In their infancy, the Baltimore CFLs were more dream than football team, more fantasy than fact.
They were a wisp of Don Matthews' fertile imagination as recently as Feb. 17, the day pro football returned to Baltimore under a Canadian Football League banner.
Within hours of the formal awarding of the franchise, Matthews ++ and his transplanted coaching staff began implementing the master plan:
Take 37 American players, mix in some defensive seasoning, add a quarterback who can operate in tight spots, and put an emphasis on speed at the flanks.
Some eight months and 13 games later, it reads like the recipe for success.
The CFLs (9-4) can clinch a home-field playoff game tonight when they meet the Las Vegas Posse (5-8) at Memorial Stadium.
By virtue of last week's playoff-clinching victory over Ottawa, Baltimore already has achieved more than all but a handful of expansion teams have ever accomplished.
The last time an expansion team reached the playoffs in one of the four major pro sports was the 1967-68 hockey season. That year, the NHL bunched its six new expansion teams into one division, then sent four teams -- Minnesota, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and St. Louis -- to the postseason. None of them, however, had a winning record.
And when the Chicago Bulls reached the NBA playoffs in their inaugural season of 1966-67, it was with a modest record of 33-48.
The best an NFL expansion team has done in modern times is 3-11 -- a record reached by five teams. Last year in its first CFL season, Sacramento went 6-12.
If you're talking about a slice of history, the CFLs are hot on the trail. A victory tonight assures them of an unprecedented winning season for a first-year team. But that's just a pit stop on the journey they want to take.
"All our goals are to get to the Grey Cup," running back Mike Pringle said.
The Grey Cup was the goal right from the beginning -- realistic or not -- when team owner Jim Speros first hired Matthews as director of football operations and head coach last February.
In Matthews' blueprint, a team achieves greatness by planning for it.
"Before you can do great things, you've got to expect great things," he said. "We expect great things and the players have delivered."
It was Matthews, 55, who supplied the vision. His first move was to bring most of his staff with him from the Saskatchewan Roughriders last winter. That included player personnel director Jim Popp.
Matthews was so eager to embrace the expansion challenge he resigned his job in Regina on Dec. 31 -- and went a month without a paycheck because of the political infighting that delayed the awarding of the Baltimore franchise.
The anticipation of creating something from scratch overrode the risk factor, Popp said.
"The bottom line was, here's a chance to go build a new franchise in the States and start something new," he said. "I think we all were interested in something like that."
Matthews established the player profile by position, then Popp hand-picked the bodies. Stripped of the import rule that limits Canada teams to 17 Americans per roster, they found a huge pool of talent to choose from.
"Players win for you," Matthews said. "After you get 37 Americans, your talent level is higher. But it's these 37 Americans, not just any 37."
The evidence rests in Shreveport, Las Vegas and Sacramento, where 37-man American rosters are bringing up the rear of their respective divisions.
Joe Barnes, quarterbacks coach and a veteran of 11 CFL seasons, said he thought the all-American rosters would make a huge difference.
"But bodies are bodies," he said. "This says something about knowing the Canadian game and playing together."
Nowhere was that experience more important than at quarterback. When Speros mentioned Florida State's Charlie Ward to Matthews as a possible marquee player, the coach had a short reply.
"I said he'd be a great quarterback, but if you want to win right away, we need Tracy Ham," Matthews said. "I've watched a lot of [American] quarterbacks come into the league. Guys like [Doug] Flutie, [Vince] Ferragamo, [Warren] Moon. And those guys were not great right away until they learned the game."
Some -- like Ferragamo -- never achieved greatness.
Already this year, Ham, in his
eighth CFL season, has shown the value of experience and leadership.
Playing hurt much of the season, Ham has thrown for 3,183 yards, 21 touchdowns and a league-low nine interceptions. What helps, he said, is the knowledge that Matthews encourages players to try to make plays, even if they don't all work out.
"I find myself taking chances knowing the coach won't get on me for taking that chance," Ham said. "He's a gambler, anyway. When he was defensive coordinator at Edmonton, he'd have 11, sometimes 12 guys across the line of scrimmage.
"Sometimes you get beat doing that, but that didn't pull him back."
Baltimore has an even bigger experience factor on defense, where eight of the team's 13 CFL veterans reside. Of those eight, four have been all-stars -- tackle Jearld Baylis, rush ends Elfrid Payton and O. J. Brigance, and cornerback Karl Anthony.
