SPOILER ALERT!!! I'm about to write about Week 11 that just happened an hour ago so if you don't want your game result spoiled, stop reading. I normally try and wait until the next afternoon to give everyone a chance to digest their own game but for today, it works best for me to do this now.
There were just two one score games this week so I may not write all that much about any game. Nine games were decided by 20 points or more.
We have some playoff spots clinched with a possibility of 3 divisions being clinched next week. New Orleans and Oklahoma have clinched at least a playoff berth and the champs join San Jose and Pittsburgh that could possibly clinch their divisions Week 12.
We also had four teams eliminated from the postseason: Detroit, Florida, Charlotte, and AI Washington.
Kenneth Anderson threw for 301 yards and 2 TDs to lead New Orleans to a 27-0 win over Baltimore. Five ball carriers combined for 129 yards and a TD while Michael Ferrell caught 13 for 133 yards and a TD. The VooDoo did lose the turnover battle 2-0 as Anderson threw a couple of picks but the New Orleans defense was awesome today, allowing 64 total yards, getting 5 sacks and keeping the Stars from converting any of their 11 3rd downs. New Orleans is 11-0 now but they have some tough games remaining, including Oklahoma, San Antonio, and Birmingham.
Philadelphia had a 30-28 comeback victory over Tampa Bay to improve to 10-1. Joel Jasso didn't have a very good game, completing less than half of his passes, going 24/50, 198 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, and 4 sacks. One of those INTs was returned 45 yards for a TD by Morris Vargas, giving Tampa Bay a 14-10 lead. Later in the 2nd qtr, Curtis Torres threw the 2nd of his 3 TD passes to give the Bandits a 21-10 lead. Philadelphia would get a FG at the end of the half to start a 20-0 run. Frederick Martin would end that run with a 69 yard TD run early in the 4th and the XP gave the Bell a 30-21 lead. Martin ended the day rushing for 154 yards and 2 TDs. Curtis Torres led a late 96 yard TD drive to get the Bandits within 2 but the onside kick failed and Philadelphia ran out the clock.
Oklahoma bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 32-3 win over Shreveport. Raymond Settles threw for 329 yards and 3 TDs, Domenic Winstead caught 10 for 172 yards and a TD, and Raymond Russo ran for 166 yards.
What's happening in Jacksonville? The Bulls started out 9-0 before losing to New Orleans last week but no big deal because so far everyone has lost to them. Bulls fans and players had to figure a bounce back was in order against Boston, but perhaps a better question is what's happening in Boston? The Breakers were dreadful offensively through 7 games, scoring a total of 41 points during a 1-6 start. Since then, they've gone 3-1, scoring 28, 7, 34, and 36 today against Jacksonville in a 36-7 win.
Jacksonville helped the cause with 4 turnovers, 2 INTs and 2 lost fumbles, but the defense allowed 499 yards to the Breakers offense. The Boston BCBC ran for 143 yards and a TD while Leroy Payne completed 14/23, 366 yards and 2 TDs. Timothy Painter caught 4 for 182 yards and a TD. In addition to forcing 4 turnovers, the Boston defense had 4 sacks and held the Bulls to 1/14 on 3rd down.
San Jose beat Los Angeles 50-6 for their second straight lopsided win. This looks like a typical San Jose box score in that Larry Henderson completed 49/84, 552 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs, and 4 sacks. Lee Ramos and Brian Smith both had huge receiving games, catching 3 TDs each. Ramos finished with 11 catches and 179 yards while Smith had 13 and 139. The SaberCats even ran for 116 yards and a TD, including a 28 yard run by Henderson and of course there were 4th down tries (3/7). Coincidentally, the defense had their second straight dominating performance, holding the Express to 54 total yards with 8 sacks, 2 INTs and holding L.A. to 1/13 on 3rd down.
So far, I've been going in order of W-L record and after today, Cleveland and San Antonio are both 9-2. The Gunslingers rode their defense and Glenn Graham today as they shut out the Midwest leading Thunderbolts 27-0. Graham had a combined 220 yards and 2 TDs, 159 and both scores coming on the ground. Defensively they held Cleveland to 122 total yards and 2/14 on 3rd down.
