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Week 9 was a wild one, with one of the biggest upsets we can remember, some stunning blowouts, and several games that came down to the wire. And while some of the frontrunners continued to put some distance on the rest of the league, key matchups of top teams meant that some fell back a step as well. All this and 2 of 4 expansion clubs added another W in a truly memorable week of USFL action. With Houston-Portland, St. Louis-Denver, Chicago-Oakland, and Pittsburgh-Birmingham all coming down to 4th quarter heroics, there were a lot of games this week worthy of GOTW honors, but we have to give the title to the crazy game between Michigan and Atlanta that led to the first win in franchise history for the Fire. No one saw this one coming, and from the looks on the faces of Panther players when the final whistle blew, not even the Panthers thought it was possible. The loss drops Michigan to 4-5 and puts them well off the pace in the Central Division, while Atlanta, which finally showed signs of offensive continuity, finally gave the home town fans something to cheer about as they closed a game and took their first win as a franchise. The day began with the news that Cliff Stoudt would get the start as Eric Zeier was still feeling the effects of his game last week and was having difficulty planting on an ankle that got rolled in their Week 8 game. Stoudt showed every bit of his 13 years of USFL experience as he guided Atlanta to an opening drive score, connecting on 4 of 5 passes and finding Terrance Mathis for the TD on a 3rd and goal. Coach Reeves had scouted the Panthers and determined that short passes, particularly slants and in routes were the best way to attack the Panther defense, getting the ball out of Stoudt’s hands quickly, and he was right. Stoudt would go on to finish the day 23 of 31 for 243 yards and was not sacked once thanks to the quick passing game. The passing game was complemented, for perhaps the first time all season, with a better than average run game. Using a combination of quick traps and misdirection plays, Bernie Parmalee was able to average 5.9 yards per carry on 10 carries, and newcomer Ricky Blake added another 38 yards, with both players scoring touchdowns for the Fire. Michigan, on the other hand, seemed out of rhythm the entire day. This was a classic trap game with the Panthers coming off a tough loss in Texas and possibly looking past the Fire to next week’s matchup against New Jersey. They scored a field goal in the first, and put their first TD on the board in the 2nd, thanks to a solid Tyrone Wheatley run, but trailed 17-10 at the half. Perhaps a bit too confident about their ability to pull the game out, there was a general lack of urgency about the Michigan offense. They continued to feed the ball to Wheatley, but he would average only 3.4 yards per carry and end the day with only 64 rushing yards. Montana was accurate (31 of 40) but that efficiency seemed to falter when it mattered most, as Michigan failed on 4 straight 3rd downs in the second half. After two Brad Daluiso field goals pulled Michigan back to within 1 point at 17-16, Atlanta had its best drive of the day, an 11-play beauty that included a brilliant 3rd and 11 grab by wideout Ernie Jones, and a crowd-pleasing 14-yard catch and run by TE Frank Wycheck in which he caught the safety off balance and sent him crashing to the ground. The drive ended with a Ricky Blake 1 yard bulldozer into the endzone and an 8-point Fire lead. They added to that lead 5 minutes later with a Jason Elam 41-yarder, and led 27-16 with only 3 minutes left to play. Montana would lead the Panthers on a desperation drive, and got the needed TD on a short pass to Jeff Campbell with 1:24 left to play, but when the 2 point conversion failed, it mean that Michigan needed another TD, not just a field goal, and that was too much to ask. Michigan had only 1 timeout left, and when they failed to recover the onside kick, Atlanta was able to milk the clock and end the game up 5 for their first victory after 8 long weeks of frustration. The Fire are not ready to dominate the league with offensive firepower, but at least on this day they had enough to get the victory and hold off a solid opponent. Given time, and perhaps a few upgrades in personnel, the Fire could start to look a lot more like a tough out. HOU 24 POR 20 While the Atlanta game was the week’s biggest surprise, the Houston-Portland showdown was perhaps the best played and most intense game of the week. It took a late Thurman Thomas TD for Houston to snatch the lead away from Portland and get the road win. Portland got 113 yards from Robert Drummond, but Thomas’s 81 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving, combined with another solid day (111 yards on 5 catches) from rookie receiver Antonio Freeman were enough for Houston to keep their win streak rolling. PIT 31 BIR 24 Birmingham played well, but it was not enough against the red hot Maulers. Pittsburgh got 126 yards rushing from Mike Rozier and Alan Risher threw for 2 scores and 315 yards as the Maulers built up a 31-17 lead late in the 4th. Brett Favre threw 3 TD’s but also added 3 more dreaded picks to his league lead in that dubious category. CHI 24 OAK 27 Chicago had been winning games through sheer grit, but against Oakland that would not be enough. The Invaders secondary picked off Dan McGwire twice, and Bobby Hebert found just enough room in the Machine secondary to hit Mark Duper for 108 yards and a score as the Invaders held home advantage and used it to their advantage, getting the winning kick by Joe Nedney with just under 2 minutes to play. STL 24 DEN 29 Denver got the home win, but it was not easy against a Knights squad that has awakened over the past month. Todd Collins threw for 2 scores for the Knights to give them a slim 24-22 lead with 7:17 in the game, but Mark Brunell pushed the Gold down the field as time drained down, hitting Mark Carrier with the winning score with just over 1 minute left to play in this exciting duel of young QBs. BAL 26 MEM 16 Mike Kelley had yet another rough outing, throwing 4 picks against an aggressive Baltimore defense, and yet, Memphis had a 16-13 lead after 3 quarters. But, the final period belonged to the Blitz as Chris Miller led Baltimore on 3 scoring drives, first a 21-yard TD to Rob Moore, followed by two more Luis Zendejas field goals as Baltimore took home the road win to keep pace in the Atlantic. NJ 18 ORL 45 In a game that was 17-11 after 3 quarters, the wheels fell off the Generals’ bus in the 4th as Doug Flutie threw 3, count them 3 pick sixes in the final period. It was a monumental collapse as each Orlando score made New Jersey more desperate and each poor throw turned into 7 for the homestanding Renegades. What started as a close game became a farce by the end, prompting many in the NY-NJ market to declare Flutie washed up and demand a change. OHI 26 TBY 14 Ohio still leads the expansion derby as they nabbed their third win against an ineffective John Fourcade and the Tampa Bay Bandits. Jeff Hostetler went 24 of 33 and Ernest Byner rushed for 2 scores as Ohio dominated time of possession (35-25) against a Tampa squad that simply could not string together drives. PHI 41 SEA 10 Seattle did not have Ohio’s luck as they faced a fully stocked Stars offense. Chuck Long had a career day, going 31 for 36 (a stunning 86%) for 328 and 3 scores, while Charlie Garner and Pat Chaffey combined for 156 yards rushing against an overwhelmed Dragon defense. WSH 30 JAX 3 Washington, angry after their first loss, took out their frustration on a pretty good Bulls squad, dominating from the opening whistle. Duane Gunn was the surprise star of the day, catching 2 TD’s from Majkowski, while Barry Word (93) and Terry Kirby (58) combined for 155 yards on the ground as the Federals left no doubt that they were still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. NOR 20 ARZ 7 The Breakers rebounded from their poor showing last week with a solid win over the offensively-challenged Arizona Wranglers. Jamie Martin completed just under 70% of his passes and Erric Pegram scored a key second half TD to help put Arizona away. The Wranglers, for their part, struggled to convert 3rd downs (4 of 15) and Robbie Bosco suffered 5 sacks on the day, as New Orleans smothered their passing game. 1. Changing of the Guard?: Our first story this week is potential QB controversy in both New Jersey and Memphis, where 4-interception days do not have fans feeling particularly loyal to either Doug Flutie or Mike Kelley. In Memphis, where the drafting of Tennessee product Heath Shuler last year has put pressure on Kelley, and in New Jersey where former USC signal caller and “prototype QB” Rob Johnson has the New Jersey fans calling for Doug Flutie’s job, the pressure seems to be getting to both starters. It has been a rough year for both, and this week might just prove to be a breaking point. New Jersey is in Michigan this week, and that would be a tough first start for Johnson, but it may have to happen anyway. Memphis has an even tougher task, playing in Portland against an energized Thunder defense, so perhaps going with the 2nd year Shuler is not the way to go, but Coach Ryan is not an orthodox coach, so we shall see if he gives Mike Kelley the hook or not. Either way, a bad performance from either QB on the road could spell the end and we could soon see Shuler and Johnson on the field for two teams whose seasons are slipping away. 2. Diamond in the Rough: In what is a rough first year for the expansion LA Express, we should still find the bright spots, and one of those shining lights is the play of wideout Mike Pritchard. Pritchard, who came over to LA after 4 moderately successful years in Pittsburgh, has flourished under the tutelage of Coach Rick Neuheisel, and with a starting spot assured on a far less polished receiver corps. The result is a receiver who now leads the league in both receptions and yardage. Pritchard is on course to have his first 1,000 year season, after gaining only 321 yards in 1994 behind Louis Lipps and Raynard Brown with the Maulers. His 5 TDs to date are also a career best, and while wins have been hard to come by, you have to be impressed with the way Pritchard has come out of the gate with the reestablished Express squad. 