Tombor

'USFL '85: Nasty War A continuation of my USFL Project, this is a "hypothetical" season that features all 18 clubs from '84, with some modifications to rosters. Features: -7 minute quarters -Stats after every quarter -Wedge Returns -Directional Punting -Formation Experimentations -Graphic Tweaks, including funky end zones (watching USFL games I came to admire how bad the end zones often looked) -Stat Tweaks -Sim Data Tweaks -Offensive Formation Tweaks -3 team, 3 Division Structure -12 teams make playoffs (as opposed to original 8 teams) -18 game, locked, '85 schedule -All Pro: '85 All-NFL Vs. '85 All-USFL in Vanilla (Gerald Riggs replaces Eric Dickerson on NFL All-Pros) Notes: -As the four clubs that folded/merged are returning, '85 territorial lists returned to their general '84 designations, and new players were redistributed. The imagined '85 rosters of the Blitz, Maulers, Outlaws, and Panthers generally resemble their '84 assemblies, though I did take liberties and retained players. This meant the surviving clubs had to be reworked. I tried to keep these "realistic" by filling gaps with actual territorial selections or by doing research into near-miss signings. Dickerson, for instance, did consider an offer from the Wranglers in '83 and used the league as leverage for negotiations in '85. -These rosters are continued from my reimagined '84 roster. If you want accuracy, an NFL and USFL '85 hack by Buck on TBorg has real-life rosters and some cool graphics. The schedule is an adaptation of the original '84--I flipped interdivisional and conference hosts, but they are the same "pattern"; I did shuffle the weeks around to avoid the same schedule. If I can get to an '86, maybe I can make one that swaps inter-conference and inter-divisional matchups. Territorial and Open Draft Picks *Year denotes their territorial selection; unmarked players were territorial or Open Draft selections in ‘85 unless noted. Arizona Ron Brown ('84) Randall Cunningham Rickey Hunley ('84) Vernon Maxwell ('83) Rick Mallory ('84) Pete Mandley (‘84) Rich Moran Vance Johnson Lionel Vital Baltimore Troy Benson ('85 Maulers territorial pick, traded for Mike Johnson, imagined) Birmingham Al Del Greco Kevin Greene Paul Ott Carruth Emmanuel King Freddie Joe Nunn Jerry Rice Chicago Carl Aikens ('84) Dwight Beverly ('84) Bobby Bell Jr. ('84) Mitchell Brookins ('84) Mike Burgereau (‘84) Jeff Dellenbach Babe Laufenberg ('83) Alex Moyer Ken Stills Stacey Toran ('84) Al Toon Dan Turk Denver Joe Walter Rich Miano Jacksonville Frank Bush Robert Lavette Gary Wilkins Houston Ray Childress Jeff Fuller (‘84) Raphel Cherry Los Angeles Duane Bickett Memphis Tiger Greene Herman Hunter Fuad Reviz Chris Scott ('84) Gizmo Williams Carl Zander Michigan Carl Banks ('84) Mike Green ('83) Ali Haji-Sheikh (‘83) Paul Skansi ('83) Steve Smith ('84) Daryl Turner ('84) Lonnie Young New Jersey Steve DeOssie Lionel Emmanuel ('84 LA territorial pick, imagined trade w/LA) Herman Fontenot Doug Flutie Eugene Robinson New Orleans Bud Brown Dino Hall Calvin Magee* Eric Martin Lance Smith Elton Veals ('84) Oakland Damon Allen (imagined rights trade w/LA) Bo Eason ('84) Damone Johnson Reggie Langhorne Tom Neville Ron Rivera (‘84) Tom Toth Dokie Williams (‘83) Oklahoma Tom Benson ('84) Scott Case ('84) John Goode ('84) Jamie Harris Rodney Harding Shawn Jones Kevin Murphy Terry Orr (imagined rights trade w/San Antonio) Pittsburgh Dwight Collins ('84) Chris Doleman Willie Drewery Tom Flynn ('84) Bill Fralic John Frank ('84) Mike Johnson ('84 territorial pick, signed w/Baltimore, imagined trade w/Baltimore for rights to Troy Benson) Tony Paige ('84) Doug Strang Ron Wolfley San Antonio Danny Bradley (imagined rights trade w/Oklahoma for Terry Orr, though an actual territorial selection in ‘85) Alan Veingrad Tampa Bay Eddie Brown Steve Calabria (NJ territorial pick, imagined traded to Bandits though Jim Bassett claimed to sign him in '85) Washington George Adams Louis Cooper Mike Golic Willie Joyner ('84) Lester Lyles Bob Olderman Andre Reed Chris