The Federal defense has not been as stout as in past years and this game showed just how much it has declined. Yes, the Feds did sack Brett Favre 4 times on the day, but he threw for 432 yards on only 18 completions, an average of nearly 16 yards per completion. Stephen Davis also had a good outing after returning from injury last week. He rushed for 86 yards and a score in limited action as the Stallions found it easier to stay in the air most of the game. The game started with Favre hitting Marcus Robinson, the 3rd receiver, on 2 consecutive drives, putting Birmingham up 14-0 and signaling that this could be a long day for the 8-8 Federals who only clinched a playoff spot on the last week of the season. The Feds would get on the board with an Andre Coleman TD catch, but that was followed by 21 unanswered Stallion points, including a 48-yard Stephen Davis run and Marcus Robinson’s third TD catch of the game. From that point on the result of the game was a given and Birmingham simply coasted to victory in front of a huge and very happy Birmingham crowd. CB Torey James ended the scoring at 49 points with a pick-six late in the 4th, sending the Federals back to DC on what had to be a very long, very dour flight. Birmingham will now face Baltimore in the second round, another offense v. defense showdown, and after this week’s performance, Baltimore’s defensive coordinator might want to put in a few extra hours in the office this week. An upset in San Antonio, but one that many of us expected, with even Las Vegas calling the game a push once it was confirmed that Kelly Stouffer was unable to play. Tommy Maddox got the start for the outlaws, and he had a solid, if unconvincing game, but Michigan came in expecting a close game and preaching mistake-free football, and they came very close to providing that for their small contingency of fans tucked away in the north end zone of the AlamoDome. For most of the fans in the stands, those sporting Outlaws colors, the game was an exercise in frustration. Michigan dominated the first half, with Tyrone Wheatley carrying the ball 13 times for 42 yards and the Panthers milking the clock on their way to 3 field goals. Texas was able to hold them out of the endzone, but their offense was proving difficult to kick start. Michigan keyed on Reggie Cobb, who managed only 21 yards in the first half. Texas did get a break when Michigan TE Desmond Clark stretched for a first down and lost the ball, giving Texas the ball in field goal territory. They ended up getting the 3 and went into the half down only 9-6 despite being outgained 188-103 in the half. Michigan opened the second half with yet another field goal drive, using up nearly 9 minutes slowly progressing the ball down the field. Texas had a shot to stop them, but a 3rd and 5 play that at first looked like a certain sack for Mark Mraz turned into one of the patented Flutie scrambles that saw him just pass the line before falling out of bounds. Down 12-3, Texas needed a big play. They got that big play from the league’s reception leader, possession specialist Shawn Collins, not known for blazing speed. Collins caught a simple hook route, one of dozens this year, but this time he managed to spin away from the initial tackle and 48 yards later he was in the endzone, the first 6-pointer of the game, and a score that brought Texas back into the game, down only 2. That is how the 3rd quarter would close, with Outlaw fans feeling that the game might just turn their way. The Outlaw faithful lost some hope when on their next possession Michigan managed to break through and score the TD after so many prior drives ended on the foot of Brett Conway. Texas helped Michigan get there with a huge offsides penalty called on 3rd and 3, and then a defensive pass interference call in the endzone to put the ball on the 1. Michigan pounded it in, with Wheatley diving off center left to increase the Michigan lead to 9 points. Texas would get the lead back down to 2, but it took them too long to do so. The Maddox to Eugene Baker TD toss came with only 37 seconds to play, and when the onside kick was safely recovered by Michigan’s Butch Rolle, the Panthers celebrated as Flutie used the victory formation to wind down the clock. Texas, who seemed to own the Central Division for much of the year, lost the division title last week, and bowed out of the playoffs this week. Fans will look at the injury to Kelly Stouffer as the reason, but in this game Maddox did enough to win, but the defense simply could not finish on 3rd down and get Michigan off the field, at least not before they got in field goal range, and that consistency on offense helped the Panthers advance to a huge game next week at Los Angeles. Another tooth and nail battle, this time with two aggressive defenses making their mark on the game. On a humid Sunday afternoon at Three Rivers, just under 50,000 fans showed up to watch their Maulers take on the Renegades in a matchup of the two hottest clubs in the league. The focus of both defenses was on the halfback position, with Pittsburgh trying to limit Terry Kirby’s role as a receiver and Orlando hoping to bottle up Terrell Davis’s power run game. Both teams had midling success in their missions. Kirby would be the leading receiver for Orlando with 6 catches, but only gained 32 yards in the air (along with a rough 19 on the ground). Orlando managed to hold Terrell Davis to only 63 yards rushing, but his 3rd quarter TD was a huge momentum shift in the game. Pittsburgh began strong, owning the first quarter by possessing the