Who's Steaking?

Win Streaks

8: Birmingham, Pittsburgh
6: Memphis
3: Michigan, Chicago, New Jersey

Losing Streaks

8: Charlotte
5: San Antonio, Shreveport
4: Detroit, Tampa Bay
3: Georgia

300 Point Club: Birmingham 312

Rest of the top 5 scoring teams...Pittsburgh 291, Philadelphia 289, Houston 268, Oklahoma 243

Ten teams have scored less than 100 points, with 4 of those 64 or less (8 points a game or less)

Early on Denver were on a historically low pace but have since crept closer to 31st place. Denver still has a league low 52 points but that's just 3 behind Detroit's 55 with Arizona (63) and Boston (64) next.

Double Digit Points Allowed Club

Birmingham 44
Portland 78
Pittsburgh 84

Birmingham allows 5.5 points per game, Portland 9.75 and Pittsburgh 10.5

On the other end of the spectrum, Charlotte has allowed 278 points as the only member of the 200 points allowed club so far. Joining them soon will be Houston (192), Baltimore (192), and Detroit (190), plus some others.

Pittsburgh is the only team in the league to have played 5/6 division games already, going 5-0. Only 5 other teams have played 4 division games, so for most of us we'll have some familiar opponents down the stretch.

It will take over 5600 passing yards to make the first page of all time by season totals and we have 2 on pace this season. Joel Jasso (Philadelphia) still leads the league with 2,945 while Larry Henderson (San Jose) has 2,875. Birmingham's Russell Gall leads with 26 TD passes with Brian White (Pittsburgh) right behind with 25. Dwayne Byrd (Orlando) has the INT lead all by himself with 20 (the record is 44, Stephen Ponder, Birmingham 1990) while Larry Henderson has now been sacked 48 times.

Matthew Goebel (Pittsburgh) and Graham Folks (Florida) continue to battle for the rushing title with Goebel currently leading 771-753. Thomas Frank (Portland) is a distant 3rd with 608 yards. Goebel also leads with 8 rushing TDs, just ahead of the 7 by Frank, Alfredo Montoya (Philadelphia) and Raymond Still (San Jose).

Patrick Howard (Pittsburgh) has 1,187 receiving yards, more than 200 ahead of Jacob Newman's (San Jose) sucky total of 979. Newman leads the league with 96 receptions, 28 ahead of Benjamin Jones (New Orleans). Barring an injury, Newman should end up at least 2nd all time in receptions in a season. The record is held by Harold Hedberg, who caught 182 passes for the 2004 San Jose team. Last season, San Jose WR Donald Sykes caught 150 and Benjamin Jones caught 148, good for 2nd and 3rd best all time. Those recent performances all bested the previous high of 142, set in 1996 by Henry Young of Georgia.

Patrick Howard leads the league with 12 TD passes, 2 ahead of the 10 by Benjamin Jones (New Orleans) and Arnold Griego (Birmingham)

Florida kicker Daniel Pitts is 9/10 on 50+ yard FGs, and as I mentioned a couple game weeks ago, the record in a season is 17.

Lazaro Mason (Baltimore) continues to be a tackling machine (83 tackles) and a turnstile (25 missed tackles) at the same time.

New Jersey rookie RDE Nathan Explosion had 6 sacks this week against Tampa Bay to break the previous tie with Michael Peters for the league sack lead. It's extremely doubtful anyone breaks the league record of 71 sacks set by Mark McKeon of the 1989 Portland Storm, a record with a Barry Bonds-esque asterisk next to it. Those 71 sacks were the result of a glitch in the system that made his speed/weight combo impossible to block. The non asterisk mark is 34 by Lee Kelley of the 2002 Pittsburgh Maulers. Those 6 sacks by Explosion give him 17 at the halfway point and he missed a game due to injury.

Birmingham's Brian Henry leads the league with 7 INTs, just ahead of Jason Winborne (San Jose), Joshua Lemmon of Baltimore, and Houston's Robert Patton with 6 each. On the first page of the INT list I counted 9 players allowing below 40% completions, with Jason Winborne way ahead of the pack, allowing just 21.6% (8-37 with 9 knockdowns).

Week 9

Interesting week in the USFL as we had some upsets and surprising results. We now only have one team with a zero in their W/L record, the 9-0 Pittsburgh Maulers. Birmingham had their first loss this week while Charlotte got their first win.

