Week 3 of the USFL Season is now behind us, so, lets take a look at how the leagues specialists are doing through 3 games;
Kickers
After a great week 2 performance where specialists completed 77% of their field goal attempts, they, statistically speaking, dropped the ball. During Week 3 kickers across the league attempted 17 field goals and made a measly 8 of them. This works out to be an abysmal 47%. Let's find out what happened with a look at my (un)Official Week3 USFL Kicker Power Rankings;
Working top-down;
Brandon Aubrey (BHAM) is once again 100% during his week 3 game, making both field goals and both PATs. The only negative thing I have to say about this guy is that he hasn't attempted anything over 37 yards out.
Nick Vogle-tron (HOU) is hot on Aubrey's heels after another stellar performance, where he actually broke his own USFL Record when he kicked a 51 yard field goal. He needs to sharpen up on his PAT attempts, missing 2 PATs through 2 weeks, but Nick is an early contender for the USFL's Best Kicker Award.
Tyler Rausa (TB) is your Week3 - Special Teams Player of the Week! He also moves up 2 spots from last week to break into the Top 3. It is well deserved, after he kicked a game-winner, personal best, 47 yard field goal with 00:13 remaining to beat the Houston Gamblers 17-16.
Nick Rose (NJ) has had another rough week, making only 1 of his 3 field goal attempts. This brings him down to 37.5% through 3 weeks. The diamond in the rough is that he kicked a NEW USFL RECORD. Rose managed to kick through an impressive 54 yard field goal. I couldn't find a video of it but here's a 54 yarder he made with the Commanders in the AAF, so just imagine it looked like this lol.
Positions 5-7 in my Power Rankings are all a mix-up. They all had some rough misses but here's why I ranked them where I did. MacGinnis (NO) gets 5 because he has a better FG% and Mengel (PHI) gets 6 as he has struggled with field goals in the last few weeks. Ramiz Ahmed (PIT) will get 7 because he missed all 3 of his field goal attempts from 46, 57, and 59 yards out this week.
A unique development is occurring with the Michigan Panthers. After Carrizosa missed 2 field goal attempts and 1 PAT, the Michigan Panthers decided the only way to fix their kicker issues was to just not kick the ball. They went for a 2-point PAT, 3 times and were able to succeed 100% of the time!
If you want to watch a short video about how the Panthers are playing, check out this video by Isaac Punts, on YouTube.
Punters
There is not too much to say about Punters as a whole this week. Without anything further to add, here is my (un)Official Week3 USFL Punter Power Rankings;
Working top-down;
Brandon Wright (TB) and Matt White (NO) will hold on to their 1 and 2 positions after they both have a stellar week 3. White really showed he has what it takes after making a NEW USFL RECORD after punting the ball 77 yards.
Colby Wadman (BHAM) will increase 1 spot on the board after a career game, punting 7 times with a 50.7 average, and 41.6 net average per punt.
After Michigan Panthers switched Michael Carrizosa's position to solely punter, he came out and proved why he was still on the roster. He punted a total of 5 times this week, for an average of 50 yards per punt. What's more impressive is that 3 of those punts (60%) were inside the 10 yard line. Carrozosa is regaining the confidence of not only the fans but his teammates as well. This will be enough to move him up one spot on the rankings and put him in contention for the top 3 moving forward.
Brandon Miller (NJ) had a decent game this week, but falls victim to stellar competition and falls 2 positions on the board.
Mengel (PHI) played well this week, but is still limited by the amount of punting snaps he is getting. He has currently only punted a league-low 10 times but may see an increase as Philly Stars, Star Quarterback Brian Scott announced he will be heading home to deal with his injury sustained in their week 3 loss.
Duffy (PIT) and Galitz (HOU) both have had trouble with returners the past few weeks. They each have a net average in the low-to-mid 30s, while the league average is sitting at 38.8 net yards per punt through 3 weeks.
Returners
Kickoff Returns
NJ Generals D. Victor Jr. returns a kickoff for a PB of 35 yards
Here are the updated statistics;
Punt Returns
There were no notable punt returns this week. Here are the updated statistics;
New Heights
This week there records broken! Additionally, plenty of players beat their own personal bests. Here are the highlights;
NJ Generals Kicker Nick Rose kicks a 54 yard FG (League Record) (Personal Best)
NO Breakers Punter Matthew White punts 77 yards (League Record) (Personal Best)
BHAM Stallions Punter Colby Wadman punts 67 yards (Personal Best)
HOU Gamblers Kicker Nick Vogel kicks a 51 yard FG (League Record at the time) (Personal Best)
MICH Panthers Punter Michael Carrizosa punts 65 yards (Personal Best)
PHI Stars Punter Matt Mengel punts 55 yards (Personal Best)
TB Bandits Kicker Tyler Rausa kicks a 46 yard FG (Personal Best)
Thank you for making it this far in my article! Please let me know what you think about the article through the contact page! Have a good day everyone :)