Week 7: Bob Marley Ties a League Record

This is season number 13 of USFL/WFL football, over 3000 total games and Bob Marley just did something only done once before. The New Jersey nickel back is a 2 time All Pro despite not starting because he has a nose for the football. He has 35 career INT's on only 291 passes thrown his way, but had never scored a TD.

That all changed in a big way in Week 7 as Marley returned two INT's for a TD, tying Monte Cherry, who did it in 1978 for the Cleveland Thunderbolts against Georgia. Marley's first TD gave New Jersey a 17-3 lead in the 2nd qtr while his second TD was the icing on a victory cake.

Generals 38 Hornets 6

Bob Marley wasn't the only General to have a big TD day, New Jersey's other 3 TD's were Ric Flair passes to free agent signee WR Marcus Medina. The first one was the longest, a 44 yarder, leading to 24 second quarter points. It was smooth sailing on the scoreboard but the blue medical tent on the Generals sideline saw even more action than the end zone.

Federals 23 Sun 17

Southern California traveled across the country to play the unbeaten Federals in Washington D.C. and almost came away with a victory. Sun QB Christopher Kimbrough's 2nd TD pass with 4:25 left in the game made the score 20-17 Federals and the defense forced a 3 and out. Southern California had 2:44 left for a game tying FG or game winning TD, but Kimbrough giveth and Kimbrough taketh away. His 3rd INT of the day killed that drive. Following a quick Washington FG to up their lead to the final margin, the Sun got the ball back with 1:45 left but turned it over on downs.

The Sun had a better stat day than the Federals other than the turnovers, but that is enough to keep Washington's loss column empty.

Gamblers 26 Gold 16

Denver played a pretty good first half against the 2 time defending champs, leading 16-10, but the 2nd half was a different story. Denver had 5 first half drives, resulting in a FG, TD, FG, punt, and FG with 16 minutes of possession. The second half drives ended on a punt, punt, punt, punt, downs, INT, the first 3 punts all three and out. This was not Houston's best game (maybe looking ahead to next week's showdown with Memphis?) but they won, as champions do, to stay undefeated.

Showboats 35 Gunslingers 21

Speaking of Memphis, the Showboats jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter thanks to two long TD passes from David Allen to Willie Howland. That first TD went for 79 yards, the second TD went for 66. The third TD of the opening quarter was also a big play, 75 yards from Allen to Jerome Betancourt. San Antonio could have packed up and went home but instead they fought back thanks to a couple of dead singers putting up over 100 yards receiving. Freddie Mercury caught 7 for 129 while Chris Cornell broke out of his rusty cage with 10 catches, 107 yards and a TD. The Gunslingers had to settle for too many FG's however, and they never got closer than 10 points, despite putting up 429 yards of offense.

That leaves us with 4 teams 7-0, though barring a tie next week, Houston or Memphis is going to lose.

Stallions 29 Thunderbolts 26

Birmingham won the battle of first place teams, scoring the last 13 points of the game to send the Cleveland faithful home disappointed. Birmingham sits atop the South Division, one of the 2 best, most competitive divisions in the league and they couldn't afford a loss to a 2-4 team. Cleveland is no normal 2-5 team though, as their 5 losses are by 4,7,4,2, and 3. While the Thunderbolts aren't lucky on the scoreboard, they are lucky to be in a division that is 2-16 vs the rest of the league.

Will we see our first sub-.500 playoff team?

All but one of the rest of the games were decided by 9 or more points, and I'm tired so I won't rehash the scores.

Hall of Fame Bios are still a work in progress, I haven't forgot about them. I'm kind of like Andy Reid when it comes to time management, I apologize.

We have a new owner for the San Jose SaberCats, Danny-G96. Danny was the original owner of the Southern California Sun and had them their first 9 seasons. 

