Week 1 kicked off tonight so it's time for some game recaps and random observations. Speaking of random observations, I could have used some last night. A customer had a hand tiller on their walkway and I didn't see it at 2 am. I got it caught between my feet while walking and I tripped, landing with my full body weight on my left knee, which landed on concrete. Nothing is broken but my knee is quite sore, which made it hard to sleep. I've been icing it and soaking in epsom salt baths. I'm feeling better but still tired and sore so I'm not feeling enthusiasm for this write up. I apologize in advance.

Also I'd like everyone to keep in mind that I don't mean anything personal in these write ups. I try to stick to the facts while adding some adjectives as an outside observer to your game. If I say anything negative, it's about your team's performance, not you personally. I'd like to think I'm most negative toward my own team in these write ups and I hope it comes across that way to you all.

One small suggestion I may make in the forums is to have the league champ open the season at home. Can it be that difficult to code that?

Smirt's Champion San Jose SaberCats were disrespected once again. Smirt often talks in the forums about JDB and/or the game engine disrespecting him, but this time the disrespect came from the schedule makers. The SaberCats were forced to open the season on the road against a proud Memphis franchise coming off a down 2010 season.

This was a wild game with both teams gaining over 500 yards of offense and combining for 10 TDs. Half of the TDs covered 70 yards or more and there was also a pair of TDs between 60-69 yards so this game had many big plays. I'm not going to go through all of them because it will take too long.

San Jose had control of the first half, having leads of 16-3 and 24-10 before going to halftime leading 33-20. Memphis scored 3 times in the 3rd qtr, 2 FGs and a TD to tie the game at 33 after 3. Memphis took a 40-33 lead in the 4th before San Jose matched that TD to pull within 40-39. The 2 point try failed and Memphis closed the scoring with 10 unanswered points to win 50-39.

As you might expect, a game with 89 points and over 1000 yards produced several impressive stat lines. For the champs, Myron Dustin was 35/50, 509 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs and 6 sacks taken. The SaberCats had three 100 yard receivers: Alfredo Montoya (10-148-2), Lynn McLaurin (13-142), and Perry Nelson (6-108-1). For Memphis, Gary Westerfield completed 17/26, 316 yards and 2 TDs with 0 INTs or sacks taken. Last season Westerfield had a 20/23 TD/INT ratio so it's a good sign he had no turnovers today. William Beasley caught 8 for 131 and a TD while Gary Vera caught 4 for 107 and a TD. Randy Schmidt only carried 8 times but he had 2 scores and 135 yards on the ground while workhorse back George Hoffman had 92 yards and a TD on 24 carries.

For Memphis' sake it's a good thing they won since the rest of their division of death also won. It's no surprise the Southwest went 4-0 Week 1 as they have been dominating outside of division play for several seasons now.

Houston had the toughest test of the remaining Southwest teams as they welcomed Midwest champs Michigan to town. Michigan QB Willie Reddish completed 34/40 for 300 yards but the Panthers only managed 13 points for the game. The Panthers defense made life tough for the Gamblers passing game, holding Dale Baber to a 17/37, 246 yard game, sacking him 6 times and intercepting him twice. The game was tied 13 all after 3 but Baber's 2nd TD pass of the game gave Houston the lead 2 plays into the 4th. The Houston defense did it's job and the Gamblers offense added an insurance TD late for a 27-13 win that was closer than the score indicates.

I'll get to the other half of the Southwest shortly but first, let's check in on the National Conference Champion Pittsburgh Maulers. Much like the team they lost the World Bowl to, San Jose, they had to go on the road to face a proud franchise coming off a down 2010 season. Pittsburgh also lost just like San Jose, falling to Orlando 16-14. The Renegades went with a run heavy approach, getting 115 yards from Thomas Gilbert and 91 yards with a TD from rookie Giuseppe Jones. Pittsburgh outgained Orlando 364-249 but it didn't translate to the scoreboard.

The New Orleans VooDoo dominated the USFL for nearly 3 years before their hopes for a threepeat were derailed in last years playoffs. The Washington Federals went from worst in 2009 to a top contender in 2010, and a game against the VooDoo would be a good measuring stick for their progress.

Once the game was over, the Federals sure hope that wasn't a trend as New Orleans scored 28 unanswered points in the first half after spotting Washington a 7-0 lead. The second half didn't go as well offensively but New Orleans went on to win the game 42-10. James Wright completed 33/47 for 390 yards and 4 TDs while Gerald Waldon had a combined 150 yards and a TD to lead the VooDoo offense.

