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All good things must come to an end, and for Baltimore that end came this week, when their unexpected eight game win streak was foiled from a 9th victory by their arch rivals, the Washington Federals. The Federals victory was not unexpected, as the Feds always play Baltimore close, but it was the closest we came to a surprise this week as across the league favorites found ways to avoid a stumble, to secure a win when they were expected to, and to keep up the chase for a playoff spot. The only other big surprise this week came later, as the trade deadline approached on Wednesday and a flurry of moves shifted some things across the league. More on that later, for now let’s start with the games themselves. While the Baltimore-Washington game was the week’s marquee matchup, the best game on the field was about 900 miles to the west, in Michigan, where the Panthers hoped to boost their strong start to the season with a 6th win in 9 games as they took on the Oakland Invaders. It was a homecoming of sorts for former Panther Bobby Hebert, and a game both clubs felt was pivotal for the second half of their season. Michigan got off to a strong start in the game, despite missing starting QB Doug Flutie. Sean Salisbury had a solid, workmanlike, game, throwing for 186 yards and a score while avoiding negative plays. He was helped by a defense that kept Oakland in check for most of the day. While the Invaders outgained the Panthers 321-186, they could not capitalize against Michigan’s bend-but-don’t-break defensive stance. The biggest play of the game was one of the first as Oakland received the opening kickoff and on 2nd and 9 Hebert faked to Stacy and tried to hit Henry Ellard on a deep ball. Ellard was well covered by Michigan’s league leading interception specialist, Chris Snyder, and Snyder made Hebert pay, snagging the ball in stride and turning it back against Oakland. Snyder would weave the 51 yards to the endzone, setting Michigan up with a 7-0 lead after less than 1 minute of play. Oakland’s next drive would not start off any better. A muff by the return man left Oakland on the 7 yard line, and a false start on their first play from scrimmage in the drive left them with 1st and 13 on the 3 ½ yard line. After a Stacy run went nowhere, Hebert went for play action on 2nd down, only to find himself in the grasp of Michigan’s Renaldo Turnbull. 5-0 Michigan and their offense had not even seen the ball yet. Oakland would pull back into the game, scoring on an Hebert to Ellard pass as the first half ran down. With Michigan’s offense only putting together one solid first half field goal drive, Oakland trailed 12-7 despite their early mistakes. In the 3rd quarter neither team found much success, so it was surprising to see 24 points scored in the final period. Oakland started it off, with Ellard catching his second TD on the day. When the 2-point conversion failed, the Invaders would have to settle for a 13-12 lead. Michigan quickly wiped that short-lived lead away, scoring on the next drive as Tyrone Wheatley finished off a 12-play drive with a 2-yard scoring run. 5:45 left to play and Michigan was back on top 18-13. Oakland came right back, finding more success through the air, with Carlester Crumpler scoring on a short pass play to give Oakland the lead once again. Again they went for 2, and again they failed. A miss that would play large when it was all said and done. With only 1:40 left, Michigan would have one more drive, down only 1. They would cash in 80 seconds later, when Brad Daluiso connected from 54 yards out, sending the Pontiac Silverdome crowd into cheers of celebration. Despite gaining only 26 yards on the ground as a team, and despite going only 4 of 14 on third down, the Panthers had found a way to win and now sat in good shape for possible playoff football at 6-3. For Oakland, which has simply not been able to put together strong offensive production with defensive muscle, the 3-6 record sent the opposite message, that the rebuild was on, and Coach Mora would likely be looking to shake things up in the offseason. BAL 13 WSH 21 In a game that could reinvigorate their season the Feds outmuscled the Blitz at home, getting 73 yards and a score from Barry Word, while Don Majkowski hit Herman Moore for 2 scores. Washington built up a 21-6 lead until Chris Miller found Rob Moore for a late score, but Baltimore would never see the ball again as the Feds were able to convert on a risky 4th and 2 to keep possession and run out the clock. NJ 13 OHI 17 Coach Saban’s Glory continue to impress and Joey Galloway continues to be unstoppable, adding another 114 yards and 2 scores to his remarkable season. New Jersey used 5 different ballcarriers as they tried to win with the run game, but even with this they only managed 82 total yards in the game. PHI 33 PIT 17 A big win for the Stars and a last straw for the Maulers as Pittsburgh struggled in the passing game again, leading to a midweek trade (see below). Chuck Long threw for 330 and 3 scores, and even with 130 yards rushing from Rozier, the Maulers simply could not equalize Philadelphia’s offensive production, falling to 4-5 with 7 weeks left to find a path back to winning football. ATL 3 BIR 34 Coach Reeves is feeling the heat in Atlanta as his team again proves that they cannot compete with the league’s better teams. Held to only 178 total yards of offense, Atlanta was never in this game despite the fact that Brett Favre had a horrible game, sacked 7 times and only able to complete 8 passes all game. JAX 44 MEM 26 Jacksonville got a POTW performance from Chris Chandler and blew past the Showboats in Memphis. Chandler completed 71% of his passes on the way to 409 yards in the air, with 3 different receivers going over 100 yards receiving. ORL 32 TBY 24 Tampa Bay suffered another setback as Orlando punched them in the mouth in Tampa Stadium this week. The Renegades once again unleashed a solid run game with Barber rushing for 66 yards on 12 carries and Kirby adding 37 yards on 12 of his own. Throw in a solid short passing game from Mitchell and Memphis was able to keep the ball away from Tampa’s offense long enough to get the win. DEN 6 CHI 24 Denver was forced to start Billy Joe Tolliver this week after a midweek injury to Brunell, and with a short week to prepare, Tolliver was ineffective against a rejuvenated Chicago defense. Ricky Watters rushed 24 times, gaining 92 yards and a score along the way. LA 9 HOU 48 Jeff Garcia struggled in the start and Jim Kelly had his usual monster game against an overwhelmed Express defense as Houston cruised to 45 unanswered points after LA scored on their first drive. Only a late safety of backup Chuck Hartlieb got LA back on the board in this one-sided affair. POR 20 NOR 31 New Orleans got 2 scores and 85 yards from Terrell Davis and the Breaker D was able to corral the Thunder offense despite 110 yards from Robert Drummond to get the W. Lamar Lathon was a beast against the Thunder, garnering 11 tackles and disrupting the Thunder run game all day. SEA 6 STL 27 The Knights defense is beginning to get some respect as they again keep the pressure on, sacking Timm Rosenbach 5 times. Todd Collins looked good as the Knights relied more on the passing game in the absence of Darrell Thompson, with Collins throwing for 263 and 3 scores on the day, including a nice over the shoulder catch by rookie Amani Toomer. ARZ 14 TEX 26 Arizona made it a game early, but eventually fell behind and were unable to answer the Outlaws, as Texas used 4 Chris Boniol field goals to pull away from the Wranglers. Rodney Thomas took over when Reggie Cobb went down early in the game and the young back rushed 19 times for 133 yards to impress the Texas coaches. TRADE DEADLINE PRODUCES A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY: Most years there is not a lot happening at the Week 10 Trade deadline, but that was certainly not the case this year. While only one of the trades could really be considered a major development, the fact that we saw 6 trades within the final 48 hours in itself is a big deal. The newsmaker of the bunch came out of Pittsburgh, where the Maulers, desperate to turn the season around before it is too late, made a deal with Arizona for former starter Robbie Bosco. Bosco will come to the Steel City, and Pittsburgh sends the Wranglers a 3rd round pick in next year’s draft and developmental QB Doug Nussmeier. For Arizona this ends the QB controversy as Trent Green now seems to be the only hope, and some pundits see this as a prelude to the Wranglers making a play for local hero, Arizona State’s Jake Plummer in the 1997 draft. For Pittsburgh, expect John Fourcade to get the start in Week 10, but we expect to see Bosco in action immediately after that. Oakland, recognizing that their passing game needed some help, traded away a 4th round pick and backup TE Dennis Ransom to get an upgrade at the position with Memphis’s Christian Fauria the newest Invader. Fauria was viewed as expendable behind Adrian Cooper and with a developing A. J. Ofodile gaining more snaps. In a move that is likely to help both clubs, the LA Express parted ways with LB Bryce Paup, but brought in former All-USFL SS Carnell Lake from Michigan. The Panthers get a solid pass-rushing LB in Paup while LA gets a solid corner to help their depleted secondary. Jacksonville acquires St. Louis CB Ron Pitts, sending guard Paul O’Connor to the Knights in exchange. The two also swapped picks with the Bulls giving up a third rounder and getting a 5th rounder in return. Atlanta and Chicago pulled off a trade, with the Fire sending FS Myron Guyton to Chicago in return for some D-line help in the form of veteran DE Ray Agnew. The move helps Chicago deal with the passing games of Houston, New Orleans and Texas in their division, while Atlanta does what it can to shore up their run defense with Agnew’s veteran leadership. Finally, in the most complex move of the week, Philadelphia sends a 3rd rounder, DT John Jurkovic and guard Jay Leeuwenberg to Denver in order to get two players, DT Mike Taliferro and FS Anthony Dorsett. The 33 year-old Taliferro is a solid contributor, but the real catch is the 20-year old Dorsett, in his rookie year, who has shown real potential subbing for Charles Mincy in Denver, but who now may become an immediate starter in Philly. COACH WATCH: Add Dan Reeves and Woody Widenhofer to the list of potential hot seat coaches, along with Arizona’s Ted Tollner. While Ohio and LA are seeing definite signs of improvement over their expansion seasons, Seattle and Atlanta seem to be regressing, and a lot of pressure is being put on Reeves and Widenhofer to explain why. Of course, as with all expansion teams, there is a lot of pressure on the player personnel team, and that will certainly be the case in both Atlanta and Seattle, but the on field performances have been at times embarrassing, and that tends to be laid at the feet of the coaches. We feel pretty confident that Tollner will be out as Arizona garnered their 8th loss this week, but if Seattle and Atlanta, both 2-7 cannot outdo their modest win totals of last season, we will not be shocked if both Reeves and Widenhofer are shown the door. And speaking of coaches who may be on their way out, there are rumors swirling that this season may be the last for Ted Marchibroda in Pittsburgh. After last year’s ascension to glory and a league title, Marchibroda is seeing it all fall apart after 1 key injury. He is clearly working to repair the damage, trading for Bosco this week, but there is a tired feeling around the Mauler team, and some internal sources have indicated that this vibe may be emanating from a head coach who may be looking to step down and try something different after the season. INJURY REPORT: Denver got some bad news when what was thought to be a minor injury turned out to be much more for RG O’Neill Glenn. What was first expected to be an issue with cramping, turned out to be a significant hamstring injury for Glenn. The big man could miss the rest of the season after further examination revealed a partial tear. As if Oakland needed more bad news, it appears that WR Ed McCaffrey, who was having a solid year, may miss as much as 6 weeks of the remaining 7 due to a broken wrist. The team says they will look at a flexible cast after 4 weeks, but that is no guarantee to work. In Birmingham, RT Emory Yates is likely out for 1-2 weeks after dislocating his knees. Fans watching on TV got to see the injury, which looks much worse than it is internally, on an awkward replay that showed the cap totally out of position, but the good news is that there appears to be no tearing of the tendons, so the knee should be good to go in only a couple of weeks, though Yates will wear a brace to support it. Expected back this week, from injury or from being knocked out of this weeks game, we find WR Terrell Owens (Bulls), T Lomas Brown (SEA), T Wayne Gandy (BAL), G Jamie Dukes (MEM), DT Antonio London (HOU), WR Ricky Proehl (HOU) and TE Kyle Brady (BAL). We have passed the midpoint of the year, and there are some surprises among the team leaders around the league. We don’t think anyone is shocked to see Houston at the top of team scoring, but few would have expected the Breakers, Panthers, Gold, and Showboats to be the next four clubs. Doug Flutie's arrival in Michigan and Mark Brunell’s growth in Denver have played big roles in their success, while Heath Shuler continues to impress for the Showboats. Denver also boasts the league’s best rushing attack, the only club to have over 1,000 yards rushing on the year to date. While in the air, the big revelation this year has been Joey Galloway and the Ohio Glory. Ohio ranks 3rd in passing yards, behind only Houston and Tampa Bay, and a big part of that success has been the speed and elusiveness of their 2nd year receiver. If you are looking for the reason Baltimore was able to jump out to an 8-0 start, look no further than their top ranked scoring defense. They have allowed 150 points over 9 weeks, an average of only 16.6 points per game. Contrast that with Oakland (3rd worst) with 261 points over the same span (29 PPG). After Baltimore we find the Bulls and then the surprisingly hard-hitting St. Louis Knights. The Knights boast the league’s best rush defense, allowing only 470 yards (52.2 yards per game) over the season’s first 9 games. Even more shocking is that the Maulers, whose defense was a huge factor in their championship last year, are currently ranked dead last in pass defense, allowing over 2,700 yards in their first 9 games. If it were not for a solid rush defense (5th best) they would be a disaster. As it is, their defense is currently the 4th worst in the league in yards allowed and the 5th worst in points per game allowed. That is not the path to a repeat. And what to do about Atlanta? Things have not started off well, and while the club has managed to win a game here and there, staving off talk of the 1976-1977 Buccaneers, that is about the best thing you can say about the club they have put on the field. Atlanta is currently dead last in scoring (13ppg), Total Yards (2,198), Passing (1,747), and Rushing (451). Eric Zeier is struggling and the trade for Blair Thomas produced no benefit at all. And as if that is not bad enough, Atlanta is also dead last in the league in Points Per Game Allowed (32.3 per game), 2nd to last behind only LA in yards per game allowed, and second to last, again behind LA, in rush yards allowed per game. None of these indicators can make Dan Reeves feel confident, despite his past track record of success in the NFL. Atlanta clearly needs a total overhaul, and that may start at the top. The battles within the Pacific and Central Divisions resume in Week 10 as we find Chicago and Texas, both 4-5 hoping this week’s game in San Antonio sparks them to a playoff run. Houston has a tough game on their schedule as they head into Michigan to face a surging Panther squad, and the return of Doug Flutie at the helm. In St. Louis the Breakers will try to solve the puzzle of the Knights’ defense and retain a solid grip on first place in the Central. Denver hopes their loss this week was a blip, and with Mark Brunell returning, they hope to get a road win against Coach Jim Mora and the Oakland Invaders. Arizona is in Portland, facing a tough challenge against a solid offense led by Robert Drummond. LA and Seattle battle in the Emerald City, in a game that could determine if Seattle is going to battle to keep Coach Widenhofer at the helm. This is a winnable game for Seattle as LA has major defensive problems. In the Eastern Conference the six Atlantic teams are all at home as the Southern Division comes calling. First off their first loss of the season, Baltimore has to get their top-rated D ready for Brett Favre, himself coming off a win but a really odd day under center that saw him complete only 8 of 32 passes. Jacksonville is in New Jersey and Coach Knox is hoping for more from his offense against a pretty tough Bulls defense. Memphis is in Ohio in a battle of clubs on the cusp of playoff relevance. Orlando looks like a tough foe for Philadelphia, but the Stars see a chance to gain more ground on Baltimore and will be ready to go. Tampa Bay is hoping that former Bandit John Fourcade does not see this as a revenge game, as the Bandits face the Maulers in what is likely Fourcade’s only start of the year. Finally, Atlanta will get no mercy from the Washington Federals, who need this win to get back to .500. Expect the Feds to go for the kill early in this one.