Washington ('84) Free Agency/Veteran Transactions/Returning from ‘84 What-If Hack Arizona Eric Dickerson Ronnie Lott (1-year deal offered during hold-out) Chicago Irving Fryar Walter Payton Denver John Grimsley Prince McJunkins Houston Billy Sims Jacksonville Deron Cherry (imagined) Brian Sipe (trade w/New Jersey for draft pick) LA Reggie Brown (played '83, appeared in one game in '84, stays w/LA for '85, imagined) Michigan Anthony Allen (trade w/LA before club folded) New Jersey Mark May (imagined but offered) Randy White (imagined but offered) New Orleans EJ Junior Johnny Meads Alan Risher (trade w/Arizona, imagined) Oklahoma Greg Kragen Darrol Ray (nearly signed for '85 back in '83) J.C. Watts (expressed interest, rights held by NJ) Pittsburgh Jeff Hostetler (offered in '84) Russ Grimm (offered in '84) San Antonio Earl Campbell (offered in '83) Tampa Bay Cris Collinsworth (signed to start playing in '85) Wilber Marshall Washington Boomer Esaison *Will appear in a future USFL Hack

USFL '84: Kings of Spring Features: -7 minute quarters -Stats after every quarter -Wedge Returns -Directional Punting -Run and Shoot formation for Houston -What If Players -'84 Rosters as close as possible (there were a lot of midseason trades, so I tried to place players on rosters where they made more appearances) -New Orleans Breakers -Graphic Tweaks, including funky end zones (watching USFL games I came to admire how bad the end zones often looked) -Stat Tweaks -3 team, 3 Division Structure -12 teams make playoffs (as opposed to original 8 teams) -18 game, locked, '84 schedule -All Pro: '84 All-NFL Vs. '84 All-USFL in Vanilla (slightly modified in What If--All-AFC Freeman McNeil replaces Payton) Built off the legendary USFL-WLAF hack by jstout and Denny, this rom features the '84 USFL teams, schedule, and rosters, along with a few wrinkles. This rom was tricky as I am still new to this. I looked to TheRaja's TFO rom for some structure. Clubs are split into three, 3-team divisions. The schedule is '84's, so clubs still have the same division matchups. I tried to order games as close as possible to their original times and distributions, as USFL clubs played Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday every week. This still got a little murky in the middle, but all schedules are as accurate as possible. This rom maintains TSB's playoff structure as well--six get in from each conference as opposed to the original 4, but, honestly, I wondered why the league didn't go with 6 just from a marketing standpoint. You got a new league with new teams, why not show them all off, a la the NHL? Once I get better at this stuff, I will edit down to a 4 team playoff. Jstout's and Denny's hack was invaluable--they did the art and logos. I did make some light edits to the helmets and logos--several clubs had "triple stripe" helmets, so I shifted them to the "40" code designation, with the exception of the Maulers, whose logo is placed in the Rams making that too difficult. I changed the Feds' big helmet to reflect the switch to silver in '84 and I edited the Blitz's and Star's logos just a little bit. I also took a crack at the midfield and end zone graphics. Special thanks to USFLFan (@VUSFL2018 on Twitter) for providing invaluable knowledge on the what-if roster changes. Reading about some of the league's near-miss signings inspired me to take this on; @VUSFL2018's Virtual USFL project provided a great guide and framework. There are two versions of this rom: Vanilla--the more I experimented with rosters, the more I realized I needed some balance. Vanilla has more accurate rosters. What If Edit--this is the counterfactual version, a little harder (not super juiced, but all clubs start 2-0 in terms of difficulty). This includes the "What If" Rosters. Note non-TSB players: as this is an edit, and if you are playing TSB for the first time, this rom lacks the 2-point conversion implemented in USFL. Also, no touchbacks on kick-offs. The Read Me includes a partial narrative and explains roster placements.

