Training Camp Roundup

Gordon Shive, WLB, Baltimore Stars

Training camp is a day dreaded by many MFN coaches. If you roll the dice by taking a player with a high volatility rating, you may see that player "bust." That is, his true ultimate potential, now revealed, could have decreased significantly since draft day. If so, you have missed an opportunity to improve your team and are stuck paying significant money to a guy who may ride the bench or may not be on your roster at all.

Sometimes these fears are unconfirmed. The player will at least maintain his potential or, in some cases, improve.

The Portland Storm, Washington Federals, and Shreveport Steamer all had their worst fears confirmed Thursday. Portland drafted tight ends with both its first- and second-round picks and both busted. The Federals saw the bottom drop out of their first-, second- and third-rounders. Shreveport saw drops in six of eight draftees, including picks 1 and 3.

Significant "busts," those in the first three rounds with a drop of minus-7 or more, are listed below.

#64 Jose Sherlock LT R 2/-8 2/-8 47 80 LAX (1) #74 R. Guerrero C R 4/-7 4/-7 48 82 SCS (1) #53 Charles Smith LDE R 1/-11 1/-11 36 50 DEN (3) #81 Wayne Postma TE R 3/-12 3/-12 39 68 POR (2) #87 Andre Stevens TE R 5/-12 5/-12 53 70 POR (1) #18 Michael Kendall WR R 5/-10 5/-10 35 61 MEM (2) #64 Malcolm McNish LG R 11/-15 11/-15 42 67 SHR (1) #44 Roy Williams WR R 9/-10 9/-10 39 60 SHR (3) #69 Gerry Newton LDE R 2/-8 2/-8 45 62 BAL(2) #60 William Loggins RT R 6/-9 6/-9 46 62 WAS (1) #22 Dave Richardson SS R 1/-19 1/-19 24 35 WAS (3) #70 Bradley Hoerr LT R 0/-7 0/-7 47 61 WAS (2) #54 Johnny Moore MLB R 3/-16 3/-16 35 57 BOS (2) #14 Matthew Burgess WR R 5/-7 5/-7 38 66 NYS (2) #75 Maurice Davis LT R 2/-12 2/-12 34 58 PHI (3)

Draft Day was a happier occasion for some.

Two players taken in the first round saw significant gains. Gordon Shive of the Baltimore Stars went through the roof on his improvement and is likely to be one of the league's better outside linebackers for years to go come. New Jersey's Leroy Selmon didn't seem at all bothered by the switch from defense to offense.

#93 Gordon Shive		WLB	R	19/4	19/4	61	82	BAL (1)
#84 Leroy Selmon		TE	R	6/6	6/6	42	85	NJG (1)

Check out the Chicago Blitz. Five of their seven draft picks improved significantly, including first-rounder Leroy Obrien. Talk about the rich getting richer.

#39 William McKenzie	FS	R	9/7	9/7	26	50
#48 George Keyes	RB	R	7/5	7/5	37	68
#71 Brad Meriwether	DT	R	9/5	9/5	53	75
#53 Leroy Obrien	SLB	R	12/5	12/5	51	78
#83 Mario Graham	TE	R	3/2	3/2	36	62
#17 Jose Clingerman	QB	R	5/-2	5/-2	37	59
#64 Joshua Smith	RDE	R	9/-3	9/-3	34	47

The Philadelphia Bell accelerated their rebuilding process by going 6-for-8 on draft day:

#2 Roy Rhyne	QB	R	12/-3	12/-3	56	87
#10 Shawn Martin	WR	R	9/6	9/6	36	66
#75 Maurice Davis	LT	R	2/-12	2/-12	34	58
#63 Thomas Smith	LG	R	5/3	5/3	40	61
#61 Paul Elston	RT	R	8/7	8/7	47	81
#56 Clinton Harris	MLB	R	5/2	5/2	27	40
#42 Vincent Tucker	SS	R	16/7	16/7	52	81
#29 Jason Hubbard	FS	R	13/7	13/7	42	69

The Jacksonville Bulls saw significant gains from rounds 1, 3, and 4:

