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A lot of clinching, and a few clubs giving their fans angina from the stress. With only 1 week left in the regular season, we are down to only 3 playoff spots left, but in both the East and West Conferences there is tension as several clubs are on the fringe. This week’s games gave division titles to LA, Memphis and Baltimore, but Texas’s loss (both on the scoreboard and the training room) means that they are still needing one more win to avoid being surpassed by last year’s conference champs from St. Louis. We also got one of the most unlikely upsets in recent years as a 1-win club not only knocked off the defending champs, but may have cost them a chance to repeat, potentially knocking them from playoff contention. That is a huge upset, and it leads off our recap of Week 15 in the USFL. Is this the greatest football game ever played? No. Does it involve two title contenders? Also, no. But, when you get an upset of this nature, one which has the worst club in the league somehow upending the defending champion, and very likely costing them any chance at a playoff appearance, it must be highlighted. And so we are looking at Atlanta’s shocking upset of Tampa Bay as this week’s Game of the Week. The Fire entered the game as home underdogs, 13 point underdogs to a Tampa Bay Bandit squad that was fighting for their playoff life. All indications were that Atlanta would be flat, playing out the string for a head coach, Sherm Lewis, who was likely about to lose his job. Tampa Bay was expected to roll over the Fire to get their record up to 8-7 and in the mix for a Wild Card and perhaps a solid playoff run. So what happened? It appears that Tampa Bay believed the hype. They came out flat from the start, with no sense of urgency and no real fear of the Fire. Through three quarters, it seemed they were well in control of the game, leading 16-3 with only a quarter to play. They had not played well, but Atlanta did not seem to be posing much a a threat with rookie Aaron Brooks at the helm, so they did not need their best game. Sure, Tiki Barber was having a decent day (He would finish with 83 yards on 18 carries), but Tampa had gotten a TD from Randy Moss, and had tacked on 3 field goals for what felt like a pretty comfortable lead. Even when Atlanta had their first truly solid drive to start the 4th quarter, a drive ending with Blair Thomas plunging into the endzone to drop the lead to 6, there did not appear to be panic on the Tampa Bay sideline. That lack of urgency proved to be fatal for Tampa Bay. After the Atlanta score, the Bandits seemed content to play the clock, run the ball, and walk away with a win. What happened instead was that they ended up punting after only 1 first down and giving a team with nothing to lose a shot at winning for only the 2nd time all season. With 2:51 left to play, Atlanta took over at their own 27 and, for whatever reason, decided that was the moment to make a stand and play like their season depended on it. It began with a simple 5-yard dumpoff from Brooks to Frank Wycheck, but a missed tackle turned the short pass into a 13-yard gain. Tiki Barber then went off-tackle for 5, followed by a quick completion to Reggie Barlow for 6, and another Atlanta first down. At this point things started getting serious on the Tampa Bay sideline, as a visibly troubled George Seifert started urgently communicating back and forth with his DC in the booth. After a miss on a 1st down throw, Brooks again found a receiver open against the Tampa zones. Deems May for 7, followed by a draw play to Barber that netted 6 yards and another first down. Tampa tried a blitz on the next play, their first one of the series, but that left Frank Wycheck open for an 8 yard gainer. And then, on 2nd and 2, Atlanta made Tampa pay for their lackadaisical attitude. The Bandits played the run, expecting the ball to go to Barber. Brooks faked the handoff, pulled the ball back in and found Terrance Mathis in single coverage out to the left. He lofted the ball towards the endzone, Mathis ran under it, and rolled to the ground, touchdown in hand. The game was tied, the few Tampa Bay fans who made the trip were besides themselves, and the small crowd of Atlanta faithful finally had something to celebrate this season. When Jason Elam’s kick went through the uprights, the Fire were on top with only 17 seconds left to play. Tampa Bay had fallen from an almost assured playoff spot to 7-8 and very likely needing help in Week 16 to have a shot at defending their title. It was a brutal choke for the Bandits, and a moment that teaches all of us not to ever downplay an opponent or assume victory just for showing up. ORL 26 BIR 14 While Orlando’s road win in Birmingham was nowhere near as shocking as Atlanta’s win, it still has major repercussions. Not only is Orlando now well in the mix for a Wild Card, but the loss means that the Stallions are out of the chase for the Division title, losing the tiebreaker with Memphis even if they finish with the same record. Orlando did it thanks to yet another huge day for Orlando’s defensive monster, Chris Doleman. The big and fast DE was a nightmare for Brett Favre all day, sacking the veteran 5 times, a day that moved Doleman into the league lead, and into the defensive POTY conversation. Add in 108 yards rushing and 2 TDs for Terry Kirby and the Renegades look like they are hitting their stride just in time to get into the postseason dance. BAL 17 WSH 16 The Battle of I-95 came down to one play as neither defense gave an inch in this game. Washington outgained Baltimore 403 to 290 but was frustrated time and again in the red zone by the bend-but-don’t-break approach the Blitz took. Jeff Garcia was sacked 6 times by a tenacious Federals defense, but on one key play, he got the time he needed, finding Lamar Thomas for what would prove to be the winning TD. With the win Baltimore locked up their first division title since 1996 while Washington fell to 7-8 and potentially out of the playoffs unless they get some help next week. TEX 7 MGN 27 Kelly Stouffer suffered another injury, this time on the 5th play of the game, and this time one which could cost him 1-2 weeks of action and his club a possible first place finish and a bye. With Tommy Maddox under center the Outlaws looked flustered and unable to move the ball, while Michigan took advantage of every mistake to put points on the board. Doug Flutie went 30 for 38 and threw 2 TDs to lead the Panthers to a big win and a playoff spot. ARZ 27 LA 6 Another game impacted by a QB injury, though in this case Cade McNown’s concussion will likely not keep him out of any playoff games. Expect LA to rest him next week as the Express have clinched the division and a bye week, but his absence in this game meant that Arizona could keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Jake Plummer threw 7 balls for 104 yards to Carl Pickens, and found Rocket Ismail on another scoring throw that helped the Wranglers get a road win and stay alive. HOU 3 CHI 16 Chicago continues to be a thorn in the side of potential playoff teams as their win at home this week kept Houston from locking up a spot. The defense played its best game of the year for the Machine, limiting Chuck Hartlieb to only 160 yards passing while also shutting down the two-headed rush attack of Levins and Faulk. Chicago continues to play hard for Coach Mornhinweg, and the defense is definitely proving to be a strength for this club. Houston can still get in with a win next week as they control their own destiny. DEN 14 SEA 32 Seattle took advantage of Denver’s playoff clinch the week before, coming out firing on all cylinders as they scored 24 unanswered points to put the game out of reach. Both Eric Metcalf and TE Ken Dilger went over 100 yards receiving as John Kitna topped 300 for only the 2nd time this season in the win. The defense also held Rashaan Salaam in check (41 yards) and picked off Mark Brunell twice as the Dragons remained in Wild Card contention. They need a Houston loss and some other results to even out the tiebreakers and get that last slot, but at least they are still alive. PIT 31 NJ 6 The Maulers won their 5th in a row and locked up a Wild Card by shutting down the Generals in the Meadowlands. New Jersey could only muster 2 field goals against the Mauler D while Terrell Davis kept the rock moving, rushing for 122 yards and 2 scores to give Charlie Batch and the offense all the points they would need. Quintin Jones also had a big day with a forced fumble that he recovered and ran back for 6 to help the cause. PHI 23 OHI 36 Ohio moved back over .500 and one win away from their first playoff trip with a convincing win at home. Eddie George (95) and Keith Woodside (38) combined to lead a rushing attack that produced 133 yards and 2 scores. Qadry Ismail, one of the best free agent signings this year, added 2 scores as well as the Glory knocked off a tired and disheartened Stars squad. News that their coach was retiring did not produce a wave of energy for the Stars, who will finish the year in last place in the division for the first time in a long time. MEM 25 JAX 3 Memphis found an answer to the Jacksonville offense, something few have been able to do in recent weeks. The Showboats limited Jacksonville to a paltry 139 total yards and an 0-for-10 nightmare on third downs. Reggie White and company harassed Chris Chandler all game, and the offense got 2 TDs from FB Larry Centers as the Showboats locked up their first division title since 1992. STL 21 NOR 3 The Knights pulled within 1 game of Texas thanks to a stifling defensive performance against the Breakers. Six sacks and three picks for the Knights’ defense made life miserable for the Breaker offense all day. The offense struggled a bit, but scored 21 points thanks to the powerful leg of Ryan Longwell, who set a league record with 7 field goals in the game. POR 19 OAK 32 Apparently when your head coach resigns with 2 games left in the season, there is not a lot of desire to play hard for him on the way out. That is the lesson learned in Portland where the Thunder showed little spark and fell to the Oakland Invaders. Troy Davis had a strong day, catching 6 balls for 69 yards to go with his 45 yards rushing as Oakland won for the first time since Week 6. CHRIS DOLEMAN GOES OFF Just when we thought that the sack race would be between Phil Hansen and Michael Sinclair, last year’s sack champion makes a major statement. His 5-sack game against Birmingham ties Hansen’s league record with 5 sacks in one game. Doleman was all but unstoppable in this game, even when facing double teams from the rattled Birmingham line. He came close to setting a new record with a 6th sack on a couple of occasions, but in both Favre was able to get the ball away, though he did get called for intentional grounding on one of those throws. Doleman’s huge day also sets a new season record with 27 sacks in one year. He has a legitimate chance at getting to 30 sacks with the game next week, and, more importantly, the Renegades may just ride his QB-destroying run right into the playoffs. A win next week and they are in the Wild Card round, so QB’s beware. DAVIS PULLING AWAY For most of the season we have seen the league rushing lead shift hands (or is it feet?) with Robert Drummond, Ahman Green, Rashaan Salaam, and Terrell Davis all taking their turns atop the leaderboard, but with 1 game left it looks like Pittsburgh’s Davis is pulling away. He currently has a 85 yard lead on Rashaan Salaam in 2nd place, and with Salaam likely to get some rest in Week 16, it is Davis’s title for the taking. Not a bad way to get revenge on Coach Ditka and the Breakers who traded him in order to make room for Ricky Williams to take the spotlight in New Orleans. Now, Williams has proven to be a very good rookie, currently 5th in rushing with 1,022 yards in 15 games, but Davis is making a statement. If he can win the title, which now looks likely, and get his club into the playoffs, it will be a nicely chilled plate of revenge being served. GOING DEEP While Davis pulls away with the rushing title, and Shuler and Favre battle for the MVP, over at the league receiving title it is still anyone’s guess who will take it home. Yes, when we look at total receptions, Texas possession specialist Shawn Collins has a solid 10 catch lead on the competition (mostly Cris Carter in Philly and TE Keith Jackson in Denver), but when we look at yardage there are 3 guys all within range of each other for the title. Birmingham’s Lawrence Dawsey currently leads with 1,638 yards, but both he and Brett Favre may be rested next week, something unlikely to happen with Joey Galloway in Ohio, because the Glory need him and all their starters if they are going to squeak into the playoffs. Arizona’s Carl Pickens is currently third and would need a monster day to catch either Dawsey or Galloway, but with the Wranglers also desperate to get a W and a playoff spot, we would not be surprised to see Jake Plummer throw it to Pickens every chance he has. Should be an exciting game within the games next week. THE BEST TE IN THE USFL IS? We mentioned that Keith Jackson is currently among the leaders in receptions, which is itself an amazing thing for a TE, but it got us thinking about who is the best TE in the game today. Other than some delusional folks in Michigan who will say Butch Rolle, who basically only comes alive in the red zone to catch TD’s, everyone else looks at three contenders. You have Jackson, who is Mark Brunell’s safety valve and who can roll over smaller defenders. He leads all TE’s in receptions with more than 20 more than 2nd place Rolle. But when it comes to big plays, you have to look at Memphis TE Adrian Cooper, who is the only TE likely to go over 1,000 yards this season. He has fewer than 60 catches, but an amazing 17 yards per catch and 9 TDs already this season. Those are some monster stats. And yes, we can hear the cries from Tampa Bay, where Ben Coates was undeniably dominant last year, but this year his 70 catches and 850 yards are nice, but not enough to put him above Cooper or Jackson. You cannot go wrong with any of these three, but this year we might lean a bit towards Cooper as the big man having the biggest impact. One week left, and while this week’s action cleared up a lot of questions, several more remain to be decided. Here is what we know. This week’s results lock up three division titles, with Memphis assured of the South, Baltimore the Atlantic, and Los Angeles the Pacific. LA also locks up the #1 overall seed in the West as they hold the tiebreaker over Texas, a stunning turnaround from having the #1 pick in the draft this past offseason. Texas is in the playoffs in the Central, as are St. Louis and Michigan, both at 9-6. St. Louis actually could wrest the Central Division title away from the Outlaws with a win this week and an Outlaw loss in divisional play. With Texas likely playing with Tommy Maddox at QB due to this week’s injury to Stouffer, the Knights feel they have a fair shot of upending the Outlaws and snapping up that bye week. Pittsburgh, perhaps the league’s hottest club, has also assured themselves of a Wild Card as they moved to 9-6 this week. Behind them, battling for 2 remaining slots, are Orlando and Ohio at 8-7, both able to control their own destiny, and Washington and Tampa Bay both now at 7-8 and needing help. The easiest scenarios for both are for them to win and their division rivals (Orlando for Tampa, and Ohio for Washington) to lose. They would then flip-flop with those rivals and take a spot in the playoffs at 8-8. In the West Houston and Seattle are also both at 8-7, with Arizona trailing at 7-8. If Houston wins, they are in, regardless of the Seattle result, but if Houston loses it opens the door for either Seattle or even Arizona to sneak in as the #6 seed. The Kelly Stouffer injury is clearly the story of the week on the injury front. His shoulder injury will absolutely keep him out of next week’s game, and unless Texas wins next week, they could end up losing the division title and its bye, which means their first playoff game would be in 2 weeks, which may also be too soon for Stouffer to return. The playoff hopes of the Outlaws could well depend on Tommy Maddox to fulfill, and that worries quite a few in San Antonio. Birmingham will also be going into the playoffs shorthanded as they lose LB Lorenzo Styles to the IR with a significant hamstring tear. The Birmingham LB corps is not exactly world-beaters with Styles, but without him it will be a group that opponents will certainly try to expoit. The LA Express got a scare this week as Cade McNown went down with a concussion early in their game with Arizona. The good news is that he should certainly be back and ready to play in 3 weeks when the Express will host their first playoff game since returning to the league in 1995. McNown was unlikely to play in the season finale next week before the big hit knocked him out of the game this week, but now for certain he will be sidelined as LA finishes the season in Oakland, a game that means nothing to the Express despite the in-state rivalry. Finally, we are expecting Orlando to get another boost in their efforts to earn a Wild Card as they will be getting wideout Keenan McCardell back from injury in time for their season finale. That was in question for a while, but his rehab has gone well and he has been cleared to play. Without him in the lineup rookie Donald Driver has become a star, but now with McCardell back, he, Driver and Tamarick Vanover pose a threat to any defense. Add in the solid pass catching of HB Terry Kirby and the Renegades are a team to take very seriously. A huge week 12 with playoff spots on the line, home games to be locked in, byes in the mix, and a lot more. Memphis is in Tampa Bay in the big Sunday Night game, and the Bandits need to win (and get some help) to get a Wild Card. Memphis has clinched the South thanks to the Stallion loss, so they could rest some starters. Birmingham is also likely to rest some starters this week as they host the Bulls, as they are guaranteed the #3 seed and a home Wild Card game. Orlando gets in with a win as they host the Fire. In the East, Baltimore has the division locked up, so expect them to rest a lot of players at home vs. New Jersey. Pittsburgh is in good shape but want to finish strong so they are likely to put in a solid effort as they visit Philly. Washington at 7-8 and Ohio at 8-7 are both on the fringe, and we expect this one to be a battle to the final whistle with Wild Card spots on the line. In the Central, Houston at St. Louis is the only game pitting two possible playoff teams. Neither wants to lose this week, with the chance for a home game in the Wild Card round on the table. Texas has the division lead, but they will face the Breakers without Kelly Stouffer, and a loss, coupled with a Knights’ win would drop them out of the division crown and into the Wild Card round. Chicago is in Michigan and the Panthers may rest several key starters as they are assured a playoff spot and have very long odds at getting a home game in the Wild Card round due to tiebreaker issues with both Denver and St. Louis. Out West, Arizona still has slim hopes for a playoff spot but must travel to Denver, where the Gold are still hoping that a win gets them a game at Mile High next week. Seattle is in Portland and needs a win to make their first ever playoff appearance. Finally Oakland will probably be hosting LA’s B team as they play in a very anticlimactic California Derby to finish out the year.

