1994-1995 Offseason Report: October

SPORTING NEWS, October 7, 1994

Just about 2 months into the USFL offseason and things are heating up. Front Offices have reported to the league their 12 protected protected players for the upcoming expansion draft, and there are a lot of All-League players and longtime veterans wondering if they are soon to be headed off to a new club. Teams are dealing with retirements and NFL defections, there are already a few new faces coming into the league from both the NFL and CFL, and, scouting for the 1995 College Draft, the first in league history without protected territorial schools. Trades have been made as the expansion clubs (and a few others) seek to build up talent levels, and one club is still in search of a new coach as the Texas Outlaws play the long game, likely not settling on a coach until after the NFL season, just as Tampa Bay did with their Jerry Glanville hiring last January.

There is a lot to discuss, but before we rush into the hot stove, and the 1995 season, let’s look back at the 1994 season and see if we have learned anything about what to expect moving forward. Here are the 5 takeaways we see from 1994:

1. Defense still wins championships. We all went into last year talking about the dynamic offenses in Birmingham, Houston, or Tampa Bay, but in the end, it was defense that proved the better option as several of the league’s top defensive squads, including Chicago, Denver, Memphis, and eventual champion Philadelphia, rose up the standings. While some offense was certainly needed, Philadelphia’s win over Birmingham in the Eastern Conference Championship clearly showed that a solid defense can still be the ticket to a league title.

2. They've still got it. While we are now beginning to see the slow dwindling of the top RB’s from the early years of the USFL, with Joe Cribbs now several years into retirement, and others announcing their retirement this year, when you look at the final stats from 1994, it is amazing to see that among the Top 10 rushers in the league we still find Mike Rozier at the top of the list (1984 rookie), with Herschel Walker (1983 rookie) and Kelvin Bryant (1983 rookie) not far behind. Yes, we are losing 1 of those 3 players for 1995, but it goes to show that a 10-12 year career, even for a running back, is very possible for those with the talent.

3. We learned that big name QB’s are not always needed. Yes, Joe Montana certainly helped Michigan regain playoff form, but Chicago got a great year out of little-heralded Scott Zolak. Philly won a title with oft-maligned Chuck Long, and Denver got all the way to the Conference Title Game with an uncertain duo of Dave Krieg and Mark Brunell. Sure, if you can get a Favre, Kelly, Montana, or Hebert, you do so, but teams can still win with a guy who was not a Blue Chip 1st Round draft pick.

4. The USFL, despite its HB talent, remains a passing league. How do we know? Well, the fact that there are only 8 backs who went over 1,000 yards rushing, but nearly 20 wideouts who surpassed that total. Or, how about the fact that the top 2 tacklers in the league were not middle linebackers, but cornerbacks? Not to take away from the talent of Houston’s Ashley Ambrose or Oakland’s Aeneas Williams, but CB’s can only get close to 100 tackles when the ball is in the air a lot, and in the USFL, that is what we are seeing with more and more 3-4 WR sets and fewer teams willing to put an I-formation on the field.

5. Even record-breaking seasons are no guarantee of victories. Portland’s Jack Trudeau set league records in pass attempts and completions, with 682 and 470 respectfully, but Portland was still one of the league’s weaker teams. Sure, he had to throw because they were trailing, and it is still an impressive achievement, but in this case proficiency did not lead to victories. Also setting records this year:

• Leslie Frazier’s 4 defensive TD’s, which got him the Defensive POTY award, but could not get the Blitz into the postseason.

• David Trout’s 60 yard field goal in Washington stands as the league’s longest ever.

• Troy Aikman’s 68 pass attempts against Memphis set the highest total in league history.

Ready to move on to a new season? Well, ready or not, the league is already gearing up for the next season, and with rosters very much unsettled, there could be a lot of action this offseason. Here is what we have seen in only 2 months of offseason action:

RETIREMENTS

As the heroes of the early years of the USFL get older, it is only natural that we start to see some big name retirements, and this year is no different. Here are some of the tougher players teams will be looking to replace this offseason:

PHI HB Kelvin Bryant: After garnering his 3rd USFL Title, Bryant retires as the #3 rusher in league history with 15,378 yards and 113 touchdowns (#1 well ahead of Mike Rozier’s 94. Philadelphia will now look to Charlie Garner to move up to their lead back position.

