February 7, 1998
Well, we thought it would be an odd offseason, and so far we have not been disappointed. So much to talk about with Free Agency, some pre-draft trades that made huge news, then some wheeling and dealing during the draft, and now we just wait and watch to see if teams can actually sign the players they picked. Add to this some drama in Tampa as they quickly pivot to Plan B on their coaching search, and with the NFL-USFL window back open, we still have some potential late deals to look forward to. Let’s get started with the most basic of items, Free Agency.
FREE AGENCY
While the early drama of the NFL poaching of USFL players gave us plenty to talk about in August and early September, the past few months have not been without their stories as well. Yes, many of the major free agents have resigned with their respective USFL clubs, but there have still been plenty of big names changing zip codes. Here is our quick list of the biggest USFL to USFL transitions since September.
WR Raynard Brown leaving Pittsburgh for the New Orleans Breakers. At times overshadowed in Pittsburgh by Louis Lipps, Brown is a top flight receiver who should benefit from having an accurate passer like Jamie Martin throwing him the ball.
CB Deon Figures leaving Memphis for Orlando. Intra-divisonal movement is always dramatic, and when a really good defender leaves for a division rival you know that at least twice a year there will be something to prove. We cannot wait to watch Figures covering Joe Horn when the ‘Gades take on the ‘Boats this Spring.
LB Jeff Herrod leaves the friendly confines of the Super Dome to possibly finish his career under Nick Saban in Columbus. Ohio gets a solid run defender and occasional pass rusher while the Breakers now have to look for some leadership from their younger backers.
WR Bert Emmanuel leaves Orlando to head to St. Louis. The Knights missed Rocket Ismail last year, and so they go for one of the better names in the pool and sign Emmanuel. The former Renegade has had 3 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and doubled his usual TD production last year with 9 scores, but does St. Louis have a QB who can truly take advantage of his speed?
Baltimore and Memphis tried to boost their receiving corps as well, but both missed out on Emmanuel and had to look for other options. The Blitz settled on former Wrangler and General Malcom Floyd. Floyd looked good for New Jersey in his one year in the Meadowlands, catching 88 passes for 734 yards, but now heads down the road to B’more and their uncertain QB situation.
For Memphis the signing of Lawyer Tillman was their biggest offensive addition. The 9-year veteran started with Jacksonville before moving on and playing 4 seasons with the Texas Outlaws. Last season was his best to date, with 49 receptions and 435 yards in San Antonio.
Seattle boosted their pass rush by signing DE John Copeland away from the Birmingham Stallions. In 5 seasons in Legion Field Copeland racked up 37 sacks, with 11 last year marking a career high. Copeland will likely be the focal player on the Dragons’ D-line, and with Gilbert Brown occupying the center of the line, Copeland may get 1-on-1 blocking to help free him for the pass rush.
New Jersey wanted to rebuild their O-line this offseason and they took a huge step in that direction by signing Leon Searcy away from Orlando. The 6th year player will immediately plug in at left tackle and should help the Generals boost their run game. But will they get the back they need to make it work?
After the NFL signing of Hostetler and Chuck Long, and with Favre resigning in Birmingham, the QB pool started to get shallow quickly, but Memphis may have gone out on a limb by signing former General Rob Johnson. The good news for Memphis is that his signing does not create a QB controversy. Heath Shuler remains the clear starter, and maybe Coach Mora feels Johnson can be a reclamation project.
Other notable signings this offseason include: DE Bill Goldberg to Birmingham, WR Thomas Pittman to Michigan, LB Michael Brooks to Chicago, G O’Neill Glenn to LA, CB Kevin Minnifield to Arizona, and DT Shane Burton to Pittsburgh.
TRADES
This is where the drama really lay the past month. Leading up to the draft, and even during the draft, we saw some movement as teams became desperate to either snag early picks or fill big holes in their rosters. We rank our top trades of the offseason, starting with QB movement.
