The scoring from weeks 3 and 4 are showing an uptick over the first 2 weeks, 1049 to 872, which equates to an increase of nearly a TD per game (5.5 points). Are we as a league making adjustments? Probably too early to tell, but I did have to make an adjustment to our list of owners. My Generals just played Florida, who did not have a kicker on the roster. I was going to give him a chance to sign one and continue owning the team, but he had not logged in for over 2 weeks, so I just removed him.
I haven't checked the box scores yet, going to do that as I go, so no telling how this blog plays out.
Express 30 Storm 27 (OT)
Portland is leading the league in offense, gaining 462.3 yards per game. The Storm are first in passing yards and second in rushing, so they are balanced and they nearly hit their average dead on today, gaining 461 yards. Jeffrey Frost ran for 128 yards, Emanuel Fugate completed 34/51, 304 yards and 3 TDs, all to Richard Robinson who caught 6 for 123 yards total. Portland came out aggressive against Los Angeles, basically refusing to punt, turning it over on downs the first 3 possessions. Los Angeles got 10 points from shortened fields before the Storm rallied for a 14-10 halftime lead. Two Portland FGs in the 3rd gave them a 20-10 lead before we saw a possible reason the Storm kept going for it on 4th down. The one punt by the Storm was returned for a TD by Gordon Auyeung, cutting the lead to 20-17. Portland would answer with the 3rd Fugate to Robinson TD before the Express scored the last 10 points in regulation to force OT.
Portland got the ball first in OT and decided to go for a 4th and 5 from their own 46 yard line. Fugate was sacked by Robert McGlothin, giving the Express the ball at the end of FG range. Four plays later, Mario Price nailed a 43 yard FG for the win. This game featured 15 sacks, 8 by Portland, 7 by Los Angeles.
Hawaiians 43 Wranglers 7
Honolulu is #2 in the league for scoring offense and yards, 3rd in passing yards, so even though slick doesn't like to watch the games anymore, his team is performing well. Derek Henry completed 26/39, 298 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT to lead the Hawaiians offense. Luis Martinez caught 2 TD passes while Carl Jordan added a pair of rushing scores. Defensively, Honolulu limited Arizona to 162 yards, forcing 3 INTs, 2 lost fumbles and sacking Brian Carmichael 4 times as the Hawaiians even their record at 2-2.
Gamblers 23 Stallions 10
Some people in Houston think the new rules were aimed at limiting Tony Dean and the Gamblers offense, but after a Week 1 shutout, they have scored 30 points a game and have the 3rd ranked offense at 376.3 yards a game. It's not as pretty as it used to be, especially Mr. MVP Tony Dean. If Dean stays on his current pace, he will end with his worst completion % and yards per attempt since his rookie season, and will finish with more INTs than TDs. Dean doesn't care so long as the wins keep coming, and the win today improves the champs to 3-1. Today, Dean was 19/34, 305 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT, with both of his TDs coming on big plays. Dean found Hugh Chance for an 83 yard TD in the 1st qtr and Steve Austin in the 4th for the game sealing 75 yard TD.
Steamer 30 Maulers 3
Shreveport is playing some serious defense, so maybe Houston shouldn't be upset about the shutout in Week 1. The Steamer defense has yet to allow a TD this season, allowing only 4 FGs in 4 games and they allow a league low 178.8 yards per game. They also have the league's leading rusher in Scott Randall, who ran for 148 yards and a TD today, giving him 525 yards on the year. It's only 4 games in, but Randall is on pace for 2,100 yards rushing which would break the league record of 2,056 set by Bruce Fine of Chicago way back in 1974. Oh yeah, the game...Shreveport's defense held Pittsburgh to 111 yards, forced 3 turnovers and controlled the game to improve to 4-0.
Panthers 23 Wheels 13
Michigan played ball control, keeping the ball nearly 40 minutes, converting 10/20 3rd downs and rushing for over 150 yards to improve to 4-0. Lawrence Schroeder ran for 86 yards and a TD while Will Allison tossed 2 TD passes to lead the Panthers offense. Defensively Michigan gave up some big plays, but made stops when they needed to, holding the Wheels to 2/12 on 3rd down, intercepting 3 passes and sacking the QBs 3 times.
SaberCats 20 Thunderbolts 17 (OT)
San Jose nearly fumbled away their chance to remain undefeated, losing all 4 fumbles, but Jake Plummer was efficient and the running game was working when they weren't fumbling. Plummer was 26/35 for 202 yards with 2 TDs, both in the first half as the SaberCats led 14-0. In the 3rd, Cleveland returned a San Jose fumble for a TD, cutting the lead in half. San Jose would kick a FG for a 17-10 lead early in the 4th, only to see Cleveland tie it after a 16 play, 75 yard TD drive. In the OT period, Cleveland got the ball first and went three and out. San Jose took over, marching 64 yards in 11 plays for the game winning FG.