Playoff Picture: Baltimore, Memphis and Los Angeles have wrapped up their respective division titles, with LA also guaranteed the #1 seed only 1 year after finishing last in the league. St. Louis, Michigan, Denver, and Pittsburgh have also clinched spots in the postseason. Ohio, Orlando, and Houston can wrap up the last 3 spots with wins in Week 16, while Washington, Tampa Bay, Arizona, and Seattle need help from the opponents of those clubs next week to jump over them and into playoff position. Atlanta, Oakland, Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Jacksonville, and New Orleans have been eliminated from contention.

Playoff Picture: Denver has joined LA, Texas, Memphis, Baltimore, and Birmingham as playoff contenders. No division titles have yet been guaranteed. Atlanta, Oakland, and Chicago are joined by Portland and Philadelphia as teams eliminated from contention for a playoff spot.

The Bandits keep their hopes of a repeat alive with a gutsy performance in St. Louis, edging the Knights to move to 7-7 and within range for a Wild Card. St. Louis was undone by 2 turnovers, and, of all things, a return to the run game for the Bandits, just as we urged them to consider. Errict Rhett did not get a ton of carries, only 12, but the run game proved effective, with the elusive back averaging 6.1 yards on the day. This helped Troy Aikman get some man coverage on his big receivers, with Moss and Brooks both catching 7 balls each and combining for 179 yards and 2 scores on the day. St. Louis stayed close thanks to a solid performance from Jim Miller, going 30 for 43 for 373 yards and finding little-used TE Carlos Etheridge for 2 scores. St. Louis opened strong, with their first drive of the day leading to an Ahman Green TD run. Green would rack up 43 of his eventual 53 yards in the first half, leading many to wonder why St. Louis went away from him in the second half. Tampa responded with 2 drives leading to Mike Vanderjagt field goals, , but when Miller found Etheridge for a mid-period TD, St. Louis was out to a 14-6 lead. This score seemed to galvanize the Bandits, who essentially need to win their 3 remaining games to have a legitimate shot at a Wild Card. Tampa got 2 Troy Aikman touchdowns to close out the quarter, the first to their dynamic 2nd year receiver, Randy Moss, and the second to the always dependable Ben Coates. They would go into the half with a 20-14 lead, hoping their defense could contain the Knights and allow them to build on that lead in the 2nd half. Coming out of the gate with the ball in the 2nd half, St. Louis had other ideas. Miller hit on several big pass plays, including a 42-yarder to Patrick Rowe that put the ball on the 1-yard line. Ahman Green notched his 2nd TD on the day, and it was the Knights back on top 21-20. Tampa again responded with an Aikman to Moss TD toss, his second on the day, but the 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Bandits with only a 5-point lead. That lead would evaporate by the end of the 3rd quarter as St. Louis mounted a long drive capped off by Etheridge’s 2nd TD of the day, on his way to a career day (7 receptions for 76 yards and 2 scores). The Knights extended their lead to 32-26 early in the 4th with a Ryan Longwell 34-yard field goal. But we all know that a 6 point lead is hardly a safe space for a team to have in the USFL, and the tension of holding onto the 1-score lead was exactly what permeated the final half of the quarter. St. Louis got a stop on Tampa’s first drive after the Longwell kick, but on a 2nd and 4, the Knights gave Tampa Bay a lifeline when Bandit LB Bobby Houston (set to become a free agent this offseason) punched the ball out of the hands of Chris Howards hands, and Jerry Azumah, a good-looking rookie corner, fell on it to give Tampa good field position with just over 4 minutes to play. Tampa took advantage, moving within the 10-yard line on 3 plays. On 2nd and goal from the 8, Tampa showed pass with a 4-wide formation, but Aikman gave the draw to James Stewart and Tampa’s big back found a crease, broke an arm tackle and took it in for 6. The extra point put the Bandits up by 1 with just over 3 minutes left in the game. St. Louis would have to find a way back, at least into field goal range. The Knights got the ball back at the 25 after a touchback and Jim Miller connected with Hayward and Toomer to get the ball to the Tampa Bay 34. After spiking the ball, Miller completed a short pass to Hayward, but he could not get out of bounds. The Knights would be forced to burn their last time out just to stop the clock. On 3rd and 9 they brought out Longwell to try the 50 yarder, but when the kick went wide to the left, Tampa Bay could celebrate. Aikman took a knee, and the Bandits were at .500 and within the pool of 7-7 clubs chasing Eastern Conference Wild Cards. ORL 28 TEX 10 We stay focused on the Southern Division with another club that is making a late push for a Wild Card. Orlando knocked off the Central Division leaders in pretty solid fashion to pull themselves to 7-7 and into the mix. The Orlando D pressured Kelly Stouffer all day, with 2 sacks from Chris Doleman, and 5 overall, and with 4 big interceptions as Stouffer kept forcing the ball into coverage. Deon Figures, the former Memphis Showboat, came up big with 2 picks and one run back for 6 as Orlando got a huge win in their quest for a Wild Card. BIR 24 MGN 31 On Saturday, Birmingham struggled with Michigan and fell ½ game behind Memphis (who would play the next day), thanks to 105 yards from Panther HB Tyrone Wheatley and 5 sacks from the Panther D. Brett Favre still threw for 357, thanks in part to the return of Ernest Givens (6 for 113) to the lineup, but it was not enough as Michigan got late scores from Jeff Campbell and Butch Rolle to pull out and hold the lead on the visiting Stallions. Michigan, with the win, moves to 8-6 and puts itself back in the Western Wild Card hunt. MEM 24 HOU 27 Memphis could not take advantage of Birmingham’s slip the day before, as they too fell prey to a hungry Central Division wild card contender. Houston came back from a 24-17 deficit in the final 4 minutes, first with a Dan Campbell score to tie the game and then, after a risky onside kick call, the Gamblers got the ball back and Adam Lindsey nailed a 54-yarder to win the game with only 8 seconds left. The win moves Houston to 8-6 along with Michigan and St. Louis as things heat up out West. OHI 10 SEA 28 Seattle revived its slim playoff hopes by using home field and a rainy afternoon to knock off the visiting Ohio Glory. Corey Dillon had one of his best games of the year, rushing for 130 and a score, as Jon Kitna and the Dragon offense came alive in the 2nd half to score the game’s final 21 points, after trailing 10-7 at the half. The Dragon D also proved up to the task, sacking Kerry Collins 4 times and limiting Eddie George to only 47 yards rushing as Seattle moves to 7-7. PIT 20 ARZ 16 The Maulers are looking more and more like a contender as they win again, this time in Tempe. The defense again led the charge, limiting Arizona to only 35 yards rushing and keeping Jake Plummer locked into the pocket. Plummer would be sacked 7 times on the day as Pittsburgh used Godfrey Miles as a spy, keeping the elusive QB from running. Terrell Davis was the catalyst on offense, averaging 5.2 YPC on his way to 93 yards on the day. WSH 26 POR 23 OT The Federals are not out of the playoff hunt just yet, also moving to 7-7 with a big overtime win in Portland over the fading Thunder. Down 23-7 at one point, Washington got late TDs from Glyn Milburn and Travis McNeal to pull the game even and then kicked the winning field goal on their second drive in overtime. Portland got 104 yards from Robert Drummond but could not keep Kordell Stewart in the pocket as he kept plays alive with his feet on the way to the record-evening win. PHI 27 DEN 38 Denver locks up at least a Wild Card spot in the West with a home victory over the underachieving Stars. Rashaan Salaam looked ready for the postseason with 120 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Bobby Hebert threw for 303 yards and 2 scores, but Denver simply kept the pressure on all day, scoring on 3 of 4 possessions in the third quarter to pull away. NJ 12 LA 33 The Express had their biggest crowd of the season on hand to watch them dismantle the New Jersey Generals. Antowain Smith rushed for 80 yards and unheralded Curtis Mayfield led all receivers with 80 yards and a TD for LA. The Express defense, which has had a stunning improvement over 1998, got to Fischer 4 times and picked off three passes to boot. Aaron Glenn led the secondary with 9 tackles, a forced fumble, 5 passes defended and a pick. BAL 34 OAK 28 Oakland got a feisty performance out of their club this weekend, something sorely lacking in the last few weeks of Dan Reeves’s tenure, but it was not enough as Jeff Garcia again helped Baltimore score over 30 points for the second time in 2 weeks. He got some help as Baltimore’s D scored 3 pick-sixes against a flustered Cary Conklin, two from defensive POTW Donnell Woolford. JAX 44 CHI 17 Believe it or not, the Bulls are still technically alive for a Wild Card after a crushing victory against an overmatched Chicago Machine club. Terrell Owens, making a push for a new contract, had a big day, catching 9 balls for 152 yards, and Sedrick Irvin looked good both as a rusher and a receiver as Jacksonville took a 27-10 lead at the half and never looked back. They need 2 more wins and a lot of help, but they remain alive for now. ATL 0 NOR 27 The Breakers shut out the Fire in one of Atlanta’s worst performances of a bad year. Expect to see rookie Aaron Brooks in next week as Eric Zeier could get nothing going for the Fire. Atlanta needs to see what they have in Brooks, because Zeier simply is not proving he can be a permanent starter. For New Orleans Raynard Brown came up big with 8 catches for 112 yards, and Lamar Lathon led a tenacious defense as they harassed Zeier all game. COACHING DEPARTURES While we did not have another firing this week, we did get news from two clubs that will likely diminish the impact of Black Monday. Two longstanding coaches are stepping down after Week 16’s games conclude. The first, Portland’s Vince Tobin announced that he would finish the season as Portland’s head coach but will not return in 2000. Stating that he believes it is time to move on and seek other opportunities, Tobin preempted what was considered to be a likely firing later this summer. Expect the former Philadelphia Stars DC to seek a position in that role for someone in either the NFL or USFL next year. The second announcement came out of Philadelphia, again a preemptive strike from a veteran coach who is likely to be on the chopping block at year’s end. Raymond Berry, who helped guide the Stars to a league title in 1994 as well as 5 playoff appearance, announced this week that he will retire from coaching at the end of the 1999 campaign. Berry has been coach of the Stars since 1993, and to date has a record of 65-46 in that role. He came to the USFL after coaching the New England Patriots in the NFL and serving on several staffs as a position coach (WRs). Rumors in Philadelphia were that the Stars were already looking at a candidate who many view as a means of “returning to glory”, Jim Mora. Not the current head coach of the Memphis Showboats, but Jim Mora Jr., the current Defensive Coordinator for Chicago. Seems odd in a week when the Machine defense was ravaged by Jacksonville to speak of their DC getting a head coaching job, but with the obvious legacy connection in Philadelphia, and a pretty solid resume in the NFL, where Mora has served with San Diego, New Orleans, and San Francisco before following Marty Mornhinweg to Chicago this year, it is not that strange a pick. HITTING THE MEAT MARKET In our game analysis we hinted at a couple of players who might be opting to test the free agent waters this year. One who has made his desire to move on very clear is QB Chris Chandler of the Jacksonville Bulls. Chandler has had a decent season, his 5th with the Bulls, throwing for 3,828 through 14 games, with 29 TDs but also 18 picks (not a good number). His tenure with the Bulls has been a bit of a roller coaster, with the club making the playoffs in 1995 and 1997 only to flop the very next season. After a 3-win 1998 campaign, the Bulls seem to be stepping back up again, though are longshots to make the playoffs this year. Chandler has a solid receiving corps and a good young back in Sedrick Irvin, but his relationship with Head Coach Gunther Cunningham, a defensive guy, this year has been bumpy. Considered a 2nd tier QB, but certainly one that a club can win with, will make Chandler an attractive target in free agency, with both the NFL and the USFL. We would not be surprised to see Chandler end up with any number of USFL clubs, with Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, and possibly even Houston potentially in the market. With the only other realistically potential free agent QBs being backups like Scott Zolak, Jeff Lewis, Kent Graham, and possibly St. Louis’s Jim Miller, Chandler will certainly be a big target and he knows it. OTHER POTENTIAL BIG NAME FREE AGENTS Chandler is not the only name that will attract a lot of suiters. WR Terrell Owens may also be seeking his way out of Jacksonville, and he has made himself very attractive with his on-field performance even if his flamboyant and outspoken personality may not be for everyone. Herman Moore is less likely to move, but Washington is not known as a deep-pockets club, so if he wants a big payday, he may opt to leave the Federals to get it. Among running bakcs, the big names are going to be Texas backup Rodney Thomas, who certainly believes he deserves a shot at a #1 positoin. Philadelphia got Darrell Thompson in trade from Arizona, but he is unlikely to resign and play behind Charlie Garner, so expect the former Knight, Express, Wrangler and current Star to move on once again. On defense, Tampa Bay’s Bobby Houston may be a good commodity for a team looking for veteran leadership, though we expect that the market will be higher for Atlanta’s Roman Phifer or Portland’s Mike Vrabel. DT Luther Ellis in Houston may be a tough sign for the Gamblers, who also have to try to resign Michael Sinclair. Another club with a signing conundrum is Birmingham. With both Lawrence Dawsey and Marcus Robinson due for renewal