USFL 2022: New Jersey Generals Preview (and New…

USFL – We’re entering the last week of our USFL previews, and so we turn to the team widely expected to be the bottom-feeders in the North Division, the New Jersey Generals. The Generals share the dubious honor of having a league-worst +700 odds to win the league, per DraftKings; the public at large has looked at what appears to be a porous defense and have opted to spread their money elsewhere. But, in a new league like this, surprises could certainly happen.

One thing we can mostly say for certain is that the Generals will in fact play in the USFL in 2022. The lawsuit against the new league from the old has been postponed and won’t even get a hearing on its preliminary injunction motion until April 18, two days after the new league’s opening kickoff. Once again, a case of bad timing by the original USFL; they filed their injunction late enough that a schedule slip pushed them back after the games will actually begin. But then, the nitty-gritty details of legal proceedings have never been the strong suit of the 1980s USFL.

Now, why did I start the Generals preview talking about failed lawsuits? It just seemed strangely appropriate for some reason. Normally, this is where we’d cut straight to talking about a team’s prospects, but as I was writing this, the USFL finally—finally!—announced its new rules, and they are interesting enough to take precedence here. So we’re kicking the Generals down to the end of the article so we can cover what the USFL will do differently.

USFL Rules

One area we criticized the USFL for in our initial preview was the lack of information on what rules modifications the new league would have. That’s one of the major draws for a new league like this—you may not have any idea who any of the players are and could care less about any of the teams, but it’s a chance to see people tinkering with the rules in ways the NFL never would dare to do by themselves. So we were pleasantly surprised to see the USFL come out with a pretty thick list of rules tweaks and modifications, ranging from the intriguing to the … well, let’s call them “curious,” and be kind. Let’s run through them.

Extra Points

When teams score a touchdown, they have three options:

• They can do a standard PAT from the 15-yard line for one point.
• They can run a scrimmage play from the 2-yard line for two points.
• Or, they could run a scrimmage play from the 10-yard line for three points.

This is similar to what the XFL did; they had their one-point play be a scrimmage play from the 2 and their two-point play being a scrimmage play from the 5, but the idea for scoring is the same. I worry that the difference between a 2-yard play and a 10-yard play will be too big to be worth just one extra point; they’re making the three-point play an act of desperation rather than a viable strategic option. I also fear that giving the teams to kick (which most coaches view as automatic, even with the line of scrimmage moved back) will reduce the impetus to go for two points at all. In the XFL, the idea was that you had to have your offense on the field anyway; why not back them up 3 more yards for the chance of an additional point? Here, I predict we’ll still see a lot of one-point kicking.

Kickoffs

All kickoffs will be from the 25-yard line rather than the NFL’s 35-yard line. No kicking team member can line up more than 1 yard behind the line, and the receiving team must have eight players in the “set-up zone” between their own 35- and 45-yard lines. Once the ball travels 20 yards, the first touch must be by the receiving team. The AAF, XFL, and USFL have all tweaked the kickoff rules (the AAF got rid of it; the XFL massively overcomplicated it), as they try to tinker with one of the more dangerous parts of the sport. I’m not sure the USFL’s rules quite hit the mark. Moving the kickoff back should encourage more returns and fewer touchbacks, but I’m not sure just taking away the kicking team’s running start is going to do much to avoid high-speed collisions. The XFL got around this by basically lining the two teams up next to each other, which was more successful. I’m also not sure what effect removing the 20-plus-yard onside kick will really have; it’s rare indeed that a kickoff bounces around live on the turf. We’ll see.

Onside Kicks

USFL teams will have two options as onside kicks. They can attempt a traditional kick from the 25-yard line, just like you would in the NFL. Alternatively, they can run a fourth-and-12 play from their own 33-yard line. Giving teams the option to do either retains the surprise onside kick possibility, while giving them the option to run a scrimmage play lets the best players decide the football game with a football play, rather than a random bouncing ball. Perfect. No notes.

Overtime

We’re going to a shootout format. Each team’s offense will alternate plays against the opposing defense from the 2-yard line. You get three plays, and each successful scoring attempt is worth two points. The team with the most points after each team has run its three plays wins the game. If the score is tied, it becomes sudden death. While the USFL website itself doesn’t specify, it appears this means both teams will get an even number of chances no matter what (so it’s not really sudden death; it’s “continue until we have a winner”). Both teams having an equal chance is good! Cutting off 98% of the field seems a little less good; it makes the end of the game a bit gimmicky. The NCAA currently has two possessions from the 25-yard line before they go to a shootout from the 2-yard line; it feels a little like the USFL is jumping straight to an end before actually giving teams a chance to win the game in something closer to regular football. Also: why two points? We’re just counting which team has the most successes, so it doesn’t matter if they’re worth two points, or one point, or six, or 27.3, or no points at all and just counting as an “overtime success” or something.

