Week 7 Roundup: Gamblers, Gold and Stars Remain Unbeaten

Gold 45 Outlaws 13

 Denver RB Corey True (pictured above) ran for 167 yards and 2 TD's, including this one that put the Gold ahead for good as they improve to 7-0 this season. Denver had a balanced attack, 228 passing yards and 254 rushing and was a perfect 6 for 6 in the red zone.

Gamblers 27 VooDoo 10

Houston just keeps on rolling along, though they had another sluggish first half. This time the sluggishness continued well into the 4th qtr, as they only led the 1 win VooDoo by 10 at the 2 minute warning. Mark Lambert's 2nd TD of the day sealed it. 

Stars 30 Hornets 3

Baltimore keeps rolling themselves with an easy 30-3 win over struggling Charlotte, the last winless team in the league. The Stars held the ball for just under 37 minutes and Jon Snow threw 4 TD passes, 2 to Knob Creek. 

Stallions 28 Force 21

Legion Field was the site of this important South Division showdown and a win by visiting Georgia would have put them in a tie with Birmingham at the top. The Force defense intercepted Stallions QB David Schmitt 3 times and led 21-20 midway through the 4th qtr after the 3rd TD pass from Norris Thomas. Birmingham wasn't ready to give up the division lead though, as this Richard Sutton TD run at the 2 minute warning gave Birmingham the W.

Sun 45 Hawaiians 30

These 2 teams combined for 1002 total yards and 36 4th qtr points. Sun WR Norman Shaw had himself a game. He had 6 catches, 284 yards with 4 TD's.

Blazers 49 Renegades 17

The previous game wasn't even the highest combined yardage from week 7 as the Florida Blazers got off the schneid in a HUGE way, crushing one of their in state rivals. The teams combined for 1061 yards, 682 of those from Florida. Blazers RB Lucas Irwin ran for 220 yards while teammate WR Zachary Powell had 211 receiving yards.

Blitz 18 Wheels 7

Detroit scored the only TD of the game but they also had the only 2 turnovers as Chicago rode 6 Matthew Eno FG's to victory.

Breakers 19 NY Stars 8

Boston only managed 194 yards of offense but the chuck and duck offense of the Stars turned it over 4 times (36-60-4 297 yards). The Breakers jumped out to a 13-0 1st qtr lead and held on for victory.

Thunderbolts 30 Express 15

Los Angeles fumbled away a chance to put some distance between them and Hawaii. The stats were mostly even for both teams, except for 3 lost fumbles and 3 sacks allowed by LA. Cleveland jumped out to an early 17-0 lead then held on for victory.

Generals 27 SaberCats 21

New Jersey has been doing just enough to win this year, but haven't looked good doing it. QB Ric Flair had been having a pretty good season taking over for Stephen Labelle, but today Flair looked like the patsy in the opening match who gets pinned in 3 minutes flat. San Jose held New Jersey to 93 passing yards but 3 turnovers quashed the upset bid.

Bell 20 Steamer 0

Philadelphia won despite less passing yards than New Jersey. The Bell had 65 gross passing yards and were sacked twice for -20 for 45 total yards in the air. Good thing success isn't measured in yards, as 4 Steamer turnovers extend their scoreless streak to 8 quarters plus.

Federals 51 Maulers 16

One team that has no problems scoring is the Washington Federals. They mauled Pittsburgh and their 51 points give them a whopping 262 in 7 games, or 37.4 ppg, which is almost a full TD better per game than 2nd highest scoring team Houston.. New Jersey's World Bowl run may be coming to an end this year.

Showboats 37 Gunslingers 29

Speaking of ending World Bowl runs, Houston needs to watch their backs as Memphis continues to look strong. The Gunslingers dominated time of possession 38-22, had 23 first downs to 11 and won the turnover battle 4-0 but none of that mattered to Memphis. The Showboats showed the big play today, turning 16 completions into 322 passing yards. For the mathematically challenged, that's 20 yards per completion. Are we playing 4.3?