#3 Charles Evans	QB	R	14/4	14/4	66	83
#69 Michael Smith	RG	R	17/4	17/4	42	67
#66 John Irizarry	RG	R	10/4	10/4	39	74

The Tampa Bay Bandits kept pace with their division rivals by hitting the jackpot on four of six picks:

#13 Ernest Seal	WR	R	10/9	10/9	37	68
#12 Edward Conner	WR	R	11/3	11/3	55	91
#50 Ron Hall	LG	R	10/-2	10/-2	32	53
#58 Daniel Middleton	DT	R	14/0	14/0	36	65
#57 Randy Dukes	WLB	R	19/4	19/4	56	80
#30 Brian Newberry	CB	R	9/5	9/5	37	68

The Birmingham Stallions fared nicely with a first-rounder and two third-rounders:

#16 Lee Rice	WR	R	12/3	12/3	55	92
#77 Robert Clayton	RG	R	13/4	13/4	46	71
#73 Anthony Quinn	RT	R	3/6	3/6	34	74

The Charlotte Hornets drafted four fullbacks -- and came up big on three:

#47 Humberto Gray	FB	R	15/3	15/3	44	81
#27 Jorge Knox	FB	R	19/3	19/3	54	82
#46 Carl Hammond	FB	R	19/2	19/2	59	69
#37 Paul Fuller	FB	R	6/-3	6/-3	46	68

Free Agent Madness

The third year of any MFN league is one many coaches look forward to because of the flood of free agents into the marketplace. Many players taken in the expansion draft see their initial contracts expire after the second season. If their coach is asleep at the wheel, or didn't budget correctly, it's sayonara when Year 3 begins. Even the coaches who ARE paying attention could wave bye-bye to 20 or more players.

Jerry Montalvo, Arizona Wranglers

I can't tell you exactly how many players changed teams during the USFL/WFL's early free agency period. I do know there were 36 pages of transactions on the league's home page. Here are some that I found particularly interesting.

Show Them The Money

It was 22 years ago that the Arizona Cardinals finally gave wide receiver Rod Tidwell his big contract in the movie Jerry Maguire. If you think that was showing them the money, another guy in Arizona just blew that deal out of the water. Arizona Wranglers coach Smirt211 committed more than $217.5 million over the next six seasons on THREE players: QB Jerry Montalvo ($82.03 million), WR Cory Robinzine  ($89.99 million) and CB James Jones ($45.49 million),

Smirt211, Arizona Wranglers

Jones, we get that. He was an All-Pro with the Memphis Showboats last year, making 87 tackles and intercepting nine passes. Robinzine is a 91/98 default and had 121 catches in his first two pro seasons with the Philadelphia Bell. Montalvo, however, has us scratching our heads. His default rating is 78, just two points better than deposed starter Ralph Trowbridge. Yes, Trowbridge was horrible, throwing only two more TDs (58) than interceptions (56). Montalvo was better with the Cleveland Thunderbolts (25/19), but not exactly Joe Willie Namath (84.82 QBR). But he's going to be paid $13 million to $14 million per season over the life of his contract ... Tom Cruise money.

Bang for the Buck

Barry Litchford (20), CB, Florida Blazers

Nobody spent like Papa Smirt, but eight other players picked up deals of $40 million or more from other teams: TE George Allen (New Orleans to Chicago, $44.2 million), LDE Daryl Barney (Philadelphia to Jacksonville, $43.77), MLB Joseph Carter (Michigan to Jacksonville, $45.39), LT Ronald Davis (Michigan to Detroit, $41.42), QB Ryan Tate (New York to New Orleans $48.3), CB Barry Litchford (re-signed with Florida Blazers, $46.5 for 5 years); QB Fred Murphy (re-signed with Shreveport, $61.4).

Hawaii or Bust

Juan Bonnett, Hawaiians

The Houston Gamblers parted ways with strong safety Juan Bonnett, one of the more legendary busts in the USFL/WFL;s brief history. Bonnett had a potential of 83.5 when the Gamblers took him with the fifth overall pick in the 1975 draft. Today his potential is 70.8 and he is on his way to the Hawaiians, who offered a late third-round pick.

