1985 Season Preview

Tony Dean, QB, Hosuton Gamblers (12)

In some divisions of the USFL/WFL, you should consider yourself lucky just to have survived the 16-game regular season. In some divisions, you can aspire to a little bit more in the future while beginning to rest your starters somewhere around Week 8 or Week 9.

The Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals, both defending division champions, have alternated league championships over the last four seasons. Houston won World Bowl XI by defeating the Generals, 27-23. There are no USFL/WFL franchises with three championships yet—Houston, New Jersey, the Detroit Wheels, and Memphis Showboats all have two.

Before the playoffs, of course,  come the division races. Some of them will be VERY interesting this season. Some of them, not so much. Let's go division-by-division, with the most interesting first and the least interesting last.

Atlantic Division

The four teams in this division seem to spend all season exchanging places. A four-way tie in the standings occurs pretty often during those 16 games. All that parity leaves these teams exhausted when the playoffs begin, however—no Atlantic Divison team has played for a league championship since the Pittsburgh Maulers lost to the Oakland Invaders in World Bowl II.

That almost changed last season. New head coach 4343 took over the Baltimore Stars (11-5) and led them to nine wins in the last 10 games and a spot opposite New Jersey in the National Conference championship game. No telling what will happen when 4343 has control of the team for an entire season. The Washington Federals (11-5) tied Baltimore for the division title before falling to the Stars in the wild-card game. Joe Richardson is back for his 12th season as Washington's starting QB. The Pittsburgh Maulers (9-7) would be right there if they had Richardson, or someone like him, at QB. Over the last three seasons, Ryan Tate and Scott Deal have combined for 63 TD passes and 78 interceptions. The Charlotte Hornets (7-9) are still looking for their first-ever playoff appearance, but seem to be getting closer all the time. Charlotte started the season 4-1, but finished up by losing seven of its last nine.

Midwest Division

The Detroit Wheels (14-2) ended last season on a 14-game win streak and earned the top seed in the American Conference playoffs, falling to Houston in the conference championship game. Then, things went all sideways. Veteran coach eyeballll, who had led the Wheels to 10 playoff appearances in 11 seasons, left to enjoy warmer weather while taking on a rebuilding project with the Florida Blazers. The AI took over the team for a day, leading to a bunch of bad contracts and cap issues. A new coach, fhunt3, volunteered to clean up the mess.

Until that cleanup is complete, Detroit is liable to return to being part of what has, in recent seasons, been a four-way dogfight in the Midwest Division. The Michigan Panthers (10-6) have made the playoffs twice in the last three seasons and the team's stars haven't yet reached retirement age. If the Panthers stop shooting themselves in the foot at critical moments, they could be the favorites to unseat the Wheels. The Cleveland Thunderbolts (9-7) have made four playoff appearances and always seem to be right in the thick of things at the end of the season. The Chicago Blitz (7-9) were 5-2 before dropping seven of their next eight and dropping out of the playoff race. If Chicago can find a way to score, it will win—the Blitz failed to reach double figures in all nine of their losses.

Southeast Division

The Jacksonville Bulls (12-4) have won the last four division titles, and they are likely to make it five in a row—but, suddenly, they need to keep an eye in the rear-view mirror. The Tampa Bay Bandits (5-11) were 5-3 during the second half of the 1984 season and former No. 1 pick QB Melvin Driggers is likely to be a year older and a year wiser. The Florida Blazers (3-13) haven't made the playoffs since winning the first World Bowl. However, the Blazers convinced veteran coach eyeballll to leave Ypsilanti and come to Orlando (some serious arm-twisting going on there). The Orlando Renegades (2-14) need to start making a move to keep up with the Joneses of their division.

South Division

Like the Southeast, things are likely to get REAL interesting in this division. The Birmingham Stallions (13-3) will be favored to win their third consecutive division title. But the New Orleans VooDoo (10-6) surprised everyone by earning a playoff spot in head coach shavar's first season in MFN. And in the offseason, New Orleans got an early Christmas present in the form of QB James Perry, who was let go by Memphis despite being the league's offensive MVP last season. The Georgia Force (5-11) are well down the road in their rebuilding process and the Shreveport Steamer (6-10) continue to make moves in an attempt to return to the playoffs after missing out the last three seasons. Shreveport had taken part in five consecutive postseasons before that string of frustration began.

Pacific Division

The Honolulu Hawaiians (13-3) have won four division titles in the last five seasons, but are still seeking playoff success (0-5 in postseason games). The Los Angeles Express (9-7) are always in the playoff hunt and are the only team to finish ahead of the Hawaiians over the last five seasons. A three-game losing streak to end the 1984 season cost LAX another playoff berth. The Southern California Sun (5-11) took a leap forward under new head coach OffensiveTaco. The Sun may soon be preparing for the first playoff game in franchise history thanks to RB Nicholas Witrock, the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. The San Jose SaberCats (4-12) haven't had a winning record since the league's first season and will likely have to settle for being spoilers again this time around. Hey, the SaberCats did sweep SoCal last season.

West Division

The Denver Gold (12-4) have won the last four division crowns, but coming up fast are the Arizona Wranglers (9-7), who went on a five-game win streak late in the season and just missed the playoffs. Jerry Montalvo is back for a 14th and final season as the league's highest-paid QB ($18.43 million this season, which was not the current coach's decision). The Portland Storm (4-12) suffered through the first losing season in franchise history, but are hoping a youth movement will eventually pay dividends. The Oakland Invaders (2-14) will showcase the league's No. 1 overall draft pick, MLB Victory Thomas.

Southwest Division

The Houston Gamblers (13-3) earned their second championship in three seasons. The only significant offseason loss for Houston was CB Mike Williams, who retired. The Memphis Showboats (10-6) are undergoing a transformation under new head coach InfinityOnTrial. Memphis cut last year's league offensive MVP, QB James Perry, and traded away CBs Steven Minton and James Byler, FS John Zendejas, SLB Mark Meyer. The San Antonio Gunslingers (6-10) were the playoff hunt before losing five of their last six and might be preparing to move closer to the top of the division. The Oklahoma Outlaws (5-11) are preparing for their third season under CoachNorm, and that added degree of stability could go a long way.

East Division

The New Jersey Generals (12-4) have won seven consecutive division championships—including last season, when they played the entire second half of their regular-season schedule without a health RB. Over the last four seasons, New Jersey is 23-1 against East Division foes, the lone loss coming against Philadelphia in the 1982 season opener. The New York Stars (9-7) won six of their last seven in 1984 and fell only one game short of making the playoffs. The Philadlephia Bell (5-11) fell off the face of the earth after stringing together four consecutive winning seasons. The Boston Breakers (4-12) swept Philadelphia and knocked off playoff-bound Michigan. Boston keeps getting younger and better, but still has a ways to travel.