Category Archives: Arena

Arena, NFL, NFLE, ufl

Greisen, Chris

tntufl11 greisenCard: TNT UFL 2011
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Work
Sent: 7/18     Received:  8/29   (42 days)

In the short lived history of the UFL, no quarterback was more prolific than the Florida Tusker and Virginia Destroyers quarterback Chris Greisen.

Long before the signal caller played in the UFL, Chris was a 7th round pick out of Northwestern Missouri, of the Arizona Cardinals in 1999. A two time All-American after leading the Bearcats to their first ever National Championship, Greisen held numerous records upon leaving the school.  He played sparingly for the Cards over the first 3 seasons, and was released in 2002, only to latch on to the Redskins roster by the end of the year. Eyeing more experience, Chris joined the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. He had a pretty solid season playing in Germany, throwing for 10 TDs, and 843 yards in only 131 attempts.

Following his time in the NFLE, Greisen entered the Arena Football League 2 and played for the Green Bay Blizzard. After a successful debut for the team in 2004, Chris was quickly signed by the Dallas Desperados and became the primary backup.  Signing with the Georgia Force in 2007, Chris was finally able to take over the reigns as the starting quarterback.  The Force posted a 14-2 record as Greisen threw a league record 117 TD passes. He’d continue to enjoy success with the AFL until it suspended operations in 2009.

Wanting to continue his career, Chris pursued a shot with the UFL Florida Tuskers in 2009, backing up former NFL pro Brooks Bollinger. With the return of the AFL in early 2010, Chris decided to split his time in both leagues. He signed with the Milwaukee Iron and then went on to throw an AFL record 5,139 yards.  Back to the Tuskers after the season, Chris ended up starting for the team after Bollinger went down due to injuries.  He’d lead the team to the Championship game and throw for 346 yards while rushing for 2 scores in a loss to the Las Vegas Locos.  He signed with the Dallas Cowboys after the UFL season.

With the UFL still clinging to life in 2011 and the Tuskers moving to Virginia, Chris returned to play for the Destroyers under Marty Schottenheimer. He’d complete 21 passes for 174 yards as the Destroyers vanquished their arch rival Las Vegas Locos 17-3 in the Championship Game. Greisen played in the final season of the UFL’s existence in 2012.

Since then he’s opened up a passing academy in Wisconsin, where he trains and counsels future professional quarterback prospects. I had made this great card of him and decided to see if he’d sign it for me and enclosed extras for him to keep. A month or two later I got a response from him thanking me for the cards, and asking for a few more of ‘these awesome cards’.

NFL    0/5        ATT  16       COMP 7       YDS  69         PCT  43.8%
TD 1        INT 0       RAT 77.3
RUSH 1       YDS 1       AVG  1.0     TD 0     LG 1

NFLE       ATT 131        COMP 76        YDS 843         PCT 58.0%
TD 10        INT 5       RAT 86.8
RUSH  24      YDS  171      AVG  1.7      TD  1    LG  9

AFL          ATT 1695        COMP 1185        YDS 15108         PCT 69.9%
TD 324        INT 40       RAT 127.23
RUSH  46     YDS  70     AVG  1.5      TD  16

Arena, CFL, NFL, ufl

Johnson, Jerrod

tntufl11 jjohnsonCards: TNT UFL 2011
Acquired: IP, Aaron Williams Lone Star Showcase 2015

I was a big fan of the United Football League, before all the dirt came out about them not paying their players, and developed a set of cards for the league. As word got around of my work, a few players contacted me and asked for their cards, so I expanded the set from roughly 50 to 100 cards.  Included in the set were 12 or so rookies who were selected by the league during the first ever sports Twitter draft.

After Josh McCown had bolted back to the NFL as one of the UFL’s success stories, new Hartford Colonial’s coach Jerry Glanville assembled an impressive coaching staff and selected Jerrod Johnson with the first overall pick of the 2011 UFL Draft. Johnson planned to sign with the league, but with dark financial clouds brewing, Jerrod signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Soon thereafter, the Colonials owner assumed control of the Virginia Destroyers, and the league contracted Hartford.  Jerrod saw time on various rosters around the NFL (Eagles, Steelers) and Arena (Rattlers) leagues. He then returned to the UFL in 2012 suiting up for the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Johnson threw for 321 yards, completing 25 of 59 passes with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also ran for 12 yards in 6 attempts.  This led him back to the NFL, where he ws on the offseason and practice rosters of the Seahawks and Bears through the 2014 season. Later Jerrod signed with the Montreal Alouettes.

Jerrod liked the custom that I did of him, and when I said the #1 pick of the UFL in 2011, he remarked, “The man knows!” Jerrod was one of the many attendees at the Lone Star Showcase. Working with the kids at quarterback you could tell he got a lot of enjoyment out of giving back. Although it was a pretty hot day, the event was well run and players were kind and accomodating to fans of all ages.

Arena

Reece, Brett

tnt15 breeceCards: TNT Talons 2014, TNT Limited 2015
Acquired: TTM, 2014 & 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 7/24/14 , 6/2/15
Received: 9/8/14 (42 days) , 10/8/15  (128 days)

Brett Reece Jr. is a great example of why leagues like the AFL and CIF need to exist.  Playing for a school like Ouachita Baptist out of Arkadelphia, Arkansas shouldn’t prevent you from realizing your dreams as a football player, and Reece has continued to play at every opportunity that has been afforded to him.

During his sophomore season, Brett recorded a team high 825 receiving yards and 6 TDs on 46 receptions. In 2011, he led the Tigers in receiving with 30 receptions for 489 yards and 3 TDs en route to an All-GAC Second Team Selection.

tntafl14 reeceBrett has continued to play in different Arena style leagues since then. He made 5 receptions for 43 yards for the San Antonio Talons, before being reassigned back to the Texas Revolution. In 2015, he was off to a fast start before suffering a season ending foot injury. Still he finished as the Revs leading receiver in 2015 with 34 receptions for 424 yards and 9 TDs in just 6 games- earning CIF Offensive Player of the Week Honors in Week 6.

I had created Reece’s card shortly before he was reassigned by the Talons. Since I didn’t have a good photo of Reece, I worked over an old photo of his from Ouachita. Pretty darn good if I say so, and Reece loved it. Brett contacted me again in 2015 and told me that he liked the Talons card so much, he wanted me to do one of him in his Revs uniform. I literally cranked this Revs design out in a day or two, and it too looks amazing.