Love Thy Neighbor

The Detroit Wheels took one look at their offensive line and decided the grass was greener on the other side of town. The Wheels raided the Michigan Panthers' roster, signing both RG Thomas Watson (96 default) and LT Ronald Davis (85).

Quarterback Carousel

No data to back this up, but it seems a large number of quarterbacks have changed teams since last season. Among those we haven't yet discussed:

• Ty Fleming and Mario Valencia. They split time under center last year while leading Jacksonville to the playoffs. Now they are both wearing different uniforms, Fleming with the VooDoo and Valencia with the Wheels. The Bulls, meanwhile, have committed to first-round draft pick Charles Evans.
• Cleveland patted itself on the back for not having spent $80 million on Montalvo, then the Thunderbolts went out and picked up Brandon Robertson, who had done a solid job for their division foe, the Michigan Panthers.
• William Trombly, who led the Florida Blazers to an 18-1 record in 1974 and a World Bowl I victory, signed with the Los Angeles Express. Trombly's QBR plummeted from 98.52 to 82.01 last season as the Blazers went through three head coaches.

Go West, Young Man

Roger Ruzek, LAX

It will always seem odd when one of New Jersey's historically renamed stars puts on someone else's uniform. Kicker Roger Ruzek has left the Generals to sign with LAX. Can Herschel Walker be far behind?

1976 Draft, Round 1

Jerry Roux, RB, Charlotte Hornets

You can find the (big G) Gamblers in Houston but you don't have to look far to find more (little G) gamblers in the USFL/WFL.

Plenty of coaches were willing to roll the dice during Wednesday's first round of the 1976 draft. Eleven players with volatility of 75 or higher went in the first round. The Birmingham Stallions put down all of their chips on former Washington Huskies wide receiver Timothy Wilson (100 VOL).

By the time Birmingham picked, however, five other players with 75-plus VOL had been taken.

We may all Roux the day we didn't pick former Pitt RB Jerry Roux, who went to the Charlotte Hornets with the second overall selection. Roux could be the next Tony Dorsett: 93 speed and potentials of 100 in almost every other category--including pass-catching and route-running.

Rodney Preston, CB, NY Stars

It isn't every year you see a center go as high as the No. 3 overall pick, but the Southern California Sun loved Tennessee's Rudolph Guerrero (76 VOL) that much. Guerrero has 100 strength and potentials of 100 in both run and pass blocking.

The New York Stars went conservative with both of their first-rounders, taking UCLA cornerback Rodney Preston (8 VOL) with the No. 1 selection and Alabama LDE Howard Zacharias (18) at No. 8. Preston has "only" 89 speed, but 100 potentials in man-to-man, zone and bump-and-run coverages.

Cory Vargas, FS, Houston Gamblers

Houston also had two first-round picks and didn't gamble all that much with two solid picks in FS Cory Vargas of Texas A&M and Florida State WLB Roderick Carver. The New Orleans VooDoo (RDE Juan Bennett, SS Troy Tomas) and the Los Angeles Express (LG Jose Sherlock, CB Paul Moore) and the Tampa Bay Bandits also had a pair of picks in the first round.

Philadelphia QB Roy Rhyne is my sleeper pick. Rhyne went to tiny Knox College before being taken by the Bell with the seventh pick. He has potentials of 100 in pass accuracy, intelligence, arm strength, and release.

The draft continues Thursday with the second round. The Cleveland Thunderbolts, Houston Gamblers, Memphis Showboats and New York Stars all have two picks in the second round.

The third and fourth rounds are Friday, and rounds 5-7 are Saturday.

Welcome, New Coaches

We have had several new coaches join the league since the end of last season. Please welcome them and give them any aid they might ask for.

Los Angeles Express: mwd65
Oklahoma Outlaws: awest827
Memphis Showboats: oberyn
Cleveland Thunderbolts: jabillups85
Georgia Force: dangitdarnit
New Orleans VooDoo: greyghost1225

The USFL/WFL still has 21 of the 32 original coaches as it enters its third season.