The Portland Storm had owned the West for 13 seasons in a row and for most of the last 21 seasons but in 2010, the Oakland Invaders broke the stranglehold, sweeping Portland and taking the division. The schedule makers gave the Storm an early chance for revenge. Portland's defense pitched a shutout while new QB Curtis Torres threw for 258 yards and 2 TDs in his Storm debut. Frank Gonzalez caught 6 for 146 yards and a TD to lead the skill players.

San Antonio started the season strong with a 44-7 win over Southern California. George Warner threw for 452 yards and 4 TDs while Glenn Graham had a double triple with a pair of TDs. Graham ran for 111 yards and a TD on 17 carries while catching 7 for 116 and a TD. It wasn't all Graham today as Daniel Cruz caught 13 for 177 yards and a TD while James Douglas caught 5 for 131 and a TD. Defensively they held the Sun to 152 total yards with 6 sacks and 2 INTs.

A new era began in Oklahoma today as Robert North takes over at QB for the retired Raymond Settles. North completed 21/34, 265 yards and 2 TDs while the Outlaws defense gave up some yards on the ground but they held the slim lead until the 4th, when the Oklahoma offense added some insurance points in a 20-7 win over New York.

New Jersey was embarrassed in their home opener against Philadelphia, losing 22-0, gaining 60 total yards for the game. The Generals defense held the Bell to FGs through 3 qtrs before they tired out in the 4th, allowing a pair of TDs. Jason Wharton caught 9 for 187 yards and a TD and if we could change the names of veterans, I would nominate Generals Killer or New Jersey's Daddy because Wharton owns us. Philadelphia did allow 7 sacks and lost the turnover battle 2-0 but the Generals couldn't move the ball on the ground or through the air.

Los Angeles upset Birmingham 26-9 today as Dale Davis threw for 2 TD passes and the Express defense had 4 turnovers. Last season, Los Angeles finished 1-14-1 while Birmingham went 11-5, so this was an unexpected result. I'd talk about some stats but nobody had a 100 yard rush or receiving game and neither QB topped 200 yards.

Honolulu beat Chicago 34-6 behind 248 yards and 3 TDs from QB Victor Russell. The running game produced 161 yards and a TD while the Hawaiians defense allowed 169 total yards and 2 FGs.

Jacksonville beat Charlotte 17-3 in a defensive game that saw just 384 yards. The Hornets took a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the first half before William Barron threw a pair of 3rd qtr TD passes for a 14-3 lead. Jacksonville added a late FG for the final margin.

Detroit beat Florida 20-6 in another ugly box score game. Matthew Reese ran for 79 yards and a score while rookie QB David Garrison threw for 79 yards and a TD to lead the Wheels. Detroit put it's trust on their defense and they responded with 7 sacks, 2 INTs, and a fumble recovery.

Baltimore beat Arizona 23-6 despite no offensive TDs. The Stars had 323 offensive yards but had to settle for 3 FGs. Baltimore's TDs came on a 106 yard Rodger Brown kickoff return and a Tyrell Ulmer pick six.

Shreveport rode their defense and running game to a 17-0 win over Boston. The Steamer held the Breakers to 60 total yards, intercepting a pass and sacking Leroy Payne 5 times, twice for safeties. David Sandoval and Frederick Martin both ran the ball 21 times with Sandoval gaining 149 and Martin 103.

Denver beat Cleveland 20-3 thanks to Joshua Rudolph and Kevin Hillman plus a solid defense. Rudolph completed 30/37, 277 yards and a TD while Hillman ran for 153 yards and a TD. The Gold defense forced no turnovers but they also only allowed 127 total yards on 20 minutes of possession.

Tampa Bay beat Georgia 17-7. it was scoreless for much of the first half until Tampa doubled up. The Bandits had a 79 yard TD drive at the end of the first half as David Fields threw a TD pass then they took the 3rd qtr kickoff and drove for another TD. Carl Gillard scored that TD on a 3 yard run and he finished with 127 on the day. Georgia got a TD inside 3 minutes to play to cut the lead to 14-7 but the onside kick failed, leading to a Bandits FG.

To piggy back here off what Greg said about the defending Champs starting at home....I fully agree!!!

I commented on it in the XFL where our defending Champs starting the season with 3 straight road games before finally getting a home game in week 4 to raise their Championship banner then it was back on the road for 3 more games so 6 of the first 7 games were on the road.

That would never ever happen in the NFL even for the worst team in the league let alone the defending Champs!!!!

I went ahead and brought it up. I imagine frank will have some smart *** comment but idc.

