1983 Washington Federals season

Last updated

1983 Washington Federals season
OwnerBerl Bernhard
General manager Ray Jauch
Head coach Ray Jauch
Home field RFK Stadium
Results
Record4-14
Division place4th Atlantic Division
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform
Was Federals Uniform.png

The team lured Ray Jauch to be its head coach; he had previously guided the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers to success in the Canadian Football League. At the time he was the fourth-winningest coach in CFL history. The Federals initially made a splash by signing running back Craig James, one half of the famous "Pony Express" backfield at SMU. More than any other team in the league, the Federals seemed dogged by inconsistency, bad timing, and terrible luck. A week before the season even began, their player personnel expert bolted to the NFL's New York Jets. The team changed quarterbacks almost weekly, with in-game quarterback changes in a number of games. Jauch's biggest mistake was probably giving the opening day starter, NFL veteran Kim McQuilken, the quick hook for rookie quarterback Mike Hohensee. From there the team never seemed to settle in with a quarterback for more than a few games in a row, and when McQuilken did play, he often pressed, forcing his throws into coverage. The team alternated between McQuilken and Hohensee, with occasional appearances by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam, who was far past his prime; he had last played a meaningful professional down in 1975, and he only threw for 673 yards. The only other quarterback on the team was rookie Mike Forslund, who never played.

Contents

Injuries also dogged the team. James was sidelined for five games with a fractured vertebra. Hohensee only played in nine games all season. At one point, all of the Federals′ receivers had leg injuries. The Federals had good linebackers in Joe Harris, Dan Lloyd, and Jeff McIntyre, who was Washington's best outside linebacker and could cover receivers downfield and stop the run. McIntyre lead the team in tackles and sacks until an ankle injury sidelined him for the final six games.

The first game in franchise history was a portent of things to come; the Federals were drilled at RFK Stadium 28–7 by the Chicago Blitz, the preseason title favorites coached by former Washington Redskins coach George Allen. The game was played on March 6, 1983. The Blitz, led by former Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts quarterback Greg Landry, raced out to a 28–0 lead. The Blitz held Washington to only one first down and a mere 24 yards total offense in the first half; Chicago led 21–0 before the Federals even recorded a second first down. By that time, Landry had hit 15 of his first 17 pass attempts, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Trumaine Johnson. McQuilken had a horrible debut as the Federals quarterback, and was replaced by back-up Hohensee; Hohensee accounted for the Federals only score, a 19-yard pass to Walker Lee. (The only positive was the attendance of 38,007; unfortunately, this was more than double what the Feds would draw in any of their 17 other games played in Washington.

Personnel

Staff

1983 Washington Federals staff

Front office

  • Owner – Berl Bernhard
  • General manager – Ray Jauch

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Ted Vactor/Bruce Beatty


Roster

1983 Washington Federals final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

[1] [2]

Rookies in italics

USFL Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool
14 Craig James Running Back SMU
221 Tim Lewis Defensive Back Pittsburgh
328 Stephen Starring Quarterback McNeese State
445Bob WincklerOffensive Tackle Wisconsin
550 Mike Hohensee Quarterback Minnesota
554Doug HowardOffensive Tackle North Carolina State
557 Brett Miller Offensive Tackle Iowa
663George ParkerRunning Back Norfolk State
776 Perry Williams Defensive Back North Carolina State
10114Jeff NyceCenter North Carolina State
10117 Dennis Fowlkes Linebacker West Virginia
11124 Kiki DeAyala Linebacker Texas
11130 Steve Bird Wide Receiver Eastern Kentucky
12141Dee Dee HoggardDefensive Back North Carolina State
13148William WallTight End Virginia Union
14165 Jody Schulz Linebacker East Carolina

Schedule

WeekDayDateTVOpponentResultsLocationAttendance
ScoreRecord
1SundayMarch 6 ABC Chicago Blitz 7-280-1 RFK Stadium 38,007
2MondayMarch 14 ESPN at Los Angeles Express 3-200-2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 22,453
3SundayMarch 20at Boston Breakers 16-190-3 Nickerson Field 18,430
4SundayMarch 27 Michigan Panthers 22-16 (OT)1-3RFK Stadium11,404
5SundayApril 3ABCat Philadelphia Stars 3-341-4 Veterans Stadium 14,576
6MondayApril 11ESPN Arizona Wranglers 21-221-5RFK Stadium13,936
7SundayApril 17ABCat New Jersey Generals 22-231-6 Giants Stadium 35,381
8SundayApril 24 Tampa Bay Bandits 23-301-7RFK Stadium9,070
9SundayMay 1 Birmingham Stallions 3-351-8RFK Stadium12,818
10SundayMay 8at Chicago Blitz 3-311-9 Soldier Field 11,300
11MondayMay 16at Oakland Invaders 24-311-10 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 25,900
12SundayMay 22 Boston Breakers 14-211-11RFK Stadium33,812
13SundayMay 29 New Jersey Generals 29-321-12RFK Stadium11,264
14FridayJune 3at Denver Gold 12-241-13 Mile High Stadium 40,671
15SaturdayJune 11at Arizona Wranglers 18-112-13 Sun Devil Stadium 16,656
16MondayJune 20ABCat Michigan Panthers 25-272-14 Pontiac Silverdome 26,418
17SundayJune 26 Los Angeles Express 28-213-14RFK Stadium9,792
18SundayJuly 3 Philadelphia Stars 21-144-14RFK Stadium11,039

