Julio Riddols
09-16-2011, 02:23 AM
The Stallions went into the offseason stinging from a disappointing 2002 season which saw the offense struggle until finally clicking the last 3 weeks of the year. They expect to perform better on that side of the ball this year, so much of the offseason has been spent trying to upgrade defense and special teams.
They added DE Greg Spires for depth as a rotation DE at league minimum.
LT Ross Verba as both backup G and insurance at the T spot with the status of incumbent LT Gragg in doubt coming off a major knee injury.
SE Brian Manning is a special teams ace who will be a nice addition to the coverage team for a unit that they would like to make one of the leagues elite.
SE Reidel Anthony was also signed in that capacity, but might see some time as the 4th WR as well.
SE Percy Johnson is old but has a track record as an explosive return man, returning kicks as well as punts. He has averaged 11.4 per punt and 25.4 per kick in his career, with 5 tds on each type of return.
MLB Barry Minter was brought on board as a depth and character guy, and is expected to be a good locker room influence with his leadership skills.
The last signing was backup QB Jeff Blake, who is expected to challenge Charlie Batch for the number 2 spot.
In the draft, Birmingham was all about filling needs, and their first 4 picks are likely to do just that.
With pick 1.20, they solidified their interior D Line with Kevin Williams, a space eater who should help their top ranked run defense be even more stout at the point of attack.
They traded back into the first to grab CB Ike Taylor, who is expected to instantly improve the 3rd worst pass defense in the league.
With their 2nd rounder, they brought in Boss Bailey, who is expected to challenge for a starting job at SLB or WLB.
In the 3rd, it was T Jordan Gross, a strong road-grader Tackle who is expected to pave the way for the Stallions run game in the coming years.
In the 4th, more secondary help with CB Sammy Davis, who they thought very highly of. He is apparently penciled in to the nickel back slot.
with their other 4th rounder, they picked up some DE help with Michael Haynes. He is going to be added to that deep DE rotation with FA pickup Spires.
They filled out their draft with 6th rounder CB Blue Adams, who might be an inactive game day player this year, but stands to be on the active roster as a dime back in the future, and FB Justin Griffith, who might just win the FB job depending on how he does in camp.
All in all, it doesn't appear much was done on the surface, but the feeling in Birmingham is that this team should be able to build on the offensive performance of the end of 2002 and enhance the weak spots in their defense with these new additions. The expectation is to be in the hunt for a title in 2003.
They added DE Greg Spires for depth as a rotation DE at league minimum.
LT Ross Verba as both backup G and insurance at the T spot with the status of incumbent LT Gragg in doubt coming off a major knee injury.
SE Brian Manning is a special teams ace who will be a nice addition to the coverage team for a unit that they would like to make one of the leagues elite.
SE Reidel Anthony was also signed in that capacity, but might see some time as the 4th WR as well.
SE Percy Johnson is old but has a track record as an explosive return man, returning kicks as well as punts. He has averaged 11.4 per punt and 25.4 per kick in his career, with 5 tds on each type of return.
MLB Barry Minter was brought on board as a depth and character guy, and is expected to be a good locker room influence with his leadership skills.
The last signing was backup QB Jeff Blake, who is expected to challenge Charlie Batch for the number 2 spot.
In the draft, Birmingham was all about filling needs, and their first 4 picks are likely to do just that.
With pick 1.20, they solidified their interior D Line with Kevin Williams, a space eater who should help their top ranked run defense be even more stout at the point of attack.
They traded back into the first to grab CB Ike Taylor, who is expected to instantly improve the 3rd worst pass defense in the league.
With their 2nd rounder, they brought in Boss Bailey, who is expected to challenge for a starting job at SLB or WLB.
In the 3rd, it was T Jordan Gross, a strong road-grader Tackle who is expected to pave the way for the Stallions run game in the coming years.
In the 4th, more secondary help with CB Sammy Davis, who they thought very highly of. He is apparently penciled in to the nickel back slot.
with their other 4th rounder, they picked up some DE help with Michael Haynes. He is going to be added to that deep DE rotation with FA pickup Spires.
They filled out their draft with 6th rounder CB Blue Adams, who might be an inactive game day player this year, but stands to be on the active roster as a dime back in the future, and FB Justin Griffith, who might just win the FB job depending on how he does in camp.
All in all, it doesn't appear much was done on the surface, but the feeling in Birmingham is that this team should be able to build on the offensive performance of the end of 2002 and enhance the weak spots in their defense with these new additions. The expectation is to be in the hunt for a title in 2003.