Parks’s Pulse – About fashion, shuffles and revenge

Each week during the season, Parks’ Pulse presents a few thoughts on the previous weekend’s games.

Ranking of the games

1. Panthers 28, Renegades 27 – Even after five weeks of losing, Arlington somehow managed to find a new low. Michigan feels like the USFL Conference runner-up by default, as they don’t really seem like a team with much momentum.
2. Defenders 18, Brahmas 12 – Even though the oddsmakers had this one, it felt like a bit of a letdown. DC is now firmly in the XFL Conference playoff race.
3. Battlehawks 22, Roughnecks 8 – Houston’s defense made a high-powered St. Louis offense one-dimensional. Still, the talent gap was too great for the Roughnecks to overcome. In a good sign, the Battlehawks defense carried the day when the offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
4. Stallions 39, Show boats 21 – Birmingham always seems to use a big quarter to pull away; this time it was the second. It may be time for a QB change in Memphis.

Second verse

Week six was the first week of the season where teams faced each other for the second time. In week three, the Birmingham Stallions defeated the Memphis Showboats 33-14. The second verse was the same as the first, as Birmingham won by almost the exact same margin. Last weekend’s match between Defenders and Brahmas produced a different result than their first meeting in week one. Then the Brahmas emerged victorious, 27-12. Without Chase Garbers and without Anthony McFarland, the leading passer and rusher for San Antonio in the first game, DC was able to hold on for the win in the rematch. Week seven will be four cross-conference games, so there won’t be any replays there. However, in the eight games of Week 2, teams will meet for the second time.

All-access moment of the week, part one

Stallions head coach Skip Holtz obliquely challenged Memphis fans in the pre-game speech he gave to his team before they took the field against the Showboats on Saturday. Attendance at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium has been disappointing so far in 2024, providing little advantage for the home side. Holtz begged Birmingham to find a spark from within. “There won’t be much natural energy in the stands,” he told his team in the locker room. “We have to try to create our own.” We’ll see if this sets the Yacht Club on fire for their two remaining home dates.

Mitchell’s revenge

One effect of the USFL-XFL merger is that some key 2023 contributors from the remaining franchises lost their jobs in 2024. This describes WR Steven Mitchell, Jr. Mitchell played 220 snaps in nine games for St. Louis in ’23, recording 16 catches for 207 yards and four touchdowns. The additions of Ja’Marcus Bradley, Blake Jackson and Jahcour Pearson made Mitchell expendable, and he was released as the team made final cuts at the end of training camp. Mitchell was recently re-signed due to injuries at the position, and his presence has already paid off. Against Houston, Mitchell’s catches led to third and fourth downs in the second quarter. He also made a one-yard touchdown reception with just four seconds left in the first half. No doubt he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, namely that he belongs in Battlehawk blue. His actions may make it more difficult to release him a second time.

Fashion icon

We have yet to see many personalities pop off the screen during UFL games. One who did was Stallion center Cole Schneider. Team social media accounts have been posting the fashions players display when they arrive at games. Schneider’s look caught the fans’ attention this week, so much so that he was asked about it on the sidelines during the game against Memphis. As his wardrobe style indicates, Schneider showed a particular flair in handling himself in front of the camera. “It seems like a lot of magic to me,” he told ESPN’s Cole Cubelic this week of his choice of pregame outfit. When Cubelic asked when Schneider last wore a jersey, he responded by asking what year it was. “I’d say it’s been a while,” he said.

OL coach shuffle in DC

In a story that went unreported heading into week six, DC underwent a coaching change on the offensive line. Longtime college offensive line coach Russ Ehrenfeld stepped away from the team and Sean Kugler was brought in to close out the season. He has been an OL coach for five NFL teams in his career and was most recently the run game coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. While the reason for Ehrenfeld’s departure is unknown, Kugler, who was at the sideline was interviewed, his predecessor reported a “quick recovery,” indicating it could be health-related. While some coaches who find themselves in that position at this stage of the season may prefer to keep things normal, Kugler did not.

Yasir Durant, the team’s season starter at left guard, was moved to left tackle. Starting LT Jahmir Ross-Johnson was given a healthy clean sheet for the game. Reserve interior lineman Lamont Gaillard (whose time in Arizona intersected with Kugler’s) was inserted as the starter at left guard. Right tackle D’Marcus Hayes was on the bench and Jarrid Williams, signed in early April and inactive for most of a game day since then, started at right tackle. The defenses responded positively to the moves, with the offense going over 100 yards for the first time this season and QB Jordan Ta’amu being sacked just once by a charging Brahmas defense.

All-access moment of the week, part two

I’m going to cheat here and give two moments, because they are one and the same: players caught on hot mics talking about plays that, if executed, would lead to touchdowns. And then, you know, that’s exactly what happened. The first came when Battlehawks QB AJ McCarron was talking to offensive line coach Gino Gradkowski on the sideline just before halftime. “It’s a touchdown when you make trips here and they play like that. I’m going to fade and he’s going to do the same thing we did against Michigan. St. Louis did just that, scoring a big touchdown that gave them a two-possession lead over Houston.

In DC, Brahmas RB John Lovett observed something similar. “I’m open every time. They don’t take me into consideration at all,” he said, referring to DC’s tendency to ignore him coming out of the backfield on pass plays. Lovett told this to his coach and QB on the sideline between drives. Later, San Antonio came to Lovett on a crucial touchdown from two yards out and sure enough, as Lovett said, it was open. There’s certainly value in hearing some of this all-access audio live, but FOX and ESPN have gotten good at sifting through and finding the important audio, even if it’s presented later. In these cases that was actually a good thing, because you could see afterwards how these touchdowns came about.