ball for 9 minutes in the period and putting up 2 Scott Blanton field goals to take a 6-0 lead. But, in the 2nd the tide turned after a Charlie Batch pick. The takeaway inspired the Renegades, who would go ahead 7-6 on an Amos Zeroue 9 yard run on that drive. After shutting down the Maulers in 3 plays on the next possession, Orlando expanded their lead to 14-6 on their next possession, moving the ball down the field with short passes to Reidel Anthony and Tamarick Vanover before Zeroue again plunged into the endzone. At the half, Orlando held the edge. Pittsburgh began the 2nd half with the ball and in two big plays they turned the momentum. The first was a screen to Davis that went for 47 yards, shattering the image of Davis as a power back without much of a receiving game. 2 plays later, Davis took a pitch on a sweep to the wide side and plowed his way 16 yards for a score. Pittsburgh went for 2 and Charlie Batch used a pass-run option on a bootleg to find the corner pylon and convert. The score was now knotted up at 14 and all the momentum was on the Mauler sideline. That momentum became destiny when Scott Mitchell fumbled after being hit by Godfrey Miles. The ball was recovered by Patrick Surtain, and Pittsburgh converted with a field goal to take the lead once again. The defense would continue to cause problems for Orlando throughout the second half, picking off Mitchell 2 drives later and causing the offensive line to get called for holding on 3 separate occasions. Orlando still had a chance after the 4th Mauler field goal put Pittsburgh up by 6 at 20-14, but on their final drive a miscue on a 3rd and 7 caused two Orlando receivers to compete for the ball and knock it away from each other. That forced a 4th and 7 and a pressured Mitchell could not get the ball to Donald Driver on a desperation toss, ending Orlando’s comeback hope and giving the win to the homestanding Maulers. Pittsburgh now heads to Memphis to face the top seeded Showboats. They will need a huge defensive performance and a big day from Davis to upend the 12-4 Showboats in what should be a packed Liberty Bowl. The weekend concluded with a Mile High matchup that took an unexpected turn when Denver QB Mark Brunell was knocked out of the game with a hit to the head that left him woozy and unbalanced after only 1 quarter. Eric Wilhelm and Jeff Lewis would have to split time for three full quarters if the Gold were to pull this one out. Brunell had been looking good prior to the injury, completing all but 3 pass attempts on his way to 111 yards but the Gold had been unable to turn this success into points. Houston’s defense was effective in shutting down 3rd downs and as the Gold tried to adapt to a new QB Houston took advantage, building a 10-0 lead at the half. Denver’s defense was also having a solid day, limiting Kevin Faulk to only 23 yards on the day, and Houston made the odd choice to mix Faulk in with Mario Greer rather than Dorsey Levins, perhaps believing that Denver was more susceptible to speedy outside runs than a power game. That strategy did not seem effective as the Gamblers were limited in their success on the ground, and Greer averaged only 1.6 yards per carry. Denver started the comeback as the 3rd quarter began, with Eric Wilhelm in charge the Gold mounted two fairly successful drives, both ending with field goals, to bring the game to a manageable 10-6 deficit after 3 quarters. Most of the 4th quarter was a war of attrition, with neither offense able to muster anything, but with just over 3 minutes left in the game, Denver got their big break. Chuck Hartlieb tried to squeeze a ball in to Antonio Freeman, but was picked off by Denver CB Bruce Pickens. That play sparked the Gold and 6 plays later Wilhelm found Odessa Turner on a fade route to give the Gold the lead at 13-10. Houston would need a 2-minute drill comeback to pull off the road win, what they got instead was a tipped ball at their own 22 yard line, a ball caught by veteran LB Kurt Gouveia, and that led to another Gold field goal with 48 seconds left to play, boosting the Denver lead to 6 and forcing desperation throws from Hartlieb as the game concluded. Denver comes out on top despite losing Brunell. Early signs point to him being out next week as the Gold face the St. Louis Knights and the big question will be whether the Gold will go with Wilhelm or the more athletic but also more raw talent of Jeff Lewis at QB when they face the Knights. A tough break but a good win for a plucky Gold squad in their only home game of the postseason. LEGACY IN THE FRONT OFFICE Just as we expected, the Philadelphia Stars this week held a press conference to celebrate both the coaching career of retiring head man Raymond Berry, and to announce his replacement, Chicago Machine DC Jim Mora Jr.. The Stars recognized Berry for his successes, including a 1994 league title, five playoff appearances and an overall win-loss record of 65-47. This past year, a 5-11 disappointment, was the only losing season in Berry’s tenure with the team. He will be succeeded by Mora, who has built up a reputation as an innovative coach with good motivational skills. His success with Chicago has been limited, but in prior stops in both the USFL and NFL he has impressed with his ability to maximize the talents of his defensive players. He now joins a team that finished 24th in points allowed and yardage allowed, a major defensive overhaul to be sure. He also will immediately have to work to see if Philly can convince QB Bobby Hebert to remain active, as it has been rumored that the “Cajun