Two Forward Passes

Just what it says on the tin. Teams will be allowed to throw two forward passes behind the line of scrimmage. This used to be a high school rule, actually; the National Federation of State High School Associations allowed multiple passes up until 2005. They got rid of it because it was extremely rare and caused confusion about pass interference rules and things like that. I expect teams to try it intentionally once or twice and then forget about it, but getting rid of the penalty for a forward pass might actually help a little on wide receiver screens; if you don’t have to worry about getting the pass exactly backwards, the possibility of the receiver relaying the ball rather than just running straight up field could provide a wrinkle, if anyone manages to put together the talent to run such a play and the coach willing to call it.

Other Rules Changes

The other changes are relatively minor or easy to explain, and we can run through them quickly:

• Teams will be granted one replay challenge per game, decided by USFL Replay Command (read: Mike Pereira). Replay Command will also be able to overrule personal foul calls without a challenge, including roughing the passer, facemasks, defenseless players, and so forth—essentially making on-field judgment calls reviewable, albeit only at the discretion of the league.
   
• Pass interference is basically the NCAA rules. DPI is a spot foul if it occurs less than 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, and a 15-yard penalty if it’s beyond 15 yards—unless a defender intentionally tackles a receiver, in which case it reverts to being a spot foul.
   
• Also, if a pass does not cross the line of scrimmage, offensive pass interference cannot be called, nor can any player be ruled ineligible downfield. Start blocking early on those screens, boys.
   
• The clock will stop for first downs after the two-minute warning.
   
• On punts, gunners may not line up outside the numbers, and they cannot be double-team blocked until the ball is kicked.

Of these, the defensive pass interference and replay rules seem the most intriguing, at least from a standpoint of what might actually improve the NFL game.

New Jersey Generals

Coaching Staff

The Generals will be led by Mike Riley, who has been around the block once or twice. The USFL will be the fifth professional football league of Riley’s head coaching career, which I believe is a record, though it depends on how exactly you define both “professional” and “football.” We’ll at least take “fifth” at face value.

Riley first became a head coach in 1987 for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL (League No. 1), becoming the second-youngest coach in league history. A successful one, too—he went 40-32 in his four seasons in Winnipeg, winning the Grey Cup twice and reaching the East Finals in his other two seasons. He was named coach of the year twice, but left in 1991 to join the World League of American Football (League No. 2) as the head coach of the San Antonio Riders. The WLAF was the immediate predecessor to NFL Europe, set up before the NFL decided to shunt all its developmental teams overseas. Riley was coach for both of the WLAF’s two seasons, and was set to continue on after the league had shut down; the CFL was in the middle of its failed attempt to expand to the United States, and was going to bring the San Antonio Riders into the league (presumably, because they fit so well with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Saskatchewan Roughriders) before the team abruptly folded.

Riley next got into the head coaching chair at Oregon State in 1997. He only went 8-14 in his two years there, but Oregon State had been on a 26-year streak of losing records when he arrived, and his recruiting class ended up breaking that the year after Riley was gone. Why was he gone? Because the NFL (League No. 3) came calling as Riley took over as head coach of the San Diego Chargers; the guy who was going to make the Ryan Leaf pick a success. Riley did not, in fact, make the Ryan Leaf pick a success, and ended up being fired after three seasons and a 14-34 record.

Riley landed back at Oregon State, where he finally got to enjoy some of the fruits of his rebuilding efforts; his teams went 85-66 in his next 12 years with the Beavers, making eight bowl games and ending the year in the AP top 25 four times. He is the winningest coach in Oregon State history. Eventually, he left for a larger contact at Nebraska, but a 19-19 record and some of the worst defenses in program history got him fired after 2017.

Since then Riley has been the head coach for the AAF’s San Antonio Commanders (League No. 4), as well as a consultant for Oregon State and a coordinator for the XFL’s Seattle Dragons. Honestly, it feels like he gets antsy when he’s not coaching, and he has had plenty of experience working at this level, so he knows what he’s getting into.

Offense

The Generals’ quarterback will be Ben Holmes out of Tarleton State, a Division II program. He went undrafted in 2020, which is understandable, considering how green Holmes is—he didn’t start at quarterback until his senior year of high school and ended up spending his first two years of college at Nassau Community College. He had an opportunity to go play FCS ball at Stony Brook, but an illness in the family took priority and he left the game entirely for several years. He got a chance at Tarleton, which was specifically looking for “older players who had been overlooked,” and led them to two straight unbeaten regular seasons and a 23-2 overall record as a starter. Obviously, 25-year-old DII players are not high on the NFL’s radar, so he bounced around the Indoor Football League and The Spring League, playing a grand total of three games. And now he has the chance as the Generals’ starter. It’s a great story, at the very least.