10. Baltimore Makes a deal with Michigan to restock their QB room. The Blitz send DT Grady Jackson to the Panthers to acquire longtime backup Sean Salisbury. Salisbury won’t start in Baltimore, but with only 1 QB on the roster, he will immediately take over the #2 spot. Stick around to see who we think is the new Blitz starter.
9. Texas sends their PK to their arch rival. That is just a weird sentence, and a weird trade. Houston gave the Outlaws a 5th rounder to shore up their kicking game, and in return they get Chris Boniol, who was really strong in 1996, but had some issues last year. Expect Texas to scour the NFL free agent ranks to replace Boniol this month.
8. Michigan continues to wheel and deal, sending DE Michael McCreary to another division rival, as New Orleans gets the pass rusher and sends Michigan CB Chris Canty. This trade seems to help both clubs with areas of their D that were lacking last year.
7. Another defensive deal as Chicago traded SS Myron Guytan (a position of surplus for Chicago) to the Denver Gold to land another quality corner, former Gold cover man Latin Berry.
6. Our first draft day trade on this list as Houston traded up for a 2nd pick in the 3rd round, sending Tampa Bay 2 picks, one in the 4th and one in the 5th. Houston selected a solid HB with that pick, snagging John Avery of Ole Miss, while Tampa used their two extra picks to select SDSU tackle Ephraim Salaam and Florida CB Elijah Williams. All 3 are expected to sign with the spring league.
5. Another draft day pick as the St. Louis Knights and New Orleans Breakers swapped picks in the 2nd (with a late round 1999 pick going to STL as well). Clearly the Knights thought they could get value by trading out of the 8 spot. New Orleans jumped up from 14th in the round to snag DT Leon Bender from Washington State. Most pundits actually think St. Louis actually landed a better prospect in North Carolina DE Vonnie Holliday at #14 in the 2nd round. Time will tell which D-lineman proves a smarter pick.
4. Baltimore finds their starter on Arizona’s bench. That seems odd but with hometown hero Jake Plummer now in Tempe, there was little chance that former Hoosier Trent Green would get a fair shot at the starting job. Now, in Baltimore, Green looks like the frontrunner to get the starting job for Coach Infante. Green gets his shot in an offense that should play well to his talents, while Arizona gets a pretty solid LB in Barney Bussey. The two clubs also added a bit of arm candy to the deal, with the Wranglers picking up Baltimore’s 1999 4th rounder and Baltimore getting reserve LB Darryl Price.
3. New Jersey makes a move to replace Bam Morris. After losing Morris to the NFL, the Generals and Coach Knox needed to make a big move, but surprised many by picking center Jeremy Newberry with the 7th pick in the draft. They moved their way back into the first round, however, by trading their 2nd and 3rd round picks to Birmingham. Now with the 22nd pick and a big name back sitting their for the taking, the Generals got their man, Penn State’s Curtis Enis. Enis may be tough to sign, though he seemed honestly excited to get a chance to play for the legendary Knox, so maybe not. If the Generals can sign him, they may just have the kind of one-cut back that Knox prefers.
2. Seattle loves their local QBs, but after already signing (then trading away) WSU Cougar Timm Rosenbach, and drafting UW’s Brock Howard and Central Washington’s Jon Kitna, seemed the odds on favorite to select Cougar QB Ryan Leaf with the #2 pick in the draft, but when they missed out on that chance (still to come), they decided to play the field. With Peyton Manning still on the board, Seattle had plenty of potential trade partners, but they did not want to drop too far, so several offers just did not do it for them. Seeing the possibility of rising only 1 place and getting a shot at Peyton, the Atlanta Fire would not let this chance go.
They made the deal with Seattle, moving from 3 to 2, and immediately drafted Manning. Seattle, which only dropped 1 spot, still had their choice of the best non-QB player in the draft, and also gained 4th rounder. Seattle, still trying to establish a solid D, and now with newly-inked Head Coach Joe Tiller still getting settled in, opted to go defense, selecting Auburn LB Takeo Spikes to add some speed and power to that LB corps. Not finished yet, Seattle did pick a QB with that newly acquired 4th rounder, selecting Michigan Wolverine signal caller, and famous son of an NFL legend, Brian Griese.
