AH.Com sports fans often ponder: What is the USFL had succeeded?
Good question. Worthy of examination, for certain, BUT...y'know what we never ask? (Or, maybe someone has, I'm lazy, and the search function kinda frustrates me with some of the stuff I get.)
What if there was no USFL?
Let's choose the most meaty POD to kick this baby off: No 1982 Players Strike.
Mmmmmm. Smell that, pigskin fans? That's bacon.
You want food for thought?
Well, I, Sigma7, the AH.com Fairy Godmother of Sport (self proclaimed ), just gave you a great big plate of it!
Let's dig in with a heaping helping of just the butterflies that come from a full 1982 NFL season...
Number 1: Which ten teams go to the playoffs and how?
Gimmie your best guesses:
NFC East winner:
NFC Central winner:
NFC West winner:
NFC Wild Card 1:
NFC Wild Card 2:
AFC East winner:
AFC Central winner:
AFC West winner:
AFC Wild Card 1:
AFC Wild Card 2:
Number 2: The rest of the league!
Who lives? Who dies? Who learns to fly?! (Totally ripped off the old NWA/WCW promotional line for Starcade '86: Night of The Skywalkers, but TOTALLY worth it!)
Who surprises?
Who screws the pooch?
Who never had a chance and pretty much lives up to OTL's failures?
Number 3: How does it all play out?
What are the final standings?
Who wins in the playoffs?
Who wins Super Bowl XVII?
What do the franchises learn from a full '82 season that they kinda missed because they might have done a bit better in the short schedule than they would have against the full schedule?
Number 4: The Aftermath...
Herschel Walker: What does he do?
Sue the league? If so, can he win? If he wins, what does that mean for the NFL's draft rules in 1983? Could the decision come down in time for the draft?
If not, could a Supplemental Draft Bonanza happen in July or August?
Will ALL juniors who had impressive 1982 seasons be allowed to declare?
Will the process end up complicated enough that some do, but others don't?
How many potential draftees will choose NOT TO declare for fear of being drafted by The Colts and Darth Irsay?
OR...does he just go back to Georgia for his senior season possibly win another Heisman and then become the odds on favorite for #1 overall in the '84 Draft?
If he's eligible for either the regular draft or a supplemental draft, does he spark a bidding war between Dallas, the Giants and Jets (OTL, Walker publicly stated he'd only sign with one of those three teams.) to draft him?
Then there's OTL's slugs to consider, but consider THIS:
In the entire history of the 16 game schedule, on one team has ever gone 16-0...and only one team has ever gone 0-16. (And it was in the same season and it TOTALLY freaked me out! It was total Twilight Zone time...)
Could someone other than the Colts win the Elway (and possibly Herschel Walker) Derby?
What about some other players who, OTL, signed with the USFL, end up first round picks- and high picks at that?
Wither Tim Spencer, Ohio St. running back who literally ran away with just about every stat that didn't involve throwing, catching or kicking the ball, tackling players carrying the ball, or fielding balls that had been kicked or punted? If he's not under contract to a pro team on draft day (like he was OTL), can he crack the 1st round? If not, where does he go? What kind of impact does it have on the draft board?
Which USFL signees (players that were drafted by- and signed -by USFL teams, thus ending up low picks in the NFL draft as hedge bets, Spencer was one such player) would, or could, have gone higher in the 1983 draft had they been waiting for graduation on Draft Day, rather than preparing for their first pro season with the USFL?
So hit me with your thoughts, your questions (I'm sure I didn't think of everything, give us more to chew on!) and a quick slant over the middle, that catches the safeties out of position and allows us to take the rock all the way to The House for six!(After which, I shall do a variation on the Lambeau Leap that I call the The Lone Star Leap- not terribly original, but SHUT UP!...)
Good question. Worthy of examination, for certain, BUT...y'know what we never ask? (Or, maybe someone has, I'm lazy, and the search function kinda frustrates me with some of the stuff I get.)
What if there was no USFL?
Let's choose the most meaty POD to kick this baby off: No 1982 Players Strike.
Mmmmmm. Smell that, pigskin fans? That's bacon.
You want food for thought?
Well, I, Sigma7, the AH.com Fairy Godmother of Sport (self proclaimed ), just gave you a great big plate of it!
Let's dig in with a heaping helping of just the butterflies that come from a full 1982 NFL season...
Number 1: Which ten teams go to the playoffs and how?
Gimmie your best guesses:
NFC East winner:
NFC Central winner:
NFC West winner:
NFC Wild Card 1:
NFC Wild Card 2:
AFC East winner:
AFC Central winner:
AFC West winner:
AFC Wild Card 1:
AFC Wild Card 2:
Number 2: The rest of the league!
Who lives? Who dies? Who learns to fly?! (Totally ripped off the old NWA/WCW promotional line for Starcade '86: Night of The Skywalkers, but TOTALLY worth it!)
Who surprises?
Who screws the pooch?
Who never had a chance and pretty much lives up to OTL's failures?
Number 3: How does it all play out?
What are the final standings?
Who wins in the playoffs?
Who wins Super Bowl XVII?
What do the franchises learn from a full '82 season that they kinda missed because they might have done a bit better in the short schedule than they would have against the full schedule?
Number 4: The Aftermath...
Herschel Walker: What does he do?
Sue the league? If so, can he win? If he wins, what does that mean for the NFL's draft rules in 1983? Could the decision come down in time for the draft?
If not, could a Supplemental Draft Bonanza happen in July or August?
Will ALL juniors who had impressive 1982 seasons be allowed to declare?
Will the process end up complicated enough that some do, but others don't?
How many potential draftees will choose NOT TO declare for fear of being drafted by The Colts and Darth Irsay?
OR...does he just go back to Georgia for his senior season possibly win another Heisman and then become the odds on favorite for #1 overall in the '84 Draft?
If he's eligible for either the regular draft or a supplemental draft, does he spark a bidding war between Dallas, the Giants and Jets (OTL, Walker publicly stated he'd only sign with one of those three teams.) to draft him?
Then there's OTL's slugs to consider, but consider THIS:
In the entire history of the 16 game schedule, on one team has ever gone 16-0...and only one team has ever gone 0-16. (And it was in the same season and it TOTALLY freaked me out! It was total Twilight Zone time...)
Could someone other than the Colts win the Elway (and possibly Herschel Walker) Derby?
What about some other players who, OTL, signed with the USFL, end up first round picks- and high picks at that?
Wither Tim Spencer, Ohio St. running back who literally ran away with just about every stat that didn't involve throwing, catching or kicking the ball, tackling players carrying the ball, or fielding balls that had been kicked or punted? If he's not under contract to a pro team on draft day (like he was OTL), can he crack the 1st round? If not, where does he go? What kind of impact does it have on the draft board?
Which USFL signees (players that were drafted by- and signed -by USFL teams, thus ending up low picks in the NFL draft as hedge bets, Spencer was one such player) would, or could, have gone higher in the 1983 draft had they been waiting for graduation on Draft Day, rather than preparing for their first pro season with the USFL?
So hit me with your thoughts, your questions (I'm sure I didn't think of everything, give us more to chew on!) and a quick slant over the middle, that catches the safeties out of position and allows us to take the rock all the way to The House for six!(After which, I shall do a variation on the Lambeau Leap that I call the The Lone Star Leap- not terribly original, but SHUT UP!...)