Not to offend you, commish, but for week 1 I am missing the game PIT @ ORL ;-)

Ioan my friend there bit about Pittsburgh and Orlando in one of bigger paragraphs at top of article

What do you mean you are missing the game?

If you mean the write up, it's there...I copied this from above

I'll get to the other half of the Southwest shortly but first, let's check in on the National Conference Champion Pittsburgh Maulers. Much like the team they lost the World Bowl to, San Jose, they had to go on the road to face a proud franchise coming off a down 2010 season. Pittsburgh also lost just like San Jose, falling to Orlando 16-14. The Renegades went with a run heavy approach, getting 115 yards from Thomas Gilbert and 91 yards with a TD from rookie Giuseppe Jones. Pittsburgh outgained Orlando 364-249 but it didn't translate to the scoreboard.

Sorry. I missed it. Just getting older ;-)

I know all about getting older. Also I wrote in a different style as I usually lead with the final score and go from there. This time was more like just typing my thoughts in the order they popped in my head until toward the end when I was just trying to finish.

Week 2 is finished and I can't remember a season when so many previous playoff teams started off so badly. Our defending champions San Jose have lost again, starting off the season 0-2, but at least they have that shiny trophy to fall back on. The team they beat in World Bowl XXXVII, Pittsburgh, is also 0-2 to begin the season, along with wildcards Birmingham and New Jersey.

Portland, Orlando, and Shreveport are on the opposite end of the spectrum, starting out 2-0 after missing out on last year's playoffs. All told, we have 9 teams 2-0, 9 teams 0-2 and 14 teams at 1-1. It's early, so plenty of time to change your fortunes for better or worse.

Oakland beat San Jose 18-14 and the box score looks like a typical San Jose loss. The SaberCats outgained the Invaders 462-279 and lost the turnover battle 1-0. San Jose was 0/6 on 4th down as well. Box scores can be deceiving though as Oakland only started 2 drives in San Jose territory, getting 3 points out of it on 1/2 FGs. The Invaders did have a safety on one of their 4 sacks but their TD drives covered 82 and 75 yards.

Myron Dustin threw for 394 yards and 2 TDs while Lynn McLaurin caught 15 for 154 and a score for San Jose. Oakland QB Domingo Robinson threw 2 TDs as well but the Invaders spread the ball around so there were no other big stat lines.

While the failed 4th downs only directly led to 3 Oakland points, how many points did San Jose leave on the field by not kicking FGs? Had they kicked and made at least 1 FG previously, they could have kicked a game winning FG at the end instead of needing to go for a TD. These things are bound to happen from time to time when you push the envelope as often as Smirt does.

Portland got 28 the hard way in a 28-7 win over Pittsburgh. The Maulers started out hot, getting a TD on their opening drive and getting a FG try on the next. That kick missed though and the Maulers offense stopped being effective until their 4th qtr implosion. Portland was moving the ball decently but had to settle for some FGs as they led 9-7 headed to the 4th qtr. The Storm extended the lead to 12-7 early in the 4th with a FG before starting the next 4 drives in Pittsburgh territory. The Maulers 4th qtr drives ended with an INT, INT, lost fumble, downs, and a 6 second end of game drive. Those short fields allowed Portland to pour it on in the 4th, taking a 9-7 lead and turning it into a 28-7 win.

San Antonio beat New Jersey 24-6 and this just in...Glenn Graham is a stud. Graham had a double triple Week 1 and was 1 rushing yard short of doing it again as he ran for 99 yards and a TD while catching 9 for 125 yards and 2 more TDs. New Jersey had no answer for Graham or their struggling offense. Eric Hansen produced 239 passing yards but with 0 TDs and 2 INTs and got little help from the running game.

Shreveport beat Birmingham 19-13 thanks to 4 Stallions turnovers. Shreveport only had 164 total yards but those 4 turnovers produced short fields to help the Steamer score all but 3 of their points. Birmingham QB Russell Gall had a bad game, completing just 12/39 for 91 yards and an INT along with a lost fumble. Gary May ran for 114 yards but he also lost a fumble as the Stallions lost 3 fumbles in all. This game wasn't particularly a nail biter as Shreveport led 19-6 until Barry Stringfellow's kickoff return TD inside the 2 minute warning, but the onside kick failed and there was no drama.

