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It had its critics. It had poor TV ratings. It had its growing pains. But the XFL also
had a plan, which by league accounts, it met and even surpassed in some areas.
After a very rocky inaugural season, the XFL is looking ahead to next year, despite
reports that NBC and UPN will pull out of their TV agreements with the league.
NBC is expected to make a decision by the end of May on whether to televise another XFL
season, drop only the telecasts of the league in which it has a partial ownership interest
or perhaps sever its financial ties altogether.
XFL president Basil DeVito Jr. has said the league cannot survive on a cable contract
alone, but the league may be forced to do so or fold. Either way, the next few months will
be crucial in the league’s future. What follows is a recap of each team’s first
season.
Birmingham Thunderbolts
Finished: 2-8, fourth in East
The Good: WR/KR Stepfret Williams was probably the most consistent weapon the
Bolts had after QB Casey Weldon was lost for the season. Williams had the first
punt-return touchdown in the XFL and finished the year among the league leaders in several
receiving categories.
The Bad: Many thought early on that RB James Bostic would anchor the offense and
be one of the league’s most explosive running backs. But Bostic never got on track
and was forced into a featured role after Weldon’s injury. Bostic ran well, but he
just didn’t find the endzone frequently enough.
The XFL Moment: Williams’ punt return for a touchdown clearly was the top
XFL moment for this team. Afterwards, announcers across the league couldn’t stop
praising the league’s revolutionary punt-return rules. Even Williams said he
wouldn’t have attempted to return that kick in the NFL.
Summary: The Bolts seemed to be in good shape after the first few weeks, and
Williams and Weldon seemed to be evolving into top scoring threats. That took the pressure
off of Bostic to put points on the board. But Weldon then suffered a season-ending
shoulder injury, the passing game collapsed and Bostic was thrust into a more prominent
role with little help.
Chicago Enforcers
Finished: 5-5, second in East
The Good: The running game was far and away the best in the league. RB John
Avery led the league with 800 rushing yards in the regular season. RB LeShon Johnson
complemented Avery perfectly with a more bruising style of running and was more of threat
in the red zone than Avery, who was more a big-play breaker.
The Bad: The Enforcers never seemed to get a break through the first four weeks.
Whether it was bad luck or bad execution, it didn’t seem to matter — the
Enforcers were on the losing end of their first four games. From getting beaten in double
overtime by Los Angeles to having the ball slip out of QB Tim Lester’s hand and into
an opponent’s hands for an interception, the Enforcers seemed jinxed out of the gate.
The XFL Moment: In Week Two, the Enforcers lost to the Xtreme in double
overtime. The entire game could qualify as an XFL Moment, but one play in particular
stands out. Enforcers CB Corey Ivy’s hit on Xtreme WR Darnell McDonald in the end
zone was a bone-crushing hit that jarred the ball loose and preserved the lead, albeit
temporarily. The announcers handled it well, simply by not saying such a hit would never
happen in other leagues.
Summary: While the Enforcers started out in a funk, they bounced back behind QB
Kevin McDougal, who should be their starting quarterback next season. The defense was full
of quality players who weren’t extremely flashy and learned how to play as a unit.
Basically, the Enforcers were the poster team in a league laden with growing pains and
teams forced to establish chemistry on the fly.
New York/New Jersey Hitmen
Finished: 4-6, third in East
The Good: The Hitmen’s unheralded defense was one of the better defenses in
the league. It forced turnovers and played in a bend-but-don’t-break fashion. This
formula worked for much of the season, as the Hitmen rarely got blown out of the water.
The Bad: The offense struggled to find its rhythm and style through the first
half of the season. Once QB Wally Richardson stepped in, it got better. But it was just
too little, too late at that point, as the Hitmen made it to the brink of the playoffs but
didn’t qualify.
The XFL Moment: It had to be when QB Charles Puleri squared off against the
boo-birds at Giants Stadium. The all-access moment resulted in the first really
productive, really enthusiastic sideline interview that any XFL reporters had done to that
point, and Puleri handled the boos just the way the league would have wanted — by
taking the boo-birds on.
Summary: The Hitmen’s defense carried the load for the team through its
rough start, but by the time the offense came around, it was too late for the team to make
the playoffs. The Hitmen made a very serious push behind Richardson, but it wasn’t
enough. Early dramatics by NBC announcer Jesse Ventura directed toward Hitmen head coach
Rusty Tillman may have caused more of a distraction in the locker room than it might have
appeared. Once Ventura was ordered to back off and Tillman allowed to coach, the Hitmen
seemed to turn it around.
Orlando Rage
Finished: 8-2, first in East
The Good: The Rage jumped out to a 6-0 start and looked like the team to beat
heading into the stretch run. The Rage’s attack on both sides of the ball was very
well-balanced. QB Jeff Brohm was an early favorite for the league’s Player of the
Year award, and head coach Galen Hall looked like a genius.
The Bad: Two huge hits on Brohm destroyed the Rage’s stellar
season-in-the-making. Both hits knocked Brohm out — the second one for the season.
That forced the Rage to rely on Brian Kuklick, who played fairly well but wasn’t as
good or as much a leader on the field as Brohm had been.