1. So why did Seattle miss out on Leaf? Because the day before the draft the #1 spot owned by the Arizona Wranglers, who were not looking for a QB, was traded in a spectacular 3-way deal that also sent veteran QB Bobby Hebert to his third USFL club. It was a complex three team deal between Arizona, Philadelphia, and Oakland that landed the Invaders the #1 spot in the draft, a pick they immediately used to woo Ryan Leaf, who was signed, sealed, and delivered to Oakland within hours, signing a 5-year deal rumored to rival that of former LA Express QB Steve Young. Arizona moved down to #6 in the first round, but also picked up Philadelphia’s #18 pick, giving them two first rounders. Philly also gave Oakland a 1999 2nd rounder as part of the deal. So Philadelphia, after losing Chuck Long to the NFL now goes into 1998 with Bobby Hebert under center. Arizona gets two quality picks and uses them to select Nebraska DT Jason Peters and Penn State guard Phil Ostrowski, trying to build a team around Jake Plummer, and Oakland gets their superstar of the future in QB Ryan Leaf.
USFL COLLEGIATE DRAFT
The draft had several more trades, mostly in the mid-rounds, and while we know full well that not every player selected will join the spring league, it is also clear that the USFL is looking to the draft as their way to recover after the NFL’s one-directional player movement earlier this offseason. If the USFL can get the top players to sign now, before the NFL draft, they can recover some of the swagger that they lost this past fall. Looking over the draft, we pick these 15 players as the key names the USFL wants to sign. We are leaving off this list Ryan Leaf, who was signed even before Oakland’s pick was made official on draft day. If these 15 join Leaf on a USFL roster this year, the league will certainly be in great shape.
WR Hines Ward (Georgia): Selected by Arizona in the 4th round.
HB Ahman Green (Nebraska): Selected by St. Louis in the 3rd round
WR Joe Jurevicious (Penn State): Selected by Pittsburgh in the 3rd round
LB Kailee Wong (Stanford): Selected by Oakland in the 2nd round.
LB Sam Cowart (FSU): Selected by Arizona in the 2nd round.
S Corey Chavous (Vandy): Selected by Seattle in the 2nd round.
OT Flozell Adams (Mich State): Selected by Chicago in the 2nd round.
LB Greg Ellis (UNC): Selected by Atlanta in the 2nd round.
QB Charlie Batch (EMU): Selected by Pittsburgh in the 1st round.
HB Curtis Enis (Penn State): Selected by New Jersey in the 1st round
WR Randy Moss (Marshall): Selected by Tampa Bay in the 1st round.
TE Stephen Alexander (OU): Selected by Ohio in the 1st round.
HB Fred Taylor (Florida): Selected by Houston in the 1st round.
CB & Heisman Winner Charles Woodson (Michigan): Washington in the 1st.
QB Peyton Manning (Tennessee): Selected by Atlanta in the 1st round
ROSTER GAPS YET TO FILL
Even after all the drama of free agency, pre-draft trades, and the draft itself, there are still some pretty sizeable gaps to fill on several USFL rosters. The NFL-USFL transfer window is open once again and, unlike in August, the USFL is able and ready to start nabbing NFL talent. Looking at the top holes in USFL rosters, we take a look at some NFL players who might just be good options for the USFL. Here is our top 5 spots left to be decided.
5. Pittsburgh-Kicker: We fully expect the Maulers to find a replacement for retired Rafael Septien whether from a rookie free agent signing or an NFL castoff. We are honestly surprised they have not already signed 2-3 to have a competition. The most likely candidates if the Maulers were to look to the NFL are Seahawk Todd Peterson, Redskin Scott Blanton, and Raider Cole Ford.