New Orleans scored TDs on their first 2 drives and their defense held the highest scoring team in the league out of the end zone all game to beat Birmingham 17-6. This is the Stallions first loss of the season and New Orleans is just 1 game behind the Stallions in the South. Benjamin Jones caught 11 passes for 120 yards for New Orleans and the VooDoo sacked Russell Gall 5 times.

Pittsburgh is the league's lone undefeated team despite trying hard to lose this morning before hanging on to win 17-14. Pittsburgh got the opening kickoff and Larry Martinez fumbled, with Adam Tucker returning it 13 yards for an instant 7-0 Georgia lead. The Maulers defense wasn't in on the trying to lose plan as they held Georgia to 161 yards of offense, sacking Adam Patrick 5 times and recovering a fumble. Offensively Brian White threw for 390 yards and 2 TDs , with Patrick Howard catching one score among his 9 for 179 yards. White also threw 4 INTs though, keeping the game close and allowing a short field TD for Georgia.

In fact Georgia had the lead 14-10 late in the 4th when they had to punt after bad field position. Pittsburgh got the ball at the Georgia 45 inside the 2 minute warning. Brian White led the go ahead TD drive and Georgia would have had the ball with a minute to play but irony happened. In a semi reversal of the opening kickoff, Scott Isaacs fumbled the ball away to Pittsburgh. While the Maulers didn't return it for a TD it did seal victory as they ran out the clock.

The New York Stars upset Philadelphia 34-28, tightening the East division and making it a 3 team race. The Stars got 85 yards rushing and 2 TDs from James Luna while the defense intercepted 3 Joel Jasso passes including a Pick Six. Jasso threw for 351 yards and 4 TDs but the turnovers were too much to overcome. The New York rushing offense was also productive as a whole, getting 110 yards from the rest of their BCBC besides Luna to make it 195 total rushing yards.

Baltimore upset San Jose as the SaberCats go 2/10 on 4th downs for the second consecutive game, handing the Stars several short fields they took advantage of. Baltimore's average drive started at the San Jose 48. In addition to the short fields, defensive fatigue could be a factor as the San Jose offense dropped back to pass 89 times and a lot of drives lasted just 60-90 seconds.

The final score was 34-24, as San Jose scored first on a Larry Henderson to Jacob Newman 79 yard TD pass with a 2 point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Baltimore scored the next 34 points behind Jerry Parker's 4 TD passes for a 34-8 4th qtr lead. San Jose scored the final 2 TDs with 2 point conversions but it was too little, too late. Henderson was 51/85, 515 yards, 3 TDs, 6 INTs, and 2 sacks. Jacob Newman caught 16 for 216 and a TD while David Barfield caught 12 for 111. Baltimore QB Jerry Parker threw 4 INTs to go with his 4 TD passes and the Stars offense was only 1/12 on 3rd down.

Charlotte beat Florida 20-16 for their first win of the season. The Hornets held Florida RB Graham Folks to 70 yards and had 4 sacks of QB Nicholas Meis. Meis had a good game when he was upright, completing 23/25 for 200 yards. Kicker Daniel Pitts made 3 FGs, including 2 more from 50+. His 59 yard FG midway through the 4th gave Florida a 16-13 lead. At the 2 minute warning, Florida had to punt, giving Charlotte a chance to tie or win but the Hornets offense didn't see the field. Why? Rodger Brown returned the punt 73 yards for a TD and a 20-16 lead. Florida drove down to the Charlotte red zone before time ran out.

Detroit upset Chicago 13-3 in a Midwest division battle. It was a 6-3 game late in the 4th when Detroit drove 96 yards in 18 plays, using up almost 9 minutes of clock to score the game sealing TD. Earl Drake was the stat leader, catching 13 for 85 yards for the Wheels.

Southern California holds on to defeat Honolulu 20-19 as Hawaiians kicker Michael Marmon missed a 23 yard FG wide right as the clock hit 0:00. Honolulu almost doubled the yardage of the Sun, 400-216 but they lost the turnover battle 3-0. Prior to the missed 23 yard FG at the end, Honolulu faced a 4th and 3 from the Sun 20, and went for it rather than try a 37 or 38 yard FG. They made the first down only to try a FG on the next play. I find that curious.