The XFL Moment: After sitting out one week with a separated shoulder, Brohm
returned to action. In an interview on the field, cameras caught him announcing: "Is
this the XFL? Do I have a pulse? Then I can play." That quote, in a way, became a
workable slogan for the league’s brand of players.
Summary: The Rage lost in the semifinals to San Francisco, capping a very
disappointing stretch run during which they lost three games (the playoff included). Had
Brohm not gotten hurt, he might have headed off the slide at the pass. But once Brohm went
down, any wind in the Rage’s sails died down.
Las Vegas Outlaws
Finished: 4-6, fourth in West
The Good: The Outlaws’ defense was phenomenal through the first half of the
year, though it seemed to slow down during the second half. "The Dealers of
Doom," the official nickname for the unit, allowed no touchdowns the first three
weeks of the season and finished the year as the top-ranked defense in the league.
The Bad: The offense was racked with inconsistency and injuries. Starting QB
Ryan Clement missed several games, and his backups were not consistent at all. Due to the
constant changing of signalcallers, the Outlaws’ offense never seemed synchronized.
The XFL Moment: The Outlaws’ XFL Moment is somewhat a conglomeration of
moments. RB Rod Smart had the phrase "He Hate Me" on the back of his jersey.
While originally many people thought it was silly, it actually garnered Smart some
attention. Throughout the season, there were "We Hate He" and "We Love
He" signs, and Smart’s opponents put "We Hate He" on their jerseys.
Smart’s nickname certainly added to the enthusiasm.
Summary: Early on, it seemed as though Vegas would make a strong push for the
championship on the premise that defense wins championships. Had Clement not gotten
injured, it might have been different. But Clement’s injury showed how important a
consistent leader is to a brand new ballclub.
Los Angeles Xtreme
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Xtreme QB
Tommy Maddox
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Finished: 7-3, first in West, XFL champs
The Good: QB Tommy Maddox won the XFL Player of the Year award, and it was well
deserved. Maddox was the only quarterback to start every game for his team, and he was the
heart and soul of the Xtreme. Without Maddox, the Xtreme would’ve likely crumbled
after a heartbreaking Week One loss.
The Bad: The Xtreme needed a jump-start in its running and kicking games early
on. But once it got going, it seemed to be unstoppable.
The XFL Moment: PK Jose Cortez struggled badly in the first two weeks, causing
Maddox to rant and rave when Cortez was put in the Week Two game to attempt a field goal,
which he missed. The Xtreme’s XFL Moment came in Week Three, when Cortez hit four
field goals, including the game-winner.
Summary: With the evolution of a running game, the Xtreme became the most
balanced team in the league. Maddox was the emotional leader on a team full of characters
and potential egos. Maddox was the glue that kept this team on course. The worst thing
that could happen for the Xtreme would be losing Maddox to the NFL. While Maddox said he
hasn’t thought about going back to the NFL, can he really resist if a team offers him
another shot?
Memphis Maniax
Finished: 5-5, third in West
The Good: The Maniax were able to get solid, consistent play from QB Jim
Druckenmiller midway through the season. Druckenmiller showed his poise in leading the
Maniax on a game-winning drive over the Enforcers in Week Six. Druckenmiller passed for
413 yards and three touchdowns and won Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Bad: When starting RB Rashaan Salaam hurt his shoulder and was lost for the
season, it just killed the running game. That aspect of the offense was supposed to be the
staple of the Maniax’s attack. After Salaam’s injury, no back stepped up, and
Druckenmiller was forced to do more with less.
The XFL Moment: When Salaam was injured, a camera got in his face on the
sideline while the team doctors were looking him over. As they lifted his arm, viewers
could clearly see the pain shoot through him. At that point, you didn’t need a PhD to
know Salaam was done.
Summary: The Maniax were solid through the middle part of the season, when
Druckenmiller stepped in, but they needed better play from their defense and needed Salaam
healthy. When Salaam went down, several people needed to step up, and only Druckenmiller
did.
San Francisco Demons
Finished: 5-5, second in West
The Good: The play of QBs Mike Pawlawski and Pat Barnes coupled with stellar run
defense allowed the Demons to surprise some folks and make it to the "Million Dollar
Game." Pawlawski likely would have ranked right with Xtreme QB Tommy Maddox had he
not missed a few games with shoulder and neck injuries. Barnes played well in
Pawlaw-ski’s place.
The Bad: The defense was very susceptible to giving up the big play, and in the
end, it’s what kept the Demons from being the champions of the league. While their
run defense was suffocating most of the season, their secondary just couldn’t seem to
keep up with receivers on every single snap.
The XFL Moment: One moment stands out that just boosted the enthusiasm of the
league in San Francisco. The Week One, last-second win at home against the Xtreme was a
thriller. PK Mike Panasuk drilled home the winning field goal in the closing seconds to
cap an extremely sloppy game on both sides of the ball.
Summary: If the Demons had as formidable a running game as the Xtreme and if
they had played better against the pass, they might have been XFL champions. But the
Demons fell just a few cards short of a full deck. While their season-ending run and upset
of the Rage in the playoffs may have been somewhat magical, they did fall short of winning
the first-place $1 million prize, and there’s no prize in the XFL for second place.
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