NJ T William Israel: The Generals will need to shore up the LT position after the announcement by Israel that he will retire after an injury-plagued 1994 campaign. Israel played in 164 games since coming into the league in 1984, missing only 7 games until this year, where he missed 7 due to injuries.

ARZ WR Trumaine Johnson: A surefire HOF candidate, Johnson retires as the #1 all time leader in receptions with 1,209, nearly 300 more than 2nd best, as well as the #2 All-Time USFL receiver in yardage, with 16,580 yards. His 119 TDs is also second all time only to Eric Truvillion.

ORL WR John Jefferson: Orlando loses two huge offensive stars this offseason, the first being WR Jefferson, who leaves after 10 years in the USFL (3 with Pittsburgh and 7 in Orlando). Jeffersion retires with 878 USFL catches (along with over 250 NFL receptions) and 70 TD’s to his name.

ORL QB Reggie Collier: Looks like Orlando will need some major rebuilding as they lose not only their top receiver but their 9 year starter at QB. Collier, who currently ranks 2nd all time in Pass Attempts, Yardage, and TD passes, behind only Jim Kelly in each category, began as a dual threat QB in 1983, backing up in Birmingham, before becoming the starter in Washington and Orlando’s first player taken in the 1987 expansion draft.

NOR HB Marcus DuPree: The former 1-year player at Oklahoma finishes his USFL career with 10,703 yards, good enough for 5th all time in the league. His 11-season USFL career is highlighted by a run of 1,000 yard seasons spanning 1986-1989. He often shared carries in a dual-back system, but was the gamebreaker for the Breakers offense for nearly a decade (after beginning his career in Memphis).

STL WR Eric Martin: A stalwart contributor first for the LA Express, and then when relocated to St. Louis, Martin retires with 9,561 yards on 1,215 receptions. He had 4 1,000 yard seasons, including 1,016 yards for St. Louis in 1993. This year, despite 104 targets, he finished with only 65 catches and 756 yards.

MGN CB Keith Bostic: The wily Bostic, who began as a nickel back but worked himself up to the #1 slot in the Panther secondary, played 10 seasons in Michigan, amassing 33 interceptions, 207 passes defended, and missed only 2 games due to injury since 1985.

PHI LB Glenn Howard: A key piece of the Stars’ linebacking corps since coming into the league with the team in 1983, Howard amassed 723 tackles in his long career in Philly, and retires with 3 championship rings.

POR CB Gill Byrd: Byrd came to Portland as the team’s first big NFL signing. Since arriving with the club in 1990, he has led the team in interceptions 5 of 6 years, including a stellar first season in 1990, when he garnered 7 picks and 92 tackles. This past year he topped over 100 tackles, but was criticized for allowing 97 catches thrown against him.

JAX QB Tony Eason: The Bulls were caught by surprise by the retirement of their starter, but after 12 tumultuous seasons, including a 14-interception year this season, Eason felt the time was right. Eason began his career in New Orleans before signing with Jacksonville in 1988. He played in only 8 games his first 3 seasons in a Bulls jersey before earning the starting nod with a brilliant 31 TD season in 1991.

BAL WR Mervyn Fernandez: After a solid early career in the NFL with the Raiders, Fernandez came to the USFL and quickly became a top receiver for the Blitz. Fernandez had the dubious distinction of playing on some pretty bad Baltimore squads, including the only team in league history to finish a year winless.

HOU WR Clarence Verdin: A founding player of the Gamblers, Verdin has been a special teams and slot receiving mainstay for the 1984 expansion club and 2 time league champion. His best year in the slot came back in 1984, when he caught 88 balls for 1,163 yards and 10 TDs. While he would not reach 1,000 yards again in his career, he remained a regular target for QB Jim Kelly and the club’s top kick returner for several years. He did not return kicks this season, and was limited to only 52 receptions as well.

BAL LB Sam Norris: The longtime centerpiece to the Blitz LB Corps, since the days in Chicago, Norris retires with 1,174 tackles, 29 career sacks and 5 career interceptions. Known as a run-stuffer, Norris had over 200 tackles for loss in hi his 12 year USFL career. He topped 100 tackles for the year on 6 occasions.

