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The second weekend in the latest iteration of spring professional football is now in the books. The 2022 version of the USFL shows that some teams are beginning to find a little offense while others look like they are definitely in need of some help.
We’re here to help, too! I think this spring football league might just have the potential to survive.
First, here’s a wrap-up of the scores from the second weekend of play. Reminder, all USFL regular season games are being played in Birmingham, Alabama (more on that later):
Friday night – New Jersey Generals 10, Michigan Panthers 6
If you were to say, “First one to ten points wins!”, then this was the football game for you. For the rest of us, it was as boring as the final score indicated. The only drama came during the final series as Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson finally connected with some receivers as he scrambled for his life to buy enough time to throw. The Panthers finally made it inside the New Jersey 20 yard line but failed to get into the end zone as the clock expired. New Jersey moves to 1-1, while Michigan is a much deserved 0-2 after two games.
Saturday afternoon – Philadelphia Stars 30, Pittsburgh Maulers 23
The battle for Pennsylvania occurred several hundred miles south of the Keystone State on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham. The Stars jumped to an early 14-3 lead, but Pittsburgh’s tough defense snagged a fumble and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown to help this game come alive. This was the first USFL game of the year in which both quarterbacks passed for more than 200 yards as Philly’s Byron Scott (Occidental College) went for 272 with three touchdowns and the Maulers’ Josh Love (San Jose State) passed for 236 and two scores. Philadelphia squared its record at 1-1 while the Pittsburgh Maulers dropped to 0-2.
Saturday night – Birmingham Stallions 33, Houston Gamblers 28
The fans in Birmingham finally showed up to support their hometown Stallions (well, at least compared to the other three games where you are able to, quite literally, count the faces in the crowd). Birmingham’s Louisiana Tech connection of former Bulldogs coach Skip Holtz and his former QB J’Mar Smith dialed-up yet another winner for the Stallions. Smith went 20/30 for 229 yards and passed for a couple of scores to lead Birmingham. The Houston Gamblers quarterback Clayton Thorson (who played Big Ten college ball at Northwestern University) was picked-off three times during this game, but Houston’s defense kept it relatively close. These are definitely two of the better teams through week 2. Birmingham remains unbeaten at 2-0 while Houston fell to 1-1.
Sunday afternoon – New Orleans Breakers 34, Tampa Bay Bandits 3
With an NBC national audience watching this game (played in a nearly empty stadium), the New Orleans Breakers made a statement in clobbering the favored Tampa Bay Bandits. Quarterback Kyle Sloter (Northern Colorado) completed 25 of 39 passes for 266 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions for New Orleans. The Breakers defense grabbed four fumbles and two interceptions as they shut-down Tampa’s offense the entire afternoon. Tampa Bay’s two quarterbacks combined for a pitiful 11 completions in 28 attempts for a meager 96 yards. New Orleans is now 2-0 while Tampa Bay’s first loss drops the Bandits to 1-1.
Week 2 Analysis:
Though most of the eight USFL teams passed the football with a little bit more success in week #2, this isn’t exactly a pass-happy league just yet. The team defenses remain ahead of the offenses at this early point in the season.
League standings after Week #2:
USFL North:
New Jersey Generals 1-1
Philadelphia Stars 1-1
Pittsburgh Maulers 0-2
Michigan Panthers 0-2
USFL South:
New Orleans Breakers 2-0
Birmingham Stallions 2-0
Houston Gamblers 1-1
Tampa Bay Bandits 1-1
The New Orleans Breakers “break out”
The Breakers’ dominant performance last weekend against Tampa Bay has clearly marked them as the team to beat after Week #2. Though Birmingham is also 2-0 with their win over a solid Houston team, the Stallions defense gave up 28 points in their five point win over the Gamblers.
But how bad are the Michigan Panthers?
Though the team ran the ball 29 times (74 yards) and passed 28 times (124 yards) in Week #2, the team’s woeful 200 yards of total offense for the entire game isn’t going to cut it. The New Jersey Generals even handed the Panthers two turnovers, but Michigan’s offense couldn’t cash in on those gifts. The Panther’s defense is exceptional and kept them in the game, but Michigan’s offense is in serious need of an overhaul. Head Coach Jeff Fisher is a former NFL player (Chicago Bears) and head coach (Tennessee Titans). It’s a bit surprising to see his team struggle so much in their first two games.
