The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Drafting a franchise QB ‘not easy’
As Falcons look for reinforcements behind Ryan, recent history shows hit-or-miss nature of draft.
If the Falcons had position group meetings today, the quarterbacks meeting room would be a gathering of two people.
Quarterbacks coach Charles London and the lone player, Matt Ryan.
With free agency and the draft approaching, the new regime cleared out the room and set the stage for an overhaul with an eye toward the future.
With the release of Kurt Benkert and the retirement of Matt Schaub, Ryan is the only quarterback on the roster. The Falcons will sign at least two and maybe three, either through free agency or the draft, which is set for April 29-May 1. They also could add an undrafted quarterback, as most teams go to training camp with four quarterbacks.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith are looking forward to rebuilding the position and possibly landing the team’s quarterback of the future. Ryan, who turns 36 in May, has said he wants to play into his 40s. The most prolific passer in franchise history is under contract through 2023.
“That’s an exciting part of it because we are going to utilize all of the avenues, whether it’s in free agency, at any point in the draft and even after the draft,” Fontenot said. “I’ve been places where we’ve traded for quarterbacks.”
Fontenot has studied how former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, amassed quarterbacks in the 1990s and used them as trade fodder.
In 1994, Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, Ty Detmer and Kurt Warner were in the Packers’ training camp. Warner was cut and went to play in the Arena Football League. He resurfaced with the Rams and went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
With Favre already on the roster from the trade with the Falcons, Wolf drafted quarterbacks in 1992, 1993 and 1995 through 1999.
Detmer, despite winning the Heisman Trophy, was selected in the ninth round of the 1992 draft. At 6-foot, he was thought to be too short to succeed in the NFL.
Wolf took Washington’s Mark Brunell in the fifth round of the 1993 draft. He also selected Alabama’s Jay Barker (sixth round, 1995), USC’s Kyle Wachholtz (seventh round, 1996), Army’s Rod McAda (seventh round, 1997), Boston College’s Matt Hasselbeck (sixth round, 1998) and Virginia’s Aaron Brooks (fourth round, 1999).
Brunell, Hasselbeck and Brooks went on to become starters with other teams.
Brunell went to three Pro Bowls and was 78-73 as a starter. He played until he was 41.
Hasselbeck took Seattle to its first Super Bowl appearance after the 2005 season and went to three Pro Bowls. He had an 85-75 record as a starter.
Hasselbeck played with the Titans in 2011 and 2012, when Smith was a defensive quality control assistant (2011) and offensive quality control assistant (2012).
When Wolf hit on the quarterbacks, they were later traded for draft picks.
Brunell was traded to Jacksonville for third- and fifth-round picks in 1994.
Hasselbeck was traded to Seattle along with a first-round pick (17th) to get a first-round pick (10th) and a third-round pick in 2000.
The Packers traded Brooks and tight end Lamont Hall to the Saints for linebacker K.D. Williams and a third-round pick in the 2001 draft.
Some are projecting that the Falcons will take a quarterback this year with the fourth overall draft pick, most often mentioning BYU’s Zach Wilson and Ohio State’s Justin Fields, who also played at Harrison High and Georgia.
“We are always looking to bring in quarterbacks,” Fontenot said. “We have a real good (coaching situation) from Arthur Smith to (offensive coordinator) Dave Ragone. We have a really good offensive staff, and I think it’s going to be attractive. I think quarterbacks are going to want to be here.”
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, of Cartersville, is considered the top quarterback in the draft and is projected to go No. 1 overall to Jacksonville. Also, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones are projected to go in the first round.
Fontenot said the Falcons are looking for players with good personal and football character at all positions.
“Arthur has said it a number of times — you want a smart, tough, competitive football team,” Fontenot said. “When we are talking about situational awareness and you are talking about critical times at the end of games, the end of halves. So he wants smart, tough, competitive football players.”
For the quarterback position, the Falcons plan to have some additional parameters.
