how the NFL pulling plug on European league made it harder to find qbs

How the NFL pulling plug on European league made it harder for Cowboys to find quality backup QB

By Rick Gosselin

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/03/19/gosselin-nfl-pulling-plug-european-league-made-harder-cowboys-find-quality-backup-qb

There’s a quarterback shortage in the NFL, and the Cowboys aren’t the only team feeling the pinch these days.

Desperate for a veteran backup for an aging Tony Romo, the Cowboys saw their offseason short list evaporate with the quick departure from the marketplace of Colt McCoy and Chase Daniel to division rivals. McCoy re-signed with the Redskins, and Daniel jumped from Kansas City to the Philadelphia Eagles. Both received three-year deals, with McCoy signing for $9 million and Daniel $21 million.

The Cowboys believed they could still get Matt Moore, a one-time training camp cut, on the cheap. But Moore, a nine-year veteran who hadn’t started a game in four seasons with the Dolphins, chose to re-sign with Miami for $3.5 million over two years rather than return to Dallas.

Now what? There are few, if any, quality arms to be found. And the NFL has only itself to blame.

Quarterback is the most important position on the field. You need a franchise quarterback to win championships plus a quality backup to win games. But there are no longer enough of those arms to go around.

The NFL has no system in place to develop young quarterbacks. Unless they arrive in the NFL as first-round picks, they are drafted and they sit.
You don’t develop a young quarterback having him throw against air in the offseason program. And you don’t develop a young quarterback having him throw 60 passes in August in the preseason. His practice snaps then become few and far between during the regular season.

A young quarterback gets better by playing, not watching. He gets better by competing against defenses that rush him and jostle his receivers. He gets better by reading coverages and making decisions under duress when winning and losing matters. He gets better by playing in front of loud crowds week after week.

NFL Europe gave young quarterbacks that opportunity. For 16 years, the NFL had a system in place to develop arms. The NFL created the spring league with teams in such European hubs as London, Barcelona, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

Essentially, it gave the NFL squatting – and television – rights on spring football, discouraging the possibility of any start-up leagues. It also gave the NFL a chance to develop young players, particularly quarterbacks. Those who were not ready for the NFL as first-, second- or third-year players were provided a field to develop their skills.

But the NFL pulled the plug on its European venture in 2007. Too expensive, the NFL decided. One league official told me NFL Europe was losing $40 million per year. Remember, this is a league that annually awards $80-90 million contracts to non-Pro Bowl players in free agency. A league that guarantees a quarterback with seven career starts $37 million of a $72 million contract. Forty million? That’s $1.25 million per team. And that’s a drop in the NFL’s bountiful bucket.

So what would you peg the value of a Kurt Warner?

The NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals were Warner’s transitional step between indoor (Arena League) and outdoor (NFL) football. He led the Admirals to a 7-3 record and also led NFL Europe in passing with 2,101 yards and 15 touchdowns. Warner then spent the 1998 season as a backup with the St. Louis Rams before stepping in as the starter in 1999 and becoming both an NFL and Super Bowl MVP.

Incidentally, Warner’s backup in Amsterdam that season was Jake Delhomme, who returned to Europe the following spring with Frankfurt and set a league record by competing 67.3 percent of his passes. Five years later, Delhomme was quarterbacking the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl.

Delhomme said his time spent in Europe “was huge. It was getting reps. In NFL Europe, I was able to play in two-minute situations at the end of the half and at the end of games. I was able to bleed the clock in a four-minute situation when you have the lead at the end of a game. All the things that go into playing quarterback. When to use the hard count – all the little nuances that as quarterback needs to work on his craft. That’s what NFL Europe allowed someone like myself to do.”

Brad Johnson spent the 1995 season with the London Monarchs. Like Warner, he won a Super Bowl (Tampa Bay in 2002). Like both Warner and Delhomme, Johnson became a Pro Bowl quarterback. Their time in NFL Europe accelerated their developments as quarterbacks, giving them control of both an offense and a huddle for the first time as professionals.

In addition, NFL Europe alums Jon Kitna, Jay Fielder and Jim Miller all went on to win division titles as NFL quarterbacks. Scott Mitchell also took the Detroit Lions to the playoffs after an internship in NFL Europe. Mitchell, Kitna, Johnson and Warner all had 4,000-yard passing seasons in the NFL. Those same four quarterbacks plus Miller and Kelly Holcomb had 400-yard passing games in the NFL.

But what the NFL lacks right now are the quality arms that can serve as backups. That was another strength of the NFL Europe investment.
Quarterbacks Jamie Martin, Shaun Hill, Todd Bouman and Damon Huard all spent a year in Europe, as did current NFL head coaches Jason Garrett and Doug Pederson. Martin returned stateside and spent the next 16 seasons as an NFL backup, starting only eight games. Hill has spent the last 14 seasons as a backup, and Bouman and Huard 13 seasons apiece. Garrett and Pederson both spent 12 seasons as NFL backups, with Garrett starting just nine games and Pederson 17.
And that’s what the Cowboys – and plenty of other NFL teams – could use right now. A trusted and experienced backup such as a Hill. Or a Bouman. Or a Holcomb. Or a Garrett. Someone who can step in and win a game when the starter goes down.

NFL Europe gave its parent league options at the position. But abandoning the venture has proven to be a fumble that the NFL has been unable to recover. In a league desperate for quality quarterbacking, the NFL decided it no longer needed to develop any