Sporting News, December 18, 1992
Happy Holidays to all, and to all a hot stove. Nearly five months into free agency, the NFL-USFL Transfer Window opening in 3 weeks and the USFL draft only 6 weeks away, and what do we know? We know that there are still some teams in dire need of some talent at key positions. Every team has needs but some squads seem to be cutting it close as the offseason reaches its final weeks. But, with the draft and the NFL window still ahead, there is time for your favorite franchise to get those quality pieces that could make the difference between success and failure, a deep playoff run and a losing season. We are going to look at what is still on the Christmas (or Hanukkah) wish list for each USFL franchise, but first lets review what has happened since our September league update.
FREE AGENCY SIGNINGS
With the NFL Transfer window closed, it was all about signing those last few USFL free agents, and we can now safely say that pretty much the cupboard is bare, at least as far as starting talent is concerned. Here are the major signings over the past 3 months:
TAMPA BAY: The Bandits got the biggest fish of the remaining free agents, signing former Portland LB Bobby Houston to a 4-year deal. Houston will likely take the weakside, opposite Mike backer Keith McCants, with either Keith DeLong or Derrick Little in the middle. Houston brings a fierce competitive nature to the position, In his 3 years in Portland he has accumulated 273 tackles, including a 104-tackle season in 1991. He can also cover or blitz, with 3 interceptions and 7 sacks to his young career, a real find for the Bandits.
BIRMINGHAM: Signed DT George Little from Philly. After 8 seasons with the Stars, Little will try his luck at the center of the Stallion line. His last two seasons have been his strongest, not something you usually hear for a lineman in his late 20’s. He had 43 tackles and 17 for a loss in 1991, dropping off a little with 34 and 9 last season on a pretty rough Philadelphia defense. Lined up next to Collin Scotts, with Anthony Pleasant and Darryl Williams on the outside, expect Little’s numbers to go up in his 9th season.
CHICAGO: The Machine are starting to rebuild a defense that slid in Coach Schottenheimer’s first year. Signing the best CB in the free agent pool, Memphis’s Derrick Burroughs, is a good place to start. Burroughs has averaged over 80 tackles a season the past 4 years in Memphis, and has twice been among the interception leaders. Lined up in the nickel with Robert Massey and Eric Thomas, the Chicago secondary could be a very dangerous crew indeed.
HOUSTON: The Gamblers added some muscle on the line, signing former Bandit guard Bob Sims. Sims will almost certainly line up at right guard with All-USFL guard John Rienstra solidly entrenched at left guard.
NEW ORLEANS: The Breakers tried to recover from losing several players in the early part of free agency, signing SS Patrick Gannon from the Gold as a means of restocking their defensive core. Gannon did not get much press attention in Denver, but his play has been solid since coming into the league with the Gold in 1983. After 10 seasons at Mile High, which have seen him accumulate 567 tackles, he will likely finish his career in the Big Easy.
OAKLAND: The Invaders started addressing their QB woes by signing former Memphis backup Cary Conklin. Conklin has started a grand total of 6 games in his 3 year career, but has a lifetime record of 9 TD to 7 Int. While he hardly seems the answer at QB, we could see Conklin as a solid backup to the Invader starter. Now, of course, the question is whether or not Oakland has a plan to bring in a true starter. Is a draft day trade in the works?
In other signings, Philadelphia added some quality to their secondary by signing Oakland SS Marcus Quinn. Pittsburgh started rebuilding their offensive line by inking former Machine center Doug Gamboa to a 3-year deal. Portland did what it could to replace Bobby Houston by signing General LB Jamie Kimmel, and Memphis added a solid and versatile backer to their linebacking group in former Knight Joe Mott.
TRADES
As the Free Agent Pool cooled down, the trade wires started to heat up. We all knew that with several teams reevaluating their QB position, that there was a chance for some shuffling of the deck among the league’s starters and overqualified backups. We saw some of that this past month, with players and draft picks in the mix.
Everyone knew TIMM ROSENBACH was on the block, and it was pretty obvious that with so many teams looking for a starter that he was going to go. After talks with at least 3 teams, the New Orleans Breakers made the best deal, this year’s 2nd and 4th round picks. So, Rosenbach heads to his third team in 4 years, hoping that this time the starting job will be his. He will have to compete with Danny McManus, who had a solid performance this summer, but will be the favorite to get the job after his own strong outing in relief of Tony Eason. As expected, with Rosenbach, McManus and Pease all under contract, the Breakers have released Matt Dunigan. Dunigan is likely to return to the Canadian game, where his initial success got him the attention of the USFL.
