Week four of the USFL season kicked off today with a doubleheader at Ford Field in Detroit where the Philadelphia Stars took on the Houston Gamblers in front of a tiny crowd. That small crowd took a turn when the Michigan Panthers’ faithful showed up in numbers to watch their hometown team take the field for their second home game of the season. Airing immediately after the Kentucky Derby on NBC, it was important for the league to make a strong impression on viewers who were watching the classic event before tonight’s matchup. Luckily for them, Detroit was loud and the fans were passionate, even with the Michigan Panthers struggling for the second straight week.

Michigan Panthers Struggle in Second Straight Week

Opening up as a strong six-point favorite, the Panthers were looking to return to their winning ways. Their first loss of the season had the team looking quite out of character against the New Jersey Generals. As head coach Mike Nolan said last week, “That was not the same team out there as the first two weeks of the season.” This week it was more of the same as the Michigan Panthers shot themselves in the foot on almost every offensive possession, despite playing a winless Memphis team with the league’s worst defense.

On the other hand, it was a return to form for the Michigan Panthers’ defense as their swarming line paired well with their off-zone coverage to prove challenging for the Memphis offense. Still, the quick three-and-outs from the offense gave the Panthers’ defense little rest, leading them to tire out multiple times throughout the matchup. This led to a few drives in which Showboats quarterback Cole Kelley could take his team down the field by just taking what the defense gave them.

Ford Field in Detroit loaded with USFL Michigan Panthers Fans.

The Michigan Panthers’ defense lines up against the Memphis Showboats’ offense in their game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Sam Goodman/Defiant Takes Football).

Michigan’s offense was yet again stalling to start the game, facing the same issues as they did last week. The playcalling from Eric Marty had a heavy emphasis on throwing the ball on short routes that just weren’t clicking for the Michigan Panthers. Succeeding when feeding running back Reggie Corbin, the team got into the red zone at the end of the first, but a terribly telegraphed interception from Josh Love took all that progress away.

From there, Carson Strong came in, continuing the battle for the Michigan Panthers’ QB1 role.  After the change, the offense seemed to find its footing, driving down the field before settling for three, getting the team on the board while trailing 13-3. A solid defensive stop led to a late drive from Strong and crew, getting the team into field goal position, but a fade route to the endzone resulted in another interception, killing any sort of momentum flip before the second half. Continuously shooting themselves in the foot, the Panthers needed to find a way to prevent unforced errors, especially on offense.

 

Out of halftime, the struggles continued as Josh Love came back into the game, leading to a quick three and out in which he nearly threw interceptions on back-to-back plays. Detroit fans, upset with the on-field product, booed the QB and began chanting “We want (Carson) Strong” at this point in the game. The unfortunate truth was that the Panthers’ offense has just been flat for the past two weeks, even failing to produce against the league’s worst defense. In turn, this seemed to envigorate the Showboats’ offense, helping them drive down the field to extend their lead 16-3.

This sparked the Michigan Panthers’ offense to come on strong. They played smart and clean, meticulously picking their way down the field to score their first touchdown of the day on a four-yard pass from Josh Love to Joe Walker. Ford Field went absolutely nuts, hoping for the Panthers to rally behind their support.

Sadly, it seemed too little too late as the Showboats marched their way down the field to score, taking a huge chunk off the clock as well. Late in the fourth and trailing 23-10, there was not much the Panthers could do. They dropped this game 29-10 as fans headed to the exits with five minutes left in the game.

It was clearly a disappointing result for the Panthers with Coach Nolan visibly deflated after the game. When asked about the back-to-back weeks of struggling and the consistent mistakes, Coach Nolan said, “It’s the exact opposite of the game against Houston. Instead of forcing four turnovers and taking advantage, we gave the ball away four times and let them take advantage. We’re still in it though with the standings, so we will see where it goes from here.”

On the other hand, Memphis Showboats Coach Todd Haley was extremely proud of how his team played and overcame their winless start. When asked about getting over the hump for their first win he said, “Things weren’t looking really good (at the beginning of the season), but the guys have not stopped working very hard. When you get a win like this, it’s really good for the team. Guys aren’t dragging their tails around anymore.”

Detroit Fans Embracing USFL Football

After an eager fanbase in Detroit of around 10,000 saw their Michigan Panthers return home to a difficult loss at the hands of the New Jersey Generals,  I was curious to see if fans would return to Ford Field for more USFL action. Mike Nolan had said he was hoping fans would get behind the squad, and they answered his call, just in lighter numbers. Today, it was apparent that spring football is here to stay in Detroit, even with the dropoff in attendance. Once more, fans filled the stadium with a loud and passionate crowd of around 7,500.

Many fanbases around the league have dwindled as the season enters its middle weeks, but that was not the case for the Michigan Panthers this week. They were loud and passionate throughout the game, showing their support and heavily advocating for the growth of Spring Football. Hoping to see the same trend, Mike Nolan continues to advocate for larger local support, saying “I was encouraged by the crowd that was out there today. They’re doing their part, we need to do ours.” Unfortunately, the fanbase is losing faith in their team which could lead to a larger drop off in attendance.

USFL Draftees: Rookies in Contact With Teams After NFL Draft

In February, the second collegiate USFL draft was held. Occurring before the NFL draft, teams were essentially guessing which players would go undrafted and unsigned but also were good enough to make an immediate impact for their teams. Once again, the Panthers had the first pick in the draft, selecting offensive tackle Jarret Horst from Michigan State. With only one Michigan Panthers’ draftee signing with the team so far, Santrell Latham from Southern Mississippi, the organization is hoping to add more of their rookies to the roster.

A few draft picks have already been drafted or signed with an NFL team, but a few have still not made any progress at the NFL. With some other teams receiving updates from their rookies, Coach Nolan didn’t mention any incoming players. With reinforcements possibly coming to bolster the roster, the Michigan Panthers can’t wait for some fresh blood in the organization as they are in need of a turnaround in week five.