Tag Archives: london monarchs

NFL, NFLE

Johnson, Brad ‘Checkdown Charlie’

CARDS: Playoff Contenders 2004, Donruss Classics 2002, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2004 Longevity (055/199)
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 9/16 RECEIVED: 10/20 (19 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Brad Johnson played QB at Florida State from 1988-’91.
  • He rarely saw the field as a starter- seeing his most extensive action in 1990.
  • That season he completed 109 of 163 passes for 1,136 yards and 8 TDs to 5 INT.
  • Still he managed to show enough athletically to be selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 9th round of the 1992 NFL Draft.
  • Brad again rarely saw the field buried on the depth chart behind Rich Gannon and Sean Salisbury.
  • But in 1994 with the arrival of Warren Moon, Johnson was elevated to 2nd string where he saw his first action in the NFL.
  • Sensing a need to develop their QB, the Vikings allocated Johnson to the newly reconstituted World League– where Brad played for the London Monarchs in the Spring of ’95.
  • Johnson was able to hone his game playing for London, passing for 2,227 yards on 194 of 328 passes.
  • During the 1995 regular season again for the Vikes, Brad saw limited duty thanks in part to Warren Moon’s unearthly longevity and durability.
  • With Moon injured early on during the first contest of the ’96 season, Johnson was thrust into the starting role for Minnesota.
  • He’d finish with a 5-3 record on the season and throw 17 TDs.
  • In 1997 Brad took over the starting duties at QB for the Vikings but had Randall Cunningham breathing down his neck.
  • A season ending neck injury ended his season after an 8-4 start.
  • In a more comical moment, Brad Johnson caught a deflected pass and rumbled 3 yards for his own TD that season.
  • Again, Johnson began the ’98 season as starter- but Cunningham took over after the 2nd contest and never looked back.
  • Brad was traded to the Redskins prior to the ’99 season in exchange for draft picks.
  • He responded with his best season as a pro- 10-6 as a starter while throwing for 24 TDs and 4,005 yards.
  • Despite his solid season, the Redskins responded by…. signing QB Jeff George!
  • A tough season again riddled with injuries doomed Brad’s tenure in DC.
  • In 2001, Johnson was the belle at the ball, pursued by multiple teams- eventually signing with the Bucs.
  • He threw for 3,406 yards and 13TDs on 340 of 559 passes.
  • The next season, things came full circle as Brad raced out to a 10-3 record as a starter, completed 281 of 451 passes for 3,049 yards and 22 TDs.
  • His 1.3 interception rate (6) led the NFL, as Brad and the Bucs won their first Superbowl title over Rich Gannon and the Raiders.
  • 2003, saw Brad set career highs with 354 completions and 26 TDs, and a league leading 570 attempts.
  • The wheels fell off the Bucs success quickly, and Brad was cut by the end of the 2004 season.
  • Although his numbers were solid, his starting record was putrid coming in at a paltry 4-11.
  • He returned to the Vikings in 2005.
  • Brad enjoyed limited success early on with Minnesota again, going 7-2 replacing Daunte Culpepper in 2005, but struggled in 2006- leading directly to his release.
  • The 2007-’08 season had Brad backing up normally durable Tony Romo in Dallas.
  • In two seasons with the team he’d complete 41/78 passes for 427 yards and 2 TDs to 5 interceptions and a 1-2 record.
  • Brad has a sizable following on TikTok where he does football trickshots.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Bowl 1999, ’02
  • 1997 ESPY NFL Play of the Year
  • 2003 NFL Quarterback Challenge Winner
  • 6x OPOW NFC: Week 3, 2003. Week 14, Week 9, 2002. Week 4, Week 2, 1999. Week 2, Week 4, 1996.

NOTES:

Brad doesn’t get enough respect for what he did in the NFL. Checkdown Charlie was one of the many nicknames given to him over his time in the NFL. Also when people talk about QBs who were ‘carried to’ or were ‘system quarterbacks’ who won a Superbowl, Brad is unfavorably mentioned in the same sentence and Trent Dilfer.

Brad is also not given enough credit or attention for his time playing in the reconstituted World League, where he really got his first taste of starting action. Brad, Jake Delhomme, Kelly Holcomb, and Kurt Warner are the big four to me- with both Brad and Kurt winning the Superbowl, and Jake appearing in one.

