The Birmingham Stallions are the regular-season USFL Conference Champions.
That means the postseason is finally here!
Beating Michigan in the regular season is a big accomplishment, but it won’t mean much if it doesn’t translate to the playoffs.
The regular season was a mixed bag. Sometimes the Stallions look like a threat to win it all. Other weeks, not so much.
The team that beat Michigan twice and went down to the wire with St. Louis looks capable of winning it all.
But the team that lost to Memphis and DC had some holes.
Here are three key areas to look for in Birmingham this week. If they improve in these areas, their chances go way up.
Offensive Balance
On the surface, the offensive balance isn’t bad (1059 yards rushing vs. 2068 yards passing). But, yardage numbers can be deceiving.
The purpose of a balanced offense is to threaten the entire field on every play.
J’Mar loves to throw deep and intermediate routes. And, it’s not hard to see why he’s found a lot of success with it. But if that’s all you do, defenses adjust.
In the last game with Michigan, their defense played most of the game with two deep safeties. That allowed them to use creative designs to hide their coverages. Viewers could hear Coach Holtz on the headset several times trying to figure out what coverage they were in.
Despite Michigan focusing on stopping the pass, Birmingham never got their running game going. In fact, their running backs combined for a grand total of 37 yards.
The running backs will need to contribute more this week if the Stallions want to beat Michigan for a third time. Thankfully, Ricky Person Jr. has been running the ball well.
If Person and the other RBs continue to play well, it will simplify the coverages and open up the deep ball even more.
Unfortunately, establishing the run is only half the battle. The Birmingham Stallions must also find a way to stop the run.
Rushing Defense
The Stallions finished the season 3rd in rushing defense, allowing 92.1 yards per game.
Unfortunately, that comes after spending most of the year ranked first. The rushing defense in the last four games wasn’t nearly as good as in the first six.
- First six games: 76 rushing yards allowed per game.
- Last four games: 116 rushing yards allowed per game.
That 40-yard difference could become problematic if it continues into the playoffs.
The Birmingham Stallions’ defense played well most of the year. But not in the way a lot of top defenses do.
The Stallions employed a “bend but don’t break” philosophy. They allowed yards at times, but stepped up in two big situations.
- Third downs
- Redzone defense
Both of those situations are easier when your front seven stops the run.
Good run defense on first and second down leads to more third and longs.
In the red zone, there is less space for the DBs to cover, which allows defenses to get more aggressive. That only helps if you stop the run.
It’s also worth noting that with the 1, 2, and 3-point post-touchdown options, rushing defense could become important in a close game. One defensive stand on a conversion attempt could be the difference between winning and losing.
They’ve already lost a game this season on a 1-point conversion attempt. The Battlehawks’ Jacob Saylors broke the 28–28 tie with a 1-point run to win the game.
Of course, the game wouldn’t have come down to that play if the Stallions didn’t commit so many penalties and turnovers.
Penalties and Turnovers
In football, more games are lost than won. That’s even more true in the playoffs.
One ill-timed penalty or turnover is enough to end anyone’s season.
Unfortunately for the Birmingham Stallions, they’ve done a lot of both this season.
Their 8 penalty game against Memphis in week ten brings their season total to 76. That 7.6 penalties per game ranks last among the four playoff teams.
Their turnover margin isn’t much better. The Stallions’ turnover margin on the season is just +1. That’s not terrible, but it’s a lot lower than you typically see out of a championship contender.
Birmingham will need to play a cleaner game than normal if they want to hoist their fourth trophy in a row.