Cannon” was considering retirement. Mora is, of course, a legacy coach, son of current Memphis head man, and former 2-time USFL Champion coach with the Stars back in the 80s. That might come with some extra pressure, but it also comes with extra forgiveness if it takes Mora more than a year or two to turn around the Stars fortunes. ON THE MARKET It did not take long for the Wild Card losers to join the fray of the coaching carousel. By Tuesday, Texas DC Ray Rhodes was already lined up to meet with representatives of both the Portland Thunder and the Atlanta Fire. Rhodes has been a hot commodity for the past two years, as Texas’s defense has been among the league’s best. This may be the year he gets an offer and joins the ranks of the league’s head coaching staffs. He may also acquire some attention from NFL clubs, but this close to the start of the NFL season that would likely not come until later in the year, when NFL teams start dealing with failure at midseason and look to shake up their coaching staffs. That gap gives other USFL squads an advantage to sign the highly valued DC as their coach. We would honestly be surprised if he waits for an NFL offer as there are 4 open positions in the USFL and not a ton of available talent with Rhodes’s record of success. SUMMER BOWLS LOCATED As we build up for Summer Bowl 1999 in Los Angeles’s Farmers Insurance Field, an announcement from league officials about Summer Bowl 2001 and 2002. We already knew that next year the summer’s biggest game would be held in Tampa Bay in 2000, following the rotation of divisions to the South. That means that 2001 would be a Central Division host and 2002 an Atlantic Division host. It was announced this week that from the bids offered the game has been awarded to Chicago for 2001 and Pittsburgh for 2002. This will mark the first time each city has hosted the event. Chicago beat out Houston for the honors in 2001 due to the desire of the league to favor cities with more hospitable August weather, along with concerns over the aging structure and limited amenities of the Astro Dome. Pittsburgh, normally not a high prestige market for the league’s biggest game, got a boost over Baltimore and New Jersey thanks to the scheduled opening of the city’s new stadium in fall of 2001, meaning that 2002 will be the first season in which the Maulers play in the new, as of yet unnamed, stadium. The league wanted to highlight the partnership between the Maulers and NFL Steelers as a model to follow around the league, and placing their title game in the Steel City’s newfangled and high tech stadium seemed a perfect option. So, it is LA in just 3 weeks, then Tampa, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Start planning your travel accordingly. Going into the Divisional round we have 8 clubs again to check in on. We all know the big injury story is Denver QB Mark Brunell, but what other issues might impact the league’s divisional games? BAL: TE C. Cleeland (IR), QB T. Green (OUT), FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo (Doubtful) Ayanbadejo’s is the only recent injury, but Baltimore often uses a 2 HB formation with Fenner and Cloud anyway, so this is likely not going to impact their offense much. BIR: LB Lorenzo Styles (IR), DT Mike Wells (Out) No new injuries to report from this week’s action, which leaves the Stallions in pretty good form. DEN: T Jason Odom (IR) M. Brunell (Out), L. O’Neil (Doubtful), FS Myron Guyton (Questionable) We still don’t know whether it will be Lewis or Wilhelm at QB for the Gold, and clearly the loss of Brunell is huge. But let’s not underestimate the other potential issue, the loss of edge rusher Leslie O’Neill, whose left ankle buckled under him and cost him the last drive of the game this week. He is listed as doubtful, which probably means he is actually not able to go at all. That too is a huge loss for the Gold. LA: HB M. Pittman (Out), CB Ray Crockett (Out), TE Tony McGee (Questionable) Losing Michael Pittman is a big concern for the Express. They have relied on a rotation between Pittman and Antowain Smith all season. The weight of the run game now falls entirely on Smith. The other injury which should concern Coach Galen Hall is the loss of Ray Crockett. The LA secondary is not very deep, and while moving up Wendell Davis into Crockett’s #2 position is not a big drop off, it leaves the nickel and dime slots in relatively untested hands. MEM: QB R. Johnson (Out), DT Montae Reager (Questionable), T Anthony Clement (Questionable) Memphis QB Rob Johnson is out after an injury to his hamstring in training, but let’s be honest, if the Showboats needed to put Johnson in the game instead of Shuler the situation was likely not good to begin with. They will go with Shuler, backed up by Gino Torretta, and, worst case scenario if they need a 3rd QB they can put wideout Bobby Olive in that position and run a wishbone. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. MGN: CB Billy Austin (Out) CB Chris Canty (D), T Jeff Wright (Q) Michigan came into the Wild Card round pretty healthy, they exited with a potential issue at corner with Chris Canty joining Billy Austin on the injured list. That is a concern to be sure, particularly as the Panthers will be facing a very dynamic passing offense in Los Angeles. PIT: G Erik Andolsek (Out) Pittsburgh is looking solid. They Get Rod Milstead back, which means the injury to Andolsek is actually not a big deal as Milstead will step right back to his starting position. A healthy squad overall. STL: TE Reggie Kelly (Out), QB Todd Collins (Out), T Greg Bishop (Q) The loss of Kelly is big, but it has been big for several weeks and the Knights have managed with Carlos Etheridge and Fred Baxter. While the Knights miss Todd Collins, Jim Miller has proven to be a solid game manager and occasional game winner when the pressure is on. Four playoff games down, four this week. Let’s get right to the scenarios and our picks. We went 2-2 with last week’s games. Let’s see if we can get them all right in the Divisional Round. #4 Pittsburgh Maulers (10-6) @ #1 Memphis Showboats (12-4) Saturday, July 17, 3pm ET on ABC Liberty Bowl Stadium Normally we would call this a David v. Goliath matchup between a plucky Wild Card team and the conference’s best club, but Pittsburgh has now won 7 games in a row, comes into this game with a nearly 100% healthy squad, and has exactly the combination of power running and solid defense that tends to play well in postseason games. That said, we are still going to pick Memphis in this one. Coach Mora knows playoff football, and he knows what he has in this squad. They have a legend at DE in Reggie White, an offense that can attack you in a myriad of ways, and a QB who is either going to be the league MVP or the Offensive Player of the Year. That is a lot for the Mauler defense to have to prepare for, while Memphis fully understands that if they can limit Terrell Davis it puts a ton of pressure on Charlie Batch, who simply is not ready for what Reggie White can bring to him. PREDICTION: We love Pittsburgh’s late season run, but it ends here. Memphis 31-16. #3 Denver Gold (10-6) @ #2 St. Louis Knights (10-6) Saturday, July 17, 7pm ET on FOX America’s Dome at St. Louis How great would this game be if Mark Brunell were at QB for Denver? That would have likely been a slugfest, but without him we just don’t see a good path for the Gold. Yes, rely on Rashaan Salaam on offense, hope your defense can get to Jim Miller and force some bad decisions. We know what Denver will try, but we don’t have much expectation it will work. We see St. Louis winning this one handily. PREDICTION: St. Louis 28 Denver 10. #5 Michigan Panthers (9-7) @ #1 Los Angeles Express (11-5) Sunday, July 18, 3pm ET on ESPN Farmers Insurance Field Michigan barely scraped by against Houston and their reward is to go up against the best team in the West. But, that said, this is a very untested LA club, for a team with 11 wins. They have a rookie QB, only one healthy HB, and won a lot of close games, not blowouts, all year. That said, Galen Hall knows what he is doing. This is not his first rodeo. But, we promised ourselves that we would not pick all 4 favorites, and this is a game where we could imagine Doug Flutie pulling off a surprise. So, we are going to take a risk and pick Michigan in the upset. PREDICTION: Flutie finds a way. Michigan 19 Los Angeles 17. #3 Birmingham Stallions (11-5) @ #2 Baltimore Blitz (12-4) Sunday, July 18, 7pm ET on ABC Aetna Stadium @ The Harbor Las Vegas has this game as Baltimore -1, which means that they don’t even trust home field advantage to favor the Blitz. It is a tough one to call. Baltimore has been consistent all year long, but Birmingham has also been a juggernaut for most of the season. Can Favre have another 5-TD day like he did this week or will the Blitz get to him and force some bad throws? Can Stephen Davis make a bigger impact? Will the combo of Fenner and Cloud allow Baltimore to control the clock and keep that Birmingham offense off the field? Our head says Baltimore can win this game, but our heart leans towards the Stallions, maybe because we just want to see them face off against Memphis a week later. Be honest, you want to see that too. PREDICTION: Birmingham edges Baltimore thanks to that passing game. Birmingham 33 Blitz 31

Win and you are in. Win and you get a bye week. Those tend to be pretty big incentivizers around pro football, and while those incentives certainly showed up for the Washington Federals and St. Louis Knights, they did not seem to be enough to make a difference in Texas, Houston, Seattle, Arizona, and most surprisingly, Tampa Bay. Now admittedly, Tampa also needed help to get in, but they did not get it from Division Champ Memphis, as the Showboats guaranteed that the Bandits would not be a factor in this year’s playoff race. It was the last week of the season, and that brings, as it always seems to, a mixed bag of teams desperate for a win, teams resting players before the postseason, and teams just slogging towards the offseason and the golf course. We start our review of the final week of this 1999 season with the one game that was Win & In for both clubs, which made it the Game of the Week. In the week’s only “Win and you are in” game, the Ohio Glory and Washington Federals both knew that a win got them a Wild Card and a loss ended their season. As many predicted the veteran and playoff savvy Federals had the edge when the pressure was on. They scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed as 10-0 became 20-3 and eventually 20-15. Kordel Stewart avoided Ohio’s meager pass rush and threw for 254 yards and 2 scores to lead the Federals. Kerry Collins outgained Stewart, with 374 yards, but Washington totally shuttered the Glory rushing attack, focusing on Eddie George and limiting him to only 15 yards on the ground. Second year corner Charles Woodson was the player of the game with 9 tackles, 4 passes defended and a pick as the Federals edged their way into the playoffs at 8-8. Ohio also finished the season at 8-8, their highest win total in club history but still