World Bowl II Recap and Parting Thoughts

World Bowl II

World Bowl II was decided early, as the Oakland Invaders took a 24-7 halftime lead and went on to rout the Pittsburgh Maulers, 48-7, and win the big trophy on Thanksgiving Day.

Les Lacy, QB, Oakland

League MVP Les Lacy threw a pair of TD passes for Oakland, which scored on four of its first five drives. The Maulers intercepted a Lacy pass on the other, but Maulers kicker Samuel Hoye shanked a 36-yard field goal attempt.

One stat that stands out is Pittsburgh, the team with two All-Pro running backs, only attempted to run the ball eight times all game for a net 31 yards. Oakland, conversely, ran the ball 48 times, with RB Jason Brooks and Christopher Curtis accumulating 123 and 93 yards respectively.

The Invaders held a 657-233 advantage in total yardage.

Oakland was 14-2 during the regular season and defeated Portland (36-13) and Detroit (9-6) to reach the World Bowl. Pittsburgh was 13-3 during the regular season, then followed up with postseason victories over New Jersey (29-3) and Georgia (13-8).

The teams had met during the regular season in Week 3, Oakland prevailing, 31-13. In that game, the Maulers were limited to 59 yards rushing, Jason Brooks of the Invaders ran for 162 yards and Lacy fired three TD passes.

Parting Thoughts

Here is some miscellaneous information I caught while going through the final numbers from the 1975 season.

Tony Smith, QB, Gunslingers

• Through two seasons, 18 of the league's 32 franchises have taken part in at least one playoff game.
• Of the 32 original owners, 22 still remain. The Los Angeles Express and Florida Blazers have both had four owners; no other team has had more than two.
• The South Division was 15-1 in its games against the Pacific Division this season. The only South team to taste defeat was the New Orleans VooDoo, which lost to LAX.
• San Antonio is 11-1 against its Southwest Division foes during the first two years, the only setback for the Gunslingers coming during this season's Battle for the I-10 Construction Zone Trophy against the Houston Gamblers.
• Charlotte Hornets coach UKRAIN made significant headway during his second season, cutting the team's total season scoring margin by almost 100 points (minus-481 to minus-384) from 1974.
• Speaking of UKRAIN, he told me he became interested in American football by watching replays of the German professional league on Russian television. I did not know there was such a thing as pro football in Germany, but it is definitely a thing. Here is the link to the league's website: http://www.gfl.info. You may want to just go to Google Translate and plug the link into the box at the top of the page.
• In the interest of competitive balance, The Commish will once again abandon a perfectly good team (Georgia Force) to take on a fixer-upper (New York Stars). The Stars have horrible players, a horrible coaching staff and a horrible salary cap situation. I think I will be there a while.

Coming Up

If you haven't re-signed your free agents yet, do so immediately or risk losing them to another owner with cash to spare. The season flips Friday, early free agency begins Saturday, and the 1976 draft begins Wednesday.

Coach's Profile

Loftusranger, Shreveport

Coach : Loftusranger
Team : Shreveport Steamer
Playing MFN Since : March 2017
Hometown : Watford nr London UK
Current Residenc : Cheddington nr London UK
Day Job : Accountant
Favorite Teams : Arizona Cardinals NFL
Real-Life Sports Experience : Competent weekend soccer and cricket (may need to look that sport up?) player. Only American football experience of note was throwing a touchdown pass the length of the playground in a 5 or 6 a side game at our equivalent of high school (a while ago). Spent my formative years trying to listen to the NFL using U.S. Armed Forces long wave radio frequencies, which, looking back on it, was a bit of a mission before it became a bit more popular in the UK with TV highlight coverage. Loved the World League (then NFL Europe) and watched the London Monarchs regularly at Wembley. Recent years I have seen at least one NFL game in London, this year attended the Jags vs. Ravens and Cardinals (cough) vs. Rams.
Fantasy Sports Experience : Plenty of different games over the years across a range of sports. Always loved the strategy based games rather than the Madden-style action games.
Coach’s Corner : Try to be competitive by minimizing your weak links. Look at your key backup players and try to ensure they are decent, as they will get game time. Play to the squad’s strengths (both play-calling and formations) rather than the playing the type of game you want to play.

