Immortals Look To Regroup After Home Embarrassment

Author: Clint Samules, Oakland Tribune
Date: September 13, 1990

OAKLAND, CA - One of the biggest embarrassments in the early of the AFL’s history has happened to the hometown Oakland Immortals. After a stunning 51-6 loss to the San Francisco Generals, the cross-bridge rival, fans, players, the coaching staff and sportswriters everywhere were in total shock.

After the game, in the quiet, almost funeral parlor like Immortals locker room, defensive captain and star inside linebacker Kenny Stradford only said one thing: "We didn’t come to play today." Stradford’s remark couldn’t have been closer to the truth. The offense struggled to get any yardage, holes closed on HB Johnny Plunkett all afternoon, and while QB Todd Irons managed to avoid being sacked for a second straight game, his overzealous arm surrendered two more interceptions. One of which was a 73 yard return from Generals defensive back John White in the first five minutes of the game.

An inept offense which averaged 3.7 yards rushing (82 yards, 22 attempts) and 226 yards passing (24-36, 6.3 yards per pass) wasn’t helped by a defense that looked lost and uninspired in it’s game play. The special teams units gave the Generals’ offense a short field nearly every time they took the ball and allowed them into the red zone an astonishing thirteen times, six of which were converted in Generals touchdowns.

The only real bright spot for the Immortals was Ernest Pass’ eight catches for 106 yards, but even that wasn’t enough to produce a single touchdown for coach Ron Atwater’s club. On the defensive side, Stradford and Steve Adamle led the club with eight tackles apiece. The formidable linebacking duo was offered almost no help by the rest of the Oakland defense, however. Ronnie Hankton’s lone interception of Herkie Martini was the team’s only forced turnover, compared to four of their own (two fumbles, two interceptions.) The team’s defense has fallen from 17th to 20th in the league.

Coach Ronnie Atwater has spent the past week trying to help his team move on and put the loss behind them as they gear up for what he calls a "big" home game against the 1-1 Philadelphia Shamrocks. The Shamrocks have an explosive offense led by star quarterback Michael Armstead, who has thrown for an impressive 633 yards through the first two games.

Atwater has been working videotape furiously too look for any holes in Philadelphia’s line, or anything they can find to get an extra step on Armstead’s delivery, or the receivers. Martini picked the Immortals secondary apart with relative ease and Armstead is considered to be an even better QB. Atwater and defensive coordinator Marvin Thomas admitted that it will be a challenge to stop Philadelphia’s unrelenting air attack.

"Armstead is a tremendous quarterback with an outstanding arm and those receivers know how to get open for him. Our defensive backs and linebackers are going to have to dig in hard this Sunday to stay on top of him," Thomas said on Wednesday after the afternoon practice.

While Thomas was coy when speaking about Sunday’s defensive game plan for Armstead and Philadelphia, he did allude that it will include a lot of blitzing in an effort to get some sort of pressure on the passer.

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Eddie Brooks is committed to getting better holes for Johnny Plunkett. Brooks also wants to find ways to get his receivers open and show Irons that he doesn’t need to bullet the ball to his receivers every time he drops back. "Todd’s a good young kid, but he’s gotta learn that he doesn’t need to put his entire arm into every throw. That’s where mistakes are coming from, those interceptions. We’ve been working with him and the problem should be fixed for the Philadelphia game."

At the end of Wednesday’s practice, Atwater worked to regroup the morale of his team. "We may have been blown out and embarrassed on Sunday by San Francisco, but that’s only one game. This is a sixteen game season and we’re still even. Don’t listen to the press, don’t watch ESPN, Fox Sports, any of that crap. That’s just gonna put more negative feedback into your head because of that game. It was on Sunday, today is Wednesday. The Generals game should be out of your head. Out of sight, out of mind. Philadelphia is without a doubt a good team, but we can beat them. If we come to play, and we play our best game this weekend, we will beat them. We’re still first in the division guys. It’s wide open and there for our taking. Keep your heads up, play hard and good things will no doubt come."

Despite Sunday’s loss, things in the city are relatively upbeat. A big win against Philadelphia would certainly admonish most memories of the drubbing by San Francisco. The game starts at 4:05PM EST, 1:05PM on the west coast at the Colosseum. As of press time, limited tickets are still available.

Clint Samuels is a sportswriter for the Oakland Tribune. He covers football for the Oakland Immortals and local highschool baseball in the spring. He can be reach at renholder910@gmail.com

Cup O' Joe - Week 2 Analysis

Author: Joe Simpson
Date: September 12, 1990

Week 2 is in the books, and it was quite surprising how it turned out. Let's take a look at what went down.

Top 10

1. Los Angeles (2-0, 2) - The first shutout in league history LA the top spot.
2. Boston (2-0, 3) - A resounding win against Washington.
3. Houston (2-0, 4) - Banks takes Oilers to the...well...
4. Seattle (1-1, 1) - The Tritons are human, after all.
5. Cincinnati (2-0, 5) - Barry Robinson (146 yards) rolls over Indy.
6. Pittsburgh (2-0, NR) - Pride take key division battle.
7. San Diego (2-0, NR) - Could this be the biggest surprise so far?
8. Portland (1-1, NR) - Played two tough opponents, deserve this spot.
9. Atlanta (2-0, NR) - Efficient in win over KC.
10. Washington (1-1, 6) - Not sure what to make of this team now.