3. Sack Race: After a start to the season that saw some new names at the top of the Sack leaderboard, things seem to be reverting to predicted form as veteran names like Dexter Manley, Phil Hansen and Charles Haley find themselves pulling away from the pack. Add in Leslie O’Neill, a very shrewd NFL signing by the Denver Gold, and you have 4 solid competitors for the title this year. But, where is the Minister of Defense? How is Reggie White not up at 10, 11 or 12 sacks along with these four? White has had a rough year without Santana Dotson lining up opposite him. He has 7 sacks on the season, on pace for 13-15 total, which is no small feat, but he is far off the pace being set by Manley and Hansen. And what about Dotson, playing now for the LA Express? Only 4 sacks on the year as LA has issues all across their defense, and teams can double team the speedy DE, something he never saw when he lined up opposite Reggie White. It is a prime example of how expansion has, to a large degree, watered down the play across the league, and how some teams, like Memphis, took bigger hits than others with key players lost to the expansion draft. 4. Back to Basics: Does anyone remember the weird stat last year that saw 3 of the top 5 tacklers in the league at cornerback? That is proving to be an anomaly, as once again it is linebackers leading the tackles board, as we would expect in most seasons. Pittsburgh’s Demetrious DuBose is flourishing in his new role as the leader of the Mauler LB corps, leading the league with 80 tackles after 9 weeks. This week he also picked up his first interception of the season. Just behind him is New Orleans’s Lamar Lathon and Arizona’s Broderick Thomas. But, lest we think the passing game has lost favor (though there has been more balance this year), we do find both Aeneas Williams (OAK) and Jerome Henderson (TEX) among the league leaders in tackles and both at the CB position. This is still the USFL after all, and while the run game seems to be rebounding, we still expect more 1,000 yard receivers than rushers by season’s end. 5. Injury Update: Finally, looking at injuries, a few concerning blows to the offensive lines across the league. Chicago took a big hit as Juan Castaneda is likely out for the year with a Posterior Cruciate Ligament tear. Tackle Robert Curry in Orlando is also down, this time with an Achilles rupture. And Arizona got word this week that tackle Kirk Lowdermilk will undergo surgery, ending his year as well. In other injury news, Arizona took another hit, as veteran TE Terry Orr will likely miss the rest of the year with an ACL injury, while in Atlanta, their starting MLB, John Roper could be out up to 6 weeks (which is most of the season at this point) with a broken bone in his right foot. Houston could be without starting wideout Brett Perriman for a week or two due to a hamstring issue, while Texas will be without DE Bob Buczkowski due to a wrist injury. The Outlaws will also likely miss wideout Lawyer Tillman at least 1 week as he is dealing with a shoulder problem. And finally, Denver CB Bruce Pickens, the league leader in interceptions, will have to sit out a game after rolling an ankle this week. On the upside, Dave Krieg was able to begin practice for Seattle, and could return to the lineup as early as week 11. Houston’s Pat Swilling is expected to return to action this week, as is Chicago wide receiver Reggie Langhorne and Memphis wideout Carl Pickens. Looking at the Week 10 schedule, we wonder if we will see Rob Johnson start for New Jersey as they travel to Michigan, or Heath Shuler open for Memphis as they play the Thunder in Portland. Washington has another tough game as they head to Chicago, and the Baltimore Blitz will face the best team in the West, the Houston Gamblers. Ohio travels south to New Orleans to face the Breaker while Birmingham heads West to play the LA Express. In Texas the Pittsburgh Maulers will try to win their 6th in a row, while in St. Louis, the Stars come to visit. Tampa Bay hopes they can have Troy Aikman back in the lineup as they head to the desert to face the Wranglers, while Denver hopes to get back in playoff position with a home game against Seattle. Jacksonville will have a tough road trip to Oakland this week, while Atlanta, hot off their first win, gets the erratic Orlando Renegades at Bobby Dodd.

Week 8 gave us 10 divisional matchups and the first showdown of expansion clubs, and what we ended up seeing was a lot of uneven football, blowouts, and only a few close games to enjoy. At the midpoint of the season, what we see are that there are some teams that simply know how to win, others that cannot seem to get out of their own way, and some whose performance varies wildly week to week. With half the season gone, some of the USFL squads may already be looking ahead to 1996, while others might be tempted to make some changes just to try to spark some consistency. Our game of the week takes us to St. Louis, where the Knights have been playing much better ball over the past 3 weeks. After back to back wins, they had a tough draw in facing the 6-1 Houston Gamblers, but they held their own against the explosive Gambler offense. Was it enough for St. Louis to pull off the unexpected third win in a row? Well, not quite, but Coach Johnson has to be happy with their grit in this week’s tough game. Containing Jim Kelly and the Gambler offense is no small task, but St. Louis was largely successful in using a 2-deep zone for most of the game, forcing Houston to think small-ball rather than going for the kill shot. The Gamblers did put the first points on the board, as a long opening drive ended with a short Kelly to Ron Heller TD pass. St. Louis had a response as on their first drive of the game, they found holes in the Houston defense, and then Darrell Thompson had his best run of the year, a delay draw that caught Houston off guard and went for 32 yards and a score. St Louis was up for a game. The two teams would swap field goals for the rest of the first half as the Knights defense simply did not allow Houston to connect on any big gainers, forcing Kelly and Thomas to play for short third downs. Penalties and missed opportunities led to frustration as the Knights built up a 16-10 lead on 3 Cole Ford kicks. In the 2nd Half, Houston regained the lead on one key drive as Kelly connected with James Pruitt at the end of a 14 play drive to give Houston the 17-16 edge. Todd Collins and the Knights would respond on their first drive of the 4th quarter, as he again got Cole Ford in range, and with a 48-yarder, the Knights were back on top. Collins had a modest day, avoiding turnovers and completing 21 of 32 short passes for only 166. The star of the day for St. Louis was clearly Darrell Thompson, whose 132 yards rushing on 22 carries kept the Knights on the field. Thurman Thomas for Houston also drove the Houston offense, as he rushed for an equal 132 on 20 carries. But it would not be Thomas who would give Houston the win, but his backup, Keith Woodside. Houston knew they would need to rely on another patient drive to get the lead back, and so, with 7:22 left in the game, they embarked on what would be a 77-yard drive. Kelly dinked and dunked, hitting Perriman for 7, Freeman for 5, and Heller for 9, mixing in these passes with 33 yards of Thomas rushes. After a failed screen from the 6 gained nothing, Thomas came out and the Gamblers set up for a 2nd and goal in a 3-wide receiver set that screamed pass. Kelly instead handed off to Woodside, who found a hole on the left side of the line, and pushed past 2 tacklers to barely cross the goal line. Houston played the small ball game, was patient with their final drive and took the game, 24-19. It was Houston’s 7th win on the year, and kept them atop the Western Conference. For St. Louis it was a moral victory, but still on the standings would go down as their 6th loss. BAL 14 PHI 36 Baltimore just did not have it in gear against Philly in this lopsided divisional loss. Charlie Garner had the answer for the Blitz defense, rushing for 169 yards and 2 scores on only 19 carries. Add in 10 catches for Cris Carter and you get a definitive win for Stars, who even their record with Baltimore’s at 5-3. NJ 14 PIT 41 The surging Maulers looked like real contenders in the way they dominated the Generals. It was not a huge statistical day, with Rozier rushing for only 62 yards and risher completing 22 of 28 for only 243, but both accounted for 2 TD’s each, and the Mauler D just made Doug Flutie’s day a horrible one, as two tipped balls and three bad throws led to 5 Mauler interceptions on the day. OHI 17 WSH 27 This one looked like it would be ugly, with Washington building up a 20-0 lead early in the 3rd quarter. Joey Walters had 122 yards in the first half, on his way to 143 for the day, and the combo of Word and Kirby would rush for 100 yards combined, but in the 2nd half either the Feds took their foot off the brake, or Ohio started to figure them out, as the Glory scored 17 points to make the game look a bit more respectable. Sticking to their run-first gameplan, Byner and Workman eventually wore down the Washington line, rushing for a combined 121 yards. SEA 31 MEM 38 Memphis would get the win they desperately needed, but it would not come easy against the expansion Seattle Dragons. The two teams traded scores throughout the day before a Jeff Query 98 yard kickoff return would break the backs of the Dragons. Add on a Tommy Agie TD run and Memphis would get the win against the fired-up Dragons, despite a pedestrian 245 yard, 3 Int game from Mike Kelley. BIR 31 ORL 14 Every time we are about to write this off as a lost season for Birmingham, they come up with a game like this. The Stallions got their 3rd win of the year by focusing on their stars. Lawrence Dawsey caught 9 balls for 158 and 2 scores as the Stallions found holes in the Orlando secondary. Scott Mitchell tried his best to rally the Renegades, with 312 yards passing and 2 scores, but with no run game to speak of, Orlando was just too predictable on offense and Birmingham was able to play zones throughout the game to slow down their attack. JAX 17 TBY 13 Both Chris Chandler and John Fourcade struggled in this game. Chandler would eventually get the advantage, hitting Brian Blades for a late score in a game that few would describe as textbook offensive football. Neither team topped 275 total yards, and they were a combined 5 of 25 on 3rd down in a game only a punter’s mother could love. CHI 10 NOR 6 In an even uglier game, Chicago again managed to scrap out a win despite looking just atrocious on offense. The Machine defense made Jamie Martin look so bad that the Breakers actually went with Rosenbach in the second half, but he fared no better as the Breakers simply could not generate offense against the aggressive Chicago defense. The lone TD on the day was a Ricky Watters plunge at the end of a short drive which followed a poor handoff from Rosenbach to Pegram, a fumble which gave Chicago its only red zone visit all game. MGN 12 TEX 20 Michigan slipped to 4-4 