Tag Archives: run and shoot

Arena, CFL, NFL, usfl, WIFL, WLAF

Davis, Darrell “Mouse”

Card: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991 Helmet card
Acquired: TTM 1992, C/o The New York-New Jersey Knights, TTM 2011, C/o The University of Hawaii Warriors
Sent: 2/14/11     Received: 3/10/11   (24 days)

Mouse Davis is nothing short of an innovator and a career coach with an extensive offensive coaching tree full of acolytes at every stop. Considered of great importance to the evolution of the Run and Shoot offense(- a passing offense that employs four wide receiver sets, no tight ends and a single running back,) the offense itself is also treated as the forerunner to the modern day spread offense. At every stop from the high school level to the professional level, Davis’ offenses have lit up the scoreboard and set team and league records. In college Mouse coached tiny Portland State to explosive levels (guided by future NFL quarterback Neil Lomax and June Jones). Portland State would set 20 NCAA records, and Mouse would briefly make a stop at Berkley before going on to be offensive coordinator of the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL in 1982. In 1984 he’d move to the USFL and be offensive coordinator under coach Jack Pardee and the Houston Gamblers with Jim Kelly, Richard Johnson and Ricky Sanders. His ‘Mouseketeers’ would dominate the offensive scoreboard and Johnson and Sanders would be the first 100 reception tandem in football history on the same team. 1985 would see his first pro head coaching gig, guiding the Denver Gold to the playoffs before the league folded. Soon thereafter Davis was named head coach of the St. Louis Lightning of the WIFL, but the league disbanded before it even took the field. After the failure of the USFL and WIFL, Davis was head coach of the New York-New Jersey Knights of the WLAF where the team in its first season had the league’s leading rusher in Eric Wilkerson and made the playoffs. In one notable game in 1991 the team set a football record for most faked punts in a game, but also set the record for futility in special teams as well. In the 1992 season under Davis’ guidance, quarterback Reggie Slack was the number 2 rated passer in the league with a 6-4 record before it folded.

Mouse has made numerous pitstops in the NFL as well, most notably when he was an assistant with the Detroit Lions during the late 80s – early 90’s building the “Silver Stretch Offense” and also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons. He was influential with Jack Pardee who adopted the Run and Shoot from him utilizing it with both the Houston Cougars to epic proportions in the NCAA level, the Houston Oilers in the NFL, and the Birmingham Barracudas in the CFL.

Davis returned to the college ranks after his stints in the NFL and WLAF. He currently serves with the Hawaii Warriors as their wide recievers coach and was inducted into the Portland State HoF. I sent off for his autograph while he was coaching the Knights in 1992 and then just this year while he was with the Warriors and he responded in under 30 days. His WLAF statistics are below.

W 11   L 9   T 0  Pct .555

CFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF, WLAF

Moon, Warren


Card: Action Packed 1991
Acquired: In Person, Houston Oilers Training Camp 1992
See also: http://n8d.flywheelsites.com/2011/moon-warren-2/

Warren Moon’s career is a long and storied one, that while it didn’t end in a SuperBowl appearance, certainly it was worthy of the Hall of Fame induction that he received in 2006.  Warren Moon’s career in football spans amazingly 4 decades of the sport. After a standout performance for the Washington Huskies that culminated in a Rose Bowl appearance and MVP honors, he was told by NFL scouts that he’d be better suited to play defensive back or tight end. You see back in the 70’s there was still the stigma at the pro level that black players couldn’t play quarterback. Frustrated and ready to prove people wrong, – Moon packed his bags and headed to Canada to play for the CFL, where he’d be signed by the Edmonton Eskimos. He went on to shatter CFL league records leading the Eskimos to 5 consecutive Grey Cup Championships from 1978-1982, and winning Grey Cup MVP honors in 1980 and 1982. He’d also set the record for most yards passing in a game,(broken in 2005,) and most yards (career) in league history.