General vibe of the USFL
The USFL’s owner (Fox Sports) is being smart by trying to minimize costs in the new league – at least for year 1. Rather than have the costs of eight teams with eight different football stadiums requiring weekly travel to and from those eight cities, the 2022 iteration of the USFL is designed to run on a proverbial shoestring. Fox Sports is hoping to average 1.4 million viewers per game this season. The television ratings for Week #1 averaged about 2 million, but the key will be retaining and building interest in the USFL every weekend.
Weekly television viewership will make or break this spring football league. Given the relative lack of sports competition on television during springtime, the advertising revenue for televised pro football games will determine whether the USFL is financially viable. If the league can’t get enough national advertisers to cover the bills, then the USFL (like other predecessors) won’t make it beyond the first season.
Birmingham – a good idea and bad idea
All of ten weeks of the 2022 regular season are being played in Birmingham, Alabama’s brand new Protective Insurance stadium (future home of the UAB Blazers). The league reportedly received a sweetheart deal from the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County. The city, in return, is hoping to build more tourism interest in the region.
Birmingham is hosting four USFL games each weekend for ten straight weeks. Though the lack of travel is certainly conducive to saving money and dramatically reducing the television production costs, it’s also showing the nation a nearly empty football stadium for three of the four games every weekend, too. The state of Alabama is certainly football happy, but the USFL’s management was a bit foolish to expect football fans to show up in Birmingham to watch four different games every single weekend this spring. If you think it’s bad now, just wait until the temperature hits 90 degrees in Birmingham in a few weeks. There’s a good reason us Southerners prefer fall football when the temperatures are dropping!
Are the players getting too cozy while living in Birmingham?
I am concerned that the eight USFL teams and their players are beginning to know each other a bit too well off the field. Birmingham (with a metro area of about 1 million people) isn’t so big that the football players can’t pal around a bit during the week. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for building lifelong friendships via sports.
The eight USFL teams stay in the same city, hotels, and use the same practice facilities each week for over three months. You’ve got to believe that many of the players on opposing teams are becoming friends during the week. This should have been expected and, again, I don’t find this bad for the players or the league over the long-term.
However, once the USFL football teams take the field each week, the players are not playing with the same level of intensity which we would normally find during fall college and pro football games. I have to believe this is a direct (and, perhaps, unexpected) result of having one team owner (Fox Sports) controlling all eight teams and expecting them to play with one primary mandate (“Let’s look good on television, but please don’t kill the quarterbacks!”)
Last weekend, this “coziness” phenomenon resulted in a few games being played with as much intensity your average college football team’s spring scrimmage game. A nearly empty stadium doesn’t help matters, either. The empty stadium simply adds to the “scrimmage game” feel. The USFL players want to make a good impression in front of any NFL scouts who might be observing the games. It’s also important not to purposely hurt the other players on the opposing teams, either. This is one big (eight team) family with the same owner (Fox Sports).
Personally, I’d like to see a little more intensity on the field during the weeks to come. Shake hands afterwards, and go play golf on Monday together!
Week 3 Preview:
Below is this weekend’s slate of USFL games for Week #3. All games played in Birmingham, Alabama.
Saturday afternoon – 3PM Central – Tampa Bay Bandits at Houston Gamblers (Fox Television)
Saturday night – 7PM Central – Birmingham Stallions @ New Orleans Breakers (Fox TV)
Sunday afternoon – 1:30 Central – Pittsburgh Maulers @ Michigan Panthers (USA)
Sunday night – 7PM Central – New Jersey Generals @ Philadelphia Stars (Peacock)
The feature game in Week #3 kicks off this Saturday night on Fox between the two remaining unbeaten teams (Birmingham and New Orleans). This has the makings of a great game for television. With a large crowd in Birmingham to cheer-on the Stallions, the local team should have a little more juice on their side of the field. Knowing how passionate New Orleans fans can be, don’t be surprised if several hundred Breakers fans drive up from the Crescent City to show some love for their team this Saturday, too. Put this game on your calendar. It should be a dandy!