“Now, obviously the quarterback position is different than some of (the others),” Fontenot said. “So you really have to spend a lot of time with the quarterbacks and make sure you really assess the mental part of it, so that you can assess them as processors (of football information).”
The Falcons are watching the quarterback carousel around the league this season with interest. The first big move was the trade of Matthew Stafford by the Detroit Lions to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff and draft picks.
“It’s kind of unique and uncommon this year with all of the discussion about the possible trades at the quarterback position,” Fontenot said. “... All we can do is really assess it, assess the market. It’s unique what’s going on at that position.”
Smith, a first-time NFL head coach, is not sure if he wants a veteran to back up Ryan.
“There are just so many things at play,” Smith said. “If this happens, we can add this guy here. As you go into the draft, you are looking to add everywhere. Obviously, we won’t go with just one quarterback into training camp. We’ll have multiple spots there. ... We’ll look for help anywhere, and we’ll look to add. A lot of that plays into the salary cap. Who’s available? Who you can sign? Who you can draft?”
Smith went back to the 2011 season when he was starting out with the Titans. It was the lockout year and the season was in jeopardy.
“It was a top-heavy quarterback draft at the time,” Smith said. “You had Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder. I think all went within the top 15, give or take, if I remember correctly . ... There are a lot of parallels.”
The 2018 draft was the last time five quarterbacks went in the first round. Baker Mayfield went No. 1 overall to Cleveland followed by Sam Darnold ( Jets, third), Josh Allen (Bills, seventh), Josh Rosen (Cardinals, 10th) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens, 32nd).
“You have to do your due diligence,” Smith said. “You can look back from year to year. It’s the hardest position I think in professional sports to play at a high level for a long time. That’s why you are seeing (the quarterback movement) right now.”
From 2008 to 2017, there were only five franchise quarterbacks selected, if you count Ryan, Stafford, Newton, Andrew Luck and Joe Flacco. The jury is still out on the 2018 class, but Rosen has already flamed out, and the Jets are pondering what to do with Darnold.
Kyler Murray (Cardinals, first), Daniel Jones (Giants, sixth) and Dwayne Haskins (Washington, 15th) were selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. Haskins was released last season by Washington. He signed with the Steelers.
Last year, Cincinnati took Joe Burrow No. 1 overall. Miami selected Tua Tagovailoa fifth, the Los Angeles Chargers selected Justin Herbert sixth and Green Bay picked Jordan Love 26th.
Burrow was injured, and Herbert won the PFWA rookie offensive player of the year award.
“Just look at the last 10 years of the first-round quarterbacks,” Smith said. “It’s not easy. There are a lot of things that factor into it.”
Washington Post
Luke Teller, who has owned and operated a vintage clothing store in San Francisco with his sister and mother since 2010, was asleep one morning last December when the voicemail arrived. The family business had suffered in the past year. But the message, which came a few hours after Teller emailed photos to
Heritage Auctions of a recent find, confirmed his suspicion that he had stumbled upon a most unusual piece of sports memorabilia. “That’s probably the coolest jersey I’ve ever seen in my life,” Chris Nerat, Heritage’s consignment director, said. “I need to talk to you about that.”
The jersey in question was a red long-sleeved sweater with a four-button crotch piece, black and gold trim, an Indian head logo on the front and the No. 28 applied in yellow felt on the back. It once belonged to offensive lineman George Hurley, who played two seasons in the NFL, including in 1933 for owner George Preston Marshall’s newly named Boston franchise.
“As far as we know, it’s the only surviving jersey from the first year of the Boston Redskins,” Chris Ivy, the director of sports for Heritage Auctions, said in a phone interview. Jason Aikens, curator of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said the museum does not have a 1933 Boston jersey in its collection.
With most estate sales and flea markets in the Bay Area shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, Teller, 40, has relied on friends and business associates across the country to contact him when they come across items they think he might be interested in acquiring for his Afterlife Boutique store. So it was in late November that a friend texted Teller photos of the jersey as well as a Washington State letterman’s sweater that he had purchased from a man who paid $5 for both pieces at a storage locker sale in Southern California.