The other Generals quarterback is De’Andre Johnson, who is typically described in previews like this as “a ton of talent, but with a history of off-field issues.” In this case, “talent” translates as a strong arm and sub-4.4s 40 speed, and “off-field issues” translates to his 2015 dismissal from LSU after a battery charge; he hit a woman in the face in part of a barroom fight. He ended up finishing his college career at East Mississippi Community College (aka “Last Chance U”), Florida Atlantic, and Texas Southern, though blood clots limited his playing time. He ended up going undrafted and then playing in the Spring League, throwing five touchdown passes against seven interceptions. Combine an inconsistent Johnson with an unknown Holmes, and you can see why the Generals’ odds are long.

The Generals do, however, have a very strong running back corps. Ohio State’s Mike Weber had a solid BackCAST projection in 2019. He averaged over 6 yards per carry in college, though he could never crack an NFL roster apart from a couple of COVID-fill games for the Packers in 2020. He’ll be joined by Trey Williams, who has been bouncing around the NFL since 2015, appearing in a couple of games for the Colts that year. He has also been on the practice squads of Washington, Dallas, New England, Miami, and Pittsburgh, as well as playing in the CFL for the Argonauts and Stampeders, as well as the AAF’s Commanders and XFL’s Dragons; he was actually Seattle’s first pick in the XFL draft. Add in Darius Victor, the XFL’s fifth-leading rusher, and you have arguably the strength of the entire Generals’ offense in the backfield.

As for pass-catchers, the Generals have 6-foot-5 tight end Nick Truesdell, a veteran of the IFL, AFL, AAF, and XFL, as well as several NFL preseason stints. The height theme continues with receivers J’Mon Moore and Randy Satterfield, who are both over 6 feet as well. Moore had a cup of coffee as a Packers kick returner in 2018, and fellow Generals receiver Darrius Shepherd replaced him in Green Bay in 2019; you can still find some Packers fans upset about his fumbles and drops after a disastrous game against the Lions that season. On the offensive line, you’ll have seven-year vet tackle Terry Poole, a fourth-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2015, likely starting at left tackle. The right side should go to Garrett McGhin, who had some time with Carolina in 2019 before injuring his ankle, while one guard slot should be filled by Robert Myers, another player who is pulling off the AAF-XFL-TSL-USFL quartet.

Defense

The Generals’ secondary is weighted heavily towards experience. De’Vante Bausby played 26 games for the Bears, Eagles, Broncos, and Cardinals between 2016 and 2020, appearing on nearly 700 defensive snaps. He also led the AAF in interceptions with the Commanders. Shalom Luani played 31 games for the Raiders, Seahawks, and Chargers, although he spent more time on special teams than Bausby did. Trae Elston and David Rivers have NFL game experience as well. All six players in their secondary taken in the main draft have professional experience—even Dravon Askew-Henry and Dejuan Neal appeared in the XFL. This is an intentional strategy: the Generals have nine players who were professionals in 2016 or earlier, more than any other team, and they have the most 30-somethings in the league.

However, that experience isn’t everywhere on the roster. The linebacker corps is basically the exact opposite, prioritizing size and traits over pro experience. Chris Orr appeared in a couple of games for Carolina on special teams in 2020, as did D’Juan Hines for the Browns in 2018, but that’s the extent of the pro experience in the middle of the field. But the theme picks back up when you get to the defensive line; Toby Johnson played a pair of games for the Vikings in 2016, and Destiny Vaeao played 33 games for the Eagles from 2016 to 2018. For a developmental league, the strategy doesn’t make tons of sense; it’s unlikely that the USFL will reveal anything about, say, Vaeao that his 656 defensive snaps from half a decade ago haven’t revealed. But maybe that emphasis on veteran presence and experience will help the Generals against younger, less savvy competition.

Color me skeptical. The cornerbacks are big, but they didn’t stick around in the NFL for reasons, mostly because their size wasn’t really reflected in any sort of physical play. They don’t have a pass rush to speak of—Bryson Young (Oregon), Kolin Hill (Texas Tech), and Malik Hammer (Jackson State) don’t do much for me. And it’s hard to get past their quarterback situation, as we have seen from both the AAF and XFL that teams that manage to hit on one of the few viable quarterbacks tend to have a huge leg up on the rest of the field. In a league with this many unknowns, anything can happen, but I find it difficult to believe the Generals will be the ones winning in Ohio at the end of the year.