Realigned League May Have Its Biggest Season

When the United States Football League starts its third season with seven games this weekend, it will introduce several new teams, among them the Orlando Renegades, and several new coaches, among them Orlando’s Lee Corso.

In the realigned, 14-club, two-conference USFL, the Renegades are the longest shot on the board this year. But their coach is no stranger to longshots.

For a full decade starting in 1973, Corso struggled at Indiana University, where he once began his weekly television show wordlessly--while stretched out in a velvet-lined coffin. Sitting up slowly, he winked, then announced: “We’re not dead yet.”

At the moment, the same can be said of the USFL, which has confounded many observers--particularly those in the National Football League--by lasting this long.

What’s more, the USFL’s leaders say that they’re heading into their biggest season yet with the openers at Tampa tonight and in six other cities Sunday and Monday.

Sunday’s Coliseum opener, for instance, matches two of the nation’s finest young quarterbacks, Steve Young of the Express and Jim Kelly of the Houston Gamblers.

“This league is developing fast,” Express Coach John Hadl said this week. “There are a lot of good football players in America.”

Coach Charlie Sumner of the Oakland Invaders, who until this year was the defensive coordinator of the Raiders, said: “The USFL has become a good solid league. Kelly and Young are comparable with any quarterbacks in the NFL except Dan Marino.”

Hadl, Sumner and other USFL figures, including President John Ralston of the Portland Breakers, say there are two reasons why some of their teams will have a major impact on the American sports community this season:

--This has become a league of experienced teams. No longer an expansion league, it has developed a nucleus of good veteran players in most franchises.

“We (the USFL) will come out of the chute playing top-flight football,” Ralston said.

--In building a new pro league--an extraordinarily costly process--the USFL has come up with a nucleus of talented, recognizable players on all but one or two clubs.

Thus, the argument goes, the league’s leading contenders, whoever they are, will be more familiar to the football public and more closely followed than in the USFL’s earlier years.

“That’s what well-known players do for you,” said President Don Klosterman of the Express.

Said President Donald Trump of the New Jersey Generals: “The teams that win this year will attract a lot of attention. Our stars are excellent football players.”

He mentioned Herschel Walker, Anthony Carter, Kelvin Bryant, Gary Anderson, Joe Cribbs and others, including quarterbacks Kelly, Young and Oakland’s Bobby Hebert.

By contrast, NFL coaches and scouts--and some neutral football observers--still consider the USFL a second-rate league. It has the stars, they concede, but hasn’t yet had the time to become a well-rounded league. They say it’s still two years away.

“The biggest difference I’ve noticed is in the offensive and defensive lines,” Sumner said, comparing the USFL against the NFL teams he studied for years. “There are some good linemen in this league but not the overall depth.”

He added, however, that the depth is improving. For one thing, the league has cut back from last year’s 18 teams to 14, making 200 veteran players available to the survivors.

Sumner also said: “Combining Heisman Trophy winners in New York is bound to make an impact this year after they’ve worked together for awhile.”

He was referring to quarterback Doug Flutie and running back Herschel Walker of Trump’s Generals.

Although Walker isn’t the best runner in his league, he is probably the best pass receiver at his position, as well as the fastest. Flutie-to-Walker could become the most famous battery in football.

The Generals, though, aren’t favored in the Eastern Conference, where the USFL’s defending champion Baltimore Stars--they were the Philadelphia Stars last season--are rated strongest.

If the league’s coaches guessed right in a recent poll, Baltimore will play either the Express or Oakland in the league’s third annual championship game July 14 at the New Jersey Meadowlands.

In all, eight teams will advance to the playoffs beginning June 29--the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences, the two runners-up, and the four other teams with the best records regardless of conference.

During what the USFL says will be its last spring season--a fall season is planned for 1986--each team will play an 18-week schedule consisting of home-and-home games in its conference and single games against six of the seven teams in the other conference.

Here is a look at the USFL:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

FAVORITES

L.A. Express

COACH: John Hadl, 10-8 with an inexperienced team in his one USFL season.

QUARTERBACK: Steve Young, 8-5 in 13 starts last year after joining the club in Game 6.

OTHERS: Running backs Mel Gray and Kevin Nelson, tight end Gordon Hudson, wide receiver JoJo Townsell, offensive linemen Mark Adickes, Gary Zimmerman and Mike Ruether, defensive linemen Eddie (Meat Cleaver) Weaver.

COMMENTS: Quarterback Young, whose time is reportedly 4.5 for 40 yards, is an athlete resembling the Denver Broncos’ John Elway, who is a similar downfield runner. Elway has a stronger arm. Young is more accurate.

Hadl: “This is a bright young team. Fourteen of our 22 starters were first-year players last season.”

Oakland Invaders

COACH: Charlie Sumner, first year as a head coach after 21 years as an assistant, most recently as defensive coordinator of the Raiders.

QUARTERBACK: Bobby Hebert, who led the Michigan Panthers to the USFL’s first championship in 1983, backed up by Fred Besana, who led Oakland to an 8-1 record in its last nine games last year. They were the 1-2 All-USFL quarterbacks in 1983.