this year, the Stalliions are almost certainly going to have to make a decision, signing one and letting the other go. Will the stick with the veteran or go for youth with Robinson? Other veteran receivers likely to be looking for a new home are Ricky Proehl in Chicago and Eric Metcalf in Seattle. They are just too expensive for their squads and no longer the threat they once were. Finally, do not be surprised if there is a hot market for interior linemen, with two really good ones, Chicago’s Leo Goeas and New Jersey’s Will Shields likely to seek both financial and on-field success with a new club. One more team punched their ticket this week, with Denver’s win locking up a Wild Card at worst. Amazingly none of our division leaders were able to clinch this week, so it may be Week 15 before we see those byes start to go off the table. Baltimore, LA, and Texas can all lock up their divisions with a win next week as all three have 2 game leads. Memphis and Birmingham are still neck and neck with both losing this week. Baltimore is hoping both fall at least once so they can sneak into the #1 seed and get home field for the playoffs, but they need to stay on track themselves to make that happen. Looking at the Wild Card situation, Pittsburgh, Michigan, St. Louis, and Houston, all at 8-6, all control their own destinies. Any of these clubs that goes 2-0 is absolutely getting in and could also end up hosting a playoff game. Seattle needs at least one team from the Michigan-St. Louis-Houston trifecta to fall, preferably twice, to jump up, but they too need to go 2-0 to make it happen. The same is basically true for Washington and Ohio as well, due to bad tiebreakers against Tampa Bay and Orlando, who sit above them with all 4 sitting at 7-7 with 2 weeks left. Again, go 2-0 and your odds are very good. Lose even one game and it may be over. Sounds like the playoffs are starting early for several clubs, and as fans that is good for us to be sure. Very few injuries to report this week, which has to make teams across the league happy. The Gamblers are perhaps the one club not happy with this week’s injury report as there is a good chance that half of the Blackjack Sack Attack, DE Kavika Pittman, may be done for the year after suffering a tear to his abdominal wall. That is a painful injury that can take a long time to heal, so Pittman may not be available even if the Gamblers make a playoff run. Pittsburgh also got some bad news as LB Steve Tovar was placed on IR after fracturing his left arm in this week’s action. Again, even with a deep playoff run, he will not be able to return. Finally, Portland guard Eric Still is being shut down for the rest of the year after nagging hip issues grew worse over the past week. He will be considering surgery to deal with a loose chip in the hip over the offseason. Our third and final Reebok redesign has been released this week, and what better time for a visual refresh than after a year that saw the club rise from the ashes and ascend to the best record in the league. That is what we are seeing from a reinvented LA Express this year, and when next year rolls around the look of the Express will be brand new as well. After 5 seasons with essentially a refreshed version of the 1983 look of the original Express franchise, the new look Express will be going a totally new direction in 2000. While the Speed Blue, Navy, and silver color scheme will remain the same, the LA monogram will be reduced to a secondary logo (and reworked in a more modern style) so that a new primary logo can be used as a rally point for the growing Express bandwagon. This week Reebok and the Express revealed the new logo, based heavily on the concept of speed. The logo which will adorn the stadium starting with the playoffs this July and will be the centerpiece of the uniform and marketing moving forward is a stylized Hermes/Mercury, messenger of the Greek and Roman gods and icon of speed. The logo features the head and helmet of the immortal speedster in profile, with large wings adorning the side of the figure. Designed as an image that evokes movement, power, speed, and classical grandeur, the Mercury figure will be seen on the new Express helmet and jerseys starting next fall. The LA logo will also be updated, now as a 2-color logo (speed blue and navy on white backgrounds) with a single motion line streaking across the monogram, separating the two colors. This logo will be used on the front of the jerseys in place of the team’s name found on so many jerseys, and will remain a prominent image of the club, though not as prominent as when its predecessor was the lone logo used by the team. The uniform will also undergo a significant update, with speed blue replacing navy as the primary jersey color. Navy will still be present in a big way, primarily as the color of the jersey sleeves on the home uniform, following the trend of yokes, side panels, and colored sleeves we have seen in recent years in the NFL, NCAA, and USFL. The helmet remains a metallic silver, but the stripes are now tapered from front to back, with a similar pattern on the pants as well. The club will primarily use silver pants with both jerseys, but a speed blue pant is available for both home and away as well. Two weeks left and both are down in the dirt divisional games. So many matchups with playoff permutations to deal with, these two weeks should be crazy. Let’s start out West with the Pacific Division. LA Wraps up the division title with a home win against last year’s Cinderella, the Wranglers. Denver has clinched, and is almost certainly a Wild Card, but that does not mean they don’t want to win in Seattle. The Dragons could make their way into the playoffs with some help, so this is also a big game for them. Portland is in Oakland for a game no one should have to watch. In the Central the big game for playoff impact is Texas at Michigan. This would be a huge win for the Panthers, who sit at 8-6 and would all but guarantee themselves a spot with a home win here. Texas will clinch the division if they can get the road victory. Houston is in Chicago, and a road win helps them a great deal as well, but the Machine have been playing spoilers pretty well this past month. We finish with St. Louis in New Orleans, where Mike Ditka is feeling the heat. A win against the Knights would be a huge help to his argument to keep the coach in place for 2000. In the South there are two big stories. Who will win the division, and will either Tampa Bay or Orlando make it in? The Bandits have the path of least resistance, playing in Atlanta for a team likely to start rookie Aaron Brooks just to see what they have in the young man. Orlando’s path to the playoffs is a lot tougher, having to travel to Birmingham to face a Stallion squad that is still in a heated race with Memphis for that bye week. The Showboats are in Jacksonville, hoping that the disarray around Chris Chandler helps distract a Bulls team that has been a threat, even at 6-8. Finally, in the Atlantic, Baltimore locks up the division with a win at home, against who other than their archrival Washington. The Feds, sitting at 7-7, likely need to win out to have any shot at the playoffs, so this should be a slugfest. Pittsburgh is in good position at 8-6 but cannot take the homestanding New Jersey Generals lightly. The Generals need a ton of help and 2 wins to squeak into the postseason, but they could come out with nothing to lose in this one. Finally, Ohio, losers of 3 straight, need to use home field to get back into the mix. A win against a 5-9 Stars team that has a lame duck coach could be just the thing to get them back on track.

Playoff Picture: LA, Texas, Memphis, Baltimore, and Birmingham have all clinched playoff spots. Atlanta, Oakland, and Chicago have been eliminated.

We finally have our first playoff teams punching their tickets to the show as Memphis, Birmingham, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Texas make it official this week. The Blitz get in with their first win thanks to the switch to Jeff Garcia at QB. LA pulled out a major slugfest with a very game Bulls squad to earn their ticket, while Memphis and Birmingham are gearing up for a race to the finish to claim the Southern Division. Pittsburgh is surging Tampa Bay and Michigan seem to be fading, and the fringe of the Wild Card spots is getting crowded with a cluster of 7-6, 6-7 and even 5-8 clubs still in contention. If you missed the Wrangler-Showboat game in the Liberty Bowl on Saturday night, you are likely kicking yourself right now. This one was just plain fun. Jake Plummer left it all on the field, but Shuler and Hearst kept right there with him all night long. In a game that saw more than 1,000 yards of total offense, Arizona racked up 477 yards, including over 100 yards rushing from their QB (most on a beautiful 75 yard run) while Memphis’s MVP candidate Heath Shuler threw for 458 yards against a Wranglers defense that just did not know what was coming on each play. The fun started on the first drive of the game, when Plummer hit Rocket Ismail for an opening shot across the bow of the Showboats. Memphis responded immediately with a long drive ending in a Shuler to Adrian Cooper TD pass. The two clubs would then combine for 4 TDs and a safety in the 2nd quarter as this game kicked into overdrive really quickly. First it was Garrison Hearst busting out for a 12-yard TD run, then Plummer found Carl Pickens for a tying score. Arizona got the ball back after a controversial offensive pass interference call on Joe Horn, and we got to see the first of Jake Plummer’s 2 TD runs, a broken play that turned into a 27-yard scamper for a score. Memphis responded with Cooper getting his 2nd TD on a drive that looked like it would finish out the quarter, but when Memphis’s Tydus Wynans muffed a punt the Showboats were stuck with a 1st and 10 at their own 2. The half ended with Garrison Hearst stuffed in the endzone by Broderick Thomas to give Arizona a 23-21 lead at the half. Memphis retook the lead in the 3rd with a Jeff Hall field goal, but then had a huge mental breakdown. On a 2nd and 3, the entire Memphis defense crashed the line to stop Olandis Gary, but Gary did not have the ball. Plummer had kept it and bootlegged to a totally open right side of the field. He was 30 yards down the field before any Memphis player got within diving range of him, and despite not being a track star, Plummer went untouched 75 yards for a score. You could almost see the veins in Jim Mora’s eyeballs from the press box after that play, but despite the shock of it, the Showboats did recover. They would go on to score the next 20 points in fact. They pulled within 4 thanks to another Hall kick just before the close of the 3rd, and then in the 4th they added a big play of their own, a 76-yard run and catch by Adrian Cooper, his 3rd TD of the day. That was followed by a solid defensive stance and then a Garrison Hearst 7-yard run. Add another Hall field goal and Memphis had taken charge at 44-31. But this game was not over. Plummer would find Terry Orr with a TD with just over 1 minute left to pull the Wranglers to within 6 points. The onside kick was absolutely guaranteed, and yet somehow the Memphis special teams still messed it up. Arizona recovered a looping kick without it ever touching a Memphis player and with 54 seconds left, they had a shot. Plummer would get them to the Memphis 39, but two straight Hail Mary plays fell to the ground, the one hitting Hines Ward on the hands, but contested by two Memphis defenders. It was close, but no cigar after an amazing performance by Plummer. And it was “skin of their teeth” for the Southern Division leaders as they escaped with a home win in one of the most engaging and thrilling games of the year. STL 21 PHI 14 Bobby Hebert struggled against the Knights, throwing 3 picks and getting sacked 6 times as the Stars watched their playoff hopes fade. They did get a solid 122 yards from newly-acquired HB Darrell Thompson, but it was not enough as Ahman Green’s 114-yard day helped the Knights move to 8-5. TEX 44 WSH 28 The Federals defense seemed a shadow of its former self in this one as Houston racked up 327 yards passing and seemingly scored at will. Reggie Cobb contributed 3 touchdowns (2 through the air) as the Outlaws locked up the Central Division with a big road win. MGN 24 BAL 34 The Blitz switched to Jeff Garcia at QB and got their best offensive game since Trent Green went down. Garcia completed 65.7% of his passes and threw for 2 scores as the Blitz also got a good game from Derrick Fenner. Michigan moved the ball well, gaining 424 yards on the day, but simply could not score when they needed to, with a redzone pick from Flutie and a failed 4th and goal. HOU 15 PIT 20 In a battle of clubs that win with defense, the Maulers stayed hot and picked up their 3rd consecutive win. The Maulers held Houston lead back Dorsey Levins to only 16 yards rushing and picked off Chuck Hartlieb at a key juncture in the 4th to hold onto a slim but hard-fought victory. Charlie Batch looked solid again, completing 71.4% of his throws and finding both Terrell Davis and Freddie Solomon for scores. NOR 21 OHI 16 Ohio got caught in a trap game as they clearly looked past the Breakers and let this one get away. Jamie Martin threw for 2 scores and Ricky Williams averaged 4.2 yards per carry on his way to 93 yards and a TD for the Breakers. Ohio at one point was down 21-0 and fought to get back in it, but the deficit proved too big to overcome for a team not built for offensive explosiveness. CHI 15 NJ 18 New Jersey kept their playoff hopes alive by avoiding another Chicago upset. It was all about defense in this one as neither club did much on offense. Trailing 15-10 in the fourth, Spence Fischer made the play that was needed, hitting Wayne Chrebet with the game winner with 1:04 left to play. DEN 27 TBY 24 Tampa’s offensive woes continue as they could not overcome the Denver defense and two early TD passes from Brunell to Odessa Turner. The Bandits outgained the Gold 437-353 thanks in large part to 338 yards passing from Aikman (111 of it to Randy Moss on a persona best 11 receptions), but Denver kept the Bandits from turning yards into points, at least not enough points to get the win. POR 10 ORL 19 Portland watched as Orlando slowly built a lead thanks to 4 Charlie Baumann field goals and a late Terry Kirby TD run. Kirby would be key to this game, rushing for 71 