We are half way through the 1987 regular season and the division races are all very tight. Three divisions have two teams tied at the top, four divisions have a one game separation and one division leader has a 2 game lead. The American Conference has 12 of 16 teams .500 or better so it's going to be a wild wildcard race there. The National Conference has a bit more separation, as it seems we'll have 8 teams fighting for 6 spots unless one of the 3rd or 4th place teams goes on a winning streak.
The Portland Storm have taken the #1 spot in the Commish Rankings from New Jersey and the West division as a whole has put the league on notice with a combined 24-8 record, 18-2 when you take out their division games. Portland is 7-1, tied atop the West with the Oakland Invaders while the Denver Gold and Arizona Wranglers are tied at 5-3. It's a shame at least one of these teams will not qualify for the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs, the ultimate goal of all teams is a spot in the World Bowl and we had another World Bowl rematch in Week 8. The New Jersey Generals traveled to Memphis for a game against the Showboats, who defeated New Jersey in World Bowl VI and XIII. New season, same old result as Memphis won 29-20.
Showboats 29 Generals 20
New Jersey is throwing the ball more often than years past as they try to establish a big play threat to compliment their ability to run the ball. It's worked well for the Generals as they lead the USFL/WFL averaging 459.6 yards a game and they were 3rd in yards per pass attempt entering the game. New Jersey QB Ric Flair threw 59 times, completing 42 without an INT, but the Memphis defense eliminated the big play. The Showboats ran for 1 yard per carry more than New Jersey, but more than doubled the air output, besting them in yards per pass play (9.93-4.02) and yards per completion (17.06-6.36).
Memphis needed to do that because they lost the turnover battle 2-0 and the time of possession (34:22-25.35). New Jersey was even better on 3rd downs, converting 5 of 17 to just 2 of 11 for the World Champs. There were no monster statistical performances in this game as both teams did a good job of getting everyone involved in the offense. Twelve players had at least 20 receiving yards in the game, 5 for Memphis and 7 for New Jersey. Generals RB Rudi Johnson caught 16 passes, but for only 68 yards. The 16 receptions is the most in the league in 1987.
The only stat that matters is the scoreboard, and despite spotting the Generals an early 10-0 lead, the Showboats took care of business and reminded New Jersey just who the League Champions are.
Storm 55 Maulers 9
We have a new sheriff in town and his name is Setherick. Portland has been near the top of the commish rankings all season and they took over the top spot this week after their mauling of Pittsburgh. The Maulers started off 2-0 but have hit the skids hard ever since. The Storm dominated every facet of the game and Timothy Roquemore had 272 offensive yards and 3 TDs. Portland QB Oscar Willis now has 18 TD passes on the year after tossing 6 today.
Invaders 30 Gold 12
Denver had no trouble putting up yards on the Invaders defense but they did have trouble keeping the ball. Gold QB Andrew Brewer was 26/50, 338 yards and 2 TD passes but he threw 3 INTs as Denver was held without a single point the first 56 minutes of the game. Both teams ran for over 4 ypc but Oakland was able to run twice as many times and they didn't turn it over as they amassed a 27-0 lead during those first 56 minutes. The victory allows Oakland to remain tied with Portland atop the West, while Denver falls to 5-3, still in the thick of the wildcard hunt.
Federals 44 Stars 26
My hometown of Dayton, Ohio is known for it's yearly Air Show, but these Atlantic division rivals put on an air display just as impressive. The teams combined for 808 passing yards and 1,019 total yards. No sacks either despite a combined 98 dropbacks. Baltimore's Timothy Harmon caught 8 for 119 and a TD and Knob Creek chipped in 9-116-1. Washington also had 2 receivers over 100 yards, Jason Laughlin (8-184-2) and Cory Martin (9-109-1). The big difference in this game was red zone and turnovers. Washington lost a fumble but intercepted Jon Snow 3 times while the federals offense had 3 TDs and 3 FGs in their 6 red zone trips. Washington held Baltimore to just FGs on their 3 red zone trips.
The victory gives Washington (7-1) the upper hand in the Atlantic over Baltimore (6-2), with the rematch coming up Week 16.
Thunderbolts 21 Hawaiians 16
We had contrasting offensive styles in this game, as Honolulu chucked up 68 passes with just 16 rushes while Cleveland only attempted 19 passes, completing 9 while rushing 36 times. The Hawaiians average 54 pass attempts a game so the bombs away approach was no surprise as they completed 42 of those 68 today, though for just 310 yards. The total yards were almost even and Cleveland committed the game's 3 turnovers, though Honolulu turned it over on downs twice and missed a FG. Honolulu RB Ronald Boatman caught 14 passes. The loss drops the Hawaiians to 4-4, tied with the red hot LA Express for the Pacific lead while Cleveland (5-3) remains a game behind Michigan in the Midwest.
Wheels 17 Bulls 16
The first 54 minutes of this game was exactly like the first 7 games, Detroit playing tough defense while the offense is allergic to points. The Wheels forced 3 turnovers and held Jacksonville to 1 for 13 on 3rd down conversions. Detroit was just 2-13 themselves and ran for 8 yards on 20 carries, or 0.4 ypc. Through those first 54 minutes, Detroit had 119 yards of offense. I don't know if the Detroit offense had had enough of the mean mugging from the defense, if the light bulb suddenly went off, or if the Bulls just quit on defense, but Detroit's last 2 drives covered 173 yards. First, Gregory Skidmore found Thomas Mazzeo for a 75 yard TD pass, then with 1:40 left in the game, Skidmore connected with Raymond White for an 85 yard score, shocking the Bulls faithful who thought their team had it's 7th win all wrapped up.