We thought that with Rosenbach clearly in place, that the only other QB movement might be with Oakland, or some lower level trades of backups, but Coach Schottenheimer in Chicago is trying to put his stamp on the franchise. After six years of pretty solid numbers but few wins to show for it, CHUCK LONG is out as the Machine QB. Long has accumulated 18,723 yards and a 93-68 TD-INT rate over 6 years, hardly poor numbers, but he simply has not been able to convert stats into wins. Coach Schottenheimer opted to start fresh, perhaps with Scott Zolak, who played well in limited action this year, but more likely we should expect the Machine to draft and then work hard to sign Notre Dame QB Rick Mirer. Chicago has Notre Dame as a protected school and could begin to speak with Mirer as soon as the Irish complete their season with an appearance in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M.
This seems the path Schottenheimer has chosen, and in so doing he picks up a draft pick and a player. Schottenheimer sends Chuck Long to Philadelphia, where he will compete with Browning Nagle for the starting job. Philadelphia sends Chicago their 3rd round pick along with backup center Kendall Farrell. Chicago then turned around and sent their 4th round pick to Arizona to bring another Golden Domer back to Chicago, trading for former Blitz QB Blair Kiel as a security blanket for Zolak and an emergency starter if the Rick Mirer gambit does not pay off. Arizona, with Robbie Bosco and Scott Mitchell ahead of Kiel on the depth chart will now likely take a flier on a lower round rookie QB to develop.
The final big trade, and the only one which did not involve a QB, was Washington’s attempt to get a 2nd HB on the roster, likely to share carries with Barry Word. Having lost Jenkins in free agency and Covington to retirement, the Feds needed help at the position, and they think they have found it in Orlando’s CURVIN RICHARDS. Richards, who looked like a solid product coming out of Pitt 2 years ago, but could not bust past Todd Fowler, Dalton Hilliard or (in 1991) Curtis Bledsoe. Washington sees parallels in the straight ahead rushing style between Richards and Word, allowing them to maintain a battering ram style inside run game regardless of who is lined up behind the QB. To get Richards the Feds shipped a 4th round pick and CB Thomas Pittman to Orlando, receiving the HB and a 5th round pick in return.
PRE-DRAFT NEEDS
With all of these moves, there still remain some serious questions out there. As we look at each team’s draft prospects, we are going to focus on the key positions of need, and the best option for each team.
ARIZONA: The Wranglers need a DT to put between Noga and Charles Haley. They could go with Ty Parten from ASU in the Territorial Draft, or swing for the fences and draft Dana Stubblefield out of Kansas.
BALTIMORE: Despite having Barry Foster, we still think Baltimore wants a more dynamic and versatile back. The best back in the T-Draft for them is UNC’s Natrone Means, but he is basically a Foster clone, so we think they will wait for the open draft and make a run for a dual threat back like Garrison Hearst or Robert Smith.
BIRMINGHAM: The Stallions have to draft a runner, no choice. It won’t come in their T-Draft, so look for them to look long and hard at Hearst, Smith, Jerome Bettis and Adrian Murrell.
CHICAGO: We all know what to say here. It is all about getting Rick Mirer to move the short distance from South Bend to Soldier Field. Is ownership ready to pony up the big bucks to sign the “next Montana”?
DENVER: Denver is another team hoping that a choice HB, one with an eye on the USFL, will fall in their lap. They have an early pick, so it will be about picking wisely. We think a big bruising back like Bettis or Means makes the most sense for the Gold and their style of play.
HOUSTON: The new league champs don’t have a lot of needs, but with Michael Dean Perry following the money to Denver, they do need help on the nose. Best prospects for them include Colorado’s Leonard Renfro, Kansas’s Stubblefield, or FSU’s Carl Simpson.
JACKSONVILLE: The Bulls want to free up their outside receivers by having a TE who can threaten the middle. Not a lot of those prospects out there, but they could look at Wake Forest’s John Henry Mills in the Territorial Draft or wait for a shot at Notre Dame’s Irv Smith or Michigan’s Tony McGee.
MEMPHIS: It does not look like Memphis is going to take a shot at a QB. They are thinking of their defense, and that means looking at CB, with Derrick Burroughs gone. They have a good one just waiting for them at Rocky Top, Volunteer Dave Thomas.
MICHIGAN: Michigan has needs across the defense, which means they could go in a lot of different directions. Their best Territorial option might be Spartan LB Ty Hallock or Toledo DE Dan Williams. In the Open Draft, don’t be surprised if they make a run for Stubblefield or LB Demetrius DuBose from Notre Dame.