yards on 14 carries 95.1 average) but also catching 6 balls for 92 yards. The win keeps Orlando in a crowded field for a Wild Card, while dropping to 5-8 all but ends Portland’s hopes. OAK 13 BIR 24 The Stallions were not at their best on Saturday, but it was still enough to get a double-digit win against the Bobby Ross-led Invaders. With Stephen Davis injured, FB Mike Alstott moved to halfback but rushed for only 38 yards in a slow-paced Stallion victory. Dave Brown got the start for a dinged up Cary Conklin, and his rust showed as he was sacked 4 times and completed just over 50% of his throws. SEA 24 ATL 15 Seattle got back on the winning side of things with a victory at Bobby Dowd. Both clubs struggled to put together long drives, but Seattle got what it needed when Kitna hit Courtney Hawkins late to pull out to a 2-score lead. LA 41 JAX 35 A really good game for fans that tuned in. LA needed everything they had to outpace a plucky Bulls squad, led by 5 TD tosses from Chris Chandler. TE Steve Johnson had a big game, catching 2 TDs and 6 balls for 84 yards. For LA, it was the run game that helped them get the W, with Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman combining for 117 yards on the day. Add in a 6 for 103 day from rookie Tory Holt and LA came out on top, locking up a playoff spot. Baltimore Rebounds Big After a rough 3 weeks in which Wally Richardson simply could not move the offense and the Blitz averaged only 11 points a game (18, followed by 9, then 6), the move was made to replace Richardson and see if the signing of former LA Express (and shortlived Chicago Machine) QB Jeff Garcia could do any better. Well, this week’s game against the Michigan Panthers may have given us the answer. Garcia went 23 of 35 for 283 yards and 2 TDs, which is not going to make him the MVP, but for fans in Baltimore it was certainly enough to inspire hope that when paired with their run game and their solid defense, the Blitz might not be watching their Summer Bowl hopes fading away. Garcia was effective connecting with the Blitz’s outside receivers, with both Rob Moore and Tim Dwight going over 100 yards on the day. He also largely avoided the Panther passrush, sacked only once and pressured into one bad throw leading to a pick. Overall it was a very solid performance, one which the Blitz faithful certainly hope he can repeat as Baltimore hopes to wrap up the Atlantic Division and head into a home playoff game. Plummer Has a Career Day in Loss There are a lot of things you can point to as reasons the Wranglers lost that shootout with Memphis, but don’t put the blame on Jake Plummer. Plummer, who currently ranks 6th in the league in QB Rating, certainly helped his cause and his club this week, throwing for 316 yards and 3 scores while also running for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a dynamic 75 yard TD run on one of the best bootleg fakeouts of all time. Plummer was certainly not perfect, completing only 28 of 51 pass attempts, but he hit on big plays, kept drives alive with his feet, and had his club up 31-27 after 3 quarters before Memphis dominated the 4th quarter. Last Rodeo For a Gunslinger? Rumors are swirling that this season may be the last for Bobby Hebert. The 2-time USFL champion with the Michigan Panthers spent several years in the NFL before returning to the spring, first with Oakland and now in Philadelphia. But, the time in Philly has not always been easy. His first year went quite well, with the Stars winning the Atlantic and Hebert throwing for 4,560 yards and 25 TDs. He may match those numbers this year, but without the wins to rally behind. To make it worse, he is taking a pounding. Hebert has been sacked 41 times this year and he does not have the same bounce-back ability he had in his first stint in the league. With Philadelphia doing some soul searching, and with Hebert approaching 40, it is not surprising that he may be wondering if now is the time to hang up the cleats rather than put in another season on what may be a rebuilding club. Of course it does not help his psyche that he has thrown 7 picks in just the last 2 games. That alone is enough to discourage a QB, even one with as much history and experience as Hebert. Hammering Away in Pittsburgh It was not long ago when Mauler fans were calling for the head of Emmitt Thomas, with the club sitting at 4-6, near the bottom of the division. But, after the return of Charlie Batch, and what has appeared to be a gelling of the Mauler defense, the club has won 3 in a row, all three against clubs with winning records at the time, and now Pittsburgh is on the cusp of locking up a Wild Card spot. The defense is ranked 2nd in the league for scoring at 18.9 points per game allowed. It is also 3rd in yards allowed, including the #1 run defense in the league. That covers up a lot of issues on offense, and also makes them dangerous when and if they find their way to the playoffs. Terrell Davis is closing in on both 1,000 yards and a possible rushing title. Andre Rison is looking like a solid #1 receiver, and Charlie Batch has returned form an injury that cost him 4 games, looking better than at any other point in the season. Things may just be looking up for the Steel City and for their embattled head coach. Season Award Races Heat Up As we come down to the wire this season, playoff spots are not the only battles we are tracking. There are three season award races that are too close to call. With only 3 weeks left in the regular season the MVP competition is clearly a two-horse race between the two QBs embroiled in a division race in the South. Both Brett Favre and Heath Shuler have good arguments to be made. Favre is leading the league with 4,543 yards and 41 touchdowns on the season, with Shuler in 2nd place in both categories, but Shuler leads the league with a 124.0 QB rating. The standard reasoning at this point is that if Memphis holds onto 1st place in the Division, the MVP will go to Shuler, but if they stumble and Birmingham swoops in, then Favre gets the upper hand. We know that the Offensive POTY will go to whichever of those QBs who is not MVP, but the picture is a lot murkier on the defensive side. It seems a given that even if he wins the Sack race, Phil Hansen is not going to pick up another Defensive POTY. Writers and GMs are just not going to give the award again to an outstanding player on a team that is not going anywhere. If the Generals were a dominant defense, then perhaps he would have a chance, but they are midling right now, and that means that Hansen, for all his individual talent, is not having a huge impact. So, who is in a better position? There are 3 players right behind Hansen with 20 sacks already, Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair, both in Houston, and Chris Doleman in Orlando. The fear in Houston is that Pittman and Sinclair will split the vote and a player like Doleman will benefit from that. If the award could be split between two players, the combo of Pittman & Sinclair, known as the “Blackjack Sack Attack” in Houston, should share the title, but the POTY has never been split before. A third Gambler also has a shot at the Defensive POTY, as Ashley Ambrose is only 1 pick behind league leader Izell Reese. He may be a longshot as his 89 tackles are a sign that he is also giving up a lot of catches. Our darkhorse pick if all the DE’s cancel each other out is St. Louis strong safety Rodney Harrison. Harrison sits at 3rd in the league with 102 tackles, many of which are due to his role against the run as much as his play as a pass defender. In addition to his 100+ tackles, Harrison leads all DBs with 7 sacks, which makes sense considering how St. Louis has him playing near the line quite often. Add in 2 picks and 2 forced fumbles, and Harrison may very well be deserving of POTY honors. Finally, the Rookie of the Year contest may be closer than many think. Yes, a strong case can be made that Cade McNown deserves the nod because of the transformation of the Express from one of the worst clubs in the league to a frontrunner. Clearly McNown has had a huge role in the sudden metamorphosis in LA, and he is currently third in QBR with a rating of 101.2. His 32-5 TD-INT ratio is very impressive for a rookie, heck, it’s impressive altogether. So, no shock if McNown wins this. But, we should also recognize that there are several other rookies making strong cases. WR Donald Driver in Orlando has been a revelation for the Renegades, with 85 receptions for 1001 yards and 6 TDs to date. He went from a 2nd stringer to a spot player to full time starter in just the first few weeks of the year, and he has earned that position each week. In New Orleans, the hopes for Ricky Williams were really high, and despite the struggles of the Breakers this year, Williams has been a consistent bright spot. His 906 yards have him in the top 5 in the league and have given New Orleans an offensive identity it desperately needed. His odds of winning ROTY are slim since the Breakers are still on the outside looking in at the playoff hunt, and because people still balk at the high price New Orleans paid to sign him. And, lest we forget the defense, there are a couple of rookies in the defensive mix who may well make All-USFL in their first years and should certainly be finalists for ROTY. DE Mike Rucker in Birmingham has been a beast for the Stallions all season. Racking up 17 sacks so far in his rookie season, he could be a mainstay in the Stallion passrush for years to come. Less highly touted, and perhaps, less recognized outside of his home club, Baltimore’s Tyrone Bell has been a key to the Blitz defense since he took the field as a starter. The speedy CB has only 2 picks this year, but with 83 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries, and 3 defensive touchdowns on the season he has been a joy to watch. He gives up a few too many short balls, but when he guesses right and gets his hands on the ball, he is as dynamic as anyone in the league. It took until Week 13, but we finally have the first of our playoff spots assigned. No division winners yet (which can only build excitement for the next 3 weeks), but we have 5 teams who are guaranteed a slot in the postseason. LA locked up their first playoff spot since returning to the league in 1995, and the first for a member of the 1995 expansion class. They have a 2 game lead over Denver, so the right results this week could lock them up their first division title as well. Texas is right there with LA at 10-3 and they too have a 2 game lead, with St. Louis at 8-5. Baltimore got in at 9-4 thanks to some tie breakers, but they have two clubs behind them with both Ohio and Pittsburgh sitting at 7-6. A win this week could be huge for the Blitz, but it likely will come down to the final 2 divisional games to decide this. Things are even closer in the South where Memphis and Birmingham are both locked in a tie at 10-3. Both are guaranteed a playoff spot, but both desperately want to win the division and get the coveted Wild Card bye. They have already split their season series, so it comes down to who can go 3-0 with what’s left on the schedule. Memphis has Houston, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay left to play. Not an easy route to 13-3. Birmingham’s path is a little easier with Michigan, Orlando, and Jacksonville left to play. The Wild Card race is about as messy as we have seen in years. Yes, either B’ham or Memphis will take one spot of the 8 available, and both St. Louis and Denver look good at 8-5, but beyond that we have a total cluster with 10 clubs at either 7-6 or 6-7, fighting over 5 likely spots. And we cannot even count out some of the 5-8 clubs, though their odds are not great. Pittsburgh is the hottest of the Wild Card contenders after winning their 3rd game in a row this week. Orlando has won 2 in a row to get back in the hunt, while Michigan has lost their last 2 and seems to be losing focus. It is hard to say if Week 14 will clarify anything here, though Denver and St. Louis would do well to win this week to avoid falling back into the pit of 7-6/6-7 clubs. As we come down to the end of the year and clubs begin to lock in playoff spots or clinch positions, the temptation will be to rest some players. If this week’s injuries say anything it is that the decision to avoid injuries to key players late in the year can be a very necessary one. This week we saw 4 key contributors on 4 likely playoff teams go down, three headed to IR, unable to assist the clubs down the stretch or into the playoffs. RT Jason Odom in Denver is done for the year after tearing his ACL in what appeared to be a non-contact injury. Birmingham lost LB Lorenzo Styles to a hamstring tear, a position the Stallions were already weak in getting just a bit weaker. In St. Louis the concern is for TE Reggie Kelly who is done for the year with a broken leg. Kelly finishes his first campaign with a very solid 59 receptions for 480 yards and 6 TDs. Finally, LA will be without CB Ray Crockett for the next 4-6 weeks. That means he could return if the Express reach the Conference finals, but likely no sooner. We have a rarity in the USFL, two back to back inter-conference weeks, both scheduled just before the season finishes up with divisional play. This time it is the Atlantic clubs headed out to the Pacific Division and the Southern Squads heading to the Central Division. Games you will not want to miss include Pittsburgh at Arizona, where both clubs need to win to position themselves for a Wild Card. The same is true when Ohio heads to Seattle to face the Dragons. New Jersey’s playoff hopes rest on them getting a W in Los Angeles against the 10-3 Express. Birmingham is in Michigan and cannot afford a loss as they stay tied with Memphis. Memphis will have a tough game as well as they visit Houston. St. Louis is hoping they can use home cooking to knock the defending champs, Tampa Bay, out of playoff contention in a Championship rematch that may be very heated indeed. Orlando is on the outside looking in, but a win at Texas would move them back to .500 and contention. Washington is in Portland and hoping their playoff aspirations still have life. Baltimore hopes to win 2 in a row with Jeff Garcia at the helm as they face the rudderless Oakland Invaders. Jacksonville is in Chicago and Atlanta visits New Orleans in the two least compelling games of the week with little for any of the clubs to play for.

