slammer66 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2023 11:26 pm
full disclosure, I'm a stallions fan from the 80's.
And the #1 Birmingham Bolt fan of 2001 if I’m not mistaken. Welcome back to the Board!
I did do some sports writing for the Bolts. I got to meet Dick Butcus, that was a highlight, Still a big man. I've seen all the pro leagues come and go and unfortunately for teams like the Bolts there was not enough time to develop players. The AAF lived only half a season but the XFL picked up those players. Covid wrecked the XFL's first season but then the USFL benefited with having access to guys who had played parts of two seasons. Then the XFL came back and once again had a larger base of experienced players to draw from. At this point I believe the quality of play of the XFL and USFL is much higher than any of the post USFL 80's versions of pro football. I'm not sure if both can survive separately. A merger would be the best path forward for both leagues in my opinion but the corporate backing and overall philosophies are different. If they could at least play concurrent seasons they could meet for a championship. I know everyone has an opinion on which league has better teams. I watched both a good bit and I can't tell. I will say this, both leagues have done a better job of spreading around talent than previous iterations.
Do you have Any expereience or anecdotes with the Barracudas ??
And the #1 Birmingham Bolt fan of 2001 if I’m not mistaken. Welcome back to the Board!
I did do some sports writing for the Bolts. I got to meet Dick Butcus, that was a highlight, Still a big man. I've seen all the pro leagues come and go and unfortunately for teams like the Bolts there was not enough time to develop players. The AAF lived only half a season but the XFL picked up those players. Covid wrecked the XFL's first season but then the USFL benefited with having access to guys who had played parts of two seasons. Then the XFL came back and once again had a larger base of experienced players to draw from. At this point I believe the quality of play of the XFL and USFL is much higher than any of the post USFL 80's versions of pro football. I'm not sure if both can survive separately. A merger would be the best path forward for both leagues in my opinion but the corporate backing and overall philosophies are different. If they could at least play concurrent seasons they could meet for a championship. I know everyone has an opinion on which league has better teams. I watched both a good bit and I can't tell. I will say this, both leagues have done a better job of spreading around talent than previous iterations.
Do you have Any expereience or anecdotes with the Barracudas ??
I did go to at least two Barracuda games. Being the Canadian version it never quite washed with the American fans. They were a middle of the road team compared to the rest.
With them being mediocre, the bolts being terrible in both sides of the ball, the iron had a good defense but no offense at all. I was suspicious of the Skip Holtz hire for the stallions with him having on pro experience. Most of the rest of the coaches had pro experience, and then there was Skip. I was starting to think Birmingham being a small market was getting the leftovers with the better talent going to the bigger markets. At the time on some online forum I read a roster analysis someone did of the USFL and they judged the Stallions to be dead last. They were a bit off.
One of the primary criticisms was that they had, and I quote "an old defensive line". At the time I was wondering if having a few older players on the team was a detriment or a boost. I had long felt that one of the biggest problem in the startup leagues was a lack of veteran players. The original USFL was chocked full of older players with NFL experience and it showed. Some were "ringers" but some were guys who just wanted to play a few more years. Tom Banks was the leader of the offensive line for the Stallions. He was a former pro-bowler in the NFL but had some injuries and his time there was over. He was able to provide a huge boost to Birmingham's OL.
