By Jason JonesI began my post-playing career as a writer, speaking on the team and city of Cleveland and my journey as a member of the Gladiators (2010, 2011, and 2014). Ironically, the final “Coffee Grinds” of the regular season ends right where I began.
Human nature drives us to pursue perfection and achieve the highest levels of life. We strive to be the best, be the first, earn the most and outperform the competition. Of course in football, the gold standard is the NFL. The most exposure, the highest attendance and the fiercest competition for roster spots are surely among the National Football League, not to mention the taxable income bracket that we all covet so dearly. So as the League continues to turn over the 15,588 NCAA senior athletes each season, only 256 are actually drafted each year, leaving over 15,000 players with collegiate ability on a migrant journey to earn a living off this oblong pigskin with laces.
That's exactly where the Arena Football League steps in. Upon arriving from Philadelphia to Ohio, I learn the news of countless players in our League moving on to pursue NFL contracts and never could I be more proud of the arena game and our brothers. The AFL in its prior decades was never regarded as a “feeder league,” or system to the NFL but times are beginning to change. In line with Major League Baseball’s minor league systems and the NBA’s D-League, football has been searching for a competitive professional method to supplement the steadily growing NFL search for talent. The opportunity is tremendous for both sides.
The past saw the AFL as a fall-back league wherein guys nearing and over 30 years of age could continue to play football for money for much longer, even if they don't still fit the prototype NFL mold. Those times were great for those gentlemen and I'm sure Sherdrick Bonner and James Baron and can testify to the joys of their Arena experiences, following playing on Sundays. The game is different, the plays and angles are altered but the fan experience, player interactions and the energy of a live AFL are undeniable. Now we have the talent to equally match our excitement. We laugh and go viral when an entire offensive group reenacts a wrestling skit from start to finish...with NO PENALTY! The world is seeing more of this “All Fun League” each weekend live, on Sportscenter top 10 lists, and no longer is our brand of football considered a gimmick or a joke! We have players that can flat out play!
The new path to success has begun with the AFL, instead of ending with it. Rookies and college graduates arrive in arena camps looking for roster spots and chasing the goal of NFL exposure from within our game. In all I honesty, I wish all our players could stay here and make the AFL as tough and strong as possible, but I love and respect the guys that have their chances to make life changing moves for themselves and their families in a sport we have globally loved since Walter Camp fathered it in the 1890s.
You NFL scouts, coaches and GMs don't want to miss out on this endless buffet. There's an enormous amount of skill in the Arena League that even in its 28th season, is still as a raw diamond. The true value of our league is yet to be fully revealed but it's slowly emerging. Over the last month, Arena alums such as AJ Cruz (Arizona Rattlers to Chicago Bears), Sammuel Lamur (Tampa Bay Storm to Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Tyler Moore (Tampa Bay Storm to Chicago Bears), and Brandon Stephens (Cleveland Gladiators to Cleveland Browns) have all been signed to NFL teams with prospects of making their respective 53-man final rosters. The word is spreading within the locker rooms, and front offices that these guys smacking upon these walls in NBA arenas can improve our Super Bowl aspirations.
Things we already know, the NFL is finding out more and more about. I am not saying this is new business for the #AFLtoNFL moves to take place, because it's happened often. A 30-year-old WR is far beyond the age range stereotypically sought after by those playing on Sunday's, yet Sharks wide receiver Anthony Jones was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. Age is nothing but a number, as Tiger leads all AFL receivers and is on pace for a record fourth 2,000 yard season in five years! Seems Jones is performing like he is younger and faster even after three-plus decades. In past seasons, All-Arena players Rod Windsor and Marrio Norman signed contracts following superb AFL outings. There are aspects of football that the game teaches in Arena that makes a great fit playing outdoors again. The speed of the game, learning to cut angles, be physical and winning your individual battles are all vital to both venues. Marrio Norman recently rejoined the AFL in Cleveland and I asked him what the biggest learning point he took from his NFL experience.
“It was a great experience that I wouldn't trade for the world,” Norman said. “I learned the importance of [eye discipline] when covering wide receivers. You have to keep your eyes on your man because with this game being even faster than the NFL, you lose sight of somebody, and that's when double moves happen. Most guys get beat when? When they're looking in the backfield!”
Tiger Jones had a similar transitional period with the Eagles in 2012.
“It's an adjustment either way,” Jones said. “Going outdoors to the NFL I had to slow down my game. Take more time in my routes as opposed to the speedy AFL game. Coming back after the Eagles I had an improvement in my press release versus man coverage. The Eagles were an all press coverage team defensively, and that constant repetition along with scouting of myself, improved my game.”
Tips like that and lessons learned from that level of football, can only improve our players and our brand, should any of our talented guys “come home” again to the AFL. I understand it's still a business and money and numbers sway some roster decisions in that league and ours, but for my heart, brotherly love and respect for our guys, I say ‘don't come back!’ From Soul wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw, who worked out for the New York Jets on Monday, to Cleveland offensive lineman Kitt O’Brien whom the Indianapolis Colts called while he stood frantically in the Gladiators practice locker room just yesterday. Go make the team!
Learn, train, and expand your expertise of the game, but if by chance, by injury, by numbers game, by politics, or by the Lord’s gracious will, you don't make it there, we know you can still make it anywhere... preferably here... (again) in the Arena Football League!
Thanks for listening fans!
AFLCoffee
#AFLtoNFL
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