As USFL camps open up and as draftees begin to sign, teams are assessing their rosters, determining strengths and areas for growth and hopefully improving over last year. It is a complex process, certainly more of an art than a science, but this late in the offseason the teams are beginning to get a sense for who they are. Let's take a look at the recent moves that are helping each club build towards a new season in just 5 weeks.
USFL COLLEGE DRAFT
As always the USFL Draft was a bit of a guessing game this year. It’s great to get excited about the players your favorite squad selects, but then comes the agonizing wait to see if those players will sign with the spring league or wait for the NFL draft 3 weeks later. The best laid plans of any GM can be torn asunder by players opting to play in the fall, and with NFL salaries rising as a response to USFL competition, the odds are good that any blue chipper your club signs may opt to stay in the fall with the NFL rather than make the leap to spring ball But, that said, we have begun to see some signings. Here are a few of our favorite hits and misses so far this February:
HIT: The Wranglers make good on their promise. Arizona made it very clear they were going to woo Jake Plummer hard, and they did. Plummer signed and was announced as the Day 1 starter at QB for Arizona a solid week before the draft. Season ticket sales for the Wrangler saw an immediate jump, and #16 jerseys were on shelves in the Phoenix area within a week. Now it is up to new Head Coach Art Shell to surround Plummer with talent that maximizes his skill set.
MISS: With the second pick in the draft, the New Jersey Generals took a shot at replacing Chris Spielman with the hardest hitting LB in the draft, Florida State’s Peter Boulware, but he opted instead to sign with the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, leaving New Jersey hoping not to miss out on a LB and perhaps overcompensating 3rd round pick Dwayne Rudd of Alabama.
HIT: Atlanta hit the daily double, signing both HB Tiki Barber and his identical twin, CB Ronde Barber. It took waiting until after the NFL Draft, but the choice to select both of the twins played well in the Barber household. When Tiki was drafted by the NY Giants and Ronde by the Buccaneers, it was a quick decision for the two to head to Atlanta to play side by side.
MISS: The NY Giants did not entirely miss out, as their first overall selection, Miami wideout Ike Hilliard opted to join team blue rather than sign with the Orlando Renegades. Orlando did not spend a 1st round pick on Hilliard, opting for Florida wideout Reidel Anthony instead, but after choosing Hilliard in round 4, they ended up with 1 of their 2 targets at the position. Not the worst miss of the day.
HIT: LA got the HB they wanted and quickly signed University of Houston pounder Antowain Smith to a 4 year deal. Smith waited until the NFL draft to sign, but opted for sunny, glamorous LA over cold, snowy Buffalo.
MISS: The USFL had been warned that Warrick Dunn would not make a decision on where to go until after the NFL draft, and when he was drafted by his quasi-home town Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Stars new their odds of picking up the dual threat back were slim. Dunn signed with Tampa Bay and Philly got on the phone to make a trade (see below) and acquire a modest substitute.
HIT: New Jersey in our minds made a good calculated bet when they passed on both of the big name, big school DE’s out of Miami, Kenny Holmes and Kenard Lang, and instead used a mid-round pick on a home-grown player with great potential, Columbia University big man Marcellus Wiley. Wiley has neither the pedigree nor the price tag of the two Hurricanes, but he has a very high ceiling.
MISS: Jim Druckenmiller was the other highly touted QB in a week QB draft, apart from Plummer, and he would have been a good fit for Pittsburgh, who just don’t see Robbie Bosco as a long term answer, but the lure of the West Coast was too much and he will be off to the 49ers. Pittsburgh did sign a late round QB for depth, Mike Cherry out of Murray State, but their search for the next franchise QB may have to wait another year.
HIT: We predicted it, and the Dragons got it done, signing UW halfback Corey Dillon. Dillon should be an immediate starter for Seattle and should upgrade that run game quite a bit over Roosevelt Potts. Potts is now seen as a potential trade candidate, because in Dillon Seattle has a solid 3 down back, and Derick Loville is a better receiver, a skill set Seattle wants to have in their backfield.
MISS: We end with a pretty big whiff. Memphis desperately needs a big LT to protect Heath Shuler and help that run game and in the first round they had their choice of Walter Jones from FSU or Orlando Pace from Ohio State. They opted for Jones, but honestly it looks like neither option would have worked for them. Jones signed quickly with the NFL and Orlando Pace ended up being the #1 overall pick to the St. Louis Rams. Memphis did sign a tackle, but not until their 5th round pick, Waverly Jackson out of Virginia Tech. Jackson does not project as a day 1 starter, and may even be better suited at right tackle, so this was a big miss.
But, as USFL camps begin, there remain a ton of picks left to sign, either for spring ball or with the NFL, so it is way too early to grade this draft just yet. More news is sure to come and we will try to cover it in our preseason primer for the 1997 USFL season.
TRADES
If you were looking for big name trades in the USFL this offseason you were sadly disappointed. Teams seemed eager to retain their top talent and not mix things up too much, and while we saw a few mid-level deals, there is nothing here to write home about. Honestly, these four deals are the only ones even worth mentioning:
New Orleans sent WR Kerry Simeon and a 3rd round pick in 1998 to Oakland for CB James Hasty. Hasty will make an impact in the Breakers’ secondary while Simeon adds just a bit of depth, and perhaps some special teams ability to a pretty shallow Invader receiver group (after McCaffrey and Ellard it takes a big dip.)