ATTCPDYDSPCTTDINTRATLG
432626682905461.716612282.582t
NFL
ATTCPDYDSPCTTDINTRATLG
328194222759.1131475.158t
WL

Arena, NFL, WLAF

Smith, David (RB)

Wild Card World League 1992, #146

CARD: Wild Card World League 1992
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2023

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • As a Junior for Western Kentucky, David Smith rushed for 625 yards and 5 TDs.
  • Selected in the 8th round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
  • In 1990, played for the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena Football League.
  • Joined the Monarchs of the WLAF in 1991 and played with team through 1992.
  • Scored the league’s first TD in a win against the Frankfurt Galaxy.
  • Finished season as the team’s second leading rusher with 302 yards on 84 carries, while adding 6 rushing TDs.
  • Returned to the Arena league after the World League reorganized, playing for the Cincinnati Rockers in 1992.
  • Continued one year stints playing forthe Tampa Bay Storm in ’93, the Massachusetts Marauders in ’94, and the Charlotte Rage in 1995.

NOTES:

I had been desperately looking for David for the last 13 years or so. The challenge lied in his name, which is one of the most common ones in the United States. I was able to locate this on Ebay and after negotiating with the seller, went ahead and pulled the trigger on this card, leaving me with just needing his Ultimate card. I doubt seriously anyone would fake this autograph since David is so obscure.

RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
1452192.922N/a
Arena
RECYDSAVGTDLG
1819110.60N/a
RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
943213.4628t
WL
RECYDSAVGTDLG
2199.5020
Arena, NFL, NFLE, usfl

Ruzek, Roger

Score 1991, #526
Topps Stadium Club 1992, #15
Score 1992, #308

CARDS: Topps 1992, Topps 1991, Topps Stadium Club 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 8/22 RECEIVED: 8/27 (5 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Roger Ruzek played K at tiny Weber State (’79-’82), where he set NCAA Division I-AA records for field goal accuracy (84.2), and school career records in FG (46), FG in a game (4), and consecutive XP (30).
  • Unable to beat out Matt Bahr in Cleveland as an UDFA in 1983, Ruzek joined the New Jersey Generals in 1984.
  • He played 2 seasons for the franchise before the league folded.
  • In ’86 he got a tryout with the Cowboys but didn’t latch onto the team until the following season after a few bumps.
  • Ruzek ended up posting 22 of 25 on FGs, scoring 92 points.
  • Tied NFL record with 4 FG in 1 quarter against the New York Giants that year.
  • Set franchise mark with 5 FGs made against the Rams that year.
  • In ’88 had a contract holdout, but had a rough year- and was eventually cut during the ’89 season in favor of Luis Zendejas.
  • Quickly found a home with the rival Eagles that year, and returned to solid form.
  • The Eagles opted to keep Ruzek and he’d kick with the team through 1993.
  • During the ’93 season, the Eagles signed Matt Bahr after Ruzek strained a hamstring.
  • Ruzek again replaced Bahr, later in that season, and then again was released in ’94 as the Eagles opted to go with Eddie Murray.
  • With a cup of coffee out of the way with the ‘9ers in ’94, Ruzek played Arena ball with the San Jose Sabrecats in 1995.
  • He then hopped over to London to play in his final season for the Monarchs of the World League in 1996- making 8 of 11 FGs.

NOTES:

Back when I was a kid, I played a lot of soccer. When I started watching football I was all about the kicker. I was surprised, the guy who scored the most points, who had the most pressure on them to win games, didn’t get more love. On the Cowboys, (since that’s all we got here,) I really liked Ruzek, and was surprised the team didn’t stick by him longer during his later struggles with the team. He also made an appearance on the original Tecmo Bowl as a member of the Dallas ‘Wings’.

I had no clue that Ruzek had played for the World League. If I had known that I would have written him sooner. It’s just too bad all he had to sign with was a ball point pen. Regardless he was the shortest wait of 2022 coming in at a breakneck 5 days.

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10510095.2483470.8N/a
USFL
XPAXPMPCTFGAFGMPCTLG
21920694.116612072.353
NFL
XPAXPMPCTFGAFGMPCTLG
121191.68337.5N/a
Arena
XPAXPMPCTFGAFGMPCTLG
00-.-11872.339
WL