Hi all,

Not sure this is appropriate or not, so if it is not, please feel free to lock or remove the post. 

I am working on a multi year (1983-2020?) USFL alt history by using Draft Day Football 21 to simulate and track data while I add in weekly recaps, news stories, etc. as if in real time.  To do this I created a website on Wix as the home to the league.  I like the website format, because it gives me more ability to create a look for the ongoing alternate history, but it does not give me much room for forum/discussion, so I was hoping that this thread could be something of an informal forum about the posting on the website. 

If that is OK with everyone, the website is this one, and we are just about to start 1984 after a 1983 season which saw Tampa Bay, not Michigan  take the league title.  

The USFL expanded by only 4 teams (not 6) and there is more of a focus on financial balance by having each team with a hard salary cap and 3 exempt players, and by having revenue sharing that includes some gate receipts as well as sponsorship and tv money.  It may not save all the USFL teams from financial ruin, and we have already seen Chicago and Arizona swap franchises just as in reality back in 83-84.  But as we get further and further into the simulation, more disparity between reality and this alternate reality will develop. 

Again, if using this forum as a sounding board for an externally based USFL alt history is not OK, I understand, but I thought it might be allowable and this format lets me do more visually with the alt history on the website. 

Thanks, and I hope folks like it. 

[size=125]EAST                      Record (Division) Point Differential
NEW JERSEY         3-0 (0-0)  +45
ORLANDO              2-1 (0-0)  +32
ATLANTA                1-2 (0-0)  -5
WASHINGTON       1-2 (0-0)  -26

CENTRAL
CHICAGO              3-0 (2-0)  +35
ST LOUIS              2-1 (1-1)  +13
NEW ORLEANS    1-2 (1-1)  -14
BIRMINGHAM       0-3 (0-2)  -59

WEST
AUSTIN                3-0 (1-0)  +57
CALIFORNIA        1-2 (1-0)  -2
DENVER              1-2 (0-1)  -36
SAN DIEGO         0-3 (0-1)  -59


The FFL updated its QB Rating system, which now factors in the TD-INT ratio as a major component.  The new formula is ((Yardage x Completion %) x (TD-INT))/10.  Numbers will increase over the season as TD and INT increase as well, but the ratings now take into account the scoring and the turnovers produced, and this has created a significant shift in the ratings, particularly as the amazing TD production of DeShon Kizer factors into the equation. 

PASSING   Comp-Att, Comp %, Yards, TD, INT, FFL Score
D. Kizer (CHI)       52-90  68%   711yards    11-2   435
J. Ta'amu (NO)     66-91  70%   794yards     6-1    246
D. Webb (CAL)     63-97  68%   719yards     8-3    246
G. Gilbert (AUS)   50-82  55%   625yards     8-1    241
PJ Walker (NJ)     61-85  75%   769yards     5-1    229

RUSHING  Att-Yards-YPC-TDs
I. Crowell (NJ)              57-276-4.8-2
P. Barber (BRM)          37-269-7.3-0
W. Smallwood (WSH)  50-269-5.4-1
J. McKinnon (AUS)      54-241-4.5-0
W. Gallman (ATL)        53-226-4.3-2

RECEIVING    REC-Yards-YPC-TD
G. Allison (CHI)            21- 231- 11.0- 4
L. Treadwell (NO)        21- 207- 9.9- 3
K. Coutee (BRM)         20- 189- 9.5- 0
E. St. Brown (CHI)   

In case anyone is wondering, on Passing stats, the FFL Score is the league's system for rating a QB.  It is much simpler than the NFL's.  Basically you take the total number of yards and multiply it by the completion percentage.  I may try to figure out a way to add in TD-INT ratio as well, but for now it is yards x completion %. 

MARCH 22, 2021 

SECOND WEEK OF FFL IN THE BOOKS 

With two weeks in the books we are beginning to see some patterns in the play of the FFL.  While most teams seem to be relying on their offense to get it done, in New Jersey defense is king.  Rushing is not quite there yet and most teams are leaning a lot on their young quarterbacks. And, as many expected, the offensive lines are not quite as cohesive as they need to be, leading to sacks, blown up plays and some turnovers.   Let’s get right to this weeks recaps: 


CHI 35  BRM 14
The lights came on this Friday in Chicago’s SeatGeek Stadium, and the Machine came to impress.  Chicago’s new spring team played solid football in all facets of the game and took it to the Birmingham Bulldozers, winning easily.   And while the rushing duo of CJ Prosise and Corey Clement put up a solid 104 yards rushing, this was the DeShone Kizer show.  Kizer only threw for 200 total yards, but with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions, he demonstrated an ability to pick apart the Dozer defense with precision.   

The scoring started in the first quarter when Kizer hit wideout Geronimo Allison with the first of two touchdowns on the day, a beautiful rocket fit between two defenders.  On their next possession Kizer hit Clement on a swing route that found paydirt to put the Machine up 14-0. After Devlin Hodges interception gave Chicago the ball on the Dozer 19 yard line, Kizer again hit Allison, and the Machine took an unassailable 21-0 lead.  

[color=#000000]Birmingham would find some offense in the second half, as TE Malcom Jenkins and WR Keke Coutee with scoring passes, but Kizer remained hot as ever, hitting on two more scoring plays, both to TE Troy Fumagalli, to give the Machine an easy 35-14 victory on a windy, but p

March 15, 2021 
FL WEEK ONE SURPRISES AND EXCITES THE COUNTRY 
After two years of planning, delays, disruptions and a global epidemic, the Futures Football League, the brainchild of industry rebels Mark Cuban, Vince McMahon and Charlie Ebersol had its big debut this weekend, and what a debut it was.  Smaller venues packed to the rafters but with an energy we have not seen in pro football in a long time. Great action with players clearly ready to show what they have, and TV ratings higher than anyone anticipated. By all accounts the first week of spring football and the FFL was a huge success.  Let’s take it game by game. 



ORL 24  STL 30
The FFL scheduled their first game, a Friday Night tilt in St. Louis, a city jilted by the NFL, and it gave the league exactly what they needed.  The St. Louis Skippers were scheduled to move to a 20,000 seat stadium in 2022, but after their debut at The Dome, where more than 42,000 filled the lower dome and the sidelines of the upper level, the FFL may want to reconsider the move.  St. Louis came out in numbers to see football return to the Gateway City, and their hometown Skippers did not disappoint, snagging a 30-24 victory in overtime after being tied at 14 at half and 24 at the end of regulation with the Orlando Explorers. 

[color=#000000]There were many outstanding performances in this one, but the biggest star of the night had to be Skipper QB Paxton Lynch.  The former Bronco threw for 367 yards and 3 TD’s to lead the Skippers over the Explorers. He was aided by a big night from former Eagle & Dolphin, WR Jordan Matthews, who snagged 9 passes for a whopping 128 yards.  For Orlando, the TE’s played the biggest role in their offense, as QB Ryan Finley combined with his top two TE’s, Joran Akins and DeAndre Goolsby for 2 scores along with