with another close loss. In a game with no turnovers, it was a lack of big plays which hurt both clubs. Michigan was forced to stick to field goals as their red zone offense simply did not get it done. Texas had a bit more success, with Stouffer finding Eric Metcalf for one score and Reggie Cobb, who averaged only 2.8 YPC on the day, finding room for a 3-yard score in the 2nd quarter. ARZ 14 OAK 37 Oakland came out of the gates fast against the Wranglers, and by the half they had built up a 31-14 lead. The deep hole was too much for Arizona to overcome and their need to get one-dimensional just played into the hands of the Oakland defense. Robbie Bosco would throw for 403 yards in the losing effort, but this was mostly unproductive yardage that did not draw the Wranglers closer to the cruising Invaders. Milking a lead, Siran Stacy was able to gain 136 yards and we even got a rare Mike Pawlowski sighting late in the 4th. DEN 31 POR 38 Denver was game, and played one of their better offensive games, but Portland still had their number, Building a late 38-24 lead and then holding on as Denver went for two consecutive 4th down trick plays. Robert Drummond was the star of the day, scoring 3 TD’s and carrying the ball 24 times. Mark Brunell played well for the Gold, going 34 of 47 for 390 yards and 4 TDs against Oakland’s D, but it was just not enough to get the win for the now 4-4 Gold. LA 26 ATL 12 In a game that many in Atlanta saw as their best chance for a first win this season, the Eric Zeier-led Fire still came up short against the visiting Express. Bernie Parmalee could only gain 24 yards and newly acquired Ricky Blake had an unimpressive 5 yards on 3 carries to start his Atlanta career. For LA Brent Pease found Mike Pritchard 8 times for 117 yards, and Darnay Scott returned from injury to catch 5 for 102 as well. We have reached the halfway point of the season, and the stories seem to be writing themselves. To sum up the first half of the year, here are our Top 5 Pleasant Surprises, Top 5 Disappointments, and Top 5 Stories to Watch over the season’s 2nd half. PLEASANT SURPRISES 1. Rookie Success: The rookie seasons of Tyrone Wheatley (739 yards rushing in 8 games) and Antonio Freeman (57 receptions, 475 yards, and 5 TDs) have to be making fans in Michigan and Houston smile. The two are neck and neck for Rookie of the Year honors at this point, but if Wheatley can overtake Robert Drummond, he may become the runaway winner. 2. Martin To the Rescue: To say that Jamie Martin’s season has been an unexpected surprise for Breaker fans is a huge understatement. Martin won his first 4 games and was the league’s QBR rating leader after his first month, and while this week’s performance was a head scratcher, Martin seems to have laid claim to the starting job in New Orleans after 3 years as an unmentioned and largely unseen bench player. 3. Federal Surplus: The sudden success of the Washington Federals has the nation’s capital abuzz. They went 6 games undefeated, and stand at 7-1 at the halfway point. The defense looks fierce, the offense more than capable, and the team seems to have everything going there way. Even a Sam Rutigliano broken leg caused by a sideline collision did not derail the Feds. They have a tough slog to go and they will be challenged by Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but these Federals seem to have found their groove. 4. High Value Import: Chris Chandler’s arrival from the NFL seems to have reawakened the Jacksonville Bulls. They still have some issues, but their offense has been a total revelation under Chandler’s command. Adding Natrone Means from Denver also has helped bring balance to the Bulls, but Chandler’s 2200 yards and 16 touchdowns have fans already forgetting the earlier success of Tony Eason in Duval County. 5. Chicago Love Story: We love what is happening in Chicago. For the second year in a row the Machine have lost their starter for the year, and for the second year in a row they seem to be flipping the bird to convention and just keep winning anyway. Last year it was NFL star Bernie Kosar replaced by unheralded Scott Zolak, and this year, when Zolak went down, former “bust” Dan McGwire stepped in and Chicago just kept winning. Now, no one is going to give McGwire the Offensive POTY award, and his numbers have been pedestrian at best, but the team itself is finding ways to win. They have one of the most dynamic defenses in the league, led by their secondary (Eric Thomas, Derrick Burroughs, Anthony Prior and George Teague) but with solid contributors like Gary Reasons, Darryl Tally, Ray Agnew and Kevin Fagan in the front 7. They are not leading the league in any defensive category, but they are 3rd in scoring defense and still sit at 7-1 after 8 weeks. DISAPPOINTMENTS 1. Diminishing Returns: For as much as we are praising Wheatley and Freeman, we have to wonder what has happened with some of the other major rookie signings. We are going to give the rookie QB’s a pass, as both Eric Zeier and Todd Collins have only recently been able to get starting opportunities, and Kordell Stewart is happily watching as Don Majkowski leads the resurgent Federals. But where are some of the other big name rookies like DE Mike Mamula (10 tackles for Chicago), LB Jason Kyle in NJ, WR Joey Galloway in Ohio (0 TDs), or any of the other halfbacks. With the lone exception of Rashaan Salaam, who has decent numbers (533 yards and 3 scores) for Denver, there are a lot of high round halfbacks who have simply not taken advantage of their chances this year. Terrell Fletcher and James Stewart in Tampa, Rodney Thomas in Texas, Brent Moss in Oakland, Brandon Bennett in Memphis, and Dino Philyaw in Birmingham have been non-factors. The fact that little touted Terrell Davis in New Orleans has more yards rushing (278) than all of the others combined is just sad. 2. No Rush: The run games in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Tampa Bay. What is it about the south that makes these teams not run well? Atlanta has been absolutely miserable, (247 total yards in 8 games) and both Birmingham and Tampa have been nearly as bad. Tampa is the biggest mystery as Errict Rhett was a dynamic player last year as a rookie. Where did that go? Or did all of Tampa’s best blockers go to expansion clubs in the offseason expansion draft? If they did, they did not go to Atlanta, we know that much. Birmigham has just not been good at rushing the ball since Joe Cribbs left, but James Joseph (3.4 YPC average) clearly is not the answer. Compare these three clubs with Michigan, Washington, Portland, or Pittsburgh and you can see why the top rushing teams are also pretty solidly in the playoff hunt and these three are fading fast (again, Atlanta, we did not expect much, but this has been sad.) 3. The Magic is Gone: Doug Flutie is not having a solid year, to the point where there are some in the NY-NJ area who are calling for Coach Wyche to take a look at rookie Rob Johnson, a more prototypical passer. Flutie is the league’s lowest rated starter, with a 67.6 QBR and 12 interceptions to only 7 TDs after 8 games. While his production went up during Herschel Walker’s injury, his success did not, as the Generals struggled throughout those weeks. Flutie will have to show something, and the Generals will have to start winning, because we expect that if Coach Wyche sees the season as a lost cause, it will be a chance for Rob Johnson to get some starts, and that could be big trouble for the 10 year veteran. 4. Picky, Picky, Picky: If Doug Flutie’s 12 interceptions are a disappointment, Brett Favre’s 15 are a disaster. Favre can at least say that he has been without his top receivers for much of the year, which is true. Ernest Givens is still a couple of weeks away from returning to action, and Lawrence Dawsey has been in and out of the lineup all season. This has been great for Cedric Tillman, but horrible for Birmingham in general. The Stallions have had moments, but they have been too few as the team has slipped to 3-5, a solid 3 games behind Jacksonville, and still 2 games behind even a wild card slot. There is time, if Birmingham, and especially Favre, can get it together, but this does not look much like the club that blew the league away 2 years ago on their way to a league title. 5. Expansion or Diminishing: Our final disappointment this year has been expansion in general. We knew the 4 teams would struggle, and their combined 5-27 record seems to indicate that we were right, but what has been even more startling is the impact that the expansion had on the other 20 franchises. Depth is a serious issue across the league, especially apparent on the O-line and D-line where teams are struggling to put together coherent squads and to manage when injuries inevitably take down some of the starters. We have seen more penalties, sloppier play, and more lopsided losses in these first 8 weeks than we can remember in most recent seasons. It may take the league a couple of years to truly rebound from this expansion and to restock their benches with quality players. All the while the NFL is also expanding by 2 clubs this year, so with a combined 54 pro football clubs (plus the CFL) seeking players, the talent pool may be as stretched as we have ever seen. That is not a formula for close games or good play. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE SEASON’S SECOND HALF. 1. Growth Spurt: One thing we are hoping to see is better play from our 4 expansion clubs as they start to gel as units. Offensive line play should improve as the players get better acquainted with each other’s styles, and the coaches should now be able to determine the skills of their players and make better use of them. Will we see any of these clubs rip off a 4-5 game win streak, unlikely, but closer games, occasional upsets, and maybe even a few top performers should emerge over the next 2 months. We certainly are hoping to see better things from LA’s Marcus Allen, Ohio’s Joey Galloway, Seattle with the return of Dave Krieg from injury, and hopefully someone on Atlanta will make waves. 2. Family Squabbles: Divisional showdowns should highlight the second half of the season. We have 4 clubs in the Atlantic all with 5 wins or more, so those battles will be nasty. It is much the same in the Central, where you have 7-1 Houston, 7-1 Chicago and then a solid cluster of Texas, Michigan and New Orleans trailing behind. In the Pacific, Portland has a tenuous 1 game lead over Oakland, but Arizona and Denver are not out of it yet. And the South, well, it won’t necessarily be a close race for the title, as Jacksonville already has a 3-game lead, but Tampa, Birmingham, Memphis, and even Orlando still have hopes for a wild card if they can catch up to some of the Atlantic Division clubs. 