Sporting News, February 2, 1992
With the USFL Draft coming up next week, minicamps already in session, and full training camp coming in just 2 weeks, things are moving at a crisp pace, and not without some surprises this offseason. Let’s try and see where the pieces have fallen and what this draft may do to help fill some existing gaps.
QB CAROUSEL
We expected some movement around the league as teams tried to sort out their QB situations, but what we got was wilder than we could have expected. It’s complicated, but we can get through it. Let’s try to do this as a cause & effect listing.
1. Sam Wyche and New Jersey resign Doug Flutie. With Irving Fryar in place at wideout, and with the full support of Sam Wyche behind him, Flutie eschews options elsewhere and reups with the Generals, secure in his position as starter. This immediately leads to the next move.
2. New Jersey trades Chris Miller to Denver. With only Vince Evans at QB, Joe Walton makes a move, and brings Miller to Denver. It’s an odd fit since Miller’s style is more rigid and pocket-based than Vince Evans. Flutie would have made a logical choice in Denver, so that both QB’s have a similar style. But, Miller (for now) is headed west.
3. New Jersey obtains Cody Carlson to back up Flutie. Carson, sent to NJ as part of the Chris Miller trade (along with some picks) is a more traditional clipboard-carrying backup. Able to come in when needed, but unlikely to force coaches to debate whether he should supplant the Heisman Winner.
4. Portland sends David Archer to St. Louis. This one makes sense. Having signed Oliver Luck as an obvious #2 QB, the Thunder do not want to maintain a QB controversy between Kerwin Bell and Archer, so they trade Archer away. St. Louis, which has only 2nd year QB Dan McGwire and a shaky Rodney Peete behind him, get a veteran presence, and a solid arm too in Archer.
5. Denver is not done yet. They hold onto Chris Miller for only 2 weeks before packaging a deal with Baltimore. Miller, who the Generals would not have traded within their division, now has a clear path to a starting job in Baltimore, with only Eric Kramer ahead of him on the depth chart. Denver gets picks they covet to replace those lost to New Jersey and add a little late round capital to pick up the lower cost players they tend to covet. But the question now is whether the Gold are happy to stick with Vince Evans and Billy Joe Tolliver. Are they eyeing someone in the draft, in what is generally considered a very QB-weak draft?
6. Question answered. Clearly something was in the works all along. No sooner had the NFL-USFL transfer window opened in January than Seattle Seahawk QB Dave Krieg was seen at Mile High speaking with Denver Gold front office folks. 4 days into the transfer window Krieg was signing on the dotted line (with an additional 20% of his salary headed to the Seahawks, as per the interleague agreement). Krieg and Vince Evans make an interesting combo, both capable of playing a more fluid game at QB, with more roll outs, bootlegs, and QB runs in the mix. Krieg does have a tendency to fumble, so we will have to watch this, but at least now the QB room in Denver makes sense.
7. So who still needs a QB? And where will they come from? Not many teams, though we expect several to look at a late round developmental QB from the draft, like a Brad Johnson from Florida State, Ty Detmer from BYU, Will Furrer from Va Tech, or Kent Graham from Ohio State. We are just not sure if there will be a lot of motivation for USFL teams only looking for backups to spend the money needed to sign higher profile players like Houston’s David Klingler, UCLA’s Tommy Maddox, or Duke’s Dave Brown.
OK, so we have the QB situation. It got really crazy there for a while, and we expect that those two games this year when Chris Miller plays for Baltimore against the Generals should be quite entertaining. But QB was not the only position where we have seen some late roster movement, though there have not been many other trades, just a lot of free agent signings. Here is a breakdown of who has signed on since our earlier report.
An interesting mix of movement, both within the USFL and movement with both the NFL and the CFL. In addition to Dave Krieg coming directly from an NFL season into USFL camps we had linebacker Pat Swilling joining the Gamblers and DE Chris Doleman joining the Renegades. Meanwhile the league loses a major defensive talent in CB Raphel Cherry, who will have an extended break before joining the NFL Lions for the Fall 1992 season, as will another strong defender, Orlando’s Reuben Davis, who will be in Arizona with the Cardinals next Fall. Walt Lewis will try his hand at CFL football after failing to get an offer from another USFL team. Tim Spencer, finding himself in the same boat, signed a minimum salary contract with the NFL’s Chargers to try and prove that he can still play the game.