1975 USFL/WFL All-Pro Team

Les Lacy, QB, Oakland

Quarterback Les Lacy and coach Wolveraider, who have combined to help lead the Oakland Invaders to the brink of a World Bowl II berth, took home two of the three major awards in voting of the USFL/WFL coaches.

Lacy compiled the league's best quarterback rating (126.29) while throwing for 54 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He outdistanced Portland QB William Hill, who threw for more than 6,000 yards, and San Antonio WR Donnie Baker, who caught more than 2,000 yards worth of passes, for the 1975 Offensive MVP Award.

Last year's co-MVPs, QBs Daniel McKee of Chicago and Agustin Crook of Denver (now Birmingham), did not receive any votes this time around.

Oscar Rodriguez, Steamer

Neither did last year's defensive MVP, Shreveport MLB John Cintron, slowed this season by a knee injury. But, lo and behold, Cintron had to only turn to the locker next to him to hand over the trophy. Steamers RDE Oscar Rodriguez was named 1975 defensive MVP in balloting that saw votes go to six different players. Rodriguez was far and away the league leader with 27 sacks and his 58 hurries were also among the league's best. His efforts helped Shreveport finish 12-4 and make the playoffs.

Wolveraider took over the Oakland helm for the final two games of the 1974 season and led the Invaders to a pair of upset wins over playoff-bound teams. Oakland took over right where they left off lin 1975 with a 14-2 regular season and a win over Portland in the second round of the playoffs. The Invaders play Detroit on Tuesday for the American Conference championship.

Wolveraider, Oakland

Only three players from the 1974 All-Pro team repeated—Baker, Oakland DB Edward Alston and Pittsburgh RB Cliff Thomas.

A quick look at the position races, with a summary at the bottom.

Offensive MVP
Les Lacy, QB, Oakland
Others receiving votes: William Hill, QB, Portland; Donnie Baker, WR, San Antonio.

Defensive MVP
Oscar Rodriguez, RDE, Shreveport
Others receiving votes: Richard Hartnett, LB, Oakland; Edward Alston, DB, Oakland; Carlos Johnson, LB, Tampa Bay; Norman Paulk, RDE, Portland; Frank Wakefield, DT, San Jose.

Coach of the Year
Wolveraider, Oakland
Others receiving votes: tribewriter, Georgia; CrimsonWolfZ, Chicago; BabyHuey, Birmingham; Hypnorhino, Oklahoma.

Offense

Quarterback
Les Lacy of the Oakland Invaders and William Hill of the Portland Storm were the only two QBs to receive votes. Both threw 54 TD passes. Hill had more passing yards (6,096 to 4,656), but threw twice as many interceptions. Lacy won a close vote.

Running Back
This vote may have been a historic one, as the two All-Pro running backs are both from the same team. Cliff Thomas and John Murray of the Pittsburgh Maulers combined for 2,980 yards rushing.
Others receiving votes: Bruce Fine, Chicago Blitz; Christopher Curtis, Oakland Invaders.

Wide Receiver
Donnie Baker of the San Antonio Gunslingers was an unanimous All-Pro. Randy Christmas of the Baltimore Stars was a distant second. Baker piled up 2,223 receiving yards on 111 catches and scored 19 TDs.
Others receiving votes: Michael Hunter, Houston Gamblers; Dusty Heckman, Oklahoma Outlaws; Albert Smith, Oakland Invaders; Santiago Smith, Los Angeles Express; Timothy Hanna, Detroit Wheels.

Tight End
Portland's Ivory Villaneuva was the runaway winner. He was one of only two TE with more than 1,000 receiving yards and his 13 TDs were five more than his nearest competitor.
Others receiving votes: Jose Lohman, San Jose SaberCats; Joshua Wright, Arizona Wranglers.

