Portland lost to division rival Denver so Tampa Bay now has the league's longest current win streak. The Boston Breakers won their first game of the year, which means every team has won and lost at least once. The Los Angeles Express are on their 3rd owner of the season after previous owner Zennarius was booted for lack of participation (not logging on for 10 days). Dash is the new owner, and he has previous USFL/WFL experience (Georgia 1974). This week's blog will be short, I've had a long weekend of work/car problems.
VooDoo 27 Stallions 20
Birmingham could have taken a major step toward a division title with a win over New Orleans. The Stallions had the first 3 scores but they were all FG's while the VooDoo had a TD in the first half, but missed the 2 point conversion for a 9-6 Birmingham lead at the half. New Orleans scored 2 3rd qtr TD's to take a 20-9 lead, but Birmingham would score the next 11 points with a FG, TD, and 2 point conversion. New Orleans would break the tie with the second of James Perry to Clayton Worthey TD passes with 1:38 left. Both teams had trouble holding onto the football (New Orleans threw 3 INT's while Birmingham threw 2 and lost 2 fumbles) but the VooDoo owned the red zone and had the better rushing attack.
The New Orleans win pulls them into a tie with Birmingham atop the South with identical 8-3 records.
Gold 33 Storm 21
It seems the only time West teams lose is divisional games (24-2) and the Storm fell to the Gold this week. Denver jumped out to a 24-0 second quarter lead before Portland stormed back with 2 TD's in the 4th to pull within 27-14. Denver scored 2 late FG's to pad the final score as Portland turned the ball over 4 times.
Portland is now tied atop the West with the Oakland Invaders while Denver would be the current #6 seed at 8-3.
Bulls 28 Federals 24
This was a game between likely playoff teams and it certainly had a January feel to it. The box score is close up and down the stats and this was, by definition, a back and forth game. Jacksonville went up 7-0, Washington then went up 10-7, before the teams alternated TD's. Washington's Scott Bieber hit Cory Martin for a TD pass with 1:14 left for a 24-21 Federals lead but 33 seconds later, Jacksonville QB fired a 44 yard TD pass to Peter Henderson for the win.
The win keeps Jacksonville tied with red hot Tampa Bay atop the Southeast at 8-3 while Washington (8-3) still has a 2 game lead over slumping Baltimore despite this loss.
Wranglers 22 Stars 19 (OT)
The Arizona Wranglers continue to be the best last place team in the league as the West division continued their dominance over the rest of the league. The Wranglers are 7-4 and may be the best last place team in history, although that's a dubious distinction nobody wants. On the bright side, they are just 2 games out of the division lead and 1 game behind Denver and Houston for the final wildcard.
Baltimore kicked a FG just inside the 2 minute warning for a brief 19-16 lead but Arizona would tie the game with a FG of their own on the final play of regulation. Both teams had 2 overtime possessions with Arizona kicking a FG with 1:25 left for the victory. Baltimore loses their 4th straight and find themselves 2 games out of a playoff spot.
Bandits 20 Renegades 19
Orlando may be having a rough season but the Renegades were up for this division game against in state rival Tampa Bay. Orlando QB Elwood Savage found Dexter Elmer for a 63 yard TD early in the 3rd for a 19-10 Renegades lead. That was it for Orlando though, as the Bandits scored 10 unanswered points to escape with the 1 point win.
As noted above, Tampa Bay has the longest current win streak at 6, and they remain tied with Jacksonville atop the Southeast.
Outlaws 38 Generals 16
I said a few weeks ago that in addition to Oklahoma needing to win the games they "should", they also needed an upset or two to get into the playoffs. The Outlaws pulled off the "upset" today, but is it really an upset when you win by 22? Despite the win, the Outlaws are still currently on the outside looking in though they are banging on the door. The once proud New Jersey defense was drug through the mud in this game as Oklahoma ran the ball 53 times for 198 yards and converted 11 of 16 3rd downs. Generals QB Ric Flair has been erratic lately, tossing 3 picks to claim 3rd place in that department. Flair has 18 INT on the season, 7 in the last 3 games.
Oklahoma is 7-4, knocking on the playoff door while New Jersey still leads the East at 7-4, although they are holding the door wide open for the (NY) Stars to walk through.
Gunslingers 20 (NY) Stars 14
New York jumped out to a 14-3 halftime lead but it was all San Antonio in the second half as the Stars fail to take advantage of the Generals loss. Perhaps they had one eye on the scoreboard instead of both eyes on the field in the 3rd quarter. That's when Oklahoma began to pull away from New Jersey but San Antonio was also mounting a 3rd qtr comeback. Mainly it was Gary Wiggins to Calvin Harper for 2 long TD passes (84 and 70 yds).