Generals 21 Blazers 18
If anyone is wondering why I would boot someone for not having a kicker, I present this game as evidence. Yes I am the commissioner, but it's not necessary to give me gifts. Florida hasn't had a K all season and today it cost them the game as RDE Matthew Oneal tried his best but missed all 3 XP tries and a short FG try in a 3 point loss. Last year's leading passer Don Ferguson isn't adjusting well to 4.6, but he still threw for 2 TDs and got good support from the running game. David Koresh ran for 142 yards and Kurt Cobain had over 100 combined yards to lead the Generals offense as this win pushes their record to 3-1.
Sun 23 Blitz 20
Chicago controlled the clock and won the yardage battle, but 3 turnovers and a kickoff return TD did them in. The Blitz took an early 3-0 lead but Michael Johnson took the ensuing kickoff 109 yards for a TD and a 7-3 Sun lead. Ronald Brown got the lead back for Chicago with his first TD pass but Southern California tied it at 10 with a FG before the end of the 1st. Sean Ogden gave the lead back to Southern California just before halftime with a TD pass as the Sun now led 17-13. The Sun kicked a pair of FGs to extend the lead to 23-13 before Ronald Brown's 2nd TD pass got the Blitz within 3. Chicago never threatened to score again as Southern California hangs on for the win.
Gold 14 Bulls 13
Donald Turner ran for 83 yards and a TD while Peter White's 2 yard TD run in the 4th was the game winner as Denver pulls out a tight victory over Jacksonville.
Stars 9 Federals 6
Unfortunately this type of game is all too common in version 4.6. The teams combined for no TDs and no turnovers, 454 total yards and 4 sacks. Combined passing was 35/49, 282 yards and we had 4 red zone trips all end in FGs. Baltimore nearly scored a TD at the end of the game, settling for an 18 yard William Ferguson FG to give Baltimore the win and mercifully prevent OT.
Hornets 18 VooDoo 10
Robert Ament threw 2 TD passes and Fred Boyce made a pair of FGs to lead Charlotte to victory over New Orleans. The VooDoo got 83 yards and a TD from Donald Brown but 23 Zachary Kinkead completions gained just 92 yards and he was sacked 4 times for minus 34 yards. Charlotte and New Orleans are both 2-2.
Bell 18 Renegades 3
Philadelphia and Orlando played stay out of the end zone, combining for 415 total yards, 5/31 on 3rd down, 10 sacks and 2 turnovers. Neither team cracked the end zone but Philadelphia K Steve Matthews made all 6 of his FG attempts to lead Philadelphia to the win.
Breakers 16 (NY) Stars 10
Boston led 13-0 after 3 quarters thanks to their running game and pass defense. New York is still throwing every down as Oleary completed 36/52, 156 yards, 1 TD and 4 sacks. Boston QB Raymond Howell didn't have a good game and in the 4th quarter nursing a lead, Howell threw a pair of INTs that New York turned into 10 points to get back into the game. The Breakers defense didn't live up to their name as they held the Stars on their next possession, forcing a turnover on downs to seal the game for Boston's first win of the season.
Bandits 24 Invaders 3
Tampa Bay and Oakland met to see who would get their first win of the season and the Bandits produced a box score that looks like an average game in 4.5. RB Charles Granier had 165 combined yards, 116 on the ground while QB Dwayne Byrd completed 20/32, 245 yards and 2 TDs. We even had a 100 yard receiver, Craig Icenhour (7-105-1) which is rare, just the 14th time all season. Last year it seemed we had 14 every week. Oakland did score first for a 3-0 lead, but it was all Bandits after that.
Outlaws 16 Force 10
Oklahoma is breaking in a rookie QB and trying to return to the playoffs for an impatient fan base. So far that hasn't been a winning formula but the Outlaws had 200 yards rushing and their defense matched the 2 INTs that rookie QB Settles threw to the Georgia defense. Paul Wicklund ran for 122 yards and a TD to lead the Outlaws RBBC. Oklahoma broke a 10-10 halftime tie with a pair of second half FGs, and had to hold off Georgia on a late drive into their territory, stopping them on 4th down to save the win.
Gunslingers 16 Showboats 7
Memphis got the ball first and went 85 yards in 5 plays as Erik McNamee's short TD pass to Steve Ransome gave the Showboats a 7-0 lead. San Antonio answered with a 9 play, 75 yard TD drive that ended with a short Roy Johnson TD run to tie the game at 7. Memphis would punt and fumble their next 2 drives while the Gunslingers added a pair of FGs for a 13-7 lead early in the 2nd. Memphis tried to comeback but McNamee threw 2 INTs and the other drives ended with a punt or ended the game. San Antonio hands memphis their first loss, evening their record at 2-2 in the process.