Bulls 22 Bandits 14

 Florida week! Our league's 4 Florida teams faced off, and this one lacked the offensive fireworks of Orlando @ Florida. Jacksonville jumped out to a 16-0 lead before Tampa cut it to 16-14 early 4th. From there, Jacksonville kicked 2 FG's while Tampa turned it over twice on downs.

Wranglers 31 Panthers 12

The Panthers had over 100 more yards than Arizona but 4 turnovers did them no favors. Wrangler PK Ronald Hensley kicked 6 FG's.

Invaders 19 Storm 3

Oakland came into the game 4-2 and the Invaders are in the playoff hunt, yet the stadium is only 2/3 full? No wonder the Raiders are leaving for Las Vegas. I wish we had an Elias Sports Bureau that could look up obscure stats quickly because I would bet Storm RB Kristopher Brown had a historically horrible game.  Brown rushed 23 times for minus 3 yards and caught 2 passes for 2 yards. That's -1 yard on 25 touches, which is on par with my old RG Dave Lapham giving up 7 sacks in one game bad.

Week 6 Rundown

Gold 20 Wheels 13

Denver stays undefeated in 1985 as they jumped out to an early 17-0 lead, then held on for the W. The Gold maintain their 2 game West Division lead over Oakland.

Outlaws 16 Blitz 3

Sports books lost their shirt on this game as the Blitz came in 5-0 while the Outlaws were 0-5. Oklahoma held Chicago to 115 total offensive yards and held the ball for just over 36 minutes.

Bandits 34 VooDoo 28

This game was not as close as the score indicates as the Bandits jumped out to an early 14-0 lead on 2 Melvin Diggers TD passes to Thomas Whitley. New Orleans would not get closer than 7 until late 4th qtr, when they cut it to the final margin. The Bandits ran out all but the last 44 seconds, which wasn't enough time for the VooDoo.

Gamblers 30 Hawaiians 6

Houston HC Dana Hicks deserves a game ball for whatever he said at halftime. The undefeated defending champs were only leading 7-6 at the break, before scoring 23 unanswered 2nd half points for the easy win. FS Rick Edwards started the flurry off with this pick six.

SaberCats 23 Sun 17

San Jose gets their first win of 1985 against division rival Southern California as QB Gregory Skidmore threw for 401 yards, including this bomb on their first offensive play.

Generals 19 Renegades 7

Generals owner raidergreg69 has been trying to avoid injuries on all his MFN teams and one piece of advice backfired in this game. The starters were taken off the Gunner team and we gave up a TD, which has happened in other leagues too. QB Ric Flair leads the USFL with an 80% completion percentage.

Bell 16 Blazers 10

Despite being out gained 312-201, Philadelphia gets the win thanks to winning the turnover battle 5-0.

Federals 22 Steamer 0

Washington put it to Shreveport in this game, out gaining them 411-173. Midway through the 1st qtr, Federals QB Joe Richardson found Luther Ellis for a 74 yard TD and never looked back. At 5-1, Washington is a legitimate contender, though they may not even win their division.

Stallions 34 Maulers 0

Birmingham put it to Pittsburgh in this game, out gaining them 470-141. On the second play from scrimmage, Stallions QB David Schmitt found Leonard Robles for a 68 yard TD and never looked back. At 5-1, Birmingham is also a legitimate contender, and has an important division game vs Georgia in Week 7.

Force 24 Breakers 9

This was a pretty even game statistically, but Georgia won this game in the red zone and a big special teams play. 

Express 19 (NY) Stars 17

New York turned over a chance to keep pace with New Jersey in the East. The Stars gained just more than a football field of yardage than Los Angeles, but 3 INT's were too much to overcome. Express K Roger Ruzich, formerly of New Jersey, would love to stick it to his former team again (LA defeated NJ in Week 3) but revenge must wait.

Stars 24 Thunderbolts 6

Baltimore is off to another great start in 1985 as they run their record to 6-0. The Stars did it with offense and defense. 

Panthers 37 Hornets 10

Michigan used 5 turnovers to sting the Hornets in Charlotte.

Showboats 24 Wranglers 12

Memphis is the American Conference version of Washington. They are a strong 5-1 but are blocked in the division by defending champs Houston.