San Antonio has won 3 of 4 to improve to 4-7 while the (NY) Stars (6-5) are 1 game behind New Jersey in the East and 2 games behind in the wildcard race.
Express 31 SaberCats 6
The Los Angeles players show no ill effects from all the ownership changes as they are now 2-0 this season following an in season owner switch. Tough draw for San Jose, as I know firsthand how difficult it is to accurately game plan for a new owner in their first game. Dash had his new Express team ready to roll as they overcame 2 turnovers by nearly doubling San Jose in total yards.
The win gives Los Angeles sole possession of 1st place in the Pacific.
Breakers 20 Bell 17
Both teams seem headed for a top 3 draft pick, but Boston came into the game 0-10 and the motivation was high to get off the schneid. Most weeks I talk about Philadelphia's stout run defense, but a quick look at the box score makes it seem like Boston ran all over them. They sort of did, albeit all in one play as Boston extended their lead to 20-10 when RB Robert Cagle broke loose for an 80 yard TD run. If you take that out, Boston ran 22 times for 50 yards (2.5 ypc), but you can't take it out.
Showboats 39 Hawaiians 14
Honolulu took a 14-11 lead with 9:51 left in the 3rd but Memphis outscored the Hawaiians 28-0 the rest of the game for the blowout victory. Memphis QB David Allen tossed a TD pass to 3 different receivers and the defense recovered a fumble in the end zone on a strip sack in the second half Showboats surge. RB Mark Lambert ran for 197 yards and a TD in the victory.
Memphis improves to 10-1, only team in the league with double digit wins and they hold their own destiny concerning home field advantage. Honolulu's 4th straight loss leaves them 1 game behind Los Angeles in the Pacific.
Invaders 20 Maulers 13
Oakland had 22 first downs to 7 for Pittsburgh. The Invaders tripled the yardage of the Maulers while dominating 3rd down (6-15 to 1-9) and getting 4 red zone opportunities to none for Pittsburgh. It was also a turnover free game but Oakland had trouble getting TD's in the red zone, finding themselves trailing 13-12 entering the final qtr. A 4th qtr TD run by Stephen Demmer (110 yards on the day) and a 2 point conversion provided the final points of the game. Pittsburgh had 2 John Hensley FG's (55 and 58 yards) and Alfred Gale had a 102 yard kickoff return for a TD.
Oakland is now 9-2, tied for first in the West with Portland.
Gamblers 34 Sun 16
Houston built a 24-10 halftime lead, extending it to 31-10 midway through the 3rd as they coast over the Sun. Southern California did have 300 total yards, 228 on the ground but the defense couldn't stop Tony Dean. Mr. MVP tossed 4 TD's, 1 to Chase Miles (8-204) and 3 to Gabriel Ahrens (4 for 169). The victory enables Houston to remain tied for the #6 seed, though they still lose the tiebreaker to Denver.
Steamer 17 Force 13
Fresh off their 2nd win of the season, the Georgia Force go back to their old ways of losing one score games. Except for a 21-3 loss vs the VooDoo, every Georgia game has been decided by one score or less. I guess you can say the force is not with Georgia.
Thunderbolts 28 Wheels 6
Cleveland's 28 points are the most given up by Detroit on the season, although some of that is the result of a safety and a pick 6. The Thunderbolts had 397 yards of offense while Detroit QB Gregory Skidmore is being called Skidmark by fans as he threw 3 INT's on the day. Cleveland is 3 games behind Michigan in the Midwest and 2 games behind a few teams for the wildcard.
Panthers 17 Blitz 3
Nobody had running success in this game as Michigan (27 for 18 yards) and Chicago (15 for 12 yards) combine for less than one yard per carry. Red zone success was elusive as well. Michigan had a TD on 2 trips while Chicago had nothing in 3 trips. Michigan got out to a 14-3 lead after 15 minutes and held on the rest of the way. The win improves Michigan to 9-2, good for a 3 game division lead and in the conversation for a BYE week.
Blazers 23 Hornets 3
Florida dominated Charlotte, out gaining them 403-91, converting 7-17 on 3rd down while holding the Hornets to 1-15 with 6 sacks. Florida was a little sloppy, only getting a TD and FG from 4 red zone trips and committing 3 turnovers but the Blazers defense helped them overcome by keeping the Hornets out of the red zone and forcing 3 turnovers of their own.
KEY WEEK 12 GAMES:
Los Angeles @ New Orleans
Oklahoma @ (NY) Stars
Michigan @ Portland
Arizona @ Cleveland