Memphis got out to a 17-0 halftime lead on Los Angeles, then held on for a 23-10 victory, their 7th in a row. Cesar Houser ran for 91 yards and 2 TDs to lead the BCBC for the Showboats while the defense held the Express to 240 offensive yards.

Orlando beat Tampa Bay 35-9 behind 356 yards and 2 TD passes from Dwayne Byrd. The Renegades BCBC only ran 22 times but they had 114 yards and 3 TDs and the offense was 10/17 on 3rd down. Defensively they had 3 sacks and held the Bandits to 112 yards.

Michigan jumped out to a 27-0 first half lead en route to a 37-21 win over division rival Cleveland. Willie Reddish threw for 260 yards and 3 TDs and the Panthers BCBC had 196 rushing yards and a TD. Robert Hamby caught 2 TDs for Cleveland.

Washington beat Shreveport 16-6 as their BCBC ran for 150 yards and Michael Erickson scored the game's lone TD with a 26 yard pass to Martin Mercer. Both teams did well on 3rd down with Washington converting 5/14 and Shreveport 6/16, although the Steamer had just 208 total yards. Red zone wasn't good as Shreveport kicked FGs on their 2 trips while Washington didn't score on their lone red zone trip.

Arizona and Oakland played 70 minutes of football with no winner, with the game ending in a 17-17 tie. Arizona had a 17-7 4th qtr lead but Oakland tied it at the 2 minute warning on a Hector Bednar TD pass. Oakland had the best OT scoring chance after recovering a fumble at midfield but they were forced to punt and the OT clock ran out without any scoring. Arizona WR Brett Estrada, son of CHiPs star Erik Estrada, caught 6 passes for 136 yards and a TD.

Portland beat Denver 30-0, holding the Gold to 72 total yards. Raymond Oswalt completed 28/35, 242 yards and 2 TDs. James Kendrick caught 11 for 110 yards and a score. The Storm offense was 3 for 3 in the red zone, 10/17 on 3rd down and possessed the ball over 41 minutes.

Houston got back on track with a 39-10 win over San Antonio. Randy Savage had 199 total yards, with 162 coming on the ground with a TD. Harley Race led the receivers, catching 4 for 142 yards and 2 TDs. Dale Baber was 26/45, 332 yards and those 2 TDs to Race. The Gamblers 31st ranked defense only allowed 215 yards and had 4 sacks.

Oklahoma beat Jacksonville 23-6 behind 3 Raymond Settles TD passes and 135 rushing yards from Steven McCurdy. The Outlaws defense held Jacksonville to 141 yards and had 4 sacks and an INT.

New Jersey beat Boston 29-0 behind 140 rushing yards and a TD by Vic Mackey. The maligned Generals defense allowed just 145 yards, forced 2 turnovers and had 4 sacks, all by Evander Holyfield.New Jersey even got a rare TD pass by Kevin Via, his 3rd of the season.

Let's go streaking...

Winning Streaks

9: Pittsburgh
7: Memphis
6: New Orleans
4: Michigan, New Jersey

Losing Streaks

6: San Antonio, Shreveport
5: Tampa Bay
4: Georgia
3: Honolulu, Denver

Divisional Standings *Not Counting division games

Southwest 16-6
South 14-8
East 12-10
Midwest 13-13
Pacific 11-13
Atlantic 9-11
Southeast 11-15
West 4-14

Scoring Offense

Top 5: Birmingham 318, Philadelphia 317, Pittsburgh 308, Houston 307, Orlando 275

Bottom 5: Denver 52, Boston 64, Detroit 68, Arizona 80, Shreveport 89

Points Allowed

Top 5: Birmingham 61, Portland 78, Pittsburgh 98, New Orleans 106, Oklahoma 108

Bottom 5: Charlotte 294, Tampa Bay 220, San Antonio 217, Baltimore 216, Denver 210

If the Playoffs Started Now

American Conference: Oklahoma (BYE), Michigan, San Jose, Portland, Memphis, Houston, Cleveland

National Conference: Pittsburgh (BYE), Birmingham, Philadelphia, Orlando, New Orleans, New Jersey, New York

3000 Yard Passers

3,393 Larry Henderson, San Jose
3,296 Joel Jasso, Philadelphia
3,105 Dwayne Byrd, Orlando
3,063 Dale Baber, Houston

John Barrios, Southern California leads in completion percentage...70%

Brian White, Pittsburgh, has edged past Joel Jasso for yards per attempt...8.34-8.32