We have reached the halfway point of the season and we still have one undefeated team, a ton of tight divisions, and several teams who have coaches on the hot seat. The defending champion is struggling without their field marshal at QB, and one expansion club has managed to be at .500 after 8 games. A lot left to be decided, but what a season it has been so far. This is going to be one that causes Coach Chuck Knox to go ballistic afterwards. The Generals struggle all day to put away the 1-win Seattle Dragons, and in the end that lack of killer instinct comes back to bite them as Seattle gets the score they need at the end to knock off the visiting Generals. On a windy Sunday with light rain and a slick field, Seattle frustrated the Generals all day, found a run threat and a pass rush, and the right foot of Mike Hollis gave the home squad their second win of the year. Timm Rosenbach came out throwing darts against one of his three former clubs, finding O.J. McDuffie for the game’s opening score on a perfect corner route. He would come back on the Dragons’ next drive and find Eric Metcalf for a second score to shock the Generals and go up 14-0. New Jersey found their sea legs on the slick Seattle turf and when QB Tommy Maddox hit rookie Terry Glenn from 8 yards out, the game was back on. New Jersey would go on to score 12 of the next 15 points as both clubs settled for field goals. New Jersey took the lead 19-17 with only 3:33 left in the game, but they had difficulty containing Seattle all day, and the final drive of the game would be no different. Seattle’s secret weapon on the slick field was scatback Derick Loville. Unlike the lumbering backs, like Bam Morris and Leland MacElroy, which New Jersey employed, Seattle did not feed the ball to Roosevelt Potts but instead played the outside game with Loville. The result? Loville glided, slid, and scooted fro 95 yards on 15 carries, while Potts, Morris, and MacElroy found themselves bogged down. On the final drive, Loville carried the ball 3 times to only 1 down for Potts. Seattle mixed in 3 passes from Rosenbach, and with 1:03 left on the clock they lined up for a 46-yard Hollis attempt to retake the lead. Hollis slipped a bit on the approach but righted himself and the ball went right through the uprights to give Seattle the 20-19 lead. New Jersey cold not respond, and when Maddox tried in desperation to hit on a 4th and 7 throw to Jeff Spek, FS Terry Hoague stepped in front of it and batted it away from the slowfooted tight end. Seattle got their second win, and New Jersey got a long flight home to contemplate how they let this one slip away. PHI 27 ARZ 14 Very different weather greeted the Stars when they touched down in Tempe. With a gametime temperature hovering around 100 degrees, the Stars kept cool with misting fans and twice the normal allotment of Gatorade. The strategy worked, and while the Stars were outgained by Arizona 357-317, they got the better of the Wranglers with 27 unanswered points to finish the game with the win after giving up the initial 14 to Trent Green and Arizona. Charlie Garner was hot in his return to full-time action, gaining 126 yards on 16 carries to take the Player of the Game honors. PIT 14 DEN 37 The Gold stayed hot and Pittsburgh continued to struggle with Shane Matthews under center. Matthews completed only 12 of 32 passes (37.5%) against the Denver defense, turning the ball over 3 times as well. Meanwhile, Mark Brunell was the model of efficiency with the short passing game, completing 12 of 13 in the first half before a hard hit to the head sidelined him in favor of Billy Joe Tolliver. The two QB’s combined for 282 yards passing, finding Odessa Turner for 135 yards and Mark Carrier twice for scores in the big home win. OHI 34 LA 19 The Glory won the matchup of ’95 expansion clubs, and in doing so evened their record at 4-4 at the season’s midpoint. It was a solid game for all aspects of the Ohio offense as Eddie George rushed for 98 yards, Ernest Byner scored twice from within the 5, and Jeff Hostetler threw for 322 yards against a depleted LA defense. Joey Galloway, who is on pace to set a league receiving yardage record, gained 179 on the day in only 6 catches as he remained the league’s most dynamic deep threat. WSH 25 POR 38 The Federals and Thunder each wanted to get to .500 with a win, but in the end the home team was the one who got the breaks as won the takeaway battle 2-0 to overtake the Federals. Don Majkowski was back under center, and threw 3 TDs but it was not enough as Jack Trudeau and Robert Drummond found holes in the Federals defense and exploited them. Webster Slaughter finished the day with 100 yards receiving and TE Lonnie Johnson proved his worth in the red zone, scoring twice for the Thunder. ATL 14 NOR 44 Atlanta was totally outmatched, falling behind 41-0 before the Breaker bench gave up some yards and 2 scores to the Fire. Jamie Martin played only 1 half, going 10 of 14 for 153 before giving way to his backup, rookie Bobby Hoying in the second half. Terrell Davis rushed for 83 yards and backup Erric Pegram added another 72 and 2 scores during the blowout win. BIR 16 HOU 38 Jim Kelly got the clear W in the battle of two of the league’s best gunslingers. Kelly won OPOTW with a 403 yard, 5 TD day, while Brett Favre was limited to only 269 yards and 1 score with 2 picks on the day. Antonio Freeman took advantage of double coverage on Brett Perriman to catch 6 balls for 143 yards and score. Thurman Thomas rushed for 66 yards and caught 2 balls for 67 and 2 TDs, including the play of the game, a 64-yard catch and run as the Gamblers won handily. JAX 24 CHI 27 Chicago’s offense finally found some rhythm under Scott Zolak as Mario Bates and Ricky Watters combined for 184 yards rushing, including a brilliant 43-yard romp from Bates in the 2nd quarter. Zolak threw for only 179 but the balance of the Chicago offense paid off as they kept Jacksonville off balance all day. Chris Chandler would throw for 295 and 3 scores but could not a score when it was needed most as a last second hail mary fell uncaught in the endzone. MEM 27 TEX 21 Memphis got TD runs from Moe Williams and Tommy Agie to outpace the Texas Outlaws in the AlamoDome. The Showboat defense rediscovered its mojo as they sacked Kelly Stouffer 6 times on the day, including 2 from blitzing LB Eddie Simmons. ORL 19 MGN 21 Michigan scored all 21 points in the first half and then held off the Renegades to preserve the win, moving to 5-3 at home. With Doug Flutie out, Sean Salisbury played well, throwing for 2 TDs and completing 74% of his throws, mostly short slants and hooks, to keep the ball moving. The Michigan defense got to Scott Mitchell 3 times and limited Terry Kirby to only 3.4 yards per carry to preserve the win. BAL 38 OAK 17 Baltimore put an unceremonious end to Oakland’s 3 game win streak, preserving their own record at a perfect 8-0. They did it with a relentless pass rush that harassed and tormented Bobby Hebert all day, to the tune of 9 sacks, including 2 each for Mike Piel and Charles Buchanon. Barry Foster rushed for 2 scores and Lamar Thomas had a solid game with 2 scores, but it was Bill Brooks who kept Oakland guessing, catching 11 balls from 14 targets and keeping the Blitz offense on the field. TBY 14 STL 32 Todd Collins had a brilliant game, throwing for 335 and managing the Tampa pass rush to help the Knights get over .500 after 8 games for the first time since relocating from LA. Troy Aikman struggled to keep the ball moving as the St. Louis defense sacked him 7 times on the day. DE Tony Tolbert for St. Louis was named Defensive POTW with his 2 sacks, one for a safety as the Knights staked a claim to possible playoff relevance for the first time in years. RECORD PACE: Three players are on a pace to set league records, and while we know that the second half of a season can grind down these record-setting paces, it is exciting to see the potential for major records to be set. Jim Kelly has 2,732 yards passing, ahead of the pace Brett Favre had when he set the league passing yardage record in 1992, the only passer ever to surpass 5,000 yards in a season. In New Jersey, DE Phil Hansen is on pace to break his own record of 23 sacks. With 8 games under his belt, his 14 sacks has him on pace for 28 on the year. He is well on his way to a 3rd 20-sack season since his rookie year in 1991, an amazing accomplishment even if he cannot reach 24 sacks over the second half of the season. Finally, 2nd year receiver Joey Galloway has found chemistry with QB Jeff Hostetler. At the halfway point of the year he is already over 1,000 receiving at 1,010 yards. He is on pace to become the first receiver to ever reach 2,000 yards in a season. The current record is 1,959 from Eric Truvillion in 1986, and, we have to remind everyone, that after 8 games in ’86 Truvillion was at 1,072 yards, ahead of Galloway’s pace, but the heat of summer has a way of melting energy from offenses, so for Galloway to keep pace he will need both determination and a lot of luck. COACHING CONCERNS: Things are looking bad for Ted Tollner in Arizona. Not only has his decision to bench QB Robbie Bosco not produced wins, he seems to be losing the locker room. The man who has coached the Wranglers since 1989 has received plenty of criticism from the press in Phoenix, but now he must deal with discord in his own locker room as this week we heard critiques of the team from within the locker room. Both veteran LB Bill Romanowski and HB Tim Lester have been less than complimentary. And while we cannot place all the blame on Coach Tollner, after all the Wranglers have not found solid talent in the draft in several years, a lot of the issues seem to be on offense, which is meant to be Tollner’s strength. It was not explosive with Bosco under center, but it has been outright putrid under Trent Green. Arizona currently ranks 23rd in Points Per Game and 22nd in Yards Per Game, and that translates into 1 win in the season’s first 8 weeks. Tollner is likely safe to finish out the season, but any chance at finishing out his 3 year contract depends on if he can regain the faith of his players and get them to play for him. STEEL CITY SLUMP: The Maulers have one of the deepest rosters in football, but when they lost Alan Risher it became clear that QB may not be a position of strength. Shane Matthews has been mediocre at best, throwing 6 picks along with 6 TDs and completing only 56% of his throws. What is worse, the Maulers have not taken advantage of the 8 and 9 men boxes they face each week to use play action effectively. Teams are ganging up on Mike Rozier, and Pittsburgh is not forcing them to stay honest with deep balls. Rumors have Coach Marchibroda possibly turning to journeyman John Fourcade if Matthews continues to struggle. Fourcade has only been with the club a few weeks, and