[3] [4] [5]

Rewards

AwardWinnerPosition
All-USFL TeamEric RobinsonRB/KR

Final Statistics

Offense

Federals Passing
C/ATTYdsTDINT
Kim McQuilken 188/3341912714
Mike Hohensee 92/190101797
Joe Gilliam 40/102673512
Federals Rushing
CarYdsTDLG
Craig James 202823424
Billy Taylor 171757534
Curtis Bledsoe 26133031
James Mayberry 42120211
Eric Robinson499708
Mike Hohensee 1973019
Kim McQuilken 13917
Rickey Claitt 1101
Buddy Hardeman 3–304
Joe Gilliam 3–600
Dana Moore1–80–8
Federals Receiving
RecYdsTDLG
Billy Taylor 64523255
Joey Walters 63959642
Craig James 40342352
Mike Holmes 35654780
Mike Harris 26441242
Eric Robinson18172020
Buddy Hardeman 18114016
Stan Rome 12157126
Vince Kenney7120030
Reggie Smith 687022
James Mayberry 51406
Vince Rogusky447020
Jeff Postell43209
Curtis Bledsoe 42508
Charles Chisley347030
Bubba Diggs 31908
Walker Lee232119
Rickey Claitt 227014
William Wall220011
Tony Samuels 130030
Marc Brown 118018
Tony Loia0202

Defense

Federals Sacks
Sacks
Bennie Smith7.0
Coy Bacon 7.0
Ronnie Estay6.5
Bob Barber 5.0
Tony Suber4.0
Mike Corvino2.5
Joe Harris 2.5
Drew Taylor2.5
Jeff McIntyre1.5
Mike Muller1.0
Robert Cobb 1.0
Mike Guess1.0
Bob Shupryt1.0
Doug Greene 1.0
Eddie Jackson0.5
Don Harris 0.5
Federals Interceptions
IntYdsTDLGPD
Doug Greene 9121135
Jeff Brown627022
Mike Guess549018
Gregg Butler 225014
Donnie Harris112012
Mike Corvino1202
Scott Facyson1000
Federals Fumbles
FFFmbFRYdsTD
Kim McQuilken 116–120
Billy Taylor 6100
Craig James 6000
Mike Hohensee 5300
Eric Robinson4100
Mike Harris 3100
Joe Gilliam 2300
Mike Guess2200
Jeff Postell1100
Rickey Claitt 1100
Gregg Butler 1100
Curtis Bledsoe 1100
Charles Chisley1000
James Mayberry 1000
Steve Hoffman 1000
Eric Sanford1000

Special Teams

Federals Kicking
FGM–FGAXPM–XPA
Sandro Vitiello 10-1714-17
Federals Punting
PntYdsLngBlck
Dana Moore863480600
Steve Hoffman 15542490
Federals Kick Returns
RetYdsTDLng
Eric Robinson21609194
Mike Guess22486055
Mike Harris15365071
Curtis Bledsoe7109032
Reggie Smith 581031
Louie Giammona 366024
Mike Muller234019
Mike Corvino331013
Joey Walters 120020
Rickey Claitt 113013
Kevin McLain 112012
Mike Hurst 1404
Bob Shupryt1303
Federals Punt Returns
RetYdsTDLng
Eric Robinson24171029
Mike Guess762043
Gregg Butler 839011
Buddy Hardeman 532017
Reggie Smith 220013
Mike Harris1000
Jeff Postell1000

[6]

Standings

Atlantic Division
TeamWLTPCTPFPAStadium1983 CapacityAvg. Att.Avg. % filledCoach
y-Philadelphia Stars 1530.833379204 Veterans Stadium 72,20418,65026% Jim Mora
Boston Breakers 1170.611399334 Nickerson Field 21,00012,81761% Dick Coury
New Jersey Generals 6120.333314437 Giants Stadium 76,89135,00446% Chuck Fairbanks
Washington Federals4140.222297422 RFK Stadium 54,79413,85025% Ray Jauch

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References

  1. 1983 USFL profootballarchives.com
  2. "1983 Washington Federals football Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  3. statscrew.com 1983 Washington Federals Game-by-Game Results
  4. usflsite.com 1983 USFL Season
  5. profootballarchives.com 1983 Washington Federals (USFL)
  6. 1983 USFL profootballarchives.com