Orlando beat Detroit 22-0 in an ugly game if you like passing as both QBs stunk. I'll get to that shortly but Orlando rookie RB Giuseppe Jones led the Renegades today with 171 rushing yards and a TD. The 18th overall pick now has 262 rushing yards through 2 games, although he's done less than nothing catching the ball (2 for minus 4 yards). Seems like a good transition to the bad QB play. Jones' 171 yards helped mask Michael Smith completing 7/26 for 35 yards and an INT while Detroit's Curtis Kim had no running game to help mask his 14/36, 81 yard 1 INT passing day. Each team's OL was the difference in this game as evidenced by the running disparity (299-28 rush yards) and sacks allowed as Kim was sacked 10 times while Smith went untouched.

Philadelphia had a 16-7 come from behind win over Oklahoma in a defensive struggle today. Oklahoma led 7-3 heading to the 4th and still led 7-6 before Robert North threw 2 INTs to set up the Bell in Outlaws territory, leading to 10 points and the win. John Dean made all 3 of his FG tries.

Houston beat Memphis 23-10 in a Southwest showdown. Dale Baber found Nick Mitchell for a 75 yard TD on the game's first play but he also threw 3 INTs by the early 3rd qtr. Memphis took that 3rd INT and drove for the tying TD. On the ensuing drive Snake Roberts broke free for a 64 yard TD run to give Houston the lead for good. Randy Savage had 178 combined yards, 128 on the ground.

Jacksonville beat Tampa Bay 37-20 thanks to a balanced run game. All told the Bulls ran 43 times for 209 yards and 3 TDs with their top 3 rushers gaining 65, 64, and 64 yards respectively. Raymundo Gunn ran for 2 TDs. Tampa Bay ran well too, but it was mostly Carl Gillard, who had 150 yards and a TD.

New Orleans held Georgia to 59 total yards in an 18-3 win. The VooDoo defense had 4 sacks, one for a safety but forced no turnovers. James Wright threw 2 INTs for New Orleans but they obviously were not costly today. New Orleans had a pair of 100 yard receivers as Wright did throw for 301 yards when he found his own team. David Ellison caught 8 for 135 while Nicholas Reyes caught 10 for 105.

Honolulu beat Los Angeles 20-6 thanks to an efficient game from Victor Russell and a stifling defense that allowed 140 yards. Russell completed 22/28 for 166 yards and a TD while the RBBC had 199 yards and a TD. James Shick led the way with 90 yards, adding 56 as a receiver.

Michigan pretty much did what it wanted in a 33-3 win over Arizona. Greg Reed ran for 91 yards to lead a committee that combined for 218 yards on 51 carries. Willie Reddish completed 22/28, 225 yards and 3 TDs. Defensively they allowed 57 total yards and had 3 sacks and an INT.

Washington crushed Baltimore 53-6, allowing just 84 yards with 5 sacks and 2 INTs, one returned for a TD. Offensively Michael Erickson overcame 2 INTs by completing 21/29 for 329 yards and 3 TDs. James Ford caught 1 of those TDs among his 4 for 27 yards but on the ground he was a monster, gaining 162 yards and 2 TDs on 30 carries. Jacob Hazlett caught 10 for 191 yards and a TD.

Charlotte beat Florida 9-3 in a FG kicking contest. Keith Carter completed 16/17 for 106 yards, which isn't much but he made no mistakes other than taking one sack. Florida ran the ball better and Thomas Gonzales caught 9 for 142 yards, but the Blazers had 2 turnovers and 2 missed FGs.

Chicago beat Cleveland 20-16 with Marco Anderson leading the Blitz offense with 139 rushing yards. Douglas Lee threw 2 TDs to Mark Contreras, who made the most of his 2 catches for 2 yards.Defensively they held Cleveland to 3 FGs, allowing the TD on special teams when Craig Kirk took a kickoff 103 yards.

Southern California beat Denver 27-7 behind 231 yards and a TD from John Berrios along with 102 combined yards from Philip Curry. Denver moved the ball as well as the Sun, losing the yardage battle by 6 yards but they took 3 sacks while getting just 1 on defense and they suffered 2 turnovers while generating none on defense. Sun kicker Raymond Evenson made all 4 FG attempts.

New York beat Boston 20-0 as the Stars running game did the heavy lifting while QB Jamie Orman got the glory with 2 TD passes. Orman only threw for 129 yards, not much more than the running yards of Sleepy Sandmann (14-120) and James Luna (14-111). Defensively New York allowed 253 yards but 71 came on the final drive of the game and the Breakers missed a FG on their only scoring chance previously.

We're 3 weeks in now, time sure flies. We lost 3 undefeated teams this week and also had 3 teams get their first win. That leaves 6 teams 3-0 and 6 teams 0-3. The remaining undefeated teams are Portland, San Antonio, Houston, Orlando, New Orleans and Shreveport while the teams searching for their first win are San Jose, Arizona, Cleveland, Florida, Georgia, and Boston.

