Powlus Getting a Chance
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
May 10, 2000

Amsterdam - Former four year starting quarterback Ron Powlus is getting a chance to make an impression on NFL scouts with the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe.  Earlier this season Powlus was assigned to the Generals by the Philadelphia Eagles.  After losing a battle for the starting quarterback position, Powlus took over as the #1 QB after Jim Kubiak went down with a broken hand.

In his first start of the season, Powlus lead the Admirals second win of the season with a 20-17 win over the Frankfurt Galaxy Saturday night.   Powlus, who holds multiple passing records at Notre Dame completed 22 of 34 passes for a total of 230 yards and two touchdowns in leading his team to the victory. 

The Admirals won the game on a last second 49 yard field goal by kicker Jose Cortez.  The kick was set up by a Ron Powlus run that nearly drained the clock.  The officials ruled that the Admirals had called a time-out with one second remaining and put the time back on the clock otherwise the game would have ended.  Cortez came through and nailed the 49 yard game winner against the team that cut him earlier this season.

For Powlus, it marks the first time he has lead a football team to a victory as a starter since the final game of the 1997 season when he lead his Notre Dame team to a close win over Hawaii.  It was also the first time he was a starter for a football team since his Notre Dame days. 

After graduating from Notre Dame Powlus was in and out of NFL training camps.  He went undrafted, but signed with the Titans and had a decent preseason.  However, Powlus did not make the team.  Since then he has been with the Lions and now with the Eagles.  Last season he battled with Cory Sauter for the #3 QB spot for the Lions and lost.  This winter he signed with the Eagles and was allocated to the NFL Europe.

Now that Powlus is with the Eagles, he may have a tough time making their roster.  The starter without a doubt is future star and former Kevin Rogers pupil Donovan McNabb.  By mid season the rookie showed he has all the tools to be a star, he just needs a couple wide receivers to help him out.  The backup will be Doug Pederson.  Pederson started off the season as the starter while McNabb got integrated into the system.  By week two however it was obvious Pederson was not a long term solution at QB.  The third spot belongs to Koy Detmer.   Detmer may be short and not the prototype NFL QB, but he has got heart and knows how to win and the fans LOVE him. 

If Powlus can really get his act together and show signs of the talent he flashed in high school he could push the Eagles to out him on their roster after this season and get rid of Pederson.  The problem with that is then the Eagles would have three young, relatively inexperienced QBs to lead their offense.  That makes that option somewhat unlikely.  That being said, Powlus' future with the Eagles in uncertain.  If he continues to have good games he could find a home elsewhere with a team that has a couple of experienced quarterbacks in front of him.

While at Notre Dame, part of the reason that Powlus looked bad came from the fact that the system was not built around him.  It could be compared to putting Arnaz Battle in a pro style offense where he could only drop back to pass.  Just as Battle is not suited to be that type of quarterback, Powlus wasn't suited to be in an option style offense.  Also, if you look at his stats from when Derrick mayes was still on the team, his numbers were pretty good.  He set touchdown records for touchdowns in a game, season, and career.

Powlus got a bum rap because of the hype surrounding him.   No person could have lived up to that hype and because he didn't live up to it people label him as a bum or a bust.  The fact that he came back in his 5th year despite a lot of criticism is a testament to his determination. 

It is very unlikely that Powlus will set the world on fire soon and become a quality starter in the NFL, but with the right coach Powlus could salvage his career.  When you think about it, he is in a pretty good citation in Philly despite the QB's in front of him since the Eagle's head coach, Andy Reid, is a former quarterback coach for just Brett Favre and Mark Brunnell.