MEM WR Vic James: James, who played for 3 different clubs during his USFL career, began as the #1 receiver in Denver, where he had his 3 most productive years, beginning in 1983 with 108 receptions for 1,240 yards and 10 TDs. In 1987 he left for Orlando in the expansion draft and in 1991 caught on with the Memphis Showboats. He finishes his career with 565 career receptions for 6,864 yards and 42 TDs.

Along with retirements we have seen a handful of players make the leap to the NFL, including Bandits HB Eric Bienemy (to San Diego), St. Louis HB Terrance Flagler (to Detroit), Birmingham HB Brent Fullwood (to Green Bay), NJ backup QB Oliver Luck (to Houston), Chicago DE Eric Dorsey (to Dallas), and Oakland RT Randy Dixon (to the Raiders).

TRADES

The big trades came early on this offseason, with the already reported movement of Marcus Allen from Michigan to LA, Jeff Hostetler from Pittsburgh to Ohio, Dave Krieg from Denver to Seattle, Vince Workman from Jacksonville to Ohio, and Mo Lewis also from Jacksonville, but heading to Atlanta.

With the unexpected retirement of Tony Eason, Jacksonville scrambled to find a possible starter and settled on a low-risk trade with Philadelphia to obtain backup QB Browning Nagle. Nagle, a top prospect coming out of Louisville, has not been able to break through in Philly but now will get a chance, competing with Mike Shula and Dereck Foley in the Bulls’ QB group.

The other big QB movement in the past month was Arizona backup Scott Mitchell, who showed some signs of talent this year when subbing for Robbie Bosco. Mitchell was sent by the Wranglers to Orlando, where the Renegades are hoping he can step in to replace the retired Reggie Collier. Mitchell, who has been Bosco’s understudy since joining the league in 1990, has a career QBR of 88.2, but a decent completion rate of 65.5 in backup duty for Arizona. He has thrown 20 TDs to 12 interceptions in sporadic duties. He will now compete with Craig Erickson and longtime veteran backup Jimmy Jordan for the starting job in Orlando.

Oakland, after losing starting LT Randy Dixon to the NFL has made a rare intra-divisional trade with Denver, acquiring Denver 3rd tackle Harry Swayne in return for Oakland DE Derwin Jones.

SIGNINGS

With so many USFL free agents resigned ahead of the expansion draft, there has been slim pickings for clubs. Of course, the 4 expansion teams, getting only 25 players through the expansion draft, have been the most active in signing the few USFL free agents who are out there, as well as reaching into the CFL for talent as the NFL season continues. Here are the top Free Agent signings at this point:

ATLANTA: WR Chris Calloway, FS Mark Pembrook, WR Sanjay Beach (NFL FA), TE Lavar Bell (NFL FA), QB Matt Blundin (NFL FA), OT Keith Ballard (CFL), LB Juan Long (NFL FA), DT Mark Pearce (CFL), and CB James Bullock (CFL)

LOS ANGELES: LB Bryce Paup, QB Jeff Garcia (CFL), HB Ricky Blake (NFL FA), WR Tyree Davis (NFL FA), WR Curtis Mayfield (CFL), OT Alan Kline (NFLFA), G Bill Henry (CFL), LB Virgil Robertson (CFL), LB Nate Dingle (NFL FA), DT LaMark Schackerford (CFL), and CB Irvin Smith (CFL)

OHIO: SS Brock Marion, DT Pio Sagapolutele, T Reggie Redding, QB Rickey Foggie (CFL), WR Mario Bailey (NFL FA), WR Mike Bellamy (NFL FA), C Bob Kronenberg (CFL), G Brandon Houston (CFL), LB Malco Goodwin (CFL), LB Dean Lyttle (NFL FA), K Don Silvestri (NFL FA), DT Jerold Jeffcoat (NFL FA), DE Arthur Bussie (NFL FA) and CB Eric Carter (CFL)

SEATTLE: QB David Klingler, WR Derek Hill, LB Jim Schwantz, QB Doug Nussmeier (NFL FA), RB T.C. Wright (NFL FA), WR Orlando McKay (CFL), WR Bobby Olive (NFL FA), TE Victor Hall (NFL FA), SS Greg Briggs (NFL FA), P Josh Miller (CFL), T Todd Peat (NFL FA), C Ian Sinclair (CFL), LB Tommy Thigpen (NFL FA), LB Joe Johnson (NFL FA), DT Junior Tagoai (NFL FA), DE Steve Bates (CFL), and CB Johnny Dixon (NFL FA).