Playoff Picture: No clubs have clinched a playoff spot as of yet. Oakland and Atlanta remain the only clubs eliminated from contention.

A good week for the Outlaws as they open a lead on their division, a really bad one for the Bandits as they fall out of contention for the division title and potentially out of the playoffs as well. But perhaps the biggest day this week was for Texas backup QB Tommy Maddox, who got his first start in San Antonio, thanks to a nagging injury to Kelly Stouffer, and just lit the Alamodome on fire. We start this week's rundown with that amazing day and the big win for the Outlaws. You have got to love a good divisional slobberknocker, even when it is two dome teams playing in air conditioning on turf (especially when it is almost 100 degrees outside). That is exactly what we got when the Central Division leading 8-3 Texas Outlaws hosted the 7-4 St. Louis Knights in the AlamoDome. A win and the Knights are tied for first, but a loss to the Outlaws put them 2 games back with only 4 more to play. The line for this game shifted from Texas -7 to pick-em upon the late news that Kelly Stouffer would be unable to play and former General Tommy Maddox would be guiding the Outlaw offense. In the end, that pick-em was pretty dead on, as these two clubs needed extra time to settle the game, and nearly all 15 minutes of the extra time as well. Truth be told, it probably should not have been as close as it was. Texas got 4 TDs from Maddox in a stellar sub performance. The much-maligned UCLA product would complete 38 of 53 passes in relief, throwing for a whopping 476 yards against what was supposed to be a stellar Knight defense, and hitting 4 different receivers for scores. Yes, he did throw 2 picks, and one of those was vital as it produced a pick-six that put St. Louis up 7 in the 4th, but the Knights also needed a punt return TD (from Anthony Miller) and solid performances from their run game just to stay in this one. Texas looked the better team all day, finding holes in the St. Louis secondary on a regular basis. While the Knights corralled both Reggie Cobb and Rodney Thomas (70 yards combined) the threat of the run left the Knights’ secondary vulnerable all game long. After St. Louis went up 10-0 in the first on a Chris Howard TD, Texas got two Maddox TDs, one each for Jeff Query and league receptions leader Shawn Collins, to pull right back into the game and go into the half up 14-13. The only score of the third quarter was Miller’s 48-yard punt return TD, but that was enough to give the Knights a 21-14 lead with the 2-point conversion. Texas would not get the game tied until the 10-minute mark of the final period, when Maddox hit Brian Alford for the game-tying score. On their next drive, Texas would push the pass a little too much and Troy Vincent picked Maddox off, returning the ball 41 yards to rebuild a 7-point lead with little over 1 minute left. The game looked to have gone the visiting Knights’ way, but Maddox found what he needed to pull out the win, driving the ball down to the St. Louis 22-yard line, using all 3 timeouts and spiking the ball to create a 2nd and 10 at the 22. Then, rather than throw into the endzone, the Outlaws, having noted a weakness in the structure of the Knights’ zone coverage, used an inside screen to upend the Knights. Rodney Thomas caught the ball at the 17, and rumbled all the way to the endzone. It took the referees a solid 30 seconds to make the call, but replay held it up, and with only 2 seconds left on the clock the Outlaws tied up the game. In overtime, both teams struggled to find game-winning magic. It looked to all present like this game might end in a tie, but on a fluke play, the Knights’ DB tripped over his own feet, freeing up Robb Thomas, who took the ball deep into St. Louis territory before stepping out of bounds. With just over 1 minute to play, Texas did not play around with killing clock, as any points would win the game. On 1st and 10 from the St. Louis 24 they went for the field goal and Tim Seder kicked it true, giving the Outlaws the win and a solid 2 game lead over three different Central clubs, all now sitting at 7-5. With only 4 games to play, Texas has a chance to clinch next week, relying on their better divisional record to possibly lock up the division crown, a title they last held in 1997. After a rough 8-8 campaign last year, it seems that Coach Pardee has Texas ready to dominate the Central Division once again. MGN 11 HOU 34 The Outlaws gained ground on both St. Louis and Michigan as the Panthers fell to the Houston Gamblers in the Astrodome on Saturday. With the win the Gamblers now find themselves tied at 7-5 with both Michigan and St. Louis and in solid playoff contention. Houston had a strong day running the ball with Faulk and Levins combining for 118 yards rushing, while the defense held Tyrone Wheatley to only 29 yards on the ground. Faulk, who led the team with 63 yards rushing, also caught a 48 yard TD pass, reminding many in Houston of former All-USFL back Thurman Thomas. NOR 12 CHI 18 The final game in the Central Division this week lacked both the excitement and the importance of the first two. Chicago outplayed New Orleans at home to earn their 4th win (now winning 3 of their last 4), thanks in large part to a defense that held Ricky Williams to 59 yards rushing and allowed only 3 of 14 conversions on 3rd down. Jeff George had his best game in Chicago with 171 yards and 2 TDs, while throwing no picks on the day. DEN 3 POR 21 The Portland Thunder proved that Denver was not the only club with a home field advantage as they used a sloppy field on a rainy Sunday afternoon to upend the Gold and move to 5-7 on the season. Neither team could do much on offense, but a pick-six from Je’Rod Cherry and two short TD passes from Akili Smith to Matthew Hatchette proved more than enough to defeat a punchless and careless (10 penalties) Denver offense. OAK 10 ARZ 31 The Wranglers had little trouble defeating an Oakland squad that appears to be in disarray and which struggled under both Cary Conklin and Dave Brown. Jake Plummer returned to action after a one week absence and threw for 3 scores to lead the Wranglers. Carl Pickens continued his hot streak with receptions for 61 yards and 2 scores on the day as the Wranglers even their record at 6-6. SEA 20 LA 25 It was not an easy home win for the Express, but with a late Tory Holt TD they knocked off the Seattle Dragons and expanded their lead to 2 games in the Pacific. Cade McNown threw for 301 yards and 2 scores to lead the Express. Jon Kitna threw for 264 and 2 scores despite suffering 7 sacks on the day, including 2 from LA’s defensive leader, Santana Dotson. MEM 48 PHI 24 The Showboats were all business on Sunday, doubling up the Philadelphia Stars in front of a dejected Veterans Stadium crowd. Heath Shuler was on fire, throwing 6 TD passes in the game, including 2 to tight end O.J. Santiago as the Showboats rolled from the opening whistle. Four interceptions against Philly QB Bobby Hebert made it somewhat easier as Memphis pulled away after a 21-14 halftime lead. Joe Horn also had a big day with 150 receiving yards and a touchdown. ATL 17 WSH 40 Atlanta looks like a team with nothing left in the gas tank after a thorough shellacking by the Federals. Washington’s D held Atlanta to only 246 total yards, including a pitiful 19 yards on the ground as Tiki Barber left the game early. Kordell Stewart played only 3 quarters but threw for 282 yards and 2 scores as the Federals rolled to an easy victory and back to .500 at 6-6. JAX 27 BAL 6 The crisis in Baltimore deepens as Wally Richardson completed only 41.7% of his throws and a tired Blitz defense could not contain Chris Chandler and the Bulls for a full 60 minutes. Terrell Owens finished with 129 yards and a TD on 8 receptions as Jacksonville got the road win and moved their record to 5-7. TBY 17 PIT 38 Either Pittsburgh has found some defensive magic or the Bandits offense is in bigger trouble than we thought. Tampa has just not been as explosive this year as in last season’s title run, but losing by 21 to Pittsburgh was not expected and has to worry Coach Seifert. Troy Aikman threw two picks and Randy Moss was held to only 53 yards receiving as the Maulers turned a 17-14 halftime lead into a big win. Charlie Batch looked phenomenal after returning from injury, throwing for 4 TDs and completing 27 of 40 passes. ORL 37 OHI 23 Ohio struggled to contain Terry Kirby, who found holes all day long on his way to 130 yards rushing and 2 scores. Add in a solid 23 of 33 for Scott Mitchell and the Glory were in the hole pretty much the entire game. Kerry Collins threw 3 picks, including a bad one in the red zone early in the 4th which seemed to drain the Glory’s will to win. The game all but ended when Orlando’s Kevin Williams picked off Collins and returned it 47 yards in the final 2 minutes, cruising to the endzone and sealing the Orlando road win. BIR 45 NJ 30 The Stallions built up an early 21-7 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back in this one. Brett Favre went 22 of 33 for 463 yards and 5 scores as he connected on several deep balls to both Lawrence Dawsey and Marcus Robinson. Dawsey would finish with 3 TDs on the day as the Generals simply had no answer on defense despite 3 sacks from Phil Hansen. A Big Day out of Nowhere What a day Tommy Maddox had in this week’s GOTW!! Maddox, who was only notified he would be starting on Thursday, threw for 476 yards and 4 TDs in the overtime win against St. Louis. He had thrown a grand total of 12 passes for 28 yards all season up until this week, mopping up at the end of games vs. Portland and Michigan, and out of nowhere he gets the start, tosses 53 passes (completing 38) and beats one of the toughest defenses in football like they were a JV squad at the local high school. This came as a shock to the Knights, but clearly someone in the Outlaw coaching staff had faith in him to keep calling pass plays. Maddox, who averaged 161 passing yards per game with 13 starts over 5 seasons (4 with New Jersey) has never even sniffed 300 yards much less nearly 500 in his pro career. Give the kudos to Jack Pardee and the Outlaw staff for finding weaknesses in the Knights’ defense and ways in which Maddox and the Outlaw offense could exploit them. With Kelly Stouffer ready to return to action this week, we expect Maddox will be back on the bench, but clearly Texas feels that if needed they can now call on the former UCLA product to be ready to step up. Where Did the O Go? That is the big question in Tampa Bay, where the Bandits have been over 30 points only once (a 35-31 loss to Birmingham) since Week 2. They have been alternating wins and losses since winning 2 in a row in weeks 3 and 4, and in that time they have scored 20, 26, 16, 10, 27, 31, and 20. This is a club that was absolutely electric on offense last year, blowing through the league on their way to a title, but now sits at 6-6 and outside of a Wildcard spot. They still rank in the Top 5 in yards per game and passing yards per game, but have dropped to 10th in scoring. Have defenses figured out how to defend both the deep ball of Moss and Brooks, and the underneath routes of Ben Coates? Is the problem Troy Aikman, the offensive line, or the play calling? Bandit fans want to know and want improvement as the club is on the fringe of being out of the playoffs altogether only one year after looking like a dominant force in the league. One of the issues may be the lack of running game, leading to a one-dimensional offense. Tampa Bay sits at 23rd in the 24 team league in rushing, averaging just over 50 yards a game. That is not a serious threat on the ground, with Errict Rhett being more active as a receiver than a runner. Just like Birmingham in recent years, when a club abandons the run altogether, they struggle to win games and score points, even with a dynamic passing game. So, maybe the answer is to find ways to make the run more of a threat and get teams to put more players in the box, freeing up the receivers. Seems obvious, but it has been 12 weeks and the Bandits have not done it yet. Coming to Life? After an abysmal 1-6 start, the Chicago Machine have won 3 of their last 4 games, including big wins against both St. Louis and Texas. It has not always been pretty, but the Machine seem to have started buying into the coaching style and philosophy of Marty Mornhinweg. What is odd however, other than the sudden turnabout, is that the Machine seem to be doing it with defense, keeping all 4 of their last 4 opponents at or under 20 points. Mornhinweg was thought of as an offensive coach, a specialist in the West Coast offense who was going to revive the career of Ricky Watters and provide Chicago with a short passing game. But Chicago went out and traded for Jeff George, more of a deep ball thrower, and while George has not exactly lit up the league, the Machine Defense has steadily improved and now sits in the top ten in both scoring and passing yards allowed (1st overall with only 211 per game). So ,do we give kudos to Coach Mornhinweg for bringing in some shared sense of purpose, or do we look to his defensive coordinator, Jim Mora Jr. (Yes, the son of Memphis head coach Jim Mora Sr.) as the real reason for the recent success? An Early Exit We had a sense that a midseason firing would happen this year, we just were not sure where. Well, that is answered, and the answer is Oakland. The Invaders this week relieved Head Coach Dan Reeves of his duties with the club, less than 2 seasons into his tenure with the Invaders. After a somewhat promising 9-7 season in 1998, Reeves’s club has tanked, now sitting at 2-10. QB Ryan Leaf, prior to his injury this year, had significantly regressed, and the defense has been an absolute nightmare, sitting at 23rd in points allowed and dead last against the run. The highly touted Reeves came to the USFL with Atlanta after a solid career in the NFL, mostly with the Denver Broncos. He has not found success in either Atlanta or Oakland, and now suffers the indignity of a mid-year firing. He will be replaced on an interim basis by his defensive coordinator, former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Ross. And yes, we realize that with all the woes on defense, Ross does seem an odd choice, and very likely a choice who will not be given much chance of earning the permanent position. Expect Oakland to go after an established coach in the offseason, with the early favorites being either Texas DC Ray Rhodes or former NFL head man and current Denver Gold DC Dom Capers. Still nothing final, but when we reach Week 13 we have our first potential clinching scenario. Memphis can clinch a playoff spot with a home win this week, as long as they get a lot of help. They need at least 1 of the 6-6 clubs to lose. That combo, a Showboat win and a loss from Pittsburgh, Washington, or Tampa Bay, and the Showboats lock up the first of 12 playoff spots. No one else can officially clinch this week, though a lot of clubs can make it all but official with wins. We do have our first official elimination with both Atlanta and Oakland now both officially out of the playoff chase. I think most of us thought they were out weeks ago, but the mathematical models say that it is now official. Meanwhile, we now have 2 clubs, Texas and LA, with 2-game leads in their divsions. Neither can lock up the division this week, but gaining 1 more game on their closest division rivals could make Week 14 the decider for each. Meanwhile, Baltimore has lost 3 in a row, but Ohio was not able to even things up in the Atlantic, and Memphis and Birmingham look to be taking it down to