(Davis was a former head coach at Portland State University where he developed the St. Louis Cardinals' future two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Neil Lomax.)
Even after those teams moved away from the run & shoot as their base sets, the influence of Mouse Davis and Jim Kelly left a lasting impact on the league.
Today, almost all NFL teams incorporate extensive packages of 4-WR sets and option routes for WRs depending on coverages faced, innovations that are the basis of the run & shoot.
Kelly, one of the more public faces of the USFL, voiced the concerns of many fans when he called the schedule switch "100 percent" wrong, saying, "It's the worst thing they could have done."
In the first game of the season against the L.A. Express, down 31–13 with 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Gamblers became the first professional football team to use a no-huddle offense before a two-minute drill.
In Week 4, the Gamblers beat Mouse Davis's Denver Gold 36–17 in the first pro game to match two Run N' Shoot offenses.
The Gamblers offense set another record: for the first time ever in professional football, a team had 3 receivers each catch over 1,000 yards: Clarence Verdin, Gerald McNeil, and Richard Johnson.
The Gamblers made the playoffs with a 10–8 record and again lost in a nailbiter to an excellent team, the 13–5 veteran, Cliff Stoudt/Joe Cribbs/Jim Smith-led Birmingham Stallions, 22–20.
After briefly entertaining an offer to move to New York City, they agreed to sell controlling interest to real estate magnate and future Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
Todd Fowler, the featured running back on the team, was also notable as the first USFL player the rival NFL signed away from the league in 1985 (by the Dallas Cowboys).