February 20, 2001
LAS VEGAS – Less than 48 hours after suffering
its first loss of the season, the Las Vegas Outlaws
added QB Mark Grieb to the roster. Grieb, a product of
U.C. Davis who played for Outlaws Head Coach Jim Criner
with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe in 1998 and
has spent the 1997, 1999 and 2000 seasons playing in the
Arena League. During the 2000 AFL season, Grieb
completed nearly 65% of his passes, amassing nearly
3,200 yards and throwing 62 TD passes and just 3
interceptions.
In order to make room for Grieb on the team’s 45-man
roster, the Outlaws waived QB Mike Cawley. Cawley
replaced Outlaws starter Ryan Clement following a
shoulder separation late in the first quarter Feb. 11 at
Memphis and completed 17 of 38 passes for 180 yards in
the two games he played. The former CFL, NFL Europe and
NFL veteran threw one TD and two INTs in the Outlaws’
25-3 win at Memphis and Saturday’s 12-9 loss at home
to the Los Angeles Xtreme.
“Mark is a very accurate passer and a very intelligent
quarterback,” said Criner. “He will compete
immediately for the starting job and we expect him to
run the offense in a manner very similar to that of both
Ryan Clement and Chuck Clements. He played for me in
1998 with the Claymores and has enjoyed great success
with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena League.”
Grieb served as a graduate assistant coach at Stanford
University during the Cardinal’s 2000 season,
assisting offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick and
simultaneously pursuing a Masters in Science Education.
A South San Jose native, Grieb spent the past two
seasons playing for the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena
Football League, following th 1998 campaign with
Criner’s Claymores and the 1997 season with the
Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena League.
A 1996 graduate of U.C. Davis, Grieb set school records
as a senior after throwing for 3,230 yards and 25
touchdowns. He returned to his alma mater as an
assistant coach for the past three years (1997-99).
Grieb was a three-sport athlete at San Jose's Oak Grove
High School, also playing basketball and baseball.
Grieb could earn the starting nod on Sunday when the
Outlaws travel to San Francisco’s Pac Bell Park to
face the Western Division rival Demons (2-1), who join
both Las Vegas and Los Angeles atop the XFL West.
Clement’s right throwing shoulder continues to be
evaluated by the Outlaws team doctors, and his
availability both in this week’s practice sessions and
for Sunday’s game (televised live nationally on TNN at
1:00 p.m. PT) will be determined throughout the week.
Las
Vegas DE Ty Parten has been cleared to practice on
Wednesday, after a series of tests on the former Kansas
City Chief defensive lineman determined that his
strained left knee is ready for training. With the
activation of Parten, the Outlaws traded S Ron Carpenter
to the Los Angeles Xtreme for a future draft pick in
order to meet the 45-man roster limit. Carpenter was on
the Outlaws’ practice squad for each of the team’s
three games, and served as the emergency scrambler at
Memphis and vs. Los Angeles.
The Outlaws’ players are off both today and Tuesday,
and will resume training at the Sam Boyd Stadium
practice fields Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 noon
to 1:45 p.m. On Friday, the Outlaws will again kick off
practice at noon, but are expected to go with a slightly
shorter workout before boarding United Airlines flight
2309 on Saturday morning at 10:50 a.m. The team will
conduct a Saturday afternoon walk-through at the College
of San Mateo during the team’s final preparations for
Sunday afternoon’s game at Pac Bell. |