Invaders 20 Gunslingers 14

Oakland won a sloppy, turnover filled game thanks to limiting San Antonio to just 129 yards of offense.

Storm 7 Bulls 0

This is the only score of the game.  

From The Commissioner's Desk

Tribewriter left me an awesome league to run. Most new commissioners are taking over someone else's mess and need to make a bunch of changes so the league is appealing again. This league is already one of the best MFN has to offer so my philosophy is, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

That being said, I am open to suggestions from anyone in the league about how to keep this league great. One of the reasons this has been my favorite league is the feeling of it belonging to all of us. Whether through the blog posts, message boards, mentoring committee, etc, I always felt the USFL was 1/32nd mine.

Now I'm in the captain's chair, yet the USFL is still only 1/32nd mine. The rest of the league belongs to you, I'm just steering the ship.

We will all miss tribewriter, myself included, but the USFL goes on. It goes without saying he is welcome back anytime he wants, even if he wants to be commissioner again. This league is his baby, and it's been a privilege to be an original member and an honor to attempt to fill his shoes. I only hope I'm up to the task.

Let's play some football!

raidergreg69

1985 Season Preview

Tony Dean, QB, Hosuton Gamblers (12)

In some divisions of the USFL/WFL, you should consider yourself lucky just to have survived the 16-game regular season. In some divisions, you can aspire to a little bit more in the future while beginning to rest your starters somewhere around Week 8 or Week 9.

The Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals, both defending division champions, have alternated league championships over the last four seasons. Houston won World Bowl XI by defeating the Generals, 27-23. There are no USFL/WFL franchises with three championships yet—Houston, New Jersey, the Detroit Wheels, and Memphis Showboats all have two.

Before the playoffs, of course,  come the division races. Some of them will be VERY interesting this season. Some of them, not so much. Let's go division-by-division, with the most interesting first and the least interesting last.

Atlantic Division

The four teams in this division seem to spend all season exchanging places. A four-way tie in the standings occurs pretty often during those 16 games. All that parity leaves these teams exhausted when the playoffs begin, however—no Atlantic Divison team has played for a league championship since the Pittsburgh Maulers lost to the Oakland Invaders in World Bowl II.

That almost changed last season. New head coach 4343 took over the Baltimore Stars (11-5) and led them to nine wins in the last 10 games and a spot opposite New Jersey in the National Conference championship game. No telling what will happen when 4343 has control of the team for an entire season. The Washington Federals (11-5) tied Baltimore for the division title before falling to the Stars in the wild-card game. Joe Richardson is back for his 12th season as Washington's starting QB. The Pittsburgh Maulers (9-7) would be right there if they had Richardson, or someone like him, at QB. Over the last three seasons, Ryan Tate and Scott Deal have combined for 63 TD passes and 78 interceptions. The Charlotte Hornets (7-9) are still looking for their first-ever playoff appearance, but seem to be getting closer all the time. Charlotte started the season 4-1, but finished up by losing seven of its last nine.

Midwest Division

The Detroit Wheels (14-2) ended last season on a 14-game win streak and earned the top seed in the American Conference playoffs, falling to Houston in the conference championship game. Then, things went all sideways. Veteran coach eyeballll, who had led the Wheels to 10 playoff appearances in 11 seasons, left to enjoy warmer weather while taking on a rebuilding project with the Florida Blazers. The AI took over the team for a day, leading to a bunch of bad contracts and cap issues. A new coach, fhunt3, volunteered to clean up the mess.

Until that cleanup is complete, Detroit is liable to return to being part of what has, in recent seasons, been a four-way dogfight in the Midwest Division. The Michigan Panthers (10-6) have made the playoffs twice in the last three seasons and the team's stars haven't yet reached retirement age. If the Panthers stop shooting themselves in the foot at critical moments, they could be the favorites to unseat the Wheels. The Cleveland Thunderbolts (9-7) have made four playoff appearances and always seem to be right in the thick of things at the end of the season. The Chicago Blitz (7-9) were 5-2 before dropping seven of their next eight and dropping out of the playoff race. If Chicago can find a way to score, it will win—the Blitz failed to reach double figures in all nine of their losses.