not enough as they are eliminated on tie-breakers. Joey Galloway remains the biggest star on the Glory roster, catching 10 balls for 124 yards in the loss, but a total that gives him 1,715 for the year, winning the league receiving yards race against Birmingham’s Lawrence Dawsey, who did not play this week, along with most Stallions starters. MEM 37 TBY 10 A deeply disappointing conclusion to a deeply disappointing season for Tampa Bay as they were utterly dominated by the Memphis Showboats. The offense which had led them to a title last year sputtered and self-destructed, with Troy Aikman throwing 2 costly picks and Errict Rhett limited to only 33 yards rushing. When Memphis’s Bobby Olive is the game’s leading receiver with 121 yards, you know Tampa Bay is not in rhythm. The home loss removed Tampa Bay from Wild Card consideration and gives them a losing record one year after taking home the title. ATL 6 ORL 27 The Renegades come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, easily defeating a tired and listless Fire squad. Donald Driver wrapped up an outstanding rookie campaign with 5 receptions for 74 yards and Terry Kirby once again showed he is one of the game’s most versatile backs, with 18 carries and 5 receptions in the game. He finished the year with 947 yards rushing and 445 receiving. JAX 27 BIR 34 Danny Kanell got the start for Birmingham and looked good under center, throwing for 297 yards and 3 scores as Brett Favre was rested before next week’s home Wild Card game. Stephen Davis also returned to action, but was limited to only 15 plays from scrimmage and 3 carries. For Jacksonville, soon-to-be free agent Terrell Owens made his case with 10 receptions for 110 yards. PIT 16 PHI 14 The Maulers continued their win streak, but it was not easy as Philadelphia played hard. Will Furrer got the start over a dinged up Bobby Hebert and another potential free agent, Darrell Thompson, rushed the ball 20 times as the Stars kept the game close. In the end Charlie Batch was able to lead Pittsburgh into range for Scott Blanton, who kicked home the winning field goal to boost Pittsburgh to the #4 seed and a home playoff game. NJ 6 BAL 19 A long year of offensive futility ended for the Generals as it has been all year, with an underwhelming showing. Baltimore played most of their starters in hopes that Memphis would lose and the Blitz could snag the #1 seed. They did not but Baltimore gave the home crowd another W to celebrate as a Malcolm Floyd TD and 4 Grammatica field goals were more than enough to put away the Generals. NOR 25 TEX 22 Is it another late season Texas swoon? The Outlaws could not muster enough to win at home against a game Breaker club, losing the division title and the bye week to the Knights. With Reggie Cobb sidelined by a nagging ankle injury, Rodney Thomas, set to be a free agent this offseason, ran the ball 20 times but for only 55 yards. New Orleans finished the year strong, ending at 7-9, but is it enough for ownership to keep Mike Ditka on? HOU 3 STL 36 The Knights looked primed for a playoff run, demolishing the Houston Gamblers behind 77 yards and 2 scores from Ahman Green. The defense sacked Chuck Hartlieb 7 times and picked him off twice as the Knights clearly set the tone for what they hope is a long playoff run. The win, paired with Texas’s lost, gives the Knights the division title and a bye next week. Houston, despite losing, manages to back their way into the playoffs at 8-8. CHI 20 MGN 17 Michigan came out flat, despite keeping their starters in, and a Machine club that has had a solid second half of the season, played as if this were their playoff game. The combo or Ricky Watters and Duce Staley looked good, combining for 151 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Michigan, having already clinched a playoff spot, kept the game close, but never seemed in control. ARZ 14 DEN 34 The Gold burst out with 21 points in the first quarter as they played to lock up a home Wild Card game. Arizona, with only a very slim chance of obtaining a playoff spot, could not respond. Rashaan Salaam finished the year with a 113 yard performance, while, for Arizona, Jake Plummer ended up as the leading rusher with 91 yard and 2 scores as he scrambled and bootlegged throughout the game. SEA 10 POR 17 Portland has little to celebrate this year, but knocking Seattle out of playoff contention with a Week 16 home win might be their highlight. Akili Smith continued to struggle at QB, but 115 yards and 2 scores from Robert Drummond was enough to knock off the Dragons despite a huge 184-yard day from rookie David Boston. LA 21 OAK 35 It was a battle of backups in Oakland as the Invaders took advantage of LA resting their big names and got a rare win to end the year. Brent Pease played solidly for the Express, but with the #1 seed well in hand the fire was no there against their in-state rivals. Oakland got 109 yards rushing and 2 scores from their running back duo of Stacy and Davis. Rookie Marty Booker had his best game, catching 4 balls for 146 yards, including a massive 73 yard catch & run. This week’s results have finalized the playoff standings and set up 4 Wild Card games for next week. At the top nothing changed, with Memphis and Los Angeles owning the #1 seed. St. Louis, after weeks trailing the Texas Outaws, got the results they wanted and moved into the #2 seed in the West by winning the Central Division. Baltimore has the #2 in the East. Hosting Wild Card games will be #3 seeds Birmingham and Denver along with #4 seeds Pittsburgh and Texas, all with 10 wins