I updated the 2020 rosters as best as possible back in the fall, in order to play the 2020 CFL season even though we lost it. Updated rosters as best I could, changed the Esks name to "Empire."

'88, Hot War A continuation of the Age of Vinny narrative and hacks. The Narrative is available in the read-me. Labor issues have been resolved partially through a "Plan B" system in the face of pressure from a reconstituted USFL and, potentially, a new league in the Soviet Union as their "reconstruction" barrels down on U.S. Hegemony. The Cardinals have survived a relocation bid to Phoenix, after St. Louis' revolutionary council exerts control, making the club a public utility, possibly tying them to the plastic and concrete surface of Busch Stadium forever. Dan Fouts and Walter Payton, through new medical techniques, come out of brief retirements to chase that ring with San Fran and Chicago. Can the Browns three-peat? Can Vinny and Eric Dickerson breakthrough? Can Doug Williams deliver for the Raiders? Neil Lomax for Big Red? Hacks are built on roms in 1970-1994 pack and USFL-WAFL hack. Features: *7 minute quarters *Wedge Formation on Kick Returns *Locked schedule *Stats after every quarter *2nd uniform edits *More USFL Players *1988 Re-draft *Fouts signs with 49ers; Payton signs with Saints, other additions, both imagined and "what if?" (check out the narrative) *Back in the league: Gabriel Rivera *Back from the dead: Joe Delaney, David Overstreet *Saved States for .fcs based on narrative season *Results from narrative season (file is huge! watch out) 1988 NFL Draft -Raiders get Rams and Niners picks (3) -Rams get Colts pick -Buffalo and Seattle will select in first round -Bears get Washington pick (2) Detroit (1-15) Neil Smith Cincinnati (3-13) Thurman Thomas Buffalo (3-12-1) Ken Norton Jr. Atlanta (4-12) Randall McDaniel Kansas City (4-12) Bennie Blades Giants (6-10) John Gruber New England (6-10) Craig Hayward Pittsburgh (6-10) Aundray Bruce Dallas (6-10) Brian Blades Green Bay (6-10) Sterling Sharpe San Diego (7-9) Anthony Miller Washington (7-9) (Wilber Marshall) → Chicago Tim Brown Rams (7-9) (Everett trade in '85, Sean Jones to Houston) → Raiders --> Michael Irvin Chicago (7-9) John Stephenson Philadelphia (9-7) Keith Jackson Jets (9-7) Ken Harvey Denver (9-7) Chuck Cecil San Francisco (9-7) → Raiders --> Terry McDaniel (Dokie Williams, bunch of picks) Seattle (10-6) Rufus Porter Houston (10-6) Jeff Cross Indianapolis (10-5-1) → Rams Eric Allen Miami (10-6) Trade → Detroit --> Ricky Dixon (Eric Williams and 3rd Rounder in '88, 7th and 9th rounder '89) Minnesota (11-5) Jumbo Elliot New Orleans (11-5) John Hasty Tampa Bay (12-4) Dermonti Dawson Cleveland (13-3) Bill Romanowski Raiders (13-3) Scott Davis St. Louis (14-2) Chris Spielman 2nd rounders of note (Running Back roulette) Tampa -- Pierce Holt Houston -- Icky Woods Buffalo -- Lorenzo White Kansas City -- Brad Muster Giants -- Gaston Green Seattle -- Wendall Davis Pittsburgh -- Jarvis Williams 3rd round Giants -- Eric Moore Cleveland -- William Dean Perry Miami -- Eric Kumerow (from Lions) 4th round Cincinnati -- Tom Tupa 5th round Houston -- Chris Dishman Rams -- Lars Tate New England -- Chris Chandler 7th round Rams -- Aaron Cox (never signs, USFL) (Some draft picks may not be in this particular hack) I have a blog with narrative chunks up (http://ageofvinny.blogspot.com), though it has been very difficult finding time to throw narrative pieces up. They are all here, though, in the read.me. Twitter: @Tombor13 to follow along for week by week results.