Larry Henderson has been sacked 50 times, Adam Patrick (Georgia) 45, and Curtis Kim (Arizona) 40

Passing TD

27 Brian White, Pittsburgh
26 Russell Gall, Birmingham
25 Dale Baber, Houston
25 Raymond Settles, Oklahoma
23 Joel Jasso, Philadelphia
22 Willie Graham, New Orleans
22 Dwayne Byrd, Orlando

INT Thrown

21 Dwayne Byrd, Orlando
18 Larry Henderson, San Jose
18 Dale Baber, Houston
17 Brian White, Pittsburgh
16 Willie Graham, New Orleans
16 Jerry Parker, Baltimore

Russell Gall leads in QBR (112.12) followed by Raymond Settles (100.60), John Barrios (99.83) and Joel Jasso (98.63)

Rushing Yards

823 Graham Folks, Florida
811 Matthew Goebel, Pittsburgh
719 Steven McCurdy, Oklahoma
684 Vic Mackey, New Jersey
650 Michael Olsen, Memphis

Rushing TDs

8 Matthew Goebel, Pittsburgh
7 Thomas Frank, Portland
7 Raymond Still, San Jose
7 Cesar Houser, Memphis
7 Alfredo Montoya, Philadelphia
6 Randy Savage, Houston

Receptions

112 Jacob Newman, San Jose
79 Benjamin Jones, New Orleans
68 Lex Luger, Houston
64 Patrick Howard, Pittsburgh
59 Patrick McManus, Arizona

Receiving Yards

1,366 Patrick Howard, Pittsburgh
1,195 Jacob Newman, San Jose
1,009 Benjamin Jones, New Orleans
996 Roderick Uribe, Philadelphia
919 Lex Luger, Houston

Receiving TDs

13 Patrick Howard, Pittsburgh
10 Arnold Griego, Birmingham
10 Benjamin Jones, New Orleans

League wide we have had 11 kickoff return TDs and 2 punt return scores

We have 3 kickers with 100% made FGs...Mark Adams, New Orleans (12/12), Carlos Reed, Cleveland (8/8), and Tyler Garcia, Denver (6/6).

Jonathan Ruch of Michigan has made 24 FGs (in 25 tries) to lead the league by 1 over Howie "Stump" Schwab (New Jersey) and John Everheart (Memphis).

Daniel Pitts, Florida, is 11/12 from 50+ and is on pace to break the record of 17. The next closest has 6 long distance kicks.

Lazaro Mason, Baltimore has 93 tackles, 20 more than 2nd place. Mason would have a bigger lead if he didn't also miss a league high 29 tackles.

Rookie Nathan Explosion still leads the league with 17 sacks, 5 ahead of Lee Kelley and Michael Peters of Pittsburgh.

Walter Bryant, New Orleans has the league lead in sacks + hurries with 30, 11 sacks and 19 hurries. Nathan Explosion (17 sacks, 9 hurries) is tied for 2nd with Michael Peters (12-14) at 26 each.

Joshua Lemmon, Baltimore leads the league with 8 INTs. Brian Henry, Birmingham is 2nd with 7.

We have had 11 Pick Sixes this season.

Patrick Howard, Pittsburgh, leads the league in total yards (1,366) and TDs (13). Charles Keller of Michigan is 99 yards behind (1,267) while Jacob Newman has 1,241. Randy Savage is 4th in total yards (1,181) and 2nd in TDs (12). Benjamin Jones is 5th in yards (1,126) and 3rd in TDs (11).

These observation posts are awesome Greg, keep up the good work! :)

Week 10

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Maulers for clinching the Atlantic division title. The Maulers won today to remain undefeated at 10-0 and coupled with Baltimore's loss to Birmingham, they have a 6 game lead with 6 to play plus own the tiebreaker by sweeping the Stars.

Since we're on the subject of playoffs, some division races have tightened up. San Jose seemed a good bet to win the Pacific 3 weeks ago, and they may still be a good bet but a 3 game losing streak has brought them back to the pack. All 4 teams are within 2 games and things could get crazy down the stretch.

Portland has a 2.5 game lead on Arizona in the West. The Storm lost this week but so did the rest of the division.

Oklahoma continues to lead the Southwest by a game over Memphis and 2 games over the defending champion Gamblers. All 3 seemed destined for January football, and while the BYE is important, any of the 3 teams are more than capable of reaching the World Bowl as a wildcard.