or more. Michigan and Houston back into the #5 and #6 seeds in the West, while Orlando and Washington get #5 and #6 in the East with wins this week. The big losers on Week 16 include Texas, missing out on a division title with a bad loss this week, Ohio and Seattle, who could not reach 9-7 and a playoff berth, and two teams picked for Summer Bowl 1999, as both Arizona and Tampa Bay finish the year a deeply disappointing 7-9. Atlanta finishes with the worst record in the league at 2-14, assuring them the #1 draft pick in the 2000 draft. They are followed by Oakland (4-12), Philadelphia (5-11), then Chicago, Portland, Jacksonville and New Jersey, all at 6-10. Kudos to the League’s Best Let’s start our stories with this year’s leaders in the major statistical categories. Only 1 new league record this year and so we begin by recognizing the now 2-time league sack leader, Chris Doleman of Orlando. Doleman dueled with Phil Hansen of New Jersey and the Dynamic Duo of Sinclair and Pittman in Houston all season long, but a huge 5-sack game and a late surge put him over the top. The new sack record for the USFL sits at a painful 29 sacks in a 16 game season. We feel for you QB’s, with edge rushers like the ones on display now in the league it is amazing any team gets through a year with their starting QB intact. Kudos as well to a player who left the frying pan and ended up not in the fire, but on fire. Terrell Davis wins his first league rushing title in a year when he left New Orleans and was unceremoniously dumped by Mike Ditka in favor of rookie Ricky Williams. Williams had a strong year with 1,078 yards rushing, but Davis had the last laugh, not only winning the rushing title with nearly 1,300 yards, but by helping Pittsburgh win 6 straight to enter the playoffs as the #4 seed, while New Orleans finished 7-9 and Coach Ditka was shown the door. Two more first-time winners in our league leaders as Heath Shuler had by far his best season as a pro, leading the league in QB Rating at 117.9. His 4937 yards and 41 TDs may be second to Brett Favre in those categories, but he won the bigger prize, leading Memphis to a division title over Birmingham. In Ohio. The 8-8 finish for the Glory was disappointing, but don’t lay that on Joey Galloway, who proved once again that he is a major deep threat and a solid all around receiver. Galloway finished the year with 1,715 yards on 112 receptions, good enough to edge out Lawrence Dawsey for the title, another Memphis win over Birmingham. Finally, in a very rough year in Atlanta, the play of LB Mo Lewis should be highlighted. The Fire defense was, let’s say, not good. That is a kind thing to say, but Lewis was a rock. His 129 tackles were as much about his talent as the inability of others on the team to make plays. We are sure he would rather make 80 tackles on a contender, but in Atlanta he and HB Tiki Barber may be the best players as the club again tries to build a winner. Black Monday Arrives We hinted at it first, then stated it in our discussion of Terrell Davis, but Black Monday did claim a victim in Breakers’ head coach Mike Ditka. The team invested heavily in Ditka and his scheme to sign Ricky Williams, and while Williams looked good, the team did not, finishing 7-9 and out of playoff contention all year. Only some late season wins when the playoffs had already been forgotten helped the club look like better than a cellar dweller. Ditka, who has had issues with talented players on his squad, particularly on offense, over the years, just could never reach the heights with New Orleans that he did when with the NFL Bears. His defense this year gave up 346 points, which put them solidly in the lower half of USFL clubs, not exactly what the team was hoping for in a make or break year for Big Mike. So, Ditka is done, and now the Breakers have to reassess and rebuild around LB Lamar Lathon and HB Ricky Williams. Will they stick with Jamie Martin at QB? Will they upgrade at receiver? And who will they add to put some aggression in that D? Lots of questions for a club that may not be as good as their 7 wins might indicate. The second Black Monday victim was very much expected, with Sherm Lewis being let go after three very sub-par seasons at Bobby Dowd. Lewis came to Atlanta with a reputation as an offensive guru, and while he has had some success with the run game of Tiki Barber, the offense as a whole has never worked. Barber had a major backslide this year, not finishing in the Top 10 running backs, and that may be in large part due to the chaos at QB which made the Atlanta passing game a bit of a joke. Atlanta had brought in Jeff George, but he proved both injury prone and ineffective at creating a deep ball attack. By midseason he had been traded to Chicago and Atlanta tried to win with former UGA Bulldog Eric Zeier under center. That too proved a failure and the last few games of the year they turned the ball over to rookie Aaron Brooks, and he played very much as a rookie does. So, with an offense that scored only 233 points, and a defense that gave up a whopping 442, there was not much to celebrate in the Peachtree City. So, Sherm Lewis is gone and now Atlanta will look for a 3rd coach in 6 years. Having failed with 2 NFL guys in Dan Reeves and Sherm Lewis, the Fire remain the sad sacks of the class of 1995 expansion clubs. Will they turn to a college coach? Or perhaps a USFL coordinator to right the ship and build something? They need to do something soon, the new car smell has left the franchise and the smell they have now is not one that will attact a