Southeast Division

The Jacksonville Bulls (12-4) have won the last four division titles, and they are likely to make it five in a row—but, suddenly, they need to keep an eye in the rear-view mirror. The Tampa Bay Bandits (5-11) were 5-3 during the second half of the 1984 season and former No. 1 pick QB Melvin Driggers is likely to be a year older and a year wiser. The Florida Blazers (3-13) haven't made the playoffs since winning the first World Bowl. However, the Blazers convinced veteran coach eyeballll to leave Ypsilanti and come to Orlando (some serious arm-twisting going on there). The Orlando Renegades (2-14) need to start making a move to keep up with the Joneses of their division.

South Division

Like the Southeast, things are likely to get REAL interesting in this division. The Birmingham Stallions (13-3) will be favored to win their third consecutive division title. But the New Orleans VooDoo (10-6) surprised everyone by earning a playoff spot in head coach shavar's first season in MFN. And in the offseason, New Orleans got an early Christmas present in the form of QB James Perry, who was let go by Memphis despite being the league's offensive MVP last season. The Georgia Force (5-11) are well down the road in their rebuilding process and the Shreveport Steamer (6-10) continue to make moves in an attempt to return to the playoffs after missing out the last three seasons. Shreveport had taken part in five consecutive postseasons before that string of frustration began.

Pacific Division

The Honolulu Hawaiians (13-3) have won four division titles in the last five seasons, but are still seeking playoff success (0-5 in postseason games). The Los Angeles Express (9-7) are always in the playoff hunt and are the only team to finish ahead of the Hawaiians over the last five seasons. A three-game losing streak to end the 1984 season cost LAX another playoff berth. The Southern California Sun (5-11) took a leap forward under new head coach OffensiveTaco. The Sun may soon be preparing for the first playoff game in franchise history thanks to RB Nicholas Witrock, the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. The San Jose SaberCats (4-12) haven't had a winning record since the league's first season and will likely have to settle for being spoilers again this time around. Hey, the SaberCats did sweep SoCal last season.

West Division

The Denver Gold (12-4) have won the last four division crowns, but coming up fast are the Arizona Wranglers (9-7), who went on a five-game win streak late in the season and just missed the playoffs. Jerry Montalvo is back for a 14th and final season as the league's highest-paid QB ($18.43 million this season, which was not the current coach's decision). The Portland Storm (4-12) suffered through the first losing season in franchise history, but are hoping a youth movement will eventually pay dividends. The Oakland Invaders (2-14) will showcase the league's No. 1 overall draft pick, MLB Victory Thomas.

Southwest Division

The Houston Gamblers (13-3) earned their second championship in three seasons. The only significant offseason loss for Houston was CB Mike Williams, who retired. The Memphis Showboats (10-6) are undergoing a transformation under new head coach InfinityOnTrial. Memphis cut last year's league offensive MVP, QB James Perry, and traded away CBs Steven Minton and James Byler, FS John Zendejas, SLB Mark Meyer. The San Antonio Gunslingers (6-10) were the playoff hunt before losing five of their last six and might be preparing to move closer to the top of the division. The Oklahoma Outlaws (5-11) are preparing for their third season under CoachNorm, and that added degree of stability could go a long way.

East Division

The New Jersey Generals (12-4) have won seven consecutive division championships—including last season, when they played the entire second half of their regular-season schedule without a health RB. Over the last four seasons, New Jersey is 23-1 against East Division foes, the lone loss coming against Philadelphia in the 1982 season opener. The New York Stars (9-7) won six of their last seven in 1984 and fell only one game short of making the playoffs. The Philadlephia Bell (5-11) fell off the face of the earth after stringing together four consecutive winning seasons. The Boston Breakers (4-12) swept Philadelphia and knocked off playoff-bound Michigan. Boston keeps getting younger and better, but still has a ways to travel.

1985 Training Camp Roundup

The biggest gamble of the first round turned out to be the biggest bust of hte first round. A guy named  Bustamante busted (who would have guessed) and the second round provided an unprecidented degree of craziness when the training camp results from the 1985 draft were posted Wednesday.