Week 4: Six teams 4-0 and OT in Baltimore

We are a quarter of the way through 1986 and half of our undefeated teams are in the Southwest Division. They are 15-1 overall, with just 1 divisional game, leaving Houston, Memphis, San Antonio and Oklahoma a combined 14-0 against the USFL/WFL. On the flipside is the Midwest Division which is a combined 3-13. They have played 2 divisional games, leaving them 1-11 against the league.

One of the best games of the week was in Baltimore, as the Stars and Federals played overtime. Baltimore really needed this one but they let the game slip through their fingers. Southern California and Shreveport lost their first games this week while Honolulu, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Boston earned their first wins of 1986.

We had an exciting Week 1 with half of the games decided by 8 points or less while the last 2 weeks have been Blowout City. We had 3 close games in Week 2 and just 1 last week for 12 one score games through 3 weeks. In Week 4 we had 10 games decided by one score so the fans got their money's worth.

Federals 23 Stars 20

Baltimore was too gracious of a host to division rival Washington as they gave the Federals the ball 4 times on turnovers, including their only OT snap. The Stars dominated most of the stats, total yards 421-202, 41 minutes of possession to 26 for Washington, 4 sacks to 2, and better yards per pass play and per completion. Washington won the turnover battle 4-1 though, including this killer fumble in OT to set up the game winning FG. This isn't the first fumble by Jeffrey Gentry, he has 13 in 3+ years in the league and I remember talking about another costly Gentry fumble in a previous blog post.

With the loss, Baltimore is now 2 games behind 4-0 Washington for the Atlantic Division lead.

Hornets 21 Sun 14

Southern California started fast after their cross country trip, jumping out to a 14-0 lead on Charlotte early in the 3rd quarter on this 88 yard TD from Christopher Kimbrough to James Wise. The previously unbeaten Sun wouldn't score another point however, as previously winless Charlotte scored 21 unanswered points for their first victory. Hornets QB Stanley Snyder found WR John Huls for the game winning TD pass. 

Wranglers 24 Gold 20

Arizona takes early control of the West with this win over division rival Denver. Arizona amassed 170 yards on their first 2 drives en route to an early 14-0 lead. Denver fought back to tie the game at 14 before Arizona wrangled the lead back for good. The second half only saw 1 FG for each team with Denver turning it over twice on downs in the 4th qtr.

Force 13 Steamer 6

The Southwest Division overshadows the rest but they're playing pretty good football in the South Division as well. Georgia was at Shreveport to face the undefeated Steamer, but the Force defense forced 4 turnovers, held them to < 3 ypc and < 50% completions. The Steamer defense forced 3 turnovers of their own, but they also gave up the game's only TD as Shreveport falls to 3-1 on the year.

Georgia came into the game ranked 9th in the commish rankings despite a 1-2 record so I'm sure new owner Lucky is happy to have some luck go his way. This win puts them at 2-2 and really tightens the division.

Bell 18 (NY) Stars 13

Philadelphia hosted the Stars of New York and used a 102 yard kickoff return TD by Keith Kovach to propel them to their first win of 1986. Bell LB Robert Swafford added a safety. 

Breakers 15 Bandits 9

No end zone pylons were hurt during this game as nobody crossed the goal line for a touchdown. This game featured 8 FG's, 5 by Boston K Willie Putnam to give the Breakers their first win of 1986.

Hawaiians 27 SaberCats 13

Someone was getting their first win, barring a tie of course, and that team was Honolulu. The Hawaiians had 194 rushing yards  to complement 257 passing yards as they overcome San Jose's aerial assault. No team even comes close to the 62 passes the SaberCats average per game, but it's all been just hot air so far with zero wins to show for it.

Blazers 48 Renegades 0

This game greatly affected both team's commish ranking. Florida had 562 yards of offense while only giving up 171, won the turnover battle 3-0 and had big numbers in yards per attempt, offensively and defensively. The Blazers jumped from 16 to 5 while the Renegades plummeted to 30 from 22.