I want to preface my comments about San Jose by saying I am not celebrating their start to the season. I am simply stating things I see looking at stats, box scores, and game logs. I'd like to see everyone succeed but that's impossible when every game has a winner and loser. You already know this Smirt, but obviously an 0-3 start in a difficult league doesn't put a damper on your game planning abilities.

That being said, from the outside looking in it's the defense's fault. San Jose is 27th in total defense, which is uncharacteristic. Smirt is known as an offensive owner as he usually has the top passing game or close to it. That hasn't changed as they have the #3 offense but what is often overlooked is Smirt teams usually have strong defenses too. The last 5 years San Jose's defense has ranked 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 5th.

I hate the phrase must win, especially in Week 4 but San Jose has a huge game coming up against Honolulu. If the SaberCats win, they tighten the division and if they lose they'll be in a big division hole.

Honolulu currently leads the Pacific with Southern California and Los Angeles sandwiched in between in 2nd and 3rd place.

Portland and Oakland are again battling for the West while Denver and Arizona hope their fortunes turn around.

Southwest...kicking *** and taking names as usual. All 4 teams are either 3-0 or 2-1, gonna be a dogfight until the end.

Detroit is the surprise early leader of the Midwest, tied with Chicago at the top. Michigan is off to a tough start but still in the mix while Cleveland has been in a slide since last season.

Orlando looks like a team that's ready to get back to the playoffs after a 1 year hiatus. The Renegades are 3-0 but will have to hold off Jacksonville to win the division. Tampa Bay sits in 3rd and is a team I don't have a good read on yet. Florida has struggled so far.

No surprise New Orleans is 3-0 given their recent success the last few seasons but Shreveport at 3-0 is a surprise. The Steamer often struggle to score points but so far, their opponents have struggled more. This division goes through Bourbon Street and Shreveport will likely need to beat the VooDoo at least once to steal the division. If they can beat Birmingham again this week, they'll be in a nice position. Speaking of Birmingham, they finally got their first win and need to stack more W's if they want to play in January. Georgia is 0-3 with just 16 points scored total, lowest in the league.

The whole Atlantic is within 1 game with Washington and Charlotte tied at 2-1. Washington got crushed by New Orleans Week 1 but responded by crushing their next 2 opponents by a combined score of 115-15. Charlotte has just the 28th ranked offense but a 10th ranked defense keeps them in games. Pittsburgh won the conference last season but just won their first game of this season to improve to 1-2. Baltimore is also 1-2 and needs to improve their 30th ranked offense.

Philadelphia is the class of the East and they lead with a 2-1 record. New York and New Jersey are 1-2 but the Generals are garbage. New York's ranks are 16th offense and 13th defense while New Jersey is 24th and 23rd. The Generals already have been shutout by the Bell and at this point I'm just hoping for 8-8. The New York Stars haven't played Philadelphia yet and if anyone threatens the Bell for 1st place, it will most likely be New York. Boston is struggling at 0-3.

I didn't intend to type this much without doing game recaps so I'll do those in a separate post. Now we'll look at some stats.

James Wright of New Orleans and Myron Dustin of San Jose are the top 2 in passing yards and the only 2 over 1000 yards.

Myron Dustin is 2nd with 14 sacks taken. Nicholas Meis of Florida leads with twice that number. 28 sacks taken in just 3 games.

TD and INT leaders have multiple players tied.

I had to go back to 2006 to find our last 1,600 yard rusher (Matthew Goebel, Pittsburgh 1,646). I bring that up because we currently have 4 with at least 100 yards per game. Washington's James Ford leads the way with a whopping 482 yards, well ahead of Carl Gillard's (Tampa Bay) 364. Orlando rookie Giuseppe Jones has 306 yards and Memphis' George Hoffman has 301.

James Ford has 5 rushing TDs.

Jason Wharton, Philadelphia, has 377 receiving yards to lead the league. Lynn McLaurin leads with 33 receptions while 3 players are tied with 3 TD receptions each.

Aaron David, Portland, has 11 FGs made.

Nathan Explosion, New Jersey, leads with 9 sacks, 3 more than the 2 in 2nd place.

Bobby Gil, Portland, leads with 4 INTs.

Houston's Randy Savage is the total yards leader with 735 yards, well ahead of the 606 by Glenn Graham.

James Ford of Washington leads with 6 total TDs. San Antonio's Glenn Graham is 2nd here too, with 5 scores.