Michigan has won 5 in a row but they can't shake Cleveland, who remain 2 games behind. The Thunderbolts also continue to hang on to the #7 seed.

Orlando lost to New Orleans while Jacksonville beat Florida, cutting the Renegades lead to 2 games in the Southeast.

Birmingham got back on track after last week's loss to New Orleans. The Stallions are 9-1 with a 1 game lead on the VooDoo.

Philadelphia still leads the East by a game over New Jersey and 2 over the surging New York Stars. The Bell swept the Generals but split with the Stars. Right now, all 3 would make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh beat Washington 30-6, thanks to the usual suspects. Matthew Goebel ran for 133 yards, Brian White threw for 328 yards and 3 TDs while Patrick Howard caught 6 for 160 and 2 TDs. The defense allowed just 137 total yards, had 2 sacks and allowed just 1/12 on 3rd down. As noted earlier, the Maulers clinch the Atlantic and are on track for a first round BYE. As of now, they need to keep winning and have Birmingham lose again before Week 16. The Stallions are 9-1 and play Pittsburgh Week 16, where a Birmingham win could get them the BYE if they enter that game 14-1.

Birmingham played lopsided games the first 8 weeks before losing last week. This week they had to play a tough 4th qtr again as Baltimore had a 17-14 lead after 3. The Stallions responded much better this week as they won the 4th quarter 21-7 and hence, the game. Baltimore QB Jerry Parker had an awesome first 3 quarters until late 3rd, when he threw the first of 3 INTs that fueled the Stallions comeback. Parker ended the day with 364 yards, 3 TDs and 3 INTS with Domenic Winstead catching 3 for 128 yards and 2 TDs. Birmingham QB Russell Gall threw for 291 yards and 3 TDs, 2 in the 4th qtr.

Birmingham is now 9-1 but there is cause for concern as they've allowed 41 points the last 2 weeks after allowing just 44 the first 8.

Oklahoma beat Arizona 42-19 in a sloppy game for Raymond Settles. The good Settles threw for 362 yards and 4 TDs but the bad Settles threw 5 INTs. The Outlaws defense and running game had his back though, as Wranglers QB Curtis Kim was sacked 13 times and threw 2 INTs while the running game saw 85 yards and a TD from Adam "Not Pacman" Jones and 75 yards with a TD from Steven McCurdy.

Memphis kept pace by blanking Denver 29-0 behind a defense that allowed the Gold just 57 total yards, forced 2 turnovers and had 5 sacks. The Memphis BCBC ran 45 times for 202 yards and a TD while Michael Larson caught 2 passes for 117 yards and 2 TDs.

Houston got by Tampa Bay 24-21 with a late FG by Earl Castro. The Gamblers had a 21-7 halftime lead thanks to 3 Dale Baber TD passes. Baber finished with 396 passing yards and Gus "Hightest" Gas caught 11 for 119 yards and 2 TDs. The 3rd quarter was a puntfest until Tampa Bay started a 9 play, 90 yard TD drive late 3rd/early 4th to cut the lead to 21-14. Houston was driving for a score when Baber threw an INT and the Gamblers wouldn't get the ball back until inside the 2 minute warning. That's because the Bandits went on a 15 play, 84 yard TD drive to tie the game at 21. Houston got the ball back, needing aboout a minute to kick the go ahead FG, then the Gamblers defense held and they escape with the win. James Aguirre ran for 120 yards and a TD for Tampa Bay.

Michigan beat Tampa Bay 30-17 after trailing 14-3 in the 1st qtr. Detroit started fast, getting a pair of Glenn Burns TD passes to take that early lead. The Panthers defense settled down, especially after Detroit opted for a FG on 4th and goal from the 1 to take a 17-10 lead, as the Wheels offense went flat afterwards. The Michigan BCBC ran for 152 yards and the Panthers scored 20 unanswered points for the victory.

New Jersey beat Portland 4-2 in a FG kicking contest, 12-6 in football score. The Generals defense have really been playing better as of late, as they are now a middle of the pack 18th ranked when they were near the bottom not too long ago. Nathan Explosion had 3 of the Generals 5 sacks, giving him 20 on the season. The Generals also intercepted 2 passes, allowed no 3rd down conversions (0/12) and just 193 total yards. New Jersey got 140 rushing yards from their duo of Vic Mackey and Terry Poulin and 4 FGs from Howie "Stump" Schwab.