The LA Express sent WR Patrick Rowe to St. Louis in exchange for LB Barry Minter. This is a good deal for both clubs as the Knights need more help at wideout after losing Rocket Ismail in free agency, while LA needed more muscle in the LB corps and the Knights had depth at the position.
Orlando sent Brian Dawkins (FS) to New Jersey for wideout Keenan McCardell. The Generals had a huge gap at the Free Safety position, to the point where they even considered moving newly acquired Jason Sehorn there, but getting Dawkins fills that immediate need and allows Sehorn to bounce between CB and SS. Meanwhile, Orlando gets a solid receiver to help out Scott Mitchell.
Philadelphia sends guard Joe Patton to Oakland for scatback HB Glyn Milburn. Clearly coach Berry wants backs who will contribute in the passing game to help out Chuck Long. Milbury is a good option out of the backfield, but now with he and Garner as the two main backs, who gains that key 3rd and 1? Meanwhile, Oakland, which has all kinds of needs, helps shore up the interior of their line, in hopes that Coach Mora can rebuild a flagging run game with Siran Stacy and rookie Troy Davis.
NFL SIGNINGS
Again, no real blockbuster deals here, but a few potential improvements for clubs that were thin. We like some of the moves but you will not be buying Summer Bowl tickets for your club based on these signings.
Atlanta signs CB Tyronne Legette and guard Chris Dalman. A solid nickel corner and a swing guard who will likely be first off the bench if anyone goes down at guard or center.
Houston added DE Danny Stubbs, hoping to provide some depth behind Michael Sinclair and stud sophomore Kavika Pittman.
Memphis tried to provide more range in their LB corps by adding Sam Rogers to the squad. The former Buffalo Bill will slot in alongside Eddie Simmons and Joe Mott as Memphis tries to build up the 3 in their 4-3 alignment. With Buddy Ryan gone, expect this defense to do some things differently in '97.
Ohio added depth behind Eddie George by signing LeShon Johnson. The former 3rd round pick of the Green Bay Packers was let go after two unspectacular seasons, briefly signed with the Arizona Cardinals and now will rotate with Ernest Byner as both spell George in the Ohio Glory backfield.
Pittsburgh may have found a right tackle to help protect Robbie Bosco by signing Paul Gruber. After 7 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gruber moves over to the spring and the Maulers, where he will help Mike Rozier and Dorsey Levins find holes. Pittsburgh took a shot at a tackle in the draft, but a longshot in Orlando Pace, but could not land the future NFL #1 pick, so Gruber may be the answer at the position, at least for now.
Seattle may have a steal on their hands, signing a big body to fill in at Nose Tackle. Former Viking and Packer DT Gilbert Brown will certainly end up in the rotation of DTs along with Tim Johnson and Don Sasa, and may even help the Dragons utilize some 3-4 formations so that they can get LB J.D. Fuller or Tommy Thigpen on the field more often.
PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR ATLANTA
It took several months and a bit of an awkward signing but the Atlanta Fire finally have their new head coach. After some early feelers were sent out in September the Fire quickly decided that their top candidate was the OC of the Green Bay Packers, Sherm Lewis. Only problem was that the NFL season had already started and Lewis would not be available until that season ended. Atlanta GM Jerry Angelo would have to run the show even as the club negotiated with Lewis's agent on a futures contract. And so Atlanta made their personnel moves, prepped their draft, and scouted for an club without an coach. This was not the first time such a process has been done. Texas followed a very similar route before hiring Jack Pardee, but Pardee was already on the outs with the Houston Oilers while the Packers had every intention of retaining Lewis.
Atlanta did not really seem to have a backup plan. If they were unable to persuade the Packer OC to jump ship at the end of the year, they would have to scramble to fill perhaps the most important job on the sideline, not to mention all the coordinators and position coaches which tend to follow a new head coach hire. But, the club got assurances along the way from Sherm Lewis's representatives that the young coordinator was interested in coaching in the USFL and was particularly intrigued by Atlanta. By the time the NFL playoffs were ready to kick off, Lewis was signed, but he still had business to attend to in Green Bay. led by QB Jim Harbaugh, the Packers went deep into the NFL playoffs, not bowing out until they faced the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game. That mean that Lewis was unavailable until after the USFL draft, and practically the first day of camp. He had to quicky assemble his staff and essentially take over a team whose roster was nearly set before he stepped into the team offices in Atlanta. It was not an ideal situation by anyone's account, but at the end of the day the Fire get the coach they coveted, Lewis, a 3 time Super Bowl champion with San Francisco, gets his chance at the big chair, and a team without much to boast about gets a new direction and a chance to rewrite its identity as a franchise.
SUMMER BOWL 1997
And finally, before we sign off, the USFL debuted the logo for the 1997 Summer Bowl, to be held at the home of the Texas Outlaws, San Antonio’s Alamodome. The logo makes reference to the familiar street stones that line many of the prominent boulevards in town as well as the ubiquitous shape of the city’s top attraction, the Alamo. The colors are “Fiesta” red, turquoise, and gold, though honestly we think it is more of a pink than a red, and the feel is definitely southwestern. Here is your 1997 Summer Bowl logo, and now we prepare for 24 clubs to seek to have that logo sewn on their jerseys next July.