did not fare particularly well in relief of Troy Aikman in his time in Tampa Bay, so it is a bit of a longshot, but the Maulers have to do something after 3 of the last 4. The defense has remained steady, but they cannot do it all alone, so Coach Marchibroda needs to find an answer at QB if the Maulers want any chance to defend their title in the playoffs. INJURY REPORT: Washington got bad news on Monday when an MRI revealed ligament damage in CB Lester Lyles knee. He will miss the rest of the season and his rehab could require a significant portion of the offseason as well. Houston will also be without one of their key defenders as nickel back Mike Adams could miss the rest of the year with a hip fracture. In New Orleans the concern is for LB Jeff Herrod who suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday and was unable to even hobble to the sideline. He may miss as much as 2-3 months if the muscle is as damaged as initial indications seem to highlight. Oakland is likely without their flanker for up to 2 months as Ed McCaffrey suffered a broken wrist on an awkward landing on the hard pitcher’s mound area of the Oakland infield. In Seattle LB Tommy Thigpen suffered a sprained knee in the win over New Jersey and could miss as much as a month, while Michigan QB Doug Flutie is still expected to miss at least another week due to his wrist. Likely returning this week are Jacksonville FB Edgar Bennett, Ohio T Romen Oben, Orlando LB Tim Green, Tampa HB Errict Rhett, and Memphis G Jamie Dukes. The injury to Alan Risher and the QB crisis it created in Pittsburgh has highlighted for football fans everywhere the importance of a solid 2nd QB. Despite having a talent-laden defense and solid offensive stars like TE Mike Shaw, WR Louis Lipps, and HB Mike Rozier, the Maulers have been unable to win games without Risher. We have seen this before, and yet so often it seems near impossible for clubs to ensure that they have backups ready to go if called upon. Sure, we expect a backup QB to struggle when asked to come in mid-game, but even with a week or more of prep, so many backups seem to struggle. In this week's episode of Around the League, we rank the 24 current #2's, including those that have already been pressed into action this week. This is clearly subjective, as some of these players have never really had a chance to shine. We did not think much of Jamie Martin as the backup to Timm Rosenbach in New Orleans and now he is not only starting but has New Orleans poised as a potential top seed in the Western Conference. Only time will tell if we are right or wrong about this list, but let's try anyway. FORMER STARTERS ARIZONA: Robbie Bosco. A starter for nearly a decade, Bosco can be effective, but rarely makes the big play needed in tough situations. He can win you games if he has support, but he will not take the team on his shoulders. ATLANTA: Cliff Stoudt. He is a backup only because Atlanta wants to see what Eric Zeier has to offer. Stoudt could start for 8-10 teams in this league, and is still a respected QB by anyone who watched him play in Birmingham. MEMPHIS: Mike Kelley. Kelley was a quality starter for the Showboats for several years, and we are quite frankly shocked he has been willing to play second fiddle to Heath Shuler. We expected him to demand a trade, but so far he has kept his nose clean and towed the company line as Shuler's understudy. ST. LOUIS: Frank Reich. True, he was never a USFL starter, nor really a Bills starter when he served as Boomer Esiason's backup on 2 championship Bills squads, but when called upon, he came through big time, like that epic comeback against the Houston Oilers. He is older now, and perhaps more of a "player-coach" for Todd Collins than a true starter-level player, but he brings a lot of leadership, which seems to be rubbing off on St. Louis's young and improving starter. UP & COMERS HOUSTON: Chuck Hartlieb-- Were Jim Kelly to retire, we fully expect Hartlieb to get a full season to prove himself. He is not a physical specimen, but when he has been called on he has been able to produce with the talent Houston has around him. LOS ANGELES: Jeff Garcia: With Brent Pease's recent injury we are all getting a first look at the former San Jose State QB. It is way too early to tell if he can be a possible starter in this league, though we do love his mobility. He is raw, but he has some skills that could be of use to the Express. WASHINGTON: Kordell Stewart-- The heir apparent for the Feds. He has had opportunities and we have been impressed. His 5 starts this year for Washington showcased his arm and his legs. His last game before Majkowski came back was a 408 yard monster of a game. We fully expect him to take over the reins for the Feds in the near future. TOTAL UNKNOWNS BIRMINGHAM: Jay Barker/Danny Kanell: A 2nd year player and a rookie, neither of whom we have a good sense for. Kanell showed some things at FSU and he is #2 on the depth chart, but right now we just cannot say how they would perform were Brett Favre to miss a few games. NEW ORLEANS: Bobby Hoying: The rookie from Ohio State has talent, we saw that with the Buckeyes, but does his game translate to the pro game? Too early to tell and too few opportunities as Jamie Martin is clearly the starter for now and perhaps the future too. PORTLAND: Bill Musgrave/Eric Wilhelm: These two seem interchangeable, and, in fact, both have been activated or deactivated in different weeks by the Thunder. At least with two interchangeable backups you don't get the fans calling for a replacement when the starter struggles, as we used to see when Kerwin Bell was on the bench. TEXAS: Tony Sacca. The definition of "we have no idea". Sacca has been in the league for 2 full seasons and has not played 1 snap of football, not even in garbage time mop up duty. Can he play? We don't know. It is just that basic. WILL DO IN A PINCH, BUT NOT A FUTURE STARTER BALTIMORE: Cody Carlson. Has never really been given a chance to start but has several years behind him and has shown an ability to win games when called upon. DENVER: Billy Joe Tolliver: BJ has already gotten some action this year and he has acquitted himself well. He has a lively arm but sometimes gets flustered under pressure and tries to play "hero ball" when he should just throw the ball away. JACKSONVILLE: Browning Nagle: Had a shot as a starter in Philly and it did not go well, so being a backup seems just about right. If Chris Chandler went down for the year, we are not sure Nagle would be the long term solution. MICHIGAN: Sean Salisbury. Had Michigan thought Sean was starting material they would not have gone after Joe Montana after trading away Trudeau, and they certainly would not have traded to get Doug Flutie. It seems clear that the Panthers view Salisbury as a consistent, but lackluster, option who hopefully only sees the field in garbage time. OAKLAND: Cary Conklin. A vagabond backup if ever there was one. Conklin has spent 7 years in the league and has started 1 game in the last 4. Should anything happen to Bobby Hebert, we don't know if Conklin can do the job at all. NOT WHAT ANYBODY WANTS NEW JERSEY: Rob Johnson/Tommy Maddox: We are just not sure if Maddox is the new starter or if Johnson will reclaim the job when he is healthy. Regardless of which QB is the backup moving forward, we are not sure New Jersey really has a potential starter in either one. OHIO: Dave Brown: A high draft pick by New Jersey in 1992, Brown is just not showing us anything. He was a stretch when the Generals signed him, proved that in limited action in New Jersey and was an easy guy to let slip away in the expansion draft. Ohio should be looking for a better option as Jeff Hostetler is not getting any younger. PITTSBURGH: Steve Matthews: The whole reason we decided to write this article. Matthews has not been able to get it done for the Maulers this year. So much so that they have signed John Fourcade, hardly a top flight option, and Fourcade seems to be on target to start this week if rumors out of Mauler camp can be believed. SEATTLE: David Klingler: We have seen enough of Klingler in past years, both in Seattle and Houston that we know that if he gets a start, Seattle will likely get a loss. There is an interesting dynamic behind him as both Damon Huard and Jon Kitna showed some skills in camp, but Huard is on the practice squad and Kitna sits as the emergency QB, so who knows? SHOULD BE STARTING CHICAGO: Dan McGwire: McGwire did an outstanding job leading the Machine when Scott Zolak went down last year, just as Zolak had done when Kosar went down and then retired. So, who should be the starter? Based on this year's Machine production, we think it is just a matter of time before McGwire gets the call again. ORLANDO: Craig Erickson: All he does is win games. Erickson has gotten a solid number of starts over the past 3 years and while he does not look good doing it, he wins games. He is smart with the ball, and while he will not scare defenses with his arm talent, in the right system he would be a solid starter. PHILADELPHIA: Eric Kramer: Another guy who will not wow you, but who will win games for you. Kramer is not pushing to start, not demanding a trade, but the potential is there if the right team comes calling. Philly would be wise to lock him up for a few more years. TAMPA BAY: Kerwin Bell: We know, we know, when Bell started for Portland we used countless articles to say he should not be starting, but the truth is that he has the talent, if only he could be more consistent. He is not All-USFL quality, but he is a better option than several of the guys we see under center each week around the league. We are back to a split schedule again, with the Atlantic and Southern divisions headed off to face rivals while the Pacific clubs visit their Central Division opponents. In the divisional games we find a really intriguing Keystone Clash between the struggling Stars and Maulers, while Baltimore is in DC to face their rivals, the Washington Federals. New Jersey is also in Columbus to face the surprising Ohio Glory. In the South it is Birmingham hoping to rebound with a win in Atlanta against the struggling Fire. Jacksonville is in Memphs, both at 4-4 and both hoping for a better second half to the season, while Tampa Bay hosts their in-state rivals, the Orlando Renegades, hoping home cooking can take them to 6-3. In the Western Conference, the best game may be 5-3 Michigan hosting 3-5 Oakland as the Invaders try to recoup after being dismantled by Baltimore. Denver travels to Chicago in a key game for both clubs. New Orleans hosts Portland and Houston hosts LA as both clubs hope to keep pace in the Central. St. Louis hopes to gain ground as they host the 2-win Dragons, and Texas hopes that a homestand against the sad sack Wranglers can help get them back on the right track.

