|
|
 |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Scorecard
By Peter King A few of the better XFLers with NFL pedigrees are hurt by the same factor that's keeping some prominent free agents out of work: the league's $477,000 minimum salary for players with at least five years on NFL rosters. (The absolute minimum is $209,000.) Here are the consensus picks among three NFL pro personnel men on the best the XFL had to offer. 1. John Avery, running back-kick returner, Chicago Enforcers. Signed by Dallas, the speedy Avery is expected to get the chance he never had in NFL stops with the Broncos and the Dolphins. He should return kicks and be a situational back behind the aging Emmitt Smith. 2. Jose Cortez, placekicker, Los Angeles Xtreme. Easily the best long-range kicker in the XFL (at Oregon State he had three 50-plus-yard field goals in one game), the native of El Salvador has been signed by the 49ers and should become their No. 1 kicker. 3. Kelvin Kinney, defensive end, Las Vegas Outlaws. At 6'7" and 270 pounds, this former Redskin could be an ideal third-down quarterback hunter -- if someone would sign him. He's being hurt by a $389,000 minimum tag for three-year NFL vets but should hook up with a team when purse strings loosen in mid-June. 4. Tommy Maddox, quarterback, Los Angeles Xtreme. So what does Maddox have now that he never had in a bad NFL career? The wisdom of experience, apparently. Scatter-armed in his stints with the Broncos, Rams and Giants, Maddox was a 57% passer for the XFL champs and the league's MVP. "He finally looks like a good decision-maker," says one NFL scout. Though subject to the $477,000 minimum, he should get a shot somewhere. 5. Joe Tuipala, linebacker, Las Vegas Outlaws. An instinctive 6'1", 240-pounder who signed with the Jaguars, he has a good chance of making it as a backup linebacker and special teams kamikaze. The former Saint reminds some scouts of Patriots special teams ace Larry Izzo. What of the most famous XFLer, Las Vegas running back Rod Smart, a.k.a. He Hate Me? NFL hate him, apparently. "Not quick enough," says one scout of the 5'9", 185-pound Smart, "and too small." Issue date: May 21, 2001 For more Scorecard see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, May 16. Click here to subscribe to SI.
| ||||||||||||||||||