Wranglers 17 Hornets 10
There isn't much to highlight from this game, as they combined for 12 players with at least 20 yards receiving, but nobody cracked 100 yards. There were no turnovers and not much yardage on the ground, as the teams combined for 44 carries, 94 yards. Hornets QB Stanley Snyder was 36/45 for 317 yards and a TD. Snyder is 5th in the league in completion % among QB's with at least 160 attempts (67.4%). Despite their limited offensive production, Arizona was able to score more points for the victory, helping them keep up with the Jonses in the West.
Panthers 22 Blazers 17
This was a pretty even statistical game except for turnovers. Florida QB Sidney Maggard threw 3 INTs, giving him 18 on the season as the Blazers blew a 17-6 3rd quarter lead. Michigan scored two 3rd qtr TDs and two 2 point conversions to take a 22-17 lead into the 4th. Florida still had a chance to win late, taking the ball with 4:06 left after a punt pinned them at their 2 yard line. The Blazers held the ball the rest of the game, going on a 15 play 96 yard drive that stalled at the Michigan 2 yard line. Had the Panthers simply kicked the XP on their 3rd qtr TDs, the Blazers could have tried a game tying FG, rather than having to go for the end zone.
VooDoo 23 Renegades 19
Was New Orleans looking ahead to their game against New Jersey? Was the sim engine sabotaging the VooDoo? Does it matter? Not really as a win is a win, no matter how ugly they come. Orlando came into the game 1-6, so it was expected that New Orleans would have little trouble beating the Renegades. Orlando scored the first 10 points of the game and out gained the VooDoo 359-227. Orlando won the turnover battle 4-3 and were better on 3rd down (5-19 to 2-13).
New Orleans scored 2 TDs and converted both 2 point tries to take a 16-10 2nd qtr lead before Orlando closed the first half with a FG. Orlando had to be feeling good about their chances, only down 16-13 at halftime, but the first play of the second half quelled that momentum. Robert Shuler intercepted his 6th pass of the season (tied for league lead) and took it to the house, giving New Orleans a 23-13 lead. Orlando closed the scoring with 2 FGs as New Orleans (6-2) remain tied with Birmingham for the South lead.
(NY) Stars 14 Bell 13
Philadelphia continues to be very tough to run the ball against as they held New York to 26 yards on 19 carries. The Stars of NY had air success though, with Willie Bust completing 41/50 for 380 yards and a TD (2 INT). Stars RB Cam Dalton caught 13 passes, as RB's were catching a lot of passes this week. The win makes New York 5-3, one game behind New Jersey in the East.
Stallions 13 Steamer 12
In a game it seemed neither team wanted to win, Birmingham pulled through to keep pace with New Orleans. The Stallions turned the ball over 4 times to just once for Shreveport, but that one was on their last drive of the game, dooming them to defeat. Two earlier missed FG's and 3 points on 3 red zone trips contributed mightily as well. Birmingham had the ball less than 23 minutes but they scored the game's only TD, a 53 yard run by Larry Ceasar.
Express 15 Force 9 (OT)
The punters were busy in this game, with each team punting 11 times. Georgia and Los Angeles played to a 9-9 tie after regulation, Georgia kicking 3 FG's, while LA had a TD and a FG. Mario Price missed the XP try on the TD. Georgia didn't turn the ball over but they also only had 240 total yards and 0-15 on 3rd down. Los Angeles was able to force a 3 and out on Georgia's OT possession and took over on their own 15 following the punt. One play later, LA RB Daniel Franks took a handoff and raced 85 yards to the end zone for the game winning score. It hasn't been pretty but Los Angeles is 4-0 since current owner Zennarius took over.
Bandits 20 Blitz 13
Tampa Bay had trouble running the ball but 4th year QB Melvin Driggers is having his best season so far for the 5-3 Bandits. Driggers threw 38 INT's as a rookie, 31 last year, and has an 82/92 career TD/INT ratio. That's including this year's 17 TD to 8 INT, so he is a big reason for the Bandits success. The Tampa Bay defense held Chicago to 215 yards and intercepted 2 passes in the win that brings them within one game of division leading Jacksonville.
Outlaws 19 Sun 11
Some football game is about to start, so these last 3 will be short and sweet. I think it's called the Super Bowl? Anyway, last week I mentioned Oklahoma needs to win the games they "should". This game is one of those and the Outlaws did what they should. WR/RB Clint Young ran for 157 and a TD as Oklahoma used a ball control offense to control the flow of the game.
Gamblers 45 Breakers 6
Tony Dean did Tony Dean things, tossing 6 TD passes as Houston had no trouble beating struggling Boston. Houston is likely out of the division hunt but they are right in the thick of the wildcard race at 5-3.
Gunslingers 33 SaberCats 9
Lemon Jefferson is a cool name and he ran for 98 yards for San Antonio. WR Chris Cornell broke his rusty cage and ran, catching 8 for 136 and a TD. The Gunslingers doubled the yardage of the SaberCats, taking out some of the season's frustrations out on the winless San Jose team.