The most interesting intra-league moves were the signing of Domingo Bryant (a very good corner) by the Bulls, the signing of Quinn Early in Texas as a partial attempt to make up for the lost talents of Carlos Carson (NFL), and the bargain basement signings made by several teams the past two weeks, snapping up players looking to stay in the league like HB Lydell Carr (Maulers), LB Ed Brady (Wranglers), and CB Terry Kinard (Feds). Houston allowed Sean Salisbury to take an offer from Michigan to back up Jack Trudeau after years as Jim Kelly’s understudy. Why let him go when he has been so effective? Do they perhaps have David Klingler on their minds? As a U. of Houston player he is in their protected Territorial Draft ranks, and perhaps with so much critique coming from NFL scouts, Klingler might be ripe for a USFL signing.
DRAFT PREVIEW
Talking about Klingler makes us wonder just what is likely in this year’s draft. It is a pool a little light on “hands” players, but solid in linemen and defenders. That may bode well for the USFL, which tends to do well with players who are not looking at major contracts from the NFL and are open to signing with the spring league. As we look at the draft, we are going to focus on those positions of greatest need for each team, and where help may come.
ARZ: The Wranglers need to replace Louis Lipps, so expect them to look for a rangy receiver with good hands. Not a lot of help there in the T-Draft, but they could lock up another need, CB, if they could sign Sun Devil Phillippi Sparks.
BAL: So many needs. Guard, Tackle, Defensive End, a lot of needs, but, as we said, this is a deep draft for linemen and defenders, so Baltimore could fill some needs in almost any round. Their T-Draft pool is weak, though we do like guard Brian Bollinger from UNC.
BIR: When you have Bama and Auburn as T-Draft contributors, you should get some talent there. Auburn has some talent this year, but we wonder if someone like HB Siran Stacy makes sense for the Stallions. Perhaps focus on need areas like defensive end, safety or linebacker to boost that D.
CHI: The Machine could use a solid DE to build up a pass rush, and then maybe look at the O-line to help develop a better run scheme for Ricky Watters. Guard Mirko Jurkovic of Notre Dame seems a natural for the Machine in the T-Draft. Then go big and get a DE in the Open Draft.
DEN: Signing Dave Krieg probably means they are not going after Ty Detmer in the T-Draft. They will likely focus on Nebraska players as they often do. Getting some help on both lines would also be a good idea.
HOU: We already mentioned the possible push to sign QB David Klingler. Another talent they may try to sign is Texas A&M LB Quentin Coryatt. May be a tough sell, as he is expected to be a high pick in the NFL, but if he wants to come to a winning team, and not move far from home, the Gamblers could make him a deal.
JAX: The Bulls have been pretty active in free agency, but they could certainly still use some help on the D-line, and getting some depth in the secondary would be wise as well. Looking at their T-Draft schools (FSU, Georgia, Wake Forest, App State), the best prospects to seek out might be CB Terrell Buckley, or multi-position player Gary Dandridge of Appalachian State.
MEM: Will the Showboats try to upgrade the passing game by going after Tennessee wideout Carl Pickens? Almost certainly. Will they also have funds to replace Booker Reese with one of the two Tennessee DE’s coming out this year (Chris Mims & Chuck Smith), not sure.
MGN: Michigan is down to only 1 HB on the roster, so expect them to go for two or more backs in the draft. But this is not a great year for top tier HB’s, with So. Miss’s Tony Smith and Indiana’s Vaughn Dunbar being the two highest rated prospects. Neither Michigan nor Michigan State have a candidate they can snap up in the T-Draft either.
NJ: Being stuck with BC, Syracuse and Rutgers in the T-Draft each year is beginning to look like a real concern. Although, New Jersey might want to look at BC tight end Mark Chmura as an option. In the Open Draft they have to find a backup QB for Flutie. How soon they do that will be an interesting question on draft day.
