More on the NFL Europa Signees …
Better late than never as life here at Dove Valley is on a more serene pace this holiday week …
NFL Europa may have ceased to exist, but four of its products have new life on their professional careers after the Broncos signed them Monday. Each of the four does not count against the Broncos’ roster limit until teams must trim their roster to 65 players after the third full week of the preseason.
Offensive lineman Emmanuel Akah:
A native of London, England who ventured across the Atlantic for college … Played for the London Olympians of the British American Football League … Began the 2006 NFL Europe season with the Rhein Fire before being shipped to the Frankfurt Galaxy, where he remained in 2007 after the league changed names to NFL Europa … Was with the Miami Dolphins during the 2006 preseason.
Akah as an Olympian (cached version)
Bio from Winston-Salem State University
Story on Akah and other Brits in NFL-E
Akah as cheerleader after winning World Bowl
Cornerback Bill Alford:
Will attempt to become just the second Vanderbilt alumnus to play for the Broncos, joining Jay Cutler … Went through the 2005 and 2006 preseasons with the Baltimore Ravens, but was released each year … Played the last two seasons for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europa.
Story from The Tennessean
Story from WTOC-Ch. 11 in Savannah, Ga.
NFL Europe player page
Cornerback Kevin House:
Is the son of son of former NFL wide receiver Kevin House. The elder House spent seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, notching a pair of 1,000-yard campaigns before concluding his NFL stint with the Los Angeles Rams … The younger House played in 16 games for the San Diego Chargers over the 2002 and 2003 seasons but has not returned to the NFL for the regular season since, although he was in Seahawks camp for a spell in 2005.
NFLEurope.com story from 2005
NFLEurope.com bio page
House’s Seahawks.com Diary from Cologne, 2005
Offensive lineman Cliff Washburn:
Moved from defense to offense during NFL-E’s 2005 camp while with the Frankfurt Galaxy … Was Teyo Johnson’s teammate in Hamburg this spring … Did not play football until 2002, when he followed four seasons on the basketball team at The Citadel with a year as a defensive end … Spent 2003 training camp with the Giants and was on the Bears’ practice squad later that season … Was back in Bears camp in 2005 but was released … Spent 2006 season with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and saw action at left tackle.
NFL.com page
NFLEurope.com feature from 2005
National Post feature from 2006
And one more thing …
Upon my Monday return to Dove Valley after nearly three weeks away, fellow DenverBroncos.com staffer Kyle Sonneman gently lambasted me for not mentioning his 2002 role as the American public-relations contact for the Berlin Thunder in my blog entry about the demise of NFL Europa. Ben Hamilton, a member of that year’s Thunder, has a similar piece of jewelry.
A belated happy Canada Day, and an early happy Fourth of July to you.
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
go broncos
July 3rd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Andrew, do you see any of these guys making the final team this year? It seems like we have depth at all these positions already, so are these signing mostly to fill in the 3rd and 4th teams for practices during camp?
Thanks, as always, for the great info!
Jon Douglas
www.mydenverobsession.com
July 5th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
even though this is off topic will brandon marshall be a good choice for the starting position?
July 6th, 2007 at 7:59 am
With all the work Brandon has done this off-season, he’s certainly in position to move into that spot. However, he still needs to show he can handle it on the field during camp and preseason. If he has a great camp and a good showing in the preseason, I can see Brandon making the #2 spot behind Javon.
I’m just excited to have all the talent and experience we have at the WR position this year. If Smith comes back 100% and so does Stokley, we will have one heck of a five wideout set!
Jon Douglas
www.mydenverobsession.com
July 9th, 2007 at 1:17 am
[…] Mason’s Morsels Blogging Since 2006 « More on the NFL Europa Signees … […]
July 9th, 2007 at 1:42 am
>>
Andrew, do you see any of these guys making the final team this year? It seems like we have depth at all these positions already, so are these signing mostly to fill in the 3rd and 4th teams for practices during camp?
>>
Well, after seeing a guy like Mario Fatafehi come from off the radar screen during the 2003 camp to make the final roster, I wouldn’t dismiss the chances of any of these guys to make it. I’m quite intrigued by Akah, who had a lot to learn about the sport just two years ago and has absorbed quite a bit in a relatively short amount of time.
As for the corners, the Broncos needed some depth there for the daily work. The Broncos will have 11 wide receivers on the field once everyone is back to health there; until the signings of Alford and House, they only had six cornerbacks — one of whom was also in NFL Europa this spring (Lamont Reid). It’s a tad tough to do one-on-one drills at training camp with such a potentially wide disparity.
September 3rd, 2007 at 12:02 am
Keep Bill Alford
September 29th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Sports Illustrated…
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…