They celebrated big hits.
They celebrated big plays.
And when a teammate found his way into the end zone, they celebrated in big numbers.
Thing is, it was all just a scrimmage.
But football is a game, games are supposed to be fun, and two United States Football League rivals got to mix pleasure with business on Friday before things get serious.
The Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers locked horns today at Legion Field, putting in one last dress rehearsal ahead of the 2023 USFL regular season opener on April 15.
The Stallions will host the New Jersey Generals that night at Protective Stadium, while the Breakers – calling the Magic City home for the second consecutive year – will face the Pittsburgh Maulers at the same venue on April 16.
If the teams can match the enthusiasm they mustered at the Old Gray Lady next weekend, it should be two days of high energy football.
“We see each other in the hotel so there was some good-natured trash talk, and it was great,” said first-year New Orleans coach John DeFilippo, who served as Chicago Bears QB coach and passing game coordinator in 2021. “And our guys are so spirited. The best part about it was I saw very few injuries, if any at all. There’s a difference between doing things right in practice and doing the right thing in a game, so this was really important.
“There are a lot of different situations out there, and you’ve got to process it.”
Stallions quarterbacks J’Mar Smith, Alex McGough and Jalen Morton shuffled in and out throughout the scrimmage, which Birmingham boss Skip Holtz said was by design.
“Today, I rolled out every quarterback … I just want to see ‘em all play and see where we are,” Holtz said. “Next week, we’ll start putting it together.”
Like his counterpart, the Stallions coach was happy to close out preseason camp with a game-style workout.
“It’s been a long camp, so to be able to finish it with a little scrimmage like this against another team was great,” Holtz said. “Everybody’s starting to hit each other and ready to start playing games, and I thought both teams handled it really well.
“Tempers didn’t flare or anything like that. We got some work done, so I thought it was a really productive day for both sides, but excited to be back for season two. Excited to put this team together.”
Smith said with the scrimmage behind them, players will soon adopt a game week mindset.
“The pieces are out there, we’ve just got to put the puzzle together,” he said. “We got one week of work left to get ready for New Jersey. Camp is over … we can finally say that, but now it’s time to get that 1-and-oh mentality and get ready for the season.”
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, fresh from helping the Toronto Argonauts win the 2022 Grey Cup, hopes to lead the charge for the Breakers in 2023.
The 34-year-old signal caller showed plenty of zip on his fastball today.
“We’ve been learning the same thing all camp,” he said. “It’s about us … we have to execute better and do the small things. We know we have the talent, but we have to do the basics and be fundamentally sound. And I have to cut down on my mistakes.”
The Stallions topped the USFL South Division last season with a 9-1 record, then won two playoff games (the first coming against the Breakers) to claim the inaugural league championship.
New Orleans, under the direction of Larry Fedora, finished second to Birmingham in the division with a 6-4 regular season mark.
Now all eight teams in the circuit hit the reset button for Year 2.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces on our football team this year, but I like the progress we’re making,” Holtz said. “We’re still not there … we’re not as consistent as we need to be. But we’re getting there.”