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Offseason notebook: On the endangered list

Yahoo Sports

Paul Tagliabue has always been optimistic about his NFL Europe baby – warts and all.

Even as the overseas league bled money from the pockets of NFL owners over the last decade, Tagliabue championed it as a monumental step toward globalization. And every time the enterprise seemed a step from oblivion, the NFL commissioner shepherded it to safety at the last moment.

After World Bowl XIII this weekend – a game that essentially concludes the two-year NFL Europe extension Tagliabue brokered in 2003 – he'll once again attempt to shelter it from extinction. For those of you who believe he won't be able to save the hemorrhaging entity one more time, don't be so sure.

To the surprise of many, NFL Europe had a 19-percent spike in average attendance over last season's figures (from 15,932 per game in 2004 to 18,965 this season). That represents the largest single-season increase in the history of the lukewarm league, which has become a farm for roster trimmings that occasionally squeezes out an NFL star. But whether that will be enough to convince owners to approve yet another extension for the league remains to be seen. The NFL is expected to vote on a continuance of NFL Europe in October.

"It's too soon to project what's going to happen," said an NFL source closely tied to European football operations. "The financial issues sit with [owners]. You've got to look at what our [league] is getting out of it with development. Right now it's not a lot, [because of teams] keeping the talent home over the summer. Personally, I think the offseason work (minicamps, workouts and the specialized training) is just as beneficial, maybe more beneficial, than sending them to play in Germany. … At least when you work with players here, you know they are learning in your system.

"Unless you're talking about roster exemptions or practice squad players, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Whether that's worth the money I don't know."

The league essentially exists because of Tagliabue, who created it with visions of developing massive worldwide interest in the NFL. But since the venture began in 1991, those aspirations have been mostly a pipedream.

The league's popularity has grown slowly abroad, but beyond Germany – where five of the six current NFL Europe teams reside – franchises have been busts. Only Amsterdam has been able to keep its team afloat, and it ranked last in average league attendance this year (12,877).

All the while, NFL owners have waited patiently to see the fruits of globalization, a fortitude that seemed to have run out in 2003. Owners appeared ready to sink the league that year, but Tagliabue cobbled together exactly the 24 votes needed to get NFL Europe extended two more seasons – his second successful rescue of the league.

In the early 1990s, Tagliabue scuttled seven North American teams in NFL Europe, which was then known as the World League of American Football. The World League, which also featured franchises in the United States, looked dead when it went on a two-year hiatus in 1993. Tagliabue changed the makeup of the league, making it an all-European entity, and summoned it back to life in 1995.

Since then, the NFL has strategically played up European success stories like quarterbacks Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme and Brad Johnson. Yet the league hasn't produced a significant "star" since Kansas City Chiefs kick returner Dante Hall played for the Scottish Claymores in 2001. Instead, Europe has become a testing ground for fringe players, many of whom land at the bottom of NFL depth charts and then slowly work their way into contributing roles. And while the league is happy to point out statistics – like the 83 former NFL Europe players on playoff rosters last season – some wonder whether similar progress can't be made working at practice facilities during the offseason.

Whatever the case, the developmental aspect of the league won't be the primary issue come October's vote. Finances will be king – specifically, whether the league can ever turn a profit.

While it's not known exactly how much the NFL loses by keeping European operations going, the deficit in 2004 was believed to have been around $20 million. Split among 32 owners, that might seem like a drop in the bucket. But considering the current arguments over revenue-sharing, it's easy to see why Tagliabue might have trouble retaining the necessary 24 votes to extend the life of the league.

One interesting twist lies in the timing of the upcoming vote. When the NFL went into Europe in 1991, some business analysts theorized the venture would take 15 to 20 years before it could develop into a success. Now the owners find themselves at a crossroads. Is this season's 19-percent attendance jump the first glint of an investment finally taking root? Or is it an aberration for a league bound to struggle for an overseas embrace, much as Major League Soccer has struggled in the U.S.?

We know how Paul Tagliabue would answer that question. In a few months, we'll find out if NFL owners agree with him.

WIND SPRINTS

  • We sought out some thoughts this week from an AFC scout on NFL Europe's offensive MVP – Houston Texans quarterback Dave Ragone. The former Louisville product completed almost 63-percent of his passes for 1,746 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was far and away the best quarterback in the league this year.

"He's got some [toughness]. That's something he hasn't been able to show [in the NFL] without the game snaps," the scout said. "He still doesn't throw down the field well enough. That's always going to be a negative about him. I can't say much about his decisions. The game speed is totally different.

"Mechanically, he doesn't have to do anything as fast as he would in the NFL. That always makes it hard to define a [NFL Europe] quarterback, because they aren't making throws against a defense that has that speed. It's not even close. … I think he's going to get a chance to start some [NFL] games but it won't be in Houston. He's never going to threaten [Texans starter] David Carr."

  • The NFL will hold this year's supplemental draft on July 14. The final players who have applied include USC defensive tackle Manuel Wright, Kentucky linebacker Chad Anderson and Clemson wide receiver Roscoe Crosby.

Anderson had his most productive year in 2003, when he had 125 in tackles, but he struggled last year and eventually had his time with the Wildcats curtailed by academic problems. Crosby was a freshman All-American at Clemson before he left the school to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. None of the three players is expected to go higher than the fourth round of the supplemental draft.

Word is that Taylor has been making all of his ludicrous decisions – like blowing off Washington coach Joe Gibbs for months – on his own. That would go a long way toward explaining why Rosenhaus has refused to say anything about his client this offseason. In fact, there are rumblings that Rosenhaus has been just as perplexed by Taylor's actions as everyone else, and that he had been fervently trying to get him to talk with Gibbs – a line of communication Rosenhaus finally accomplished this week.

And kudos to the Redskins for finally suspending Taylor after his latest alleged brush with the law, in which police accused him of pulling a gun on people he believed had stolen some of his property. For all the people who scream about Kellen Winslow Jr. and Terrell Owens, Taylor has deserved to get ripped far more than them.

  • Kyle Turley … blah, blah, blah. Maybe he should focus on getting his next job rather than ripping St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz.

  • Don't be shocked that Mike Tice isn't ready to cut Onterrio Smith loose from the Minnesota Vikings. After all, he doesn't have to. With Smith out for the year, Tice has draft pick Ciatrick Fason ready to slide into Smith's spot.

Tice won't have to tinker with the running back glut of Michael Bennett, Mewelde Moore, and Moe Williams until next offseason. By then, there may be a broader trade market for a player like Bennett. And choosing Smith over Bennett one year from now would be about par for the course considering Tice's decision making.