3. Run to Daylight: Watch the race for the rushing title. Robert Drummond currently leads Tyrone Wheatly by 21 yards, but with both clubs deep in a playoff hunt, expect both to continue to be fed the ball regularly. Behind them we have a cluster of 4 players in the 600-650 yard range who have an outside chance, and all on solid teams: Garner in Philly, Thomas in Houston, Rozier in Pittsburgh, and Stacy in Oakland. With quality around them on offense, any one of these 4 can bust out for some big games and get in the mix. 4. Who's the Boss: QB Controversy. We already know that there is a battle brewing in New Orleans between upstart Jamie Martin and veteran Timm Rosenbach. We have seen Eric Zeier take over for Cliff Stoudt in Atlanta, but will that last? Todd Collins seems to have unseated David Archer in St. Louis, and now we are hearing calls for Rob Johnson in New Jersey. As teams fade from playoff contention, one of the most common impacts is the “look see” at backup QB’s. Fans love the backup, until they start of course, and with so many young backup QB’s in the league, it is natural for clubs to wonder if their aging vet is past their prime and want to see the young gun. So, do not be surprised if we see some benching if clubs continue to struggle. 5. Make Some Space: Finally, what we expect to see down the stretch is that the consistent clubs, teams like Washington, Houston, Chicago and yes, Portland, may start to pull away from the pack as they battle not for the division title (except maybe the Central) but put their sights on the #1 seed and home field advantage. Separation could be tough as it looks like Chicago and Houston will go down to the wire, Washington has 3 hot clubs in pursuit, and Portland is still not a confident team with an experienced Oakland squad hot on their heels. Only Jacksonville has a comfortable lead, and they will need help to knock Washington down a peg or two and catch the Feds for the top seed. The USFL this week presented a new logo to accompany the familiar monogram. The new logo, which includes the USFL monogram inside a stylized white, red and blue helmet. This new logo will be used on uniforms, located at the neckline of team jerseys, as a sticker on the back of each helmet, and on the right hip of the pants. The logo is very much in the line of the NFL shield which has begun adorning that league’s team uniforms as part of an effort to distinguish official league merchandise from knockoffs. Only official USFL merchandise (produced by Nike, of course) will include the helmet logo element. For most other uses (league marketing, documents, etc.) the flag-themed monogram will remain the primary logo. The first time we should expect to see the new logo included in uniforms is for the 1996 season, where the stickers will be added just below the U.S. flag on each helmet and the small logo will be an embroidered patch on both the pants and jerseys. This will be uniform for all 24 clubs, including Chicago, Jacksonville, and New Jersey, who will each be receiving new uniforms for the 1996 season. Week 9 gives us intra-conference games across the board, with the Atlantic and Southern Divisions battling and the Central facing the Pacific. Some of the better matchups include a huge game between the Federals and Bulls, both atop their divisions. Out West the Chicago-Oakland and Houston-Portland matchups could impact both divisional title hunts. A little bit lower down in the standings we find 4-4 New Orleans at 4-4 Arizona, and some 5-3 vs. 3-5 Atlantic-South games as Baltimore heads to Memphis and Pittsburgh is in Birmingham. Orlando and New Jersey, both 3-5, need a win to stay in the hunt. St. Louis will try to get back in winning ways as they visit Denver. Four games with expansion clubs see their opponents trying to avoid a trap game as Texas visits Los Angeles, Michigan heads to Atlanta, Philadelphia is in Seattle, and the Tampa Bay Bandits host the Ohio Glory.

Week 7 had a bit of everything. A shootout in the Steel City, the end of an undefeated season, a resurgent superstar, a huge Central Division showdown, and a stunner as St. Louis wins its second in a row. Sure there were some predictable outcomes, with all 4 expansion clubs losing again, but this is still one of the most unpredictable and volatile seasons we have seen in a long time. No one can figure out what is wrong in Birmingham, or how Chicago is scratching out wins each week, and yet, there it is. Welcome to the USFL where each week is an adventure. Two top competitors for GOTW this week as both the Chicago-Michigan and Oakland-Pittsburgh games were epics. We opted for the Maulers’ comeback on Oakland as our winner, simply because of the sheer drama of a 4th quarter rally, but if you can catch the highlights of the Chicago-Michigan overtime game, it is well worth it as well. Oakland and Pittsburgh was a shoot out from the beginning. Both clubs found holes in the opposing defenses, and both QB’s played some lights out football as Hebert and Risher battled for 60 minutes. It started out looking like the Maulers would take this one, as they had all the early momentum, building up a 16-7 lead after 1 quarter thanks to 2 TDs from Risher (1 to Rembert and 1 to TE Mike Shaw). Oakland threw in an Hebert to Milburn TD, but was behind the 8-ball when the second quarter began. The Invaders responded, rattling off 21 unanswered points as Hebert found Mark Duper for 2 scores and, sandwiched between those two drives, Siran Stacy scored on a juke & spin 13-yard run. After trailing by 9 after 1 quarter, the Invaders led by 11 going into the half. Pittsburgh would start to rally in the 3rd quarter. It was slow going however, and the Maulers could only muster a field goal to pull within 8 at 27-19. When Oakland added one of their own to return the lead to 11, things got desperate for the Maulers. Pittsburgh responded, and with 5 minutes left they again added 3 off the foot of Rafael Septien to pull back to within one score. After a solid 3rd down play by the Mauler defense forced Oakland to kick the ball away with just over 2 minutes left, the pressure was on Alan Risher to drive the Maulers down the field. Risher’s response was immediate, as he found Mike Shaw on a seam route that ended up going for 44 yards on the Maulers’ first play from scrimmage. They found themselves already deep in Oakland territory after that first play. Cap Boso then caught a ball for 8, Rozier ran for 3, Risher hit FB Ron Wolfley for 9 and then Boso again for 6, first and goal at the 9. 27 seconds left to play and first and goal. Risher went immediately to the fade route, and fond Raynard Brown in the corner of the endzone, Touchdown!! Pittsburgh was within 2 and on the PAT they went to their bread and butter, tossing the ball wide to Rozier, who finished the day with only 56 yards on the ground, but got the 2 he needed on this play to tie things up at 30. Into overtime for these two tired but determined clubs. Oakland would get the ball first, but a huge sack from Harry Colon on 3rd down forced them to punt it right back to Pittsburgh. The Maulers had the momentum and they made use of it, driving the ball into field goal range, thanks in part to two big receptions by Louis Lipps. When a 3rd and 10 proved too much for the Maulers to convert, they trotted out Rafael Septien to attempt a 55 yarder for the win. The ball barely crossed over the bar, but it was good and a jubilant Steel City crowd erupted in cheers as the Maulers got the win, improved their record to 4-3 and found themselves right back in the thick of the playoff hunt, 2 games behind Washington. For Oakland it was a tough loss, one that saw Hebert throw for 352 and 3 scores, but in the end it was not enough. They return to Oakland also at 4-3 and now a game behind Portland in the tight Pacific division. CHI 33 MGN 27 OT In another overtime thriller, Chicago, led by backup Dan McGwire, got the win on an OT TD run by Ricky Watters after a late John Carney field goal had tied them up with the homestanding Panthers. McGwire finished the day with 368 yards and 3 scores, and Ricky Watters kept pace with potential Rookie of the Year Tyrone Wheatley 105 yards yards to Wheatley’s 108. A huge divisional win for the Machine as they keep pace with Houston at 6-1. HOU 30 TEX 17 Houston arrived at 6-1 with a big road win in San Antonio against the rival Outlaws. Jim Kelly threw for 361 and 2 TD, including a beautiful out & up by Ricky Proehl for 30 yards to break open a 16-10 game. Texas got 103 yards from Reggie Cobb, but 7 penalties and a 4 for 14 conversion rate on 3rd down kept them from keeping pace with Houston. NOR 14 STL 27 Where did these Knights come from? Not only did rookie Todd Collins complete 72% of his passes with the team’s short passing game, but HB Darrell Thompson had a solid 72 yards rushing as well as St. Louis shocked the Breakers, snapping their 4-game win streak. Despite 78 yards from Erric Pegram and a solid 28 of 36 day from Jamie Martin, the Brekers were stymied on several drives by a combination of penalties and missed 3rd down conversions as St. Louis wins its second in a row. BIR 21 TBY 24 John Fourcade had his best outing as a Bandit and the Tampa defense did just enough to upend the Stallions despite 3 Brett Favre TD’s. With the Stallions D selling out to contain Errict Rhett (12 carries for 20 yards) it was all up to Fourcade. The veteran backup connected with Robert Brooks for 2 scores to pace the Bandits, the final toss, a 33-yard TD strike with 3:22 left in the game, was the game winner as Tampa Bay improves to 3-4 and sends Birmingham to yet another defeat. MEM 17 ORL 45 Orlando may be on to something as they demolish the Showboats at home in the Citrus Bowl. With Scott Mitchell tending to a sore shoulder, Craig Erickson stepped in and threw 3 TDs to pace the Renegades. Orlando benefitted from 4 interceptions of Mike Kelley as the Memphis vet had his second bad game in a row, prompting some to look at Heath Shuler on the bench and wonder when his chance will come. ATL 0 BAL 27 While many in Atlanta wanted to see Eric Zeier get the start, perhaps starting him off against Baltimore’s tough pass defense was not the way to go. Zeier completed only 17 of 41 pass attempts as Baltimore harassed and smothered the Atlanta offense all day. Chris Miller had a pedestrian 216 yard game, but it was enough as TD’s to Rob Moore and Oronde Gadsden more than covered what the Blitz needed for the win. ARZ 10 NJ 26 Herschel Walker returned to form this week, rushing for 133 yards and helping the Generals upend the visiting Wranglers. The defense kept Robbie Bosco at bay with 4 