4. Michigan/Jacksonville—Backup QB: Both the Panthers and Bulls are in the market for someone to hold a clipboard behind Flutie or Chandler. There are a lot of NFL QB’s in the free agent pool, but most are going to want a legitimate shot at starting, which neither the Panthers or Bulls are ready to offer. One of the two clubs might take a shot at former early NFL draftee Elvis Grbac, who could use a redemption job, but more likely are reservists like Arizona’s Stoney Case or Chicago’s Steve Stenstrom.
3 Memphis-Halfback: Moe Williams has not worked out the way the Showboats have wanted, and coach Mora certainly wants to build a run game like the one he had with Kelvin Bryant in Philadelphia. After passing on the position in the draft, all eyes now have the Boats looking at either former Packer William Henderson, disgruntled NY Jet Adrian Murrell, or former Bengal and Cardinal Garrison Hearst.
2 Pittsburgh—Wide Receiver: The Maulers lost Louis Lipps to retirement and Raynard Brown to free agency, so this is a huge position of need. We don’t think either 3rd rounder Joe Jurevicious or 7th round pick Thabiti Jones provide an immediate answer, even if the Maulers can sign both, and while the signing of free agent Freddie Solomon might fill the #2 spot, the Maulers need to give Robbie Bosco something more for the #1 spot. The most likely candidates from the NFL are former Falcon Andre Rison, Cardinal Frank Sanders, and former Dolphin and Charger Tony Martin.
1 Ohio—Starting QB: As much as the Glory are talking up Koy Detmer, we cannot believe they are seriously planning on going into the season with the BYU grad as their top QB, with only former Duke QB Dave Brown behind him. They very likely have their hearts set on snagging a solid NFL starter from the several who are free agents at the moment. That includes some pretty decent names, including Randall Cunningham, Neil O’Donnell, Kerry Collin, and Jeff George. Don’t be surprised if one of those NFL starters finds themselves wearing a Glory jersey within the next couple of weeks.
TAMPA BAY COACHING SEARCH
It took longer than expected, and the man the Bandits eventually tabbed was not who fans were crying for, but the Tampa Bay Bandits have their man. With speculation all off-season centered around former Dallas Cowboys and current Miami Hurricanes head man Jimmy Johnson as the man for the Bandits, the announcement this week that the new leader of the Bandit squad would be former 49er coach George Seifert came as something of a buzzkill for many of the Bandit faithful. Johnson simply could not be convinced to give up his run at Miami, not surprising considering the success he has had there.
Seifert is no slouch, having continued the 49er dominance of the 80’s with a Super Bowl victory of his own. Coming out of the West Coast system, Seifert will be tasked with developing an offense that takes full advantage of the stable of talent on the Bandits roster, including QB Troy Aikman, HB Errict Rhett, deep threat Shannon Baker, and newly signed rookie speedster Randy Moss. Will Seifert stick with the short passing game of the West Coast Offense with the speed on this squad or will he incorporate more of a vertical game to take advantage of these deep threat receivers? That is a huge question that all Bandit fans are asking as the league prepares to open camps.
WASHINGTON's NEW LOOK
And, after a Championship run, the much-delayed reveal of the new look for the Washington Federals has ended, with the Feds revealing not only new uniforms, but a radical new logo & helmet design. The new Federals logo retains the primary image of the green & black eagle from past iterations, but returns to a more linear design than the prior flag-motif logo. The eagle logo on its own is more reminiscent of the first design the Federals began with in 1983, but the helmet, with its wrap around logo, is bringing up a lot of Seattle Seahawk vibes.
The helmet returns to white after nearly a decade of wearing silver, loses the central stripes and goes with a logo that emerges from the back of the helmet towards the center, with twin green and black stripes. The two-stripe motif is continued by Nike on the Kelly green and white jerseys as well as the white pants. The team will have both green and white pant sets, allowing them to go full white on hot summer days or full green for a monotone look. While it is a bit unusual for a team to shift up their entire look the season after winning a title, the change has been in the works for 2 years and the usually thrifty Federals were certainly not going to have invested this much into a new design and then hold off on it simply because fans might feel a connection to a title-winning look. So, here we have the new Federals, champions of the Spring.