Showboats 20 Thunderbolts 13
Gunslingers 20 Blitz 18
Generals 20 Invaders 13
Outlaws 12 Storm 7
Gamblers 40 Bulls 13
Stallions 27 Wheels 10
VooDoo 29 Panthers 13
Maulers 20 Express 6

Week 3: Southwest is Best

I was planning on doing the Week 2 blog last night before the game sim but I fell asleep. Seems kind of pointless now that Week 3 is in the books.

Through 3 weeks:

3-0 (8 teams)
2-1 (9 teams)
1-2 (6 teams)
0-3 (9 teams)

That's the league breakdown but the best football so far is being played in the Southwest Division. Nobody is surprised Houston and Memphis are 3-0 but not many would figure San Antonio would also be 3-0 or Oklahoma would be 2-1. The only loss for the Outlaws was to division rival Memphis, which means the Southwest is undefeated vs the rest of the league.

Gamblers 51 Wheels 0

Reigning MVP Tony Dean continued his roll, throwing 5 TD passes for the second time in 3 weeks. Two of those went to Willie Nelson and two went to Mark Lambert. Houston nearly quadrupled Detroit's yardage 635-160. The Gamblers had 393 yards in the air, and thanks to the icing on the cake, an 84 yard TD run, they also had 242 yards on the ground. Houston looks like a team that wants a Three-Peat.

Showboats 24 Blazers 3

Memphis is keeping pace with Houston in large part due to the running of Tim Horton. He's not putting up any doughnuts in the stat column as he is the leagues leading rusher with 367 yards. His 30 yard TD sealed Memphis's 3rd win in as many games.

Gunslingers 27 Invaders 6

The stats were pretty even in this game except the scoreboard and turnovers. San Antonio intercepted 3 Les Lacy passes in the second half, including this one which set up the Gunslingers for a TD on the next play. That made the score 20-3 and it was pretty much over then.

Outlaws 22 Bulls 13

Roger Ruzich made 5 FG's and the Oklahoma defense picked off 4 Jacksonville passes en route to the victory. It wasn't pretty as Jacksonville amassed more yards, 372-247 but losing the turnover battle 5-2 doomed the Bulls. Oklahoma fans simply do not care how it looked, their 2 wins are already more than they had all of 1985.

Stallions 17 VooDoo 11

New Orleans had finally reached the #1 spot in the commish rankings after shooting up the ranks like a bullet upon taking over last season. How did they respond? By putting up a bunch of empty yards, outgaining Birmingham 363-215. A big part of that is likely due to players shuffling in and out of the lineup with nagging injuries. The New Orleans defense stymied the Stallions most of the day, but 1/3 of their yards came on this 71 yard TD pass from David Schmitt to Leonard Robles early in the 4th qtr. That proved to be the difference in the game.

Express 23 Gold 14

In a battle of 1985 playoff teams Los Angeles held the ball for 42 minutes and won the turnover battle 5-1. Los Angeles scored the first 10 points of the game, fell behind 14-10, then scored 13 4th qtr points for the victory.

Generals 16 Stars 3

Another battle of 1985 playoff teams, another ball hog team. New Jersey held the ball for nearly 39 minutes, rushing for 178 yards and throwing for 180. New Jersey also won the turnover battle 2-0.

Bandits 27 Renegades 10
Thunderbolts 17 Blitz 6
Federals 35 Hornets 9
Sun 32 Storm 13
Panthers 21 Hawaiians 3
Wranglers 38 SaberCats 19
Force 31 Maulers 19
Steamer 26 Bell 7
(NY) Stars 32 Breakers 20

Kickoff:1986

Welcome to 1986, the 13th season of USFL/WFL football. We've had 7 different champions in our 12 previous seasons and Houston's victory in World Bowl XII makes them the first franchise with 3 titles, breaking a tie with the Detroit Wheels, Memphis Showboats and New Jersey Generals. Our other 3 championships were won by the Florida Blazers (WBI), Oakland Invaders (WBII), and Los Angeles Express (WBV).

Will we have a new champion in 1986, or will one of our usual suspects take home the trophy again? We're a long way from finding out but the journey begins with Week 1.