sacks and the offense controlled the clock, with TE Jeff Spek leading all receivers in a slow, methodical and time-killing gameplan that relied heavily on Herschel Walker’s 24 carries. LA 12 PHI 33 The Express found out just how tough Philadelphia’s front 7 can be, as Marcus Allen was limited to only 38 yards and Brent Pease was chased throughout the game. On offense, it was balance between the running of Charlie Garner (88 yds, 1 TD) and the short passing game of Chuck Long (25 of 35 with 2 scores) that did in the Express. Cris Carter does what he does best, scoring touchdowns, as he added 2 on the day to help pace the Stars to the win. POR 34 WSH 19 It seems many folks saw this road win coming for the Thunder as action on Portland was heavy in Las Vegas before the game. Those bets paid off as a big day from Robert Drummond (121 yards and 2 scores) helped the Thunder upset the undefeated Federals in RFK. Portland’s upgraded defense kept the Word-Kirby combo in check (16 carries for 52 yards combined) and Portland used a ball control offense centered around Drummond to keep the Feds from the ball. It all worked out to give Washington their first loss of the year and propel Portland to first place atop the Pacific Division. SEA 7 JAX 24 The other Northwestern club did not fare as well as the Dragons struggled on offense with David Klingler at the helm. The run game, with Roosevelt Potts sidelined, struggled to get anything going, and the defense had its own issues, allowing 131 yards rushing to the combo of Means and Morris, while Chris Chandler had a solid 272 yards and 2 TD’s on the day. DEN 26 OHI 14 Things started off well for the Glory as they raced out to a 14-0 lead on Denver, thanks to an Ernest Byner TD run and a short scoring toss from Hostetler to Kelley, but then the wheels fell off the proverbial bus, as Denver scored the next 26 points. Mark Brunell cranked up the intensity, completed 28 of 32 passes and threw for 3 scores, all the while aided by Rashaan Salaam’s best game yet, 112 yards on 16 carries. Denver pulled away and shut down the Glory for the rest of the game to take the road win. 1. Down Goes Frazier! Washington’s first loss of the year is our top story. While no one expected the Feds to go undefeated, the way they lost to Portland may prove to be a blueprint for others. By running the ball effectively, Portland took the pressure off QB Jack Trudeau and limited the effectiveness of Washington’s front 4 to rush the passer. By controlling the clock, and focusing on limiting the run, they kept the Federals to a minimum of drives and proved effective in setting up long 3rd downs, putting pressure on Majkowski to make big plays. It is not a strategy that every team can employ, but when we look at divisional opponents like New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, all with strong run games, it could be a strategy that we see employed in key divisional games throughout the rest of the season. 2. We Traded for Who? Well, it was not the blockbuster that many in Dixie had hoped for, but Atlanta did swing a trade to acquire another running back. Just how excited Fire fans will be about NFL castoff Ricky Blake remains to be seen. The Fire sent CB Brian Mitchell to LA to acquire the little used bruiser from the Express. Blake, a small school product from Northwest Missouri, has seen action for Winnipeg in the CFL, and with both Dallas and Seattle in the NFL, but found himself without a job until signed by LA as a free agent. Blake is a big back, capable of breaking tackles, but he is hardly the big name that Atlanta fans were hoping to see. The Fire had made attempts at acquiring several backs, including Arizona’s Tim Lester, Jacksonville’s Owen Gill, and New Jersey’s Bam Morris, but were rebuffed. LA, which has focused its run game around Marcus Allen, has used Blake very little this season. He has only 14 attempts on the year to date, but may soon find himself in rotation with Bernie Parmalee and Fred McAfee as the Fire try to find some semblance of a run game to take pressure off of rookie Eric Zeier at QB. 3. Phil's Big Day: Can we just say that Phil Hansen had himself a day on Sunday. Not only did the big man garner 2 sacks to add him to the list of league leaders tied with 8 sacks on the season, but he also was in the right place at the right time when Albert Fontenot sacked Robbie Bosco, forcing the ball out and onto the ground. Hansen shook off his blocker, scooped up the ball, and rumbled 8 yards for the TD, his first career score. The North Dakota product finds himself among the leaders in the Defensive POTY chase after 7 weeks, with 8 sacks and solid play against the run. This TD might just be the highlight he needs as he finds himself in competition with Arizona’s Charles Haley, Oakland’s Ron Rivera and a pair of DB’s in Reggie Sutton (HOU) and Bruce Pickens (DEN). Of course, wins will matter quite a bit, and with so many players currently tied atop the sack leader list, if any were to break out, they might also be a frontrunner. But, that said, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year and still all-time single season sack record holder, Hansen, can point to this week and say on that day he was the best in the game. 4. Where's Marcus?: We know it is only Week 7, and we understand that the LA Express is an expansion team, but when your QB is also your leading rusher, you have a problem. And when you have a star of the quality of Marcus Allen in your backfield, and your leading rusher is still your QB, you have an issue. Brent Pease has been scrambling for his life in LA, and while he has had some success, including a 90-yard game this week, it is not what you want to build an offense around. Marcus Allen is the clear lead back, especially now that Ricky Blake has been traded, leaving only Lars Tate as an experienced backup, but his 3.6 yard average is not getting it done, and the fact that he is averaging fewer than 15 carries a game (He is around 11) is a sign that the playcalling by Head Coach Rick Neuheisel is simply not providing their star back the carries he needs to be successful. Allen has seen his numbers rise in the past 3 weeks, when he carried the ball 18 times against New Orleans and 11 against Arizona, but that is still clearly not enough. Of course, not all the blame can fall on playcalling. Penalties and lopsided scores have caused LA to have to pass more than even their former-QB-now-Head-Coach would like. A makeshift line also does not help, but until LA can find ways to get the ball into Allen’s hands, and provide him with holes to run through, the team will continue to struggle to win games. 5. Injury Update: Finally, a look at injuries this week which will impact games going forward, the good news is that this was a relatively clean week. That does not mean that all teams got off scott free, but there were no season-ending injuries and only a few that look to be costing players more than 1 game. Philadelphia will go into next week without TE Marcus Pollard, who suffered a concussion this week and is still having some side effects. Guard Joel Porter is likely out for Baltimore, as is DT John Randall, who is listed as “Doubtful” with a rib injury. Atlanta will miss one of their best players, as DE Dale Rogers is listed as questionable with an ankle injury, and Washington may keep QB Don Majkowksi out for safety’s sake after he suffered a hip pointer on an awkward slide in the loss to Portland. Potentially returning to action are St. Louis wideout Gary Clark, Portland DT Mike Golic, Birmingham WR Lawrence Dawsey, and Ohio HB Vince Workman, who jammed a toe this week, hard to do on natural turf, but that is the luck of the Glory so far this year. Things are getting crowded in the new Carson, CA stadium of the LA Raiders and LA Express as the fledgling Major League Soccer has come to an agreement to place their LA franchise, the “Galaxy” in the stadium. In fact, there will be several USFL clubs sharing stadiums with soccer clubs once the new pro soccer league gets started. The Ohio Glory will share Ohio Stadium with a Columbus-based team. The “Metrostars” (what is it with soccer names?) will play in the Meadowlands, becoming that stadium’s 4th tenant. Tampa Bay will host a club, as will Denver’s Mile High Stadium, and Washington’s RFK Stadium. Oakland was also thought to be a potential home for an MLS club, but eventually the new league opted for San Jose. So, what does this mean for USFL clubs. Well, likely it means some scheduling difficulties as both sports tend to play on Saturdays and Sundays, and it could lead to some weird lines on the field, particularly if there are weeks when one game is played the day after another. In most cases the USFL would have precedence on dates, but the league will want to work with MLS to try to ensure that there are as few dual-sport weekends during the USFL season as possible. Of course, new sports leagues are challenging, USFL fans know that. So while there are potential issues with shared stadia, more than likely, if MLS can survive its bumpy early seasons, having one more sports organization in a market may make it easier to get refurbishing or even new stadia approved as cities want to maximize profitability from any large project like a stadium build. As USFL and NFL clubs work to try to keep up with the Joneses on the stadium front, having one more ally could be a huge boost to their chances, especially if soccer can garner a different fanbase from American Football, thus expanding the pool of voices pushing cities to accommodate their professional sports clubs. Week 8 is an almost entirely intra-divisional week, with 2 exceptions, both involving expansion clubs. Lot’s of key battles to be fought this week, starting in the East where we find Baltimore headed up I-95 to face the Philadelphia Stars. New Jersey travels to Pittsburgh to face the surging Maulers, and Washington is at home with Ohio visiting. In the South Orlando will try to even their record by beating the struggling Birmingham Stallions in the Citrus Bowl. Jacksonville and Tampa have a huge Florida Derby game to play in Tampa Stadium, and Memphis will host Pacific club, as the Seattle Dragons come to town. Central Division battles are highlighted by Chicago at New Orleans. Michigan has a big game against fellow 4-3 club, Texas, and the Houston Gamblers try to avoid the upset when they travel to St. Louis. Out West it is division-leading Portland hosting the Denver Gold, while 4-3 Oakland hosts 4-3 Arizona in a big game for both clubs. And, for the first time this season we have 2 expansion clubs going at it as the Atlanta Fire try for their first win of the season against the visiting LA Express.