The name “G. Hurley” was stitched on the inside neck tag of the crimson letterman’s sweater, which featured a gray block “W” on the front. A quick Google search revealed that a George Hurley who attended Washington State played for Boston’s NFL franchise in 1932 and 1933, and he wore No. 28. The jersey must have been his, too. Teller offered his friend $800 for the pair of items, and his friend agreed, with the understanding that if either piece of clothing ended up selling for significantly more, Teller would compensate him further.
“I thought maybe I’d break even, or maybe that it was worth two or three thousand” dollars, Teller said in a phone interview.
Boston team moved to D.C. in 1937
Upon receiving the jersey and sweater, Teller was surprised to find both items in pristine condition, unlike most of the garments that he has come across from that era. Teller researched a bit more about Marshall’s franchise, which played its inaugural 1932 season in the NFL as the Boston Braves and changed its name the following year to avoid confusion with Boston’s National League baseball team. In 1937, citing poor attendance, Marshall moved his team to Washington, D.C., where it kept the Redskins name and a similar logo to the one introduced on the front of the 1933 jerseys until the name, which many consider to be offensive and a slur to Native Americans, was retired after decades of controversy last July.
Teller contacted Heritage, who convinced him to consign the items for its February auction. As of Friday, bidding for the jersey and sweater, which is open until Feb. 27, was at $11,000. The listing includes a guide value estimate of $20,000 or more.
“Without any direct comparables, it’s an educated guess based on the scarcity and the desirability of other jerseys, and the condition, which plays a big factor in it,” Ivy said. “For unique or esoteric items such as this, our items can get blown out of the water. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this sell for $15,000, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sell for $50,000.”
The jersey and sweater rank among Teller’s most memorable finds, which include a 1950s Abercrombie & Fitch parka made for an Antarctic expedition involving Sir Edmund Hillary and a 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey. Several years ago, at an Arizona flea market, Teller paid $10 for a pair of red, white and blue “Dream Team” shoes worn by Chris Mullin at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
‘There’s always a story behind this stuff’
Teller, whose store features handmade jewelry, vintage concert T-shirts and various other clothing from classic brands, said digging into the history of the items he acquires is one of his favorite aspects of the business. In 2019, he bought a pair of Kansas football jerseys and helmets at a local flea market and discovered they belonged to former Jayhawks defensive end Greg Tyree, who died unexpectedly in 2016. Teller was moved to reach out to Tyree’s father on Facebook and offered to mail him the items for no charge.
“He was super grateful,” Teller said. “There’s always a story behind this stuff. Sometimes you can unearth it, sometimes you can’t.”
George Frank Hurley’s story began in San Francisco in 1909. After three standout years at Washington State, where his teammates voted him most inspirational, Hurley signed to play with Boston. When his playing career was over, Hurley returned to the Bay Area and spent 37 years in the Palo Alto Unified School District as a coach, teacher and driving instructor. The Palo Alto Weekly reported that he was known by students for his expression “humpta-ditty,” meaning “get to it,” which is inscribed on the sign at the Palo Alto High baseball field named in his honor. Hurley died in 1995 at age 86.
In the item description for Hurley’s former sweater and jersey, Heritage says it takes “no official position” on the Washington Football Team’s former name. Ivy said it’s hard to say whether last year’s name change, which came amid pressure from major corporate sponsors, will affect the market for the franchise’s memorabilia.
“They’re the Washington Football Team now, their history is as the Redskins and there are a lot of collectors who are huge fans of the Redskins,” Ivy said. “... I think at the end of the day this is going to go to an early NFL collector, or a Washington Football Team/Washington Redskins die-hard collector.”
For Teller, who was forced to close his store for about three months and lay off multiple employees last year, the timing of his latest big find was fortunate.
“We’ll see if we make it through this mess, because it’s been pretty tough, to be honest,” he said. “We could use the money, and as long as two people are into it, it could still go for ($40,000) or 50,000. I just feel like whatever it goes for, it will still be undervalued.”