Gamblers 48 Bandits 17

If there were doubts about the Gambler's work ethic/preparation after a second consecutive offseason of partying, endorsements and media requests, they were quashed today. Reigning League and World Bowl MVP Tony Dean started 1986 where he left off in 1985. Dean threw for 426 yards and 5 TD's, including this 58 yard TD to RB Albert Buckland.

Houston had the ball 40 minutes, had 574 yards of offense while giving up just 268, and literally beat the Bandits up. Tampa Bay ended the game with one doubtful player and 4 questionable.

Stallions 10 Force 6

Many were wondering what the mind set of the Stallions would be after being ever so close to a championship in World Bowl XII while Georgia Owner/GM Lucky is making his USFL/WFL debut. This was a defensive struggle as the combined yardage for both teams was 491 yards, or 83 less than Houston.

Georgia won the yardage battle, the turnover battle, and the time of possession battle but Birmingham got the TD and the victory.

Federals 54 SaberCats 3

Washington starts 1986 fast as they lit up the scoreboard with 54 points. Joe Richardson threw 3 TD passes, 2 to his favorite target Luther Ellis. WR Allan Boyer joined in the fun with this 91 yard catch and run TD. San Jose threw the ball a whopping 71 times, having 6 of those intercepted, the last of which was returned 81 yards for a TD by FS Francis Vanhoose.

Showboats 41 Wheels 17

Detroit actually led at the half 17-14 but Memphis shutout the Wheels in the second half 27-0 for the lopsided victory. It seems the big time players making big time plays theme continued in this game. Memphis WR Willie Howland caught 7 passes for 142 yards and 3 TD's.

VooDoo 48 Breakers 10

New Orleans was one of the hottest teams in the second half of 1985 once Smirt took over, and he's starting 1986 the same way. It's not often one team triples the yardage of their opponent but the VooDoo did that today 638-195. New Orleans spread the ball around too, Joe Daniels caught 10 passes for 148 yards but 5 other receivers caught 1 TD each and 7 different runners took handoffs. QB James Perry threw those 5 TD passes, the longest of which to Ricky Hash for 75 yards.

Gold 15 Bell 7

Denver scored 15 4th quarter points after being shutout for 3 quarters for an uninspiring 15-7 victory in their home opener. Neither team topped 300 yards.

Steamer 10 Blitz 6

Shreveport scored the first 10 points then held on for a 10-6 victory in yet another game neither team tops 300 yards.

Blazers 34 Bulls 3

Jacksonville's first 4 drives were lost fumble, lost fumble returned for a TD, 3 and out, 3 and out. Florida led 17-0 after 1 quarter en route to an easy victory over division rival Jacksonville.

Stars 38 Hawaiians 12

Baltimore QB Jon Snow found WR Brian Darden for a TD on Baltimore's first drive, then in the 3rd qtr for an 85 yard TD to help lead Baltimore to the victory.

Express 24 Hornets 0

Los Angeles held Charlotte under 200 yards of offense and kept them out of the red zone en route to the shutout win.

Storm 17 Invaders 12

This game was decided in the red zone as both teams were there twice but Oakland's 1 FG wasn't enough to overcome Portland's 2 TD's as the Storm win in Setherick's Portland debut.

Sun 10 Thunderbolts 6

Yet another low offense, low point game but they all count the same in the standings.

Outlaws 13 Panthers 9

Michigan almost won despite losing the turnover battle 5-1. The teams combined for less than 500 yards.

Gunslingers 17 Renegades 10

San Antonio's 14 4th qtr points catapulted them to the comeback victory in yet another ugly offensive game.

(NY) Stars 19 Wranglers 3

New York had 380 yards of offense but could only muster 1 TD. Four 4th qtr FG's propel the Stars to the 19-3 victory over Arizona.

Generals 13 Maulers 12

Midway through the 3rd qtr, Pittsburgh's 4th FG gave them a 12-0 lead but New Jersey scored the final 13 points for the come from behind win.