Hey, True Believers. Before we get into the action this week, a quick note that I have added a new feature to the website. We have a new page where each week I will post a poll so that you can weigh in on questions related to this Alt History USFL, the real USFL, and the new USFL 2.0 expected to begin this April. I am going with the free poll app, which limits how many options I can provide, but you are always invited to use the comment section in our blogs entries to add your thoughts as well. We kick off with a question about the new USFL 2022 and your initial impression. Enjoy. With all 24 USFL clubs playing division rivals this week, we knew it would be a wild one. We were not disappointed. Houston and New Orleans came down to a 2 point PAT to decide it, New Jersey and Washington redefined what an overtime game could look like. Oakland reminded everyone that they are not dead yet, and Baltimore gave us yet another reason to believe. Here it is Week 7 of the USFL 1996 season. We knew this would be a great game. New Orleans is hungry and they see a chance to wrest the division title away from the Gamblers, while Houston is still a very dangerous club and clearly will be there the entire season. This one looked like a New Orleans win from the beginning, but all came down to one key play to tie at the end. The Breakers got off to an amazing start as Jamie Martin hit Qadry Ismail twice for scores in the first half. Martin would finish the day with only 128 yards passing, but three scores, as the Breaker offense relied on a 3-headed run game to confound Houston’s D. Second year back Terrell Davis rushed 20 times for 88 yards, and got huge assists from fullback Greg Paterra (4 for 17 yards) and backup Erric Pegram (4 carries for 56 yards). Down 14-0 early, Houston rallied with 2 field goals to go in down by 8 at the half. New Orleans boosted the lead to 15 in the 3rd thanks to a Martin to Fontenot TD toss, but Houston had a rally in them. The Gamblers scored late in the 3rd, a Brett Perriman TD, which brought them again back to within 8 at 21-13. After a missed Kasay field goal on their next drive, Houston needed a 2-minute drill, complete with a 2-point conversion to get them to a tie as time wound down. Thurman Thomas took over in the final 2 minutes, touching the ball 6 times on a 9 play drive. He would finish the day as the leading rusher and leading receiver with 105 on the ground and another 82 yards in the air, including a brilliant 44 yard gain on the final drive on a simple screen pass. Houston got the TD they needed when Jim Kelly found James Pruitt in the back of the endzone, but it would come down to a successful PAT to tie the game and send it to overtime in front of a feverish 57,200 in the AstroDome. Kelly faked a quick slant to Perriman and handed to Thomas on a draw, but when Lamar Lathon clipped Thomas’s ankles behind the line of scrimmage, the PAT failed and the Breakers only had to successfully receive the onside kick and take a knee to end the game. The win is huge for Coach Ditka and the Breakers, as it moves New Orleans to 5-2, a half game ahead of the Gamblers and all alone atop the division. While a tiebreaker is unlikely to be needed due to Houston’s tie against St. Louis, the advantage of having beaten the Gamblers in Houston is huge for the Breakers. WSH 20 NJ 23 We almost picked this one as game of the week, because how often do you see 3 scores in overtime. After playing to a 17-17 draw in regulation in Tommy Maddox’s first start replacing Rob Johnson, New Jersey took the lead in overtime on a 50 yard Vinatieri kick. On the next possession Washington equalized on an astounding 57-yard try by Doug Pelfry, meaning the game was tied again. New Jersey took the win with only 40 seconds left in the extra period, thanks to Vinatieri once again. All this despite Kordell Stewart throwing for 408 yards. PHI 14 BAL 30 Eric Kramer, filling in for Chuck Long, was no match for the Baltimore defense, and with Barry Foster rushing for 101 yards for the Blitz, play action became a highly effective weapon as well. The Blitz scored 30 unanswered points to put the game out of reach before a late Cris Carter TD got the Stars within 2 scores. Blitz fans are over the moon with their 7-0 start, to be sure. PIT 10 OHI 31 The Maulers, and particularly Shane Matthews, continue to struggle with Risher gone for the year. Pittsburgh converted only 3 of 15 third downs on a day when the Ohio Glory looked good on both sides of the ball. Both Eddie George and Ernest Byner scored for Ohio in one of their biggest wins in the 2 year history of the club. BIR 35 ORL 28 Brett Favre went off for 397 yards and 4 TDs as the Stallions needed every bit of that to knock off the Renegades in Orlando. Favre hit Cedric Tillman with the winning score in the 4th, his 3rd receiving TD of the day as he took over for an injured Ernest Givens. Scott Mitchell threw for 349 and 3 scores in a losing cause, with all 3 TDs going to Bert Emmanuel. MEM 31 TBY 38 Kerwin Bell, subbing for the injured Troy Aikman had one of those “Good Kerwin” games, throwing for 429 yards and 4 TDs. And just as in Orlando, it was needed, as Heath Shuler also had a strong outing for the Showboats, throwing for 4 scores as well. Neither defense seemed particularly problematic on the day as the two clubs combined for just under 900 yards of offense. ATL 3 JAX 26 The Bulls got themselves above .500 with a solid game in all phases as they limited Atlanta to 199 total yards of offense while putting up 357 themselves. An impressive 10 of 17 third down conversions and a solid run game with Means and Morris gave the Bulls the convincing win. STL 31 CHI 24 The Knights hit .500 at 3-3-1 with a big road win against the spiraling Machine. Chicago fell to 2-5 largely due to a lack of run game as St. Louis held Rickey Watters to only 33 yards on 13 attempts. The combination of Darrell Thompson (62 yards) and Alfred Jackson (22) was enough to power St. Louis to a solid divisional road win. TEX 23 MGN 21 Texas built up a 23-7 third quarter lead before two late Michigan TDs made it close. As in Houston it came down to a final 2-point conversion to tie, and as in Houston the Panthers failed to convert, giving Texas the 2 point margin of victory. Tyrone Wheatley did well in a losing cause, rushing for 111, but 2 Flutie picks and 3 sacks were harmful for the Panthers. Texas got 90 yards form Reggie Cobb, but it was a Stouffer to Shawn Collins TD that gave Texas the points to put them over the top. OAK 42 ARZ 20 The Invaders have won 3 in a row and looked ready to go for more as they obliterated the usually tough Arizona defense. Bobby Hebert threw for 3 scores and both Siran Stacy and Glyn Milburn rushed for scores as the floodgates opened in the desert. Trent Green continues to struggle, throwing 2 picks and only gaining 174 in the air for the besieged Wranglers. SEA 20 DEN 38 Mark Brunell was the picture of consistency, going 23 of 27 and connecting on 4 scoring throws to power the Gold to a divisional win against the Dragons. Rashaan Salaam also had a big day, rushing for 115 on 20 carries. Rookie TE Marco Battaglia had himself a day as well, catching 4 balls for 20 yards and 2 TDs. POR 34 LA 24 The Portland offense finally woke up after several bad weeks as they gained a total of 434, including 174 rushing. Robert Drummond found lots of holes on his way to 155 on 19 carries and Jack Trudeau became yet another USFL QB to throw 4 TDs on the week. Brent Pease was knocked out just after the half, which meant that largely untested Jeff Garcia came in to replace him. Garcia struggled, completing only 15 of 33 passes as the Express played catchup in the 2nd half. Oakland Rising: I guess we lit a fire under the Oakland Invaders with our critiques a few weeks back. Either that or Coach Mora has made his adjustments and the team is responding. Oakland has rattled off 3 straight wins, and shown a lot of offensive firepower in doing so. Bobby Hebert has now surpassed Jim Kelly for the passing TD lead, having thrown 11 scoring tosses in just the past 3 weeks. In that time, Oakland has scored 48, 34 and 42 points, overwhelming their opponents and allowing their somewhat shaky defense some breathing room. But, before you bet the ranch on the Invaders, note that those three wins were home against Texas and away against the 1-6 Dragons and Wranglers. They face the 7-0 Blitz this week. If they can win this one at home, then I think we start taking this revival a lot more seriously. Stars Falling: On the opposite side of the momentum swing we find Philadelphia. After a 4-0 start the Stars have lost 3 in a row. Unlike Pittsburgh (Losers of 3 of 4), they cannot point to a season ending injury to a key player as the reason. Yes, they have had to shuttle running backs in and out of the lineup over the past month due to injury, and they did lose Chuck Long this week, but the issues have been more complex than that. Their usually stout run defense is now ranked 18th in the league, and overall the defense has not been as reliable as we have gotten accustomed to. The offense has been uneven all year, and if the defense has lost its swagger it may be very tough for Philly to keep pace with Baltimore, which already has a 3-game lead on the division. Parity Reins: The USFL has a well-deserved reputation for mobility among clubs (not relocation, mobility in the standings) and that is certainly the case again as we have 14 of 24 clubs within 1 game of .500 after seven weeks. While we have some clear success stories, Baltimore at 7-0, or the Breakers, Stallions, Bandits, and Gold at 5-2, and we have some teams looking lost, like Seattle and Arizona at 1-6 each, for the most part this is a 4-3 and 3-4 league. That is, of course, good for ticket sales, and good for playoff drives late in the year. There will be a lot of season-determining games in the final weeks if the season keeps up this model into June. Award Watch: Over the first half of the season, some names have already been clearly placed into the races for MVP, Offensive and Defensive POTY, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. In the MVP race, as usual, it looks like a QB battle, with Kelly, Favre, and possibly Chris Miller surprisingly in the hunt, each with 16 TDs or more already this year. You can add Mike Rozier, Rashaan Salaam, Joey Galloway and Henry Ellard into the mix for OPOTY, while on the defensive side the frontrunners are New Jersey DE Phil Hanson, who already has 13 sacks on the season, on pace for a league record 27, and Michigan CB Chris Snyder, who leads the league with 6 picks for the Panthers. Among rookies, it is still a bit more muddled, which is typical as these new players get more action as the season progresses. Terry Glenn’s 483 yards and 4 TDs place him among top contenders, but more Generals wins would help the cause. Moe Williams with 5 TDs to date and Mike Alstott with 4 could also be in the running, making Alstott the first fullback to get any serious consideration. On the defensive side we have contenders in Washington DE Tony Brackens, with 7 sacks to date, and Portland DB Je’Rod Cherry, with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery so far this year. Finally, the Coach of the Year looks like it could be a runaway for Baltimore’s Lindy Infante. This 7-0 start was not expected, even though the Blitz have seen steady improvement under Infante. Should the Blitz stumble, other coaches getting some props include Breakers’ head man Mike Ditka, Tampa’s Jerry Glanville, and Michigan’s Skip Holtz. But it will take a lot for Infante not to run away with this one. Injury Report: A few potentially rough injuries impacted the league this week. Chief among them was the news that Birmingham would be without their All-USFL tackle Richmond Webb for the rest of the year with a broken leg. The fracture occurred due to an illegal chop block as Webb was leading a sweep for Stephen Davis, and sadly it could cost him the rest of the year. The Stallions got better news on wideout Ernest Givens, though missing their top receiver for a month is no great news, it was initially feared to be a much more serious injury. Memphis is likely to be without CB Deon Figures for longer than originally estimated as an infection has complicated his healing process. It could be another month before the speedy DB can return to play. New Jersey will be without QB Rob Johnson for at least 2 weks as he deals with a sprained wrist. However, if Tommy Maddox can show something, this could be a more permanent shift for Coach Knox, who has managed Johnson well, but still clearly has lingering doubts about the USC product. Former Generals QB Doug Flutie will also be sidelined, though perhaps for only 1 week, due to an elbow injury in his non-throwing arm. Likewise, LA QB Brent Pease is listed as doubtful for this upcoming week after getting knocked out of the game against Ohio with a shoulder injury. Jeff Garcia will start in his place. Washington DT is listed as questionable with a groin pull, as is Texas wideout Dokie Williams, Orlando tackle Matt Patchan, Chicago fullback Kimble Anders, and Philadelphia QB Chuck Long (after missing this week it is an upgrade to Questionable). Troy Aikman may return as he was cited as a game-time decision this week, but with Kerwin Bell showing he still has some skill in his arm, the Bandits will not rush Aikman. Arizona is expected to get rookie Karim Abdul-Jabbar back, and we also expect a return to action for Chicago T Romen Oben, Baltimore back Derrick Fenner, Bulls fullback Edgar Bennett and Outlaw CB Jerome Henderson. Texas becomes the first club to reveal their proposed 1997 looks from Nike, which is not surprising considering that they are the only club of the 3 projects this year not to be looking at a full rebranding with new logos. The Outlaw logo remains the same, though the wordmark gets a bit of home town flair with the addition of an Alamo silhouette above the team name to drive home the permanent home of the club in San Antonio. The uniform remains largely the same with two major exceptions. First is the addition of the Alamo roofline as a piping element on the jerseys. The second is a new stripe pattern mean to resemble both rattlesnake skin and traditional Native American patterns of the region. The diamond pattern contained within solid stripes uses all 4 Outlaw colors (Kelly, Royal, Black and White) and can be seen on the helmet and the pants for the Outlaws. Here are mockups as well as the league’s new “Figure Display” version of the designs. After a week in which all 24 clubs faced divisional games, we have one where none of the 24 clubs are in their division. The midway point of the season still has some interesting matchups, led by Pittsburgh, on the heels of a 3 game losing streak, heading to Denver to face a hot Gold club. Birmingham is in Houston in a very interesting matchup of potent offenses, while we also have some interesting games between foes sitting at 3-4 and hoping to even their records as Washington is in Portland, Memphis is in Texas, and Ohio heads out to LA in a battle of two clubs who are headed in the right direction. Undefeated Baltimore will have a challenge as they head to Oakland to take on Bobby Hebert and an Invader squad that has won 3 in a row. Jacksonville is in Chicago hoping to continue Coach Schottenheimer’s woes this year, while the Breakers, hot off their big win in Houston, host the Atlanta Fire. New Jersey hopes to even their record at 4-4 when they play the 1-win Seattle Dragons at Husky Stadium, and Philadelphia hopes they can keep pace with the Blitz as they face a reeling Wranglers club in the desert. Orlando will head up to Michigan, and the St. Louis Knights hope they can continue their run of good play as they host the 5-2 Tampa Bay Bandits.