the wire in the South. We have reached that portion of the season where the injuries for some clubs are really beginning to mount up, and while this week was not a particularly bad one on the injury front, it does appear that several clubs may have to hit the free agency wire just to field a full roster. Among those looking at multiple weeks out of action we have WR Brian Stablein in Jacksonville (wrist, IR), HB Leeland MacElroy in New Jersey (collarbone, 2-4), SS Torrian Gray in Oakland (foot, 2-4), HB Stephen Davis in Birmingham (ankle, 1-2), WR Ricky Proehl in Chicago (quad, 1-2), TE Jim Kleinsasser, also Chicago (Jaw, doubtful), and LB Trev Alberts in St. Louis (knee, questionable). Likely to return to action are DE Jevon Kearse (JAX), HB Mike Cloud (BAL), G Larry Allen (TEX), QB Kelly Stouffer (TEX), WR Hart Lee Dykes (HOU), and WR Kevin Dyson (PHI). Fans in Birmingham got a pre-playoffs surprise this week when the club revealed a very different look for the 2000 season. The Stallions did not just go for a uniform tweak here and there, they pulled out all the stops, with a new logo, new font, and new uniforms. Basically the horse theme and the colors of crimson and metallic gold remain, but there is a lot of new in this look. Let’s start with the logo, a Stallion, from the midsection up, raised up in a vertical position as if bucking a rider or preparing to deliver some hoof blows to a foe. This is not the placid trotting horse of the original logo, but a wild, powerful beast of a horse, ready to take on all comers. There are clear parallels with the revised Denver Bronco logo from a few years ago, and with more detailed logos in general being the trend in pro sports. The logo features white and gold in addition to the trademark crimson, which means that when displayed on the helmet it will not be a silhouette figure any more but a full three-color logo. The logo will be displayed on the helmet, which will also feature three stripes, all tapered from back to front, a central crimson stripe and two tapered white stripes which only reach about the midpoint of the helmet. The jerseys remain crimson and white with gold piping, and traditional block numbers. They now feature a simplified sleeve striping pattern, with a wide crimson stripe with a thinner gold stripe separated by white on the road jersey, and a thick gold stripe with separated white stripe on the home crimson jerseys. The final new feature is collar piping on the jerseys, with a front “V” at the base of the collar, outlined with two thin stripes (gold on white jerseys and white on the crimson) and the addition of the new block letter font “Stallions” on the chest. The pants follow a similar striping pattern with a thick crimson stripe and a thinner, separated, white or gold stripe. The club will have both white and gold pant options, interchangeable with either jersey to create 4 different looks. The look is a dramatic shift from the longstanding “running horse” logo which has adorned the Birmingham uniform since 1983, but still retains much of the dynamic animal power of the original. The new logo and uniforms will first take the field when Birmingham takes the field for preseason in February 2020, but before then there will be a wide range of new merchandise, from hats to tees and sweatshirts, available for sale both at the stadium, at sporting goods stores and major department store chains like Belk, JC Penney, and Walmart throughout the south, and, available for order on the USFL website as well. Three weeks left, and so much up in the air, you have to love parity. This week brings us the rare interconference slate, but with so many teams desperate to make ground or secure positions in the playoffs, there are few games that don’t have huge meaning for both clubs. We start with the slate of Atlantic clubs hosting Central Division foes. St. Louis, now 2 games back of Texas, is in Philadelphia, where the 5-7 Stars cannot afford a loss this week. Texas will be in Washington, who have crawled back into the playoff picture at 6-6. Michigan is hoping Baltimore has not solved their QB situation as they would love to get a road win at Aetna Stadium. Two late risers meet in Pittsburgh when the Gamblers come to town to face the Maulers. Ohio hopes to rebound as they host the Breakers, and Chicago will be in New Jersey, where the Generals’ playoff hopes are on life support at 5-7. The other games this week have the Pacific Division visiting the South. Of those games the most intriguing is the 7-5 Denver Gold facing off against the struggling Tampa Bay Bandits, whose chance of a repeat title hinge on staying above .500 to make the playoffs. Portland and Orlando are both hoping a win keeps them in the Wild Card mix as the two 5-7 clubs meet in the Citrus Bowl. Arizona has the toughest draw as Memphis at home has a chance to clinch a spot with a win. LA is in Jacksonville, which has proven a tough place to play over the past month. Birmingham can take over first place with a home win against the Oakland Invaders and a Memphis loss to Arizona, and finally, Seattle, whose playoff hopes have been dimmed by a losing streak, is in Atlanta, in what may be the Fire’s best chance in the remaining weeks to eke out a 2nd win this season.

Playoff Picture: No teams have clinched a berth or been eliminated as of Week 11.

Divisional games are always the most entertaining, if for no reason than that fans of both clubs have a natural animosity towards the other. That is certainly what we saw this week with huge rivalry games in New Jersey, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. OK, we fibbed a bit on the last one. Atlanta wants to see themselves as Birmingham’s rival, but they have been little more than a speedbump to the Stallions since coming into the league, and their 1-win club this year, while feisty, is not exactly looking to steal a title away from their Alabama cousins. But, what we are saying is still very much true. Fans love rivalry games, divisional games, and games with playoff impacting potential, and we had a lot of all of that this week. You have to love a rivalry game, and they rarely get better than Stars-Generals. This one went to overtime as the Stars pull off the road win in the Meadowlands. Kudos to Bobby Hebert for his 414 yard, 4 TD performance, but we also should recognize that the turning point of the game was the injury to Spence Fischer in the 3rd quarter, which forced him out of the game and put the ball into the hands of Todd Bouman. The newest arrival in Philly also played a huge role as former Wrangler (and Knight) Darrell Thompson rushed for 5.1 yards per carry with 12 carries for 61 yards. If the Stars can maintain a run game, they could actually make a run at a Wild Card late in the year, something the usually pessimistic Philadelphia fans can get excited about. It was not easy for the Stars, even with Fischer out of the game, and trailing 21-28 late in the game, it required some heroics from Bobby Hebert. On the Stars’ final drive, he dodged a potential Phil Hansen sack, ripping his jersey along the way, but then found Cris Carter for a vital 3rd and 9 completion for a first down. 2 plays later he hit Kevin Dyson, another new Star (traded from Denver earlier this year) for the game-tying touchdown and we were headed to overtime. Neither team could get into field goal range on their first drives of the extra period, but with their second drive, Hebert again came up big, scrambling for a first down into New Jersey territory. It proved just enough as they trotted out Chip Lohmiller and his big leg, and the reliable kicker nailed a 53-yarder for the win. A huge win for the Stars as it moves them to 5-6 as they join a logjam that also includes New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Washington, basically everyone in the division chasing Ohio and Baltimore for what could be the 6th and final playoff spot in the East. PIT 30 WSH 27 Pittsburgh kept their playoff hopes alive despite playing with rookie QB Shawn King at QB. King had a good day against the usually tough Federals D, throwing for 367 and a TD without turning the ball over. He got help from Terrel Davis and 111 yards from wideout Andre Rison as the Maulers and Feds both left this game at 5-6 and still alive for a Wild Card. BAL 9 OHI 21 The Blitz and their fans are now officially in full panic mode as once again Wally Richardson is unable to generate offense. Ohio moves closer to their first ever playoff appearance, moving to 7-4, thanks to a 22 of 35, 241 yard, 2 TD day from Kerry Collins and a defensive performance that simply did not provide Baltimore with any consistency on offense. TBY 20 JAX 27 An upset that the Bandits could not afford as they fall to the Bulls in Jacksonville. The Bulls allowed 100 yards to both Randy Moss and Chris Doering, but neither saw the endzone, which helped Jacksonville pull off the upset. Chris Chandler was not pressured by the Bandits and that led to 26 of 33 for 288 and 3 TDs on the day. Winning the turnover battle 2-0 also helped the Bulls make the home fans happy in this one. ORL 24 MEM 38 A big 21-point third quarter helped Memphis retain its share of first place in the South and pushed Orlando outside of playoff contention, though still mathematically alive. Heath Shuler threw for 387 and 5 TDs on the day as the Renegades defense simply did not have an answer for him. Cedric Tillman’s 77-yard TD was a dagger to the gut of the Renegades, helping Memphis move to 8-3. BIR 34 ATL 33 It sounds like a broken record, but the Fire are still playing hard but to no avail. They keep teams close but cannot close the deal. In this one Brett Favre’s 4th TD undoes the Fire and gives Birmingham the win despite a solid 128-yard, 2 TD day from backup HB Blair Thomas. DEN 20 CHI 3 Jeff George completes only 20 of 51 tosses and the Machine defense cannot keep Rashaan Salaam under 100 yards, and that is all Denver needed to get a vital road win in this one. Two sacks by Leslie O’Neill helped the Gold corral George and keep him under 200 yards passing as the defenses showed up big for both clubs in this one. POR 17 STL 52 It looks like St. Louis may have an answer for how to deal with Todd Collins’s injury as backup Jim Miller absolutely goes off against the erratic Thunder secondary. Miller completes 29 of 44 for 301 yards and six, yes, six touchdowns to power the Knights to a huge win and a big confidence booster. Portland falls to 4-7 and has to be doubting their chances of coming back to playoff position after a drubbing like this. OAK 14 TEX 24 The Outlaw defense does its job against Cary Conklin and Texas moves to 8-3 to retain their lead in the Central. Reggie Cobb rushed for 87 yards and league receptions leader Shawn Collins added 8 more (for 87 yards) for the Outlaws, but the big story was once again the defense, which held Oakland to only 25 yards rushing. MGN 31 ARZ 10 The Panthers remain hot, dropping Arizona by 21 in Pontiac. Four TD tosses from Doug Flutie helped Michigan run up the score, a lopsided win helped by a late week benching of Jake Plummer due to an eye infection. Craig Whelihan simply did not do well, throwing 3 picks to help Michigan play with a short field all day. SEA 16 HOU 32 The Gamblers double down on Seattle, with 2 fourth quarter TDs busting open a tight 18-16 game. The big play of the game was, as is typical for Houston, on defense, with Ashley Ambrose returning a late Jon Kitna pick all the way for 6 to lock up the win for the homestanding Gamblers. Houston moves over .500 while Seattle drops a game under at 5-6. LA 31 NOR 14 The Express keep the pressure on Denver and keep their dreams of a division title alive with a solid win in the Crescent City. Cade McNown throws for 302 and 2 TD and CB Aaron Glenn has a big day with 5 tackles and a pick-six to help power the Express to an 8-3 record. Ricky Williams had 2 TDs for the Breakers, but Jamie Martin went down, forcing the team to call on Gus Frerotte. His 2 picks did not help the Breakers and now concern for the rest of the year with Martin going down. DON’T SAY IT The dreaded vote of confidence, that is what both Sherm Lewis (ATL) and George O’Leary (ORL) got this week. A team owner makes a public statement of support for his head coach, a statement which almost inevitably seems to lead to a coaching change. We don’t know why owners feel the need to do this. It almost always makes them look weak and indecisive, and yet it has become a cliché in sports that owners who are considering a coaching change will for some reason feel pressure to assure the public that they are not considering exactly that. Atlanta has only 1 win on the season, and after moving from 4 wins to 6 in his first two years, that kind of regression in year 3 is almost certainly a kiss of death for Sherm Lewis. No one expects him to retain his position with Atlanta again guaranteed a 10-loss season, and yet, for whatever reason, William Shivers Morris, principal owner of the Fire, felt the need to assure the public, which is fully in favor of releasing Lewis, that he has no plans to end the coach’s tenure in Atlanta. The only real question is whether or not he will relieve him of his duties midseason or give him a more dignified end-of-year exit. Orlando’s situation is a bit more complex. George O’Leary has been at the helm of the Renegades since 1994, with this being his 6th season. In that time he has produced results in Orlando, including playoff berths in both 1997 and 1998, but the Renegades have had trouble competing with the elite clubs in the Southern Division, often finishing 3rd or 4th in the division and settling for a low seeded Wild Card. This year, with Orlando seemingly taking a step back at 4-7, the club’s patience may be wearing thin. Orlando can still make a run and reach 8-8 or 9-7 (though unlikely) but even that may not be enough for ownership to retain O’Leary. There just is not a lot of energy in Orlando around the Renegades, no real hope that O’Leary can make this team a championship contender. Fans have started to turn on their coach, as well as their QB Scott Mitchell, so the pressure may be on Donald Dizney to make a change. It, of course, does not help at all that Dizney is in the middle of an ownership battle with minority owner and world renowned know-it-all George Steinbrenner. The omens are all around that O’Leary may be the easiest piece to cut in order to show fans that change is in the air, whether or not the owners pledge their support at this point. RETIREMENT RUMORS No one engaged in the heated battle of a pro football season ever wants to admit that they are considering retirement, but both coaches and players inevitably reach a point in their careers where the thought becomes reality and they have to start listening to the voices in their heads telling them that the passion just does not burn as bright as it once did. As we enter the final stages of the 1999 season, the rumors are beginning to swirl regarding several big names around the league. Here is what we are hearing: Ray Willsey, Head Coach, Houston: Rumors have been swirling that despite the playoff battle the Houston Gamblers are in, that Coach Willsey may be considering stepping down after 10 seasons with the club. Coach Willsey has produced two league championships in 4 Summer Bowl appearances and 6 playoff seasons. He is a near lock for USFL Hall of Fame induction, and he has the Gamblers again knocking on the door of the playoffs this season, but that has not stopped the rumors from flying that he is considering a pause, if not a permanent cessation, to his coaching career. Being a pro football head coach is high stress, high