Continuing from '86, this '87 rom hack is more robust and establishes a larger project narrative, an alternate history I hope to continue. '87 Redraft:* Colts (2-14) Vinny Testaverde Oilers (2-14) Cornelius Bennett Cowboys (3-13) Brian Bosworth Packers (4-12) Alonzo Highsmith Eagles (5-11) Jerome Brown Niners from (Chiefs (5-11) Christian Okoye Patriots (6-10) Bruce Armstrong Bucs (6-10) Greg Lloyd Bills (7-9) Shane Conlan Raiders (7-9) Hardy Nickerson Saints (7-9) Shane Knight Vikings (8-8) Brent Fullwood Seahawks (8-8) Tyrone Braxton Lions (8-8) Jerry Ball Broncos (8-8) Ricky Nattiel Bears (8-8) Steve Beuerlein Chiefs (5-11 from Niners (8-7-1) + Joe Cribbs) Harris Barton Browns (15-1) Rod Woodson Steelers (10-6) Jason Bosa Falcons (10-6) Jim Harbaugh Giants (10-6) Mark Ingram Bengals (10-6) Danny Noonan Oilers (from Rams (10-6) dating back to ’85 Jim Everett trade) Haywood Jeffries Jets (11-5) DJ Dozier Redskins (11-5) Tony Woods Dolphins (12-4) Thomas Everett Cardinals (12-3-1) Tim McDonald Chargers (10-6) Ed Simmons (from Browns + Chip Banks) Features: -Based on 1987 full season hack -Custom edits following progression of NFL’ 86: Lost USFLers rom season, including hypothetical trades (some based on real “what if?” moves*, others based on experiment), -1st round redraft based on narrative and other sources (see read me) -Inclusion of notably absent rookies (Cris Carter, Alonzo Highsmith, Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, Jim Harbaugh, Haywood Jeffries, Tommie Agee, Jessie Tuggle, and more) -Restored players cut in favor of replacement players from ‘87 in some cases. -added more exceptional USFL players (Ernest Anderson, Putt Choate, Chuck Clanton, John Corker, Kiki DeAyala, Greg Fields, Jackie Flowers, Pat Phenix, Mark Keel, Ken Lacy, Bruce Thornton, Marcus Marek, and others) often replacing scabs not on final ‘87 rosters or filling in gaps from first round redraft. -Back from the dead: Joe Delaney and David Overstreet return to the league after sojourns in the USFL and CFL -7 minute quarters -Stats after every quarter -Wedge formation on kickoffs -2nd Uniform edits (feel free to provide suggestions): 1. Orange jersey blue helmets and pants for Bears (sort of look like Broncos but a darker shade) 2. gold jersey/red pants for Chiefs 3. Chargers get yellow helmet and gold pants 4. Yellow helmet and pants, red jerseys for Washington 5. Carolina blue-ish for Cardinals 6. Red helmets and black jerseys for Falcons (resembles ‘66 uniforms) 7. Second uni double-greens, double-purples, and double-blues for Jets, Vikings, and Giants (experiment) 8. Silver pants/helmets and green jerseys for Eagles (closer approximation to the uni from this era—the pants were the thing). 9. Light Red/pink helmet and pants, blue jersey 1st for Bills Included in this file: -’87 Age of Vinny Rom -Save State for up to Week 15 of ’86 (Rom available on Tecmobowl.org) -Save State for up to end of regular season of ‘86 (.fcs) -Save State for very end of '86 season (.fcs) -Save State for ’87 with “locked”-in schedule (schedule shouldn’t randomize) (.fcs) *Agee and Lloyd both missed their rookie seasons due to injury, but not in this timeline--they are a little beefed up as their stats are based on '89 and '90, but that should even out in further rom edits (the computer rarely plays Agee anyway, unless Warner gets injured--he's good, but not great either so I have not seen any game imbalance). Collins, Knight, Woods, McDonald, and Braxton do not appear in this rom (Braxton and will appear in '88, filling in for the retired Kenny Easley, McDonald will in for Leonard Smith, and Woods will fill in for Butz, who has been "retired" from this rom in favor of Matt Millen; for details, check out the read me). **Doug Williams to the Raiders in '87 nearly happened, but Gibbs kiboshed because he felt he needed a veteran back-up for Schroeder; the Dickerson trade happens but under different contexts.