NEW JERSEY: Another team looking for help on the D-line. They could go with one of the tackles, but they might be better off trying to find a speed guy to line up on the other side from Phil Hansen. The best speed rusher that could be available for them would be Alabama’s Eric Curry (if Birmingham passes).
NEW ORLEANS: The Breakers lost a lot in this offseason, but they have their QB in Rosenbach, so now they can focus on replacing some of the other losses. The retirement of Charlie Smith leaves a big gap at wideout. We love Miami’s Kevin Williams here, and if not, then perhaps another Hurricane in Horace Copeland.
OAKLAND: They are not going QB here, are they? Who would it be? We don’t see them taking the longshot at Bledsoe, who seems a sure shot for the NFL’s first pick to New England. And with Chicago locking in on Mirer, that leaves UW’s Billy Joe Hobert or Heisman Winner Gino Torretta. Neither of those seem good choices. So if they are looking to the NFL window for a QB, what happens here?
ORLANDO: The Renegades desperately need to get more help at the corner to compete in the Southern Division. With the U. of Miami on their protected list, we would expect them to try to sign Hurricane CB Ryan McNeil. And if not, perhaps they go for Ray Buchanon of Louisville.
PHILADELPHIA: We are ruling out QB now that Chuck Long is in the QB room in Philly, so that leaves guard as their pressing need. There are some good ones at the top of the ratings, including South Carolina’s Ernest Dye, Jackson State’s Lester Holmes, and Penn State’s Todd Rucci. They can start talking to Rucci as soon as January 2, the day after Penn State appears in the Blockbuster Bowl.
PITTSBURGH: The Maulers are still hoping to add some speed to their LB corps. With no help in their Territorial Schools, they will have to look at Round 1 of the open draft and hope that either FSU’s Marvin Jones or Clemson’s Wayne Simmons is not chosen as part of the territorial draft of other teams.
PORTLAND: I feel like we say this every year, but Portland has to figure out how to stop the run. That means DT or DE. Too bad their territorial schools are mostly graduating linebackers. For a DE they will need to go to the open draft. There they could do worse than Viginia’s Chris Slade.
ST. LOUIS: The Knights could go guard, tackle, or linebacker. A lot of options for a team in the middle of the pack. Looking at their protected schools, the best option might be to start negotiating with Iowa center Mike Devlin, and if not, then try to add some speed with wideout Victor Bailey from Mizzou.
TAMPA BAY: Safety is the most glaring need for the Bandits, and the best one they might have a chance at is Texas A&M’s Patrick Bates. If Houston protects him, then look for Alabama’s George Teague or UNC’s Rondell Jones.
TEXAS: Guard or DT is the likely pick, and Jackson State’s Lester Holmes would be right at home in San Antonio with the Outlaws.
WASHINGTON: They could replace Charles Haley’s pressure with a young speedy DE or with an aggressive OLB. Chris Slade, the technically sound DE from UVa could be a no brainer in the Territorial Draft. If that works out, they may still go for a LB like Notre Dame’s Demetrius DuBose or Miami’s Michael Barrow to add even more speed.
NFL NEWS
Before we go, one quick bit of NFL news. Just as the USFL has committed to expanding to LA and between 1-3 additional cities in 1995, the NFL too has opted to push their franchise count to 30 in the same year. This week the senior league announced the 5 finalists for an NFL franchise in 1995. They include the former NFL and current USFL cities of Baltimore and St. Louis, along with three new locations, one of which is home to a USFL franchise: Charlotte (NC), Nashville (TN), and Memphis (TN). It seems clear that Tennessee is being viewed as prime expansion territory, in no small part due to the box office success of the Memphis Showboats, we expect. With a new stadium nearing completion in St. Louis and a rabid fanbase in Baltimore still upset about the Colts’ departure, we expect one of these two cities to be granted an expansion club, but we should not count out Charlotte. The ownership group there, headed by former NFL player Jerry Richardson, and with the city becoming a hub for banking in the Southeast, means there is a lot of financial push behind a Charlotte or Carolina franchise. If we had to wager right now, we would bet on Charlotte and St. Louis, but we expect that the owners in Memphis, St. Louis and Baltimore are all feeling the heat a bit. All this and no word yet from the USFL as to their finalists for 1995 expansion. We expect something soon, but for now the owners are still reviewing more than 10 bids, hoping to whittle that number down to a reasonable 4-5 finalists.