Week 6 of the USFL season brings us a major QB controversy, rising hopes in Pittsburgh and Texas, and More concerns in the South as every club in the division loses this week, and two doses of bad news for the Chicago Machine, though the club continues to get results. It all starts with QB injury news and a gutsy performance by the Machine. We start our recap of Week 6 of the USFL season with our Game of the Week, Tampa Bay coming into Chicago, where the Machine were dealing with the news they did not want to face, that their starting QB Scott Zolak was likely lost for the season. While early X-Rays did not reveal a break in his throwing arm, further testing proved the next worst option was the case, a full tear of the bicep from the elbow. There was significant ligament damage as well, meaning that Scott is in for a long recovery and PT regimen before he can return to play, and there is still a risk that he will not recover his full strength to his throwing arm even after a season away from the game. Chicago came in knowing they would need to rely on former Express draft pick, Dan McGwire at QB. McGwire, who was generally considered a bust for the Express/Knights, now takes on the mantle of a team that reached the Summer Bowl last year. He has the advantage of a strong defense and a solid run game with Ricky Watters, something his prior team could not boast. In his first game as starter he would face off against Troy Aikman and the Bandits. He would rely heavily on the defense to help him earn the W in his first start in 2 years. And the defense came up big right from the start. After an unremarkable 3-and-out on Tampa’s first possession, Eric Thomas jumped a hook route on Tampa’s second, grabbed the late throw from Aikman, and ran it back 42 yards for the opening score of the game. It was one of 4 interceptions the Chicago D would make on the day, 2 of Aikman and then 2 of John Fourcade, who came in when the Tampa starter took a brutal hit to the ribs in the 3rd quarter. The 7-point lead quickly grew to 10 as another 3-and-out gave Chicago good field position. It would be 10-3 at the half, and Chicago would never relinquish their lead as the combination of conservative O and aggressive D made it a rough day for the Bandits. McGwire would finish with a respectable 256 yards and 1 TD toss on the day. More importantly he protected the ball, opting for short passes and safety valves whenever things got heady. It is a formula the Machine may be able to use week in and week out to keep pace with Houston. For Tampa Bay, the loss drops them to 2-4 and their offensive woes continue to be a mystery as they certainly have talent on that side of the ball. But, in a game where Errict Rhett was held to only 19 yards on 15 carries, it seems clear that something is going to have to change in Tampa if they want to rally and remain in the playoff hunt. SEA 31 HOU 45 Houston’s defense had its issues, but the offense was too much for Seattle as Jim Kelly threw for 5 scores and Thurman Thomas rushed for 145 in the home win. Seattle, playing without the injured Dave Krieg, got a solid game from former Gambler David Klingler, but it was not enough against the explosive Gamblers. BIR 17 MGN 34 Once again the Birmingham offense sputtered against a solid D, with Brett Favre throwing 2 picks and no TDs. Joe Montana completed nearly 80% of his passes (30 of 38) and Tyrone Wheatley had a huge game, rushing for 141 and 2 scores as the Panthers double up the Stallions. JAX 26 NOR 35 The Breakers are solidly in a QB controversy as Jamie Martin again shines for New Orleans. Martin threw for 3 scores, and the Breakers got another strong performance from their run game as Erric Pegram and rookie Terrell Davis combined for 132 yards rushing. At one point it was 35-10 over the Bulls before the teams changed gears and Jacksonville was able to claw back to make the game look closer than it was. MEM 10 STL 26 Just when we thought the Showboats had turned a corner they lay an egg in St. Louis. It was a solid game for rookie QB Todd Collins of the Knights, who went 19 of 30 for 233, a score and only 1 pick. He was helped by a decent game from HB Darrell Thompson and a stronger than usual defensive performance that saw LB Mike Caldwell record 5 tackles, including 2 for loss, and a defensive score from CB Troy Vincent. ORL 10 TEX 27 The Central Division remains tight as Texas gets the win at home against the Renegades. Two early TD’s from Stouffer helped Texas build a 20-0 halftime lead, and while they relented a bit in the second half, a late Jerome Henderson pick-6 of Mitchell helped put the game away for the homestanding Outlaws. BAL 44 OHIO 3 A bad, bad day for the Ohio Glory, coming off 2 straight wins, as Baltimore just dominated in every way possible. Despite playing only a half due to a nagging shoulder issue, Chris Miller threw for 218 yards and 2 scores. His understudy, Cody Carlson added another 2 scores and the Baltimore defense was relentless all day as the Blitz roll to an easy road win in the division. NJ 10 WSH 19 New Jersey definitely played better with Walker back in the lineup, but Washington still got the better of them, largely because they were able to limit the All-USFL HB to only 47 yards on the day. Doug Pelfrey was Washington’s main weapon, kicking 4 field goals as the Federals came back from a 10-0 deficit with 5 consecutive scoring drives to take the home win. PHI 21 PIT 34 With a healthy Alan Risher back under center, the Maulers began to look a lot like last season’s playoff squad. Against Philadelphia’s vaunted defense, Risher went 24 of 37 for 270 and 2 scores, and while Mike Rozier did not top 75 yards rushing, he did score twice to pace the Maulers. Three Chuck Long interceptions helped Pittsburgh keep the Stars at arms length all day as Pittsburgh evened their record at 3-3 and sent Philly down to 3-3. Tightening up the Atlantic Division race with the Feds still out in front at 6-0. ARZ 19 LA 16 The Express seem to flip between good offensive days and good defensive games. If they could do both at once, they might be better than their 1-5 record. Against Arizona, LA did well on defense, but simply could not penetrate the Wrangler D to get on the scoreboard. It was a field goal festival as the two teams combined for 7 kicks and only 2 TD’s, with the 7th, and eventual game winner, coming with 3:27 left in the game. DEN 19 ATL 3 While most do not blame Cliff Stoudt for Atlanta’s anemic offense, he may have to make way to Eric Zeier just to try to spark something as Atlanta gains a grand total of 162 yards on the day against the Denver defense. The run game was awful, combining 3 backs and Stoudt scrambles for a grand total of 12 yards. For Denver the combo of Salaam (82 yards) and Smith (22) was enough to win on the road. OAK 10 POR 26 Oakland came into the game hoping to build on a slim divisional lead, but it was the Thunder who came away with a key win to level their record with Oakland’s at 4-2. The key to the game was balance as both Jack Trudeau and Robert Drummond had unremarkable but very solid games. The Portland defense, which is clearly much improved under head coach Vince Tobin, kept Hebert and Stacy in check, led by a solid day from DE Anthony Pleasant and 5 pass defenses from CB Dwayne Galloway. 1. QB Controversy: Our top story this week has to be the QB situation in New Orleans, where Jamie Martin has made it all but impossible for Coach Ditka to bench him now that Timm Rosenbach is ready to come back from injury. Martin, in three and a half games, has lit the league up, throwing for 857 yards, 9 TDs and only 3 picks. He has led New Orleans on a 4-game winning streak after an 0-2 start from Rosenbach. It seems inevitable that Ditka will name him the starter this week, in preparation for the upcoming game against St. Louis. What this means for Rosenbach, who had seen New Orleans as his team after rough QB battles in both Jacksonville and New Jersey, is still to be determined. He has been gracious in praising Martin to the press, but that was while he was injured and unable to play. Now that he is back, how will he handle holding that clipboard? Martin, who now qualifies for league leaders and debuted on the QBR rankings as the #1 QB in the league, is in a position to lock up the position. If his play continues as we have seen in the season so far, he may have just permanently cost Rosenbach a job. 2. QB Depth: QB is the focus of our second story as well. With Scott Zolak out for the year in Chicago, Dave Krieg likely to miss at least a month in Seattle, and Troy Aikman possibly losing a month as well, it is quickly becoming a triage situation around the league. As seems to happen every year, teams with solid backups can weathe the storm. Those who did not invest in depth at the position are likely to suffer. In Chicago, it is up to Dan McGwire to step up for the rest of the year, but, as we stated earlier, he has both a defense and a run game to help him out. Things in Seattle are a little dicier, as the expansion club now looks to David Klingler to help them through the next month. Expect to see more touches for Roosevelt Potts as the Dragons try to take some pressure off Klingler. In Tampa Bay, it is former New Orleans Saint John Fourcade who will carry the team until Aikman can return to action. Fourcade has a career QBR of only 69.6 and has thrown 9 interceptions to 10 Tds over 3 seasons in Tampa. Behind him the Bandits have only untested Perry Klien. Could be a rough month by the bay for a team that has not started well. 3. Trade Challenges: Looking across the league at potential midseason trades, there is not a lot of potential for a blockbuster. We know that Atlanta has been working the phones in attempts to add a dynamic halfback, but with many teams using a rotation of backs, it has been hard for them to find a taker. QB is another position that will cost a team to find someone. Even some non-glamour positions like Guard and Defensive Tackle are feeling less than flexible on the trade market. With both NFL and USFL expansion this season, rosters feel thinner and teams seem dead set on retaining their talent and depth across the board. There will certainly be some trades, particularly as some of the weaker teams try to build for the future and some of the top clubs look to add a key piece to get them championship ready, but will we see a big name move? Not too likely. 