Offensive Line
Portland's Kenneth Addison, Thomas Nedd of Birmingham, Cleveland's Kevin Peck, San Jose center James Smith and Chicago's Dale Jarrett constitute the first team. All are first-time All-Pros.
Others receiving votes: Andre Adkins, Pittsburgh Maulers; Charles Bukowski, Boston Breakers; Antonio Preston, Cleveland Thunderbolts; Rick Brun, Oakland Invaders; Sidney Woosley, Pittsburgh Maulers; Morris Beery, Detroit Wheels; James Smith, Tampa Bay Bandits; Robert Reece, Shreveport Steamer; Brandon Roberge, Tampa Bay Bandits; Donald Glenn, Denver Gold.

Special Teams

Kick Returner
Glenn Williamson of the Georgia Force was the easy winner after averaging 41 yards per kickoff return and 6.3 per punt return.
Others receiving votes: Bruno Fredericks, Birmingham Stallions; John Bradley, Denver Gold.

Kicker
Arizona's Anthony Schaefer led the league in kickoff average (73.3) and converted 91.3 percent of his field goal attempts (27 of 29), including 6-for-6 from 50 yards or longer.

Punter
Jeff Castle of the New York Stars was the only punter to rank in the league's top six in average (third), net (first) and pinned-inside-20 (sixth).

Defense

Defensive Line
Nathan Branch of the Memphis Showboats, Shreveport's Oscar Rodriguez, Portland's Norman Paulk and San Jose's Frank Wakefield were comfortably ahead of the field. Paulk led the league with 76 hurries and Wakefield led all DL with 92 tackles.
Others receiving votes: Wilbert Sierra, Philadelphia Bell; Josh Daughtry, Detroit Wheels; Juan Frigo, Detroit Wheels; Mitchell Plummer, San Antonio Gunslingers; Raphael Alvarez, Jacksonville Bulls; James Lockette, New Jersey Generals.

Linebackers
Oakland's Richard Harnett, San Antonio's Jonathan Neal, Florida's Bernard Washington and Tampa Bay's Carlos Johnson were the first-team linebackers. Johnson and Hartnett both had more than 100 tackles.
Others receiving votes: James Kelley, Southern California Sun; Bobby Wells, Detroit Wheels; Arthur Bowie, New York Stars; Travis Curcio, Washington Federals; Gregory Hubbard, Baltimore Stars; Ronald Murphy, Portland Storm.

Defensive Backs
Oakland's Edward Alston was the leader in DB votes, followed on the first team by New Jersey's Mike Williams, James Jones of Memphis and Houston's Jeffrey Bonner. Alston allowed only 33.5 percent of passes thrown against him to be completed.
Others receiving votes: Robert Gonzales, Chicago Blitz; Richard Glasgow, Georgia Force; Leon Crisman, San Antonio Gunslingers; Marcus Kramer, Portland Storm; Timothy McLaughlin, Portland Storm; Dusty Baker, Birmingham Stallions.

Summary Listing

1975 USFL/WFL All-Pro Team

(*-Repeat selection)

Offense: Les Lacy, QB, Oakland; Cliff Thomas, RB, Pittsburgh*; John Murray, RB, Pittsburgh; Donnie Baker, WR, San Antonio*; Randy Christmas, WR, Baltimore; Ivory Villaneuva, TE, Portland; OL Kenneth Addison, Portland; OL Thomas Nedd, Birmingham; OL Kevin Peck, Cleveland; OL James Smith, San Jose; OL Dale Jarrett, Chicago.

Special Teams: Anthony Schaefer, K, Arizona; Jeff Castle, P, New York; Glenn Williamson, KR, Georgia.

Defense: Nathan Branch, DL, Memphis; Oscar Rodriguez, DL, Shreveport; Norman Paulk, DL, Portland; Frank Wakefield, DL, San Jose; Richard Hartnett, LB, Oakland; Jonathan Neal, LB, San Antonio; Bernard Washington, LB, Florida; Carlos Johnson, LB, Tampa Bay; Edward Alston, DB, Oakland*; Mike Williams, DB, New Jersey; James Jones, DB, Memphis.

Offensive MVP: Les Lacy, QB, Oakland
Defensive MVP: Oscar Rodriguez, RDE, Shreveport
Coach of the Year: Wolverraider, Oakland