So we finally completed a full season of spring football in this country. As long as you don't count the various women's, indoor, and regional leagues. I have to say, I enjoyed the product. It's not NFL level football but at least it's actually football. Having said that, I can see why these guys was stuck on practice squads or sitting on their couches before now. Watching these games was like simulating games between created teams made with free agents in Madden.
They're trying to be a developmental league where guys get a second chance to prove themselves worthy of a NFL roster spot. But I'll be honest, I didn't see anyone who stood out to me as a NFL starter. I didn't see a Warren Moon or Kurt Warner or Doug Flutie, hell, I didn't even see a Tommy Maddox! Guys like J'Mar Smith, Scooby Wright III, Darius Victor, Donald Payne and more will find themselves backup jobs or at least a practice squad gig in the NFL like it always happens when a alternative league ends their season. But like former Dolphins LB Channing Crowder said back in April, college is the true "feeder program" to the NFL.
Jordan Ta'amu was disappointing compared to his XFL run and I'm not as high on Brandon Aubrey now as I was before the championship game. There's a clear difference between the Best Of The Best and the Best Of The Rest. There's a reason why Mason Crosby and Evan McPherson was allowed to put the foot in football because their coaches believe in them. If the coach would rather punt than kick a makeable field goal, then you're done for as a pro.
So where does that leaves the league itself? The USFL is owned by FOX so there was no worry about the league going bankrupt or losing their TV deal. They're returning next year but so is the XFL under new management. The XFL will start a week after the Super Bowl again with games airing on ESPN, ABC and FX so there will be overlap in April and May. The good news is they locked their talent down for another year so they won't have to worry about players defecting to The Rock's league forcing him to use a more watered down talent pool. The XFL claim they will pay players more than the $4,500 a week the USFL pays and will have a larger roster. This will cut into the various indoor leagues rosters but they need to consolidate anyway.
Is FOX committed to running this league for 5, 10, 100 years? They have the income, more so than Rocky but are they interested in running a football league for the long term or will they get bored and sell it off? Or will they over expand, start losing millions of dollars then cut their losses and shut it down? It would be great if both leagues could coexist so we can have year-round outdoor football but I don't see that happening. Now onwards to the team reviews!
END OF SEASON TEAM REVIEW
New Jersey Generals 9-1
Under normal circumstances, a 2 QB system means neither guy is good enough to be the starter. But by god, Mike Riley was able to make it work with Luis Perez and De'Andre Johnson. I feel De'Andre is the better QB but that's not really saying much as I seen Luis' work in the AAF and XFL and it pretty meh. Will it work again next season? Who knows! One or both of these guys may be gone next year and Mike (if he's still there) will have to try something else. Despite the playoff lost, they put on a outstanding performance this season so kudos to them.
Birmingham Stallions 9-1
If you're into conspiracy theories, you could say the USFL rigged this season so the hometown Stallions could win the first championship game. Considering this league is ran by a media company, it's possible that this was all a work. But it's more likely that they simply had the better coaching and players overall, which could've been worked as well. Oh well, I enjoyed it!
Philadelphia Stars 6-4
I wonder how much money I could've made by betting on the Stars to make the finals? I will never know. :( In other news, there's rumors that if each team doesn't get their own home stadium, then they will use two hubs with Birmingham as the South division hub and Philly for the North. I would say they can play at Franklin Field but the stadium is still under renovations. They staggered it so the Penn Quakers could still play there during the stadium work. I don't feel they should lease out a NFL stadium but there is no other college stadium that's big enough and Beaver Stadium is way too big for this league. I'm sure they will figure it out soon.
BTW, the people who complained about the empty seats are idiots. It's ridiculous to expect every game to fill up the joint when the only home team is the Stallions. Giving every team their own home stadium would help but people are more wary of these alternative leagues. They don't want to invest their time, emotions and money into a league or team that won't be there in 5 years. That's also why I don't feel you should only go to major markets where you will have to pay higher rent to play in the NFL stadiums. If they do expand, they should bring back teams from outside of NFL cities like the Oakland Invaders, Orlando Renegades, Memphis Showboats, Oklahoma Outlaws and San Antonio Gunslingers. Let the XFL eat those major market costs.
New Orleans Breakers 6-4
People was gaga over Kyle Sloter but completely ignored he's a turnover machine. He was second in passing yards to Ta'amu with 1,798 yards but those 11 INTs to go with only 9 TDs doesn't give me NFL starter vibes. I still expect him to appear at some team's training camp but not much more than that. At least his teammate Christian Sam signed with the Cowboys.
Tampa Bay Bandits 4-6
I called Jordan Ta'amu disappointing earlier even though he's statistically the best QB with 2,014 passing yards and 14 TDs. He also threw 12 INTs and was sacked 25 times. With the St. Louis BattleHawks, he looked like one of the best players in the XFL. But here, he looked like just another guy and I imagine most of his stats were in garbage time during a losing effort. He will probably get on a NFL roster but just like before, he will be back playing spring football.
Houston Gamblers 3-7
It's a travesty how this defense was wasted. If they didn't have a shitty offense, they could've been in the playoffs instead of the Breakers! But that's the difference between NFL and USFL defenses. A great NFL defense can drag their team to the playoffs but the Gamblers defense was forced to watch the chucklefucks on offense piss the game away. I feel so sorry for them.
Michigan Panthers 2-8
So yeah, Shea Patterson is not a good QB and neither is Paxton Lynch. I already knew that about Paxton in Denver but Shea was just WOOF! And just because you have NFL coaching experience, it doesn't mean you're worth a shit at it, see image below. At least he didn't go 7-9!
Pittsburgh Maulers 1-9
If you're gonna pull that hardass coach bullshit with grown men, you better produce some wins to justify your behavior. Kirby Wilson clearly didn't and his ass should not be brought back for next season. It's funny how the nicer guys finished at the top of the standings while the coaches who blame others for their failures are at the bottom. Kirby was asked about the chicken salad incident recently on a interview with 93.7 The Fan. He kept saying that De'Veon Smith was disrespectful 3 separate times in a day but all we know about is him wanting pizza over gross ass chicken salad. He says that he did his own investigations with the aggrieved parties and decided to cut him to show the other guys on the team he won't tolerate disrespect of any kind. Great job there coach. You got rid of the best player on your team and you showed everyone you're way over your head with your lack of common coaching sense. Fire Kirby Wilson!
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| Shoutout to Jason Garrett and Jac Collinsworth for actually being in Birmingham all season unlike the Fox guys. |
LAST WEEK 1-0
PLAYOFFS 2-1
FINAL OVERALL 32-11
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