This rom is a mild edit of the already fantastic 1986 season already available in the 1970-1994 pack. The '86 season is often forgotten for seeing another influx of standout USFL quarterbacks and stars into the league. This rom hopes to do two things: rectify the loss of a few standout USFL players due to TSB's technical limitations, while also providing a sort of "what if?" if these players saw more action. Best to play this rom thinking the Dolphins win Super Bowl XX in this timeline (a 34-24 win against the Bears), and that a young, charismatic minor Communist Party official named Vasiliy Morenov has successfully emerged as General Secretary after a power struggle between the old Stalinists still hanging on and more scattershot liberalizers like Gorbachev, who was last seen organizing the new embassy in Benin. Player stats were sourced from the excellent USFL-WLAF Rom and USFL-NFL Rom. Flutie's stats come from the 1988 season rom. All edits made in TSBTool (.091) Player additions/changes (realistic) Doug Flutie is the starting qb for the Bears--The Rams held Flutie's NFL rights but the Bears would trade for Flutie in October 86 after Jim McMahon's injury. Flutie started four games. He replaces Mike Tomzack here; this rom hypothesizes how would it play out if he was on the team the whole season (I am playing through 86 and they are 5-7). Chuck Fusina is a backup qb for the Packers--The two USFL champion quarterback was a third-stringer for Packers in 86, making a few appearances. He is a solid quarterback and had a little left in the tank. Vince Ferragamo, after riding on the NFL hog for one good season, has retired to make his sickly sweet white wines. Reggie Collier is a backup qb for the Cowboys--Collier was one of a few USFL quarterbacks (Walter Lewis, who is included in this rom as well) who displayed the archetypal qualities of recent qbs--he was mobile with a good arm. The Cowboys had selected him in 83 and signed him after the USFL folded with the idea of developing him into a project qb. He made just 4 appearances, including one start. It could be really fun grouping Collier with Walker and Dorsett. Steve Pelluer is erased from history; Collier is a backup to Danny White, who got the Cowboys off to a 6-2 start before suffering a season ending injury. Collier throws like Steve Young. Marcus Dupree is the #4 back for the Rams--The Rams held Dupree's rights in 1986, even after his devastating knee injury in week 1 of the 85 USFL season. Dupree here is more in his prime, and is slotted into the #4 slot. He is a really good kick returner and makes a formidable backfield with Dickerson. Player Changes/Edits (Speculative) Walter Lewis is the backup qb for the Falcons--Walter Lewis never played in the NFL after his USFL career with the Showboats (he spent '86 as a backup with Montreal of the CFL), but he was a more successful Collier in the Small Potato league and pretty fun. He is also wreckless--in a game against the Niners, I threw for 278 yards, 3 tds, but I also was intercepted by Ronnie Lott 5 times. He kind of plays like Steve Young but he seems faster than either of them. I put him on the Falcons due to geographic proximity (he played at Alabama in college) and their three receiver setup. Gerald Riggs was also a great multi-tooled running back that could gel with him. Backs up David Archer. Brian Sipe is the backup qb for the Raiders--Frustrated by Marc Wilson's erratic play, and with Plunket injured in a week 4 loss to the Chargers, Davis brings in the 37 year old former NFL MVP and Generals and Bulls star; Sipe never suffers the career-ending injury that knocked him out of the 85 USFL season. The Raiders sort of meander through 86, with Davis eyeing a possible move up the draft to get Vinny Testeverde. That he passed on Marino in 83 still