I'd have to do some research but has a QB ever had more wins than TD passes? New Jersey is 7-3 while starting QB Kevin Via, who has taken every snap this season, has just 3 TD passes.

New Orleans beat Orlando 31-6 thanks to a 21 point 4th quarter. Orlando's offense moved the ball well early but had to settle for a couple of FGs, as they led 6-3 at the half. New Orleans took a 10-6 lead on what was almost a Willie Graham TD pass. James Peterson took the pass down to the 1 yard line where he fumbled the ball into the end zone, recovering it for a non TD pass TD. Willie Graham threw 2 legitimate TDs in the 4th qtr, sandwiching a 60 yard TD run by Timothy Simpson.

That's the 7th straight win for New Orleans as they keep the pressure on Birmingham to keep winning.

That's 8 games of 16 and I have to get ready for work in an hour. Good place to stop for now.

One quick thought I had looking at my team page. I better enjoy my 18th ranked defense while they are still 18th as my next game is against ranking wrecker, 10-0 Pittsburgh. We're going to give up yards, I'm just hoping for 8 sacks/turnovers. If we can get 8, we might have a chance. Even then, my offense needs to do a better job of scoring TDs.

Houston's defense continues to be offensive while Offensively we lost Randy Savage for at least a 3rd game while he does wrestling promos!

Who's Hot?

Pittsburgh (10 W)
Memphis (8 W)
New Orleans (7 W)
Michigan (5 W)
New Jersey (5 W)
Oklahoma (3 W)
New York (NY) Stars (3 W)

Who's Not?

San Antonio (7 L)
Tampa Bay (6 L)
Georgia (5 L)
Denver (4 L)
San Jose (3 L)
Florida (3 L)
Boston (3 L)

Top 5 Scoring

Birmingham 353
Philadelphia 351
Pittsburgh 338
Houston 331
Oklahoma 308

Least Points Allowed

Birmingham 85
Portland 90
Pittsburgh 104
New Orleans 112
Oklahoma 127

Least Points Scored

Denver 52
Boston 71
Detroit 85
San Antonio 96
Arizona 99

Most Points Allowed

Charlotte 318
Baltimore 251
Tampa Bay 244
Arizona 240
Denver 239

Let's get back to the games.

San Jose lost their 3rd game in a row today, but this one can't be blamed on 4th down failures as the SaberCats converted 4/7 today and the 3 failures resulted in zero points for Los Angeles. We all know Jacob Newman went off stat wise after Smirt said he sucked, including a near record 20 receptions today (241 yards and a TD). The record is 21, set back in 1981 by Ronald Boatman (Honolulu) against San Jose. Perhaps it's time for Smirt to come out and say his defense sucks to see if they start playing better.

Larry Henderson threw for 408 yards on 40/69 passing with 3 TDs and 2 INTs, and with a FG to start the 4th qtr, the SaberCats led 25-10. Myron Dustin then led 3 straight scoring drives for Los Angeles, 2 TDs and a FG for 16 unanswered points (a 2 point try failed, then they went for 1 after the 2nd TD) to take a 26-25 lead with 2:17 to play. Henderson and Newman would answer that with a 75 yard TD hookup on the next play from scrimmage but the 2 point try failed so San Jose led 31-26.

Los Angeles then went on a 13 play, 75 yard TD drive with Myron Dustin throwing his 4th TD of the game and throwing for the 2 point conversion to take a 34-31 lead with 25 seconds left. San Jose couldn't hit 1 more big play and the Express out score them in the 4th quarter 24-9 to steal a victory and tighten the Pacific division race.

Before I continue, I want to interject an opinion about real life football. I hate when people say "they scored too quick", meaning they left time on the clock for the other team to score. In some certain cases, I agree to a point but I think most of the time you should just score when you can. The defense gets paid too and if the offense dicks around too much trying to run clock, they may find themselves unable to score when they need to.

Southern California beat San Antonio 10-6 to even their record at 5-5 to move 1 game behind San Jose. This was a 3-3 game after 3 quarters then San Antonio took a 6-3 lead on a FG. John Barrios and the running game then went on an 8 play, 75 yard TD drive, with the Phillip Curry 4 yard TD run ending up as the game winner. The teams combined for 364 yards so there are no good stat lines to highlight.

