Mid-Season Report, trading cards released

We've hit the halfway point of this 10 game 2009 season. This edition of Inside the USFL will cover last weeks results, standings, and the league leaders at QB, RB, and WR. The pictures accompanying the leader board are a sampling of the new USFL trading cards that were released this week.

Week 5 is in the books... your results are as follows:

Denver 41, Chicago 35
- Chicago FB Hicks fumbles at the goal line into the endzone near the end of the 4th quarter. Denver recovered and then drove 80 yards for the winning touchdown

Washington 23, Birmingham 20
-Washington kicks a field goal with 3 seconds left to hand Birmingham their 5 straight loss.

Pittsburgh 29, New Jersey 28
-On a rain soaked field, the Maulers score with 6 seconds left in the game, and then gets the win with a 2 point conversion.

Michigan 42, Oakland 21
-Michigan controlled the game throughout, evening up with the Invaders at 3-2.

Arizona 34, San Antonio 32
-J.J. Arrington puts up 2 TD's for the Wranglers as they hang on to beat the Gunslingers.

Jacksonville 31, Boston 28
-The Bulls stop the Breakers on downs at the end of the game to hold on for the 3 point victory.



The USFL season is just 10 games long, with all regular season games played within each teams own division, so each team plays every team in their division twice. This was done so that when the Championship game rolls around, the combatants will not have played each other during the regular season. This was done with a nod to the way baseball used to be, with no teams from either league playing each other.... I liked the idea of different styles coming together for the first time in the Championship game. What worked against opponents in your division during the regular season may not translate to an opponent that was set up to beat teams in their division. The playoffs will consist of the top 3 teams from each division qualifying, with the 2nd and 3rd place teams squaring off in the semi-finals, and the winner taking on the division champ the next week. Then the 2009 USFL Championship will be held in Tampa, Florida. The USFL has had many requests for a ressurection of the Bandits, and the turnout for the game could go a long way towards letting the league know if Tampa's fans will support the team if it comes back.

Here's the standings at this point in the season (click to enlarge)....



Here's the leader board....

Quarterbacks:
1. Mark Sanchez, Boston 1394 yards 13 TD's
2. J.P. Losman, Breakers 1339 yards 11 TD's
3. Kyle Boller, Washington 1237 yards 9 TD's
4. Jay Cutler, Denver 1220 yards 13 TD's
5. Sam Bradford, Arizona 1199 yards 12 TD's


Running backs:
1. J.J. Arrington, Arizona 529 yards 9 TD's
2. Larry Johnson, New Jersey 491 yards 8 TD's
3. Tatum Bell, Denver 420 yards 8 TD's
4. DeShaun Foster, Oakland 389 yards 6 TD's
5. Rudi Johnson, Michigan 385 yards 7 TD's


Wide Receivers:
1. Drew Bennett, Boston 655 yards 7 TD's
2. Jeremy Maclin, Denver 598 yards 6 TD's
3. Michael Crabtree, S.A. 576 yards 9 TD's
4. Torry Holt, Michigan 517 yards 6 TD's
5. Terrell Owens, Chicago 507 yards 8 TD's

That's it for this week, see you after the week 6 games.

Gene Sanny
USFL Commissioner