Rams News

Sudden impact
JUNE 21, 1998

Scott Mitchell threw 361 passes in the World League before he attempted one in a National Football League game. Brad Johnson was a familiar face on the streets of London long before he started getting recognized around the Twin Cities.

Mitchell and Johnson, the starting quarterbacks for the Lions and Vikings, respectively, cultivated their talents in the World League -- now called NFL Europe -- the NFL's global venture that started in 1991, with seven of the 10 teams on North America soil, and now is strictly a European conglomerate of six teams. This year's members were Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Barcelona, England (London) and Scotland (Edinburgh). Fan interest has grown particularly intense in Germany, where the NFL will add a team (perhaps a current one) in Berlin next year.

Although the league exists mainly to give fans in Europe their own football teams and to foster activities at the grass-roots level, many NFL teams allocate young players to NFL Europe and use it as a developmental league. In addition to Mitchell and Johnson, Broncos defensive tackle Keith Traylor, Seahawks backup quarterback Jon Kitna and Chargers punter Darren Bennett are current players who are NFL Europe alums.

"I think it's serving its purpose," says Rick Spielman, the Bears' director of pro personnel, "because most of (the players) are young guys who you don't know much about because they didn't get much playing time their first year. You throw them in this league, and all of a sudden you get a feel for what they are, what they can be."

In the wake of NFL Europe's recently completed season, which culminated with the Dusseldorf Rhein Fire's 34-10 victory over the Frankfurt Galaxy in the World Bowl, these five players could play prominent roles for their NFL teams:

Marcus Robinson, WR, Bears. Among this year's NFL Europe players, Robinson has the best chance to make an impact in the NFL. A '97 fourth-round pick out of South Carolina, he has the size (almost 6-4, 215 pounds) and speed (4.4-4.5 in the 40) NFL coaches covet.

Robinson was named the offensive MVP of NFL Europe after catching 39 passes for 811 yards (20.8 per-catch average) and five touchdowns in 10 regular-season games for Rhein. In the World Bowl, he had two receptions for 114 yards, including a 64-yard TD.

Escaping press coverage at the line of scrimmage and running polished routes were two areas Robinson needed to improve, and he got better at both in Europe. "His downfield ability and his improvement as far as catching the ball-those are the two things that came out that maybe we didn't see in training camp last year," Spielman says. "As far as big receivers in the Herman Moore, Jake Reed type, I'm not saying he's those guys yet, but he has that type of physical strength and ability."

Robinson probably would have been the Bears' fourth wide receiver last year were it not for a fractured thumb in the preseason that landed him on the injured- reserve list. Going into training camp, Curtis Conway is No. 1, and Chris Penn and Bobby Engram are battling for the second and third spots. But don't be surprised if Robinson emerges as the No. 3 or, perhaps, No. 2 guy.

Joe Andruzzi, G, Packers. There's one starting spot open on the Green Bay offense-left guard, left open when Aaron Taylor signed with the Chargers-and Packers coaches expect Andruzzi to compete with Marco Rivera, a '96 sixth-round pick, for that vacancy.

Andruzzi (6-3, 313), an undrafted free agent out of Southern Connecticut, caught the attention of Packers general manager Ron Wolf almost immediately in minicamp last year. Andruzzi sprained his knee July 31 and did not return to practice until the second week of the season, but the Packers thought enough of him to keep him on their roster the entire season, though they never activated him.

In NFL Europe, Andruzzi demonstrated improved technique and reacted quicker to blitzes and counter moves by pass rushers. He also maintained playing strength and did not get knocked around by the players he faced. "He showed he can pound it in there, play after play, game after game," says Packers pro personnel director Reggie McKenzie, who viewed tape of all 10 games Andruzzi played for Scotland-the same team Rivera was with in '97.

Andruzzi's biggest test will come when he has to explode out of his stance and get movement on a defensive tackle who is facemask-to-facemask against him. His litmus test will come in training camp, where he will face Gilbert Brown and Santana Dotson. How Andruzzi survives those battles will go a long way toward determining his role.

Vincent Bradford, LB, 49ers. San Francisco has a solid unit of starting linebackers in Ken Norton, Winfred Tubbs and Lee Woodall but doesn't have much in reserve. Beyond Anthony Peterson, James Williams, who is more of a special teams player, and a couple of rookie free agents, the ranks are thin. Bradford could fortify that situation.

A defensive end who was a pass-rush specialist at Arkansas, Bradford (6-3, 245) is more suited to play outside linebacker in the NFL. He has improved his angles of pursuit as a run-stopper. His pass-coverage skills are adequate, but he has the speed (4.55 in the 40) to possibly play the role of a third-down linebacker. And he is a prototype special teams player.

Among the three players the 49ers allocated to NFL Europe -- defensive tackle Brandon Noble and running back Reynard Rutherford were the others -- Bradford made the most improvement. In one game for Rhein, he made 10 tackles, had one sack, forced one fumble and recovered another.

Kurt Warner, QB, Rams. Warner has taken a circuitous route to the NFL. He started out in the Packers' training camp in 1994, where he was last in a line of quarterbacks that then included Brett Favre, Mark Brunell and Ty Detmer. His next stop was the Arena Football League, where he started three seasons for the Iowa Barnstormers. He signed with St. Louis on December 26 and was sent overseas for seasoning this spring.

Playing for Amsterdam, he passed for a league-leading 2,101 yards and 15 touchdowns and tied a league record with five TD passes in one game. His performance in Europe convinced the Rams they had a legitimate prospect. They were further impressed after watching him less than a week in minicamp.

"He's amazing with the speed at which he makes decisions," says Mike White, the team's quarterbacks coach. "A lot of quarterbacks are real methodical-their decision making is so delayed that they look slow-when they're new to a system. He's just the opposite. He moves quick, makes decisions and boom-releases the ball."

Warner (6-2, 220) still needs to polish some of his mechanics, particularly his footwork on pass drops and his alignment when throwing. And when training camp opens, he'll be at the end of the line again. Tony Banks, who is still a work in progress, is the starter. Will Furrer, who was the team's third quarterback last season, and Steve Bono are expected to battle for the No. 2 spot.

George McCullough, CB, Oilers. A fifth-round draft pick out of Baylor in '97, McCullough spent most of the '97 season on the practice squad. Tennessee activated him for the final two games, and he had four solo tackles, broke up one pass and forced a fumble at the 1-yard line, thwarting a scoring opportunity for Ravens receiver Michael Jackson.

McCullough played for Barcelona this spring and had a solid season for the Dragons. He intercepted three passes-one of which he returned for a touchdown and recorded two sacks. McCullough's roles for the Oilers likely will be as a nickel defensive back and a special-teams player.

Dennis Dillon is a contributing editor for The Sporting News. Dan Pompei's column returns in late July.

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