Moon would decide to enter the NFL in 1984 where a bidding war ensued for his services. The Houston Oilers stepped up to the plate, offering the most attractive opportunity for Moon. With Hugh Campbell (his former CFL coach,) and a million dollar a year salary on the table, Moon immediately became the centerpiece for the long suffering Houston franchise. Moon quickly set the team season passing record in his first year under center, but Campbell would be fired after two losing seasons. With a new coach in Jerry Glanville, the Oilers began to take on a new tough personality, and Warren became the prime beneficiary of the team’s change. With the Red Gun offense firmly in place, Warren led the Oilers to their first winning record with him under center and the beginning of the team’s consecutive playoff appearance streak. 1989 saw Glanville’s last season in Houston, and the new Sheriff in town in 1990, who installed a new sense of discipline, and the Run ‘N Shoot offense- Jack Pardee. Over the years, the team built an impressive receiver corps in Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires, Curtis Duncan, and Ernest Givins. Warren Moon would set new career highs leading the league in a variety of categories, and tied the record with 9 300 yard games. In his greatest moment, Warren trodded out onto the frigid Arrowhead stadium field in 1990, (a place they had gotten whupped a year earlier 35-3) and threw for 527 yards against a staunch Kansas City defensive unit.  1991 again saw  Moon set a new NFL record for attempts with 655 attempts (since broken), and during the offseason Warren would also help on USA broadcasts for the WLAF games.  The team won its first divisional title in 1991 and again in 1993 with a league best record 12-4- but the team advanced no further than the divisional round in any season. By the end of the 1993 season, Warren virtually held every team passing record.

In came meddling owner Bud Adams during 1994, (- a recurring theme in Oilers history), who decided that the team was too old and wanted to change the direction of the franchise. Bud decided that much of the team was too old, so he traded Warren to Minnesota for a few draft choices.  In the meantime the team slumped to 2-14 behind Bucky Richardson and Cody Carlson at quarterback as Jack Pardee quit. Warren however went on to prove Adams wrong throwing for over 4200 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Vikings.  By 1997, Moon was a free agent again, signing with his college hometown Seattle Seahawks. He’d be the oldest player to score a touchdown at the age of 40. After two seasons there (he’d play in the movie “Any Given Sunday” as head coach of the rival New York team and then,) he’d head to Kansas City to serve as backup, retiring in 2001.

Warren over his career was named to 9 ProBowls, ProBowl MVP once, Man of the Year in 1989, NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1990, Pro Football HoF in 2006, and the Canadian HoF in 2001, in addition to numerous other accolades. Warren was also named #5 on the all time list of greatest players  in CFL history. Warren also at one point was ranked in the top 5 of nearly every NFL category, (including career fumbles and fumble recoveries- since passed by Brett Favre in career fumbles). Since football he continues to do commentary for the Seattle Seahawks, and wrote a book “Never Give Up on Your Dream: My Journey”. Recently Warren Moon was mentioned in an episode of “30 Rock”, and he has struggled from time to time with domestic issues. To give perspective of Warren’s career, he threw for over 25 miles in 4 decades of football from 1978-2001 (23 seasons) and he is the first and only black starting quarterback in the NFL HoF. A stoic presence on the field and a shrewd negotiator of contracts, Moon had an amazing arm, longetivity, and displayed quick release and smooth velocity on his throws. His combined CFL and NFL statistics are listed below along with some great videos of his work.

G 312   Att 9205  Comp 5357   Yds  70553   Pct 58.2%     Td 435  Int 310  Rat 84.2

A Moon highlight video playing for the Huskies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp7hh52GBXE
Houston Oilers highlight video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxNuAcL2H74&feature=related
HoF video: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8012ef58/Hall-of-Fame-Warren-Moon

CFL, NFL

Turner, Elbert

Card: StarPics 1992
Acquired: In Person, Houston Oilers Training Camp 1992

In 1992, speedster and flanker Elbert Turner was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the seventh round. The Oilers had lost two receivers during Plan B in the off-season and were hoping that Turner would be one of those guys to fit the bill in their run and shoot offense.  I’d get his autograph during training camp in San Antonio. Unfortunately he didn’t make the final cut with the team, but was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals who hoped to put his world class speed and All-American hurdling skills to the test.  Elbert would stick on their practice squad for that season and 1993. He’d head to Canada to keep playing football, and eventually hook on with the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he’d suit up for 15 games and through 1995 before retiring.