Each week during the season, Parks’s Pulse will present a smattering of thoughts on the previous weekend’s games.
Ranking the games
1. Defenders 18, Stallions 11: A big upset by the home team and really, the only truly competitive game of the weekend.
2. Panthers 26, Showboats 12: Even in the loss, Memphis showed signs of life. They were in it until a Kai Nacua pick-six sealed the win for Michigan.
3. Renegades 33, Brahmas 9: A statement win to open the season for Arlington. San Antonio has too much talent to get whipped this badly.
4. Battlehawks 31, Roughnecks 6: St. Louis looked in mid-season form. While the game marked a disappointing start to the FOX Friday UFL block, the good news is not many people saw it.
Rude welcome
Anthony Brown is a quarterback many spring football observers had hoped would eventually make his way to the UFL at some point. Indeed, this off-season, he inked a deal with the Roughnecks, seemingly solving their starting QB woes. While he beat out Nolan Henderson and Jalan McClendon for the job in camp, his first outing was a struggle. Granted, he didn’t have much help around him, but the tone was set on the second play from scrimmage when Brown’s first pass was intercepted by Qwynnterrio Cole. Brown alternated time with Henderson, which was the plan going in, but after going 5-of-11 for 21 yards and two INTs, there’s a real question as to who will start week two.
All-Access moment of the week, part one
With Houston floundering heading into halftime, FOX caught Roughnecks Run Game Coordinator and NFL veteran coach Tom Cable appearing to “coach up” his head coach, Curtis Johnson, about what to say to the team at halftime. It was likely innocuous, with Cable relying on his years of experience to suggest some ideas to Johnson; but some saw it as Johnson needing his hand held to address his troops at the half. With questions already surrounding Johnson’s ability to lead, this was a moment that his detractors could point to as evidence that he should be out the door.
Booth view
It’s unusual for a head coach to be somewhere other than on the sidelines during a game. Yet it was almost the end of the first quarter of San Antonio’s game against Arlington before the announcers noted that Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips was stationed in the coach’s booth. The reason given was that he was letting the coordinators handle things at the field level. Of course, this came after they showed offensive coordinator A.J. Smith also up in the booth. There wasn’t any discussion of the impact of this move beyond the fleeting mention, even when San Antonio suffered from numerous issues with the play clock during the game.
Jarren’s clairvoyance
Jarren Horton returned to spring football this season as Memphis Showboats defensive coordinator, following a year away when his 2023 team, the Pittsburgh Maulers, were not one of the USFL teams to transfer over after the merger. Horton, along with a number of former Maulers players and coaches, joined the revamped Showboats this off-season. ESPN’s access included having their sideline reporter, Sam Acho, talk to the coordinators in-game. Horton was asked about an upcoming 2nd-and-11 play that his Memphis D would be defending against Michigan. He said Michigan liked to take shots downfield on 2nd-and-long, and sure enough, they did just that. It shows the level of research and preparation assistants must have on the tendencies of their opponents to game-plan and scheme against them each week.
Continuity counts
The teams that found initial success in week one seemed to be teams that had the most continuity from last season – and beyond. Four starters on the St. Louis offensive line are back for their third year together and the team was able to ride that line to a huge performance in the running game Friday night. It’s QB Luis Perez’s third year in coordinator Chuck Long’s offensive system in Arlington, and that rapport with his receivers and tight end showed in the team’s win over San Antonio, who was starting a QB new to the UFL (and new to the timing rules, which seemed to throw off Kellen Mond). Michigan, one of the teams that brought back the biggest percentage of its players from last season, downed a Memphis team that is almost completely brand-new. Birmingham seemed to be the exception, though while QB Alex McGough had played under head coach Skip Holtz before, he spent the last year away from the Stallions (and a year away from playing QB).
It’s gotta be the helmet
It wasn’t until just before the game that the Arlington Renegades teased the return of the bandit helmet, replacing the stylized “R” that was used when the team returned to the field in 2023. Fans criticized some of the differences in uniforms for teams that carried over from XFL 2020 to 2023, and one of the loudest criticisms was the removal of the bandit logo on Arlington’s helmet. The old logo (with a slight alteration) returned to coincide with the debut of the team’s mascot, Billy the Bandit. After a down year last year, the Renegades dominated their in-state rival Brahmas. Was it the helmet design? Perhaps we’ll never know.
All-access moment of the week, part two
After D.C.’s win over the Stallions, Defenders interim head coach Shannon Harris was ecstatic. He greeted Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz for the post-game handshake, and it was clear he had something to get off his chest. “You told me I was a doorman at headquarters!” Harris angrily shouted at Holtz. Holtz seemed to have no idea what Harris was referring to, and replied, “No I did not!” It was a shocking moment, referencing something viewers had not been privy to beforehand (and are still unclear the details about). Even after that, Harris had positive things to say about the opponent when interviewed by ESPN right afterward.
