Best opening game a leagues had?

[herns]

Going purely off memory I would say this is the best game any recent spring league has had, followed by the xfl 2020, then the AAF. This game vastly exceeded my expectations for play quality, especially after J’Mar settled down

[GDAWG]

It was like a mid major college football game between two good mid major G5 teams....not flashy but a nice game. Besides, I am a bigger fan of games between two really good G5 schools than two really good P5 schools, likely because I went to a mid major G5 (North Texas). That is what I compared this game to.

[Gopher123]

The quality of last night’s game was definitely better than the AAF’s opener. I can’t say I feel that it was better quality than the Dragons/Defenders game but I feel it was at least equal to. The USFL’s opener was closer contested and definitely had more drama, with the game hanging in the balance until the end. I think I’m going to prefer some of the XFL’s game flow rules better, the 25 second clock for example, but overall the USFL had a great night. As always, play will improve the longer the teams are together. I just hope the injuries with these smaller rosters don’t start heavily impacting the teams’ growth.

[4th&long]

The quality of last night’s game was definitely better than the AAF’s opener. I can’t say I feel that it was better quality than the Dragons/Defenders game but I feel it was at least equal to. The USFL’s opener was closer contested and definitely had more drama, with the game hanging in the balance until the end. I think I’m going to prefer some of the XFL’s game flow rules better, the 25 second clock for example, but overall the USFL had a great night. As always, play will improve the longer the teams are together. I just hope the injuries with these smaller rosters don’t start heavily impacting the teams’ growth.

Injuries could be a concern and the league may adjust if needed. I still think the league should allow PS players to be activated mid game for game ending injuries.

I think the QB play was a tad better in this than that XFL opener. But as you were saying play should improve throughout the season. I say by game 3, with 2 games under belt we'll see teams firm up.

[herns]

The quality of last night’s game was definitely better than the AAF’s opener. I can’t say I feel that it was better quality than the Dragons/Defenders game but I feel it was at least equal to. The USFL’s opener was closer contested and definitely had more drama, with the game hanging in the balance until the end. I think I’m going to prefer some of the XFL’s game flow rules better, the 25 second clock for example, but overall the USFL had a great night. As always, play will improve the longer the teams are together. I just hope the injuries with these smaller rosters don’t start heavily impacting the teams’ growth.

Ya injuries are the Bad thing with these roster sizes, the positive was chemistry builds faster (according to Sloter) but if injuries pile up you’re screwed

[Tank55]

I can't rank anything ahead of Dragons-Defenders, but I'm biased. It was better than the AAF, but that wasn't all that terrible either.

This is the easy part. The hard part will be in Week 8 or whatever when the 2-5 Maulers are playing the 3-4 Bandits and it's 90+ degrees and humid.

[MGB01]

I can't rank anything ahead of Dragons-Defenders, but I'm biased. It was better than the AAF, but that wasn't all that terrible either.

This is the easy part. The hard part will be in Week 8 or whatever when the 2-5 Maulers are playing the 3-4 Bandits and it's 90+ degrees and humid.

Plus when defenses get the upper hand and you get something like that Generals/Stallions '84 opener that I talked about, for all these commentators that complain about "quarterback-ball" they sure flip and close ranks real quick.

[SamTheRam28]

I can't rank anything ahead of Dragons-Defenders, but I'm biased. It was better than the AAF, but that wasn't all that terrible either.

This is the easy part. The hard part will be in Week 8 or whatever when the 2-5 Maulers are playing the 3-4 Bandits and it's 90+ degrees and humid.

Plus when defenses get the upper hand and you get something like that Generals/Stallions '84 opener that I talked about, for all these commentators that complain about "quarterback-ball" they sure flip and close ranks real quick.

I'm not too worried about the defenses starting to shut down the offenses. Obviously there will be some defensive games going forward, but generally the defenses dominate at the start of the season in these leagues. That won't be a problem if last night is anything to go by.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

I can't rank anything ahead of Dragons-Defenders, but I'm biased. It was better than the AAF, but that wasn't all that terrible either.

This is the easy part. The hard part will be in Week 8 or whatever when the 2-5 Maulers are playing the 3-4 Bandits and it's 90+ degrees and humid.

I was out of town and didn't get to watch last night, but I'd say, based on what I did see, that this would be a fair assessment.

The XFL2 opener was really good. It's hard to beat that. AAF wasn't that impressive. UFL was OK though I only vaguely remember that one. XFL1 was a disaster.

This game had a lot of inconsistency. Ugly throws and a missed chip shot field goal are going to look really bad. But there was apparently a lot of good football surrounding those miscues.

A full home crowd stadium was just what the USFL needed. Today won't likely be anywhere near that.

[Tank55]

This game had a lot of inconsistency. Ugly throws and a missed chip shot field goal are going to look really bad. But there was apparently a lot of good football surrounding those miscues.

It started fast and ended fast, but the middle of the game definitely a slog.