A View From NFL Europe: Arena QBs in the Outdoor Game
Lee Zakow
Wednesday August 9, 2000
It’s not hard to see the league gets no respect. In the first Monday Night game of the season – The Hall of Fame Game -- new analyst Dan Fouts gushed about former Kansas State QB Michael Bishop’s ability. I forget the circumstances around the line, but he said “They certainly don’t have talent like this in the Arena League.” Maybe yes, maybe no. Bishop needs polish and is undisciplined. In the Arena League, he either would have been very, very good, or very, very bad. How so? Look at Robert Hall in Houston. He is now a more polished product (at least I believe) because of the time he spent in Amsterdam. Although he spent most of his time at WR, he was an emergency QB and shame on Al Luginbill for not using him at QB in certain situations. I would say that if Hall made himself available for the league, I would snap him up in a second. If you gave me, say, a versatile back like Kenny Bynum of the Chargers (who almost gained 1,000 yards for the Rhein Fire in 1999) and Hall, and some good receivers like Joe Douglass (who also played for Amsterdam), you’d have a heck of an offense. I can imagine Hall on bootlegs and on trick plays. (And if memory serves me, both Hall and Douglass played with Warner).
 Sherdrick Bonner walked away from NFLE to play for the Rattlers this season Image courtesy of Mark Canello |
Sherdrick Bonner always gets the nod as the next QB to make the jump to the NFL. I think though, he may upset many people with his decision to walk away from NFL E right before training camp broke. I’m sure it was a personal decision based on money and comfort, but I heard it got in the craw of a few NFL people because he walked out on a commitment. Todd Marinovich of the Avengers would be an interesting choice to play in NFL E because is his act truly cleaned up? Did he learn to throw with discipline in tight spaces and not let things get away from him? Where is his head? If things are satisfactory, I’m sure the Chargers are still interested, given that Ryan Leaf has missed a bunch of practices over the last few weeks. But NFL E would be a more likely destination. I know Connell Maynor and Kevin McDougal had great years, but at 6’0, Maynor is a little small by NFL standards. He would be a fit for a team that uses bootlegs as a staple. I’d like to see what the taller, more rangy Kevin Mason could do. Mason has a good arm, and had a solid offensive grounding at Syracuse. He might be the next one.
With the XFL coming up fast in the rearview mirror, it’s going to spread the QB classes in the AFL and NFL E thin. The XFL will probably provide a new testing ground for Arena QBs who want to go outdoors. Nevertheless, if Clint Dolezel has success of any kind in the outdoor game, we`re going to see a lot more crossing over next year. Sit back and watch. It should be fun.
Lee Zakow was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