Honolulu outlasted Oakland 27-24 to even their record at 5-5, 1 game behind San Jose. Oakland scored 3 TDs today, all on big plays with a 75 yard run and passes of 61 and 63 yards. That's 199 yards on 3 plays, however their other 46 plays gained just 63 yards. That lack of consistent offense hurt the Invaders as Honolulu punter Bernardo Overholt pinned Oakland inside the 20 5 times, with 4 drives starting inside their 10. The Hawaiians took advantage of a couple possessions starting around midfield for a couple of TDs. Oakland took a 10-0 lead early, and led 17-6 at the half. Honolulu then scored 21 unanswered points to take a 27-17 lead before Oakland made it close in the final 2 minutes with a TD. The onside kick failed though, allowing Honolulu to kill the clock.

Shreveport broke their 6 game losing streak with a 16-10 win over Georgia. The Steamer defense had 4 sacks and forced 3 turnovers, keeping the game close until the offense scored on 3 straight drives late 3rd/early 4th qtr.

Cleveland beat Chicago 22-6 to keep pace with Michigan in the Midwest. The Thunderbolts got 151 rushing yards and a TD from Felix Vaughn, 5 Carlos Reed FGs, and 3 INTs from the defense.

Jacksonville beat Florida 23-6 behind a defense that made life rough for Florida QB Nicholas Meis. The Bulls sacked Meis 3 times and allowed just 6/19 passes for 44 yards and an INT.

New York beat Charlotte 24-9 despite being out gained by the Hornets. It wasn't a big disparity but Charlotte had 323 yards to 259 for New York, but the Stars were much better in the red zone, scoring 17 points from their 3 chances while the Hornets settled for 3 FGs from their red zone trips. Stars QB Jamie Orman completed 30/33 with 2 TDs as they continue their playoff push.

Philadelphia got back on track, beating Boston 34-7. QB Joel Jasso completed 28/48, 331 yards and 2 TDs, with 9 different players catching a pass. A trio of ball carriers ran 24 times for 225 yards and 2 TDs from Frederick Martin. Martin led the BCBC with 96 yards, Alfredo Montoya had 94 and Mitchell Allen had 35 yards on just 2 carries. The defense held Boston to 164 yards of offense.

I'm pretty sure that's it for the games. I'm hoping to get to the stats this evening but we'll see what the day has in store for me.

I don't work Thursdays, and some days off are free and easy while others are busy. Today was a busy one. Got 4 hours sleep because I had a Dr. appt, just a routine checkup. Grass was a little tall, rain was coming and it wasn't too humid, so I cut the grass. Took a shower, started some laundry, and my brother stopped by for a visit.

Then I wanted to get all game planning/midweek stuff done except this league, along with my other online stuff before I started up again here. Finally done, so here we go...

I'll start with QBR. Nobody knows how to calculate it unless you google it, but basically it measures a QB's efficiency. It appears to be a pretty good measure of a team's performance too. I first looked at the standings and counted 14 teams over .500, which is 6-4 or better. Then I looked at the top 14 QBs by QBR and noticed 12 of the top 14 play for teams with at least 6 wins. The 2 QB in the top 14 who don't play for a 6 win teams play for teams who are 5-5.

Russell Gall (Birmingham) is the only one over 100, with a QBR of 112.81. John Barrios (Southern California) is second (99.03) and Brian White (Pittsburgh) is third (98.89).

Portland and New Jersey are the 2 teams over .500 whose QBs are not in the top 14 of QBR.

San Jose QB Larry Henderson is #1 in pass attempts, completions, and yards (390/607...3,801 yards).

Henderson is still the most sacked QB in the league, although he has some company now in Arizona QB Curtis Kim. They have been sacked 53 times apiece, 4 more than Georgia's Adam Patrick.

Jamie Orman (New York) has a slight lead in completion percentage (70.1% to 70.0%) over John Barrios (Southern California). Carl Langlois (Cleveland) is third at 68.3%.

Pittsburgh's Brian White now has the passing TD lead with 30. Raymond Settles (Oklahoma) and Russell Gall have 29 each while Dale Baber (Houston) has 28.

Russell Gall has an incredible 29:4 TD:INT ratio.