Juan Bonnett, CB (ret.)

The Florida Blazers rolled the dice on 70-vol CB Michael Samson with the third pick of the draft and did not exactly roll a 7. Samson lost 9 points from his potential, dropping it to a default 72.

Samson brings to mind The Curse of Juan Bonnett. Houston took the CB with the fifth pick of the first round in 1975 and he immediately dropped 11 points, bottoming out at 52 overall at the time of his retirement. Bonnett still managed to stay in the league 10 seasons with four teams and The Curse of Juan Bonnett did not prevent the Denver Gold from making the playoffs twice during his stay there. Samson still has 89 speed and 60-plus coverage skills, so, like Bonnett, he could also have a long, if not distinguished, career.

The Pittsburgh Maulers made Nathan BUST-amente the second QB taken in the draft at pick 1-18. And, true to his name, BUST-amentre dropped six points.

Low volatility did not prevent first-round busts either, as the San Jose SaberCats and New York Stars both had busts with players 30 vol or lower. (For the purpose of this post, we are classifying "booms" and "busts" as swings of 4 or more points in overall potential).

Fullback Patrick Jackson was drafted by Denver, in the first round, then traded to the Portland Storm for picks in the second and fourth rounds next season. Jackson made Storm coach Pernbronze look like the genius we have always known he is when Jackson's potential climbed six points, the biggest boom of the first round.

The second round was insanity—19 of the 32 picks either boomed or busted. The first pick in the round, Orlando Renegades WLB Paul Smith, set the tone when he dropped 7 points. The Blazers felt a little better about things when, two picks later, WR Arthur Devore climbed five points.

The Birmingham Stallions had back-to-back busts at picks 26 and 30 in the second round. The Philadelphia Bell took 100-vol RB Ronnie Walts at 2-9 and saw him drop 17 points, But, four picks later, the Shreveport Steamer took another RB, 98-vol Orville Barker, and Barker boomed by 7 points.

The biggest boom of the first two rounds belonged to Honolulu Hawaiians CB Roger Skinner, who climbed 10 points at pick 2-28 and now has 81 potential.

First Round

Busts
1-3, Matthew Samson, CB, Florida, 70 vol, -9
1-5, Larry Nicols, RDE, San Jose, 30 vol, -7
1-18, Nathan Bustamante, QB, Pittsburgh, 58 vol, -6
1-21, Reginald Hatfield, LDE, New York, 24 vol, -5
Booms
1-19, Edward Tillis, CB, Los Angeles, 62 vol, +4
1-22, Jerry Green, SLB, Michigan, 62 vol, +4
1-26, Patrick Jackson, FB, Denver/Portland, 94 vol, +6
1-29, Courtney Wright, WLB, Baltimore, 70 vol, +4

Second Round

Busts
2-1, Paul Smith, WLB, Orlando, 80 vol, -7
2-4, Gary Williams, SS, Georgia, 58 vol, -6
2-6, Gus Powell, WR, Baltimore, 98 vol, -17
2-7, Irving Lee, DT, New Orleans, 52 vol, -7
2-9, Ronnie Waltz, RB, Philadelphia, 100 vol, -17
2-11, Jose Nunez, LG, Detroit, 84 vol, -8
2-24, Ronnie Perez, LG, Washington, 34 vol, -5
2-22. Kendrick Mobley, FS, Tampa Bay, 42 vol, -4
2-26, Roger White, MLB, Birmingham, 66 vol, -6
2-30, John Olivera, WR, Birmingham, 52 vol, -8
2-32, Albert Buckland, RB, Houston, 82 vol, -6
Booms
2-3, Arthur Devore, WR, Florida, 88 vol, +5
2-5, Nicholas Dorey, WR, Michigan, 82 vol, +7
2-8, Wilmer Kimble, QB, Southern California, 68 vol, +8
2-10, Anthony Heredia, CB, Denver, 78 vol, +6
2-13, Orville Barker, RB, Shreveport, 98 vol, +7
2-14, Jackie Becker, RDE, Charlotte, 94 vol, +8
2-21, Paul Bieber, LG, Oakland, 74 vol, +4
2-28, Roger Skinner, CB, Honolulu, 90 vol, +10

Hiebert, Curcio join USFL/WFL Hall of Fame

The USFL/WFL's all-time leading rusher and its leading tackler are now members of the league's Hall of Fame.