haunts him. One non-USFL themed edit: Hugh Green is on the active roster of the 86 Dolphins--The Dolphin's best Linebracker through the late 80s and early 90s suffered a knee injury in week 2 of the 86 season (a 51-45 OT loss to the Jets). Because of his early move to the IR, the original 86 season rom does not include him. Green is restored with his excellent 85 stats. Got to defend that ring. ROM Edits: I have added two edits via the Forum and TSBTool here: *7 minute quarters. This seems to alleviate, at least a little, the ramped-up difficulty that occurs late in the season and into the playoffs. *Stat Screen after every quarter. As a life-long Cleveland Browns fan, 86 is a bittersweet season as well; I was 5 when it happened, so I don't have a great memory of it, but I have been constantly reminded of The Drive. I highly recommend watching the Divisional Playoff against the Jets. It is on YouTube and it is fun as hell. [The creative elements in here--the Dolphins winning the SB in 85--are based on my play through of the 85 season with the two Rom Edits. I have lost the file, but if I recover it I will try to include it in an update. Some interesting details from memory that informed this hack: -The Bears finish 14-2, with both losses by a total margin of 2 points--a 20-19 loss to the Lions in Week 10 and a 22-21 loss to the Falcons in Week 13. -The Falcons and Jets both miss the playoffs due to massive late season meltdowns. Both clubs are 9-5 headed into Week 15, and both clubs would lose their final two games. The Jets are hammered by the two best defenses in the league: the lost to the Bears 19-7 in Week 15 and the Browns 34-14. The Falcons losses are more painful as both come in overtime: 30-27 to the Vikings in Week 15, 27-24 to the 2-14 Saints in Week 16. -The Chargers, Patriots, and Vikings all win their final 4 games to clinch spots on Week 16, each finishing 9-7, 9-7, and 10-6 respectively. -The Niners have the worse season ever for a reigning champ, going 5-10-1. -The Chargers score 513 points, the most ever for an NFL team up to this period. -Gerald Riggs breaks Eric Dickerson's rushing record, finishing with 2,325 yds and 26 TDs. -Riggs also sets the single game rushing yard record, with 24 carries for 318 yds against the Niners. -Mike Quick becomes the first 2,000 yd receiver in NFL history with 2,042. He also catches 18 touchdowns. -Miami's Marks Brothers combine for over 3,000 yds receiving. Duper finishes with 1,519 yds; Clayton 1,483 -Dan Fouts breaks Marino's record for most TD passes in a season with 52. -Brian Brennan, in Week 12 against the Bengals, becomes the first player in NFL history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a game. They are the only touchdowns Cleveland scores in a 19-17 win. This victory captures the division. -Division winner records: Miami (AFC East) 11-5 Cleveland (AFC Central) 14-2 Seattle (AFC West) 12-4 Wild Card: Chargers (9-7), Patriots (9-7) St. Louis (NFC East, I have an affinity) 12-4 Chicago (NFC Central) 14-2 Los Angeles (NFC West) 10-6 Wild Card: Minnesota (10-6), New York (9-7) Wild Card games: San Diego 42, New England 21 New York 20, Minnesota 0 Divisional Playoff: Miami 51, Seattle 41 (with Curt Warner out, Randall Morris rushes for 293 yds and 3 tds in the loss) Cleveland 28, San Diego 26 St. Louis 27, Los Angeles 23 (Dickerson rushes for 252 yds and 2 tds, this game is called "The Fumble," as Dickerson fumbled the go ahead TD on the 2 yard line) Chicago 30, New York 24 OT (Bears lose Payton for the season early; Phil Simms is stripped in OT by Dan Hampton, Richard Dent recovers and returns fumble for winner) Championship Games: Miami 31, Cleveland 21 (Browns turnover ball 5 times, Kosar throws 4 picks) Chicago 35, St. Louis 24 Super Bowl XX: Miami 34, Chicago 24 ] Enjoy!