Can the UFL survive once again?

Over the pat year, I have written a number of posts declaring the UFL either dead or on its deathbed. Some how this little league that could finds a way to come back, despite reports all over the web that they have failed to pay their bills and even some of their employees. Now I find in posts on profootballtalk.com and the UFL league site that the UFL owners remain committed and will return in 2012.

That seems pretty unreasonable since all this league has done since its inception is lose money, and blunder there way through three seasons. When the pulled the plug on the 2011 season halfway through that looked to be the final deathblow. Now it appears the UFL is willing not only to come back, but also to switch to a spring schedule where they could actually make some head way.

The thing they have going for them is the on the field product is good. It is good football and people will flock to good football especially in the spring. They have identified several good markets for themselves and if they keep on working that, they could very well survive and even thrive.

Of course, the other side of this coin is NFL Commish Roger Goodell told the press in London this week that his league would like to have a springtime developmental league. A place for teams to develop players coming out of college who might not be ready for the NFL. A place for teams to develop young talent. Of course, the NFL has been down this road before, all NFL Europa did was lose money, however Goodell wants to grow his league, and the best way to do that would be a developmental spring league. The current best option for something like that would be a spring scheduled UFL.

Of course, the NFL would have to learn the mistakes of NFL Europa. First and foremost, they would have to make a rule that every member of a team’s practice squad must play in this league. It will not work having each team send one player. NFL Europe helped the NFL develop a number of quality players and a spring based UFL developmental league could very well do the same.

Of course, to accommodate all those practice squad players, and all of the not quite ready for the NFL players coming out of college the UFL would have to field more than four teams. It seems that eight teams would be the minimum number needed to make something like this viable. That of course would mean the UFL would have to find at least four more markets where their teams could thrive. They seem very interested in Jackson, Mississippi, and there are other markets where UFL teams could do very well especially if they were connected to the NFL.

The thing to remember here is Goodell wants a player development league that is not commercial, that is in one location ala the NFL Scouting Combine and annual Senior Bowl in Alabama. However, given the option to save the UFL and expand his league that might be a better propostion.

Related Links:

• The Business of the UFL
• Joshua Lobdell

Can Pat White be a succesful pro QB?

The Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League have added QB Pat White to their reserve/protected list for the 2011 UFL season. It is a great public relations move as White attended the University of West Virginia and could help bring in some local fans to the Destroyers, if they can get him signed.

With that being said, we have to wonder if White can ever develop into a suitable pro quarterback. He played one year with the Miami Dolphins after they drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft. The season was pretty disastrous as he failed to complete a pass and had a QB rating of just 39.6. Mostly the Dolphins used him as a Wild Cat QB and he did tally 81 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

Former Dolphins executive and football genius Bill Parcells has stated that drafting White violated his principles in drafting a prototypical QB. It seems that drafting White was one of his biggest regrets during his stint with the Dolphins.

There is no doubt about it, White is not your prototypical pro QB, but does that mean he cannot be a successful pro QB? In my mind I don't think so. I think White needs to land with a team that can understand what he brings to the field and craft an offensive attack that takes advantage of that.

I do not know if Destroyers Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer is the man who can effectively craft an offense around a less than typical QB. Of course he did find a lot of success with Bernie Kosar when the two were with the Cleveland Browns. Kosar was not your typical pro QB either, but there is a bigger concern with White.

My concern here is White’s ability to pass down the field. I have big questions on weather or not White can pass the ball accurately and consistently. I don't know how much of that can be taught, and players who rely on their speed and elusiveness rarely make a big splash in the pros.

The problem comes in where a fast and elusive college guy can look like a super star in college, once he gets to the pros he learns that the linebackers and DB's are just as fast as he is. Even in the UFL White will find that his competition is just as fast and maybe more determined to get him then the boys he played against in college.

We hear a lot about pro teams recruiting big time athletes, and White is certainly that, but I don't know how great a football player he is. Pro QB's have to have pocket awareness and the ability to throw a ball down the field to a precise spot where only his receivers can make the catch. So far in his limited action with the Dolphins I have not seen White able to do those things.

Related Links:

Virginia Destroyers news and notes

The Business of the United Football League

Joshua Lobdell.com