4. Injury Report: Finally, we return to the injury list for an update on some key items this week. While the biggest item on the list was definitely Troy Aikman’s head/jaw injury, it was not the only one likely to negatively impact teams this week. Arizona lost their starting LT Kirk Lowdermilk for the year, a blow that will certainly affect an already iffy offensive production. Texas will miss one of their defensive leaders as Brian Bosworth could miss the rest of the year with a severe groin injury. In Washington it is LB Michael Barrow who could miss significant time with a hip injury, while in Seattle, injuries to starting wideout O.J. McDuffie and LB Scott Stephen could cost each as much as 2 months, which is essentially the rest of the year. Players potentially returning from injury include Rosenbach, highlighted above, WR J.J. Stokes in Arizona, DT Craig Veasey in Pittsburgh, WR Darnay Scott in LA, and Atlanta SS Robert Blackmon. An interesting turn of events in the courts as a little-discussed trademark case against the Chicago Machine has come to a decision, and one which does not favor the USFL club. The Machine were being accused of stealing their “gear-M” logo from Maitlin Mechanical, a small, family-owned machining shop in Saginaw, Michigan. While there was little evidence that the Machine were aware of, or directly linked to the small auto parts manufacturer, the court did find that the logo used by the Machine was nearly identical to the one used by the 30-year old machining company. While league officials as well as Chicago ownership hoped to settle the case out of court with a mediated agreement, the ownership of Matilin pushed the case. Some even went so far as to accuse the family of doing this for rivalry reasons, as the company is based in the heart of Panther fandom, but in the end, no mediation was possible. The court has ruled that Chicago is in violation of the Maitlin Mechanical trademark, and has ordered the Machine to cease and desist from use of the logo. The case is being appealed, and likely legal actions will allow the Machine to continue through the year with the current logos in place, but should they eventually lose their appeal, the franchise would need to develop a new logo package. A rare win for the little guy produces a major hassle for the USFL club in the league’s 3rd largest market. Week 7 brings us to a mixed slate of divisional and inter-divisional games, including some interesting showdowns of teams at the top of the league. Among the top-end clashes we find 6-0 Washignton at home against the 4-2 Portland Thunder. Oakland is in Pittsburgh to face the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Maulers, and Chicago, fresh off their trademark case, is in Michigan, facing the Panthers. In Texas we have a really interesting rivalry showdown as the 4-2 Texas Outlaws host the 5-1 Houston Gamblers in what should be a high-tension matchup of these in-state rivals. Birmingham is also in division as they face the Bandits, without Troy Aikman. Both clubs are 2-4 and a win is essential if they have any hope of a possible late season run. Memphis and Orlando are both in similar situations as the two 2-4 clubs face off in the Citrus Bowl. They all trail 4-2 Jacksonville, who have the undermanned Seattle Dragons in town. Meanwhile, 1-5 St. Louis, fresh off their first win of the year, have a tough matchup as the red hot New Orleans Breakers come to town. Arizona is in New Jersey for a rare matchup against the Generals, and our 3 remaining expansion clubs are all in tough matchups as Atlanta heads to Baltimore, LA is in Philadelphia, and the Ohio Glory host the Denver Gold.

“Not so fast, my friends.” Was the refrain from the Birmingham Stallions this week as they reminded everyone that they are not dead yet, knocking Jacksonville from the ranks of the unbeaten. Meanwhile, if you ever wanted to know just how central Herschel Walker is to the New Jersey Generals, just look at the film from this week’s Walker-less drubbing by the expansion Ohio Glory. Washington and Philadelphia had a tussle in the Vet and Tampa Bay may be in bigger trouble than imagined as they can muster almost no offense against the Showboats. Welcome to Week 5 in the USFL. It was the undefeated Washington Federals traveling up I-95 to face the defending champion Philadelphia Stars, and it was exactly the type of slobberknocker game that we want from these two, with both defenses making life difficult for the other squad. The Federals pull out the win on the road thanks in large part to the rushing duo of Word and Kirby, who combined for 123 yards, while Chuck Long spent the day avoiding the Feds’ pass rush and completing short tosses to check-down receivers. Philly got on the board first, as a long drive, assisted by a key roughing the passer call on Dexter Manley, helped the Stars put up 6 when Chuck Long found Joey Jones for a 1st quarter score. Washington bounced right back, putting up a Pelfrey Field goal as the opening quarter wound down. They would add to that score and move into the lead early in the 2nd as Majkowski found Mike Jones for a 9-yard scoring toss. 10-7 at the half and a game that was being fought in the trenches. Washington built up their lead in the 3rd as the lone score of the quarter was a Terry Kirby run from 7 yards out on a drive that started with a shanked punt from Rhon Stark. Philadelphia, while keeping things close, was having difficulty moving the ball. They would finish the game with under 300 yards of offense against a ferocious Federals’ front 7 led by 11 tackles and 2 sacks from LB Winston Moss. Dexter Manley got a sack and several solid hits on Chuck Long as well, and the front 7 of the Feds helped corral Charlie Garner, holding him to only a 2.2 YPC average. Washington extended their lead as the 4th quarte began, adding another Pelfrey FG to go up by 13 at 20-7. While Philadelphia did get another score on the board with 1:10 left, it was too little and too late as the Stars fell to 3-2, now solidly 2 games behind the 5-0 Federals, the league’s lone remaining undefeated team. JAX 26 BIR 38 The Feds are the lone undefeated team because Birmingham finally shook off the rust and put on a show against the 4-0 Bulls. Brett Favre found holes in the Bulls’ secondary, completing 32 of 40 passes for 403 yards, including 10 completions for 119 to fill-in starter Cedrick Tillman, and 2 TD’s to unassuming rookie HB Dino Philyaw. While Chris Chandler had a good game (217 yards and 3 TDs) it was not enough to keep pace with the awakened and angry Stallions. TBY 7 MEM 34 The other Southern showdown this week saw Memphis absolutely dismantle the Bandits in the Liberty Bowl. Mike Kelley went 20 of 29 and threw 3 TDs but the story was the Memphis D, which picked off Troy Aikman 3 times and held Errict Rhett under 100 yards. ORL 28 SEA 23 Orlando got their second win on the year by outdueling Seattle in a constant rain in the Pacific Northwest. Scott Mitchell threw for all 4 Renegade scores, including 2 to Bert Emmanuel. Seattle was not helped by an early shoulder injury to Dave Krieg which saw David Klingler come in and struggle, completing only 10 of 35 passes for the Dragons. CHI 31 ATL 13 The final Southern club, Atlanta, again struggled to find offense as they faced a tough Chicago D. Cliff Stoudt completed 30 of 49 but only for 233 yards, while Chicago pulled away from a 14-13 halftime lead, scoring 17 unanswered in the second half to take the road win. HOU 34 ARZ 24 In a battle of 3-1 clubs, Houston continued to show some offensive firepower, exploding for 17 points in the 2nd quarter and holding on to win as Arizona tried to rally in the 4th. Jim Kelly threw for 3 more of his league leading 15 TDs on the year, and backup Keith Woodside broke off a 24-yard TD run to help the cause. MGN 33 DEN 26 Joe Montana had his best game of the year, finding plenty of open receivers in the surprisingly porous Wade Phillips defense. Bobby Joe Edmunds caught 9 balls for 124 as Michigan edged Denver thanks to a late Tyrone Wheatley TD. NOR 50 LA 7 The Express faithful who came out to the team’s 2nd home game did not get what they were