Beyond the experience, Matthews retooled his defensive philosophy, moving defensive backs such as Matt Goodwin and Tracey Gravely to outside linebacker, and linebackers such as Payton and Brigance to rush end.
"It took a lot of guts to switch guys to different positions," Brigance said of Matthews. "His vision was to have a defense that could run. . . . Now it's starting to shape up the way he wanted."
The addition of Payton, cut by the Shreveport Pirates in August, allowed Brigance to move to the quick side end and has greatly improved the pass rush.
Payton said one big difference between Baltimore and Shreveport was in the locker room.
"It's the closeness of the team," he said. "Here, everybody sits around after practice and plays dominoes or talks. They're not in a rush to get away from the locker room."
Baylis, who beat out Payton for the CFL's Defensive Player of the Year award last season, has helped cultivate that camaraderie with two cookouts for the team at his home in Phoenix, Md.
The way Baylis sees it, it's a merger of different age groups
working toward one cause.
"It's mixing fun and business," he said. "The veteran players can give their knowledge, and the young guys show us that college rah-rah attitude.
"We created a unity here that I haven't had in some places I've been."
And the CFLs have created the feeling that this is a special team coming together at an opportune time.
"I don't consider us a typical expansion team," Brigance said. "No one here does, because we have experienced guys.
"No matter what game we won or lost, I still felt we'd win [in the long run], and win in the playoffs. I always felt we had the talent to get into the playoffs. That was unwavering in my eyes."
Thirteen games into franchise history, it adds up to the best expansion team in the CFL -- and maybe anywhere.
LAS VEGAS-BALTIMORE TONIGHT
Site: Memorial Stadium
Time: 7:30
Tickets: 35,000 sold as of yesterday
Line: Baltimore by 14 1/2
TV/Radio: ESPN2/WJFK (1300 AM)
Records: Baltimore 9-4, Las Vegas 5-8
Last week: Baltimore beat Ottawa, 40-13; Las Vegas lost to Calgary, 45-26.
Last meeting: The CFLs survived food poisoning and two ejections (HB Charles Anthony and LB Matt Goodwin) to beat the Posse, 38-30, on Aug. 6 in Las Vegas.
On the sidelines: Ron Meyer of Las Vegas has a 5-8 record in the CFL and went 54-50 in nine seasons in the NFL, six with the Indianapolis Colts. Baltimore's Don Matthews has a career regular-season mark of 100-57-1 in 10 CFL seasons.
Roster changes: Las Vegas -- SB Tamarick Vanover was moved from the suspended list to the reserve list and will not play. Baltimore -- LB Ken Benson replaced injured LB Alvin Walton; CB Kwame Smith replaced injured LB Matt Goodwin; WR Mike Alexander replaced SB Reggie Perry.
What Las Vegas has to do to win: Contain RB Mike Pringle, who has 882 rushing yards over his past six games, then cope with QB Tracy Ham's passing game. On offense, the Posse has to keep the pass rush off its quarterback. That has been a problem all year. The Posse gave up 10 sacks last week to Calgary and has allowed 42 this season. Given time to throw, the Posse has a big-league receiver in Curtis Mayfield, who is fifth in the league in receiving yards and has 12 TDs. The Posse also leads the league in kickoff return yards, and has allowed the fewest rushing touchdowns (seven).
What Baltimore has to do to win: The usual menu. Run Pringle often enough to soften up the defense, then let Ham go over top with the passing game. The CFLs lead the league in rushing (148.2 per game) and average gain per carry (6.5). Their pass rush will set the tone for the defense. It's much improved, even though it ranks only 11th in sacks. The special teams are where Baltimore cleaned up the past two weeks with three blocked punts. The CFLs also blocked a punt for a touchdown in the first game against Vegas.
Injury report: Las Vegas -- Not available. Baltimore -- LB Alvin Walton (hamstring) and LB Matt Goodwin (shoulder) are out; WR Mike Alexander (sternum) will play.
Outlook: Baltimore has hit its stride, winning three in a row and five of the past six. The defense has been dominating, the special teams intimidating and the offense creative. If the offense gets up to speed, the CFLs will be very difficult to beat. The return of PK Donald Igwebuike was a huge success last week. The Posse, meanwhile, is having to deal with the realities of a lame-duck franchise that will have to be moved before next season. Las Vegas also had one fewer day to prepare, having played last Sunday night. It adds up to more momentum and a big night for the CFLs.
Las Vegas vs. Baltimore
Site: Memorial Stadium
When: 7:30 tonight
TV: ESPN2
% Radio: WJFK (1300 AM)