We'll likely have our first 1,000 yard rusher after tonight's games unless New Jersey can stop Pittsburgh's Matthew Goebel. Goebel currently has 944 yards and 8 TDs, both league leading totals. Graham Folks is second with 883 yards and should also break 1,000 this week or next. Everyone else needs a 200-1,000 yard rushing game tonight to join them.

Larry Stafford of Michigan averages 5.9 yards per carry (104-617), the highest YPC of any ball carrier with at least 100 carries. As if Russell Gall hasn't done enough, he is the overall leader, averaging 25 yards per carry on 3 for 75 rushing.

Randy Savage (Houston) doesn't qualify for YPC (89 carries) but he would be just behind Stafford otherwise. Savage does have the longest run from scrimmage this season, 83 yards.

Jacob Newman (San Jose) already has 132 receptions on the season, tied for 13th all time. He is on pace for 211 receptions...the record is 182, second is 150. Newman had 20 catches last game so it's not out of the question Newman moves all the way to 2nd place tonight, if he plays. Newman is questionable with an ankle injury.

Patrick Howard (Pittsburgh) looked like he was going to run away with the receiving yards crown but Newman is now within 90 yards (1,526 to 1,436). Howard also leads the league with 15 TD receptions, ahead of Birmingham's Arnold Griego (11) and New Orleans' Benjamin Jones (10).

Howard's average yards per catch of 21.8 is the highest in the league among players with 12 catches or more.

We have a tie for longest reception, and if this were real life, we could measure fractions too, but we don't have the luxury. Someone will just have to break a 97+ yard TD, otherwise Lex Luger (Houston) and Richard Neufield (Los Angeles) will have to settle for being tied at 96.

Terrance Shull (New York) returned a kickoff 109 yards against Charlotte, his 2nd TD return of the season. That ties him with Nathaniel Gongora of Chicago for the league lead.

Not much news on the kicking front. Jonathan Ruch (Michigan) and Howie "Stump" Schwab lead with 27 FGs each with John Everheart (Memphis) next with 26. Daniel Pitts (Florida) did not make any 50+ yard FGs this week but the record of 17 remains in reach.

I hadn't checked XP in awhile but Roger Love (Orlando) finally has some company on the multiple missed XP list. Love missed several early in the season and after 10 games, he is 29/34. He's missed more XP, 5, than FGs (3) but his XP percentage is slightly higher. Samuel Diaz of Oklahoma (32/34) and Aaron David of Portland (14/16) have missed 2 each.

Lazaro Mason (Baltimore) still leads in tackles and missed tackles. His 106 tackles is 26 higher than #2 on the list, and his missed tackles have stabilized as he's got a few players starting to catch up. He's missed 29, 3 more than the 26 missed by Houston's Rudolph Maxwell.

There are 6 players "across the league" that have missed 20 or more tackles. Across the league is in parenthesis because 5 of those 6 come from 2 teams. Mason has a teammate on the list while the defending champs Houston have 3 on the list. I hope they don't let those 3 around the trophy case at Gamblers HQ.

12 players have double digit sacks, most with 10 or 11. Nathan Explosion (New Jersey) leads the league with 20, well ahead of Pittsburgh's Lee Kelley (13). Walter Bryant of New Orleans leads with 19 hurries, and combined with his 12 sacks, those 31 QB sacks/hurries is 2nd in the league behind Explosion, who has 12 hurries to go with his 20 sacks.

I didn't mention Lazaro Mason's teammate with over 20 missed tackles yet because I also noticed Joshua Lemmon has 8 INTs to go with 22 missed tackles. That ties him with Birmingham's Brian Henry for the league INT lead.

Willie Gamble of Cleveland had the lowest catch allowed percentage of players on page 1 of the INT list, which includes everyone with 3 or more INTs plus one player with 2. Gamble allows 29.2%, slightly better than Jason Winborne of San Jose (29.8%).

We have a 3 way race for most total yards, with Patrick Howard (Pittsburgh) leading Jacob Newman (San Jose) 1,526 to 1,482. Michigan's Charles Keller is third with 1,450.

Four players have scored at least 1 TD a game, with Patrick Howard's 15 leading the league. Houston's Randy Savage has 12 while Arnold Griego (Birmingham) and Benjamin Jones (New Orleans) are tied with 11 each.

I was planning on taking a look at some team stats but it's getting close to game time, so I'll stop here. Good luck to everyone tonight, except Pittsburgh, who clearly doesn't need it.