demand, and it would not surprise us if Coach Willsey felt he needed a break. Kevin Greene, LB, New Jersey: Greene retired once already, only to come back to the league when the Generals made him an offer he could not refuse. His second stint in the league has been a struggle as the Generals simply don’t provide him the opportunity to shine that he had in his final years with Birmingham. He is still a big hitter, but he is not getting the sack totals he earned in his final years as a Stallion, and at 38, his body has to be feeling the ravages of a long pro football career. WRs Cris Carter (PHI) and Webster Slaughter (POR): Both receivers have been very good for very long, but they now find themselves on clubs in decline, being pushed by younger receivers, and having fewer opportunities to make a big impact. Philadelphia is mounting a late playoff push, and with Bobby Hebert at the helm, Carter is still integral to the Stars’ offense, so he may feel he can give it another year, but we suspect that Slaughter may see less hope with young Akili Smith at the helm in Portland, and may opt to make an exit at age 36. Terry Orr, TE, Arizona: This season marks Orr’s 15th with the Wranglers, a legacy that will be celebrated by the club when he choses to walk away from the game. Don’t be surprised if Orr ends up either in the front office, on the coaching staff, or in the broadcast booth in Tempe. He is beloved in Wrangler Country. His numbers remain good, and he has a dynamic young QB in Jake Plummer, but he is 35 and he has certainly lost a step or two. With so many options to remain a part of the Wrangler community after retirement, we would not be shocked to see him step away from the on-field ravages of the game. Kurt Gouveia, LB, Denver: Another veteran who has options after his playing days. Gouveia’s injury this week is one of many he has suffered over the years on the Gold roster. This season in particular we have seen a significant drop in his production (stats) and fire (gameday energy). Gouveia is all about team, and if he is not able to help the Gold reach their ultimate goal of a title, he may feel that the time is right to think about his future. Doug Flutie, QB, Michigan: Folks have been speculating about Doug Flutie’s future in the USFL ever since he signed with the Generals in 1985. This is his 15th season with the club, but, truth be told, we don’t see this as his last. He is still fleet of foot, still slinging the ball all over the field, and still creating occasional moments of magic. He is well on his way to a 4,000 yard, 30 TD season, after setting personal bests in 1998 with 4,917 yards and 40 TDs for the Panthers. He still seems to love the game, and he is on a club that seems happy to have him in charge, so the incentives are not there. Flutie is 35 and we could honestly see him play for another 3-5 years if his body holds out. Not bad for a guy who was too small to play pro ball. Too early for clinching scenarios yet, especially with the logjams we see in both conferences, but what we see are all 4 divisions getting tighter. Memphis and Birmingham are tied atop the South. LA, Texas, and Baltimore now each have only a 1-game lead over their closest challengers, Denver, St. Louis, Michigan, and Ohio. Meanwhile, those 6th playoff berths in each conference look like they will go down to the wire. Philadelphia actually occupies the 6th spot ini the East right now, one game behind Tampa for 5th, but tied with 3 other clubs at 5-6. In the West, Houston is the only club at 6-5 right now, but Arizona and Seattle are still right there at 5-6. With 5 games left, it is way too early to know how this will pan out, who will rise and who will fall. Here is what we can say, Ohio and Michigan have both won 4 in a row and appear to be peaking at the right time. Baltimore has lost both games since losing Trent Green and could be in real danger down the stretch. Seattle and Washington have also lost their last 2 games, dropping them out of current playoff position and creating some urgency for Week 12. One big injury this week, which is generally a good thing, unless, of course, you are Stephen Davis of the Stallions. The big back is out for at least 6 weeks, but could return for a playoff run after suffering a high ankle sprain in this week’s game. We have a few more 1-2 week injuries of importance, including Denver losing DT Dan Saleamua to a broken hand, St. Louis playing without Trev Alberts after a nerve pinch produced significant issues with his right side, and Houston will be without their 3rd option at receiver as Hart Lee Dykes is likely to miss 1-2 weeks with a fractured cheekbone. The good news around the league is that it appears that neither Spence Fischer in New Jersey or Jamie Martin in New Orleans will miss more than one game as both are now listed as probable after tests showed no major damage to either signal caller. We mentioned Donald Dizney and his battle with George Steinbrenner in Orlando, so it seems a good time to follow up on that story. As you may remember from our Week 2 “Around the League”, recently added minority owner Steinbrenner was essentially making a push to acquire shares and install himself as the majority owner of the club with the intention of possibly moving the team. Dizney was fighting to maintain control, with both owners trying to sway another minority owner, Woody Weiser, to sell them his shares in the club. Well, the news so far this season is that Weiser seems to be holding firm. Weiser, who was to be the original majority owner when the club was exploring Miami as its expansion home, still has interest in Miami, but with the Renegades proving to be quite profitable in Orlando, those hope seem to be on hold. Weiser is now playing coy with both Dizney and Steinbrenner, hoping to maximize the profitability of any sale of his portion of the club. We cannot say we blame him for this, of course, as having 2 bidders inevitably benefits the seller. Dizney still holds the majority of club ownership (50.9%) and even if Wieser were to sell to Steinbrenner, it would not provide him with the majority, but it would increase Steinbrenner’s voice within the club. The fact that Weiser is open to potentially splitting his shares could truly be the key to any resolution of this internal conflict. Were Weiser to provide a significant portion of his interest in the club to Dizney, perhaps enough for Dizney to reach 60% of ownership, it would keep Steinbrenner below the 40% threshold while still increasing his ownership share. We simply don’t know if that would be enough to satisfy the NY Yankees owner, so he may walk away altogether if that were to happen. And this seems to be Dizney’s big move, offering Weiser an overpriced buyout of just enough shares for Dizney to reach 60% ownership, and then potentially urging a disgruntled Steinbrenner to sell down rather than pushing to acquire a larger share. What does this mean for fans of the Renegades? Well, other than the fact that the club is likely to seek to improve revenue by increasing everything from ticket prices to the cost of a hotdog at the stadium, probably not much. It does not appear that Steinbrenner will be able to acquire a large enough share to push hard for relocation to New York (what most expect he wants) and if he were to sell off rather than buying more of the club, there is no shortage of potential investors who want their foot in the door with a USFL franchise. So, fans can expect to see higher costs to offset the expense of these share swaps, but the risk of Orlando losing their club seems minimal right now. A big week for divisional matchups in the Western Conference with a lot of clubs playing for their playoff lives. Houston at 6-5 has home field as they take on the red hot Michigan Panthers (7-4). A win in this one puts the Gamblers right back in the thick of the hunt. St. Louis is at Texas, a win by the home team and they build a potential 2-game lead in the division, a loss and the Knights (and possibly Panthers) are tied with them atop the Central. New Orleans is in Chicago and a win would keep their marginal playoff aspirations (and Mike Ditka’s job) alive. In the Pacific it is make it or break it for Portland as they host the 7-4 Denver Gold. At 4-7 a loss likely ends any chance at landing a Wild Card. Arizona sits at 5-6 and needs to beat the Invaders in Tempe to get back to .500. Seattle also wants to return to .500 with a win, but it will not be easy as they travel to Farmers Insurance Field to take on the 8-3 LA Express. The Eastern Conference is not in division this week, but that does not mean there aren’t big games to be had. We start with Memphis at Philly. A win by the Stars and they are back to .500, something that did not seem possible just a couple of weeks ago. But, Memphis needs to win if they want to keep pace with Birmingham. The Stallions also face a 5-6 team desperate for a win as they travel to the Meadowlands to face the Generals. Tampa Bay is sitting at 6-5 and cannot afford to fall further back of Memphis and Birmingham, but they are in Pittsburgh, yet another 5-6 team that sees a win this week as essential. In other games we have the 1-10 Fire visiting 5-6 Washington, 4-7 Orlando visiting the Ohio Glory who hope to reach 8-4 with a win, and we have the Baltimore Blitz, hoping to generate some offense this week as they host the 4-7 Jacksonville Bulls.

A big week in the South as three teams now sit within 1 game of each other for the division lead. A big week in Ohio too, as the Glory make a push towards the top of the Atlantic as Baltimore struggles without Trent Green at the helm. Chicago does it again, while St. Louis cannot contain the Michigan Panthers, and out west LA is not backing down, with a big rebound win this week. It's all part of Week 10 in the USFL. It was the rematch the whole country was waiting for. Back in Week 2 the Stallions used home field advantage and a 4 TD day to knock off the defending champs, and the two met again in Week 10, with both teams trying to assert dominance over the very competitive Southern Division. Eight weeks ago it was Birmingham edging the Bandits 34-30, and this week we got a reversal with a nice 4th quarter comeback powering Tampa Bay to a 35-31 win at home. We can only hope that there will be one more clash between these two once the playoffs arrive. The stars of this one were clearly the QB’s, as Tampa Bay and Birmingham combined for only 20 rushing attempts all day and a measly 93 yards between them. It was all about the passing game, with Troy Aikman throwing for 399 yards and 5 scores while Brett Favre threw for 309 and 4 TDs. It was also about pass rush as Birmingham kept the pressure on with 6 sacks of Aikman, while the Bandits struggled to get Favre under wraps, nabbing him only twice. The score was 17-14 Birmingham at the half with first half touchdowns from Errict Rhett (22 yd reception), Marcus Robinson (56-yarder), Chris Doering (10-yarder), and Robinson again from 11 yards out. With Ernest Givens again nursing an injury, Robinson has stepped up and become a real threat in the Birmingham passing offense. He would also score the first points of the 3rd quarter to put Birmingham up 24-14, and would finish the day with 110 yards and 3 scores. For Tampa Bay the big receiver was Randy Moss, who caught 9 balls for 134 yards but was held out of the endzone by a defense designed to avoid the big play. The scoring for Tampa would come from Coates, Doering and Rhett as the Stallions bracketed both Brooks and Moss whenever the Bandits got into scoring position. After Robinson’s third score of the day put Birmingham up by 10, Aikman orchestrated a long drive ending in a Ben Coates TD catch to bring them right back. Down only 3 at the end of the third, Tampa Bay wa sin a solid position with full throated support from the home fans, who came out in big numbers, over 55,000 on hand in Tampa. Despite the crowd noise, Brett Favre opened the 4th by connecting on a short TD pass to TE Walter Reeves, again building the lead to 10 points. But everyone in the stadium felt that with 9 minutes left the scoring for the day was not over. They were right. Tampa Bay would again pull within 3 points after Aikman found Chris Doering for a TD with only 1:11 left to play. Down three they would have to go for the onside kick, which they did. The ball bounced off a Birmingham player and Tampa’s Orlando McKay was in position to fall on it, giving Tampa Bay the ball and only about 20 yards to go to get in range for Mike Vanderjagt. They would need neither Vanderjagt’s talents nor the full clock. On their first play from scrimmage Aikman dumped the ball down to HB Errict Rhett, but with the safeties overplaying the deep ball, he had only the LB to beat, and when he used a nice juke move to bypass Lorenzo Styles, Rhett had a path down the sideline. He raced towards the endzone, stuttered to avoid the lunging tackle attempt of SS Darryl Williams, and spun into the endzone with a flourish to put the Bandits up 35-31. Birmingham was stunned and simply could not muster a final seconds drive to overturn the stunning final minute of play from the Bandits. Tampa Bay had evened the series with Birmingham, and with the win had pulled within a game of the Stallions while also eliminating the tie-breaker advantage Birmingham had over them. It looks very much like the South is going to be a 3-team race down the stretch, with all three frontrunners battling each week to one-up the others, just what most fans love to see. ATL 17 MEM 20 OT We say three frontrunners because the pesky Memphis Showboats do not appear to be going anywhere. They got a win at home to move into a tie for first place in the division, though the Fire did not make it easy, picking off Heath Shuler twice and holding the Memphis offense under 200 yards passing. Down 17-0 at the half, Atlanta proved resilient, scoring all 17 points in the 2nd half to send the game to overtime. But, once there the opportunities did not come and Memphis earned the victory with a Jeff Hall field goal. JAX 23 ORL 27 Orlando also stayed alive, though 3 games back of first, with a win at home against the Bulls. Fueled by big games from both Tamarick Vanover and ROTY candidate Donald Driver, the Renegades did just enough to overcome the Bulls in a tight game. Scott Mitchell was back under center and threw for 291 with 3 scores to help Orlando get back in a winning way. BAL 18 PHI 21 There may be big trouble in Baltimore with Trent Green sidelined for the season. Wally Richardson got the start for the Blitz against the 3-win Stars, but he simply could not keep anything going. Eight and Nine man fronts kept Derrick Fenner and Mike Cloud in check, and Richardson, despite going 30 for 47, simply could not get points on the board. Meanwhile, Philly, starting Pat Chaffey for the injured Charlie Garner, was able to muster enough of a run game to allow Bobby Hebert to use play action effectively. He would connect with Cris Carter twice to pace the Stars to their 4th win of the year. NJ 16 WSH 13 The Generals took a big step towards playoff relevance, evening their record at 5-5 with a big road win in Washington. The game was honestly not as close as the score indicates, with New Jersey dominating on defense and building up a 16-3 lead before late scores from the Federals made it look closer. Barry Word was limited to only 12 yards rushing, a far cry from Curtis Enis’s 109. Add in 2 picks of Kordell Stewart and the Feds just did not have their offense on track in this one. OHI 31 PIT 24 The Glory’s bid for a franchise first playoff bid took another good step as they knocked off the Maulers in Three