lot of fans to Bobby Dowd on a hot & humid summer day. Those were the two releases on Black Monday, to go along with the firing of Dan Reeves in Oakland, and the seemingly voluntary departure of Vince Tobin in Portland. No news yet on those two positions, but it is early. We also know that Raymond Berry has announced he will retire after 7 pretty good years (1999 excluded) in Philadelphia. We are awaiting a farewell sendoff, and we fully expect that as soon as it is set, the Stars will announce that Jim Mora Jr. will be the new head coach of the Stars. That should get the Stars fanbase amped up again after a very disappointing 5-11 campaign. Looking at our 8 Wild Card teams, there are some situations here that could require some adjustments. Here is the injury forecast for all 8 clubs. BIR: LB Lorenzo Styles (IR), DT Mike Wells (Out) The Stallions are getting Stephen Davis back, and he should be the lead back this week after just a few snaps last week. Styles and Wells being out could mean the inside run might be available for Washington. PIT: LB Steve Tovar (Out), G Rod Milstead (Doubtful), SS Sam Shade (Doubtful) Pittsburgh has gotten used to paying without Milstead, who has missed the 2nd half of the season. Losing Shade impacts the secondary, which is not good if Orlando gets McCardell back to pair with Driver. ORL: FB Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala (Out), WR Keenan McCardell (Probable) Getting McCardell at full strength should help Scott Mitchell out, but losing Chris “F-M” will be an issue for the run game. Expect them to compensate with a lot of 1-back formation for Kirby. WSH: DE Bobby Hamilton (IR), T Grant Williams (Out), LB Winston Moss (Out), FS Bennie Thompson (Doubtful). Moss’s injury has certainly impacted the Federal D, and now likely missing on Bennie Thompson as well could be an issue for the secondary, especially against Birmingham. TEX: QB Kelly Stouffer (Out), CB Jerome Henderson (Out) Only 2 players definitely out this week, but when one is your starting QB, that is a concern. Stouffer’s absence puts a lot of pressure on Jack Pardee to prepare a game plan that Tommy Maddox can succeed in. DEN: T Jason Odom (IR), FS Myron Guyton (Questionable) The loss of Odom is a pretty big deal, especially for HB Rashaan Salaam. Expect Denver to shift a lot of their runs to the left side of the line, but expect Michigan to also prepare for that. MGN: CB Billy Austin The Panthers come into the Wild Card playoffs with a pretty healthy club, so no worries here. HOU: DE Kavika Pittman (IR), CB Ashley Ambrose (Questionable) With two of their top defenders out for this game, the pressure will be on Chuck Hartlieb and the offense to deliver, because the odds of Houston holding even a Tommy Maddox led Outlaws squad down without Pittman and Ambrose seem slim. Wildcard weekend! This should be good. We have a wide range of teams in this year’s pool, some who have been at or near the top of the league power poll all year long, some that seem to be backing into the playoffs, and some that just barely clawed their way into a low seed. That could make for some uneven games, or a wild upset. Let’s take a look at our 4 playoff games for this week and see what stands out. #6 Washington Federals (8-8) @ #3 Birmingham Stallions (11-5) Saturday, July 10 @ 3pm ET Legion Field About as diametrically opposed as two teams can get. Birmingham flirted with a division title and top seed in the East all season long only to fall 1 game short. They are all about offense, and particularly passing offense. Brett Favre leads a talented group of receivers that is back to full strength with the return of Ernest Givens in what may be his final year in the league. Givens, Dawsey, and Marcus Robinson are a nightmare for defenses. The goal for the Stallions, as always, is to get out to an early lead and then rush the passer to disrupt any comeback attempt. In rookie Mike Rucker (20 sacks) they have a perfect weapon for pressuring opposing QBs and preventing teams from coming back against an otherwise iffy defense. For Washington the story and the strategy are quite different. The Federals, who won the title 2 years ago on defense, rely heavily on ball control, clock management, and stuffing the run. That last item won’t help them this week, so they will need to regear their D-line to rush the passer. With Jerome Brown in the center of that line they can be very disruptive, but expect them to also blitz as needed to put pressure on Favre, who can throw some bad picks from time to time when under pressure. On offense Washington will try to control the ball with their run game, led by Barry Word, and move Kordell Stewart out of the pocket to avoid Rucker and the Stallion pass rush. The Feds cannot win a shootout, so they need to keep the game close throughout and hope for 1-2 big plays that turn the tide their way. PREDICTION: Washington needed a final week win against Ohio just to get here, and we are not feeling much confidence that their defense is well-suited to stop the Stallion passing attack. We see some potential for this to get out of hand early. Birmingham wins, 31-17. #5 Michigan Panthers (9-7) @ #4 Texas Outlaws (10-6) Saturday, July 10 @ 7pm ET AlamoDome Both Texas and Michigan are capable of playing lights out football, but both are also capable of laying an egg. With Kelly Stouffer out last week, Texas blew a chance to win the division and get a bye. That loss means they must now play this week and very likely without Stouffer once again. For Michigan, it has been an up and down season