hoping for as Brent Pease struggled against the Breakers and New Orleans built a sudden and devastating 35-7 halftime lead on the beleaguered Express. For a second straight week QB Jamie Martin was on fire, completing 18 of 23 passes and adding 3 scores as New Orleans rolled to an easy W. STL 7 OAK 34 Things were not much harder for the Invaders as they dominated the punchless Knights in Oakland. In Todd Collins’s first start for St. Louis, he looked very much the overwhelmed rookie QB, tossing 2 picks and getting sacked 3 times by the aggressive Oakland D. Bobby Hebert fared better, though he was sacked 4 times by Knights defenders. He would throw for 253 and 2 scores to help pace the Invaders to a 4-1 start and sole possession of 1st in the Pacific. TEX 20 POR 15 Oakland takes over 1st place because Texas got a late score from Shawn Collins to upend the Thunder in Portland. Kelly Stouffer completed 30 of 43 and Reggie Cobb averaged 4.2 yards per carry to help pace the Outlaws, while the Outlaw D held Portland’s Robert Drummond to only 72 yards on the ground, and held down a late 4th quarter drive as Texas gets the road win. PIT 33 BAL 19 Alan Risher returned for the Maulers and it made all the difference as they had their best offensive game of the year to date. In a game that saw 6 consecutive drives end in field goals (3 for each club) and 8 total field goals in the game, it was Mike Rozier’s 2 early TD runs which helped put the Maulers on top. OHI 31 NJ 14 Without Walker for a second straight game, New Jersey struggled to make 1st downs, and too often provided Ohio with short fields to work with. Earnest Byner, edging Vince Workman with 12 carries to 8, made the most of his looks, rushing for a 5.8 YPC average, 69 yards and a score for the Glory. Jeff Hostetler looked comfortable against the New Jersey rush, despite 2 Phil Hansen sacks, completing 24 of 31 for 260 and a pair of scores as Ohio wins their 2nd consecutive game. 1. No Rush: The Atlanta Fire are apparently making offers in an attempt to find a running back. The combo of Bernie Parmalee and Fred McAfee have yet to combine for 50 yards in a game as Atlanta struggles to build an offense without a run game. They have reached out to several clubs, but to date have found no takers. With the NFL transfer window closed, there is not much hope of finding new blood from outside the USFL, so Atlanta is hoping to find a taker, but with an expansion roster, there is not a lot for them to offer except draft picks and they already traded away 2 of their 8 picks for next year’s draft as part of their initial roster-building strategy. It could be a long year for Coach Reeves as the Fire fall to 0-5 and still have not cracked 20 points in a game. 2. Too Good to Bench?: Jamie Martin’s success in New Orleans has to be making Timm Rosenbach nervous. Rosenbach, who has seen QB controversies before (he helped start one in New Jersey and in Jacksonville) has missed 2 and a half games, and in that time Martin has built up a 114.6 QBR, has thrown for over 640 yards and has a 6-2 TD-INT ratio, all better numbers than Rosenbach put up in his early season starts. The savvy backup has proven that his time on the bench has helped him understand the game, as he has completed nearly 80% of his passes in Mike Ditka’s run-first, short pass, protect the ball offensive gameplan. If Rosenbach is not looking solid when he returns to action, we could see a full blown QB battle in the Big Easy. 3. Back in Business: It took 5 weeks, but we finally saw from Birmingham and QB Brett Favre what we all expected. Sure, the loss of Ernest Givens in Week 1 is a major blow to this offense, and in hindsight, trading away Danny Knight from the receiving corps may not have been a good idea after all, but with Shannon Sharpe, Lawrence Dawsey and the emergence of Cedric Tillman, the Stallions have receivers for Favre to find. The bigger issue may be that teams are simply disregarding the threat of the run from James Joseph. Joseph is averaging a mediocre 3.7 YPC for the Stallions, who have really not been able to emphasize the run since the retirement of Joe Cribbs. Without that threat, defenses can tee off on pass rush, drop receivers into zones or double the top receiver, and in that way limit Brett Favre’s effectiveness. Of course, there will also be days, like this week against Jacksonville, where no strategy can keep Favre from having a banner day. For Birmingham, they have to hope those kind of days are more common as Favre’s arm may be their only significant weapon for a while. 4. MVP Battle: A very premature look at the MVP odds has several QB’s at the top of the rankings, with Bobby Hebert, Jim Kelly, and newcomer Chris Chandler topping the list. After that there is a bit of a gap before you find defenders like Houston’s Reggie Sutton, Philadelphia’s Lorenzo Lynch or Oakland’s Ron Rivera. The highest rated HB, Portland’s Robert Drummond, is 9th in the current Vegas odds for the title, though rookie Tyrone Wheatley is still the #1 ranked player for potential Rookie of the Year honors. Coach of the Year right now would have to go to Sam Rutigliano, who has spent most of the season for the unbeated Feds coaching from the booth after a sideline collision led to a broken leg. That he has been able to prep his team each week and guide them through the games from a seated position and with limited mobility is amazing. 5. Division Outlook: Looking at the divisions, we have strong competition in each, but we have to say that the Central looks like the most interesting. Other than sad sack St. Louis, the rest of the Central looks stacked. With all 5 other teams above .500 and with some surprises coming out of New Orleans and Texas, this division could be very close. We still like the look of Chicago’s defense, and Houston is looking solid on both sides of the ball, but we would not be surprised if Michigan, New Orleans or Texas took a shot at the title as well. On the other end of the spectrum we have the South, where Jacksonville is the only club above .500. Memphis and Birmingham had big wins this week, so perhaps a win streak is in the mix for one of the two, but right now, the South is not looking like a division that will place multiple teams in the playoffs, not with the Atlantic looking solid. 6. Injury Update: Finally, looking at injuries that will impact the next few weeks, this past slate of game has mixed things up a bit for a few teams. Chicago could be looking at some serious time without QB Scott Zolak, as issues with his throwing arm are still unsettled. He has gotten x-rays, and there is no sign of a fracture in his upper arm, but there is something impeding his throwing motion after a hard sack took him out of the game this week. Hopefully the physicians in Chicago will get a better sense of it this week. In Seattle it is more cut & dry. Dave Krieg will miss 4-6 weeks with a groin injury after an awkward scramble ended with an even more awkward slide/slump on the field. Krieg will be replaced by former Gambler David Klingler for the next month or more as Krieg rehabs the always tricky groin area. Other injuries of note include CB Leonard Bell of Arizona, expected to miss the rest of the year, Pittsburgh CB Sonny Gordon (6-8 weeks), St. Louis wideout Gary Clark (2-4 weeks) and Birmingham wideout Lawrence Dawsey (Questionable after a sprained wrist in the Stallions’ victory.) What is on tap in Week 6? Well, the entire Atlantic is in divisional games, with Baltimore in Ohio, New Jersey in Washington, and Philly headed across the state to face the Maulers in Pittsburgh. In the Pacific it is Arizona at LA and Oakland up in Portland, while Denver travels to Atlanta and the Seattle Dragons are in Houston, where David Klingler gets to play against his old team. Tampa Bay will try to get on track against a Chicago squad led by Dan McGwire at QB. Birmingham tries to make it 2 in a row but face a tenacious Michigan club in Pontiac. Jacksonville will face off against the Breakers in New Orleans, Memphis will be up the river a ways in St. Louis, and the Orlando Renegades visit Texas.

As we look ahead to the late 1990's in the USFL, which football stars do you think the league should strive to sign? Use the comments section to give your top choices or to write in names not on the list below. They cannot sign every top player coming out of the NCAA, and some will simply jump to the NFL instead, but there will be high draft picks in both leagues who opt for the USFL. Who do you feel would be a good fit for the more wide-open, fun-filled spring league? Class of 1996: WR Keyshawn Johnson, HB Lawrence Phillips, DE Simeon Rice, HB Tim Biakabatuka, HB Eddie George, WR Eric Moulds, QB Bobby Hoying, LB Teddy Bruschi, WR Terrell Owens Class of 1997: LB Peter Boulware, HB Warrick Dunn, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Rae Carruth, HB Tiki Barber, QB Jake Plummer, DE Marcellus Wiley, LB Dexter Coakley Class of 1998: QB Peyton Manning, QB Ryan Leaf, CB Charles Woodson, HB Curtis Enis, HB Fred Taylor, LB Takeo Spikes, WR Randy Moss, HB Ahman Green, WR Hines Ward Class of 1999: QB Tim Couch, QB Donovan McNabb, QB Akili Smith, HB Edgerrin James, HB Ricky Williams, WR Torry Holt, WR David Boston, QB Duante Culpepper, QB Cade McNown, HB Kevin Faulk