Rivers thanks to 106 yards from Joey Galloway and a pretty solid 24 of 41, 347 and 2 TD day from Kerry Collins. Solid defense kept Pittsburgh from taking advantage of a solid day from Terrell Davis, as the Maulers went 4 for 14 on third down, while Ohio managed to shrug off their 7 penalties to hold on to the 7-point win and move to 6-4 on the season. MGN 40 STL 27 Look out for the Panthers! Michigan has won three in a row and they found some significant holes in the St. Louis defense this week on their way to a big win. Doug Flutie was on point with 334 passing yards, 3 TDs and a 70.8% completion rate. He got help from the combo of Tyrone Wheatley and Winslow Oliver, who combined for 108 yards rushing. St. Louis could not keep pace, particularly when Todd Collins went down with what may prove to be a season-ending injury. Jim Miller came in and threw 3 TDs in the second half, but it was too little and too late for St. Louis. CHI 28 TEX 20 After knocking off the Knights last week, Chicago makes it 2-for-2 against Central Division leaders as they get the win in Jeff George’s first start for the Machine. But, before you congratulate them on the George signing, we have to acknowledge that the winning score for the Machine came while George was out of the game. It was Alex Van Pelt who hit Floyd Turner with the wining score in the 4th. The success of Van Pelt once again muddles the Chicago QB situation as fans are leaning towards the unheralded QB while ownership clearly wants the investment in George to pay off. HOU 16 NOR 26 Another loss for Houston as the Breakers get 116 yards on 21 carries from Rickey Williams to push through the Gambler defense. Houston could not match that, with only 32 yards combined from Faulk and Levins. Add in a rough day for QB Chuck Hartlieb (25 of 53 for 47.2%) and the Gamblers again fall to .500. Jamie Martin earned praise from Coach Ditka for surviving the Houston pass rush, which got to him 6 times, but which never forced a turnover as the Breakers get their 4th win. OAK 14 DEN 36 The outcome of this one was never in question as Denver scored the first 20 points of the game behind a 153 yard explosion from Rashaan Salaam. Add 3 Brunell TD passes and it was a pretty easy win for the Gold at home. Whatever Dan Reeves is teaching in Oakland is just not working as the defense is simply not competing and the offense is not clicking. LA 21 POR 16 The Express retain sole possession of first in the Pacific with another hard-fought win on the road. Down 16-14, the Express get the only points of the 4th quarter, a McNown to Pritchard TD toss that gives them the road win in a slight misty drizzle in Portland. McNown would finish with another 300-yard game (324 to be exact) as he outdueled fellow rookie Akili Smith (264 yards and 2 picks). McNown also connected with Pritchard twice and fellow rookie Tory Holt for 3 TDs on the day. SEA 16 ARZ 35 The Wranglers’ midseason push to recover from a rough season start continues as they reach .500 for the first time this year with a big home win in the desert. Jake Plummer ran in the opening score and then threw for 3 more as he started connecting with FA acquisition Carl Pickens. Pickens would finish with 8 receptions for 147 on the day. Seattle got 129 yards from its top rookie, wideout David Boston, but were unable to turn yards into points as Arizona coasted to the 19 point win. Big Losses at QB The big story this week is the loss of 3 starting QB’s possibly for the year, and with two of those starters on strong playoff contenders, this could shake things up quite a bit. Trent Green went down last week, Todd Collins and Ryan Leaf this week. And while Oakland may simply be playing out the string at 2-8, the Blitz and Knights certainly hope they can find a way to continue winning without their pivots in place. Baltimore started Wally Richardson this week and the result was not good, a loss to last place Philadelphia. They had made inquiries to Chicago about Alex Van Pelt mid-week, but ended up signing recently cut Machine QB Jeff Garcia instead. Whether or not Garcia will be able to sustain the Blitz offense, or if they will continue to rely on the hot-and-cold Richardson is still to be seen, but it seems certain that if Baltimore’s hot start to the season is going to survive the loss of Trent Green down the stretch, they will rely even more on defense and the run game. Green’s ruptured Achilles is not going to allow him to play even if Baltimore’s season is extended into the postseason, so Coach Infante is going to have to come up with something at QB if they Blitz hope to realize their dreams of a first-ever title for Baltimore in the USFL. St. Louis is in an equally dire situation. Their defense has been good, as we expected, but not the dominant force it was last year. With Todd Collins now expected to miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear, they will need to rely on the defense even more. The Knights are unlikely to trade for a QB at this point, going with Jim Miller as starter, but with only untested Kris Kershaw behind Miller, we would not be surprised to see St. Louis look at signing a free agent QB such as Dan McGwire, Steve Matthews, or David Klingler. Problem is none of them are likely to turn into stellar playoff QB’s any time soon, so St. Louis’s goal of returning to the Summer Bowl may be in real jeopardy. Oakland is well out of playoff contention, but losing Ryan Leaf adds even more rain to the downpour. Leaf will be relieved by either Cary Conklin, Dave Brown, or a combination of both, but with an offense that only worked well when Leaf was playing well, the downshift to Conklin or Brown could make wins even harder to come by, something Coach Reeves simply cannot afford. Without the defensive talent or quality scheme that St. Louis and Baltimore have in place, the rest of the season looks pretty bleak in Oakland. Big Game for Walker This week’s Defensive POTW is one of the more unheralded defenders in the league, Arizona Wrangler defensive end Gary Walker. Walker had a monster game against Seattle, sacking Jon Kitna 4 times, including one great play that produced the sack-fumble-recover-TD quadrifecta. The 4-sack day moves Walker up to 10 on the season, already a career best, one more than his total of 9 last season. After moving over from New Orleans after the 1997 season, Walker has worked his way into a role as a pass rush specialist, lining up opposite rookie Chike Okeafor and beside DT Russell Maryland, Walker has blossomed. His highest sack total for the Breakers was 3, but he had 9 last year in the desert and is now in double digits this season. He is not among the league leaders, but he is becoming a player that offenses have to prepare for, and that has helped Arizona’s defense move up the rankings and the team move up the standings. TRADE BAIT With the trade window closing this week, we did have some moves worth noting, though none that will dramatically adjust the expectations for most clubs. As we mentioned before, Chicago did put Alex Van Pelt out there as an option for QB-needy teams, but with Baltimore signing Jeff Garcia, and with Van Pelt getting Chicago another surprise win this week, it does not seem that he is going anywhere. The most impactful move might just be the HB swap between Arizona and Philadelphia. With the Stars trying to compensate for the loss of Charlie Garner and the Wranglers seeking a more effective target out to the backfield for third downs, the swap of Darrell Thompson for Kantroy Barber makes a lot of sense for both clubs. Arizona gets a fleet-footed and somewhat sure-handed 3rd down back in Barber, while Philadelphia gets a big bruising back to use for clock control in Thompson. Seems like a win-win for two clubs on the fringes of the playoff race right now. A second swap of players that could impact the Wild Card race was between Portland and Pittburgh. Both clubs are currently outside looking in, but both still have a shot if they can improve over the final 6 weeks. That seems to be the feeling in both front offices as each club tried to address an issue. For Pittsburgh, the injury to guard Rod Milstead has been a tough blow to both the run game and pass protection, while Portland has been struggling to get production out of the slot, a key position with a rookie QB at the helm. Lonzell Hill has simply not been productive, with only 31 recetions on over 80 targets, so he is now off to Pittsburgh, where he will likely ride the pine behind Thabiti Davis and Yo Murphy. Pittsburgh also gets what they really need in guard James Rodriguez, who had been serving as the swing guard for the Thunder. In return, Portland gets a solid slot receiver in Freddie Scott and a project at guard in Joseph Isaac. The swap of 2 for 2 means neither team needs to look at free agency to sign a player to fill in a missing roster spot, while both teams get upgrades at positions of need. Finally, Texas, viewing defense as the key to their playoff success, has opted to upgrade its weakest position on that side of the ball, defensive tackle. In a deal with Atlanta, the Outlaws acquire space-eater Reggie Rogers to help shore up the run defense and provide more opportunities for pass rush outside. They send LB Steve Foley and a 4th round pick to Atlanta to make it happen, a good deal for a Fire team that has already acquired a 3rd rounder in their trade of Jeff George to Chicago. Bench players Bruce Walker (DT) and John Rutlege (LB) were also part of the deal, again balancing out the rosters of each club. Week 10 means it is time to look at our official Playoff Standings, and what do we see? Mass hysteria, cats and dogs living together, and a lot of hope even for teams at 4-6 right now. Starting at the top of the standings, we see that the biggest lead is down to 2 games, with Baltimore ahead of Ohio and a pack behind that. The leads for LA and Texas are only 1 game and in the South we have 3 teams all clearly in the hunt for the division title. Even more intense is the battle at the bottom of the 6-team playoff pool in each division. Currently both #6 seeds (Washington and Arizona) are 5-5, and ahead of others like New Jersey, Houston and Seattle only due to tiebreakers. With the final spot sitting at .500, even teams many figured were out of range could be in the hunt. That is good news for clubs like Philly, Pittsburgh, Orlando, New Orleans and Portland. Only Arizona and Oakland have to feel completely out of range, though it would take a miracle for 3-win clubs Jacksonville and Chicago to truly get into the conversation. What this means is that we are likely going to have 20 clubs vying for 12 playoff spots as the season moves into the hot months of June and July. A very rough week for the USFL, with the QB injuries already highlighted above (Collins and Leaf), but with several others that will certainly impact the playoff hunt. Baltimore is now not only without their starter at QB, but will also be missing TE Cam Cleeland for the rest of the year with an upper back disc issue. Washington, right on the fringe of playoff contention, will be without star linebacker Winston Moss due to a partial ACL tear. In LA the issue is CB Ray Crockett’s groin, which could cost him up to 4 weeks. In Orlando an ankle injury to WR Keenan McCardell will hamper the Renegade passing game. Others expected to miss at least 1-2 weeks include Philadelphia SS Larry Wigham (foot), Pittsburgh guard Rod Milstead (hip), Jacksonville rookie DE Jevon Kearse (concussion), Memphis LB Rahim Abdullah (arm), and Denver LB Kurt Gouveia (hand). We had the first of the new designs from leaguewide uniform partner Reebok revealed this week. Reebok takes over after nearly a decade with Nike providing all league uniforms. This year we expect to see three significant redesigns along with the other 21 teams getting refreshed, but largely unchanged uniforms. As we have seen almost every year, there is often at least one team that opts to go the full rebrand with new logos to go along with their new uniform designs. We actually expect two of those this year, with Birmingham and Los Angeles already making noise about a new look, but the first revealed uniform has only a modest reimagining. The Oakland Invaders, suffering through a rough 2-8 season so far, may be hoping for something of a rebirth next year. They will get an updated logo, with the familiar fist & lightning logo getting a little less cartoony and a bit more realistic. It still remains the same basic logo, but with a more linear fist and the angle of the lightning bolt is adjusted slightly. A new secondary logo pairs the familiar circular primary with aviator wings, doubling down on the links between the Invaders team and air force iconography, particularly that of fighter squadron logos. The uniform retains many of its familiar elements, gold helmet, sky blue jersey, white and gold pant options, with only some adjustments to the striping on each. The jersey is somewhat simplified, with only sleeve cuffs using offset colors from the jersey and oversized logos on each sleeve. There is a new number font, but this is not a uniform that will surprise longstanding fans nor require recalibration of expectations from the casual USFL observer, an evolution far more than a revolution. We now wait for what we expect will be more significant changes in store for the Stallions and Express, though with both clubs in the heat of playoff seasons, thoughts of 2020 are not really on the minds of their fanbases quite like they may be for the suffering Invader fans this year. Looking ahead to Week 11 we see some important divisional battles in the Eastern Conference, but none bigger than the Baltimore-Ohio game in Columbus this week. Hard to believe, but the Glory are in the thick of this and a home win against the Blitz could propel them right into a divisional title matchup. A win by the Blitz would boost their lead back up to 3 games, and with only 5 weeks left, that would be huge for them. Behind these two we have a mash of 5-5 and 4-6 clubs going head to head, with a lot of clubs hoping to string together some wins and get back on top of their record. Philly is at New Jersey in a game neither rival can afford to lose. Washington is in Pittsburgh where the same could be said. If either 4-6 teams fall to 4-7, it could be over for them in a very competitive playoff race. In the South the big guns are all facing teams from the bottom of the division. Birmingham is in Atlanta against the 1-9 Fire in what may be the biggest road favorite of the year, 13 points. Orlando is in Memphis, in the tightest of the three games, with the Renegades hoping the return of Scott Mitchell helps propel them back towards the .500 mark. Tampa Bay is in Jacksonville, hoping to make up a game on at least one if not both of the 7-3 clubs ahead of them in the standings. With the East in divisional play we have the Western clubs battling between divisions. LA has a 1 game lead in the Pacific, but take their game to New Orleans, where the Breakers are hoping that at 4-6 they can pull themselves into the playoff hunt. Denver, sitting a game behind, is in Chicago, where they hope the streak of Machine upset wins ends at 2. St. Louis, coming off back to back losses is home again, this time with Portland in town, while Texas, also losers this week, host the 2-8 Oakland Invaders in what they hope will be a rebound game. Michigan hot on a 3-game win streak, will be tested by the visiting Arizona Wranglers, while Seattle is hoping to snag a road win in Houston as they face the up and down Gamblers.

Playoff Picture: No clubs have clinched a playoff spot or been eliminated at this time.