every week, and it is hard to predict who will show up for the Panthers this week. Michigan has talent on offense in the presence of Doug Flutie, Ricky Watters, and wideout Jeff Campbell. It is not an explosive offense, but it is one that can keep the chains moving and slowly accrue points. The defense is middling, but can disrupt an offense if they can avoid the big play. That would seem to be the key for Michigan, play ball control, move the chains, offense and avoid giving up big plays on defense. For Texas the big question mark has to be the QB position. Will we get a big day from Tommy Maddox, like the one we saw 2 weeks ago, or will we get the Tommy Maddox who did not impress as a starter in New Jersey? The defense is stout and has the tools to limit Michigan’s offensive options, but Texas needs to score points. Our key to the game is the play of the run game. If Reggie Cobb and Rodney Thomas can reach 100 yards or more combined, that bodes well for the Outlaws. PREDICTION: Yes, Texas has a long history of fading down the stretch, but Michigan has not exactly been on a tear either. We think that the combination of home field advantage and a solid run game may be enough for Texas to pull this one out. The one X factor is Flutie. When he is average, so is Michigan, but every once in a while the Flutie Magic shows up and then all bets are off. We pick Texas to win, but don’t hold us to it. Outlaws 24-22. #5 Orlando Renegades (9-7) @ #4 Pittsburgh Maulers (10-6) Sunday, July 11 @ 12pm ET Three Rivers Stadium This is the game no one wants to miss. Pittsburgh and Orlando have been without a doubt the two hottest clubs of the season’s second half, with the Maulers on a 6-game winning streak and the Renegades only 1 back with a 5-game streak. Neither team is flashy, neither one has huge media stars on the roster, but both teams are solid in every phase of the game and both have the capacity to wear down the opposition. The key for Pittsburgh is the play of Terrell Davis. After his issues with Mike Ditka in New Orleans, the bruising back was traded this offseason to the Maulers and he responded by winning the league rushing title with 1,234 yards. Davis can set the tone for the Maulers, and if he gets success on early downs it makes life that much easier for Charlie Batch to find receivers open on play action and convert on 3rd down. The defense is good, but not dominant. Patrick Surtain has been strong in the secondary, so that could help deal with rookie Donald Driver of Orlando, but they are going to need an answer for Terry Kirby if they want to win. Orlando relies a lot on Kirby’s versatility, used almost as often as a receiver than as a rusher. Scott Michtell had a very good year, finishing 4th in the QB Ratings at 98.9, with 23 TDs, but he also threw 12 picks. If he is careless with the ball, Orlando is sunk. Slow and steady will win this race for the ‘Gades. The other huge factor, and we mean huge, is DE Chris Doleman. Doleman won his second consecutive sack title this year, edging out Phil Hansen, and setting a new league record with 29 sacks in 16 games. He could give Pittsburgh fits all day. The Maulers will need to be successful with the run just to protect Batch from the big and fast DE of Orlando. PREDICTION: As much as we love the year that Terrell Davis has had, Orlando can stack the line on early downs and then let Doleman loose on 3rd down. That is a bad formula if you are Charlie Batch. If Orlando can play steady on offense, the combination of Mitchell and Kirby can break down Pittsburgh. We like Orlando 27-21. #6 Houston Gamblers (8-8) @ #3 Denver Gold (10-6) Sunday, July 11 @ 4pm ET Mile High Stadium Denver, as they so often do, seemed to sneak into a high seed and a home playoff game. We have all been so enamored with the rise of the Express in the Pacific that we pretty much ignored a pretty solid season for the Gold. But that is the thing, Denver always seems to have a solid, but forgettable, season that ends with a playoff defeat. Is this the week that defeat comes? Perhaps. Houston wins with defense, that much is clear. But since losing Kawika Pittman to injury, the dynamic duo up front has become just Michael Sinclair, and as good as he is, without Pittman opposite him teams can double up and greatly improve their chance of an upright QB. Add to this that Mark Brunell is a leftie, which means he is opposite Sinclair’s natural side and the chance of blind side sacks are greatly diminished. Houston may try moving Sinclair around to deal with this but any time you move a player out of their usual position you risk that player making mistakes. Houston’s best chance is to see if they can get some production out of the combo of Dorsey Levins and Kevin Faulk, even if that is through the screen game, where Faulk excels. Without a solid run game you put Chuck Hartlieb in a tough spot. Denver too has a strong pass rush, led by Leslie O’Neill, and they feast on one-dimensional teams. Houston needs to balance what they do and Hartlieb needs to stay clean and in the game mentally. If he starts throwing picks or missing on 3rd down, Houston could be in big trouble. PREDICTION: We think Denver gets through this round. Houston has lost 2 in a row and has been inconsistent all year. Denver has been the more consistent team and has that huge Mile High home field advantage, if only for this week. Next week could be tough for the Gold, but we think they have this game in hand. Denver 24-14.

PLAYOFF SEEDING EAST: 1-MEM 2-BAL 3-BIR 4-PIT 5-ORL 6-WSH WEST: 1-LA 2-STL 3-DEN 4-TEX 5-MGN 6-HOU