NOR: Depth is what the Breakers want, that and perhaps some playmaking ability. Their T-Draft will likely again focus on LSU players, although having Southern Miss this year might pay off, as both HB Tony Smith and Safety Tony Hoskins could give the Breakers good value.
OAK: Halfback is a key need, and a backup for Gilbert makes sense as well. The easiest route would be to look at Cal QB Mike Pawlawski and then use their 1st Open Draft on the halfback they like best. Don’t be surprised as well if they draft a kicker early on. Losing Kevin Shea was a bigger blow than most folks think.
ORL: Another team whose needs (D-line, O-line) match up well with the depth areas of this draft. Having “The U” as a territorial school also helps. Miami has some worthwhile prospects, including T Leon Searcy, QB Craig Erickson, and safety Daryl Wilkerson.
PHI: Defensive backfield is the most glaring need, with a corner spot and the strong safety position needing enhancement. Penn State’s Darren Perry seems a natural fit at safety, and don’t be surprised if Philly takes a flyer on Tony Sacca as an eventual replacement for Chuck Fusina, if Browning Nagle has not won them over yet.
PIT: One of the most active free agent signers, the Maulers don’t have a lot of starting positions left to fill, except at LB, where they have lost 3 starters. Expect a lot of picks at that position, starting with Pitt Panther Ricardo McDonald.
POR: Portland’s #1 need is at Defensive End, with the departure of Bob Otto. They have never had a strong pass rush, so snagging an edge player who can pressure opposing QB’s is paramount. Expect them to look at a lot of Oregon and Washington players on both lines, but will they go after the obvious big fish, Washington Huskie Steve Emtman at DE? A very likely top NFL pick, he may not sign with the USFL and wait his chance with the NFL.
STL: One bad aspect of moving from LA to St. Louis is that the club is forced to replace USC and UCLA with Missouri and Iowa as protected schools. That is not going to bode well for them in the long run. This year it means missing out on Tommy Maddox, LB Kurt Barber, or CB Dion Lambert.
TBY: Tampa will almost certainly use the draft to find a slot receiver for Willie Gillespie’s spot. With the Gamecocks in their pool, look fort them to draft WR Robert Brooks. NC State’s Charles Davenport is another T-Draft option for them.
TEX: With the only reasonable T-Draft option at wideout being Baylor’s Lee Miles, expect Texas to look for the best Carlos Carson replacement they can find in the open draft. In our POV, the top options for them are Michigan’s Desmond Howard (if the Panthers pass on him) or Jimmy Smith from unprotected Jackson State.
WSH: If they are looking to add a young QB behind Majkowski, the Feds have two decent prospects in their T-Draft, Viriginia’s Matt Blundin and Va Tech’s Will Furrer. Both will be developmental, which is fine with Maj and Hohensee already on the roster.
This year’s draft crop is not viewed as one of the richest, which may be one reason we saw such a high level of movement in free agency, but as we have seen year after year, there are always gems in any draft class. It is just a matter of finding them.
Our final news for the week is that we finally have the new identity, logo, and colors for the relocated Express. Working with Russell Athletic and the USFL central offices, the identity took longer than expected, but is ready to be released ahead of the USFL Draft. St. Louis, your new USFL franchise is the
The name is a reference to King Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, the patron whose name is referenced in the name of the city. One of the most renown of Medieval kings and warriors. The logo chooses not to refence the famous statue of Louis (The Apotheosis of Saint Louis) which stands outside the St. Louis Art Museum and has been used in past city franchises such as the St. Louis Browns baseball club. Instead the image of the iconic Knight chesspiece will be the primary logo. The horse-head logo includes a star for an eye and a streak of light as well. The logo, and the team colors, will be a deep purple (distinct from the brighter version used in Pittsburgh), metallic gold, and metallic silver. The uniforms feature a silver helmet and pants with purple and gold stripes, a purple jersey with gold numbers, and a white jersey with purple numbers. The team will play its first two seasons in Busch Stadium, home of the MLB Cardinals and prior home to the NFL Cardinals, before an anticipated move-in date on the city’s new domed stadium in March of 1994. Here is the first look at the new St. Louis Knights.
Farewell to LA. :(
Love the color scheme of Knights! (Much better than original black and silver)