Dropped out - Dallas (7), Baltimore (8), Oakland (9), Cleveland (10)

Offensive Player of the Week: QB Ladell Suggs, San Diego. Went 26-of-30 for 307 yards and 4 TD before getting hurt late. It's a shame he went out the way he did, with his team up 21 and him having such a great game. Nobody's sure if San Diego can keep winning with him out.

Defensive Player of the Week: OLB Mike Kosier, Portland. In addition to the pick of the week, he also registered three sacks against the infallible offensive line of Seattle.

Special Teams Player of the Week: KR Horace Henderson, Denver. Returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, and averaged 48 yards a return on six chances.

Number this week: Nine, as in the number of 10+ point victories achieved this week. Included are Los Angeles' 41-0 shutout of Cleveland, and San Francisco's 51-6 shocker over Oakland. This was the week of blowouts, after Week 1 was a very suspenseful week of action.

Surprise of the Week: Miami over Baltimore. Above everything else that happened, this was the game that really stood out. It set the tone of the week--no favorite was safe--and put Miami on the map. Nobody, including me, thought Miami had a chance in this one. To win 27-3 shakes things up in both the Gulf and Midland divisions.

Coaching Move of the Week: Portland's decision to really test and overwhelm Seattle's offensive line. They once sent NINE players after Monte Meier, and sent eight a couple of times...including Meier's final interception of the day. The result? Eight sacks of the rookie QB, and two interceptions, including the one that settled the score.

Rising This Week: Pittsburgh. Their defense, ranked fourth in the league, is winning games. They're not getting a lot of press because they aren't flashy, or something the public would want to get behind. But they are consistent, and will pose a serious threat to Los Angeles in the HFC.

Falling This Week: Oakland. 51-6. A semi-brawl in the locker room after the game. Need I say more?

Store it away: Seattle showed a real problem against a team that can put pressure on rookie CB Monte Meier. Another team in their division can get to him an awful lot--San Francisco. With that secondary, a lot of coverage sacks could doom the Tritons down the road. This team, while still a very dangerous threat for the AFL Championship, could go 3-3 in their own division.

Cup O' Joe - Week 2 Predictions

Author: Joe Simpson
Date: September 7, 1990

Week 2 Preview

Week 1 saw sixteen teams go undefeated, sixteen with their backs against the wall. This week, five teams will definitely stay undefeated, while five will start the year 0-2. Among the surprises that could be 2-0 are Kansas City, St. Louis, San Diego, and Atlanta. Those that would have 0-2 as a shock include Philadelphia, Portland, Minnesota, Chicago, and Nashville. So, let's take a look at the week to come.

[b]Game of the Week[/b]
[i]Los Angeles @ Cleveland[/i]

The Marshalls and Blues both took care of business in Week 1. And now, both crash in Los Angeles, where the Marshalls faithful will be rabid to see Sammy Baw take the field. He was simply brilliant in Week 1, leading the Marshalls to a key victory over Tampa. But Baw and company will go against the seventh-best pass defense in the league. Cleveland held Arizona's high-energy passing attack to just 160 yards. I don't know if they'll get the same kind of pressure on Baw that they got on Lamar Burton. But this game will be a lot closer than people think. I think it's a field goal's difference, and could be who has the ball last. I think this will be the game Sammy Hoambrecker breaks out, however, and Los Angeles will go to 2-0 in a tight one.

Prediction: LOS ANGELES 30, Cleveland 27

Other Games (Home games in CAPS):

Baltimore 20, MIAMI 10
CINCINNATI 24, Indianapolis 23
PHILADELPHIA 44, New York 34
Atlanta 20, KANSAS CITY 16
PITTSBURGH 21, Carolina 17
Louisville 13, DENVER 9
SEATTLE 27, Portland 23
Tampa 38, NEW ORLEANS 30
DALLAS 16, Minnesota 13 (OT)
Houston 27, ST LOUIS 14
San Francisco 17, OAKLAND 14 (Upset Special)
SAN DIEGO 34, Arizona 20
Nashville 19, MICHIGAN 17
WASHINGTON 31, Boston 30 (Upset Special #2)
Chicago 27, IOWA 17

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 11-5

Matchups to watch:

Cleveland RB Gary Johnson vs. Los Angeles D - The Marshalls held Tampa to 23 yards rushing. Johnson had 87 rushing yards on 19 carries and a touchdown against Arizona. Something will have to give. I think Johnson will do better than Tampa did, but not quite as well.

New York WR Roy Scott vs. Philly secondary - The Shamrocks secondary was built to stop a guy like Roy Scott. He's an absolute beast, and Matt Adams, Charles Scuillo, and Jack McCoy will have have their hands full. However, I think the Shamrocks can shut him down, hold him to under four catches, and win this game going away. Then again, with the Shamrocks defense, this could go either direction.

Seattle QB Monte Meier vs. Portland pass defense - Portland held Russell Stock and the Minutemen to just 144 yards passing last week in a tough loss. I think this game will be very tight if they can do the same to Meier. He's just a rookie, and if Portland and Kamil Jones can get in to pressure him...this game can completely swing the other way. As SF found out, it only takes one play late to swing the game.