OTHERS: Wide receivers Anthony Carter, Derek Holloway and Gordon Banks; defensive backs David Greenwood and Marcus Quinn, 1984 USFL defensive player of the year.

COMMENTS: In an off-season consolidation, Michigan and Oakland merged into one of the USFL’s strongest organizations. Said Hadl: “With their outside speed, the Invaders are one of the real teams in the league.”

Oakland may have the finest offensive line in the league, pending the development of the younger Express players.

CONTENDERS

Denver Gold

COACH: Darrel (Mouse) Davis, first year as a pro coach after a big college career at Portland State and a short career as offensive coordinator of the surprising run-and-shoot Houston Gamblers.

QUARTERBACK: Vince Evans, who in eight Chicago seasons with the Bears and Blitz was seldom with a solid club.

OTHERS: Offensive lineman Walt Downing, linebacker Neil Hope.

COMMENTS: Davis’ wild, exciting run-and-shoot offense is just right for a new league, as he proved last year at Houston. The run-and-shoot is a one-back formation in which passes are thrown on most downs.

In personnel, except for Evans, the Gold is the worst team in the conference and may get off to a slow start.

Sumner: “Last year Mouse made Houston better every week.”

Davis: “Maybe we can make some more household names here, like Houston.”

Ralston: “Evans is the right quarterback for this offense.”

Minus Mouse Davis, the Gold would be a cinch for the cellar.

Houston Gamblers

COACH: Jack Pardee, 13-5 at Houston last year, 71-57 career.

QUARTERBACK: Jim Kelly, a dropback passer who is out of position in Houston’s run-and-shoot offense, even though he passed for 5,219 yards last year. That’s an indication of the potency of the run-and-shoot.

OTHERS: The formation made stars of two little journeyman receivers, Richard Johnson and Ricky Sanders.

COMMENTS: Pardee, a defensive expert who will have an advantage on defense over Davis’ Denver team, remains enthusiastic about the run-and-shoot. “This is a great way to play football,” he said.

Proponents say it doesn’t take a Mouse Davis to run it. All it takes is a commitment, since the run-and-shoot doesn’t mix well with other formations. They say if Pardee is committed, the Gamblers will remain a contender.

OTHERS

Portland Breakers

COACH: Dick Coury, the USFL’s coach of the year in 1983. He is 19-17 in two seasons.

QUARTERBACK: Doug Woodward.

OTHERS: Running backs Marcus Dupree, Buford Jordan, Dwight Beverly.

COMMENTS: Shoved around every year--from Boston in 1983 to New Orleans in 1984 to Portland, Ore., this season--Coury has kept the Breakers respectable without great talent. He is one of the game’s fine coaches. But again, he doesn’t have much but running backs.

Sumner: “Nobody in the league runs better than the Breakers.”

Although Portland will support a winner in 32,500-seat Multnomah Stadium, a tight budget has kept the Breakers from solving their worst problem: no quarterback.

Arizona Outlaws

COACH: Frank Kush, first year in USFL after a big career at Arizona State, an excellent year in Canada and an unimpressive NFL career with Robert Irsay’s erratic Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts.

QUARTERBACK: Doug Williams, who twice led Tampa Bay into the NFL playoffs. He may be off to a slow start this year after off-season arthroscopic surgery in both knees. Backup Alan Risher has talent.

OTHERS: Wide receiver Trumaine Johnson, provided he signs; running back Earnest Anderson, defensive lineman Kit Lathrop, two-time USFL defensive lineman of the year.

COMMENTS: Williams’ knees and Johnson’s unhappiness are serious problems.

The Outlaws represent a merger of the Arizona Wranglers and Oklahoma Outlaws. They are, thus, the third team the USFL has put in the Valley of the Sun in three years, which is hardly the best way to influence people and win fans.

San Antonio Gunslingers

COACH: Jim Bates, the offensive coordinator last year under Gil Steinke, who has become the club’s director of football operations.

QUARTERBACK: Rick Neuheisel, who played impressively last year.

OTHERS: Running back Larry Canada, wide receiver Danny Buggs, linebacker Rich D’Amico.

COMMENTS: San Antonio runs hard, passes pretty well and defends acceptably. The city apparently has taken to the Gunslingers, having bought 11,000 season tickets this year, up from 3,800 last year. “We’ve got a good team,” said owner Clinton Manges, who also owns Texas land and oil wells.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

FAVORITE

Baltimore Stars

COACH: Jim Mora, 31-5 in two USFL seasons. He would have accepted an NFL offer this season if the USFL had released him.

QUARTERBACK: Chuck Fusina, a bright, dedicated, ordinary passer somewhat reminiscent of Bart Starr.

OTHERS: Running back Kelvin Bryant, offensive linemen Irv Eatman, Chuck Commiskey and Bart Oates; wide receiver Scott Fitzkee, defensive lineman Pete Kugler, linebacker Sam Mills.

COMMENTS: Mora and General Manager Carl Peterson have built this team into the class of the league.

Ralston: “The Stars would be competitive with at least the bottom one-third in the NFL.”

