Category Archives: NFL

Arena, NFL, ufl

Windsor, Rod

tntufl10 windsorCards: TNT AFL 2011, TNT UFL 2011

Acquired: IP 6/15/2014, San Antonio Talons Vs Arizona Rattlers

Failure: TTM 2011, C/o The Sacramento Mountain Lions, TTM 2013, C/o The Arizona Rattlers

Rod Windsor played only one year at wide receiver in college at Western New Mexico, but he made it count earning All-Conference Honors with 1,118 yards on 81 catches to go along with 6 TDs.

Going undrafted, Rod joined the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of the AF2 in 2009 where he made an immediate impact. He’d rack up 184 receptions for 2,364 yards and 59 touchdowns, and his efforts translated into Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year Honors.

tntafl11 windsorIn 2010 Windsor became a member of the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL. Again he’d have a banner season with 193 receptions for 2,372 yards and 47 TDs, earning Rookie of the Year Honors there as well.  Eager to springboard to the NFL, Windsor joined the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the UFL after the season. He’d have a respectable season with the MoLos with 25 receptions for 379 yards, a 15.2 YPR average, and 3 TDs.

Rod then bounced around in between the Browns and Bills practice rosters, but with the lockout on, and Windsor not being a high priced player, he jumped to the AFL in 2011 to play for the Rattlers. He’d earn First Team All-Arena Honors, as he caught 156 passes for 1,830 yards and 36 TDs. Afterwards, with the strike over, he returned to the Browns, where he was reassigned to their practice squad.

windsor'sgloveRod opted to return to the AFL in 2013 with the Rattlers, earning Second Team All-Arena after totalling 110 receptions for 1,590 yards and 42 TDs. He’d cap his season off with MVP and Offensive Player of the Game Honors for ArenaBowl XXVI, as he pulled in 10 receptions for 145 yards in Arizona’s victory over Philadelphia.

Well, where there is a will there is a way. The Talons game against the Rattlers provided me with the opportunity to get autographs merely by leaning over the rail at my choice seating spot (near the visitors bench in the end zone) and merely getting the player’s attention that I wanted. I then had players daisy chain to the next player that I needed until I got all three members of the Rattlers knocked out who were members of my TNT AFL 11 promo set. I did not have any more extras cards of Rod to give him as I did the others.

Unfortunately I had blown those over the past 2 years on failed attempts through the teams he had played for previously. Still he’s one of the bigger AFL names that I had been wanting, and after explaining to him what happened, he almost looked like he flashed a wry grin of “I got them and thought they were so awesome I kept them all,” so I didn’t feel too badly. He absolutely torched the Talons during the game, adding another 96 yards and 3 TDs on 7 receptions including a diving catch into the back of the endzone I was in. After the game I caught his eye and congratulated him on his great effort and in return he gave me one of his gloves. A nice momento, and a classy move by another Arena player in a league that continues to prove it cares about its fans. Despite the fact that the Rattlers are considered the Talons division rival, they have quickly established themselves as my second favorite team thanks in part to guys like Rod.

 

 

Arena, CFL, NFL, WLAF

McGowan, Paul

pset91 mcgowanCards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/24     Received: 2/18  (25 days)

Paul McGowan led all Florida State defenders in tackles for 3 straight seasons from 1984-1987. In his Senior season he was a First Team All-American as he made 150 tackles including 13 for losses, and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s preeminent linebacker, however he waited until the 9th round to hear his name called by the Minnesota Vikings. A final cut in the preseason, McGowan joined the Browns but was also cut as well. At 6’0″, 222, many teams felt he was undersized and slow for the position, but the numbers said otherwise.

Paul was signed by the Ottawa Roughriders of the CFL in 1989 and made 42 tackles, and ended up being cut early in 1990. He was drafted by the Birmingham Fire in the first round of the WLAF’s linebacker draft in 1991, and was a force to be reckoned with in the team’s 3-4 alignment. The team’s tenacious defense led the Fire into the playoffs, psetwlaf91 mcgowanand McGowan was charged with leading the linebacker corps with 59 solo tackles and 3 fumble recoveries. Head coach Chan Gailey called McGowan a ‘glue guy’; Basically, a player who makes sure that every player is lined up right and ready. Equally impressive linebacker teammate John Brantley, however won the WLAF Defensive MVP award. McGowan returned in 1992, and so did the Fire to the playoffs, losing again to Barcelona in the first round. Paul expressed interest in returning to the Fire for the 1993 season, however the WLAF reorganized shortly there after.

Paul joined the Orlando Predators of the AFL in 1993. As an ironman league at the time McGowan got to play both sides of the ball in the league’s traditional LB-FB switch off. He’d play for the team through 1997 when he decided to go into firefighting instead. In 1998 Paul was inducted into the Predators Ring of Honor and at the time of his abrupt retirement was the team’s career leader in sacks. In 2010, McGowan was ranked in a poll as the 11th greatest Florida State player of all time.

wcwlaf92 mcgowanI followed the internet rabbit in order to find this one and struck gold. Paul signed these cards and also included a nice note with them, thanking me for the reminder of the great memories.

WLAF     Tac  N/a     Sac  1.0    Fum N/a
Int  3    Yds  29     Avg  9.7    Td    0   Lg 12

AFL   LB   Tac  97   Ast  39    Sac 17    Fum 6
Int  0    Yds  0   Avg -.-   Td 0   Lg -.-

FB   Rush 139    Yds  555      Avg       Td   11
Rec  25     Yds 227     Avg     Td 2

 

NFL

Paup, Bryce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cards: Skybox 1995, Fleer 1996
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

The Pack was aggressively going after the linebacker position to create some competition taking Tony Bennett in round 1 and Bobby Houston in round 3 before ultimately landing on a little known Northern Iowa Product, Bryce Paup with their 6th round pick in 1990.  He didn’t really get on the field his rookie season, but was a curious enough product at 6-5, 250 that the Packers suspected that he’d be worth giving a shot because of his versatility at linebacker and defensive end. Bryce ultimately got onto the field as a situational pass rusher in 1991 (- one of the first of the 90s to emerge,) and had 7.5 sacks and 3 FF in a misleading 7 games and 1 start. In his first game of the season, he tackled Eagles QB Randall Cunningham, effectively ending Randall’s more athletic days of scrambling fearlessly outside the pocket. As Paup began to really get a feel for playing the linebacker position at the pro level, he really gelled as a sack artist, and after the team’s switch to a 4-3 defense in 1994, he made 3 picks for 47 yards and a touchdown earning his first of 4 consecutive Pro Bowl berths. The Packers felt that Paup’s sack numbers were inflated because of the attention that  Reggie White and Tim Harris had gotten from the opposition and did not attempt to resign him. Bryce set out to prove them wrong.

The Buffalo Bills signed Paup to a free agent contract in 1995, and under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in his 3-4 alignment, Bryce destroyed the NFL. Bryce led the NFL in sacks with 17.5, and was named Defensive Player of the Year that season, as he and Bruce Smith made a fearsome combo. He continued to play for the Bills through 1997 earning Pro Bowl berths in every season he was there, but a stinging groin injury from 1996, and his frustration over the ineptness of the offense, left bad blood between the team and Paup. Jacksonville, needing some outside pass rush help, signed Paup’s in 1998 to a monster contract that ranked second only to Junior Seau among linebackers.  He’d play two vastly underwhelming seasons there before finishing his career at  Minnesota in 2000.  Bryce currently lives in Wisconsin, where he’s begun a career in coaching football.

G/Gs  148/113    Tac  444    Sac 75    Fum 15     Int 6    Yds 55    Avg 9.2    Td 1   LG 30t