Portland maintains their West division lead with a 45-31 win over Arizona. The Storm broke open a close 14-10 lead with 21 unanswered 2nd qtr points and survived some big plays by Arizona with some big defensive plays. After falling behind 35-10, the Wranglers had to throw and Keith Carter had highs and lows. Carter completed just 16/43 but those 16 completions covered 348 yards with 3 TDs. Aside from the lows of all the incomplete passes were 2 INTs and 4 sacks, two of which went for safeties. George Schacht threw for 392 yards, 4 TDs and an INT with both Patrick Howard and Lonnie Johnson getting 109 yards receiving. Thomas Frank chipped in 99 rushing yards and a TD as the Storm improve to 7-4.
Pittsburgh won their 3rd straight with a 28-7 win over AI Washington. The Federals got on the board first with a Pick Six by David Pino but the Washington offense only had 112 yards on the day, punting 14 times. Brian White would throw another INT later but he also threw for 249 yards and 2 TDs with support from the running game as Christopher Goins had 136 yards and a TD while Kenneth Allen had 81 and a TD.
Michigan beat Chicago 24-3 to improve to 8-3 as the Panthers look forward to their Week 12 game against Cleveland. Willie Reddish threw for 3 TDs, 2 to Alvin Eckenrode while Panthers ball carriers combined for 165 yards. Brendan Tullis was the leading rusher and receiver for Michigan, running for 69 and catching 5 for 94 and a TD.
Memphis currently holds the #7 seed and today they crushed Houston 37-3. Memphis runners combined for 171 yards and 2 TDs, Glenn Burns threw for 293 yards and 2 TDs, and the defense intercepted Dale Baber 3 times. This loss certainly damages Houston's playoff chances as they are 2 games behind with games against New Orleans and Oklahoma still on the schedule. If they do in fact stay home in January, it would break a string of 27 post seasons in a row for Houston with 9 championships. Gotta respect a run like that in this league with the level of competition we've had.
Orlando won their 6th game in a row, shutting out Birmingham today 13-0. Dwayne Byrd did not have a good game, completing just 13/36, 132 yards but he wasn't sacked and he did not turn the ball over. The Renegades shut down the Stallions running game while Thomas Gilbert ran for 91 of the 111 yards Orlando had. Both teams are 7-4 and look to be headed for the playoffs as wildcard teams.
New York is poised to join Orlando and Birmingham as wildcards as they all have a 2 game lead on New Jersey and Tampa Bay. The Bandits have their next 3 games against current playoff teams in Oakland, Portland, and New York while the Generals have their next 4 against current playoff teams, Philadelphia, Orlando, Philadelphia again and Jacksonville. I can't speak for Tampa but I feel like it's a matter of time before New Jersey sees the dreaded tine e next to their place in the standings.
The (NY) Stars did play a game, beating Southern California 30-10 behind 3 Jamie Orman TD passes. Sleepy Sandmann ran for 77 yards and James Luna 61 as the Stars jumped out to a 17-0 lead and maintaining at least a 10 point lead the rest of the way.
Oakland beat Honolulu 27-14 in a battle of 5-5 teams. The win makes the Invaders 6-5, tied with Memphis for the #7 seed. Domingo Robinson threw for 260 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Oakland offense. Defensively they intercepted 2 passes and had a sack, although the special teams gave up a 109 yard kickoff return.
Denver won again thanks to turnovers, winning 22-19 over Detroit for their 2nd straight win. Denver intercepted Mark Lott 5 times and had 4 sacks yet the Gold found themselves trailing 19-15 inside the 2 minute warning. Todd Mack had just kicked a 37 yard FG for the Wheels when his kickoff was returned 107 yards for the go ahead TD by Kevin Hillman. The Denver defense kept Detroit on their own side of the 50 on the final drive until the clock hit zero.
Georgia beat Charlotte 27-3 behind their defense, which forced 5 turnovers (4 INTs) and had 8 sacks. Georgia runners only had 70 yards but they had 2 TDs to go with an Adam Patrick TD pass as the Force break a 5 game losing streak.
New Jersey beat Florida 16-3, keeping their playoff hopes alive for now. Not much to talk about other than New Jersey scored the game's lone TD on a short field following a lost Florida fumble. Other than that fumble, the Blazers had success running the ball as John Sanchez and Russell Williams combined for 145 yards. Neither passing did much, combining for 179 yards but Kevin Via did throw a TD pass. Howie "Stump" Schwab made 3 FGs from 50+ yards for New Jersey while Florida kicker Clyde Averill made just 1/3 from all distances.