CONTENDERS

New Jersey Generals

COACH: Walt Michaels, 14-4 in one USFL season; 53-51 career, including his years with the New York Jets.

QUARTERBACK: Doug Flutie, the player of the year in college ball.

OTHERS: Running backs Herschel Walker and Maurice Carthon, linebacker Jim LeClair, defensive back Gary Barbaro.

COMMENTS: Some sources are saying that:

--If Flutie’s Boston College coaches were with him now, he might tear up this league in the same sense that run-and-shoot teams do. In a young league, a radical offense easily fools a journeyman defense.

--The question is whether Michaels is too conservative for a quarterback who stands 5-9 and must move around to be effective.

--Flutie could be the best thing that ever happened to Walker, who as a pass receiver has the speed and moves to harmonize with a running quarterback if properly coached.

--Properly managed, Flutie and Walker would become a Joe Namath-type gate attraction.

Some traditionalists disagree. One said: “The Generals gave up a proven winner (Brian Sipe) for a question mark. A 5-foot 9-inch quarterback isn’t going to match Sipe’s 14-4 (record) last year.”

Tampa Bay Bandits

COACH: Steve Spurrier, 25-11 in two USFL seasons.

QUARTERBACK: John Reaves, a two-year winner, backed up by Jimmy Jordan.

OTHERS: Running back Gary Anderson, wide receiver Eric Truvillion, offensive lineman Fred Dean, defensive lineman Mike Butler.

COMMENTS: The Stars and the Bandits are deemed the two most solid teams in the league.

Under John Bassett, an owner who doubles as a good football man and good businessman, the Bandits come closer to breaking even financially each year than any other USFL team.

Birmingham Stallions

COACH: Rollie Dotsch, 23-13 in two USFL seasons.

QUARTERBACK: Cliff Stoudt, a bust in the NFL, was the USFL’s second-leading passer last season.

OTHERS: Running back Joe Cribbs, one of the game’s great backs of the last 10 years; wide receiver Jim Smith, tight end Robin Earl, defensive linemen Dave Pureifory and Don Reese.

COMMENTS: As a pro football town, Birmingham is just right for the USFL. It probably couldn’t ever get an NFL franchise, its quarterback couldn’t make it in the NFL, and its power-minded coach specializes in blocking.

Memphis Showboats

COACH: Pepper Rodgers, 7-11 at Memphis last year, a coach who makes football fun.

QUARTERBACKS: Walter Lewis and Mike Kelley give Rodgers two question marks at his most important position.

OTHERS: Running back Tim Spencer, offensive lineman Tyrone McGriff, defensive linemen Reggie White and Sam Clancy, cornerbacks Mossy Cade and Leonard Coleman, linebacker John Corker.

COMMENTS: Owner William M. Dunavant Jr., one of the South’s most important cotton traders, is one of the few USFL millionaires still spending money. In any NFL-USFL merger, Dunavant’s team belongs. He continues to pay his dues.

Unhappily, he hasn’t been able to find a class quarterback or an injury-proof running back to go with the quality three people in the Showboats’ defense. White, Cade and Coleman are top 10 draftees in any league.

Jacksonville Bulls

COACH: Lindy Infante, 6-12 in one USFL season, formerly the offensive coordinator on Cincinnati’s recent Super Bowl team.

QUARTERBACK: Brian Sipe, whom Infante was clever enough to get this winter when the Generals made him available after signing Doug Flutie.

OTHERS: Running backs Mike Rozier and Archie Griffin, tight end Paul Bergmann, defensive lineman Keith Millard, defensive back Don Bessillieu.

COMMENTS: The Bulls are the best long-shot bet to reach the championship round this year. They’re also Exhibit A in the case to be made for the improvement in USFL quality with the disappearance of four franchises since last season--and the consequent spread of talent around the league.

Rozier, for example, would still be in Pittsburgh if the USFL hadn’t reduced to 14 teams by disbanding the Maulers and three others. The nation’s best back before he was hurt in his last college game, Rozier was unable to show Pittsburgh what he could do. If he’s well now, he’ll show Jacksonville.

Millard was a top NFL prospect and Minnesota drafted him first last April. He took Jacksonville’s offer instead and, in the Bulls’ first exhibition game this month, sacked Baltimore quarterbacks three times in the first four plays.

Sipe still is a useful quarterback.

Although the Bulls won only six games a year ago, they appear to be a genuine contender now.

ALSO RUNNING

Orlando Renegades

COACH: Lee Corso, first pro season after a long college career.

QUARTERBACKS: Reggie Collier and Jerry Golsteyn.

OTHERS: Wide receiver Joey Walters, defensive lineman Joe Ehrmann.

COMMENTS: Owner Donald Dizney is trying, but this team, which played in RFK Stadium last year as the Washington Federals, has a long way to go.

“Orlando has never been much of a sports town,” Orlando writer Brian Schmitz said. “The last pro team that came through this tourist haven--(Jack Pardee’s) Florida Blazers of the late World Football League--left so poor that the coaches were forced to bring their own toilet paper to the office.”