It was a classic battle of wills in Memphis, where the Showboats took on the Washington Federals. Both clubs entered the week needing a win. With a victory Washington would reach .500 and stay in range of the 2nd and 3rd place Atlantic clubs, while still 3 games back of undefeated Baltimore. For Memphis, moving to 4-2 gave them a chance to earn a share of first place in the South. Two motivated teams, two defenses trying to prove they still had it, and two offenses still testing out their options. What we got was a low scoring game, but not a low action game. It would take overtime to settle the game’s final score, and along the way the two clubs accounted for 800 total yards of offense and 6 turnovers in a game that had a lot more than its 16-10 final score would indicate. For one thing we got to watch two young QB’s strut their stuff. Memphis’s Heath Shuler had a strong day, despite two picks, by throwing for 311 yards and largely frustrating Dexter Manley and the Feds’ pass rush. On the other side Kordell Stewart had himself a game, throwing for an equal 311 yards but without a pick on his stat sheet. On the ground, Washington had the better day, with Terrell Fletcher hitting the home run ball, rushing for 49 yards on only 3 carries, while Barry Word did the dirty work, rushing for 55 yards and a 4.2 YPC average. Both clubs also spread the ball around, with Shuler hitting 8 different receivers, led by Carl Pickens and Adrian Cooper. Washington got the ball to Herman Moore for 104 yards but Stewart found 9 different receivers on the day, including 62 yards in the air for Mike Williams and 6 receptions for TE Travis McNeal. And yet, with all this offense, the two respective defenses played to a 10-10 tie after 60 minutes. Herman Moore scored the only TD for Washington in regulation, while Jeff Query got the equalizer for Memphis in the 4th quarter to lock up the game and send it to extra time. In overtime, both clubs traded short drives, but neither got their kickers in range. On their 3rd drive, and with time running out Washington got the break they needed. On a drive that started on their own 8 yard line, the Federals rushed on 5 consecutive plays, but found themselves with a 3rd and 5 on their own 47. Kordell Stewart was chased down on the play, and appeared to get called for grounding on a late throw to avoid a sack, but the Memphis joy turned to jeers when the ref instead called DT Tony Savage for Unnecessary Roughness for a blow to Stewart’s head on the sack attempt. Boos rained down from the Liberty Bowl crowd, but the damage was done. First down for Washington on the Memphis side of the field. 4 plays later Stewart found Moore for a second time and the Feds got a walk-off TD to end the game. A bad call? Possibly. Savage definitely clocked Stewart with a forearm to the back of the head, but it was largely because Stewart was headed to the ground already and slipped lower than Savage’s swing expected. At the same time it was clear that Stewart’s attempt to avoid the sack by throwing the ball away should have constituted illegal grounding, but the call did not go Memphis’s way. The Feds had their .500 record and now Memphis slipped to 3-3 as well. CHI 14 NOR 24 The big clash in the Central was a shot for New Orleans to lay claim as a contender, and they did just that. Jamie Martin outplayed Scott Zolak and WR Qadry Ismail had a season-best 11 receptions and a score to help New Orleans get the home win. Ricky Watters managed 105 on the ground, but the offense for Chicago just could not convert yards into points as they fell to 2-4. HOU 27 TEX 12 Even after Jim Kelly was sidelined with a concussion in the first quarter, Texas simply could not shut down the Gambler offense. Chuck Hartlieb threw for 3 scores and Thurman Thomas contributed 89 on the ground and another 59 in the air to help Houston keep their hold over the top spot in the division. MGN 24 STL 21 Michigan made it a sweep by the Central Division road teams as they got a Snyder pick-6 and 2 Doug Flutie TD passes to spoil the weekend in St. Louis. In another game where the starter went out early, Frank Reich got into the game after Todd Collins went down, but looked quite rusty, going 11 for 28with 3 picks as Michigan held down the Knights despite a rough game for Tyrone Wheatley (only 27 yards rushing). ARZ 16 LA 23 The Express evened their record at 3-3 at the expense of the spiraling Wranglers. The Wranglers struggled to run the ball against the Express and Marcus Allen had his best game of the year for LA, rushing for 92 yards and 2 scores to pace the Express to a comfortable home victory. Ted Tollner has to worry that his job may be on the line if this season keeps going south. DEN 36 POR 17 The Gold put on a show of strength in Portland, with The combo of Rashaan Salaam and Ricky Whittle accounting for 94 yards rushing, while backup Billy Joe Tolliver threw for 262 and 2 TDs. Add in a busy day for Jeff Wilkens, who kicked 5 field goals and you get a decisive Gold victory on the road. OAK 34 SEA 22 Seattle got a better showing out of their offense, but the Invaders were just too much for them as Bobby Hebert showed his best form of the season, throwing for 4 scores, including 2 to Henry Ellard. Tim Rosenbach played well, but with the run game of the Dragons only accounting for 24 yards all day it was a lost cause. Only Eric Metcalf (11 receptions for 134 yards) seemed up to the task on the day. OHIO 10 ATL 13 Torrential rain made this one a tough slog for both offenses. Somehow the Fire managed not to get put out as a late Zeier to Wycheck TD saved the day for the home team. Ohio struggled all day, despite Jeff Hostetler completing 72% of his throws. Two picks and a lot of penalties (9 for 70 yards) hindered the Glory all game, and the Fire came away with their 2nd win of the season. PHI 20 BIR 25 The rain that blanketed the South this weekend did not slow down the Stars and Stallions, who combined for over 800 yards of combined yardage. But, once again an injury impacted the game, as Chuck Long threw only 1 pass before succumbing. Eric Kramer would go 21 of 45 in the rain, but it was not enough as Brett Favre tossed 2 TD’s and the combo of Alstott and Stephen Davis rushed for 96 yards to pace the Stallion offense to the needed W. Both clubs now sit at 4-2 on the year. PIT 10 JAX 23 The Bulls handed the Maulers another loss as their D pressured QB Shane Matthews into 2 picks and hurried him all game. Rozier still got his 100 yards (102 to be exact) but Chris Chandler’s 26 of 34 day came with 2 TD passes as the Bulls held off the Maulers to snag their 3rd win. BAL 20 ORL 17 Orlando came close to ending Baltimore’s win streak at 5 games, but a last second Charlie Baumann FG to tie the game doinked off the right upright and sank the Renegades’ chances. Baltimore relied heavily on Barry Foster, who rushed the ball 18 times for 91 yards, while Orlando continued to split carries between Kirby and Barber as the two combined for 92 yards and a score. NJ 26 TBY 31 Generals’ QB Rob Johnson had one of his best games, throwing for 3 scores, and Bam Morris averaged 4.9 yards against the Tampa defense, but it was not enough as Errict Rhett paced the Bandits. Tampa too saw their QB go down, though Aikman’s injury appears to be minor and may not cost him another game. Kerwin Bell came in and did enough to get the Bandits the home win over the Generals. Robert Brooks caught 2 Bell TDs and helped Tampa outpace New Jersey. Who will lead us? A week that saw a lot of nervous fans as QB’s across the schedule were knocked out of games. The good news is that for most the blows were temporary and they will be back next week. Among the lucky were Houston’s Jim Kelly, and St. Louis’s Todd Collins, both of whom enter this weekend as probable starters. A little more unsure is Denver’s Mark Brunell, who joins Majkowski on the injury list as “Questionable” to play. But, that is better than what we saw in Tampa Bay and in Philly, where both Troy Aikman and Chuck Long are expected to miss at least 1 week, perhaps two, Aikman with a shoulder concern, and long with an abdominal strain that makes any pass attempt a painful experiment. Who Saw This Coming? Baltimore’s 6-0 start is mystifying league pundits, who each week seem to revel in picking upsets against the Blitz. Baltimore is not 1st in the league in any major category, though their 2nd ranking in both total yards allowed and passing yards allowed is pretty darn close. Their rush attack has found new life with Barry Foster among the league leaders for the first time in his career. The Blitz are doing what needs to be done each week to keep the streak going. They will have a big test this week against the Stars, but caught some good fortune in that Philly will be without Chuck Long under center. Having already knocked off Pittsburgh and Washington, Baltimore can really solidify their position with a win over the Stars. If you are looking for stars on this Blitz squad, there are a few, but not the names you might expect. First among them is Foster, who is only averaging 3.5 YPC, but who is bludgeoning defenses. Bill Brooks is having a really strong start to the year as well, catching 41 balls for 430 yards and 3 scores in the league’s first 6 weeks. Not a record-breaking pace by any stretch, but he is consistently open when Chris Miller needs a key third down. Second on the team in receptions is Kyle Brady, whose 9.9 yards per catch translates into a lot of key first downs. The real story however is on defense, where the Blitz are getting contributions at every level. Donnell Woolford is doing a bit of everything, leadin the team in tackles with 37 (tied with LB Tracy Rogers), but also has 2 sacks and 2 picks. DE Mike Piel is having a solid season with 5 sacks, and even William “The Refrigerator” Perry is seeing some success, having lost about 30 pounds in the offseason and seems quicker in his 11th season than at any other point in his career. Finally, we have to recognize the leadership of LB Barney Bussey. His stats are not out of this world, but his leadership as the QB of the defense is obvious and he has the ears of his entire squad. When he adjusts a called defense, the Blitz defenders follow his directives to the letter. So Long and Good Night: While not entirely unexpected, Pittsburgh QB Alan Risher’s announcement that he will not return to the USFL and the Maulers after recovering from a season-ending injury was still a shock to fans of the club. Risher, citing the wear and tear on his body over 13 seasons (11 in the Steel City), announced that he will make his retirement from pro football official at the end of the season, but that he wanted to give the club the best chance to strategize his replacement. The extra time this early announcement gives Pittsburgh opens up more options for the club to evaluate where they are with Steve Matthews and Pat O’Hara on the roster. Pittsburgh also has Doug Nussmeier under contract, but currently on the practice squad. Do they stand pat with these three options, or do they look elsewhere? Well, there are going to be options when the 1996-1997 offseason comes around. Looking around, this is what we see as options: Rookies expected to come out this year: If Matthews plays adequately, the Maulers may feel they can use him as a transition QB and develop a young star. So who may be coming out this year that could make their way to Pittsburgh? The most highly-touted college QB is likely Arizona State’s Jake Plummer, who has the kind of run-pass combo of skills that Ted Marchibroda has used so well with Risher. Other potential senior QBs include Florida’s Danny Wuerffel, Cal’s Pat Barnes, and local hero, Penn State’s Wally Richardson. Of course, the real question is if Tennessee QB Peyton Manning will declare after his Jr year, making him the clear #1 QB prospect in this year’s draft. Inside sources say it is unlikely, but stranger things have happened. What about possible USFL Free Agents?: While it is too early to know which QB’s may eschew contract renegotiation and opt to play the market, we can guess a few who may be available for Mauler management to recruit. Among QB’s with tenuous relationships with their current clubs, and in the final year of their contracts, we find Arizona’s Robbie Bosco, who is not happy about being benched by Coach Tollner. We could also imagine Scott Zolak being on the market, though his season has been rough this year, coming off a season-ending injury last year. Not a good combo for the Free Agent market. What about Houston backup Chuck Hartlieb? Both he and Kelly are at the end of their contracts, and we all know Houston will want to resign Kelly. In Tampa both Troy Aikman and Kent Graham are on 1 year deals, but we expect Tampa to work hard to resign both. That leaves Texas QB Kelly Stouffer as perhaps the best prospect in the Free Agency Pool, but only if the Outlaws see another option available. Not looking like a home run prospect here. So, the last option, signing an NFL QB away to the Spring. Right now there are no really intriguing free agents out there, but if a player is willing to jump from NFL in January to USFL in March, there are some potentially interesting free agents expected after the 1996 NFL fall season. The most intriguing is Ram and Saint veteran Jim Everett. Everett has some talent and a few years left in his body, but his style is very different from the one we have seen Marchibroda develop in Risher. Does Marchibroda have it in him to retool to fit Everett? The same could be said for Cleveland/Baltimore QB Vinny Testaverde, who is more of a classic pocket passer and not exactly swift of foot. A possible longshot, but an intriguing one is Minnesota QB Warren Moon, another pure pocket passer, but one with HOF credentials. So what are the Maulers to do? The decision may actually have to wait until Mike Rozier’s future is determined. If the veteran HB decides to retire also, then Pittsburgh may retool to a more conservative, ground & pound offense with Dorsey Levins, and having a veteran with a gun for an arm like Moon, Testaverde or even Everett may make sense. But if they want to maintain a faster, more diverse offense, the best option may be to muscle out the Wranglers to get a shot at Jake Plummer, the hotshot gunslinger for the Sun Devils. INJURY REPORT: We focused on the QB position earlier in the report, but, as always, QB is not the only position of importance on the field, and certainly not the only one to see some losses this week. Among the big hits this week, the harshest of all is likely the loss of Texas WR Lawyer Tillman for the year. Tillman took a hard hit on the turf this week and then caught a knee to the head. The result was a fracture in his vertebrae within his neck. Doctors report that he has feeling in all extremities, but his recovery is likely to require a long rehabilitation period. In Philadelphia, the hits just keep coming. This week it was FS Tim Hauck who is now expected to be out for the rest of the year with an MCL tear. In Orlando it is guard Joe Onosai, thanks to a ruptured Achilles. In Birmingham the bad news is that Ernest Givens could miss up to 2 months, though there is speculation that his abdominal injury could allow him to play by week 10 or 11. Houston will be without guard John Rienstra for 2-4 weeks with a torn meniscus and Ricky Proehl is still expected to be gone several more weeks as well. Some players upgraded to “Probable” this week include Washington tackle Ken Lanier, Portland DE Hugh Douglas, Birmingham HB Stephen Davis, Ohio tackle Romen Oben, and Oakland CB Aeneas Williams. Another year, another spring league meeting without a lot happening. Yes, several teams were approved to add minority owners, including the Steinbrenners in Orlando. And, yes, some minor rule changes were approved, including a new penalty for “Taunting” which will be treated as a 10-yard infraction for either offense or defense, but the big stories did not happen. A new nationwide radio deal was not approved, though it likely will come up again in the Fall, a proposal to change the Defensive Pass Interference rules failed to garner adequate votes, and a decision on the 1997 alignment and schedule was postponed. The league is taking seriously a proposal to realign the league into 6 divisions of 4 teams rather than the current four 6-team divisions. This proposal comes with another, potentially deal-breaking, tenet, to shift from a 16-week season to a 14-week option. The goal of a shortened regular season is to free up some time pre and post season to allow for greater use of the NFL-USFL transfer window without forcing teams to restructure their rosters during camp or to have the playoffs overshadowed by player departures. The shorter season, while certainly reducing the revenue generated and forcing yet another renegotiation of TV contracts, would allow the league to begin in the first week of April and end the season a week earlier in July or August, creating larger gaps between the USFL schedule and the NFL schedule. Of course the NFL is entertaining no such ideas, but the USFL, which has suffered in recent years from poor weather in its opening weeks and sweltering heat in August playoff games (especially in the Southeast and Arizona), could seriously opt to reduce their immediate revenue stream by reducing the season in hopes of creating a healthier ecosystem and maximizing attendance at both ends of the schedule. A select committee is exploring this, but a delay on a vote until Fall or even Winter almost certainly means that 1997 will move ahead without adjustments to either the divisional alignment or the 16-game schedule. Week 7 brings us more divisional mayhem as all 24 clubs are facing off against rivals. With the Blitz threatening to run away with the Atlantic, Philadelphia has to win to reel them back in, but doing so at Memorial Stadium will be tough. In New Jersey the Generals are going to try to get into the hunt as they face the Federals, and in Columbus, the Maulers hope to derail the Glory and get back into the playoff mix themselves. Atlanta got their 2nd win last week, and now have to take the show on the road as they visit Jacksonville. Birmingham is in Central Florida to face the Renegades and Tampa Bay hosts the Memphis Showboats, hoping to hold onto their share of the division lead. In the Central it’s a classic Heartland rivalry as St. Louis heads up to Chicago to face the Machine. A win would get St. Louis to .500 at 3-3-1 and would put Chicago’s season in jeopardy. In Houston the Gamblers hope to have Jim Kelly back as they face the hard-charging New Orleans Breakers. Texas is on the road to face Michigan in the Silverdome with both clubs hoping to get a key divisional win. On the West Coast Portland needs to find their offense if they are going to defeat the surprising LA Express in their new home. Seattle has a tough task as they head down to the division leaders, the Denver Gold, and in Arizona, this may be the last gasp for the 1-5 Wranglers. If Oakland can win their third in a row against Arizona, the season may be over before it really began.