Patrick Hiebert

Oklahoma Outlaws RB Patrick Hiebert and Washington Federals MLB Travis Curcio were inducted by having received 75 percent or more of the votes cast by the league's coaches. Hiebert was named on 30 of 32 ballots, while Curcio received 24 votes—exactly the number needed for 75 percent.

Only one other player in Hall of Fame history has been named on all but two ballots—Birmingham Stallions QB Agustin Crook, who received 28 of 30 votes for the inaugural class in 1981.

Hiebert ran for more than 10,000 yards rushing in his 10 seasons, helping the Outlaws qualify for the playoffs five times int hat span. He was named All-Pro twice and also ranks among the league's best in rushing TDs (No. 3), total yards (No. 6) and total TDs (No. 6).

Travis Curcio

Curcio qualified in his second year of eligibility. He retired following the 1983 season, having accumulated a league-record 967 tackles. Curcio's 140 tackles in 1978 stood as a single-season record until 1983. He played on some bad teams but also helped lead the Federals to three playoff appearances during his final four seasons.

Seventeen other players received at least 25 percent of the vote and will remain on the 1986 ballot. Five players received less than 25 percent and will be removed from next season's voting.

For final vote totals, click on the image below to enlarge:

1985 Offseason Roundup

Victor Thomas, MLB, Oakland Invaders

There is rarely such a thing as a "can't-miss" draft pick, but the Oakland Invaders and Orlando Renegades found a couple of them atop the first round of the 1985 draft.

The Invaders only had to look a few miles down the road to find former California MLB Victor Thomas with the first overall pick in the draft. Thomas has potential of 80-plus at every defensive position except CB—and only 10 volatility. His 84 speed and 6-foot-1, 242-pound frame make him ideal for the pass coverage skills needed for LBs in the current version.

The Renegades weren't with a prospect who is not far behind in former Texas Longhorn MLB Luis Fellows, He also has only 10 volatility and has 80-plus potential at every LB position. His 74 speed and 100-potential coverage skills also make Fellows an ideal coverage LB.

The Invaders, New York Stars, and Portland Storm all made two first-round picks Tuesday.

The riverboat gamblers among us, who went with the highest-volatility picks, proved to be the Florida Blazers (1-3, CB Matthew Samson, 70 VOL), New Orleans VooDoo (1-23, DT Curtis Taylor, 86 VOL), Denver Gold (1-26, RB Patrick Jackson, 94), Baltimore Stars (1-29, WLB Courtney Wright, 70 VOL), and Houston Gamblers (1-32, TE Wesley Hull, 88 VOL).

The draft continues through Friday night.

Free Agency

Mario Valencia

Some of the biggest names who changed teams during 1985 free agency ended up in Oakland, Oklahoma, and Shreveport.

The Invaders signed former Houston Gamblers MLB Roderick Carver to a two-year, $37.2 million pact and also added former New Jersey Generals TE Leroy Selmon. The Outlaws were one of nine teams who bid on former Georgia Force LT Jimmy Rice and also won the bidding for former San Antonio Gunslingers QB Tony Smith, who has thrown 72 interceptions over the last four seasons. The Steamer walked away with former Tampa Bay WR Michael Popa and former Detroit and Houston CB David Peralta.

The biggest name in free agency was Mario Valencia, the QB who led Detroit to back-to-back championship earlier in his career. Valencia will spend his final pro season in Los Angeles, his third time around with the Express.

Two well-known former Generals signed with other teams, LDE Bobby Leopold (Southern California) and SLB Jim LeClair (Houston).

Retirements

Consult your Hall of Fame ballot for more details, but notable retirements included:

• RB Patrick Hiebert, OKL
• CB Bradley Martinez, PIT
• CB Mike Williams, NJG
• CB Carlos Turner, LAX
• WR Randy Christmas, BLT
• FS Brent Sylvain, HON