PROTECTED PLAYERS

The lists our out ahead of the Expansion Draft. While most of the protected players are pretty much expected, there remains some really top talent available to the 4 expansion teams. Each will have their own strategy (youth vs. experience, speed v. durability, etc.), there are players who can immediately help form a culture in their new cities. And, we have to remember, that with each player chosen from their roster, the USFL team losing that player gets to protect another, so some of these names may come off the board as others are chosen. Rather than give you the full protected list of 12 players for each team, here is our assessment of the best players available and unprotected, by position:

QB: Cliff Stoudt (BIR), D. Archer (STL), K. Bell (POR), D. McGwire (CHI), C. Carlson (BLT), B. Tolliver (DEN)

HB: G. Boone (MEM), L. James (ARZ), D. Levins (PIT), T. Fowler (ORL), T. Smith (DEN), D. Fenner (BAL)

FB: R. Wolfley (PIT), M. Cade (POR), K. Anders (CHI), C. Hayward (STL), E. Colson (PHI)

TE: M. Shaw (PIT), C. Didier (POR), S. Bowers (OAK), C. Kelley (TBY), W. Walls (CHI), T. McGee (MEM)

WR: D. Williams (TEX), J. Walters (WSH), W. Buggs (ORL), G. Phelan (PHI), M. Duper (OAK), J. Townsell (MEM), B. Edmunds (MGN), I. Fryar (NJ), M. Pritchard (PIT)

OT: R. Delaney (BAL), M. Behning (TBY), A. Gardner (TEX), M. Shively (BAL), K. call (DEN), J. Totten (ARZ)

OG: R. Milstead (PIT), D. Widdell (NJ), R. Hallstrom (MGN), E. Moore (BIR), H. Haynes (DEN)

C: R. Hemphill (PIT), M. Tracy (HOU), B. Bush (ORL), C. Pitcock (BIR), C. Lanza (DEN)

DE: K. Bokamper (OAK), S. Dotson (BIR), J. Reynosa (MGN), A. Edwards (WSH), L. White (DEN)

DT: D. Butz (DEN), T. Johnson (WSH), C. Scotts (BIR), D. Gagne (JAX), G. Meisner (ORL0, D. Rocker (MEM)

LB: B. Apuna (BAL), M. Douglass (MEM), C. Banks (STL), S. Stephen (MGN), J. Roper (DEN0, M. Munford (CHI), K. DeAyala (HOU), M. Tuiasosopo (BIR), D. Smith (MEM), J. Offerdahl (NJ), J. Armstead (JAX)

CB: A. Clark (JAX), D. Bryant (JAX), V. Buck (ARZ), N. Mustafaa (TEX), D. Beasley (WSH), R. Massey (CHI)

SS: D. Dumars (BAL), R. Blackmon (HOU), K. Kramer (PIT), K. Porter (TEX), S. Lumpkin (DEN)

FS: M. Kelso (NOR), P. Terrell (PIT), B. McDowell (MEM), B. Bishop (BIR), M. Dumas (WSH), T. Bowles (HOU)

The trend, as is obvious in this list, is that the 20 existing USFL clubs protected young players, particularly starters still on their rookie contracts, and that there is a lot of talent in the 32-36 year old range available. We expect a lot of these players to be retained as soon as an expansion club picks others, but some of the biggest veteran names on USFL clubs could be in a new home based on this list. The other thing we should note is that very few kickers or punters were protected, so at the very least the new clubs will have their pick of top special teamers even at the end of the draft.

So, next up is the expansion draft. We will be here with a full recap and a look at the roster needs of all 24 USFL clubs prior to the second USFL/NFL transfer window in January and the Collegiate Draft in February.