Week 5 sees the last of the winless teams break out, and Baltimore becomes the last remaining undefeated squad with a big win at RFK paired with a little help from a division rival. The South continues to cluster, while a projected Central Division frontrunner continues to struggle. Add in a few big games for unheralded players and you have an exciting week of USFL action. We did not predict this one as a GOTW contender, but it’s what happens on the field that counts, and this week the most exciting game was the clash between the Ohio Glory and the New Jersey Generals. The Generals have been relying on defense to get the job done this year, but they came up short against the Glory this week, with Jeff Hostetler having the most prolific game of his career, throwing for 413 yards and 2 scores, while Eddie George finally broke the 4 YPC barrier with a 79 yard day. New Jersey tried to combat this with Rob Johnson himself having a big day with 3 scoring throws, but in the end it was not enough and the Glory head back to Columbus with their second win of the season. Things looked good for the Glory from the start, as their first drive showed a commitment to the run (Eddie George carrying the ball 4 times in 5 plays) and then the effectiveness of play action as Hostetler hit Robb Thomas for a 32-yard scoring strike to open the game. After a Generals punt, the Glory added to their score with a Don Silvestri field goal to take a 10-0 lead after one. New Jersey struggled on offense all day, and while they did get the only score of the 2nd quarter, a 51-yarder from rookie kicker Adam Vinatieri, they were just not in synch. Bam Morris struggled to establish a run game, averaging only 1.6 yards per carry, and with Rob Johnson only connecting on 7 of 21 passes in the first half, it was not looking good. The third quarter was a bit better for New Jersey, as the halftime adjustments seemed to pay off. Johnson got better protection and made more connections, hitting Morris for a short TD to even the score at 10 after 3 quarters. Fans expected the game to continue to be a low scoring affair, but with 4 TDs in the 4th quarter it was anything but plodding. Ohio took the lead early in the 4th when Eddie George had his longest run of the season, a 26 yard sprint around the right side and down the sideline for the score. When New Jersey went 3-and-out on their next possession, Ohio doubled up on the Generals, with a beautiful pass from Hostetler to Galloway, putting the Glory up 24-10. New Jersey were not done, however. They took the kickoff and in 8 plays pulled the game back to within 7. Johson hit Chris Gedney for the score and New Jersey was back in the game with only 2:29 left to go. What happened next has to be considered a coaching muff by Nick Saban as he tried to fake out the Generals with a play action pass instead of running the ball. On a 2nd and 7, Hostetler faked the ball to George and tried to hit Chris Kelley, only to have the ball deflect off Kelley’s shoulder pad and right into the hands of Chris Hicks for the Generals. New Jersey was in business with 1:47 left to play and the ball on the Ohio 39. The Generals capitalized, and when Johnson hit Wayne Chrebet with a goal line crossing route for the game tying score, you could feel the air come out of Ohio Stadium. Ohio got the ball back, and now, rather than risk a 4th Hostetler interception, they played it conservatively, winding down the clock and taking the game to overtime. In overtime both teams struggled to get out of their side of the field. After 4 failed drives, each ending in a punt, Ohio finally found the energy and the right combination of plays to get into field goal range. Hostetler connected with Galloway on a key 3rd and 11 to keep the drive alive, and with only 26 seconds to play in the extra period, Saban had Don Silvestri trot out for a 35 yard attempt. The kick went true and Ohio scored the victory on the road, moving their record to 2-3, alongside New Jersey in the very difficult Atlantic Division. WSH 11 BAL 21 It is an Atlantic Division headed by this season’s revelation team, the Baltimore Blitz. Baltimore shut down the Kordell Stewart-led Federals, limiting their offense to only a field goal for 3 quarters before a safety gave the Feds a short field and they pulled within 10. It was not enough as Baltimore’s offense had put 21 on the board thanks to 3 Miller TD tosses, two to Lamar Thomas and one to Bill Brooks. The Blitz left the day as the league’s last remaining undefeated club. PIT 27 PHI 20 Philadelphia lost their first game of the year thanks to a strong performance from the Mauler defense and a solid, if not exciting game from backup QB Shane Matthews. Matthews avoided turnovers and Mike Rozier kept the clock and the yards turning as the Maulers shortened the game. The Mauler D contributed with 3 sacks and 2 picks of Chuck Long, but the story of the day has to be the run defense. Check this out for a crazy stat line. Bouie and Ham for Philadelphia combined for 14 carries for a total of -5 yards. Yup, negative rush yardage on the day for the Stars, who have to hope that Charlie Garner comes back next week. TBY 28 BIR 31 The South got tighter as Birmingham used home field and a 110-yard rushing game from FB Mike Alstott to squeak by the Tampa Bay Bandits. It was a good day for fans of the rushing game as Tampa back Errict Rhett rushed 19 times for 167 yards, but it was the combination of Alstott’s 2 scores and another 2 from receiver Lawrence Dawsey that gave Birmingham the win. With Stephen Davis out, Alstott has been taking over in 1-back formations, and those were used to great effect by the Stallions in this win. ORL 16 JAX 9 Orlando joined the Bandits and Stallions at 3-2 with a win on the road in Jacksonville. The Bulls simply got nothing going on offense as they were limited to 277 total yards and failed to get into the endzone. The Renegades also struggled in that department, kicking 4 field goals themselves, but an early Terry Kirby TD run plus those 4 kicks proved sufficient to get the road win. MEM 48 ATL 20 Memphis became the 4th Southern club to hit 3-2 for the year as they dismantled the Atlanta defense, a fate Atlanta has seen a lot of this season. Heath Shuler was on fire all day, completing 26 of 35 throws for 359 yards and 4 TD’s to lead the Showboats. Atlanta simply could not get any pressure on the Memphis QB, recording their only sack on the day on veteran Mike Kelley in garbage time. CHI 10 POR 27 Portland’s usually soft rush defense came up big against Ricky Watters, limiting him to 28 yards, while the Thunder had no trouble rushing the ball against a usually stout Chicago defense. Robert Drummond carried the ball 26 times for 99 yards and backup Amp Lee got another 11 carries for 75 as Portland limited Jack Trudeau’s throws and kept the ball on the ground on a rainy day in Portland. Chicago’s offense was out of sorts all day, with Scott Zolak only completing 43% of his throws. Their only TD on the day was a pick-6 from George Teague on an errant Trudeau toss late in the first half. HOU 31 SEA 10 Seattle’s defense held through the half, leading 7-0 at the intermission, but the dam burst in the 3rd quarte as Houston scored 28 unanswered points in the period. All 4 were Kelly TD tosses as the MVP candidate went 21 for 32 for 377, hitting 4 different receivers on scoring tosses of 61, 7, 24, and 73 yards in 15 minutes of play to sink the Seattle hopes for a huge upset. TEX 20 OAK 48 We said that to win Oakland may need to just outscore their opponents and that is exactly what they did, scoring on 8 of 10 possessions in the game. Bobby Hebert threw for 366 and 4 TDs, with both Ellard and McCaffrey going over 100 yards receiving against an overwhelmed Texas secondary. Forced to play from behind, Texas abandoned their solid run game and Oakland spent almost the entire second half in nickel an dime defenses. STL 30 LA 13 This battle of upstart clubs was won by the St. Louis defense, which limited Brent Pease’s success throwing the ball and limited Marcus Allen to 1.9 yards per carry. The Knights offense went through HB Darrell Thompson, sort of a forgotten man when we discuss USFL ballcarriers. Thompson rushed 20 times for 134 yards and score, while running mate Alfred Jenkins scored twice on only 8 carries to help St. Louis even their record at 2-2-1. NOR 20 DEN 26 OT The thin air was too much for the Breakers as Denver won in overtime to take over first place in the Pacific. The Gold got strong games from both QBs as Mark Brunell threw for 2 scores before suffering a possible concussion. Billie Joe Tolliver relieved Brunell and completed 13 of 18 and threw for a score, despite tossing two inopportune picks. Tolliver’s single TD toss occurred in overtime, where he found Odessa Turner open for the game winner. MGN 23 ARZ 17 OT A third overtime thriller, this time with the Panthers upending the Wranglers in Tempe. Both Doug Flutie and Trent Green threw for over 300 yards and 2 scores each, but it was a 27-yard Rodney Culver run in overtime that gave the Panthers the win. Culver had only 2 carries on the day as Tyrone Wheatley remains the main man for Michigan, but his second touch was huge as he burst through the line on a 2nd and 2, stiffarmed a Wrangler defender and rumbled all the way to paydirt. ROOKIE WATCH: So far this year it is all about the running backs of the South among the 1996 rookie class. Moe Williams is the indisputable starter in Memphis (322 yards and 3 TDs to date), Mike Alstott and Stephen Davis are leading the charge in Birmingham, with Alstott now leading the way with 255 yards and 4 TDs in 5 weeks, and in Orlando Kantroy Barber has seen considerable action and has 4 scores of his own as he backs up Terry Kirby. The biggest name in the draft, Ohio State HB Eddie George, has struggled. His 2.8 YPC average is not what you want from a starter and he has yet to find the endzone. There are also some outstanding performers on defense as Portland CB Je’Rod Cherry already has 2 picks and 2 sacks to his name. Breakers CB Walt Harris has 3 picks and a TD, and DE Tony Brackens in Washington has proven a great complement to Dexter Manley, with 5 sacks in 5 weeks. As expected the QB class of 1996 has yet to see much action, with Birmingham’s Danny Kanell leading all rookie QB’s with 1 pass attempt. Not much to see here. Among receivers the leader of the pack is, to no one’s surprise, New Jersey’s Terry Glenn, with 25 receptions for 314 yards and 1 TD. Behind him we find Denver TE Marco Battaglia (20 Rec, 143 yards), Jacksonville’s Terrell Owens (19 Receptions for 252), and Memphis’s midround steal, Joe Horn (18 receptions for 276 and 3 TDs). QB Controversy: It may not be a controversy yet, but Coach Knox in New Jersey cannot be happy that his “rising star” QB, Rob Johnson has shown more of a proclivity for getting sacked than for tossing TDs. Johnson is currently near the bottom of the league (among QBs with 4 or more starts) in yardage and TDs. He is near the top in sacks suffered, with 13 already. While the Knox philosophy does not ask a lot of its QB’s, staying upright and avoiding costly sacks is an important part of their “grind it out” strategy. With former NFL draft pick Tommy Maddox in the wings, we wonder if Knox will start to think about a replacement. Seattle Offensive Woes: Rob Johnson must be happy that Timm Rosenbach is still the QB in Seattle, because Rosenbach’s numbers are the only thing making Johnson look viable. Rosenbach is sitting with a 3-5 TD-INT ratio and only a 59% completion rate. The Seattle offense is dead last in points per game, and while not all of this is the passing game, it does not help that even the arrival of Eric Metcalf does not seem to have helped. Metcalf has been targeted a whopping 66 times (20 more than any other Dragon receiver) but has only 28 catches. Of course the lack of a dependable run game is also not helping. While Potts and Loville have each had moments, there is just not a lot of consistency there, with both averaging well below 4 yards per carry. So, what is the answer for Coach Widenhofer? He cannot pull Rosenbach, as his backups are David Klingler and two untested rookies. He is unlikely to find a quality back to boost the rush game through trade or free agency at this point. It may come down to altering the offensive philosophy to try to maximize what he has. For starters he needs to find Rosenbach an option outside of tossing the ball up to Metcalf whenever he can. In Keith McKeller and Theo Young, Seattle has two decent receivers at TE. Widenhofer might want to consider using more 2 TE formations. It will help the run game and could create mismatches in the middle of the field for Rosenbach to exploit. PARITY OR PARODY: Outside of the Atlantic Division, we are seeing a ton of balance across the league. Some see this as a sign of quality across the board, others see mediocrity. With no team better than 3-2 outside of the Atlantic, and even 1-4 clubs still in contention, especially in the Pacific Division, it seems there is still a lot to sort out. In the 3 weeks that lead up to the midway point of the season, we expect to see some distancing, as some of the 2-3 teams continue to lose, while others at 2-3 or 3-2 string together some wins. Who do we like? Well, Denver seems a step above many of their division foes, but we also think that Portland has righted their ship after an 0-3 start with 2 solid wins. Houston may begin to pull away from the pack in the Central, though we like what we have seen from both Michigan and New Orleans, and as they face more division games, we expect the cluster of 3-2 teams atop the Southern Division will separate. Right now, we have a perfect scenario for those folks who love to discuss playoff tie breaker scenarios, but we know that is a small and very bizarre group of people, and we know that it won’t last. At least we hope so. INJURY REPORT: A few injuries of note this week, but particularly for the Philadelphia Stars, who are looking at no fewer than 9 players listed as questionable or worse on their injury report this week. They hope that they will see Garner back at HB this week, but now havequestions about Chris Conlin at tackle, John Flannery at center, and Ruben Brown at guard. Add in a major injury to TE Marcus Pollard and a possible season-ender to FS Tim Hauck and the Stars are hurting. We mentioned earlier that Mark Brunell was clocked in Denver’s game this week. He may be out this week just as a precautionary measure as Tolliver has gotten most of the snaps in practice this week. Birmingham is hoping to see HB Stephen Davis back in action, though they will still certainly want to keep giving the ball to Mike Alstott after the success he has seen. Rookie DE Simeon Rice could miss 1-2 weeks for Chicago as he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in this week’s loss. Memphis is down another corner as Deon Figures is likely lost for the year with a back injury that could require surgery to repair. With Figures out and Derrick Cudrup still questionable this week, Memphis has to dig deep into its roster. And finally, despite his strong game this week Errict Rhett also ended up on the injury list, though he is listed as questionable after suffering a shoulder injury at the tail end of the game against Birmingham. It’s April and that means Spring Owner’s Meeting time in NYC. We are anticipating some interesting discussions this week in New York as several interesting topics are on the docket. First among them is a concern about the NFL-USFL truce and ongoing negotiations to modify the trade window system that has been in place the last few years. The NFL is unhappy with the timing of the summer window, which overlaps with NFL camps, and one has to suspect that the USFL is not happy with the Jan-Feb window for much the same reasons. Everything seems to be on the table, including buy-out clauses, adjusted schedules for both leagues, even a player re-draft system for free agents in which both leagues could bid on players. Of course the NFLPA and USFLPA are not looking for anything that would restrict player movement or the upward trajectory of salaries across the league. They will be big players in the discussions to be sure. The USFL is also in the midst of renegotiation of TV rights, now with 24 clubs and 12 weekly games, there is talk of rebalancing coverage among the 3 current providers (ABC, ESPN, and FOX) and there have been rumors that CBS has also been sniffing around to see if they could acquire a piece of the pie. In addition to TV rights, there is talk within the USFL of a national radio deal. The recently passed Telecommunications Act is expected to expand the power of the largest radio syndicates by allowing syndicates to own a much larger number of stations nationwide, and the league is looking into whether it makes sense to shift from local team-by-team agreements with local stations to a national radio presence similar to national TV deals. It seems a bit premature, as we are certainly unsure which syndicates may come out on top in the anticipated “radio wars” but the league seems to be exploring the possibility. Additionally, the competition committee is looking into several potential rule changes, including an exploration of overtime rules as well as the always-controversial pass interference penalty. Also, while the league does not wish to abandon its stance as the “more fun league” by curtailing post-play celebrations, there is a concern that certain forms of celebration amount to taunting and have led to more than a few significant incidents between players. While they certainly want to encourage enthusiasm in the stands through personality-driven celebration, taunting may have to be restrained to avoid ongoing disciplinary issues. Finally, there are a couple of franchise ownership moves to approve, as the Michigan Panthers, Oakland Invaders, and Orlando Renegades are all proposing to bring in new minority owners to bolster their ownership groups. We don’t expect any of these moves to be controversial as primary ownership remains with the current ownership groups, but you never know what may come of it. The most interesting of the cases is Orlando where NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is among a small group of investors who hope to buy into the Orlando Renegades. Again, this would be a minority position, so don’t expect Big George to start firing coaches left and right as he does in NY. Seems more of a financial diversification strategy than a power grab, but it is Steinbrenner, so you never know. Week 6 flips the script again (get used to this with the USFL’s divisional based scheduling model) as the Western Conference is in division while the Eastern Conference has the Southern clubs hosting the Beasts of the East. Looking at the Pacific Division, this could be a big week as Denver, likely without Brunell, heads to Portland. Arizona is in LA, which is no easy win, and Seattle hosts Oakland in a battle of 1-4 clubs. In the Central, the big game is Chicago at New Orleans, with the Machine trying to scrape back to .500 with a win. Houston is in San Antonio for the annual battle of Texas clubs, and the St. Louis Knights will try to spoil the day for the visiting Panthers. Some great inter-divisional games in the East as well. A banged up Stars team will try to escape Birmingham’s Legion Field with a win, while Washington hopes to get back to .500 but face a very game Memphis squad in the Liberty Bowl. Undefeated Baltimore could be challenged by a balanced Orlando squad and an enthusiastic Citrus Bowl crowd. Pittsburgh will be in Jacksonville, where the Bulls hope to rediscover their offense, but face a very tough Mauler D. New Jersey will be in Tampa Stadium to face the Bandits, and Atlanta will see if their defense can show up for a change when they face the Ohio Glory.

An exciting week of divisional action, but one marred by a major injury likely to impact a major contender. With all 24 clubs in divisional play this week we knew we would get some good games, and we certainly did, but the injury to Alan Risher overshadowed much of the action as his potential loss for the season rattles the entire calculus of who is the frontrunner in the Eastern Conference. With Risher down for at least 10-12 weeks can the Maulers continue to be a frontrunner for the Atlantic Division? Are the defending champs now at a disadvantage even within their own division? And just who can take advantage and step into a potential void at the top? No game was more anticipated this week than the battle of undefeateds in Pittsburgh between the upstart Blitz and the reigning league champion Maulers. Everyone hoped for a slugfest, but no one saw the overtime thriller coming, much less the potentially season-ending injury to Alan Risher that impacted not only this game but the rest of the season for the Maulers. The game started off slowly, with both defenses playing solidly against their opponents. Late in a scoreless first quarter a Pittsburgh pick of a Chris Miller pass gave them solid field position in Baltimore territory, but the Blitz defense held, leading to the lone score of the quarter, a Septien 27-yard field goal. The second quarter saw things begin to move, as both offenses adapted and started to make headway. Baltimore got on the board with a long Luis Zendejas Field Goal, and then, on the next possession, Alan Risher tried to scramble for a first down on a 3rd and 4 play, but took a wicked shot to the knee, totally legal, but clearly impactful as well. He would hobble to the sideline in visible pain, and Shane Matthews would come on to relieve him. Baltimore took advantage, holding Pittsburgh to consecutive 3 and outs in their next 2 possessions, and using the short field provided by these defensive stops to add 14 points o their total, a Kyle Brady TD reception and a Barry Foster 24-yard run. Foster would become the primary weapon for the Blitz, and he responded with his best game in 3 years, 143 yards on 28 carries. Chris Miller would take advantage of the strong running game, using play action to complete 30 of 41 passes for 263 and 3 scores. But Pittsburgh was not out of this game yet, though, down 17-3, they needed to find an answer. Just before the half, Pittsburgh finally got a drive to stick by switching to a no huddle offense, and with 1:38 left on the clock Shane Matthews found Louis Lipps for a 26-yard TD toss to pull Pitttsburgh within 7. After a scoreless third quarter, Pittsburgh was able to mount a successful drive and just as the 4th quarter began, Matthews plunged over his center on a QB sneak to equalize the score at 17. Despite a shaky 11 of 24 performance, Matthews was doing enough, thanks in part to the always reliable Mike Rozier (21 carries for 101 yards) and Pittsburgh was still in this game. Baltimore responded 8 minutes later with a scoring drive of their own as, for the 2nd time on the day, Miller found Kyle Brady open in the endzone to put Baltimore up 24-17 with 7:49 left to play. Pittsburgh’s next drive went nowhere and they returned the ball to Baltimore with only 37 seconds elapsed. Baltimore too failed to gain ground on their final drive, though they milked the clock a bit, and with 5:02 left to play the Maulers got the ball back on their own 7 yard line, needing a TD to tie the game and send it to overtime. The ensuing Mauler drive was a sporadic one, but it slowly made its way down the field, aided by an offsides penalty on a 3rd and 3, and by a key 4th down run by Rozier against a stacked box. Facing a 3rd and goal at the 7, Matthews found 3rd receiver Yo Murphy in the back of the endzone, just barely avoiding a tip from LB Eric Kumerow, and the game was tied. Baltimore won the toss and opted to receive in overtime. They were determined not to let Pittsburgh see the ball, and 7 plays later Miller hit HB Derrick Fenner in the flat and Fenner gained steam, plowing over the safety and into the endzone to give Baltimore a huge road win over the defending champs. The Blitz would move to 4-0, and Pittsburgh would suffer their first defeat of the season. More importantly, they soon received news that Risher had suffered a complete tear of the MCL on his right leg. The injury required immediate treatment, likely a re-attachment surgery, and the recovery time would be measured in months, not weeks. The combination of the Risher injury and the Baltimore victory might just have shifted the balance of power in the Atlantic Conference, with Baltimore and Philadelphia suddenly gaining in the eyes of the Las Vegas bookmakers, while Pittsburgh fell from a 1 in 8 chance of repeating to a 1 in 20 longshot. Such was the impact of the game and the loss of their long time starter. While the Baltimore-Pittsburgh game was the most viewed, and one of the most dramatic of the weekend, it certainly was not the only game that proved pivotal in the early stages of the season. NJ 10 PHI 17 The rivalry between the Stars and Generals renewed in Veterans Stadium, where a 4th quarter TD toss from Chuck Long to rookie Stepfret Williams was the difference. This game saw its share of injuries as well as Philadelphia lost Pat Chaffey, possibly for a month, while New Jersey saw RT Herb Wester go down with a concussion. OHI 10 WSH 20 Kordell Stewart helped Washington even their record at 2-2 with a 10-point home win over Ohio. Stewart went 22 of 34 and threw a nice 44-yard TD pass to Herman Moore. The game was tied at 10 after 3 quarters, but Washington’s D helped pull out the win as Lester Lyles picked off Jeff Hostetler and ran it back for a late score to put the game well into the Federals’ hands. JAX 31 TBY 35 A great game to watch in Tampa, where Troy Aikman’s 4-TD day helped the Bandits overcome the Bulls in a shootout. Both Aikman and Chandler threw for well over 300 yards and 4 scores apiece, but it was a last minute Aikman to Ben Coates 84-yard stunner that caused the Tampa crowd to get to its feet. The final minute score answered a Dokie Williams TD that looked like a potential game winner for the Bulls. BIR 21 MEM 20 A rowdy crowd of nearly 53,000 in Memphis witnessed another great game as the Stallions got a late Cedrick Tillman TD to upend the Showboats and even both clubs at 2-2 for the year. Three picks on the day by Heath Shuler helped keep Birmingham in range, even as Brett Favre struggled, sacked 5 times and going 1 for 8 on third down. The bomb to Tillman was a huge play on a day when Memphis had allowed almost no big plays, but it was a decisive one. ATL 24 ORL 45 Orlando rolled to a 31-3 halftime lead and never looked back as both Terry Kirby (141 on 16 carries) and rookie Kantroy Barber (111 on 9 carries) went over the century mark against a Fire defense that had no answers up front. Scott Mitchell only completed 12 passes on the day, but the run game of Orlando was, for the first time in a long time, a dominant factor in the game. MGN 28 CHI 35 Another great game in Chicago, where the Machine eked out a win over the very game Panthers. Ricky Watters outpaced Tyrone Wheatley 93 yards to 65 and Mario Bates added a late TD to give Chicago a 35-21 advantage, but Michigan came close, scoring first on a Jeff Campbell TD toss from Flutie, then recovering an onside kick, but the Panthers, needing a TD to tie, could not get magic from Flutie as his attempt at a hail mary fell to the ground in the endzone as time expired. STL 17 HOU 17 OT A weird one in the Astrodome, as the Gamblers, despite the return of Thurman Thomas to the offense, simply could not get in synch. Todd Collins and the Knights kept Houston in check, and, trailing 17-7 after three quarters, came back with a late Emile Harry TD catch to tie the game. Both teams struggled in overtime, with John Kasay missing on a 48-yarder while Cole Ford came up well short on a desperation 57-yarder as time expired, leaving both clubs with that unpleasant feeling of a tie game. TEX 21 NOR 31 New Orleans takes over sole possession of first place in the Central as their defense limited Reggie Cobb to 12 carries, got off the field on 3rd down, and pressured Kelly Stouffer all day. Terrell Davis carried the load on offense for the Breakers, toting the rock 22 times for 66 yards and a score, while Jamie Martin had an amazing day, completing 25 of 27 for 301 yard and 3 TDs. LA 32 DEN 17 The LA Express now share the top spot in the Pacific after a surprising road win against the Denver Gold. LA scored on 4 consecutive second half drives to overcome a 17-6 deficit and upend the Gold in Mile High. Brent Pease got protection all day from his line, and completed 30 of 40 passes for 330 yards and 3 second half TDs, rushing for a 4th, as the Express took it to the Gold. POR 38 OAK 16 The battle of surprise winless teams went to the Thunder as Jack Trudeau threw for 4 scores against an Invaders defense that seemed confused and out of place all day. Coach Mora cannot be happy with that performance as Portland racked up points while the Oakland offense sputtered, with Bobby Hebert picked off three times in the game. SEA 10 ARZ 30 Coach Tollner’s shift from Robbie Bosco to Trent Green was shortlived, but the message was received loud and clear by the former starter. Up 7-0 in the first, Green was hit across the head and suffered a concussion, leading to Bosco finishing up the game. He led Arizona to 23 points and a solid win over the offensively-challenged Dragons, who also lost their starter to injury early in the game. Both are expected to return next week, but the benching seems to have motivated Bosco, though not Coach Tollner, who already announced that, if healthy, Green will get the start again next week. LA Story: The 2-2 start of the Express may not seem like a major news story, but this expansion club has already knocked off 2 division foes (Denver and Oakland) and found their offense in doing so. After a rough first 2 weeks which saw the Express score a total of 17 points combined, they have rattled off 33 and 32 in consecutive games. Their defense has also stiffened up after their first two games (33 and 37 points) to allow only 18 and 17 points in weeks 3 and 4. And while not all aspects of their game is working the way they would like (Marcus Allen is still struggling to find lanes to run) the Express have to be pleased with both their young QB Brent Pease (1,066 passing yards and 8 TDs) and their pass rush, which has generated 12 sacks in 4 games. Santana Dotson is among the league leaders with 5 sacks to date, and they have also gotten help from his opposite, Antonio Edwards (2 sacks) and the LB corps. LA sits atop the Pacific Division, and with clear issues in both Oakland and Arizona, their main obstacle may be the Denver Gold, who they have already defeated at Mile High. Could the 2nd year franchise led by former USFL QB Rick Neuheisel actually make a run at the division title? It seems so, but there is still a lot of football to play. Oakland Woes: On the other side of the sprectrum, if you are looking for a reason behind the Oakland Invaders’ 0-4 start, don’t look at Bobby Hebert. His 306 yards per game is among the league leaders and his QB Rating of 88.7, while not among the league’s best, is hardly a major concern. Yes, Hebert has thrown 6 interceptions in 4 games, but he has spent a lot of time playing catchup, so it is understandable that he would be pressing a bit. No, it seems clear where the issue is. While the offense is averaging a slightly under par 18 PPG, the defense is allowing a league worst 35 points per game. You are not going to win many games when the opposition is scoring 5 TDs a game. The Invaders have gotten no pash rush at all, with their sack leader being backup DT Jeff Alm. They also are not pressuring QBs into mistakes, with a lone Ron Rivera pick as the only one for the club in their first four games. Coach Mora had better get more out of this defense and quickly or this could be a long season in Oakland. We all respect Coach Mora, but his new system on defense either does not have the right personnel to be successful, or is too complex for his club to pick it all up. Whatever the issue, the odds are already stacked against an Invaders playoff season this year. Orlando Runs to Glory: When you think of the best rushing attacks in the USFL, the Orlando Renegades are not the club that typically comes to mind, but they seem to have found something this year with the combination of veteran free agent signing Terry Kirby and midround rookie pickup Kantroy Barber. The combo of Kirby-Barber (Kirbarber?) has produced 405 yards on the ground this season, better than any single back in the league. The duo were in rare form this week against Atlanta, when Kirby rushed for 141 yards on 16 carries and Barber went for 101 on only 9 carries. If this dynamic duo continues at their pace for the full year, we could have the first double 1,000 yard tandem in league history. It is a tall order, but Coach O’Leary seems eager to win with a ground game, taking pressure off of Scott Mitchell, and adding the ability to run down the clock as well. Orlando was on the cusp of playoff football last season, and now, with a run game they can rely on, they may be ready for the next step up. Pittsburgh Signs a QB: With Alan Risher officially placed on injured reserve, Shane Matthews moves up to the starting position and Pat O’Hara occupies the 2nd slot. Pittsburgh, looking for additional depth, and perhaps some experienced words of wisdom at the position went out this week and signed former Tampa Bay Bandit and NFL QB John Fourcade. While it is unlikely that Fourcade will see action in a Mauler jersey, his veteran presence can only help Matthews or O’Hara as they face the challenge of leading a championship caliber team. Injury Report: While the Risher injury is clearly the story of the week, there are a few other teams looking hard at that injury report and wondering how they will adapt. Pittsburgh’s foe this week, Philadelphia, will be without both starter Charlie Garner and backup Pat Chaffey, forcing them to activate Troy Ham from the practice squad. Ham will share carries with 3rd stringer Kevin Boule and FB Eddie Colson, at least for this week, before Garner is expected back in Week 6. Houston is also feeling the pain as they will likely be without two starters on the O-line this week as well as their reliable slot receiver, Ricky Proehl. Proehl is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn biceps, while starting LG John Rienstra could be out the same amount of time with a knee injury. Center Aaron Graham is listed as questionable with a hip injury, but should at least be back for week 6. Washington’s Kordell Stewart will likely get the nod for at least 2 more weeks as Don Majkowski recovers, but now will also have to deal with an injury to All-USFL LT Ken Lanier, who could be out this week and possible one more. In Seattle, Lomas Brown may miss this week just as Timm Rosenbach looks to return to action. And in Memphis, CB Derrick Cudrup is expected to join WR Joe Horn on the injured list after suffering a concussion in practice on a freak collision with a TE during 7 on 7 drills. The USFL welcomed their 1996 Hall of Fame class this week. With five eligible spots available, a split among voters, particularly at the HB position, means that only 4 candidates received the required 75% of votes. Leading the pack was former Philadelphia Stars QB Chuck Fusina, who garnered 95% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. WR Mel Gray and former Panther defensive captain John Corker both also scored more than 85% of the votes. Longtime LA Express corner Raphel Cherry rounded out the four, named on 79% of the ballots. Just missing the cut were Washington Federals back Craig James, whose 73% just missed the cutoff. Craig was likely hindered by voters splitting their ballots among three intriguing candidates, with Gary Anderson and John Williams also both named on more than 50% of ballots. Former Breaker WR Nolan Franz also missed the cut by fewer than 10%, named on 67% of ballots. The HOF ceremony recognizing these 4 league legends will be held in July, during Wild Card Weekend of the USFL season. They will join John Reaves, Junior Ah-You, Anthony Carter, Marcus Marek, and owner John Bassett in the new USFL wing within the Pro Football Hall of Fame. James, Williams, Franz, Anderson, Doug Williams, and others will be eligible for the next 4 years as they return to a pool that will include 1992 retirees such as legendary Birmingham Stallion HB Joe Cribbs, Blitz receiver Jackie Flowers, former LA Raider and Express TE Todd Christiansen, Stallion DE Bob Barber, SS William Cesare, and FS Mike Fox of the Express and Machine as part of the 1997 HOF contenders. Week 5 blends divisional matches in the East with inter-divisional games in the West once again. The biggest game by far has the 3-1 Maulers, with Shane Matthews under center, going to Philadelphia to face the 4-0 Stars. Philly’s offense has not taken off yet, so if the Maulers can hold them, they have a chance despite losing Alan Risher for the year last week. The Keystone Clash is only one big rivalry game as we also have Washington traveling just up the road to take on the Baltimore Blitz. The Blitz knocked off Pittsburgh last week in a statement game. Can they keep the same energy or will the 2-2 Federals work their way into the divisional mix behind the dual threat of QB Kordell Stewart? In the South the key matchups all involve Florida clubs as we have a battle of 2-2 clubs when Orlando heads up I-95 to face the Jacksonville Bulls. Meanwhile, alone at 3-1, the Bandits head to Birmingham to face the Stallions. The other two East Conference matchups, Ohio @ New Jersey and Memphis @ Atlanta may not have the same allure as the highlighted games, but could still turn out to be a lot of fun to watch. In the Western Conference we have a few great matchups as well, with New Orleans headed up to Mile High to face the Denver Gold, Michigan out in the desert to face Trent Green and the Wranglers, Texas in Oakland as the Invaders try to score their first win of the year, and Chicago up in Portland hoping to move over .500 with a win. Houston is out in Seattle, and, in a surprisingly intriguing game we have the former LA Express, the St. Louis Knights, in LA to face the New Express. Both clubs have surprised with their performances so far this year, and this could actually be a really interesting matchup of potential up & comers this season.